MARGAO: Leader of Opposition Yuri Alemao, expressed his concern about the Entertainment Society of Goa (ESG) inviting advertisements for private landowners with 250 acres of land to set up a Film City in Goa, while the State’s treasury is empty.
Alemao urged Chief Minister Pramod Sawant to direct ESG to consider previously allocated land for SEZs, Nylon-66, or land in Betul for the Film City project. He suspected that the government’s decision to invite bids from private parties instead of using available government land might be influenced by a ‘real estate dealer’ within the BJP cadre.
“The Entertainment Society of Goa has miserably failed to even keep up the standards of International Film Festival of India by converting it into a domestic event. I dare CM Pramod Sawant to reveal the data of delegates who attended the last five editions of the so-called ‘mega festival’,” challenged the LoP.
Furthermore, Alemao called on the government to clarify the status of the Dona Paula convention center, which was promised to be inaugurated during the 50th edition of IFFI. He requested information on the actual benefits to Goa and Goan filmmakers from the annual expenditure of Rs 20 to 25 crores on IFFI.
The LoP also demanded that the government make the project report for the proposed Film City publicly available and seek input from experts and stakeholders before proceeding with land acquisition.
