The Goa cabinet on Wednesday approved the extension of licences and the shack policy of the Tourism department for another year and tourism season 2022-23.
Chief Minister Pramod Sawant announced the decision after a cabinet meeting he chaired at the Goa legislative assembly complex in Porvorim.
“The cabinet has granted a one-year extension to the existing shack licences under the tourism shack policy till 2023,” Sawant who addressed a post-cabinet press conference said.
The decision which was in-principle taken following a demand by the shack operators citing losses in the previous two years due to the pandemic, comes as a timely relief to the latter.
The current beach shack policy had come into force in the 2019-20 season and had a three-year validity which ended in May this year which prompted the shack operators to make their demand for an extension.
Tourism Minister Rohan Khaunte had recently announced that the government had accepted the demand of the shack operators and the plans to come up with a new model shack policy will now take concrete shape for the next year.
Meanwhile, in other decisions, the cabinet approved the appointment of 12 dependents of government servants who recently died in service under compassionate grounds in various government departments.
These twelve include family members of three Electricity Department employees who had died in a single road mishap at Borim recently.
Sawant said that henceforth, the absorption of kin who are dependents of government employees who die in service or while on duty will happen by default and without delay.
“Earlier these cases were put on wait list like all other cases of recruitment on compassionate grounds. Now it will be speeded up and dependents of those who die in service and on duty will be absorbed quickly,” Sawant said.
Sawant meanwhile said that the cabinet also granted post-facto approval for several routine expenditures already incurred including around Rs 11-lakh for the 18th June Goa Revolution Day official function, transportation contract bill of the Civil Supplies Department, benefits of a health department employee who expired and expenditure incurred on a Covid-19 Centre through the Goa Tourism Development Corporation, among others.
Appointments on contract basis in Goa Medical College and Hospital’s (GMCH) Urology department, assistant professor and lecturer in the department of occupational therapy and deemed regularisation of four posts in the department of general surgery were also granted post-facto approvals by the cabinet.
The cabinet also granted its approval for the creation of posts in the Civil Aviation Authority at the Mopa airport, including, an accountant, an upper-division clerk, a driver and a multi-tasking staff.
