Panaji: Lamenting that the BJP Government has made Panaji a sin city by encouraging casinos, Leader of Opposition Yuri Alemao on Monday said that it is now spreading that virus to villages by selling agricultural land to casinos.
The Cuncolim MLA was reacting to the Government’s move of giving 3.33 lakh sq. metres of notified Command Area Development Authority (CADA) land to Delta Corp Ltd for the setting up of an “Integrated Resort Development Project” at Dhargal in Pernem.
“BJP Government, which promised doubling farmers’ income, has snatched land from them and has given it to casinos at Dhargal. I condemn the Government’s move of denotifying farmland for the use of a casino,” he said.
He said that the BJP Government has failed to shift the casinos from Mandovi, and is now facilitating Delta to come up in villages. This clearly shows that this Government is encouraging corruption and casinos.
“BJP has made Panaji a sin city by giving extensions to casinos and inviting new casinos into the Mandovi river. Now it is eyeing villages to spoil them. We, locals and people of Goa, should unitedly fight against this menace of selling land to crony capitalists,” Alemao said.
He said that the BJP Government promised doubling farmers’ income but has snatched cultivation land from them.
“After turning Mandovi into a gambling zone, now this corrupt Government is turning our villages into gambling zones. Already there is a mess of drugs in Goa, which has reached villages, and now casinos,” he said.
“Dhargal and surrounding villages rely on traditional livelihoods and they have protected the social fabric. Fostering casinos in these areas by the Government will only damage this social fabric and culture,” Congress leader Alemao said.
“BJP has put Goa on a fast-track sale and this will spoil the future of our youth. Denotifying this land for commercial use threatens water security, agricultural sustainability, and biodiversity. The Government should scrap this decision,” he said.
