PERNEM
Goa Industrial Development Corporation (GIDC) Chairman Aleixo Reginaldo Lourenco on Friday said owners of shut companies at Tuem Industrial Estate would be given a chance to restart their units and if they fail to do so, their land would be taken back and allotted to those who wish to start their businesses.
He was speaking to reporters in the presence of Mandrem MLA Jit Arolkar, Tuem sarpanch Sulaksha Naik, deputy sarpanch Nilesh Kandolkar, former panch Anand Salgaonkar, Dayanand Mandrekar and others.
Villagers claimed that large plots of land belonging to locals had gone into setting up the Tuem Industrial Estate and lakhs of square metres of land had now been taken over to expand the industrial estate.
They also stated that land had also been taken away for the Tuem Electronic City, but the locals have not been given any job opportunities in these units.
They added that companies in this industrial estate do not offer jobs to the locals and instead, hire labour from outside Goa.
“I shall collect details about the companies that operate from this industrial estate and find out about the number of workers in each of the company. I will also discuss about providing employment to locals with officials of these companies,” assured the GIDC chairman.
He further added that he would also discuss the issue with Chief Minister Pramod Sawant and the industries minister to resolve the matter.
Local MLA Jit Arolkar also asserted that those who have lost their land to the industrial estate should get jobs.
Arolkar stated that only a handful of units are presently operational and most do not offer jobs to the locals.
Arolkar also stated that companies operating in the industrial estate use the narrow roads in the village to transport their goods.
“To ease transportation in the area, the government should construct a new link road from Dhargal National Highway 66 to Tuem Electronic City via Industrial Estate so that the companies can take their goods directly to the factories,” demanded Arolkar.
Deputy sarpanch Nilesh Kandolkar said some companies had taken subsidies from the government and instead of running their units, shut them and vanished.
Tuem sarpanch Sulaksha Naik complained that the panchayat is kept in the dark about the working of the companies and the type of jobs they offer.
“If this information is made available to the panchayat, local unemployed youth can avail these jobs,” she said.
