GOA

While the country’s GST collections notched up an 11% increase in November, the GST revenue from Goa showed a 14% drop. As against the Rs 518 crore earned in November 2021, tax officials recorded a revenue of Rs 447 crore in the last month.

GST officials and the expects stronger GST collections in December which is the peak tourism season, and since international charters have resumed arrivals in Goa.

Last December, despite the lack of international tourists, Goa still brought in Rs 592 crore as GST revenue, with the resurgence driven by revenge tourism by domestic travellers and uptick in manufacturing.

The masterplan for theBondla WildlifeSanctuary, submitted by the Goa forest department to thecentral Zoo Authority(CZA), has been approved in principle.

According to the masterplan the new orientation of cages for the zoo are to be done and upgradation plans at the wildlife sanctuary will also be taken up.

In addition, the department is also interested in bringing a pair of hippopotamus and wild boar to the zoo.

The state cabinet on Friday amended the Dayanand Social Security Scheme (DSSS) to increase monthly financial assistance towidowsfrom the existing Rs 2,000 to Rs 2,500.

As many as 35,145 widows presently avail of benefits under the scheme that provides monetaryaidto the most vulnerable sections of Society.

In his budget speech for the year 2021-22, chief minister Pramod Sawant had given an assurance on the floor of the House that financial assistance to widows would be enhanced by Rs 500 per month.

While no separate category exists for widows under the scheme, it has been included as a sub-category under the single Women head.

As per sub-para 12 of 3 of the scheme, a single woman is a female who is above the age of 18 years and includes widows, divorcees, deserted or judicially separated women, and unmarried women above the age of 50 years.

In order to ascertain the Unemployment rate in Goa, the government has commenced a survey to find out how manyGoansand non-Goans have been employed in various sectors in the state.

The survey, which is expected to go on for a month, is being carried out by officials of the department of labour and EMPLOYMENT, who will visit industries, hotels, showrooms, supermarkets, general stores, pharmacies, garment stores, hospitals, clinics, and even kiosks.

In its annual report for 2020-21, theUnion ministry of statisticsand programme implementation (MoSPI) had said that Goa had the third highest joblessness rate in the country during that period.

Referring to data from the employment exchange for 2019, state labour minister Atanasio ‘Babush’Monserratesaid that as many as 1.2 lakh youth are registered on the exchange. He also claimed that some people obtain employment cards for themselves solely to land government jobs and said that the government is not a factory to keep on generating employment.

Chief minister Pramod Sawant has directed government departments to adopt a village each in pursuance of theSwayampurnaGoamission, and said that each departments head should visit their village at least once a week.

Sawant met the empowered working group that was formed for the Swayampurna Goa mission, and reviewed the achievements of individual stakeholders.
The chief minister said that the department, once it adopts the village, must implement government schemes in that village. He said that officials should go to the people and not the other way round.

Under Swayampurna Goa, Panchayats And Municipalities are supposed to get funds under the 15th and under the funds allocated for the 60th celebration of Goas Liberation. The state, through the scheme, wanted to ensure 100% coverage of water and electricity connections to the people.

The government has roped in the Agriculture-notes-for-state-psc-exams”>Agriculture department to increase vegetable and agricultural production so that the state does not have to depend on other states for food.

The facility, consisting of two halls of 10 rooms each, was built under the golden jubilee funds allotted to every by the State Government. Each municipality had received Rs 2 crore under the scheme of which the CMC spent Rs 1 crore for the emergency centre.

Goa is facing the issue of 38% non-revenue water or loss of water from the supply chain due to old pipelines. The state has been vying for central government assistance in replacing the entire water supply pipeline Network in Goa with a new one. Over Rs 300 crore will be needed to complete the task.

Goa was the first state in the country to be declared to have achieved 100% water supply connections to households under the Har Ghar Jal mission. Yet, Goa is facing a shortage of around 85MLD of treated water as against its demand.

The Goa State Environment Impact AssessmentAuthority(Goa-SEIAA) has received an application for environment clearance for setting up of the Deltin Town project atDhargalimin Pernem.

The Goa-SEIAA deliberated on the proposal earlier this month and has set terms of reference, based on which the environment clearance can be sought.

The project proponent has been asked to carry out ECOLOGY and studies of the area. The project, the Authority has said, should have an energy plan as per environment clearance standards. This means that at least part of the project should make use of RENEWABLE ENERGY sources like solar power.

The project is proposed to include three hotels, a convention centre, a multiplex cinema, a retail area, a water park, banquet facilities and a childrens entertainment area.

Goatourismdevelopment corporation (GTDC) plans to set up a mega entertainmentvillagespread over 1.5 lakh sqm inMandrem. The foundation stone for the proposedprojectis likely to be laid in the next six months, prior to the assembly .

While the required land is currently in possession of the revenue department, formalities to transfer it to GTDC will be done shortly. It will be built on public-private PARTNERSHIP (PPP) mode, but all required permission will be facilitated through GTDC.

Annually, 1,000- 1,500 TB cases are reported in Goa with 12% to 17% of them being multidrug resistant tuberculosis (MDR-TB). Though the numbers dont look alarming, MDR-TB cases are still a cause of concern as the recovery rate is 50% or sometimes lesser.

MDR-TB is seen among patients who fail to adhere fully to the treatment regime and consequently, develop resistance to anti-microbial drugs. Close contacts of a patient who develops MDRTB are exposed to the same infection.

The majority may develop MDR-TB for not following the drug regime in toto, but there will be few who may get the disease through a close family contact or in another set-up, where he/she may have been sharing a space with a carrier in a closed Environment. The incidence of MDR-TB in patients who have been detected having TB for the first time, is about 3%.