Saturday, December 4, 2010

Goa Blog

Goa Blog

No demand so far for Special Status fo Goa

Posted: 03 Dec 2010 07:22 PM PST

There is no request made officially by the Government of Goa for granting it Special Category which fact is revealed in an answer given by Union Minister of State Planning, Parliamentary Affairs,Personnel, Public Grievances and Pension Shri V.Narayanasamy to Shri Shantaram Naik M.P. in the Rajya Sabha in a written reply to his question

Minister has mentioned only three states, namely,   States of Orissa, Chhattisgarh, Rajasthan and Bihar who have made requests for inclusion in Special Category.

Minister informed Mr Naik that  there  are 11 States at present which have been granted Special Category Status viz., Arunachal Pradesh, Assam, Himachal Pradesh, Jammu & Kashmir, Minipur,Meghalaya, Mizoram, Nagaland, Sikkim, Tripura and Uttrakhand.

The issue of Special Category Status (SCS) first came up when the Gadgil Formula of fund allocation was originally approved by the National Development Council at its meeting held in April, 1969.  Assam, Jammu & Kashmir and Nagaland were included for providing Central Assistance in the form of 90% grant and 10% loan.

The various States were accorded Special Category Status whenever they attined Statehood vix., Himachal Pradesh in 1970-71, Manipur, Meghalaya and Tripura in 1971-72; Sikkim in 1975-76 and Arunachal Pradesh and Mizoram in 1986-87 and Uttarakhand in 2001-02, minister said.

Shri Narayanasami further informed Mr Naik that the category into which a State falls ( that is, special category or non-special category) is used for deciding the loan-grant ration that is applicable for the Normal Central Assistance (NCA) provided to the States.  Special Category Status results in the Normal Central Assistance and Assistance for Externally  Aided Projects (EAP) being calculated as 90% grant and 10% loan.  Non-Special Category Status results in the Normal Central Assistance being calculated as 30% grant and 70% loan.

Special Category States are also provided Special Plan Assistance for projects of special importance to the State.  Special Central Assistance untied to projects has also been provided to Special Category States because of their difficult financial situation, minister said.

The decision to grant Special Category Status to any State is taken by National Development Council, which is the sole body competent to do so.  There are no separate constitutional provisions, legislation or executive orders for the same, minister clarified. Mr Shantaram Naik M.P. said in a statement issued today said that he has given three memorandums to the Prime Minister , a few months back, making three separate demands , namely, Special Category, Special Provisions under Constitution to protect Goa's land  and separate Cadre for All India Services and,  has given the copies of my memorandum to the Chief Minister.

However, if the State Government itself does not place a particular demand with the Central Government, it means and implies  that there is no demand from the State, which is why,  Goa is not mentioned among the list of States who have demanded Special Category

Indonesian girls allege harassment at Goa spa

Posted: 03 Dec 2010 07:14 PM PST

Eight Indonesian girls working in a leading spa in Goa have escaped from the ‘clutches’ of its promoters and have fled to Mumbai, where they complained to the consulate that they were being harassed and that they were brought to India with forged documents and bogus appointment orders.

The girls also complained that they were being made to work long hours and were treated badly. Following this, the vice-consul of the Indonesian consulate in Mumbai, Sasanti Nordewati, filed a complaint with the crime branch in Goa. Acting on this, the Goa police raided Snip Salon and Spa in Panaji and Calangute. While eight girls were working in the Calangute branch of the spa, three others working in the Bandra branch in Mumbai too had come to the consulate with the same accusations.

The vice-consul informed the police that the matter came to light when the girls came to the consulate on November 12 seeking help, sources told TOI. The vice-consul said she spoke to the Bhobes — Sumeet Bhobe and Archana Bhobe, owners of the spa, after which they returned the passports of the girls which they had kept under their custody, but refused to return the residential permits, many of which she alleged were forged as they were prepared before the girls arrived in India. When TOI contacted the Indonesian consulate in Mumbai, a spokesperson confirmed that “the vice-consul has taken up the matter with the Goa police, consulate general of the Indonesian embassy and Directorate of Protection of Indonesian citizens”.

The crime branch which raided the spas simultaneously on Wednesday evening registered a case against the spa owners under sections 419 (cheating by impersonation), 465 (forgery), 468 (forgery for purpose of cheating), 471 (using as genuine a forged document) and 341 (wrongful restraint) of the IPC, based on the complaint that young girls from Indonesia were brought to Goa to work in a pharma unit and then forced to work in aspa in the tourist state. DySP (crime) Chandrakant Salgaonkar confirmed receiving the complaint. The owner of the spa, Sumeet, was also called by the Foreigners Registration Office in Panaji to check out whether the girls who were issued residential permits in Goa stayed in the state and whether they have any objections to the girls, who are now being lodged by the consulate in Mumbai, from leaving India. The spa owner said he had no objections. Sources said that the complaint to the police allegedthat 23 Indonesian girls were hired by the owner of the Spa in March 2010.

“As per the agreement entered by Bhobe with the girls on February 5, 2010, they were to work in Ajanta Medicals Private Limited and the same is entered in the visa permit also. However, they were made to work as spa therapists in three of the spas owned by the Bhobes in Panaji, Calangute and Bandra,” police sources said. Once in India, the girls were not paid salaries as per the contract and their movement was restrained as the owners seized their passports and residential permits, the complaint alleged. However, Sumeet Bhobe claimed that the case has been filed with malicious intention to escape the penalty clause in the contract by which the 11 girls would have to repay .` 45,000 each for violating the contract if they left the job midway.

“Our intentions and accounts are clear. The girls were hired to work in Ajanta Medicals Private Limited, in which my wife, Archana, is a director and the contract clearly states that they can be transferred to any subsidiary firm, and Snip Salons and Spas is a subsidiary firm of the company,” he said.

Courtesy:TOI
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