Panjim: At the 100th Task Force Committee (TCF) meeting of the Chief Minister’s Rozgar Yojna (CMRY) scheme by the Economic Development Corporation (EDC), CM Pramod Sawant encouraged EDC on the various plans for development of Merces bypass on the lines of Patto Plaza.
At the meeting held on Wednesday, presentations were made on EDC’s plans for development of recreational and commercial space at Patto and Merces, respectively and also on the history of the CMRY scheme.
The EDC also announced that they are planning to build a ‘Market of Goa’ at EDC Patto Plaza soon. An area of 8,000 square metres behind SBI, which is presently is CCP’s garbage dump, will be cleared by the Goa Waste Management Corporation by December 2020 and thereafter this area will be developed into the ‘Market of Goa’. Cultural events, food courts, Goan cuisine will all be part of this. It will have a flea market, farmers market, food truck market, which will be open for tourists and locals at an affordable cost and have all varieties of products. All the stalls will be temporary in nature and no permanent structure will be there. It is basically to attract tourists and will have ample parking space after office hours. It will have stages for live shows during the evening. Garbage disposal management will also be done. EDC expects that after the installation, at least 1,000 direct and indirect employment opportunities will be generated. It is a concept, which is followed in many foreign countries.
Also near Merces, EDC is in the process of acquiring two lakh square metres of land for commercial development and building an EDC Commercial City. Site inspection has been carried out in May 2020 by the GCZMA and (NOC & Zoning certificate has been obtained from (TCP) in June this year. Also the approval of rate, factor for calculation of fair compensation to land owners have been obtained from the office of the North Goa District Collector in July 2020.
During the 100th TFC meeting, 45 proposals were approved for an amount of Rs 4.20 crore. Among the proposals cleared were those for setting up a hydroponics unit, corrugated boxes, medical shop, 3-D printing, service station, cement blocks, milk and ice-cream products, laundry and beauty parlour.
At a function that preceded the meeting, the Chief Minister deeply appreciated the dedication and sincerity of the EDC employees in operating the CMRY scheme; and also carrying out all the other activities like term loan lending and CSR. He lauded the Corporation for its vital role played in the development of the State and its support to the government; and said that it was a consistent profit-making organisation. He further complemented EDC for its contribution of Rs one crore through CSR to the relief fund to combat COVID.
The CM also handed over sanction letters to applicants who had been approved of CMRY loans earlier. He also handed compensation amounts to seven employees of GAAL, a subsidiary of EDC which closed down.
In his address, Sawant said, “The government is doing its best for the benefit of Goa even though there are objections raised by various non-government organisations for various projects. The government is sensitive towards all issues and all decisions will be made for the benefit of the State.”
Earlier, The Managing Director of EDC Kiran Ballikar welcomed the Chief Minister and the Chairman of EDC Sadanand Tanawade briefed on the various schemes, activities and plans of EDC to develop open space at Patto Plaza as a recreational and touristic destination and its role in supporting the entrepreneurs.
Vice-Chairman EDC Sanjay Satardekar who is also the Chairman of the CMRY Task Force Committee proposed the vote of thanks. The function was conducted by Carlos de Sa, joint Managing Director of EDC.
It is to be noted that in the past 30 years, EDC has developed about 1,77,000 square meters of land at EDC Patto Plaza and this has helped to decongest the city of Panjim and about 30,000 people are working in Patto Plaza now.
Further, the CMRY scheme, which was formulated by the then CM (late) Manohar Parrikar has been offering self-employment opportunities to the Goan youth since 2001 and has created more than 7,300 entrepreneurs and sanctioned loans of Rs 220.20 crore so far. This scheme is one of the most acclaimed schemes of the government and has been successfully implemented by EDC.
