CM assures new infra to pump out water from mining pits

Times of India | 1 month ago | 18-05-2022 | 04:00 am

Bicholim: Chief minister Pramod Sawant has assured that new pumps will be installed, pipes will be laid and electricity connection provided to pump out water from mining pits to avoid any mishaps during the monsoon. Sawant’s assurance came after mining companies removed their infrastructure after they were ordered to vacate the leases before June 6. An official said Sawant had a joint meeting and instructed officials to set-up an emergency control room to take immediate steps. “With mining companies no longer being owners of the mines, the responsibility for upkeep of the pits should be taken by the government,” a mining company official said. Bicholim MLA Chandrakant Shetye said that the government should immediately inspect all mines and take adequate measures to ensure that no mishaps occur during the rainy season . Farmers, meanwhile, fear that if steps are not taken in time, their crops will get affected if the mining slurry gets washed down into the plains when it rains heavily.

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Assembly archives intact, CM misguided: Goa Speaker

The Indian Express | 1 day ago | 28-06-2022 | 10:40 pm

The Indian Express

1 day ago | 28-06-2022 | 10:40 pm

Goa Assembly Speaker Ramesh Tawadkar on Tuesday said that archives of the state Assembly were intact and that Chief Minister Pramod Sawant may have been “misguided” when he said that records of the House from 1963 to 2000 were destroyed.On Monday, Sawant had said that records of the Assembly’s first session in 1963, and up to 2000, were destroyed when the Assembly was relocated from Adil Shah Palace in Panaji to Porvorim in 2000.“I wanted to preserve them, but they were destroyed. I am sorry, this should not have happened. Since 2000, we are preserving the records and their digitisation is being done,” Sawant had said on Monday while addressing the opening of a training programme for MLAs ahead of the monsoon session next month.On Tuesday, Tawadkar told The Indian Express, “The statement is incorrect. Somebody has misguided him (Sawant). All our documents are intact. Nothing has been destroyed.”Sawant, who was the Speaker in 2017, had said, “Old records of the Assembly proceedings, including speeches of Goa’s first chief minister, Dayanand Bandodkar, were destroyed when the Secretariat was shifted from the Adil Shah Palace building to the new complex in 2000.”Tawadkar, however, said that all documents, including Bandodkar’s speeches, questions and answers, and proceedings of the Assembly were available in digitised form. He also said, “I have told him (CM Sawant) that somebody has misguided him. The statement is not correct.”

Goa Assembly’s records from 1963 to 2000 destroyed during relocation: CM Sawant

The Indian Express | 1 day ago | 28-06-2022 | 02:40 pm

The Indian Express

1 day ago | 28-06-2022 | 02:40 pm

The Goa Legislative Assembly’s records from 1963, when the House had its first session, till the year 2000 were destroyed during relocation of the secretariat, Chief Minister Pramod Sawant said.“I wanted to preserve them. But they were destroyed. I am sorry, this should not happen. Now since 2000, we are preserving the records and their digitisation is being done,” Sawant said addressing a gathering on Monday.The Goa Assembly had its first session in 1963, he said.The old records of the Assembly proceedings, including speeches of Goa’s first chief minister Dayanand Bandodkar, were destroyed when the secretariat was shifted from the Adil Shah Palace building to the new complex in the year 2000, he said.“I had plans to digitise them (records) through CDs and other formats, so that in future new MLAs could use them. But, very sorry to say that while shifting of the secretariat, the records were destroyed,” the CM said.Sawant said when he became the Goa Assembly’s speaker, he came to know that these records were destroyed.The Goa Assembly has a long history since 1963. Be it defections, governments of 15 or 13 days, these references are used by other assemblies, he noted.All records of the Assembly proceedings should be digitised, he said.Goa was liberated from the Portuguese rule in 1961 and the first Assembly session was held under the leadership of Bandodkar in 1963.

