PANAJI: The Chief Minister, Mr Digambar Kamat has informed that this year the government has given a thrust to agriculture as the agriculture graph is drastically coming down not only in the state but in the entire country.
He also accepted that Goa had missed the IT bus, adding the state should endeavour to allow at least one big IT company to set base in Goa.
He said that Dr R A Mashelkar, the former director general of the Council of Scientific and Industrial Research, has agreed to map a vision for Goa. He added that the government will form an IT Task Force to create an IT roadmap for Goa within 6 months. As far as the Tourism Industry is concerned, he would consult with them and work-out a solution for the cess, he said. His government was chiefly concerned with setting up a good infrastructure for tourism, he added.
Mr Kamat was responding to various points raised by the industry at an interactive post Budget discussion organised by the Goa Chamber of Commerce and Industry with the Chief Minister and industry representatives on Tuesday at a hotel in Panaji. Some of the suggestions made by GCCI in March this year find mention in this year’s Goa Budget. However, the Chamber felt that there were still certain issues which needed clarifications as some pending issues required re-dressal and some needed a definite time-frame for completion.
A member of the Chamber’s Logistics Committee and president of Goa Barge Owners Association, Mr Atul Jadhav thanked the government for declaring the formation of the Goa Maritime Board but urged to implement this as early as possible. He said that if Goa’s waterways are declared as national waterways, IWAI would also help to develop bunds around rivers which are very important for the farmers. He appreciated the government for declaring creation of logistics hubs at Sancoale and Dharbandora and said that Sancoale hub would be a big boost. He also asked the CM to set up a one of its kind Maritime Industrial Estate. The GCCI president, Mr Cesar Menezes said that few things were as important to the industry as the budget.
Commending the CM for the budget, GCCI vice-president, Mr Manguirish Pai Raikar, specially thanked him for the NPV scheme. Regarding industrial plots which seemed to be scarce, he suggested having a third party to tabulate data on under-utilised and un-utilised plots and come out from the shadow of the corporations and the government.
Talking on behalf of the tourism industry, GCCI secretary, Mr Ralph D’souza said that the budget has evoked mixed reactions from the industry. He urged the CM to withdraw the 5 per cent additional cess on room rents. He also said that we need a Tourism Protection Force to protect the tourists and to control the illegalities which tarnish Goa’s image.
GCCI treasurer, Mr Sandeep Bhandare said the purpose for levying cess on the hotel industry is not clear. He said it also needed to be clarified whether it is on room rent or on luxury tax. A member of Chambers IT Committee, Mr Sanjiv Nadkarni said that the IT industry had to be revived in Goa and IT parks needed to be set up. The IT policy, he said was published more than five years ago, but implementation is still pending.
The Chief Minister had a brief interaction with the members and Mr Manguirish Pai Raiker proposed the vote of thanks.
