Pramod Sawant News

Helicopter service takes off in Aguada
Times of India | 1 hour ago
Times of India
1 hour ago

Panaji: The state’s plans for heli tourism that were grounded since 2016 following protests by Sinquerim locals, took off on Friday after a private agency, Blade India, an urban air mobility company, launched the state’s first helicopter service from the helipad at Aguada. The Blade India announced three rides — connecting airport to South and North Goa, charter service from Maharashtra and within Goa and a 10-minute experiential flights giving a bird’s eye view of the state’s coastline. Five years ago, the Goa Tourism Development Corporation (GTDC) had to discontinue the project after local fishing community and villagers, supported by some local politicians, raised objections to the use of the same helipad. The GTDC tried to operate the service by moving it to South Goa, but it had to be discontinued for logistic reasons. Chief minister Pramod Sawant who launched the service exuded confidence that there won’t be “opposition” now and appreciated Blade India for taking the risk. “There was an opposition, then but I don’t think people will oppose these kind of services, now,” Sawant said replying to a query. Last year, the GTDC had commissioned a helipad at Old Goa and declared that it will re-launch the helicopter service. Sawant said that it could not start since permission from CRZ authority is awaited. In the past, the project was delayed as GTDC had to finalise a location for a helipad and later since it had to retender to select a service provider. Having a helicopter service in Goa, Sawant said, will boost tourism and help the tourists explore the hinterlands of the state. “The government will help the agency in getting permissions required to commence operations,” Sawant said. Blade India has identified landing points in Surla and Sanquelim in North Goa. The company’s founder Karanpal Singh said they will use the present infrastructure and also create new helipads with the help of the government. Blade India’s strategic partner Airbus Helicopters’ India and South Asia head Sunny Guglani said despite having rich flora and fauna, the country has not been able to attract more tourists as it is hard to reach the interiors. “We need solutions to connect potential tourists both foreign and Indian and create economic opportunities. Goa has beautiful beaches, forts and waterfalls. I think helicopters can play a pivotal role in unlocking the true potential of Goa,” he said. Goa can lead the way for the rest of the country, Gunglani said. Copter service can be used for medical emergencies: CM TNN Panaji: Chief minister Pramod Sawant said Blade India’s helicopter services in the state can be used in case of medical emergencies, an option that was not available in the past. “In a medical emergency, where a patient needs to be immediately shifted to a hospital, wherever needed, the helicopter service can be availed. Sometimes, it takes two hours to transport a patient to a medical facility via road,” Sawant said. Goans and other travellers, he said, will also have the option of choosing helicopter service to visit nearby cities in Maharashtra or Karnataka, and help increase connectivity and also promote medical tourism. The chief minister said people from other neighbouring cities of Maharashtra and Karnataka will certainly use the helicopter services.

Helicopter service takes off in Aguada
CM: Will remove laws that create hurdles for biz, in ease of living
Times of India | 1 day ago
Times of India
1 day ago

Panaji: Chief minister Pramod Sawant on Thursday said that laws that create hurdles in ease of doing business and ease of living will be eliminated during the monsoon session of the state legislative assembly. The law department is already in the process of identifying the laws which need to be eliminated, he said. Sawant launched the Goa Mission Karmayogi to prepare government employees for the future and to bring reforms in bureaucracy. He said that big reforms will be introduced for ease of doing business and ease of living. The capacity building commission of the government of India had organised a half-day workshop for IAS officers and heads of departments. The chief minister said that training for government employees will continue. Sawant said that reforms will be done for the industries sector, forest sector and revenue sector among others so that people can benefit from ease of living. “In the next assembly session, the government will bring in a lot of reforms. Many laws that are creating hurdles and those which are not required will be eliminated,” he said. Chief secretary Puneet Kumar Goel said that all employees will be given training to implement ease of doing business and ease of living so that public delivery will be improved. Goel said that the government will see where there is delay and how it can be improved. “Public work which has to be completed in seven days should not take two months,” the chief secretary said. He said that government employees will be trained to provide online services to the public. “We have to reduce paperwork and through IT we have to improve public delivery. It is a duty of each and every government employee for public delivery and unless training is given in proper tools public delivery cannot be improved,” Goel said.

