Almost every state has asked for an extension of the compensation mechanism under the Goods and Services Tax (GST) regime, according to Tamil Nadu Finance Minister Palanivel Thiaga Rajan. In an interview with The Indian Express, Thiaga Rajan said the decision on compensation should be taken within the GST Council and there would be a consensus on bringing it if it is decided to be extended. Excerpts:Did all states demand for an extension of the compensation mechanism beyond June 2022?Which state doesn’t want (compensation to continue beyond June)? Karnataka and Goa asked for compensation. To the best of my knowledge, all states (want extension of compensation). I don’t know of any single state that hasn’t asked for extension of compensation. What marked this GST Council meeting for me compared to others was that I could truly see that states were talking for their states or for the broader interest. In the past, I felt maybe some of the BJP states were more interested in talking in line with what came from the leadership rather than what was in the interest of their own people.States were heard on compensation. But what was the word on it from the Centre?I want to be a bit technical here. If this is truly a federal structure, if the GST Council is really the deciding authority, then on what basis can a decision be made outside the GST Council? I am just asking a mechanical question. We were all in the room. We all made some requests. It didn’t come to a resolution, that’s the best I can tell. Even the Union Finance Minister said in her press briefing that people (states) were heard. Now, in some sense, this is a great improvement because last time when this came up long ago, the Finance Minister said in a press conference that there will be no extension (of compensation). But that was not agreed upon by the GST Council. That was almost a unilateral decision. Here she came and said that it has been discussed and we’ll see, from what I can tell. But who will see? Does the (GST) system give the Union government a separate authority to make decisions? Or is it the GST Council that should have voted on (extension of) compensation. I don’t want to be considered a perma-critic or something. But I want to genuinely appreciate the improvements in the quality of the debate, reduction in partisanship, increase in the logic, and that ministers seem to be speaking more in the interest of the people in a discernible way. Having said all that, we live in a strange world where we have a GST Council that’s supposed to be federal and consensus-based decision making. But any decision on compensation that would happen between today and the next GST Council meeting, how would you consider that cooperative federalism?Let’s say they (Centre) come back two weeks from now and say no (compensation will not be extended). Is that within the ambit of how the GST was envisioned? Let’s say they come back and say yes (compensation will be extended). Is that also within the ambit of how the GST was envisioned?Was there any clarity on when they (Centre) will get back?No. Do you know they are going to get back? We don’t know anything.Will the correct way be to be put up for voting?It should be a decision of the GST Council.Should it be put up for voting?As the Honourable Union Finance Minister pointed out, there has been voting only one time. Rest of the time, it has been consensus. And I have no doubt that there would be consensus as almost every state asked for it (extension of compensation).What is the hitch in extending the compensation mechanism given the cess levy period has already been extended for repayment of debt?Again I ask the question: how did they (Centre) unilaterally decide to extend the cess? What the law says and what happens, there are huge gaps…if the GST Council is the supreme decision making authority, like the Supreme Court has told us what the Constitution says: a statutory body like the GST Council cannot supersede the legislative powers of the elected representatives in the state legislatures and the Parliament as they are constitutional bodies. I said earlier that the judgement should not have caused any real consternation, it just reaffirms that the Constitution applies. But you look at how things work, they are not necessarily following the rules. Some of it could be just practicalities of execution, some of it could be codified in statutory terms. For example, if we all agree that some rate changes have happened, and they have said they will put it into effect by July 18, by applying ordinances or passing the necessary resolution. For it to apply in our states, we all have to either pass the Bills or the notifications. I guarantee you the odds of all 31 (states/UTs) doing it by July 18 is very close to zero. But GSTN (GST Network), which is the effective implementer of the law, will change the settings on July 18 because they are told to do so. Now if they say X percent and the law and regulations in Tamil Nadu still say Y percent, that means we have an anomaly.So the construct of the GST itself leaves a lot to be desired. Its rushed execution for political reasons, the proclivity of certain leadership to have dramatic announcements, compounded the problem. How many modifications and changes were made in the first hundred days? Many, many. Now it has been five years, I think it is time to do a reasonable review of the GST. Others suggested it and I doubled down on it. In fact, the Honourable Finance Minister of West Bengal even brought up the recent Supreme Court judgement — that in the light of this judgement, should we not discuss what the implications are and whether it changes our effectiveness or capacity to function.What have been the other issues under GST?The design of the Council suggests meeting every three months. I have been a member since May 2021. It (GST Council) met once in May 2021. It met once in September 2021. The December 2021 meeting was an emergency one. And now. Why is it that the Council has met once in nine months instead of once in three months when there is so much work to do?The lack of continuity is another problem. It affects all our governments. Just because one secretary or minister changes, we can’t start from scratch again. I asked why GoMs are set up with the chief minister or deputy chief minister