Goemkarponn Desk
MARGAO: South Goa MP Capt Viriato Fernandes emphasized the need to look beyond politics for the good of the State by announcing that he would work to fight to bring an amendment that would ensure that Goa’s entire coastline is once again under the control of the State government and local bodies, rather than the Mormugao Port Authority (MPA).
“If the MPT is changed to MPA, there won’t be any problems. However, we are worried that the three main clauses, which transfer all of the State government’s powers to the MPA, need to be amended. Similar to a state inside a state is the MPA. We cannot permit this,” said Viriato.
He asserted that authority over the coast should rest with the Goa government, as well as the panchayat and municipal bodies in the area.
Viriato claimed that the three linear projects have been proposed by the government to ease the transportation of coal to the neighbouring state. He claimed that while in Delhi, he met with a few MPs and that during that time, I explained that there were other options for delivering coal to the State.
The South Goa MP said he would demand an audit of the MLPAD works to ascertain their current state before coming up with solutions after the media brought attention to the MPLAD projects that were in dire need of maintenance.
It is with great pride that we declare Goa to be a developed state. However, we have seen people walking 1.5 kilometres to get a bucket of water. There are some areas without roads, which prevents kids from attending school. He declared, “We have to work for these people,” vowing to serve them regardless of their political or party affiliations.