CM: Will remove laws that create hurdles for biz, in ease of living
Govt will requisition pumps from mining firms to dewater pits: Goa CM
Times of India | 1 day ago
Times of India
1 day ago

PANAJI: Chief minister Pramod Sawant said the state government will requisition water pumps from mining companies to drain water from mining pits during the monsoon in order to prevent any mishaps. He was speaking after meeting with the chief secretary, the directorate of mines and the disaster management authority to discuss safety measures that need to be taken up at mining pits. “If mining companies are not ready to take safety measures at mining leases during the monsoon, the water resources department and public works department will take over and manage the matter,” Sawant said. The chief minister said that after the state ordered mining companies to vacate their leases before June 6, they had begun removing water pumps from the mining pits. “We have, however, told them not to remove the pumps that are utilised for dewatering the pits,” he said. Sawant had on Tuesday said new pumps would be installed, pipes would be laid and electricity would be provided to dewater mining pits during the fast-approaching monsoon. On May 4, the state government had initiated the process to take over 88 mining leases from lessees whose second renewal was quashed by the Supreme Court in February 2018. The directorate of mines and geology had issued notices to all 88 mining companies to vacate the leases within a month. On April 20, chief minister Pramod Sawant had held a meeting with Union home minister Amit Shah over the mining issue and a decision was taken to auction the 88 mining leases.

Govt will requisition pumps from mining firms to dewater pits: Goa CM
Mining co moves HC over govt order to vacate leases
Times of India | 2 days ago
Times of India
2 days ago

Panaji: A mining company has approached the high court challenging the order issued by the state government asking mining companies to vacate 88 mining leases before June 6. Advocate general Devidas Pangam told TOI that the matter is likely to come up for hearing on Wednesday. The state government on May 4 initiated the process to take over 88 mining leases from lessees whose second renewal was quashed by the Supreme Court in February 2018. The directorate of mines and geology had issued notices to mining companies to vacate the leases within a month. TOI was the first to report that 88 mining leases would be included in the list of leases to be auctioned. On April 20, chief minister Pramod Sawant had a meeting with Union home minister Amit Shah over resumption of mining and a decision was taken to auction the leases. “The state government directs leaseholders whose leases were quashed by the Supreme Court to comply with the provisions of Rule 12(1) (hh) of the Minerals (other than Atomic and Hydrocarbons Energy Minerals) Concessions Rules, 2016 within a month from May 6 to June 6, 2022, failing which further action will be initiated as deemed appropriate in terms of the MMDR Act and the Rules made there under,” director of mines Vivek H P had said in the notices to leaseholders. The department had said that the apex court in 2018, while quashing the second renewals, granted a period of six months to all lessees to carry out transportation of minerals. The department had made it clear that the Supreme Court in 2020 had granted time up to the end of January 2021 for the removal of minerals excavated/mined on or before March 15, 2018, subject to the payment of royalties and other charges.

Mining co moves HC over govt order to vacate leases
Defer panchayat polls by 4 months: Lobo
Navhind Times | 3 days ago
Navhind Times
3 days ago

Complete the ward reservation process for Other Backward Classes, he demandsPanaji: Leader of Opposition Michael Lobo on Tuesday demanded the government to defer the panchayat polls by four months and to complete the reservation of wards for Other Backward Classes (OBCs) as per the Supreme Court’s ‘triple test’ order.He said that the government cannot deprive the OBCs of their rights to contest the elections.“The OBC commission is defunct in Goa and there is a need to revive it; injustice should not be done to any category of the OBCs. Reservation is their right, and for this, the election ought to be postponed. We, as the Congress Legislature Party, demand that this election be postponed for a period of four months,” Lobo said.Addressing a press conference at the State Legislative Complex in Porvorim, the Leader of the Opposition said that the government should consider appointing an administrator for every village panchayat, which is facing election, as there is no provision to give extension to the outgoing panchayat body.“The administrator can take forward the day-to-day affairs of the panchayat,” he noted.Quoting a paragraph from the top court’s pan-India judgment that mandates triple test exercise for reservation of wards for OBCs, Lobo pointed out that the election programme has not been issued by the State Election Commission and claimed that if it is not notified then the elections can be postponed. If need arises, the government by law can issue an ordinance to postpone the panchayat polls, he maintained.“We are demanding elections in October by following all directions of the apex court,” Lobo stated.He said that the Congress party will write to Chief Minister Pramod Sawant and the State Election Commission with a request to defer the polls. Meanwhile, Lobo alleged that in one of the wards of the village panchayat of Reis Magos delimitation has been carried out based on “religion” and not based on natural boundary or geographical continuity criteria.“Action should be initiated against the BLO and other concerned officials. People from one particular community have been placed in that ward. You cannot divide wards based on religion; the SEC ought to rectify it and re-do the process in a free and fair manner,” he said.

