PANJIM: A ban on drinking in public places, amendment to the Tourism Act to allow tourists to cook in designated spots, crackdown on over drinking, are some of issues that will be brought up in the State Budget 2018-19, Chief Minister Manohar Parrikar said on Wednesday.
“It is a budgetary exercise. All this requires legislation, some sort of proper direction and preparedness for the government. I can assure you that we are working on open drinking, over drinking, all these aspects are being worked out,” Parrikar said, responding to a series of questions on nuisance created by tourists.
“Since the Budget will now be in February, you will get some answers to all these questions,” he said.
The Budget session is slated to commence from February 19. The Chief Minister has already begun the process to draft the Budget. Last month he issued directions to all departments to submit their Budget proposals.
On January 1, Finance Department issued directions to all the department offices to adopt economy measures and rationalise expenditure for the financial year 2017-18. The department has capped expenses for the last three months for the current financial year at 12 percent of budgetary estimates.
