log on to thegoan.net FRIDAY FEBRUARY 9, 2024 @thegoanonline Facebook.com/thegoan The Goan E-Paper (Playstore/IOS) 14 pages PRICE ` 10 PANAJI MARGAO GOA VOLUME IX, NO.232 Instagram.com/thegoanonline RNI: GOAENG/2015/65729 TOURISM Tours to showcase Goa’s tourism facets Digital advertisement screens to be set up RFP for I’ntl convention centre at Dona Paula HEALTH Center of Excellence for doctors & nurses 50-bedded AYUSH hospital in South Goa 100-bedded IPHB hospital by December-end ROADS & INFRA Project to fast track pothole repair Inspection of bridges & culverts Riding quality surface to be improved MINES 9 mining blocks, dumps to be e-auctioned Sand mining to be restarted Green tax, fitness fee scheme for truck owners AGRICULTURE e-agri marketing place with online app One time air for cultivating vegetables hiked Centre of Excellence in Agriculture PORTS & RIVER NAVIGATION 7 passenger jetties under Sagar Mala scheme 6 light houses including light house at Campal to be upgraded INDUSTRIES Funds for 2 yrs to improve Ease of Doing Biz Prog to attract investment in logistics 20% plots to be sold via e-auction INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY Chatbot service for tourism, public grievances 100-plus free WiFi hotspots Co-working spaces proposed near beaches CM PRESENTS ‘MODI-FIED’ BUDGET   OBEISANCE TO PM’s LEADERSHIP   PAYS SPECIAL FUNDS FOR ST XAVIER’S EXPOSITION   GOA ONE MAP PROJECT ONE FOR LAND RECORDS   HOUSING LOANS FOR GOVT EMPLOYEES   TO BE TRANSPORT HUB   GOA INSURANCE COVER FOR FISHERMEN   CENTENARY CELEBRATIONS OF PADMA BHUSHAN RAVINDRA KELEKAR AND MANOHARRAI SARDESAI THE GOAN I NETWORK PANAJI There’s everything for everyone, at least on paper, as Chief Minister Pramod Sawant on Thursday presented in the Goa legislative Assembly a Rs 26,855 crore budget which he claims is revenue surplus. In a speech which stretched over ninety minutes, Sawant has refrained from introducing any additional taxes and also did not raise the rates of any existing levies, although the scope to do so has got limited with the introduction of the Goods and Services Tax regime administered primarily by the Centre. CM sounds confident, but fiscal worries are showing in budget >> See Edit pg 4 Sawant, who often quotes the ‘double engine sarkar’ terminology to denote the BJP governments both at the Centre and in the State, said that Goa got Rs 750 crore as Central financial assistance in the current year and estimated it to increase to Rs 1,506 crore in 2024-25. At the very outset of his speech, Sawant paid obeisance to Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his ‘inspiring leadership’ for aiding THE GOAN I NETWORK PANAJI The Supreme Court of India has allowed Goa, Karnataka and Maharashtra to produce additional documents in connection with the Mhadei dispute and has granted the three warring States eight weeks to produce the documents. Goa’s Advocate General Devidas Pangam said that Karnataka sought permission from the Court “to produce more documents which were there before the Tribunal.” Goa too had filed 2 interim applications to produce additional documents and an application to argue additional grounds that were not argued before the Tribunal which has been granted by the SC. “The documents are ordered to be produced on record. We also wanted to take additional grounds regarding total yield etc,” Pangam said. Moving towards reliable & green power supply for Goa T he importance of accessible, reliable and affordable electricity cannot be overemphasized as we are becoming more reliant on electricity for everything from industrial usages, healthcare services, education, automobiles, to home appliances. Uninterrupted power supply has become crucial as never before in ensuring sustainable socio-economic development of India.  >> See pg 4 SAWANT TAKES AIM Sawant said of the total outlay of Rs 26,855 crore as much as Rs 20,000 crore will be revenue expenditure and Rs 6,855 crore will be spent on the capital account. He also said that the State’s fiscal profile was robust with a GDP growth rate clocking 13.21 per cent while the per-capita income has also shown impressive increases. >Continued on P6 „„Special scheme of 75 per cent subsidy for rooftop solar plants and solar pumps for SCs, STs „„Free solar lights to be installed in residential areas of SCs, STs „„Kunbi village to be set up at Uguem „„Tribal museum to come up at Bandora with central aid „„Tribal Bhavan on cards at Porvorim „„Shot in the arm for welfare activities of tribals Huge boost for education AUTHORITY TO ASSESS INSTITUTIONS ON NEP THE GOAN I NETWORK CAPEX at Rs 6,855 cr Detailed Budget coverage on pages 2, 3 & 5 Mhadei: SC grants States time to file more documents GOVERNMENT WOOS TRIBALS the State’s progress but also showered praise and gave credit for it to past Chief Ministers of Goa and political leaders. He said, leaders like Dayanand Bandodkar, Dr Jack Sequeira, Sashikala Kakodkar, Dr Wilfred de Souza and Manohar Parrikar (all since deceased) besides Pratapsing Rane, Ravi Naik and Shripad Naik, have a large contribution to the State’s progress till date. While the budget he presented has allocations for a plethora of government’s budget heads, the Rs 1,720 crore revenue surplus Financial Statement does not have any measure to mobilise resources through taxes and Sawant has left the State levies untouched, perhaps owing to the compulsions of an election year. BUDGET `26,855 cr CAPEX `6,855 cr Goa declared a kerosene-free State Online FIR service to be launched PANAJI The Goa government on Thursday announced to establish ‘The Goa State School Standards Assessment and Accreditation Authority’ which will assess school educational