Defer panchayat polls by 4 months: Lobo
Will consult AG & fix panchayat poll date: Mauvin Godinho
Times of India | 4 days ago
Times of India
4 days ago

Panaji: Panchayats minister Mauvin Godinho on Monday said that the final date of the panchayat polls will be decided after seeking the advocate general’s legal opinion over the Supreme Court’s judgment on reservation. Godinho said that elections may be held after the terms of the panchayats expire on June 19 and within six months from the expiry of term.“Elections may be held after the monsoon, but a decision will be taken based on legal opinion,” he said. The state government wants to hold panchayat elections as soon as possible, the minister said. “We don’t want to postpone panchayat elections, but there is a Supreme Court judgment. If we take a decision to hold panchayat elections in the present form, then someone will go to court and point out that the state has not followed the SC judgment and they will stop the elections. It is better that we do our homework properly, take a proper legal opinion and arrive at a decision,” Godinho said. He held meeting with chief minister Pramod Sawant over the issue of announcement of a date for the panchayat elections. Godinho also said that he has received the reservation file from the Election Commission. The panchayats minister said that on May 10, the Supreme Court said that either the OBC reservations be carried out as per the data obtained from the OBC commission or else there should be no reservation in the category for the polls. He said that the OBC commission should do their job quickly to identify the OBC wards in villages. “There after Goa State Election Commission in consultation with the state government can declare the election. Now it is a situation where we have to take a legal opinion from the advocate general over the issue. We don’t want to postpone the election,” he said. Godinho said that as per the SC judgment on the expiry of the terms of the panchayats or if the administrator has to be appointed in such circumstance the period between holding of next election thereafter should not be beyond six months from the expiry of term.

Will consult AG & fix panchayat poll date: Mauvin Godinho
Goa CM Pramod Sawant meets Tata chief, discusses investment
Times of India | 5 days ago
Times of India
5 days ago

PANAJI: Chief minister Pramod Sawant on Saturday said that collaboration and investment by industry conglomerates like Tata Sons will offer great opportunities for Goa. Sawant on Saturday met Tata Sons group chairman N Chandrasekaran, Noel Tata and other CEOs, to boost investment in Goa. Industries minister Mauvin Godinho and chief secretary Puneet Kumar Goel were also present at the meeting. Goa Small Industries Association (GSIA) played a key role in arranging this meeting, with a clear agenda of inviting the mother industry to boost MSME growth, Sawant said. The chief minister said that opportunities in all sectors like IT, aviation manufacturing, retail, hospitality, training centres for hospitality, and soft skills were discussed at the meeting. “Goa possesses immense potential in industry development and employment generation,” Sawant said. The CMO said that Chandrasekaran promised to immediately plan an internal meeting with their top CEOs to promote new businesses in Goa. Jobs in retail, IT, hospitality discussedSawant said opportunities in sectors like IT, aviation manufacturing, retail, hospitality, training centres for hospitality, and soft skills were discussed. “Goa possesses immense potential in industry development and employment generation,” Sawant said. The CMO said Chandrasekaran promised to immediately plan an internal meeting with their top CEOs to promote new businesses in Goa.

Goa CM Pramod Sawant meets Tata chief, discusses investment
  • Goa CM meets Tata chief, discusses investment in state
  • Times of India

    PANAJI: Chief minister Pramod Sawant on Saturday said that collaboration and investment by industry conglomerates like Tata Sons will offer great opportunities for Goa. Sawant on Saturday met Tata Sons group chairman N Chandrasekaran, Noel Tata and other CEOs, to boost investment in Goa. Industries minister Mauvin Godinho and chief secretary Puneet Kumar Goel were also present at the meeting. Goa Small Industries Association (GSIA) played a key role in arranging this meeting, with a clear agenda of inviting the mother industry to boost MSME growth, Sawant said. The chief minister said that opportunities in all sectors like IT, aviation manufacturing, retail, hospitality, training centres for hospitality, and soft skills were discussed at the meeting. “Goa possesses immense potential in industry development and employment generation,” Sawant said. The CMO said that Chandrasekaran promised to immediately plan an internal meeting with their top CEOs to promote new businesses in Goa.

