log on to thegoan.net @thegoanonline SATURDAY FEBRUARY 3, 2024 GOA Dynamic Duo: Vaz sisters make waves in world of Konkani music Divine Mercy Chaplet in original Konkani tune released for global devotees IN SHORT >> PM visit: No-fly zone declared MARGAO: The five km radius of the Margao KTC bus stand and the ONGC, Betul, which will be visited by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on February 6 has been declared as red zone/no-fly zone in South Goa district with effect from February 6-9.   >> See pg 2 Dr Candavelou named Principal Secy to CM PANAJI: Dr Candavelou, IAS has been appointed a Principal Secretary to CM Pramod Sawant in an order issued on Friday while Brijesh Manerkar has been appointed a Director of Municipal Administration with additional charge of Member Secretary, Goa State Urban Development Agency. Blue Cab taxi counter to start at Mopa today The Goan E-Paper (Playstore/IOS) 15 pages PRICE ` 10 PANAJI MARGAO GOA VOLUME IX, NO. 226 SGPDA retail fish market vendors hope govt steps in and stems waste water rot page 6 Facebook.com/thegoan 2 GOA No progress on efforts to bring law against widow discrimination 3 NEW DELHI: Actor and model Poonam Pandey passed away on Friday at the age of 32 due to cervical cancer. WEATHER >> Max: 30C Min: 19C Humidity: 85% TIDES Low: High: 10:20 21:50 03:04 17:30 INFO An easy guide to DIY makeup for wedding 9 SAYS LAW & ORDER UNDER CONTROL, ECONOMY IS WELL THE GOAN I NETWORK PANAJI In a nearly hour-long speech, Governor P S Sreedharan Pillai painted a rosy picture of the State, saying the law and order situation is under control, economy is well and Goa was a ‘model State’ for others to follow on solid waste management and other sectors. Delivering his address on day one of the six-day Budget session of the Goa legislative Assembly, Pillai said, the State police have ensured a crime detection rate of over 85.8% and keeping the law and order situation under control. “This is reflected in crime detection rate which is 85.83% and seizure of 159.17 kgs of drugs worth Rs 396.35 lakh under the NDPS Act during the current financial year up to November, 2023,” Pillai said. On road safety, the gover- ed to 5,527 emergencies in which the lives of 87 humans and 29 animals were saved. ECONOMY  Governor P S Sreedharan Pillai delivering his address on day one of the six-day Budget session of the Goa legislative Assembly on Friday.  Narayan Pissurlenkar nor claimed that the State Police is making sincere efforts to make available a safe driving environment.  “Special drives to rein in drunk drivers and over-speeding have been launched by the traffic police,” he said, adding that over 5 lakh traffic offenc- es have  been  booked and Rs 34.39 crore in fines collected between April-November last year. The Governor was also  all praise of the State’s fire fighters who in the current financial year up to October last year, they collectively attend- On the economic front, Pillai said, Goa has progressed tremendously and pegged the increase in the Gross State Domestic Product (at current prices) at 33 % in the ‘23 fiscal (projected).  The ‘23 GSDP growth cited by the Governor of a whopping 33 per cent, however, was against the GSDP of 201920 and not year-on-year. Similarly the Governor said the per capita income in Goa also increased by 30 per cent, again in ‘23 fiscal as against the figures of ‘20 fiscal. ‘DOUBLE ENGINE’  Pillai, at least twice in his speech, mentioned the oft-repeated ‘double-engine sarkar’ >Continued on P5 LS candidates: Sawant rushes to Delhi, meets high command THE GOAN I NETWORK Vasco-Kulem train cancelled for 2 mths Poonam Pandey dies of cancer RNI: GOAENG/2015/65729 Gov gung-ho on Goa story, calls it ‘model’ for others PERNEM: A Blue Cab Prepaid Taxi counter for taxi operators of Pernem will start operations from Saturday. Bhaskar Narulkar, advisor of the Blue Cab Prepaid Taxi Association, said efforts to start this counter were in progress for the past many months through Transport Minister Mauvin Godinho and Pernem MLA Pravin Arlekar. VASCO: The train service between Vasco and Kulem will be cancelled for around two months due to engineering works. Dr Manjunath Kanamadi, Chief Public Relations Officer SWR, Hubballi announced that train No. 07379 Kulem-Vasco DEMU Special and Train No. 07380 Vasco-Kulem DEMU Special will be cancelled from February 3 to March 31. Instagram.com/thegoanonline UP IN SMOKE: The massive fire that engulfed a dry waste dump behind Margao municipal building on Friday. The fire was more intense due to coconut shells and plastic waste. (Report on pg 2) Santosh Mirajkar Relief for operators, sharp cut in fees to erect shacks THE GOAN I NETWORK PANAJI In a sort of relief to the shack operators, the Goa Coastal Zone Management Authority (GCZMA) has sharply reduced the fees for erection of new temporary season structures from Rs 1,000 per sq metre to Rs 700 for shacks and Rs 400 per sq mts for huts and cottages from existing Rs 500. However, the new rates will pinch the common man as the Authority has hiked the fees for repair and renovation (Rs 25,000) and reconstruction of existing houses or structures (Rs 35,000) and for granting permission for construction of new houses or structures (Rs 60,000).  