MARGAO
The long-pending demand of Goa’s seafaring community to grant permanent status to the Goa Welfare/Pension Scheme for Seafarers remains unfulfilled, with the issue likely to be decided by the government that assumes office after the 2027 Assembly polls.
Instead of making the scheme permanent, the State government has extended it for another year. According to a notification issued on July 9 by Under Secretary (Home-II) Manthan Manoj Naik, the scheme will remain in force until May 31, 2027.
The decision has disappointed retired seafarers and widows, who had expected the government to convert the annual renewal-based scheme into a permanent welfare measure. The demand assumes significance as Chief Minister Pramod Sawant had assured the Legislative Assembly that the scheme would be made permanent.
Sawant had reiterated the promise during Seafarers Day celebrations in 2025 organised by the Goan Seamen Association of India (GSAI), where he announced that the pension scheme for retired seamen and widows would be made permanent.
Former GSAI president Frank Viegas appealed to the Chief Minister to honour his commitment and convert the temporary extension into a permanent welfare measure. “The Chief Minister had assured the seafaring community during Seafarers Day 2025 that the pension scheme would be made permanent. We appeal to him once again to fulfil that promise,” he said.
GSAI founder president and Cavelossim Sarpanch Dixon Vaz questioned the need for annual extensions, pointing out that the financial implications for the State are limited.
Sources said the government spends less than Rs 2 crore annually on the scheme, with around Rs 10 lakh disbursed every month among retired seamen and widows. The community has argued that the modest financial burden should not prevent the scheme from being granted permanent status.
The Goa Welfare/Pension Scheme for Seafarers was introduced during the tenure of late Chief Minister Manohar Parrikar after the 2012 Assembly elections as a five-year welfare measure. It remained in force until 2019, after which pension payments stopped following the expiry of its tenure.
The scheme was revived in 2023 after sustained representations by the seafaring community and the GSAI. However, the government has continued with annual extensions instead of institutionalising the welfare measure permanently.