CM Pramod Sawant eyes garbage-free Goa
Times of India | 1 week ago
Times of India
1 week ago

PANAJI: Chief minister Pramod Sawant on Friday said Goa will be the only state in India to have facilities to treat various types of waste, including construction waste, even as he pointed out that the government is working to make it garbage-free by setting up a number of waste treatment plants. He also exuded confidence that Goa would top the list if the Union government began ranking states for waste management. Sawant, who was speaking at the inauguration of the common biomedical waste treatment facility at Kundaim, went on to urge citizens not to dump garbage along roads and in water bodies but to deposit it in the designated spaces to facilitate collection and treatment. He announced that the state now has various types of waste management facilities, including those for biomedical waste, solid waste, construction waste and industrial waste. The common biomedical waste treatment facility at Kundaim, he said, is one of the best facilities in India. The plant has been developed under public-private partnership, with the Goa Waste Management Corporation providing 10,000 sqm of land to the concessionaire, Biotic Waste Solutions Pvt Ltd, for operating the facility. It has been constructed on the build, own, operate, transfer (BOOT) model. “The state has not invested a single paisa in this biomedical waste treatment facility and will not do so even in the future as the company will collect fees from customers. We have only invested in the land,” the chief minister said.

CM Pramod Sawant eyes garbage-free Goa
Govt will implement EODB to attract green industry: Goa CM
Times of India | 1 week ago
Times of India
1 week ago

PANAJI: Chief minister Pramod Sawant on Friday said that to attract environmentally-friendly industries to the state, the government has to implement ease of doing business. “We have to grant permissions within a month or a month-and-a-half to establish environmentally-friendly industry in Goa,” Sawant said, adding that the government would take steps in this regard. Sawant said that it should not take one or two years to grant permission to set up an industry in the state. He stressed that his government would be an industry-friendly one. Industries minister Mauvin Godinho has started the consultation process for the framing of the new industrial policy, that is aimed at streamlining processes to encourage new investors and industries to come to the state. Godhino said that he has also sought the opinion of industry stakeholders. “Right now, I am in the process of consulting and getting the opinion of various stakeholders. I held a detailed discussion with the Goa Chamber of Commerce and Industry (GCCI) on several matters, including how to streamline the process to allot land to industries,” the minister had said. The state government is in discussions to find a way to allot land to industries in a transparent manner. “My thrust would be on encouraging Goan industry. We will give first preference to Goans who want to expand their industry in the industrial estate. However, while giving them preference, we have to also bring in new industry to the state. Both these things have to happen simultaneously,” Godinho had said.

Govt will implement EODB to attract green industry: Goa CM
Govt bore over Rs 2.4 crore for AG’s services since June 2019
Navhind Times | 1 week ago
Navhind Times
1 week ago

Staff ReporterPanajiThe state government has paid the Advocate General Devidas Pangam a whopping sum of `2,41,13,732, for the period from June 2019 to January, this year.This has been revealed in the information obtained by the noted social activist Aires Rodrigues from the law department under the Right to Information Act.The Pramod Sawant-led government had appointed Pangam as the state Advocate General on June 14, 2019 with the rank and status of a Cabinet Minister.Expressing concern over the continued “huge” expenditure being incurred on the state Advocate General, Rodrigues has urged Pangam that as he is being paid `10,000 per appearance it would be appropriate for him to desist from appearing in matters which are only being adjourned. Rodrigues has also expressed anguish that Goa, despite being the smallest state is not only hosting India’s highest paid Advocate General but also the country’s highest paid public servant.Stating that the state Advocate General is being paid monthly an average of over Rs 8 lakh, Rodrigues has pointed out that the President of India is paid `5 lakh a month while the Chief Justice of India gets `2.80 lakh, and that a Supreme Court judge earns `2.50 lakh while a High Court Judge takes home `2.25 lakh.Rodrigues has further stated that in view of the very grim state of Goa’s exchequer, the government needs to examine whether the state Advocate General really requires the rank and status of a Cabinet Minister.Further stating that the file notings reveal that Pangam did not follow the established convention of resigning on this March 12 along with Chief Minister Pramod Sawant, Rodrigues has stated that propriety required that the state Advocate General should have put in his papers and waited to be re-appointed.

Govt bore over Rs 2.4 crore for AG’s services since June 2019