Accord Goa with special status: Mathanhy

Panaji, Aug 28: Former Goa tourism minister Mathanhy Saldanha on Thursday, Aug 28 urged the Centre to accord special status to the state like the north-eastern states, to preserve its unique identity and limited resources, now threatened with influx of migrant population. Addressing a press conference here, Mr Saldanha said Article 371 of the Constitution should be extended to Goa for assigning special status to the state to 'frees influx' of migrant population that was bringing about serious demographic changes in the tourist state.

Schedule five of the Constitution should also be extended to Goa, where about 70 per cent of the population belong to SC/SC/OBC and other weaker sections. Sale of land to non-Goans be banned forthwith and construction of mega-projects prohibited.

Mr Saldanha bemoaned that the official language of Goa was getting eliminated, as it was being dominated by other languages due to the massive influx of population from other states, threatening its identity.

He demanded that the uniform civil code existing in Goa, contributing to communal peace and harmony in the state for long, should be made applicable to all other people migrating to the state.

All the central schemes should be approved by Goa Legislative Assembly in order to make them applicable to Goa, taking into consideration the local conditions, he added.

UNI