Latest news with #VijaiSardesai
Time of India
2 days ago
- Politics
- Time of India
Goa Public Universities Bill sent to select committee
Porvorim: After the opposition expressed concerns, the assembly decided to send the Goa Public Universities Bill, 2025, to a select committee for detailed analysis. The House constituted an 11-member committee headed by water resources minister Subhash Shirodkar to study the advantages and disadvantages of the proposed legislation. In a rare display of agreement, chief minister Pramod Sawant, who also holds the education portfolio, did not resist the opposition's caution against undue haste in the passage of the bill. 'There is no harm in forming a select committee to study this bill. We will have Ganesh Gaonkar, Aleixo Reginaldo Lourenco, Carlos Ferreira, Vijai Sardesai, Viresh Borkar, Cruz Silva, Digambar Kamat, Chandrakant Shetye, and Deviya Rane as members,' said Sawant while the bill was taken up for consideration in the assembly. The opposition said that the bill, which paves the way for a cluster of colleges to be created, could affect the survival of local colleges and Goa University. 'This bill has weak safeguards. There are no clear protections for academic independence or stakeholder rights,' said GFP MLA Vijai Sardesai. 'There is no real multi-disciplinary benefit in creating a cluster of colleges if the colleges offer the same courses. Will colleges be forced to start new courses, and if yes, then will govt fund the new courses?' Opposition leader Yuri Alemao, said, 'While the bill invokes the lofty aim of the NEP, it is blind to the realities of Goa. This bill should not be bulldozed through.' He said, 'This bill will fragment rather than synergise the academic richness. There is no economic viability analysis.' Sawant said that in line with the NEP, all affiliated colleges should become degree-awarding multidisciplinary autonomous institutions. Stay updated with the latest local news from your city on Times of India (TOI). Check upcoming bank holidays , public holidays , and current gold rates and silver prices in your area. Get the latest lifestyle updates on Times of India, along with Raksha Bandhan wishes , messages and quotes !
Indian Express
6 days ago
- Politics
- Indian Express
‘Manjunath changing surname to Fernandes': MLAs object to ‘outsiders' taking Goan names, CM vows crackdown
Goa Chief Minister Pramod Sawant on Monday said the state government will take steps to further amend the Goa Change of Name and Surname Act, 1990, and make it more stringent, if required, 'to prevent any misuse'. This came after Opposition legislators flagged complaints that people, especially those from outside the state, were fraudulently changing their surnames to traditional Goan ones to avail government schemes. Opposition MLAs Viresh Borkar of the Revolutionary Goans Party, Altone D'Costa of the Congress, and Goa Forward Party chief Vijai Sardesai moved a calling attention motion, raising concerns about people changing their surnames to Goan surnames. Drawing attention to newspaper advertisements declaring such name changes, the Opposition legislators said the 'outsiders' were exploiting legal loopholes and adopting Goan names and surnames, calling the 'trend' an 'erasure of the distinct Goan identity' and a threat to the state's demography. The Goa Change of Name and Surname Act, 1990, lays down the rules for carrying out changes in names. In 2019, the Goa Assembly passed an amendment to make it a cognisable offence, punishable with imprisonment, to carry out fraudulent name changes without following the laid-down procedures. The amendment was brought after MLAs across party lines and several communities raised concerns over changes in names and surnames advertised in newspapers by 'outsiders', alleging they had adopted Goan names and surnames to avail benefits under government schemes, to apply for a Portuguese passport, or to inherit land. The Assembly brought in more stringent provisions and passed another amendment Bill in 2022, which mandated that a person desiring to change his or her name 'should be born in Goa and his or her birth should be registered in the state of Goa' and 'that either his parents or grandparents should be born in Goa'. The amendment also vested the power to approve name change applications with a 'Civil Judge Junior Division' or a 'District Judge'. Earlier, this power was vested in the Registrar or the Chief Registrar of the state. Fatorda MLA Vijai Sardesai said, 'This is a serious concern. Identity is a carrier of our history, community and legacy.' Congress's Yuri Alemao, Leader of Opposition in the Assembly, said, 'Manjunath is applying to change to Francisco Fernandes. This is perceived as an invasion from one state to another, from one community to another.' While acknowledging that a change of one's name or surname is the right of a citizen, Alemao asked what 'specific' steps the government was considering to address the issue. Responding to the calling attention motion, Sawant told the House that the government enacted the Goa Change of Name and Surname Act, 1990, to lay down the procedure for name change of any person born in the state of Goa, and that it was subsequently amended to address complaints over loopholes. The Chief Minister said the government has been taking all necessary steps to ensure there are no cases of the change in name or surname, or both, by any ineligible persons to traditional Goan surnames. 'Similarly, penal provision under section 3A was introduced in the Act to make the Act more stringent and further the offence under the Act was made cognizable, where anyone changes his name or surname or both or publishes any notice/advertisement for such change without following the procedure as laid down in section 3, punishable with imprisonment… Further, certain conditions were subsequently laid down under the Change of Name and Surname (Amendment) Act, 2022, whereby a person should be born in Goa and his birth should be registered in the state of Goa, and further either of his parents or grandparents should be born in the state of Goa. Only such a person can apply for a change of name,' he said.
