PANJIM: The Cabinet on Friday granted its nod to declare 82,595 sq mtrs of land at Vanxim as ‘Investment Promotion Area’, to set up a five-star resort and villa project by Ozone Leisure and Resort Pvt Ltd.
“Under the Investment Promotion Act, we have to declare an investment promotion area. The cabinet has given its nod to declare 82,595 sq mtrs of land having various survey numbers as investment promotion area for setting up five-star resort and villas,” Chief Minister Laxmikant Parsekar said after the cabinet meeting.
Parsekar said the project has a direct employment potential of 650 and another 1500 indirectly. The total investment of the project is Rs 750 crore.
Asked whether the cabinet was aware that the land falls in the Coastal Regulation Zone, Parsekar replied, “I am not aware about it. I have not studied the project in detail.”
The IPB has cleared the project and recommended to the State government to grant the land ‘Investment Promotion Area’ status to facilitate its conversion from orchard to settlement zone.
IPB’s decision to clear the eco-tourism project on Vanxim island, held up since 2010 following protests from the islanders, has raised serious questions, as the project was cleared a month after Fr Bismarque Dias, who had bitterly fought against it, was found dead.
Herald had in the past reported that the land on which Ozone Group is planning a five-star eco-friendly luxury resort had belonged to the Archdiocese of Goa and Daman and Fr Bismarque had questioned the Church for selling the property.
The cabinet has also declared another area at Kundaim as investment promotion area, where the State’s first Sanskrit University and Vedha Vedhya institute would be set up by Padmanabh Sampraday. The total investment is of Rs 6.25 crore with employment generation capacity of 425 persons.
