CM: 80% drop in state revenue

NT NETWORK

Panaji

Admitting that the revenue of the state has dropped by 80 per cent, Chief Minister Pramod Sawant Wednesday said that Goa is fully ready with the standard operating procedures (SOPs) for receiving people at the Dabolim airport, Mormugao Port Trust and the railway station in Margao.

Sawant said following the nationwide lockdown, which has been imposed by the Centre to stop the spread of COVID-19, revenue of the state has dropped by 80 per cent.

Speaking to the media, he said in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, the collection of Goods and Services Tax and the Value Added Tax has drastically come down. As a result, the overall revenue collection of the state has dropped by 80 per cent, he said.

“There is a section of the society like taxi drivers, motorcycle pilots and others who have been suffering due to the lockdown, as they have not got business since the last two months. I strongly feel that these people should get financial support. However, everybody should understand the financial situation of the government,” he said.

The Chief Minister, however, said that people in the state have got relief in a big way in the form of Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Yojana.

Sawant said Goa is fully ready with the standard operating procedures for receiving people who will arrive by flights, trains and ships.

He said those arriving in the state by the special trains or flights will have to undergo home quarantine for 14 days, even if they are non-Goans. He said the medical test for Goans is free but non-Goans will have to pay Rs 2,000 for the COVID-19 test.

“Those who are non-Goans arriving in the state by special train that will run from May 15 will have to arrange for their own accommodation. Similar is the condition applied for those arriving by flights,” he said. The Chief Minister said they will have to stay indoors in their respective hotels for 14 days and cannot enter the state and directly hit the beaches.

He said that all those who arrive by train at the Margao railway station would be taken to the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium at Fatorda by a special bus where they will be subjected to the COVID-19 test. “They will be quarantined at the stadium for six hours and allowed to go only after their test results come negative. If COVID-19 test results are found to be positive, they will be sent to the COVID hospital in Margao. If non-Goans coming down to Goa don’t have a house, they will have to stay in a paid quarantine facility for 14 days,” he said.

Sawant said those arriving by flights will be tested at the airport itself. “They will have to wait at the airport before they are allowed to go. Similar arrangements have been made by the Mormugao Port Trust (MPT) wherein the people arriving by ships would be tested at the port before they are allowed to move out,” the Chief Minister said.