Goa CM rejected proposal for supply of subsidised fish: GFP

Goa Forward Party MLA Vinod Palyekar on Sunday said Chief Minister Pramod Sawant had rejected a proposal to create a corporation to supply subsidized fish in the coastal state. Addressing a press conference here, Palyekar said the file for setting up the State Fisheries Corporation, which would be the nodal agency to oversee supply of subsidized fish, was at the final stage of approval when he was state's fisheries minister.

Palyekar and two other GFP ministers were dropped from the state cabinet on July 13 this year. "We were shocked that Sawant on July 25 this year rejected the file without specifying any reason. Providing subsidized fish to people was one of the prominent assurances in Goa Forward Party's election manifesto," Palyekar said.

"The chief minister had also assured the Goa Assembly that the corporation would be formed. He should tell the people of the state why he took such a decision," the GFP leader said. CM Sawant and Goa Fisheries Minister Philip Neri Rodrigues could not be contacted despite repeated attempts.