MONDAY, MAY 20, 2024
Team Herald
PORVORIM: Governor Bhagat Singh Khoshyari concluded his speech in the years first Assembly session by reading just two paragraphs. The Governor then tabled the speech and said it should be taken as read due to some health issues. The speech makes just passing mentions on mining and Mhadei, while leaving out the Mollem issue.
The Governor started by congratulating Chief Minister Dr Pramod Sawant and his team and the frontline Covid warriors for successfully controlling the spread of COVID-19 (pandemic) in the State.
The Governor said that though the State has suffered in terms of socio-economic and infrastructure development taking a backseat in the Covid times, it was due to systematic planning, regular monitoring and instantaneous corrective measures by the State administration, that Goa is now gaining momentum in its activities from micro to macro level and is nearing complete normalcy.
“The COVID-19 (pandemic) is an eye opener, which has taught an important learning to the people and also to the States to be self-reliant,” he stated.
On mining, he said, it is an important sector in the State economy, which had been contributing about 16 per cent of the Gross State Domestic Product (GSDP) in 2011-12 and in 2019-20 (Q) is contributing only about 0.2 per cent.
“As per the order of the Supreme Court of India in Writ Petition (Civil) No. 435 of 2012, government has conducted 24 e-auctions and sold 14.68 million tonnes of the mineral ore lying at various stack yards,” he said.
He added, “Government is continuously making efforts to resume mining in a systematic manner by rejuvenating the State’s economy, preserving the environment, the natural resources, the health status of the people in the mining sector with the main vision to ensure “sustainable mining” in the State of Goa.”
On Mhadei, he said, the attempt of Karnataka to divert the water has been brought to the notice of the Apex Court by filing a fresh contempt petition in October 2020.
The Governor further said that the overall crime situation in the State has remained under control due to effective implementation and monitoring of law and order. “The overall crime detection rate of 92 per cent for the year 2020 as against 84 per cent during the year 2019 shows the commitment of the police force for providing safe and secure environment to the citizens as well as the tourists,” he said.
The Governor added, “The police force intensified action against the drugs menace which has led to registration of 79 cases and seizure of approximately 59 kgs of drugs worth Rs 300.85 lakh. Nasha Mukth Bharat Campaign was launched in order to spread message to the youth with an aim to make Goa a ‘Drugs-free State’.”
On the financial status of the State, the Governor said that though, there was the demonetisation effect and economic slowdown in 2017-18, the Gross State Domestic Product (GSDP) for 2017-18 at current prices stood at Rs 69,352.05 crore registering a growth rate of 9.29 per cent as compared to previous year 2016-17.”
He said that though there was a complete lockdown in the State for more than three months, the State has collected revenue of Rs 292.22 crore up to December 2020 as against the target of Rs 547.95 crore for 2020-21. “Efforts are being made to mop-up the revenue collection,” he said.
The Governor also spoke on the government’s commitment to double the farmers’ income by 2022 for which various beneficiary oriented programmes like distribution of high yielding variety of paddy seeds at 50 per cent subsidy, agro machineries at subsidised rates, assured price for paddy, sugarcane, coconut, oil palm and cashew nut have been initiated.
On the environment, he said, Goa is known for its natural beauty and is rich in flora and fauna. The area under forest and tree cover as per the recent edition of “India State of Forest Report 2019” is 68 per cent.
“Goans are very sensitive about the environment. Under Compensatory Afforestation, over 1.75 lakh saplings have been planted covering an area of 235.16 hectares during the year. During the three-month long Vanmahotsava, 3.57 lakh tree saplings, including ornamental and medicinal plants, were distributed free of cost to the public,” he said.
He further said that the Goa Investment Promotion Board has granted approval to 196 projects in principle with total investment of Rs 15,780.54 crore having an employment potential of 37,247 persons.
He said that the government is making efforts to bring private firms in the domain of employment exchange in order to provide quality employment according to the skills, aptitude, qualification and interest, thereby bringing talent closer to opportunity for the unemployed youth through the online mode.
This year, he added, 108 startups have been certified and 41 startups incentivized. Under Goa Startup Policy 2017, till date an amount of Rs 1.05 crore has been disbursed. In order to provide services at the door step of the common man, the government has made 134 end-to-end services of 21 departments online.
On tourism, he said, the scenic beauty of Goa has enticed innumerable domestic as well as foreign tourists.
