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Tag: Pramod Sawant

  • Goa will be developed as India’s ‘tourism capital’: CM Pramod Sawant

    By PTI

    MUMBAI: Goa Chief Minister Pramod Sawant on Friday said his government is developing infrastructure in such a way that the coastal state will emerge as the country’s “tourism capital” going forward and sought investment in the key sector through public-private partnership (PPP) model.

    Speaking at Times Network’s India Economic Conclave 2022 here on the topic “How the States are Driving Aatmanirbhar Agenda?”, he said different aspects of tourism – adventure, medical, cultural and spiritual – are being given a fillip.

    “We are asking people to invest under PPP model, public-private partnership. We have activated our PPP cell for those who want to invest in the tourism sector,” said Sawant, who won a second term in office last month following the BJP’s victory in Assembly polls in the coastal state.

    He said that the government is looking for investment under the PPP framework, especially in bungee jumping and promoting Goa as a preferred destination for weddings.

    Highlighting that Goa, famous for its sandy beaches, shrines, vibrant nightlife and thrilling water activities, is trying to attract high-end international and national travellers, Sawant said the state has already formulated a new tourism policy under which those who want to invest under the PPP model will get ease of doing business and single window clearance.

    “We are developing infrastructure in such a way that Goa will be the tourism capital of the country,” Sawant said, adding after the COVID-19 pandemic, the tiny state will be the safest destination for holiday-makers.

    The chief minister claimed that be it the health, road or tourism infrastructure, they have completed everything in the last eight years. “I feel whatever is required at present for the next 50 years that infrastructure we have already completed in these eight years,” he said, adding Goa annually attracts 15 million tourists.

    The CM said impact of “double engine” development (BJP in power at the Centre and also in the state) was now visible in Goa. He said the state government is keen on “sustainable” iron ore mining, which has been banned following a Supreme Court order a few years ago.

    “Definitely, this time in this (new) tenure (of BJP government) we are starting with mining. We have already formed mining corporations. We have already formulated a mining dump policy in a different way. This time we are starting with sustainable ways,” Sawant said.

    The CM said the issue of land allotment for an IIT (Indian Institute of Technology), which witnessed agitations in the past, has now been resolved. Within three months, land will be given for the proposed IIT in Goa after which work on the project will start.

    “Already we have started the National Science Forensic University under the home ministry in the state of Goa. We are starting an arbitration centre (on the lines of one in Singapore). The first international arbitration centre we are starting in Goa,” Sawant said.

    Sawant claimed Goa is the first state that has provided water connection to every household, has achieved 100 per cent electrification and also acquired the status of being ‘open defecation free’. He said that Goa is also the first state to have a marine cluster and results of its ‘blue economy’ will be visible prominently in the future.

    According to the chief minister, the upcoming international airport at Mopa in Goa will be inaugurated on August 15, 2022, and the new aerodrome will also benefit neighbouring Maharashtra. Sawant said the Goa government is setting up separate electronic manufacturing and IT clusters.

  • Konkani should also be used in Bombay High Court: Goa CM Pramod Sawant

    Goa CM Pramod Sawant said that the state is a multilingual state, where different languages are used for different tasks.

  • Ahead of oath, Pramod Sawant hands over list of ministers to Goa Governor

    By ANI

    PANAJI: Ahead of the oath ceremony, Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) legislature party leader and Chief Minister designate Pramod Sawant on Monday handed over the order for appointing Council of Ministers to Goa Governor PS Sreedharan Pillai at Raj Bhavan.

    As per the order, Vishwajeet Rane, Mauvin Godinho, Ravi Naik, Nilesh Cabral, Subhash Shirodkar, Rohan Khaunte, Atanasio Monserrate, and Govind Gaude will take oath as Ministers along with Sawant today.

    The list includes three fresh faces — Ravi Naik, Atanasio ‘Babush’ Monserrate, and Subhash Siralkar.

    Among the Ministers who are being retained in the Cabinet are Goa Health Minister Vishwajit Rane, Transport Minister Mauvin Godinho, Law and Judiciary Minister Nilesh Cabral among others.

    Pramod Sawant will take oath as Goa Chief Minister for the second consecutive term today. Goa CM-designate Pramod Sawant has arrived at Dr Shyama Prasad Mukherjee Stadium in Taleigao for the oath-taking ceremony.

    The list of invitees for the ceremony include Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Union Home Minister Amit Shah, Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) chief JP Nadda, other Union Ministers and Chief Ministers of at least eight states.

