PANAJI
Ahead of the 2022 State Assembly polls, Prime Minister Narendra Modi lauded Chief Minister Pramod Sawant's administrative skills, saying Goa had carved out a new identity for itself, as State which tops major governance parameters and controlling corruption.
Modi also made a pitch for another term of the BJP-led coalition government in Goa, by saying Sawant had the vision to take Goa ahead.
"If Goa has an endless sea, the youth have dreams as expansive as the sea. To fulfil these dreams we need a vision to match. I can say that Sawant is working with a vision like this," Modi said, patting Sawant on his back for introducing coding and robotics in schools, subsidising technical education and granting a 50 per cent fee waiver for higher education.
"Where will Goa reach by the time it celebrates 75 years of Liberation. Make new resolutions. (Goa) needs continuity. It (development pace) should stay the same in the future. We should not stop or decrease speed," Modi said.
"Goa’s natural beauty has always been its identity. But the incumbent government is making Goa known for another identity. This new identity is being number one in every task," the Prime Minister said.
"In other places, when work starts or there is some progress, Goa has already completed it. As a tourist destination, Goa has always been the choice of people, but now when it comes to good governance, Goa is at the top," Modi also said.
The Prime Minister also lauded Sawant's administrative skills and congratulated the people of Goa for acing governance parameters related to good governance, per capita income, reining in open defecation, making available separate toilets for girls in schools, door-to-door garbage collection, water tap connectivity, Aadhar enrolment, food security, among others.
"I congratulate Chief Minister Pramod Sawant and his team. Whatever Goa has achieved is unprecedented. What the people of Goa have done is worthy of pride," Modi said, also lauding the State for excelling in the Covid vaccination drive.
Modi also predicted a good future for the tourism industry in the State, adding that his government was working to promote tourism aggressively in a post-Covid world.
"The central government has also tried to take the tourism industry to greater heights, by introducing relaxation of visa norms, extending coverage of countries for e-visa, supporting the tourism industry.
"Throughout the country, highways, express ways and high tech infra is being modernised. Today, the railway is transforming, airports are being built in different cities, which will make people's travels easy. If they think of coming to Goa, they will not have to drop their plan thinking about how to get here," Modi said.
"The current government is coming to your door, the manner in which government services are being promoted online, the manner in which the doors to corruption are closing in Goa, this is sabka saath sabka vikas, sabka vishwas aur sabka prayaas sankalp which Goa is witnessing," the Prime Minister said.
