GOA

While welcoming thestate governments decision to cancelSSCexaminations, opposition leaderDigambar Kamaturged chief ministerPramod Sawantto prepare an action plan for the coming academic year.

Kamat has also asked the government to ensure that Goas Internet connectivity is improved so thatstudentscan appear for online entrance and Aptitude tests.

The former chief minister has also urged the government to ensure that proper Network connectivity is established in the state, especially at the centres where online entrance exams and other aptitude tests will be conducted.

Goa chief ministerPramod Sawant said that the state would reduce borrowing from the current financial year.

He also said that he will review the implementation of the schemes and programmes announced in the budget 2023-24 every month.

Sawant, who held a meeting to streamline the action plan to implement the budget provision, directed the secretaries to submit the exact date and month for the implementation of schemes, reforms, and the laying of foundation stones as announced in the financial statement for 20232024.
He directed the secretaries to prioritise the implementation of the schemes and programmes provided in the budget within deadlines.

Nadu

Tamil Nadu: Digital house scheme launched

As part of the efforts to makeTamil Naduassembly paperless, speaker M Appavu on Wednesday launched the ‘digital house’scheme.

Under the scheme, an e-book app has been developed and uploaded in the tab kept in front of each MLA. The ID and password to access the e-books have also been provided to the MLAs.

The past few days, technicians from Parliament and assembly provided training to MLAs. Also, underNational eVidhanapplication (NEVA) the details of the ministers and MLAs who speak during the Question Hour were displayed in the four giant screens kept inside the assembly. The new measures were welcomed even byopposition party MLAs.

After the district-level committee for North Goa found a hotelstructureto have been constructed illegally in Ashvem, Mandrem, the owners appealed before the (NGT) stating that the order to stop commercial activities at the structure was pronounced before they could present arguments. TheNGT, however, said that even if time was allotted the owners had no arguments to make to show that the structure was legal.

The GCZMA, on receiving a complaint of illegal construction of the hotel, sought comments from the district level committee (DLC). The DLC found that the structures were illegal.

Worried after the exit polls predicted a hung assembly, Goas private sector let out a sign of relief after voters gave a clear mandate to BJP. The now hopes that with a stable government in place, the needs and concerns of the private sector, particularly the manufacturing sector, will be addressed in a time-bound manner.

While calling for socio-economic Growth, the private sector has also recommended that the government should adopt a path of Sustainable Development.

Assocham, one of the oldest industry bodies in the country, said that the clear mandate will help in the formation of a stable government. We are confident that the state of Goa will observe significant socio-economic growth under the new Leadership. We positively look forward to initiating impactful changes that are likely to enhance the scope of commerce and industry in the state.

The state has formed a 45-member committee to frame itsGoa state strategy and actionplan, on the lines of the national Biodiversity conservation plan.

Following the first meeting, members have suggested that the plan should dedicate a separate chapter to the saline khazan field Ecosystems of Goa.

The committee also plans to document the community conservation practices in use traditionally, like the preservation of forest patches as sacred groves.

Goa had earlier already framed an action plan, but it was mainly meticulous documentation of the states biodiversity, whereas the new plan is to provide a framework for conservation.
It is expected to serve as a handbook for citizens to understand how they can participate in the conservation process.
Consultations will also be carried out with each panchayat, Municipality, biodiversity management committee in each area, besides seeking inputs from the public.

Goas popular beaches were besieged by glass and other waste after easing of Covid-19 norms, as post-lockdown, tourists and others hit the bottle with vengeance. Palolem topped with a 3,103% increase in glass waste while Calangute had a 559% increase in litter.
These are findings of a two-phased study byGoa University(GU) researchers and others to assess the quantum and composition of waste on eight beaches in May 2020 during thelockdownand in January 2021, after easing of restrictions.

The survey found an exponential increase inbeachlitter. A part of it may have come from the sea or rivers. After Goas beaches became notorious as the most littered ones, recently implemented initiatives for better beach management have made a difference.