log on to thegoan.net @thegoanonline TUESDAY FEBRUARY 20, 2024 GOA NEW DELHI: Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan on Monday said students will get an option of appearing for 10th and 12th class board examinations twice a year from the academic session 2025-26. He said one of the objectives of the new National Education Policy, unveiled in 2020, was to reduce academic stress on students. Highlighting the concept of introducing 10 bagless days in school every year, Pradhan stressed on engaging students with art, culture and sports, among other activities. According to the New Curriculum Framework announced by the ministry of education in August last year, board examinations will be held at least twice a year to ensure that students have enough time and opportunity to perform well. IN SHORT >> Encroachments block Smart City work PANAJI: Encroachments on pavements and roads by shopkeepers continue to hamper the pace of 'Smart City' work, according to Imagine Panaji Smart City Development Ltd managing director, Sanjit Rodrigues but he committed to completing the road work and sewerage manhole construction in the capital city. >> See pg 3 Kerala youth arrested in ` 1.18 cr fraud PANAJI: The Cyber Crime cell of Goa police have arrested Aflal K, a 27-year-old resident of Kerala for impersonation and cyber fraud amounting to Rs 1.18 crore. A complaint was lodged by 64-year-old Rajive Saharia of Zuarinagar, alleging that accused using various mobile phone numbers duped him through impersonation.  >> See pg 3 2 arrested in Corjuem youth attack case PANAJI: Two persons have been arrested by Mapusa police in the Goljuve, Corjuem youth attack case. The accused are identified as Digant Naik (24) and Usman Khan (29). The duo had attacked 23-year-old Pranav Phadte with a sharp weapon on February 15. WEATHER >> Max: 34 C Min: 23 C Humidity: 85% TIDES Low: 02:42 High: 07:05 14:21 21:59 The Goan E-Paper (Playstore/IOS) 13 pages PRICE ` 10 PANAJI MARGAO GOA VOLUME IX, NO.243 3 Temple Mahajans apply for Loliem-Polem Comunidade membership Students can take 10th, 12th exams twice a year: Minister Facebook.com/thegoan 5 GOA Massive support for Shiv Jayanti celebrations in Canacona Instagram.com/thegoanonline RNI: GOAENG/2015/65729 INFO Life-saving fashion hacks that all women must know about 9 SPORTS Bumrah likely to be rested, fit-again Rahul set to return 13 Shivaji statue: Minister faces people’s wrath SAO JOSE DE AREAL LOCALS UP IN ARMS AGAINST INSTALLATION OF STATUE WITHOUT P’YAT NOCPHAL DESSAI ATTACKED WITH MUD THE GOAN I NETWORK MARGAO Tense moments were witnessed at Sao Jose de Areal on Monday over the installation of Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj statue, with police using force to disperse local villagers after Social Welfare Minister Subhash Phal Dessai was attacked with mud. Phal Dessai claimed that he did not sustain any major injury in the incident, barring small swelling on the head. A local villager Freddy Travasso was taken to the South Goa district hospital after he complained of assault by the police. After the tension on Sunday, trouble began at the site when the minister came to inaugurate the statue, which local residents insist has been installed illegally without panchayat permission and without resolving the property issues. As the minister was walking to the main road after the inauguration, local residents led by Travasso questioned him on how the statue was installed without Panchayat permission. When Phal Dessai sought to know from the villagers why they were objecting to the Shivaji statue, they replied in THE GOAN I NETWORK Social Welfare Minister Subhash Phal Dessai and Areal villagers come face-to-face after the inauguration of Shivaji statue. (Right) Police keep a vigil at the site where the statue was installed.  Santosh Mirajkar one voice they had no objection to the statue per se, but were only protesting over the illegal installation without complying with the laid down norms. Travasso explained to the minister that permission was sought from the panchayat for the statue on February 9, while the panchayat meeting took place on February 15. “Even before the panchayat could hold a site inspection, land was cleared and the statue was brought at the site on February 18. They could have waited for the panchayat to issue permission so that the statue could be installed legally”, he pointed out. At one time, the minister said the panchayat is free to initiate action if the statue is installed without complying with the guidelines. In a bid to diffuse the situation, the minister suggested to the protesting villagers to have a meeting in the office of PETITIONS CENTRE, ALSO SEEKS WRITTEN CLARIFICATION PANAJI The Goa government has urged the Centre to issue 'surrender certificates' instead of 'revocation certificates' to Goans whose passports are revoked due to births registered in Portugal, allowing them to obtain OCI (Overseas Citizenship of India) status. In his meeting with the Union Ministry for External Affairs, Chief Minister Pramod Sawant categorically stated that mere registration of birth by a Goan in Portugal does not amount to acquiring Portuguese citizenship. PORTUGUESE PASSPORT ROW Those Goans, whose passports have been revoked, face uncertainty of obtaining OCI status