MARGAO:Asserting that the Department for NRI Affairs is serious about the welfare of seafarers, Narendra Sawaikar, Commissioner for NRI Affairs, said there is hope that the Goa Welfare Pension Scheme for retired seafarers and widows will be made permanent. He further said that the government is working out a solution with regard to fund allocation for the scheme, before it is made permanent.
On Thursday, Sawaikar told Herald that his department has recommended that the government make the scheme permanent.
Earlier, the Goa Seaman Association of India (GSAI) had written to the Governor of Goa P S Sreedharan Pillai, requesting him to ask the state government to make the scheme permanent. Before that, the seafarers’ community had expressed disappointment at the government’s decision to extend the scheme for another six months, instead of making it permanent.
“The government has extended the scheme till March 2023 and nearly three thousand beneficiaries will continue to receive these funds. The Department of NRI Affairs is also of the opinion that the scheme needs to be made permanent in order to resolve the issue once and all,” said Sawaikar.
