By Marcellus D’Souza
Apr 12: Goa CM Pramod Sawant today allocated the portfolios of the 3 ministers who were sworn-into the Cabinet on Saturday (9/4/2022) by Governor P. S. Sreedharan Pillai.
These ministers include Sudin Dhavalikar who has been allocated Power, New & Renewable Energy and Housing. Nilkanth Halarnkar has been allocated Fisheries, Factories and Boilers and Animal Husbandry while Subhash Phal Dessai has been allocated Social Welfare, Achieves and Archeology and River Navigation.
The power portfolio was earlier held by Nilesh Cabral who has since been appointed Legislative Affairs, Environment, Law & Judiciary and PWD. The power portfolio has become crucial because of the Goa Tamnar Transmission Project Ltd. The Supreme Court had last week accepted the recommendation of the Central Empowered Committee’s (CEC) and had ruled that the 440KV power line be set up should be along the existing 110 KV “since it does not have any trees”. The apex court in a 219-page order said that “no trees will have to be felled for the new line”.
Subhash Phal Dessai has been allocated the Achieves and Archeology portfolio. Since taking oath for the second time Pramod Sawant has begun the process of restoring temples which were destroyed during the Portuguese colonial era. In his budget speech, he had allocated a sum of Rs. 20 crore for the purpose.
Pramod Sawant who held the Archives and Archaeology portfolio had made it a poll promise to restore the temples which were destroyed by the Portuguese during their 450-year reign. Speaking at the revamped tourism facilities at the historic Shree Mangueshi Temple at Mangueshi, Ponda, Pramod Sawant said, “During the 60th anniversary of Goa’s liberation, I am seeking the strength from you to preserve our Hindu sanskriti and temple sanskriti.”