PANJIM: Chief Minister Laxmikant Parsekar was left speechless and in an embarrassing situation as he struggled to reply to a barrage of questions by Independent MLA Rohan Khaunte over the alleged illegal transfer of license to an offshore casino, contradicting the policy of the State government.
When Khaunte raised a starred question on day three of the Goa Assembly Budget Session about the license issued to M V Royale Flotel in River Mandovi, Parsekar denied that the Home Department had issued any licence to it. The legislator, while flashing documents, literally left the chief minister speechless when he claimed the licence to offshore casinos including M V Caravela had expired on March 31, 2014, but was renewed and transferred in the name of M V Royale Flotel casino-cum-hotel in July 2014, even though there was a ban on renewing such licences which expire after 2014.
“Before the expiry, Caravela’s gaming licence was renewed. If you say the government cancelled the licence, how could it be transferred through a corrigendum in favour of Flotel? This was a backdoor entry to fifth casino in Mandovi River,” he alleged.
The chief minister, who earlier reiterated the government policy that BJP is against issuing fresh licenses to casinos, paused for a few seconds digging through the papers on his desk only to request the MLA to repeat his question.
Parsekar then replied that the government does not wish to continue with the vessels while during the last time, the renewals were accepted after taking specific undertakings from the casino operators. He went on to add that only four casinos are operational while Caravela is permitted to moor following NOC from the Captain of Ports.
Khaunte refused to accept his answer arguing that there are five offshore casinos operating. “How can the licence be transferred when it was cancelled,” he asked yet again, adding, “All licences which expire after 2014 were not supposed to be renewed. The license for Flotel was renewed through a corrigendum.”
The chief minister asserted that government sticks to its stand that additional licences would not be given, while quickly adding that government does not intend to ‘throw investors on the road when investment is already made’.
The Independent MLA had even refused to switch over to supplementary questions on the issue until Parsekar gave an appropriate reply to the allegations. He also demanded to know whether government was really serious about shifting offshore casinos away from Mandovi River, and within what time frame.
His reply was, “CoP is making an alternative arrangement looking out for another space to park these casinos after their licences expires.” The Opposition benches including former chief minister Digambar Kamat questioned the wisdom of the government behind this step, arguing that if a casino operator wants to continue the business, they should look out for an alternative space, and not the government. The licences of the four operational off shore casinos come to an end between September and December 2015.