as the convenor. I brought it up in the meeting, one could argue that they are the least likely to have time to spend on ancillary work, they have day jobs that are quite demanding. The answer was: that’s protocol. But then the GoM that was set up in 2019 on the transportation of gold was brought up for discussion in the meeting. And the convenor of this GoM was the finance minister of Kerala and the members included chief ministers of other states. So clearly, this protocol that you only have chief ministers or deputy chief ministers as GoM convenors did not exist in Mr Jaitley’s time or even as late as 2019. It is the execution that worries me a lot, it’s like it operates in some kind of undefined space.The ratio of direct taxation to indirect taxation has completely skewed after this regime took office. So, as much as I want the GST collections to improve and reduce the loopholes, I am conscious that by nature of indirect taxation, it falls on the poor and middle class disproportionately. With income and corporate tax, you know who you are taking the money from. So you take it progressively. Now take indirect taxes, say, tax on petrol and diesel. By definition this tax is unfair and regressive. If I make Rs 5 lakh a month, I am surely not putting 10 times the petrol or diesel in my cars as someone who earns Rs 50,000 a month is putting…so when we do point of sale taxes, that’s the whole thing of the casino problem we have, we are saying that the middleman is held is pointless. Because the middleman is not paying one paisa of it, he’s pushing it to the end buyer but if the end buyer is unfairly taxed, which is what happens. So, the ratio of direct to indirect taxes, after this government came, they kept cutting the income tax, corporate tax rates, and they are trying to make it up in GST. At best I can tell, even though I am for the GST working well, and being watertight and not having leakages, but at some level it worries me that we are increasingly dependent on the indirect tax, inherently regressive tax revenue. And it becomes more unfair: who gets to set direct taxes? So, they (Centre) get to decide the philosophy of overall taxation, or the ratio of fair to unfair taxes in a way that we don’t get to have input on. With all of that I am a bit conflicted sometimes, especially if you are a rich state, there might be a marginal conflict.There are some other issues. But every time some activity is entrusted to a GoM, it comes back in black and white with an answer. It may be an answer we all don’t like, or it may be that we like some of it and not the rest. But at least it comes back with an answer. When it goes to the broader 31-member discussion, it floats around. That’s why I specifically asked for a GoM on the Appellate Tribunal. If we can have a GoM on something like horse racing, why should we not have one on something as important as tribunals where it can change the structure of the whole system?On the compensation issue, the sense from officials and ministers has been that for any such decision to extend, it would require an amendment to the Constitution, so how can it be done?We have changed a bunch of things, we just have to change the law again. My own view is that most states asked for an extension. Second point is that if there was a spirit of cooperative federalism, it is not any official or minister’s decision to make, it is the decision of the GST Council to make. Should there be a decision anytime in the next few months, a statement that says that compensation shall continue. The immediate question to ask is how did this decision get made when the Council did not deliberate or make the decision? How was this a constitutional limitation which you could not contemplate back in 2021 or 2022 and then you find there is a way after all. My view is that there are so many sophisticated ways of doing some form of compensation without it being too big a burden. But that would be a decision based on good faith — a good faith decision with good quantitative accounting and analysis would give you a solution that would be relatively low cost. So if it was based on good faith to actually help states, and sophisticated structuring and financial accounting and analysis, I don’t think it’s that hard to do. For a government that was able to remove Article 370 overnight, making modifications to the GST constitutional amendment, in the interest of the states, should be a no brainer, zero effort…and I am not blaming or accusing the Honourable Union Finance Minister personally of these things. It is decided at a higher philosophical or political level. The position of the government of the Union of India is not set by the Finance Minister. The Finance Minister does not decide about state rights. Those people (the Union government) I don’t think are really interested in states’ rights or states’ benefits.Have states come up with solutions?Every state writes letters, (Tamil Nadu’s) chief minister has written. I’ll tell you an easy technical solution — if they have the good faith, they will do it. If I was in their shoes, I would say it is impossible for me to do a CAGR (compounded annual growth rate) of 14 per cent a year compounded for 10 years including two years of the pandemic pretending the pandemic never happened. The whole problem with the CAGR was that it never envisioned there would be a pandemic. When inflation has devalued the rupee, you are expecting the tax growth rate to be more than your inflation rate. If I were to do this right, it would be to reset everybody to last year’s amount. We lost two years to the pandemic, last year was a kind of recovery year. You still have a relatively low base effect. That means if you get to return to normalcy, you should see a huge bounce up from here. I would say whatever 2021-22 revenues were, we could do 14 per cent on that for the next two years. There’s no way I could use 2017 as the base to do math, it’s illogical, it’s irrelevant, and unpalatable from a cost perspective. But I can use 2021-22, which is effectively the number you were at (before pandemic), plus a bit, compared to 2019-20. Then I could give you 14 per cent a year for two years and you’ll find that some states will need it and some states will not. Before the pandemic, not every state availed of the compensation.
