Parrikar to meet PM tomorrow, seek special status for Goa

An all party delegation led by Goa Chief Minister Manohar Parrikar is expected to meet Prime Minister Manmohan Singh in Delhi tomorrow demanding special status for the state and financial package for the people affected by the closure of mining activity.
The PMO has given the appointment for tomorrow, and Parrikar will take along representatives of the political parties, including Leader of Opposition Pratapsingh Rane, the chief minister told reporters here today.
The Prime Minister would be asked to accord special status to Goa, which will give powers to the state government to make laws restricting sale of land to non-Goans, he said.

The demand is not to ban the sale of land to non-Goans but restriction on the sale, Parrikar said.
Goa Legislative Assembly session, which concluded recently, had unanimously passed a resolution demanding special status to the state, considering the shrinking land resources.
In yet another major issue, Goa will also seek a financial package to the tune of Rs 3,000 crore from the PM to alleviate problems faced by people dependent on the mining activity.

Mining has been halted in Goa since last year.
Parrikar said that the central government will also be requested to ask the banks to waive off interest on the loans procured by people dependent on mining activity and also defer payment of the instalments, till mining restarts.

Besides Parrikar and Rane, the delegation will comprise of ministers - Alina Saldanha, Avertan Furtado, Ramakrishna Dhavalikar and Mahadev Naik, BJP MLAs - Pramod Sawant, Subhash Faldesai and Kiran Kandolkar, Goa Vikas Party legislator Fransisco Miccky Pacheco and independent legislator Rohan Khaunte.