As Goa Cong leader gets notices over properties, minister says will expose ‘illegalities’

The Indian Express | 3 days ago | 26-06-2022 | 10:40 pm

The Indian Express

3 days ago | 26-06-2022 | 10:40 pm

At a time showcause notices have been issued to at least three properties in which Congress leader Micheal Lobo is a partner, the state’s Town and Country Planning (TCP) minister Vishwajit Rane Sunday promised to expose “illegalities” of people in high positions.Rane had earlier suspended the outline development plans of Parra-Arpora-Nagoa, Calangute-Candolim (all in Bardez) and Vasco (south Goa), saying they would be reviewed because of “discrepancies”. He had sparred with Lobo over the TCP’s decision and Lobo had also alleged that he was being “targeted”.Rane said in a social media post: “Illegalities of people in high holding positions will be exposed. Investigation in this matter is still in process. I appeal to the people of Goa to see the caliber of people you elect. These people are the ones who at the cost of their power make profit for personal gains.”“I would like to say that we are in the final stages of closing the issues, making necessary corrections and reverting them back to its status in ODPs and Regional Plan 2021 in ODP areas where illegalities have been done and areas have been wrongfully converted for personal gains,” Rane wrote. He also said that some people had been threatened, compelled to sell their land and have had their properties shown as orchards and open spaces.“….it is pretty interesting to note how people are in a hurry to know the outcome. Those making statements should have some patience and wait for the report to be tabled on the floor of the house,” Rane wrote in a tweet. He had earlier said that he would make important revelations in the upcoming monsoon session of the Goa legislative assembly next month.Lobo, the leader of opposition in the Goa legislative assembly was a minister in the previous Pramod Sawant-led government in the state. He joined the Congress ahead of the legislative assembly polls held in February. He won his seat of Calangute for the Congress and his wife Delilah Lobo, brought the Siolim seat to the party that now has 11 members in the 40-member Goa legislative assembly.A day earlier, Lobo had shared a news flash about the deteriorating health of Anganwadi workers who had been protesting against the government. In a veiled reference to Rane, who also holds the health and women and child development portfolios, he wrote, “Instead of targeting opposition MLAs the minister would do well to concentrate for the well-being of people and stop injustice and harassment being done to poor Goans.”The Special Investigation Team (SIT) set up by Chief Minister Pramod Sawant has been probing cases of illegal land grab in the state and has so far arrested four persons. The Goa police has also been shuttering illegal massage centres in the state and has conducted several raids.Rane has received a slew of complaints, 61 at last count, after he asked people of the state to report illegal constructions and illegal usurping of land by alleged tampering with land use records on his email address.Lobo is a three-time MLA from Calangute and an influential figure in the Bardez taluka of North Goa where popular beaches such as Baga, Calangute, Candolim and Anjuna are located. This area has been a thriving tourist spot for decades, with several hotels, restaurants and places for tourist activities.

Speak to anti-govt NGOs, Goa CM tells industry

The Indian Express | 4 days ago | 26-06-2022 | 03:40 am

The Indian Express

4 days ago | 26-06-2022 | 03:40 am

Goa Chief Minister Pramod Sawant on Saturday urged the state’s industrialists to sit across the table and talk to “anti-government NGOs” that, he said, are opposed to infrastructure projects.Speaking at the 114th AGM of Goa Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Sawant said the government spends a lot of time and money on litigation, which comes in the way of infrastructure projects. “If we want to be developed, we need to sit across the table with such NGOs,” Sawant said. “You can take the initiative and talk to them. If we talk to them, they say the government is criticising us. Somebody needs to talk to them…. What are their problems? We don’t want to cause environmental destruction. We are ready to talk. That’s why I say that someone needs to start talking to these anti-establishment NGOs.”He said: “We want to do a lot of things. But who opposes them? It’s the anti-industry NGOs, the anti-government NGOs…”

Goa police to transfer cases of land irregularities to SIT: DGP

The Indian Express | 5 days ago | 24-06-2022 | 02:40 pm

The Indian Express

5 days ago | 24-06-2022 | 02:40 pm

Goa Director General of Police Jaspal Singh has said that all the cases of land irregularities in the state will be transferred to the newly-formed Special Investigation Team (SIT).Talking to reporters on Thursday, Singh said that there are several cases related to the land fraud registered at the police stations across the state.The formation of the SIT will encourage people to come forward to register complaints of land fraud, he said, adding, “So many more such cases will be transferred to the SIT in future.” Singh said that besides investigating the cases, the SIT will also recommend amendments to the existing laws, rules or procedures so that such instances can be avoided in the future.The Goa government recently constituted the SIT to investigate cases of land grabbing and illegal transfer of land. The seven-member SIT is led by the Nidhin Valsan, Superintendent of Police, Crime Branch, and includes members from the state’s archaeology department and the state registrar.The SIT arrested a man from Karnataka for allegedly illegally transferring 60-70 properties in Goa using forged documents.Goa Chief Minister Pramod Sawant had said that some government servants might also be arrested, if they are found to be involved in conniving with the accused.

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