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Govt won’t allow bauxite mining project in Loliyem

NT Staff Reporter
Panaji, Jan 23 The Chief Minister, Mr Pratapsingh Rane today assured the state legislative assembly that the Goa government would not allow bauxite mining project to be set up in Loliyem village in Canacona taluka.

Intervening during the discussion on motion of thanks to the Governor’s address, the Chief Minister, while replying to the issue raised by the Poinguinim MLA, Mr Ramesh Tawadkar, emphatically said that though the private company has got the permission from the central government the state government would not allow it to operate.

Mr Tawadkar while speaking on the motion of thanks to Governor’s address said that there was fear in the minds of people of the Loliyem and adjoining villages that the project would destroy the natural beauty as well as the environment in the area.

The Poinguinim legislator charged the government that it was not serious about welfare of Scheduled Tribes in the state and that lack of interest on part of government has resulted in they being deprived of many facilities, including employment in central government services. Earlier, the leader of opposition, Mr Manohar Parrikar moved 39 amendments to the Governor’s address delivered yesterday. One of the amendments said that the address did not mention about the undemocratic postponement of the panchayat election.

Among the others points mentioned in the amendments are failure of the government to hold the elections to the Sanquelim and Ponda municipalities and shrinking of the agricultural land by 1,100 hectares, in the new regional plan.

The BJP also said that the Special Economic Zones have not taken off, besides alleging that there have been large-scale irregularities in the employment in government departments. It described the Regional Plan 2011 as a blueprint for destruction of Goa.

Mr Francis D’Souza, the Mapusa MLA, said that postponement of panchayat elections indicated that the government was afraid to face the people. He further said that government’s lacklustre performance had prompted people, including students, to come on the road to get their due. He also said that a large number of police personnel were being deployed on security duty for protection of the very important persons as a result of which there were no policemen to man police stations as a result of which criminal activities were on the rise in the state.

Mr D’Souza said that development should be time bound and all-round and listed various failures on the part of the government, even as he urged the government to take people’s grievances seriously. Saying that there was decline in the flow of tourists during the Christmas season went on to add that lack of cleanliness, beach shacks and deck beds were proving hindrance to the movement of the tourists on the beaches which would affect the tourism industry in the days to come.

The Valpoi MLA, Mr Narhari Haldankar said that the government had failed to perform during its two years of existence, adding that the problems raised by him with regards to land rights have remained unsolved. He also charged the government of only making announcements but failing to keep the promises made to the people. He said that Valpoi sub-station does not have a second power feeding line and the government has failed to act to provide it. He also said that Nanuz ground was lying uncompleted for a long time.

Dr Suresh Amonkar, who represents Pale constituency, charged the government of ignoring the development of the constituencies represented by the opposition. He raised questions about functioning of the Goa State Pollution Control Board, even as he listed a number of failures on the part of government. He also said that the government was also not transparent.

Dr Amonkar also said that the government agencies have failed to enforce laws, particularly the traffic laws, as a result of which many people die in road accidents. He also said that the police force was being used to protect the law-breakers and not the citizens of the state. Mr Damodar Naik, Fatorda MLA, listed various failures on the part of the government. He also said that government should try to improve the health sector, which despite government’s tall claim was in bad shape.

Mr Naik further said that the government should work out a mechanism to prevent misuse of registration of births of people from outside the state here, as many births of non-Goans are registered here only by virtue of the deliveries be done in state’s hospitals. These birth records are then used for availing government benefits, he added.

The Sanvordem MLA, Mr Vinay Tendulkar, said that the Governor’s address has failed to bring out the fact that the government was only interested in laying foundation stones for new projects but not interested in completing them. He also pointed out that the public works department had only constructed gutters in his constituency.

Mr Tendulkar, however, praised the government for increasing the amount of money under Mediclaim Scheme for cancer patients in the state.

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Govt won’t allow bauxite mining project in Loliyem

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