Tells NITI Aayog 10,000 ha now saline due to neglect
PANAJI
Chief Minister Pramod Sawant on Saturday pitched before the NITI Aayog the "revival" of Goa's vast khazan farmlands calling for urgent action and national support for it.
Sawant made the pitch in his speech at the governing council meeting of NITI Aayog, the Centre's planning body where he highlighted that over 10,000 hectares of Khazan paddy fields have become saline owing to neglect.
The Chief Minister said while addressing the Council that it was necessary to launch a mammoth scale operation for the maintenance of bunds and sluice gates besides desilting many of these fertile khazan fields.
”The government of Goa needs large-scale funding to take up these maintenance activities,” Sawant said at the meeting, according to the draft of the speech circulated to the media by the CMO.
"If revived, Goa's Khazan lands would restore thousands of hectares of cultivable land, boost livelihoods through agriculture, fishing and salt making, and protect coastal ecosystems for future generations," Sawant said in his speech.
Dwelling on other areas of governance, Sawant also outlined his pet "Viksit Goa" vision with 2037 targets for economic growth, social infrastructure and environmental sustainability.
"Goa’s economy is growing at 9.17%, with a per capita income 2.5 times the national average," Sawant said, adding that the State has been taking strides in green energy and aiming for 50% renewable energy use and 30% EV adoption by 2030.
The meeting was chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi and focused on the vision of “Viksit Rajya for Viksit Bharat @2047.
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