PANAJI
If one were to strip the manifestos of these parties of all the rhetoric and down to the bare, do-able assurances which can be converted into policy decisions without much ado, the combined list barely measures up to a handful.
IT and allied non-polluting activities such as food processing units and agro-based industries find a liberal mention in all the manifestos, at times taking up to 70 per cent of the assurances to industry.
The BJP, for instance, has chosen to gamble mainly on its unfinished industrial agenda carried over from the present term. Be it the IT park, electronic city projects proposed at Chimbel and Tuem respectively, hint of a proposed project at Verna and a vague promise of employment opportunities to Goan youth at the much-opposed Mopa Airport feature prominently in the BJP’s manifesto.
BJP also shares its vision of an investor-friendly Goa wherein IT, tourism and agro-based sectors will flourish. The vision, interestingly, echoes the oft-repeated statements made by several leaders of the BJP since 2012 which have yet to transform into reality.
Revitalisation of the Chief Minister’s Rozgar Yojana to include start-ups and small entrepreneurs and also terms such as ‘angel financing fund’ and ‘venture capital fund’ fins a loose mention in the ruling party’s manifesto with no specific details or concrete policy statements.
The most promising offering to the industrial sector in BJP’s manifesto appears to be the notion of setting up an ombudsman to ensure time-bound redressal of grievances related to any industrial sector.
Congress, on the other hand, promises to scrap the Investment Promotion Board along with the relevant Act and to initiate inquiry into all permissions granted under the IPB so far.
If voted to power, the Congress government intends to declare the Economic Development Corporation as the state’s sole and prime financial advisory institution, offering fee-based advisory services and undertaking socio-economic evaluation of the new infrastructural projects.
Congress’ bargain before the industrial sector peaks with its promise to reduce the qualification for lower skilled jobs to Std VIII and a whopping tax holiday to new manufacturing units whereby they will be exempted from VAT for the first five years from start of operations. Moreover, the party has focussed on service sector instead of the manufacturing.
GSM-MGP-SS alliance promises tax incentives for the improvement of IT sector and like most other parties, it promises special incentives for IT start-ups by Goans without pausing to explain how.
The alliance has, interestingly, assured that IPB’s decisions will be in conformity with the RP 2021.
New entrant AAP has taken over itself to continue with the BJP’s former dream of creating 50,000 jobs in five years while also stating in as many words that the IPB shall remain untouched. AAP manifesto promises tax holidays for eco-friendly companies and offers special incentives for hiring local workforce.
AAP and Congress have both promised to set up two new start-up incubation centers, with the AAP assuring an annual fund of Rs two crore to these.
However, the AAP manifesto is the only one in the bunch which has dared to venture out of the box and talks about transforming Goa into most-preferred film-making destination in the hope that, while creating employment, it will also offer impetus to tourism.
On the issue of mining, AAP manifesto promises to set up Rs 400 crore relief corpus for mining affected and dependents. But at the same time, it talks about recovery of Rs 36,000 crore from mining mafia.
While all other parties talk of resumption of mining activities as per the Supreme Court guidelines, AAP’s most concrete assurance over mining is about zero waste mining whereby a dump policy will be created for removal and utlisation of dumps from across the state.
