NT NETWORK
PANAJI
Although Minister for Town and Country Planning Vijai Sardesai has mulled moving casino vessels out of the Mandovi, there is a no such proposal at the government level.
Furthermore, the idea of moving offshore casinos to the land may not be practical, as land availability and business for casino industry need to be factored in.
Sardesai has said that there has been a strong need to move the casino vessels out of the Mandovi due to pollution caused by them. He said the government could take up necessary amendments to the Goa Public Gambling Act.
Offshore casinos cannot be closed down, but could be shifted to the land, he has stated.
However, highly-placed sources in the government on Friday said that as of now there is no proposal on amending law to move the offshore casinos to land.
The sources have said that floating vessels in the Mandovi attract tourists towards Goa. Hence the proposal to convert them into land-based casinos could be unviable business proposition for the industry.
“There are many instances wherein the people have opposed projects like Indian Institute of Technology, citing shortage of land. And, I don’t think that in this case people would allow to set up special infrastructure in any part of the state, as there have been protest against casino industry from various quarters,” a source pointed out.
The sources, however, said that a political decision should be taken as how many casino vessels should be allowed in the state, taking into consideration the state economy and tourism potentials.