institutions, with a view to ensuring that National Education Policy (NEP) 2020 is implemented in Goa to its full potential. The State is leading in implementation of NEP. The BJP-led government that attaches importance to the education sector with the utmost seriousness has allocated Rs 3,243.40 crore towards the sector. Of this, school education has received the maximum allocation of Rs F U T U R E P E R F EC T „„State-of-the-art talent development centre „„Advanced skill-based courses in IT „„IGNOU centre at Farmagudi „„Institute to train professional trainers of all govt ITIs 2,288.33 cr, an increase of over four per cent. The Chief Minister Pramod Sawant, who is also Minister for Education, announced that the School Quality Assessment and Accreditation Framework will be notified within the next six months. “Today’s world is changing very rapidly and our education system needs to keep pace with these changes. Reducing the burden of notebooks and studies on the arms of a small child; My Government is committed to implementing a timely, progressive and enjoyable education system. The country’s new education policy envisages an education system that properly promotes the interests, abilities and skills of every student,” he said. For higher education (Rs 553.77cr budget allocation), the government has proposed Single window portal ‘Khelo Goa Centres’ to be set up in all talukas for amplified sound THE GOAN I NETWORK PANAJI With multiple issues surrounding permissions for outdoor events along the coastal belt, the Goa government has announced a single window system to obtain No Objection Certificates for amplified sound events, beach weddings and other such events. The government also intends to identify land in both districts to hold large-scale events. While presenting the State Budget for 2024-25, Chief Minister Pramod Sawant conceded that being an international tourist destination, there’s a huge demand for outdoor events in Goa. Hence, the government decided to bring in new initiatives in a bid to THE GOAN I NETWORK Noise mapping proposed PANAJI: In the middle of controversy owing to its failure to tackle noise pollution, especially along the coastal belt, the government has now proposed to undertake noise mapping, identify the hot spots and propose mitigation plan for control of noise pollution.  >> See pg 2 ease any inconvenience. “Goa is a tourism State and as a result, several outdoor events of national and international repute are being held here. There’s a great demand for this in Goa. Having said this, there >Continued on P6 OLD GOA Chief Minister Pramod Sawant has said ‘Khelo Goa Centres’ will be set up in all talukas of the State to boost infrastructure for sports. In his budget speech, Sawant said that the ‘Khelo Goa Centres’ will be established on the lines of ‘Khelo India Centres of Excellence’ and a fund of Rs 30 lakh has been allotted for the same. Besides that, the CM informed that the Department of Sports and Youth Affairs has been allocated Rs 240.70 crore for the financial year. Sawant also informed that Rs 36 crore have been allocated under infrastructure creation and improvement, to provide continuous support to the sports sector. Of this, Rs 7 crore has been allotted to construction BOOSTER SHOT „„Sports Dept gets Rs 240 cr budget „„Rs 30 lakh for ‘Khelo Goa Centres’ „„8 grounds to be upgraded of sports complex at Marcaim-Ponda, Rs 3 crore for development of football ground at St Jose de Areal, Salcete, Rs 1.43 crore for upgradation of Shirlim football ground apart from preparing estimates for the works on sports playgrounds at Parye, Vasco, Savoi Verem, Mandrem, Goa Velha and Cumbarjua. The chief minister also had a mention of the National Games by stating that the State did a tremendous job by winning 92 medals. Govt defers Seafood Festival at Miramar THE GOAN I NETWORK PANAJI he Goa government on Thursday conceded defeat before the Bombay High Court at Goa and agreed to postpone the Seafood Festival that was to be held at the Miramar beach this weekend to a later unspecified date. The move came after a stern-faced division bench of the High Court began hearing the State’s application for permission to hold the festival at the Miramar beach over the weekend beginning on Feb- T The State told HC that they would file a fresh application seeking permission and a modification of their undertaking given more than two decades ago stating that they would not be holding further festivals on the beach ruary 9 amid a challenge filed by former CCP Corporation Patricia Pinto and others who questioned how the State was going ahead with the festival despite giving an undertaking to the Court that no further festivals would be held on the beach. On Thursday, Adv Subodh Kantak who was representing the State, on instructions from the Director of Tourism Suneel Anchipaka, IAS, who is present in the Court, told the High Court that the Goa Seafood Festival which was scheduled to be held at Miramar beach on 09.02.2024, would be deferred to some other suitable date. In the meantime, the State told the High Court that they would file a fresh application seeking permission and a modification of their undertaking given more than two decades ago in Writ Petition No. 55 of 1999 stating that they would not be holding further festivals on the beach. The petitioners too sought permission from the High Court to amend their petition and place additional facts on record since they too said they filed their petition in a hurry since they got to know of the government’s plans barely days ahead of the festival. The matter has been kept for hearing on March 26. Special Attraction - Start-up Pavilion >Continued on P6