'Budget needs direction with a focus on providing employment'

Panaji, July 18 (UNI) The BJP Opposition leader, Manohar Parrikar, today urged the government to carve out a direction-driven budget to provide the Goan youth with employment potential besides promoting Agriculture, Fisheries and Tourism.

He maintained that the efforts to create jobs through various high-profile institutions was putting ''pressure'' on the existing infrastructure besides failing to benefit the actual Goans.

Initiating the debate on 2007-08 budget today, on the second day of discussion, Mr Parrikar said the proposed food park, IT park, gems and jewellery park besides call centres and the international convention centres were expected to provide more than 1 lakh jobs but it exerts pressure on the infrastructure including water and other resources.

These infrastructureal development measures would benefit the outsiders more than the Goans. There are at present as many as 85,000 Goans working in various industries and the same number of outsiders in Goa. At the same time, he clarified that he was not against the non-Goans or migrant population.

He also regretted dwindling population of tourists since the year 2005 with the authorities not initiating adequate steps to boost tourism infrastructure and promotional activities. So were efforts to boost fisheries and agriculture.

Mr Parrikar had also censured lack of adequate infrastructure including generators and diesel, ventilators at the hospitals to meet the demand and also maintainance.

Enhancing the ''happiness index'' as referred to by governor in his speech on July 16 on the opening session of the 5th legislative assembly, the government needs to do a lot including reversing the population growth and reducing the price hike of various essential commodities.

UNI