    In the recently concluded state Assembly polls, the BJP emerged as the single largest party in Goa, winning 20 seats in the 40-member state Assembly and reducing Congress to 11 seats.

    The BJP fell one seat short of the majority figure in Goa but is set to retain power in the state with the help of the Maharashtrawadi Gomantak Party (MGP) and independent candidates.

  • Incoming BJP-led govt in Goa will work with ‘full transparency’: Sawant

    By PTI

    PANAJI: Chief Minister-designate Pramod Sawant on Monday said his incoming government will work with “full transparency” and take forward the mission of ‘Swayampurna Goa 2.0’, which is an extension of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s ‘Aatmanirbhar Bharat’ programme.

    Talking to reporters here soon after being elected the BJP legislature party leader, giving him a second term as CM, Sawant said creation of adequate infrastructure and human development would be the focus areas of the state government in the next five years.

    He said his outgoing government had successfully implemented ‘Swayampurna Goa 1.0’ and its second version will be executed with even more vigour.

    “Swayampurna Goa is an extension of Prime Minister Modi’s Aatmanirbhar Bharat scheme which will be implemented across the state with thrust on self-sufficiency,” he said.

    ALSO READ: Pramod Sawant set to start 2nd term as Goa CM

    Under the programme, a state government officer is appointed as ‘Swayampurna Mitra’ who visits a designated panchayat or municipality, interacts with people, coordinates with multiple departments and ensures that benefits of various welfare schemes reach the targeted population.

    He said he will take along non-BJP legislators who have extended their support to the new government.

    “We will work with full transparency taking into confidence the parties which have extended their support to the government. We all will work together,” he said.

    The BJP has received support from the regional outfit MGP, which has two MLAs, and three Independent legislators, putting their combined strength in the 40-member Assembly at 25 (above simple majority mark of 21).

    The ruling party won 20 seats in the February 14 Assembly polls, results of which were announced on March 10. He said the BJP will continue giving good governance in the coastal state.

  • Pramod Sawant set to start 2nd term as Goa CM

    Express News Service

    The Ayurveda medical practitioner Dr Pramod Sawant will lead the BJP second time as Goa chief minister.

    Dr Pramod Sawant is Maratha by caste initially started social work with Nehru Youth centre, but later he got attracted to Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) and its social work. Dr Sawant in his early days worked as a doctor in government.

    Apart from his official duty hours, Dr Sawant used to arrange the medical and health check-up camps through his NGO for the poor and needy people in various parts of Goa. The erstwhile chief minister of Goa late Manohar Parrikar saw the spark and social consciousness in Sawant and asked him to resign from government service and join politics.

    Dr Sawant then contested the state byelections in 2008 on the BJP symbol after the seat was vacated after the demise of sitting MLA. But Sawant lost the elections narrowly to Congress candidate Pratap Gauns in Sankhalim (then Pale) Assembly segment. However, Sawant did not get disheartened with his electoral loss but started reaching out to people and become very much active in social work and politics.

    In 2012, he managed to win the same seat and was given local board to head. Dr Sawant got re-elected in 2017 from Sankhalim and was made as Assembly Speaker. Then, after the demise of Manohar Parrikar in 2019, Sawant was the only BJP MLA who had not come from any political front in BJP, so he was the natural choice for the chief minister. It was big shoes to fill for Sawant but Sawant not only survived his government for the remaining years but brought 10 Congress MLA in BJP increasing BJP’s tally from 21 to 28 at the fag end of his government. It not only secured his chief minister chair but strengthened the party as well ahead of 2022 state polls.

    In the 2022 polls, Dr Sawant faced a tough task but managed to win again with a margin of 666 votes against his nearest rival Dharmesh Saglani of the Congress. Despite this narrow margin victory, BJP leadership chose him to lead Goa again as chief minister reason under his leadership, BJP won the highest ever 20 seats despite having 10 years of anti-incumbency and without having an alliance with any local party. Manohar Parrikar won 21 seats in 2012 but that includes three seats of alliance partner MGP while in 2022, BJP on its own won 20 seats which are the highest ever tally of BJP in Goa.

    “The biggest advantage of Sawant is he is a man of patience to hear out all sections of the society. He hardly stirs any controversy by making controversial statements. He is not an arrogant person. He has also a good grip over administration and emerged as Bahujan’s face of the BJP in Goa therefore Catholic community also goes along with him without any issue. Under his leadership, BJP won seats in state polls where they never imagined to win that’s the magic of Sawant,” said Kishor Naik Gaonakar, editor of Goan Varta.

