PANAJI
The State cabinet on Wednesday granted offshore casino vessels an extension till March 2027 to continue operating in River Mandovi. However, this would be the final extension before relocating the vessels.
Addressing a press conference after chairing a cabinet meeting, Chief Minister Pramod Sawant said that the Cabinet has decided to further extend the permission to casinos till March 2027, to operate in River Mandovi, after which they will have to be relocated.
The then BJP-led government had taken a policy decision in 2013 to relocate the offshore casinos from River Mandovi. However, the failure to identify an alternative site forced the government to grant them a series of extensions to continue in the river since March, 2014.
Sawant said that the State government has been renewing the extensions granted to the offshore casinos after every six months; but it was only in October 2021, when a twelve-month extension was granted.
There are six offshore casinos operating in River Mandovi; namely MV Horseshoe Casino, MV Pride of Goa, MV Casino Royale, MV Argosy IV, MV Royale Flotel, and MV Lucky.
The successive governments in Goa have been under pressure to relocate the casinos off the Goa coast.
Way back in 2018-19, the State government through home department along with Captain of Ports (CoP) had tentatively identified four sites to relocate the offshore casinos, including the mouth of the Mandovi river near Aguada jail, another two alternative locations in Zuari river “ one to the east of the bridge and the other west of the bridge, and the last option being Chapora river.
Alternative feasible sites could not be made available at present for relocating offshore casinos from the Mandovi river, following objection raised by the locals for shifting the vessels in their areas.
Assembly Winter Session from Feb 6
PANAJI: The winter session of the Goa Legislative Assembly will commence from February 6, with Goa Governor P S Sreedharan Pillai addressing the House on the first day.
The Cabinet accorded approval for summoning of the session. During the session, the Chief Minister Pramod Sawant is also expected to table the State Budget 2025-26.
