PANAJI
The Goa Cabinet on Thursday gave its stamp of approval to the proposal to lease the Shyama Prasad Mukherjee stadium on the Taleigao plateau to Mumbai-based showbiz company Dome Entertainment Private Pvt Ltd for 10 years.
Chief Minister Pramod Sawant said that the deal is expected to earn the government revenue of about Rs 25.5 lakh every month. Also, a provision in the deal will permit the government to use the stadium whenever the need arises at no cost.
Sawant, however, did not say if similar or other concessions are provided for in the lease deal for national or international sports events.
The Shyama Prasad Mukherjee stadium, the first indoor sports facility of international standards in the State, was built back in 2013-14 for the purpose of hosting the Lusofonia and National Games back in 2013-14
While at the Lusofonia Games the basketball and volleyball disciplines were conducted at the stadium, poor upkeep of the sports facility and its indiscriminate use for non-sport commercial events by the government left it in a condition that it could not be used for the same two disciplines when the National Games were eventually hosted in 2023.
Goa's sports fraternity has often been critical of the government's neglect of this stadium which was built on land belonging to the Goa University.
Meanwhile, in another decision the Cabinet approved the transfer of the land belonging to the Amona Power Plant Limited at the Navelim-Bicholim GIDC estate to Kirloskar Pvt Ltd.
Sawant said the Pune-based engineering company is expected to set up an ancillary unit for motor manufacture on the 45,000 square meter parcel of land.
Sawant said that the company has proposed to set up a motor winding facility there.
In other decisions the Cabinet has approved the 'grant-in-aid' institution status to the two AYUSH colleges in the State -- Kamaxi Devi Homeopathic College and the Gomantak Ayurved Mahavidyalaya.
The Cabinet has also approved the Goa Homeopathic Council Bill which Sawant said will be introduced in the upcoming budget session of the Goa Legislative Assembly. The bill deals with the regulations and rules related to the registration of Homeopathic practitioners.
