Goa should not become a concrete jungle: Parrikar
14 March 2013 5:17 AM IST
Goa chief minister Manohar Parrikar is upbeat about his government’s performance in the past year after coming to power despite the furore over mining and Regional Plan 2021. He has given an assurance on finalising a mining package within a few days while ensuring a monthly allowance to those who have been retrenched by mining companies. He said he will also place a demand before the Centre for a package for the people affected by mining.
‘There is a need to protect the Goan identity of the state, but it’s not a simple task,’ Parrikar told Millennium Post. ‘I am an Indian at heart and in India we celebrate our diversity. However, too much diversity in Goa will make the Goan identity vanish.’
The government is facing financial hurdles after the ban on mining from 11 September, 2012 that has led to a loss of revenue to the tune of between Rs 850 crore to 950 crore. The loss would have been more if the government had not taken remedial measures, Parrikar said, adding that between 25,000 to 30,000 people were affected by the ban.
A government affidavit to the Supreme Court stated that 3.5 lakh people have been affected by mining shutdown which has also affected 25,000 trucks and 375 barges involved in the business. Parrikar, while expressing sympathy for the plight of those dependent on mining, said the affected Goa mine-owners have enough money to last the next seven generations, but the workers were suffering and the situation in the mining belt had reached a flashpoint. Recovery of arrears – Rs 4,000 crores according to his estimate and Rs 35,000 crore according to Shah Commission estimate – from mine owners would be taken care of only after identifying the culprits, he reiterated.
He said while Goa’s image had suffered a lot of damage in the last seven years, due to the drug mafia and law and order issues, he was slowly trying to get the state out of the rut. ‘I don’t want Goa to be turned into a concrete jungle. The moment I open the Regional Plan, there is going to be heavy pressure on the state government to convert (land for construction projects), which I don’t want to do,’ he said in reference to the Regional Plan 2021 which is yet to be finalised.
Parrikar highlighted his government’s promises that were delivered on various fronts like reduction in petrol prices by Rs 11 per litre with the abolition of VAT, abolition of house tax for BPL families, appointing a Lokayukta, Rs 1,000 per month to housewives under Griha Adhaar Scheme to offset inflation, increase in financial assistance from Rs 1,000 to Rs 2,000 per month under DSS scheme to senior citizens and from Rs 3,000 to Rs 3,500 per month to ‘differently-abled persons.’
‘There is a need to protect the Goan identity of the state, but it’s not a simple task,’ Parrikar told Millennium Post. ‘I am an Indian at heart and in India we celebrate our diversity. However, too much diversity in Goa will make the Goan identity vanish.’
The government is facing financial hurdles after the ban on mining from 11 September, 2012 that has led to a loss of revenue to the tune of between Rs 850 crore to 950 crore. The loss would have been more if the government had not taken remedial measures, Parrikar said, adding that between 25,000 to 30,000 people were affected by the ban.
A government affidavit to the Supreme Court stated that 3.5 lakh people have been affected by mining shutdown which has also affected 25,000 trucks and 375 barges involved in the business. Parrikar, while expressing sympathy for the plight of those dependent on mining, said the affected Goa mine-owners have enough money to last the next seven generations, but the workers were suffering and the situation in the mining belt had reached a flashpoint. Recovery of arrears – Rs 4,000 crores according to his estimate and Rs 35,000 crore according to Shah Commission estimate – from mine owners would be taken care of only after identifying the culprits, he reiterated.
He said while Goa’s image had suffered a lot of damage in the last seven years, due to the drug mafia and law and order issues, he was slowly trying to get the state out of the rut. ‘I don’t want Goa to be turned into a concrete jungle. The moment I open the Regional Plan, there is going to be heavy pressure on the state government to convert (land for construction projects), which I don’t want to do,’ he said in reference to the Regional Plan 2021 which is yet to be finalised.
Parrikar highlighted his government’s promises that were delivered on various fronts like reduction in petrol prices by Rs 11 per litre with the abolition of VAT, abolition of house tax for BPL families, appointing a Lokayukta, Rs 1,000 per month to housewives under Griha Adhaar Scheme to offset inflation, increase in financial assistance from Rs 1,000 to Rs 2,000 per month under DSS scheme to senior citizens and from Rs 3,000 to Rs 3,500 per month to ‘differently-abled persons.’
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