MARGAO: Reacting to Chief Minister Pramod Sawant’s demand for Rs 8,000 crores to undertake various projects in Goa, leader of the Opposition Yuri Alemao released a video of Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman’s speech in Parliament announcing Rs 300 crores for Goa. Alemao claimed that the Central Government only provided Rs 150 crore for the commemoration of 60 years of Goa’s Liberation.
Alemao criticised the Chief Minister, advising him to focus on managing existing funds effectively rather than depending on future promises. He pointed out that Sitharaman did not fulfil her promise of providing Rs 300 crore for the Liberation Day celebration. “The Chief Minister needs to focus on putting his own house in order by streamlining available resources by judiciously using them. Strict austerity measures are the only way ahead as the BJP government has already pushed Goa into a debt trap,” said Alemao.
Alemao accused the BJP Government of selling Mhadei to Karnataka and wasting crores on the ‘Save Soil’ event. He suggested that the Chief Minister was prompted by the Congress Lok Sabha manifesto, which highlighted the need for funds for dams and soil conservation, to ask for financial support. “What has the government achieved in the last five years?” he questioned.
He also urged the government to focus on improving road infrastructure, which is currently claiming one life a day, and to enhance the public transport system by creating infrastructure for bus terminals in Margao and Panjim, as well as other bus stands across the State.
Alemao alleged that the BJP government lacks funds to support needy beneficiaries of social welfare schemes but spends excessively on events. “The BJP government has already left Goans in a financial emergency by pushing the State into bankruptcy due to its faulty policies and priorities. Wasteful expenditure on events needs to be stopped immediately,” he stressed.