AT LEAST A dozen states demanded that compensation for losses due to implementation of the Goods and Services Tax be extended at the GST Council on Wednesday, but the two-day meeting concluded without any decision on the issue. States were guaranteed compensation for five years till June 2022 at a compounded rate of 14 per cent (with 2015-16 as the base year) to make up for any losses due to the new tax regime that rolled out in July 2017.In its 47th meeting, the GST Council discussed recommendations of four ministerial panels — on rate rationalisation, on movement of gold and precious stones, system reforms, and casinos, horse racing and online gaming. A decision on levying a 28 per cent tax on casinos, online gaming, horse racing and lottery, has been deferred pending more consultations with stakeholders, Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said.It has been decided that the inverted duty structure will be corrected for a host of items translating into a rate hike for household items such as LED lamps, printing/drawing ink, power driven pumps, Tetra Pak to 18 per cent from 12 per cent, for solar water heaters, finished leather to 12 per cent from 5 per cent and for cut and polished diamonds to 1.5 per cent from 0.25 per cent. Among services, 18 per cent GST will be levied for issue of cheques.Exemptions will also be withdrawn for pre-packaged and pre-labelled food items such as grains, curd, lassi, paneer, jaggery, wheat flour, puffed rice, buttermilk and meat/fish (except frozen). Such food items will now be taxed at 5 per cent, at par with branded items. Further, refund of accumulated input tax credit will not be allowed on goods such as edible oil and coal. Exemptions were also withdrawn for room rents: a 12 per cent GST will now be levied on hotel rooms with rent up to Rs 1,000 a day and a 5 per cent GST will be levied on hospital room tent above Rs 5,000 per day (excluding ICU).GST rate has been reduced for ostomy/ orthopaedic appliances from 12 per cent to 5 per cent and transport of goods and passengers by ropeways from 18 per cent to 5 per cent with input tax credit. These rate changes will be effective July 18. The GoM headed by Karnataka Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai has been given a three-month extension for rate rationalisation measures including tweaking the tax slabs.“Technology may correct anomalies for inefficiencies and therefore may have as possible impact on revenue collection. But the revenue neutral rate of the RBI study has been breached to the disadvantage of the system…that calls for a correction,” Sitharaman said.On the inflation impact of such rate changes, she said, “All ministers (in the Council) are aware. They are all looking at the system. So, decisions taken by the Council are not as though taken in isolation. Elected representatives who are part of the Council are fully conscious,” she said.On the valuation mechanism for taxing casinos, a Group of Ministers headed by Meghalaya Chief Minister Conrad Sangma has been asked to consider submissions of stakeholders again and submit its report by July 15, Sitharaman said. The GST council will meet again in the first week of August to decide on the issue along with taking up discussion on setting up of an appellate tribunal.The GoM had recommended that online gaming should be taxed at the full value of the consideration, including the contest entry fee paid by the player on participating in the game. In the case of race courses, it had suggested that GST be levied on the full value of bets pooled in the totalisators and placed with the bookmakers. It also recommended that no distinction be made on grounds of game of skill or game of chance for the purpose of the levy of GST and should be taxed at the highest rate of 28 per cent.The Council waived off the requirement of mandatory registration under CGST Act for persons supplying goods through e-commerce operators below the exemption threshold of Rs 40 lakh turnover for goods not making any inter-state taxable supply. This is likely to be effective January 2023. The GoM on system reforms has suggested extra measures for physical verification at the time of registration for high-risk taxpayers including biometric authentication, geo-tagging, use of electricity data and real-time monitoring of bank accounts.On the compensation issue, Sitharaman said finance ministers and other ministers of 16 states spoke, of which 3-4 spoke of evolving their own revenue stream to break from the compensation mechanism, Sitharaman said.“A few states before lunch today said they would like the compensation to continue for some time, even as few other states said that yes, it is a question of coming out of the pandemic, but they have to stand on their feet… There were broadly statements being made with a sense of whether compensation can be continued, if not for five years, for a few years,” Sitharaman said.“There were 16 or 17 states that demanded that the GST compensation should be extended. Of this, there were 3-4 states that said that they have to stand on their own,” she said.“Some of them said we have to work on our systems to wean ourselves away and not be dependent on GST compensation,” Revenue Secretary Tarun Bajaj said.States/ UTs such as Kerala, West Bengal, Tamil Nadu and Delhi asked for an extension of the GST compensation beyond June. “Which state doesn’t want (compensation extension beyond June?) Karnataka and Goa also asked for compensation (extension). I don’t know of any single state that hasn’t asked for an extension of compensation…if GST Council is the deciding authority, then on what basis can a decision be taken outside the GST Council?,” Tamil Nadu Finance Minister Palanivel Thiaga Rajan said.As per data on revenue growth collated for the Council meeting, the all-India average shortfall between the protected revenue and the post settlement gross SGST revenue was 27.2 per cent in 2021-22 as against 37.9 per cent in 2020-21. In 2021-22, only five out of 31 states/ UTs — Arunachal Pradesh, Manipur, Mizoram, Nagaland, Sikkim — registered a revenue growth higher than the protected revenue rate for states under GST. Puducherry, Punjab, Uttarakhand, Himachal Pradesh, and Chhattisgarh have recorded the highest revenue gap between the protected revenue and post-settlement gross state GST revenue in 2021-22.
