Goa govt to face 178 starred, 553 unstarred questions in 5-day state assembly session

Panaji: A five-day winter session of the state assembly is likely to be stormy, as the opposition has draw up a strategy to grill govt over various issues, from the fire incident at the Arpora nightclub to the law and order situation and land conversions, among other issues.

State govt will answer 178 starred questions and 553 unstarred questions related to various departments. Besides, govt will take up around 12 bills, including the appropriation bill, and five private members’ resolutions during the session.


The first day of the assembly session will see the governor’s address. From the second day onwards, govt business will include passing supplementary demands and govt bills.

A special discussion on 150 years of Vande Mataram will take place during the session. “Discussion on Vande Mataram will be held on Jan 13,” chief minister Pramod Sawant said after the business advisory committee meeting.

Leader of the opposition Yuri Alemao said that the opposition discussed strategy for the winter session.

“We jointly put several questions so that we can get the maximum time in this limited time available in the session,” he said.

Alemao said that the opposition will meet the governor over the issues and that, in his address to the assembly, he should highlight realistic issues and not deliver a regular speech.

“The issues that will be raised on the floor of the House include deteriorating law and order, massive land conversions, financial crisis, tourism failure, the bad condition of the health sector, and corruption. Whatever platform we get, we will highlight these issues,” Alemao said.

The Leader of Opposition said that the speaker should give them time to raise the issue. “They are discussing 150 years of Vande Mataram, eating into our time. They should discuss it on a special day and not during discussion on the governor’s speech,” Alemao said, adding that it was just a diversionary technique of govt.

“The session will be very stormy as Goa is bleeding completely. There is no govt, only jungle raj. We asked the speaker to give us time to discuss the Birch by Romeo Lane at Arpora, where 25 innocent people lost their lives. Definitely, we will raise this issue,” Alemao said.

One of the important measures state govt is likely to introduce is to stop landlords from selling land until mundkars’ rights are settled. The move is likely to come as a major relief for mundkars who live in landlords’ properties but are yet to be officially declared mundkars.

There are over 2,000 mundkarial cases pending in various courts in the state. Sawant told TOI that there were a lot of complaints that mundkars’ rights were not protected and that properties were sold to others. “The landlords are selling their properties, including mundkars’ houses, and the mundkars face problems with new property owners,” Sawant said.