News18
7 days ago
- Politics
- News18
Opposition MLAs raise concern over misuse of Goan surnames in Assembly
Panaji, Aug 4 (PTI) Opposition MLA on Monday raised the alleged threat to Goa's demography through the misuse of traditional Goan surnames by some individuals to claim government benefits or establish false identities. Responding to a calling attention motion in the legislative assembly, Chief Minister Pramod Sawant stated that the government has been taking all necessary steps to ensure ineligible persons do not adopt traditional Goan surnames to erase or dilute the state's unique identity. The calling attention motion was raised by MLAs Vijai Sardesai, Altone D'Costa, and Viresh Borkar. They claimed that the illegal and strategic alteration of surnames by people of non-Goan origin threatens the state's cultural identity and demographic balance. The MLAs urged the government to investigate and curb the practice of outsiders adopting Goan Catholic or Hindu surnames to secure residence documents, caste certificates, or other local benefits. In his reply, Sawant informed the House that the state had already amended the Goa Change of Name and Surname Act, 1990, through the 2019 and 2022 amendments to plug such misuse. He stated that the 2022 amendment allows only those born in Goa, with birth registered in the state and at least one parent or grandparent also born in Goa, to apply for a name or surname change. The chief minister also said that penal provisions had been introduced, making it a cognizable offence to change names or publish name-change notices without following due procedure. Violators face imprisonment under Section 3A of the amended law. 'The government has been taking all necessary steps to ensure ineligible persons do not adopt traditional Goan surnames to erase or dilute the state's unique identity," the chief minister said, adding that further legal tightening would be considered if required. PTI RPS NSK view comments First Published: August 04, 2025, 17:45 IST Disclaimer: Comments reflect users' views, not News18's. Please keep discussions respectful and constructive. Abusive, defamatory, or illegal comments will be removed. News18 may disable any comment at its discretion. By posting, you agree to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy.
Time of India
01-08-2025
- Business
- Time of India
Factories and boilers need monitoring: MLAs to min
Porvorim: Lawmakers on Friday said that the directorate of factories and boilers failed to ensure monitoring of the functioning of factories in the state. Speaking in the Goa assembly, MLAs called for greater transparency and accountability regarding the 168 industrial accidents and fires which have claimed 23 lives since Jan 2020. Goa has 714 factories and 183 boilers. 'Each factory must be inspected at least three times a year. We are nowhere close to that. This laxity reflects in the accident statistics,' GFP MLA Vijai Sardesai said. The directorate claimed to have no record of the compensation paid to victims of the 168 accidents at factories. According to the data of the directorate, action was taken in only 20 industrial accidents, with eight companies fined between Rs 30,000 and Rs 2 lakh. RG MLA Viresh Borkar brought up the issue of the fire that occurred at the Berger paint factory at Pilerne. He said that no details were released about the accident, nor was accountability fixed. Minister for factories and boilers Nilkanth Halarnkar did not respond to these queries raised during the discussion on the demand for grants for the department. Halarnkar did speak about the work for the Goa College of Veterinary and Animal Sciences at Curti-Ponda, the new veterinary hospital at Mulgao, and a veterinary dispensary at Chicalim. by Taboola by Taboola Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like Japanese hair growth method Hair's Rich Learn More Undo 'A new veterinary hospital is in the process of construction at Mulgao, Bicholim, at the estimated cost of Rs 11 crore,' the minister said. 'The tender process has begun, while a veterinary dispensary at Chicalim is also expected to begin this year. The PWD is expected to submit an estimate for administrative approval.'
Time of India
30-07-2025
- Politics
- Time of India
Pending aid to sports assns by Oct, says Sawant
Porvorim: Chief minister Pramod Sawant on Wednesday assured the House that pending grants of various sports associations in Goa — running into crores of rupees — would be cleared by Oct in all cases where utilisation certificates have been submitted by the associations to govt. Fatorda MLA Vijai Sardesai raised the issue in the House, stating that while the govt called football a state sport, Rs 11 crore aid is pending. He said that only Rs 2.5 lakh of the earmarked Rs 72 lakh for football over four years has been paid so far by govt. 'If you don't give grants, you will not get results. For associations of sports like athletics, boxing, badminton, and sepak takraw with a good number of members, no grants have been given by govt. Whereas, grants have been given to associations for yogasana and pencak silat, which have few or no members. For the Goa Badminton Association, Rs 10.8 lakh of grants have been kept pending. Why?' said Sardesai. The MLA also questioned the logic behind providing Khelo India Centres at only Sanquelim and Ponda. 'We will have Khelo India centres in all 12 talukas in a phased manner,' replied Sawant.