THE GROUP of rebel Shiv Sena MLAs, headed by Eknath Shinde, arrived in Goa amid heavy security cover, minutes after Uddhav Thackeray announced his resignation as Chief Minister of Maharashtra Wednesday evening.After camping in Guwahati for days, the Shinde faction, which brought down the Maha Vikas Aghadi government in Maharashtra, arrived on a special Spice Jet flight at Dabolim airport in South Goa.After hopping from one BJP-ruled state to another over the past nine days, the rebel MLAs flew in closer to Mumbai ahead of a floor test that was scheduled on Thursday. However, Thackeray’s resignation meant there would be no floor test.The MLAs were expected to leave for Mumbai on Thursday morning by a chartered flight but sources said the plan may change now since there will be no floor test. The sources said Shinde will hold a meeting with the MLAs and strategise the next move.Goa Chief Minister Pramod Sawant met the breakaway legislators at the hotel late Wednesday night, the sources said. The Shinde faction is expected to align with the BJP in the next government formation in Maharashtra.Shinde and the other rebel MLAs reached the Taj Resort and Convention Centre in Dona Paula, where they were scheduled to spend the night, around 11.15 pm amid heavy security cover. Sources said at least 80 rooms were booked for the Shinde camp.Ahead of their arrival, security measures were tightened outside the five-star hotel. Goa Director General of Police Jaspal Singh and other senior police officers reviewed the security arrangements Wednesday evening.As tourist families milled around the hotel lobby, sources said armed police officers kept vigil. Outside, there was heavy barricading.The Goa Police had also strengthened its checks at its northern state border at Patradevi. Goa shares a border with Sindhudurg district of Maharashtra. Shiv Sena MLA from Sidhudurg Vaibhav Naik has stayed on with Thackeray while senior Shiv Sena leader and MLA from Sawantwadi Deepak Kesarkar is among the rebels.Hours before the rebel group arrived, Shailendra Velingkar, Goa Shiv Sena leader and chief of Parshuram Gomantak Sena, reached the hotel. He was, however, asked to leave the hotel premises by the police and hotel security.Goa Shiv Sena leader Jitesh Kamat earlier targeted the BJP government in Goa for deploying the state’s security apparatus to provide protection to the Shinde-led rebel faction. He said the BJP in Goa had protected “traitors” from Maharashtra at the cost of the taxpayer.
Goa Chief Minister Pramod Sawant announced on Wednesday that his government for the first time set up a special investigation team (SIT) to probe into cases of illegal land grab in the state.“In a major decision today our government has constituted a special investigation team (SIT) in the state for the first time ever to investigate the matters of illegal land grabbing/transfer. Goa being one of the most sought after destinations has been the target of such criminals involved in illegal land grabbing. We will leave no stone unturned to protect the land of Goa and the interest of Goans. We have come across some cases of such illegal land transfers, hence we have constituted the team to take swift action in such matters. I appeal to the people to come forward and approach the SIT to report on illegal land grabbing/transfer cases,” Sawant said.In an order issued late on Wednesday evening, the Goa government stated that it had set up the SIT “to investigate and enquire into various complaint/FIR regarding illegal land transferred/land grabbing by way of forged documents”.The SIT is led by the superintendent of police, crime branch, Nidhin Valsan, and has six others, including the deputy collector of South Goa, Snehal Prabhu, and deputy superintendent of police Braz Menezes and representatives from the departments of archeology and the state registrar, the order issued by under secretary (home) Girish Sawant stated.Tourism Minister Rohan Khaunte, the MLA from Porvorim, had also demanded a probe into illegal land grab cases and said that he would discuss the issue with the chief minister.
PANAJI: The state government on Wednesday constituted a special investigation team (SIT) to probe all land-grabbing cases in the state. The seven-member SIT is headed by SP (crime branch) Nidhin Valsan, and includes South Goa deputy collector Snehal Prabhu, dySP Braz Menezes, PI Satish Gaude, PI (IRBn) Nilesh Shirodakar, a representative of the department of archaeology, and a representative of the state registrar.
Panaji: The state government on Wednesday constituted a special investigation team (SIT) to probe all land-grabbing cases in the state. The seven-member SIT is headed by SP (crime branch) Nidhin Valsan, and includes South Goa deputy collector Snehal Prabhu, dySP Braz Menezes, PI Satish Gaude, PI (IRBn) Nilesh Shirodakar, a representative of the department of archaeology, and a representative of the state registrar. This is the first time that land grab cases are going to be investigated by a special team. Prior to constituting the SIT, cases were usually filed in police stations, and investigation was very slow. TOI has been in the forefront in reporting on the land grab menace in the state, and ran a series of articles last year detailing the issue. Speaking to TOI, chief minister Pramod Sawant said that earlier, cases were filed before collectors, department of archives and archaeology, police and other authorities, but there was no logical conclusion into the cases. Sawant said that much of the land grabbed belongs to those who have moved out of state. “With the SIT, it is not only the owner of the land who can approach the investigation team, but even a person who suspects land grabbing in his vicinity. The SIT will investigate the case irrespective of whether the complainant is the owner of the property,” Sawant said. The chief minister said that Goa, being one of the most sought-after destinations, has been the target of criminals involved in illegal land grabbing. “We will leave no stone unturned to protect the land of Goa and the interest of Goans,” he said. “We have come across some cases of such illegal land transfers, hence we have constituted the team to take swift action in such matters. I appeal to the people to come forward and approach the SIT to report on illegal land grabbing/transfer cases.” In April, tourism minister Rohan Khaunte demanded that an SIT be constituted to book and investigate all land-grabbing cases in the state. Khaunte had said he’s already spoken to the CM regarding the issue. Goa police data reveals that there are 128 cases of land scams registered in the state over the past 10 years, and over half of these — 73 — are in Porvorim and Mapusa in Bardez taluka. On average, 10 land scam cases are reported every year across the state. In most cases, the accused persons identify the land and create fake property ownership papers. The property is then sold to a colleague of the accused before it is finally sold to a third party. Police said that some people have been able to halt the transaction when they read notices in local newspapers of people claiming the property.
