Not inclined to allot funds, says Centre
TEAM HERALD
PANJIM: Goa had not received a single paisa from the Union Ministry for Tourism during 2012 for non-utilisation of sanctioned project funds and this may well be the fate in 2013 as well. Ironically, given the financial squeeze post the mining ban, the state has only itself to blame for this sorry state of affairs.
Documents accessed by Herald show that the simple reason for non release of funds by the Centre is that between 2009 and 2011 (when the Congress government was in power) the state has furnished utilization certificates for only Rs 23 crore, of the Rs 39 crore allotted, for centrally-sponsored tourism projects in the state. An amount of Rs 16 crore is still to be utilized and top officials in the Union Tourism Ministry say that unless Goa utilizes the funds and submits utilization certificates for the same, the Centre is not inclined to allot any funds to Goa.
“In fact, this amount of Rs 16 crore is due for surrender,” an official in the Goa Tourism Department admitted, adding that the Goa government has lobbied very hard with central officials to permit additional time to the state to utilize the money and furnish utilization certificates accordingly. In a representation by the Goa Tourism Minister Dilip Parulekar to the Centre, he writes: “I request the (central) ministry to grant us six to eight months time for utilizing the amount sanctioned and to furnish the utilization certificates.”
Nilesh Cabral , chairman of the Goa Tourism Development Corporation, which is also the special purpose vehicle for tourism projects in Goa, said: “There have been too many hurdles in getting projects cleared by various authorities.” Most of the projects conceptualized for central funding, according to officials, are under the purview of the coastal regulatory zone (CRZ). Now, in a tearing hurry to utilize the remaining Rs 16 crore, the Tourism Department has taken several projects out of CRZ areas.
It is learnt that the Tourism Department proposes to spend Rs 7 crore on the new Institute of Hotel Management at Farmagudi, Rs 5 crore for developing the Colva beach circuit and Rs 4 crore for Baga beautification and/or on the convention centre at Fatorda. “We are trying to float tenders and have works completed within the next few months,” said a Tourism Department official.
