Team Herald
PANJIM: Two days after Percept, the organizers of Sunburn festival, announced that the next edition of the Electronic Dance Music (EDM) Festival would be in Pune and not Goa, Tourism Minister Dilip Parulekar said that the EDM festival can still be held in Goa, as long as the organisers pay past dues amounting to Rs 1.75 crore for provision of police personnel for security cover.
“The Goa government has not closed its doors on the event. They had given us an application. We still haven’t rejected it. Their application is pending before the (single window) committee,” Parulekar said.
“The only thing is that they had to pay the Police Department back dues. We have said that the police department back-dues have to be paid and we will process the file for permission,” he added.
“The government was always open to hold such EDM festivals. I have always welcomed such festivals, but the organisers have to first clear the dues, only after which a green signal will be given to the festival. It was up to the organisers, whether they want to hold the festival in Goa or in some other State,” he said
Meanwhile, Percept, on their Facebook page had said they have shifted the venue of the festival after facing hurdles in obtaining permission from the Goa government. Goa has hosted the festival for nine years. Sunburn’s official FB page says the venue has been shifted to Kesnand district of Pune and is scheduled to take place from December 28 to 31.