PANAJI: The state government on Wednesday constituted a special investigation team (SIT) to probe all land-grabbing cases in the state. The seven-member SIT is headed by SP (crime branch) Nidhin Valsan, and includes South Goa deputy collector Snehal Prabhu, dySP Braz Menezes, PI Satish Gaude, PI (IRBn) Nilesh Shirodakar, a representative of the department of archaeology, and a representative of the state registrar. This is the first time that land grab cases are going to be investigated by a special team. Prior to constituting the SIT, cases were usually filed in police stations, and investigation was very slow. TOI has been in the forefront in reporting on the land grab menace in the state, and ran a series of articles last year detailing the issue. Speaking to TOI, chief minister Pramod Sawant said that earlier, cases were filed before collectors, department of archives and archaeology, police and other authorities, but there was no logical conclusion into the cases. Sawant said that much of the land grabbed belongs to those who have moved out of state.
PANAJI: While the tourism industry has had a good run over the past six months - after a prolonged, bleak period due to the pandemic - the monsoon doesn't seem to have affected the fortunes of certain segments of the industry. Starred hotels have been reporting a room occupancy of 70-80% in the first month of the rains, with prospects looking bright for July as well. This appears to be a nascent trend during non-season periods, when occupancy at hotels otherwise ranges between 50 and 60% or even less due a drop in footfalls. When matched with a similar time in the pre-pandemic period, stakeholders say the level of occupancy recorded this month was never so good. "Bookings this time around have been very encouraging. A 70% occupancy for the monsoon season is indeed good. The summer has not ended for the northern parts of India, so people are choosing to travel to Goa, and room tariffs being on the lower side have boosted the growth in footfalls," said Ralph de Sousa, president, Goa Chamber of Commerce and Industry. The other reason for Goa witnessing a rise in footfalls, de Sousa said, is because Southeast destinations - where Indian tourists are known to flock - are yet to fully open up for travellers.
Panaji: While the tourism industry has had a good run over the past six months — after a prolonged, bleak period due to the pandemic — the monsoon doesn’t seem to have affected the fortunes of certain segments of the industry. Starred hotels have been reporting a room occupancy of 70-80% in the first month of the rains, with prospects looking bright for July as well. This appears to be a nascent trend during non-season periods, when occupancy at hotels otherwise ranges between 50 and 60% or even less due a drop in footfalls. When matched with a similar time in the pre-pandemic period, stakeholders say the level of occupancy recorded this month was never so good. “Bookings this time around have been very encouraging. A 70% occupancy for the monsoon season is indeed good. The summer has not ended for the northern parts of India, so people are choosing to travel to Goa, and room tariffs being on the lower side have boosted the growth in footfalls,” said Ralph de Sousa, president, Goa Chamber of Commerce and Industry. The other reason for Goa witnessing a rise in footfalls, de Sousa said, is because Southeast destinations — where Indian tourists are known to flock — are yet to fully open up for travellers. “Goa has benefited from this circumstantial development. However, there is a caveat here. Flight tickets to Goa are expected to rise next month. A lot will depend on it as Goa attracts two main segments — youths and families — so if airfare goes up substantially, these segments may be affected. We hope the rise is marginal,” he said. Nilesh Shah, president of the Travel and Tourism Association of Goa (TTAG), said hotel occupancy post-June 15 is expected to be over 70%. “This is a changed scenario for Goa in the monsoon where it can now expect higher occupancy — even more than 80%,” Shah said. “We found it difficult to find rooms for state guests ahead of a function held earlier this month. Most of the hotels in the starred category are running to full capacity,” a senior tourism official said. In the past, hotels would cap room tariffs during the monsoon, and if they were still not taken, they were put on sale. “For a change this time, I don’t think anybody is in a desperate need to put their rooms on sale, although a monsoon discount is on offer which could be about 20-25%, but during the weekends, hotels have been commanding good rates,” said de Sousa.
Panaji: With the Mopa International airport expected to be commissioned in September, Goa is set to see an increased flow of travellers. While development at the beginning of the tourist season ought to have made the tourism industry euphoric, concerns have risen over alleged non-implementation of taxi meters. Trade members have alleged that though tourist taxis have been fitted with meters, operators are still not billing travellers as per metre rates and fear that, as an immediate fallout, hotels in South Goa may be affected. A hotelier from North Goa, Francisco de Braganca, said that tourist taxi operators continue to charge exorbitantly and added that the transport department does not have a mechanism in place to check if they are using meters. "If you charge Rs 3,000-4,000 for a one-way journey from North Goa to South Goa, we are afraid hotels in South Goa may lose clients," he said.
Panaji: With the Mopa International airport expected to be commissioned in September, Goa is set to see an increased flow of travellers. While development at the beginning of the tourist season ought to have made the tourism industry euphoric, concerns have risen over alleged non-implementation of taxi meters. Trade members have alleged that though tourist taxis have been fitted with meters, operators are still not billing travellers as per metre rates and fear that, as an immediate fallout, hotels in South Goa may be affected. A hotelier from North Goa, Francisco de Braganca, said that tourist taxi operators continue to charge exorbitantly and added that the transport department does not have a mechanism in place to check if they are using meters. “If you charge Rs 3,000-4,000 for a one-way journey from North Goa to South Goa, we are afraid hotels in South Goa may lose clients,” he said. “Is there any system in place to check if tourist taxis operators bill their clients reasonably?” Braganca said. He said coaches will have to be arranged from the North Goa airport rather than completely relying on tourist taxis for transportation. A hotelier in South Goa said that the state has received enough bad publicity in the past on the account of a few operators indulging in unhealthy trade practices. The need of the hour is to have a shuttle service as available at other airports in the country, he said. “Until four-lanning of the national highway is completed fully, travelling from North to South and vice versa will not be smooth and fast. In such a situation, taxi operators are likely to take advantage of the situation,” he said. It has taken the Travel and Tourism Association of Goa (TTAG) over five years and that too, after intervention of the court, to get the government to ensure that tourist taxis install digital meters. Some, however, are yet to get the digital meters fitted on their vehicles. A senior official from the transport department said that so far they have not received a single complaint of overcharging. “The guests should insist that the driver switch on the digital meter and charge accordingly. They should complain to the transport department if they (drivers) fail to do so,” the senior officer said. TTAG has discussed the problem with chief minister Pramod Sawant. “With Zuari bridge expected to be commissioned by the end of the next month, it will cut travel time. When we met the chief minister on Monday, we discussed connectivity issues, and hassle free travelling from North to South should. If meters are fixed and if they are not used, what is the use of having them installed?” Shah said. Shah said a rapid system of transportation has to be in place before the new airport is thrown open. “We will need more vehicles once the new airport becomes functional, so we also asked the CM to remove an embargo on issuance of fresh licences for taxis and rickshaws,” Shah added.