coupled with visa complications. Sawant said that with Union Minister for External Affairs Dr S Jaishankar being out of India, the issue would be resolved once he is MARGAO: In another development on the controversy over Shivaji statue, the Sao Jose de Areal Panchayat directed the land owner Sartaj Makandar, resident of Housing Board, Margao to stop all alleged illegal activities and report to the panchayat office. In the notice, Sarpanch Linda Fernandes has ordered the owner to produce the necessary license, plans, documents, if any, for verification. The panchayat’s action comes following a letter received from ward member Carmina Fernandes and others in respect of the activities being carried out in the property in question. “It is observed that you are undertaking illegal land filling in >Continued on P5 Personal views, choices don’t count for LS seat: Sawant THE GOAN I NETWORK Portuguese citizenship and difficulties faced by them in obtaining OCI cards. “The State is asking the Union ministry to ensure that Surrender Certificates are issued to those Goans, whose PANAJI Notwithstanding MLAs Ramesh Tawadkar and Digambar Kamat's unwillingness to be candidates for the South Goa Lok Sabha seat, Chief Minister Pramod Sawant on Monday said that the party’s decision is paramount and that a “personal view” does not dictate the party’s concerns. The BJP State unit had submitted the names of five probable candidates -- Digambar Kamat, Ramesh Tawadkar, Chandrakant Kavlekar, Narendra Sawaikar and Damodar Naik -- to the party’s Parliamentary Board for final decision. However, Kamat and Tawadkar expressed their reservation to the decision. “In BJP, there is nothing called who is interested or not interested. Once, the high command takes a decision, it is paramount. BJP’s ideology is Nation first, then Party and then your self-interest. >Continued on P5 >Continued on P5 Centre may delegate ST seat delimitation powers to ECI PANAJI: Stating that the process to reserve seats for Scheduled Tribe (ST) will begin before the Lok Sabha election code comes into force, the Chief Minister on Monday said that Election Commission of India (ECI) is likely to be vested with delimitation powers. Sawant said that the discussion is currently ongoing on whether to set up a Delimitation Commission or to vest all rights to ECI on delimitation of seats. “The decision on this is likely to be taken before the LS election code and the process will start,” he said. “Reservation won’t be possible in this election but it will be granted before the 2027 State Assembly election,” he added. Sawant last week met Union Home Minister Amit Shah and Union Minister for Tribal Affairs Arjuna Munda seeking to expedite the process of setting up Delimitation Commission. back, wherein Centre will also issue a written clarification on the issue of Portuguese citizenship. Sawant, who was in Delhi last week, met Union Minister for State Meenakshi Lekhi on the issue of revocation of passports of Goans acquiring P’yat tells land owner to stop illegal activity >Continued on P5 CM moots ‘surrender certificates’ instead of ‘revocation certificates THE GOAN I NETWORK No permission needed for installing statue in Pvt property: Minister PANAJI Amid tension surrounding the installation of a Chhatrapati Shivaji statue on private property at Sao Jose de Areal village, Minister for Archaeology Subhash Phal Dessai maintained that permission from authorities is not necessary if the statue doesn’t obstruct public or others’ property. “If it is your private property where the activity is happening without changing its size or resorting to any concretization or carrying out any civil works, then permission is not required. In this case, it was the same and there was no change of land, so why permission and why should others be concerned,” he questioned, as he spoke to The Goan after the attack by locals. Nevertheless, he stated that the local panchayat was informed about the installation on the property of a Muslim family and initiated by the latter. “Since it is his private property and doesn't obstruct movement or involve commercial activity, there's no need for concern,” he stated. The minster, was however optimistic that these statues won’t be the target >Continued on P5 ON PAGE 2 Maratha leaders condemn Areal incident Areal p’yat members, villagers meet to draw up action plan Minister wonders why people were opposing statue on isolated hillock Anjuna shuts down over sealing of biz outlets in day-long bandh LOCALS THREATEN TO WORK AGAINST BJP IN LS POLLS THE GOAN I NETWORK MAPUSA Life in the otherwise bustling coastal village of Anjuna came to a grinding halt as shops and establishments were shut down as part of a day-long bandh to voice concern over the sealing of establishments illegally set up in the Coastal Regulation Zone (CRZ). The day-long bandh was called off after the locals decided to meet Chief Minister Pramod Sawant to discuss the issue. The High Court of Bombay at Goa had directed sealing of 175 establishments illegally set up and accordingly, the panchayat and Block Development Office (BDO) had undertaken the process to seal those establishments. This move, however, upset the locals and they called for a village bandh on February 19. Residents responded spontaneously to the bandh and