GOA FORWARD PARTY DEMAND WITHDRAWAL OF TOURISM POLICY
PANAJI: Goa Forward Party on Wednesday demanded to denotify the Goa State Tourism Policy 2020 claiming that its intent was not to help Goans and that there was nothing new in the policy.
Speaking to reporters, GFP vice president Dilip Prabhudesai said that the intent, content and timing of the Goa State Tourism Policy was bad. The State Cabinet last month approved the Goa State Tourism Policy and the same was notified by the government on November 12, 2020.
Prabhudesai said that there was nothing new in the Policy and it was notified in a hurriedly manner, which was betrayal of Goans. There is hidden agenda and vested interest involved in preparing the Policy, he said adding that the intent of the Policy is not to help people of Goa and stakeholders but vested interests.
Prabhudesai alleged that the Goa government paid Rs 5 crore to the KPMG agency to prepare 12 pages Tourism Policy for Goa.
He also pointed that major stakeholders such as the Travel and Tourism Association of Goa (TTAG), Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) and the Goa Chamber of Commerce and Industry (GCCI) had already expressed their dissatisfaction about the Policy and the over the composition of the Goa Tourism Board.
He said that there was only one paragraph in the Policy mentioning relocation of off-shore casinos to a more appropriate location and has envisaged creation of an international class gaming cluster but nothing has been decided about it.
Prabhudesai reiterated that the government should immediately denotify the Goa State Policy for Goa.