THE GROUP of rebel Shiv Sena MLAs, headed by Eknath Shinde, arrived in Goa amid heavy security cover, minutes after Uddhav Thackeray announced his resignation as Chief Minister of Maharashtra Wednesday evening.After camping in Guwahati for days, the Shinde faction, which brought down the Maha Vikas Aghadi government in Maharashtra, arrived on a special Spice Jet flight at Dabolim airport in South Goa.After hopping from one BJP-ruled state to another over the past nine days, the rebel MLAs flew in closer to Mumbai ahead of a floor test that was scheduled on Thursday. However, Thackeray’s resignation meant there would be no floor test.The MLAs were expected to leave for Mumbai on Thursday morning by a chartered flight but sources said the plan may change now since there will be no floor test. The sources said Shinde will hold a meeting with the MLAs and strategise the next move.Goa Chief Minister Pramod Sawant met the breakaway legislators at the hotel late Wednesday night, the sources said. The Shinde faction is expected to align with the BJP in the next government formation in Maharashtra.Shinde and the other rebel MLAs reached the Taj Resort and Convention Centre in Dona Paula, where they were scheduled to spend the night, around 11.15 pm amid heavy security cover. Sources said at least 80 rooms were booked for the Shinde camp.Ahead of their arrival, security measures were tightened outside the five-star hotel. Goa Director General of Police Jaspal Singh and other senior police officers reviewed the security arrangements Wednesday evening.As tourist families milled around the hotel lobby, sources said armed police officers kept vigil. Outside, there was heavy barricading.The Goa Police had also strengthened its checks at its northern state border at Patradevi. Goa shares a border with Sindhudurg district of Maharashtra. Shiv Sena MLA from Sidhudurg Vaibhav Naik has stayed on with Thackeray while senior Shiv Sena leader and MLA from Sawantwadi Deepak Kesarkar is among the rebels.Hours before the rebel group arrived, Shailendra Velingkar, Goa Shiv Sena leader and chief of Parshuram Gomantak Sena, reached the hotel. He was, however, asked to leave the hotel premises by the police and hotel security.Goa Shiv Sena leader Jitesh Kamat earlier targeted the BJP government in Goa for deploying the state’s security apparatus to provide protection to the Shinde-led rebel faction. He said the BJP in Goa had protected “traitors” from Maharashtra at the cost of the taxpayer.
PANAJI: Prime Minister Narendra Modi said on Tuesday that the BJP would form the next government in the state, chief minister Pramod Sawant said after briefing the PM over political developments in Goa. The assembly results are scheduled to be declared on Thursday. “Modi told me that BJP will form the government,” Sawant told TOI from Delhi. Modi held the meeting with Sawant to review the political situation in the state. During the discussion, Modi took constituency-wise details about the number of seats BJP will secure in Goa. Sawant provided details to Modi on what the results would be, and how BJP would form the government. “We will form the next government in the state and in case we are short of a majority, independent MLAs will support BJP,” Sawant said. He added that if required, BJP would seek support of MGP. The CM told Modi that BJP is getting around 20 seats, and with the help of independent MLAs, BJP will form the government. Modi also deliberated on the possibilities of forming a coalition government just in case there was a fractured mandate. The meeting also discussed seeking support from independent MLAs or regional parties. All the exit polls on Monday have predicted a hung assembly in Goa. The election is crucial for BJP as well as for Sawant as both are facing anti-incumbency. BJP has contested all 40 assemblies for the first time, and it’s also the party’s first state election in the absence of their strategist, former chief minister Manohar Parrikar. Modi addressed the people of the state during the election campaign and had said “Goa has decided that this wave of development and good governance should not slow down. Under the young leadership of chief minister Pramod Sawant, this journey will continue in the same manner”. Sawant, BJP state president Sadanand Shet Tanavade and BJP’s Goa election in-charge Devendra Fadnavis held a meeting in Mumbai to discuss the formation of the next government. Fadnavis already held a meeting with senior MGP functionary Ramkrishna ‘Sudin’ Dhavalikar over the post-poll alliance. Dhavalikar had told Fadnavis that the MGP-TMC alliance would take a decision after the results. BJP had started approaching independent candidates who are likely to get elected in the assembly election, already hitting the drawing board to strategise how to form the next government.
