PANJIM, JAN 20
In what could be termed as a New Year’s gift to Goans working abroad, the State Cabinet today gave its stamp of approval for the creation of the Non-resident Goans emergency Repatriation Fund.
The fund, according the Government, will help the NRGs as well as their families during the time of emergency.
Disclosing this at a post Cabinet press conference, Chief Minister Digambar Kamat said, there were several cases of NRG families approaching the Government for assistance.
“Once it so happened that a sole bread earner of the family who was working abroad died and the family did not have money even to get his body back”, Kamat said adding “…at that time we released some amount through NRI Commissioner’s office and helped the family get the body”.
The chief minister also said that there are also cases wherein the Goan workers are abandoned abroad.
“This fund will help us to bring them back to India”, he said.
Kamat said that the Cabinet has given its approval for the creation for the Non-Resident Goans Emergency Repatriation Fund.
“Under the fund a provision of Rs 5 lakh has been made and if need be we will increase the same”, he said.
PPP: The Cabinet today also gave its nod for the creation of viability gap fund for taking up Government projects under the public private partnerships.
The fund called the Goa Infrastructure Development Fund (GIDF) will help the departments to take up projects under the PPP mode.
Kamat said that under GIDF a provision of Rs 50 cr has been made to help the departments to fund the consultancy and other related expenses for the projects.
BILL: The Cabinet today also approved the Bill for the amendment of the Value Added Tax Act.
“There were several changes proposed by the Commercial Taxes Department and the Cabinet has approved making the necessary changes”, he said.
SIXTH PAY: The Cabinet also decided to extend the benefits of the Sixth Pay Commission recommendations to the employees of the Technical Education Department.
“This was one department which did not get the benefits of the 6th pay and now we have decided to include them”, Kamat said adding “the employees of the degree and diploma colleges both will benefit from the decision”.