The fees are revised from existing Rs 15,000, Rs 25,000 and Rs 50,000 respectively.  The Authority has kept the fees for beach weddings unchanged. The beach wedding organizers will have to shell out Rs one lakh  for five-day >Continued on P5 PANAJI Chief Minister Pramod Sawant visited Delhi on Friday evening to discuss likely candidates for the Lok Sabha polls with the party high command. The Parliamentary Committee is expected to announce the names in mid-February.  For North Goa, sitting MP Shripad Naik -- also holding the Union Minister of State charge -- is the sole candidate whereas South Goa has four shortlisted names -- Speaker Ramesh Tawadkar, ex-MP Narendra Sawaikar, Margao MLA Digambar Kamat, and ex-minister Babu Kavlekar. When questioned, Sawant only stated that his Delhi visit was in connection with the Lok Sabha elections. Sources revealed the party high command hasn’t signaled a change for the North Goa candidate. However, for South Goa, more options were sought to field a strong candidate against the Congress.  “These names are proposed after an initial discussion with the Central leaders. The final names will be announced soon,” the source revealed. Motion of thanks to Gov’s address curtailed by a day PANAJI: The motion of thanks to the Governor’s address, a statutory legislative formality in the year’s first session the titular head of the government addresses, will this time be curtailed by a day and taken up on Monday. Legislative affairs minister Aleixo Sequeira moved the motion to suspend rule 21 of the Rules of Procedure and Conduct of Business, to accommodate this break in convention, which the House passed with a voice vote.   >> See pg 3 SPORTS Jaiswal stands tall but England keeps India in check 15 …Holds out promise of smart utility State in future 24x7 water, power for everyone THE GOAN I NETWORK PANAJI Governor P S Sreedharan Pillai dedicated a good part of his address to the Goa Legislative Assembly on Friday to the government’s developmental plans and dealt with the idea of making Goa a “Smart Utility State’ in the near future, although he did not put a definitive timeline to it. “Our State has stood as a role model for drinking water supply,” Pillai said and claimed that the ultimate goal is to ensure 24x7 water for all with augmentation of Goa’s water treatment plants and several other initiatives. Another new initiative of the government Pillai highlighted in his address was the notification to implement an MLA local area development scheme which will have Rs 100 crore sanctioned this year with a Rs 2.5crore annual ceiling per constituency. This he said is to ensure all works are completed in the same financial year with a ‘POWER’ PLAY „„Old distribution transformers to be replaced „„Overhead conductors, 11KV and LT underground cabling works planned „„Smart meters to be installed committee in place to accord quick sanctions. He listed infra projects  worth Rs 173-odd crore executed through GSIDC and completed in  November last year and another 13 projects worth Rs 601.00 which are in various stages of completion in the current fiscal. 24x7 POWER: The governor also articulated the power infrastructure upgradation plans, some of which are already underway, to ensure 24x7 uninterrupted power supply in Goa. “My government has devised 10 packages under revamped distribution sector >Continued on P5 Speaker stirs hornet’s nest, charges Gaude of ‘graft’ Claims Art & Culture department disbursed ‘dubious’ grants to several organisations THE GOAN I NETWORK PANAJI The Budget session of the Goa Legislative Assembly began on Friday but rather than inside, there were verbal fireworks outside the august House. Speaker Ramesh Tawadkar let the sparks fly when he accused Art and Culture Minister Govind Gaude of graft in matters dealing with disbursal of grants under his department. He told the media that Gaude was involved in misappropriation of funds and demanded an inquiry. Earlier on Thursday, some members of village panchayats in Canacona, which is represented by Tawadkar, had alleged that several organisations had fraudulently obtained funds to the tune of Rs 26.85 lakh from the Art & Culture department for cultural programs which never took place.  While Gaude had said he would inquire into the matter, Tawadkar said, the minister was in the know of the scam Cotigao, Shristhal panchas allege fraud in art & culture department CANACONA: Panchayat members from Cotigao and Shristhal have alleged a fraud in the art, culture department, after claiming lakhs of rupees were siphoned off for activities which never conducted in Canacona. Addressing a press conference in Canacona, Cotigao Sarpanch Anandu Dessai, Shristhal Sarpanch Sejal Gaonkar alleged that the Art and Culture Department had claimed there were various programmes at Yedda (Cotigao), Gaondongrim and Shristhal areas, when in reality there was no such activity. Both Dessai and Gaonkar said they had informed Speaker and Canacona MLA Ramesh Tawadkar about this forgery, and would also apprise Chief Minister Pramod Sawant to affix responsibility.  >> See pg 3 even as he demanded an inquiry against Gaude and the department.   Soon after Tawadkar made the allegations, Gaude said he is open to any inquiry into the issue of utilisation of funds of the Art and Culture Department. “Bringing politics into Art & Culture is not correct,” Gaude said,  adding that organisations availing grants have to submit ‘utilisation certificates’  for every expenditure and there is no possibility of fraud. Interestingly, both Tawadkar and Gaude are tribal leaders of the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party and Friday’s confrontation between the two comes as an embarrassment for both the Pramod Sawant government and the ruling party. BAC report tabled in House, Schools will now be liable for Bal Rath mishaps no sign of 2 other reports n Govt amends scheme n Schools asked to submit fitness certificates annually Most other panels defunct, claims Oppn leader THE GOAN I NETWORK PANAJI As the Business Advisory Committee (BAC) Report was tabled on day one of the Budget session of the Goa Assembly, the spotlight was once again on the status of reports from key committees -- the Public Accounts Committee (PAC) and the Public Undertaking Committee (PUC). Replying to queries from reporters, PUC Chairman and the Leader of the Opposition Yuri Alemao stated that the committee still has a one-year to prepare and table its report. The PAC and PUC commit- PUC committee still has a one-year timeframe to prepare and table its report... PAC & PUC committees were constituted in January 2023, with a stipulated two-year period — Yuri Alemao tees were constituted in January 2023, with a two-year period. The Committees have allegedly met only a few times till date with no meetings held between January and September 2023. Both the Committees are headed by Opposition MLAs and their role is to examine CAG Reports and question govt on its findings. Alemao pointed fingers at other committees, claiming these are defunct. “Look at other committees, these are defunct,” he said, while quickly adding that the Mhadei Committee convened only one meeting. “The PUC committee met at least six times with 4-5 meetings also held with the CAG. There’s no direct correlation between the activities of the BAC and the PUC”, he said. THE GOAN I NETWORK PANAJI ollowing the recent accident of a Bal Rath school bus at Cuncolim due to brake failure, the State government has amended the scheme making it mandatory for school managements to submit vehicle fitness certificates annually. Also, the school management will be held accountable for any untoward incidents in case the Bal Rath services -- pick up and drop students -- is provided beyond 5kms for high schools and 7kms for high secondary schools. The government has also hiked the grants to the government aided schools to operate Bal Rath buses from F CHANGES IN BAL RATH SCHEME „„Grants to govt-aided schools for Bal Rath buses hiked from Rs 4.17 lakh to Rs 5.50 lakh per annum „„Schools will have to spend Rs 50,000 for repair, maintenance of the bus annually „„Hike in salaries of drivers and attendants notified „„Drivers to be paid Rs 4.17 lakh to Rs 5.50 lakh per annum. The aid is provided to schools to meet recurring expenses in running the school bus. The aid given to schools is used by the institutions Rs 17,000 as against Rs 12,000 and attendant to get Rs 10,000 from Rs 6,000 for 11 months with 5% annual hike „„Annual fitness certififor maintenance and fuel, besides payment of salaries of drivers and attendants. The schools will have to spend annually Rs 50,000 towards repair and maintenance cates issued by RTO will have to be submitted to edu dept „„Certificate from PTA certifying bus was in operation made mandatory „„Schools to constitute “Children Transportation Committee” to look into safe transportation of children, fees, identification of bus stops of the bus. Also, the government has notified a hike in salaries of drivers and attendants. The drivers would be paid Rs 17,000 as against Rs 12,000 and the attendant would get a salary of Rs 10,000 from Rs 6,000 for 11 months with 5 per cent annual hike. “Following the Cuncolim incident, we have revised the scheme to lay greater emphasis on the safety aspects. Annual fitness certificate of the bus, issued by RTO will have to be submitted to the education department,” Director Education Shailesh Zingade told The Goan adding that a Certificate from Parent Teachers Association certifying that the school bus was in operation and to their satisfaction, has also been made mandatory. The certificates have to be submitted on or before June 30, every year. >Continued on P5