PANJIM: During the Question Hour, the House witnessed an uproar over clearing of pending expenditure bills of IFFI 2014 by the government. The opposition led a scathing attack alleging a Rs 50 crore scam since IFFI 2012.
The issue was raised on the floor of the House by former Chief Minister and Congress legislator, Digambar Kamat who pointed out that the bills of IFFI 2014 and 2015 are pending.
As per the written reply tabled on the floor of the House, the expenditure for IFFI 2014 was Rs 12.58 crore and for IFFI 2015 it was Rs 3.62 crore, till date. Parsekar admitted that several bills are yet to be paid and once they are paid, the expenditure will go up.
Kamat said there are allegations that the bills of local artists are kept pending while those who are from outside the State were promptly paid the amount. He also said that the State government had assured the inquiry into the matter of locals being kept waiting for payments.
He was rightly supported by Independent MLA Vijai Sardesai, who alleged a Rs 50 crore scam in IFFI festivals since 2012. “The former minister (Milind Naik) had admitted on the Floor that there is a mega fraud in IFFI and had announced to probe the same by setting up a House Committee. However, nothing happened after that except that the Minister was shuffled,” he said.
“The bills from IFFI 2013 are pending due to various clarifications and doubts raised. I agree that the bills should be settled immediately. I have issued instructions that henceforth the bills should be settled within a year of holding the event while the existing bills should be settled by March 31,” Parsekar, also Minister for Information and Publicity said.
Parsekar announced that efforts are on to make the International Film Festival of India (IFFI) self- sustained in next two to three years.
Responding to a question by BJP legislator Nilesh Cabral, Parsekar said the government wants to open the festival for sponsorship.
“I have asked the Entertainment Society of Goa to seek sponsorship by February-March rather than waiting for the last minute. The corporate houses will have ample time to plan and offer sponsorship,” he said.
“We are targeting a Rs five crore sponsorship for this year, Rs ten crore for next year and Rs fifteen crore a year after,” Parsekar said adding, “In the next two or three years, we want IFFI to be self-sustained and not depend on the government for funds.”
Earlier, Parsekar also told the State Legislative Assembly that from the coming year onwards, the bills of the expenditure for IFFI would be settled within a year of holding the festival. The pending bills of 2014 and 2015 will be settled within the next three months.
Refuting any assurance of the House Committee, Parsekar said the inquiry is not yet complete.