  • BJP to meet governor, stake claim to form government in Goa on Monday

    By PTI

    PANAJI: The BJP will meet the Goa governor on Monday and stake a claim to form the next government, state unit resident Sadanand Shet Tanavade said on Sunday. The much-awaited BJP legislature party meeting will also be held on Monday to select the leader of the House, who will be the next chief minister.

    “BJP president JP Nadda has informed that the legislature party meeting would be held on Monday after which party leaders will meet Governor PS Sreedharan Pillai and stake a claim to form the next government,” Tanavade told a press conference.

    The legislature party meeting will begin at 4 pm on Monday. BJP’s observer Narendra Singh Tomar and co-observer L Murugan, Goa election in-charge Devendra Fadanavis, desk in-charge CT Ravi will attend the legislature party meeting, Tanavade said.

    He said the date of swearing-in of the new government would be decided after meeting the governor on Monday. In the recently-held elections in Goa, BJP won the majority by bagging 20 of the total 40 seats. Three Independents and two MLAs of the Maharashtrawadi Gomantak Party (MGP) have already extended their support to BJP.

  • Day after poll results, Goa cabinet decides to recommend dissolution of Assembly on March 14

    By PTI

    PANAJI: Goa Chief Minister Pramod Sawant, whose party BJP has won 20 out of 40 seats in the state assembly polls, on Friday held a meeting of his cabinet, during which it was decided to recommend dissolution of the House on March 14.

    State Health Minister Vishwajit Rane told this to reporters after the cabinet meeting. “We met to thank the people for a resounding victory of the party. During the meeting, a resolution was moved to thank the people of the state. The meeting chaired by CM Sawant decided to recommend to the state governor dissolution of the House on Monday,” he said.

    The tenure of the present assembly is scheduled to end on 15 March. Talking to reporters after the meeting, state Revenue Minister Jeniffer Monserratte said the cabinet will also be dissolved on Monday.

    Overcoming anti-incumbency, the BJP on Thursday emerged as the single largest party in the coastal state by winning 20 assembly seats, just one shy of the halfway mark, and quickly enlisted the support of regional outfit Maharashtrawadi Gomantak Party (MGP) and three Independent MLAs to form its government for a third consecutive term.

    The party is yet to stake claim to form the government. Its central observers are expected to arrive in Goa on Friday, after which the new legislature wing will meet to decide its leader.

    BJP’s Goa election in-charge Devendra Fadanavis had told reporters last evening that the decision on leadership and timing of swearing-in of the new cabinet will be decided by the party’s parliamentary committee.

  • Goa CM Pramod Sawant to contest from Sanquelim

    By PTI

    NEW DELHI: The BJP on Thursday released the names of 34 candidates for the upcoming assembly elections in Goa.

    Chief Minister Pramod Sawant will again be the BJP’s candidate from Sanquelim, according to the list announced by the party general secretary Arun Singh along with the state’s poll in-charge Devendra Fadnavis.

    Announcing the candidates, Fadnavis said, the BJP ushered in a new era of development Goa in the last 10 years while also ensuring stability.

    The elections for the 40-member Goa Assembly will be held in single phase on February 14.

    With the entry of the AAP and TMC in the poll arena, the election is expected to be a multi-cornered one this time.

  • Voters won’t allow outsider parties to use Goa as lab for political experiments: Sawant

    Sawant was addressing a gathering in his native village of Kothambi in Sankhalim Assembly constituency, where he formally kicked off his election campaign for the polls.

  • Amid Omicron threat, Goa CM Pramod Sawant asks tourism industry to follow all protocols

    By PTI

    PANAJI: In view of the growing threat of the Omicron variant of coronavirus in the country, Goa’s COVID-19 task force will hold a meeting on Friday to discuss guidelines for Christmas and New Year celebrations, state Chief Minister Pramod Sawant has said.

    Talking to reporters late night on Thursday, he also appealed to the tourism industry to abide by all the coronavirus-related protocols, especially during the festive season.

    The tourism industry stakeholders should take all the precautionary measures to ensure that the virus does not spread in the state, he said.

    “Although no case of Omicron infection has been detected in Goa so far, all necessary steps need to be taken during the festive season. A few states have imposed night curfew in view of the virus variant. But we need to make sure that we don’t have to go undertake such measures,” Sawant said.

    The tourism industry should ensure adherence to COVID-19 norms, like social distancing and sanitisation, to prevent the spread of the virus.

    The state has been testing international passengers arriving at the airport, he said, adding, “Those who test positive are isolated and other passengers who arrive with them are also monitored.”