Team Herald
PANJIM: Chief Minister Manohar Parrikar on Friday blamed the Goan youth for the unemployment problems, stating that the main reason is that they do not want to work hard.
Speaking at the interaction session ‘Vision for Youth’ at the State Youth Parliament programme, organised by Goa Legislative Secretariat, Parrikar said, “Goans shy away from hard work and the long queue that was witnessed for contract LDC posts is because they do not want to work hard. People are interpreting government jobs as doing no job and getting paid. They also feel that by doing a government job, a fixed income will come home and plus they think they will do a small business for extra money.”
Speaking on promises made before the elections, Parrikar clarified that in politics never has it been said that a certain number of government jobs would be given.
“We have never promised during elections that we will give so many government jobs. Never have I heard any politician promising on stage that he will create government job opportunities. People do not want to work in private sector as they make you work if not leave the job. In Goa the government jobs is the main choice of the person as it is an easy job,” he added
He added, “We can only give around 10 to 12 per cent government jobs and nothing more than that. The number of government servants cannot be increased but can be replaced with retired ones. I feel dissatisfied that the different opportunities created by the government are really reaching everyone or not. Ten thousand jobs in Goa have been taken up by people from Jharkhand and Orissa.”
He said that the education system gives youth zero vision to think of the future as there is no direction. Students after completing Bachelor of Arts (BA) go for Master in Arts as they do not get jobs after graduation.
Speaking on the Prime Minister’s Rojgar Yojana he said, “Prime Minister’s Rojgar Yojana is not that effective because after it is passed, people have to go to the banks, but in Chief Minister’s Rojgar Yojana you do not have to the go the banks, Economic Development Corporation (EDC) will give the money directly.”
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Unscrupulous elements in guise of NGOs need to be watched: Parrikar
Team Herald
PANJIM: Chief Minister Manohar Parrikar on Friday said that a watch has to be kept on unscrupulous elements in the guise of NGOs.
Quizzed on how activists and NGOs become suddenly hyper active when a new project is taken up, Parrikar said, “For business also the required legal permissions cannot be bypassed. I have not exempted even the district court building from legal permissions for construction. Legal requirement must be complied with. Even for construction of Zuari Bridge we faced about three or four environment related cases which we won. Same was with Mandovi Bridge. There are two classes of NGOs. One which is serious about the environment and I respect their sentiments. But there are few people who in guise of NGOs have converted it into a trouble making machine or a racket. We have to take note of those unscrupulous elements.”
He also identified three areas that the recent Supreme Court judgement on mining will impact. “One is the impact on government revenue which I am not much worried about because when mining was 18 per cent of the State GDP and when it was shut down in 2012, I managed to ride over that tide. Today it is not even 4.5 per cent of the state GDP.”
He added that the judgment is only on the leases and there is no ban on exports, so the current inventory can take Goa through to December and meanwhile legal procedures and options are being followed.
“The local people will surely have to face unemployment which may start after the rainy season. We need to push agriculture in those areas which we had done in 2013,” Parrikar said.
He went on to say, “Thirdly, is about starting a mine in the industry which was dependent on mines. They have not been debarred and through legal process they can be a part.”
On coal issue, the chief minister asked a question to all, “If you are against coal then why are you using thermal power? May be the same coal is not being used to give us thermal power but the issue is pertinent. I agree if the issue is pollution caused by the coal. Now people are protesting as they do not want the mainstay of Vasco, MPT and Goa Shipyard to close down as both these organisations give employment and related jobs to at least 25,000 people there.”
As he was addressing the BNI Goa Bizfest 2018, he used the opportunity to highlight the benefits of Goods and Services Tax (GST) and painted a very bright picture for the industrial climate in the State. Parrikar also defended the role of Investment Promotion Board (IPB). “If something goes wrong we tighten the regulatory framework rather than punishing the violators. The interpretation of the legal provision was not clearly understood and we are following that now and there is no controversy now,” Parrikar said.
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Girls drinking beer a concern, says CM
Committed to fight drugs, considering that many youth are falling prey to it, Chief Minister Manohar Parrikar expressed concern – this time on another issue – that girls too drink beer.
He said, “We are worried about drugs in colleges though it is not spread widely in college, but girl’s too drinking beer is a concern in Goa.”
“In August 2017 after giving orders to crack down on the drug, over 170 persons were arrested in drugs cases. The government is serious about tackling the drug menace and recently we also cracked down on the network and action will continue till drugs go out of sight,” Parrikar said.
The Chief Minister also said that if children start stealing money from home, from parents, this is the first symptom of drug victimisation.