kept their shops and commercial establishments shut in order to highlight the government’s Locals attend a protest meeting during the Anjuna bandh on Monday. ON PAGE 3 Lobo, Parab face off at protest meet Lobo to lead delegation to meet CM today attention to the matter. Hotels were closed and tourists had to search for alternate places for breakfast and lunch. A protest meeting was convened by locals at Anjuna and it was attended Calangute MLA Michael Lobo, Siolim MLA Delilah Lobo, RG Chief Manoj Parab, Congress leader Dharmesh Saglani, Aldona MLA Adv Carlos Ferreira, who pledged their support to the locals in their agitation. The agitating residents demanded that the government introduce amendments in the laws and regulations to provide relief to residents of Anjuna, and warned that if there is no concrete solution on the >Continued on P5 Talks with AAP on, will resolve `1 lakh limit set for withdrawal of old tax demands seat-sharing issues: Kurshid NITI Aayog pitches for tax reforms for elderly PTI THE GOAN I NETWORK PANAJI Senior Congress leader, Salman Kurshid, on Monday said talks with the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) over seat sharing are on and they are "cordial" in a bid to clear the air over the confusion arising out of the latter's unilateral announcement of the candidature of its Benaulim MLA, Venzy Viegas, for the South Goa seat. "We’ve had several rounds of talks. The discussions have been cordial. There has been no discomfort whatsoever. Even as we speak there are discussions taking place," Khurshid who is part of Congress' coordination panel for AAP had last week announced in Delhi that it will fight all the 12 seats in Punjab and one in Chandigarh on its own even as it also announced the name of Venzy Viegas as its candidate for South Goa seat sharing with INDIA allies, said. Admitting that AAP did make some unilateral announcements related to the seat sharing, Khurshid said as far as Punjab is concerned, it was "consensual" (between Congress and AAP). "But there are some issues with regard to seats in Union Territories (Chandigarh and Delhi) besides some in Gujarat and Goa," Khurshid said, adding that it would have been better if the public announcement (by AAP) was done jointly with all the allies. The AAP had last week announced in Delhi that it will fight all the 12 seats in Punjab and one in Chandigarh on its own even as it also announced the name of Viegas as its candidate for South Goa. Incidentally, Sardinha was sitting besides Khurshid when he made the comments in response to queries posed by journalists at the press conference he addressed on Monday in Panaji. NEW DELHI he Income Tax department has prescribed a ceiling of Rs 1 lakh per assessee for withdrawal of small tax demands till Assessment Year 2015-16, in accordance with a scheme announced in Budget. The Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT) has issued an order giving effect to the 202425 Budget announcement by Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman. The Budget had announced that tax demands for AY 2010-11 of up to Rs 25,000 and for AY 2011-12 to 2015-16 of up to Rs 10,000 will be withdrawn. Tax demands totalling about Rs 3,500 crore will be withdrawn following the announcement. The CBDT order said that T NEW DELHI: Government think tank NITI Aayog has pitched for tax reforms, mandatory saving plan, and housing plan for elderly in India, as the population of senior citizens is projected to reach 19.5 per cent of the country’s population by 2050. In a report titled ‘’Senior Care Reforms in India - Reimagining the Senior Care Paradigm’’, NITI Aayog said such outstanding tax demands pertaining to income tax, wealth tax and gift tax as on January 31, 2024, shall be remitted and extinguished “subject to the a national portal for senior care must be developed for senior citizens to provide easy access of services to them. maximum ceiling of Rs 1 lakh for any specific taxpayer/assessee”. The limit of Rs 1 lakh would include principal component of tax demand, interest, penalty or “Since the social security framework in India is limited, most seniors depend on the income generated from their savings. Variable interest rates result in the erosion of their income, sometimes even below sustenance levels. “Therefore, a regulatory mechanism is required to set a viable base rate for the interest accrued on senior citizen deposits,” the report said. fee, cess, surcharge. However, the remission shall not be applicable on the demands raised against the tax deductors or tax collectors under TDS or TCS provisions of the I-T Act. Nangia Andersen India Partner Maneesh Bawa said the directive further specifies that this waiver or cancellation does not entitle taxpayers to any claims for credit or refunds. Additionally, the waiver or cancellation will not influence any ongoing, planned, or potential criminal legal proceedings against the taxpayer and does not grant any immunity under any legislation. “Taxpayers are advised to access their online accounts and navigate to Pending Action > Response to Outstanding Demand to verify the status of ''Extinguished Demands'' related to them,” Bawa said. Revenue Secretary Sanjay Malhotra had earlier this month said that there are about 1.11 crore such disputed tax demands.