Panaji: Prime Minister Narendra Modi said on Tuesday that the BJP would form the next government in the state, chief minister Pramod Sawant said after briefing the PM over political developments in Goa. The assembly results are scheduled to be declared on Thursday. “Modi told me that BJP will form the government,” Sawant told TOI from Delhi. Modi held the meeting with Sawant to review the political situation in the state. During the discussion, Modi took constituency-wise details about the number of seats BJP will secure in Goa. Sawant provided details to Modi on what the results would be, and how BJP would form the government. “We will form the next government in the state and in case we are short of a majority, independent MLAs will support BJP,” Sawant said. He added that if required, BJP would seek support of MGP. The CM told Modi that BJP is getting around 20 seats, and with the help of independent MLAs, BJP will form the government. Modi also deliberated on the possibilities of forming a coalition government just in case there was a fractured mandate. The meeting also discussed seeking support from independent MLAs or regional parties. All the exit polls on Monday have predicted a hung assembly in Goa. The election is crucial for BJP as well as for Sawant as both are facing anti-incumbency. BJP has contested all 40 assemblies for the first time, and it’s also the party’s first state election in the absence of their strategist, former chief minister Manohar Parrikar. Modi addressed the people of the state during the election campaign and had said “Goa has decided that this wave of development and good governance should not slow down. Under the young leadership of chief minister Pramod Sawant, this journey will continue in the same manner”. Sawant, BJP state president Sadanand Shet Tanavade and BJP’s Goa election in-charge Devendra Fadnavis held a meeting in Mumbai to discuss the formation of the next government. Fadnavis already held a meeting with senior MGP functionary Ramkrishna ‘Sudin’ Dhavalikar over the post-poll alliance. Dhavalikar had told Fadnavis that the MGP-TMC alliance would take a decision after the results. BJP had started approaching independent candidates who are likely to get elected in the assembly election, already hitting the drawing board to strategise how to form the next government.
MARGAO: A bag containing 40 cartridges belonging to the Indian Reserve Batallion (IRB) that proceeded to Uttar Pradesh from Goa for election duty that was found misplaced on Tuesday, was recovered by Margao police on Wednesday from the roadside at Davorlim. Police sources said that about 900 IRB personnel had departed by an UP-bound train from Margao railway station on Tuesday evening. They were ferried to the Margao railway station by buses. However, it was after the train departed from Margao railway station that the “missing” bag containing cartridges came to their notice. The Railway police were soon alerted, who in turn contacted the Margao town police who launched a search exercise on the routes taken by the buses to ferry the IRB personnel to the railway station. The bag was finally recovered from a roadside at Davorlim on Wednesday. Police surmise that the IRB personnel left the bag containing cartridges after alighting from the buses to proceed to the railway station.
Margao: In a major relief, the 40 live cartridges that were in the possession of IRB personnel headed for poll duty in Uttar Pradesh and had gone missing late on Tuesday night, were found in a gutter near Davorlim circle hardly half km away from the Margao railway station platform on Wednesday morning.Ten companies of IRBpolice personnel left by a train for Delhi from where they will travel to Uttar Pradesh. Four boxeswith each containing 10cartridgeshad gone missing. IRBpersonnel Nansekerhad made an application to the Margao police on Tuesday late night in which he had mentioned thatthe live cartridges in his possession had gone missing.He had reported that the cartridges went missing along the ring road between fire station and Davorlim circle. A search operation was conducted by police.Police teamengaged in the search operationhad visited the Konkan railway station area, checked the CCTV footagebesides parkingareaswhere buseshad dropped the IRBstaff, however, the cartridges were not found.However on Wednesday at around 10 a.m.,the four missing boxeswerefound in a gutter by LIB team of policewhich was also pressed into a search operation. It is still a mystery howthe live cartridges reached the gutter. Investigation is in progress. Police havekept the cartridges in custody after conducting legal formalities.
PANAJI: As Covid cases continue to rise in the state, health officials have said that people must get tested for the disease even if they have flu-like symptoms. State epidemiologist Dr Utkarsh Betodkar said that people have no option but to take precautions. On Wednesday, the state recorded a total of 82 new cases.
Panaji: Even as Covid-19 cases rise rapidly in the state, health authorities have said that people should get tested even if they have flu or flu-like symptoms. On Tuesday, Goa hit 100 daily cases after nearly four months, after several days of daily cases ranging from 60 to 70. State epidemiologist Dr Utkarsh Betokdar said that people have no alternative but to take precautions. “People should get tested even if they think they have the flu,” Betodkar said. However, health authorities are still not ready to term the present rise a new (or a fourth) wave. “Hospitalisations are still on the lower side, just one or two admissions a week,” he said. “Since the rise, a single fatality has been reported, adding that the patient who died after contracting the infection was a 95-year-old woman. Betodkar said that most patients reported mild symptoms, unlike in earlier phases of the pandemic. Since the rise in cases, the majority of patients have been treated in home isolation. The directorate of health services is still unclear as to how to define the ongoing increase, but one pattern that’s been emerging has been similar to earlier, which is that South Goa is reporting more cases than North Goa. “We haven’t seen any clusters so far, but more infections are being reported from South Goa,” he said. Betodkar said that it may be because of “the higher concentration of population” in certain talukas of South Goa. The first wave originated at Mangor Hill, Vasco, in the first week of June 2020, reaching other parts of the state by the month-en. While Vasco became the hotspot, Salcete also reported a huge number of cases. During the second wave, Margao remained at the top, whereas in North Goa, Calangute, Candolim, Panaji and Porvorim saw the disease spread like wildfire, but the tally of cases in South Goa was higher than that of North Goa. Even during the third wave which began from December 28, 2021, and started dipping by mid-February, South Goa was ahead in terms of numbers.
