Congress leader and Leader of Opposition in the Goa assembly, Yuri Alemao, slammed the Chief Minister Pramod Sawant-led government over the newly presented budget, stating that it lacks clear and effective plans.
The LoP claimed that the state was in a financial crisis and that the situation in the state was deteriorating. "We need definitive and proper plans, not just assumptions, statistics, and phrases like 'sarvodaya' and 'antyodaya. ' We have become tired of listening to all this. Nothing specific for the common man and nothing specific with regard to unemployment," Yuri Alemao told ANI, expressing discontentment with the state's budget. "When will mining start? The tourism industry is going from bad to worse. So, in this particular way, what is the way forward? It is a big financial crisis. Goa is in a financial crisis, and the situation is going from bad to worse," he added. Goa Chief Minister Pramod Sawant, who also holds the finance portfolio, presented the state budget on Wednesday. The new state budget introduces no new taxes or VAT hikes. The government has announced a one-time amnesty scheme to resolve pending tax litigation. The state budget allocated Rs 14 crore boost for museums, Mario Miranda gallery in Old Goa and Rs 71 crore has been allocated to revamp heritage revamp with fort restorations and Chandor village development. In the state budget, the state government announced that it would introduce a comprehensive housing policy to provide affordable housing for Goans through the Goa Housing Board, among others. Earlier, on March 20, Goa Chief Minister Pramod Sawant expressed his gratitude to the people of Goa as he completed six years in office. Sawant also thanked the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) for the opportunity to serve as Chief Minister and expressed gratitude to Prime Minister Narendra Modi for his leadership. He also thanked the BJP President JP Nadda, Union Home Minister Amit Shah, and the state leadership for their guidance in making Goa more developed and self-reliant. (ANI)
|