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₹300 cr will not be spent only on celebration: Goa CM on budget announcement
CM Pramod Sawant said that the state government will also spend money on refurbishing or improving infrastructure around places of historical importance
The ₹300 crore allotted to Goa in view of its 60th year of liberation will not only be spent on “celebrations”, Goa chief minister Pramod Sawant said while admitting that he was surprised that Goa was given a grant of ₹300 crore when ₹100 crore was all they sought.
Addressing a press conference on Monday, Sawant said that the state government will draw up a plan for spending the ₹300 crore with a focus on physical and social infrastructure.
“It is a matter of pride that for the first time in the opening remarks Goa was mentioned... We are thankful to Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman,” Sawant said.
“The ₹300 crore is not only going to be spent on celebrations. We are also thinking about how to help the weaker sections of society that have suffered on account of Covid-19. We are thinking how it can benefit every last man,” he added.
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“I was confident that we would get maybe ₹200 crore at least even though we had only sought ₹100 crore but we got ₹300 crore so I personally spoke to the Prime Minister and the finance minister and thanked them for it,” he added.
Sawant said that the state government will also spend money on refurbishing or improving infrastructure around places of historical importance, especially those that had significance with Goa’s freedom struggle.
“Pramod Sawant and the BJP do not understand Goa, and do not care about Goa. The ₹300 crore budget allocation for Goa’s Liberation Day celebrations is not the priority for our state which is facing its biggest debt-crisis in our modern-day history,” leader of Goa Forward Vijai Sardesai, said.
Instead, he said, Goa needed tax sops for the tourism industry, relief for the mining industry as well as revival of the traditional occupations of the state.
The Congress said it will keep an eye on how the Goa government spends the ₹300 crore.
“It was estimated by various agencies that Goa has lost about ₹1,000 crore in the tourism sector alone because of the lockdown. Hence it is the duty of the Goa government to help these areas and others who have suffered losses due to the pandemic using the ₹300 crore grant. This amount is too small as compared to crores of rupees loss suffered by Goans. This budget is a big disappointment for Goa,” Goa Congress president Girish Chodankar said.
“The people of Goa will have to be vigilant and keep a close watch on the government in regards to the ₹300 crore grant. This BJP government may use this money for the progress of their own party, depriving the needy people,” Chodankar said.