PANAJI: Health minister Vishwajit Rane said people must follow Covid-19 appropriate behaviour and that the government cannot bring in curbs. "Economic activity and health must coexist," he said. He, however, appealed to people to wear masks in crowded places. "Citizens feel that the government has to do everything," he said. "With active cases crossing 200, there is a rising trend and we all have to stay safe," Rane said in a video message to citizens. He appealed to people with flu symptoms and bodyache to get tested. State epidemiologist Dr Utkarsh Betodkar said the state's positivity rate has been above five per cent over the past four days. "During week 15 of this year, weekly cases dropped to as low as 13. But now we are seeing 176 cases a week. This is definitely a rise, a small rise. Whether it will turn into a major wave will have to be seen," he said. "If the Omicron variant continues to be dominant, the admission rate will be low and death rate under control," Betodkar said. He added that after 68 samples were recently tested at the new genomic sequencing lab at Asilo hospital, the only variant in circulation appeared to be Omicron, which was the same one present during the mild third wave. When asked whether masks should be made compulsory for schools and government establishments, director of health services Dr Geeta Kakodkar said, "Nothing should be made compulsory. It should be a social responsibility to wear masks." Regarding advice to government officials and ministers holding large functions, and whether these should be allowed at all, she said, "All are adults and can choose whether to go or not."
Panaji: Health minister Vishwajit Rane, while appealing to citizens to follow Covid-appropriate behaviour, said the government cannot be expected to bring in restrictions as Goa is a tourist-oriented destination. “Economic activity and health must coexist,” he said. He, however, appealed to people to wear masks in crowded places. “Citizens feel that the government has to do everything,” he said. “With active cases crossing 200, there is a rising trend and we all have to stay safe,” Rane said in a video message to citizens. He appealed to people with flu symptoms and bodyache to get tested. State epidemiologist Dr Utkarsh Betodkar said the state’s positivity rate has been above five per cent over the past four days. “During week 15 of this year, weekly cases dropped to as low as 13. But now we are seeing 176 cases a week. This is definitely a rise, a small rise. Whether it will turn into a major wave will have to be seen,” he said. “If the Omicron variant continues to be dominant, the admission rate will be low and death rate under control,” Betodkar said. He added that after 68 samples were recently tested at the new genomic sequencing lab at Asilo hospital, the only variant in circulation appeared to be Omicron, which was the same one present during the mild third wave. When asked whether masks should be made compulsory for schools and government establishments, director of health services Dr Geeta Kakodkar said, “Nothing should be made compulsory. It should be a social responsibility to wear masks.” Regarding advice to government officials and ministers holding large functions, and whether these should be allowed at all, she said, “All are adults and can choose whether to go or not.”
PANAJI: As Goa is seeing an increase in Covid cases in recent days, citizens should start taking the necessary precautions to avoid the infection, chief minister Pramod Sawant said on Saturday. He, however, did not comment on whether the state government will make wearing of masks mandatory in the coming days. The CM also asked citizens to take their booster dose of the vaccine. "There has been a slight increase in Covid cases. Everyone must take precautions, as suggested by the directorate of health services. On Sunday, we are administering booster doses of the vaccine at the health centres. I am appealing once again that those who have completed nine months since their second dose should come forward to take their booster dose," Sawant said after BJP's Garib Kalyan Sammelan in Taleigao. BJP state president Sadanand Shet Tanavade said that campaigns to increase booster dose coverage will also be held as part of the Garib Kalyan Sammelan. "In Goa, we have completed 100% coverage of both doses, but precautions must be taken. People are responsible and they will wear masks," Tanavade said. BJP is organising Garib Kalyan Sammelan across the state to mark completion of eight years of governance under PM Narendra Modi. "We will be distributing two lakh leaflets to raise awareness about the various schemes introduced by the Centre over the last eight years," Tanavade said.
Panaji: As Goa is seeing an increase in Covid cases in the recent days, citizens should start taking the necessary precautions to avoid the infection, chief minister Pramod Sawant said on Saturday. He, however, did not comment on whether the state government will make wearing of masks mandatory in the coming days. The CM asked citizens to come forward to take their booster dose of the vaccine. “There has been a slight increase in Covid cases. Everyone must take precautions, as suggested by the directorate of health services. On Sunday, we are administering booster doses of the vaccine at the health centres. I am appealing once again that those who have completed nine months since their second dose that they should come forward to take their booster dose,” Sawant said after BJP’s Garib Kalyan Sammelan in Taleigao. BJP state president Sadanand Shet Tanavade said that campaigns to increase booster dose coverage will also be held as part of the Garib Kalyan Sammelan. “As part of this programme, we are also having campaigns to promote booster dose. People with comorbidities are taking precautions. In Goa, we have completed 100% vaccination of both doses, but precautions must be taken. People are responsible and they will wear masks,” Tanavade said. BJP is organising Garib Kalyan Sammelan across the state to mark completion of eight years of governance under PM Narendra Modi. “We will be distributing two lakh leaflets to raise awareness about the various schemes introduced by the Centre over the last eight years,” he said.
