Cabinet gives nod to hike license fee for casinos to Rs 5 cr

Panaji, Dec 13 (UNI) The Cabinet today gave its nod to increase the license fee for casinos in Goa from Rs one crore to Rs five crore, Chief Minister Pratapsinh Rane said.

Talking to mediapersons after the Cabinet meet here, Mr Rane said the license would be issued to the interested parties on first come first serve basis.

He was accompanied by State Health Minister Dayanand Narvekar and Panchayat Minister Subhash Shirodkar.

The Chief Minister said the Cabinet had approved to establish overseas employment agency in Goa.

He said the agency would be registered under Society Act and would act as a recruitment society. The agency would help the youth keen on going abroad for jobs. The step was taken in view of the many cheating cases by private agents coming to light in the recent past.

The Cabinet had also approved to regularise services of about 100 teachers, appointed from September 19, 1991, to July 17, 2001, in the non-government-aided colleges and universities. The teachers have been exempted from appearing for National Eligibility Test (NET) and State Eligibility Test (SET) as per the UGC norms.

Mr Narvekar said the Cabinet had given nod to include patients of kidney ailment to cover under Mediclaim to ease their suffering and each patient would be given Rs 15,000 per month.

The government would spend about Rs 1.80 lakh per patient per annum. With this, Goa would be the first state in the country to give the facility to the kidney patients, he added.

Mr Shirodkar said the Cabinet had approved two more communities, Thakkar and Vishwa Karma (carpenter), in the OBC list. The two communities would get the benefits in education and employment.

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