Team Herald
PANJIM: This is straight out of Ripley’s ‘Believe it or not”. The honourable members of the Investment Promotion Board, “did not realise” that the term of the private members had expired in October 2016 before the 13th and 14th meetings of Goa’s Investment Promotion Board. They cleared 35 investment projects in those meetings worth Rs 1992 crore (see box). This includes the Panjim-Reis Magos ropeway project.
This came to light when Chief Minister Manohar Parrikar on Thursday disclosed that projects cleared at the 13th and 14th meetings of the Investment Promotion Board were technically illegal. “Up to the 12th meeting the approvals of IPB were right but in the 13th and 14th meeting there was a technical glitch,” Parrikar said.
The Chief Minister pointed out that as per the rules the private members term is two years and a member cannot be there for more than two terms. “The first notification of IPB was on October 2014, during my tenure, so the term ended in October 2016 but I think nobody must have realised this and hence the 13th and 14th meetings were conducted by a board which was actually not a valid board so the minutes were technically defective,” Parrikar said.
The Chief Minister, who is the chairman of IPB, said the board conducted a meeting and reviewed all projects of 13th and 14th meetings.
“From the 13th meeting we have all but four projects which have been sent to the consultants for a detailed study like eco tourism projects,” he said.
Similarly, he added, from the 14th meeting they have gone through each case and approved some, rejected a few and recommended eight others to be examined in detail by the satellite consultants. “In future it will be a norm and before approving the projects they will go to the consultants,” he said.
Hence 12 of 35 projects cleared during the invalid meetings have been sent for further review by the satellite consultants.
The contentious eco tourism projects cleared rampantly by the IPB have obviously caught the eye of the Chief Minister. In the 14th meeting there were eight eco-tourism projects or related with commercial activity hence the government has referred them to the consultants, Parrikar said.
Asked about Vani Agro, the Chief Minister, without elaborating much, said that there are some difficulties which the consultants will look into.
Pointing to allegations in media over some projects, Parrikar said, “No allegations in IPB projects are true but there are certain discrepancies which can be corrected.”
Parrikar said that since 2014, around 30 projects cleared by IPB have started operations, generating 2000-3000 jobs. “There are about 70 in progress and nearing completion which will bring another 12,000 jobs,” he said.
13th IPB meeting details
– 20 investment projects worth Rs 1107 crore with capacity to generate 2619 jobs
– Of these 12 are industrial, six in the hospitality sector and two are institutional projects
– Proposals were from companies such as Encube Ethicals (pharma), Fulllife Health Care (pharma), Sunshine Pap-Tech (recycled Kraft paper), Softtech Engineers, Krishna Packaging, Franstik Belts, Livon Pharma
– The companies have applied to GIDC for plots in industrial estates
– One is an eco-farm, a project at Assagao by Zephyr Holdings, in Anjuna by Ashray Developers and Happy Circle, Brahma Valley projects at an undisclosed location
– Of the two institutional projects, one is a vocational training institute in Verna by Fomento and the other an institute in Shiroda
14th IPB meeting details
– Cleared 15 projects worth Rs 885 crore in investments, which has the potential to provide 2133 jobs
– Seven of the projects were industrial in nature, while eight were in the hospitality sector
– There were 30 projects on the table for clearance. However, IPB held back clearance for 15 projects for various reasons
– Tienda Advanced Materials for manufacturing unit at Verna Industrial Estate
– Sea food processing unit at Sanguem Industrial Estate by C K Agro Product Pvt Ltd, expected to provide employment to 75 people
– Among the hospitality projects cleared, two are by GTDC – one at Brittona and the other at Reis Magos
– A four star luxury hotel in Pernem at Chopdem by VRP Landbase Private Limited
– A wedding destination and eco-resort “The Theatre of Dreams” at Quepem cleared
– Blue Spring Eco Resort in Quepem, a 60-room luxury resort in Bardez cleared
– Passenger ropeway project between Panjim and Reis Magos covering a distance of 1240 mtrs over River Mandovi cleared
