Centre granted Rs 200 cr to Goa to promote tourism: Tourism Minister

Panaji, August 1: The Centre has sanctioned Rs 200 crore to Goa for promoting the hospitality industry in the state, Goa Tourism Minister Dilip Parulekar told the Legislative Assembly today.

"The Central government has sanctioned Rs 200 crore for promoting tourism and projecting Goa as the perfect wedding destination," he said during the Question Hour.

The Tourism Department was initially facing hiccups in getting the funds as the utilisation certificates were not submitted to the Centre by the erstwhile Congress-led government, Parulekar said, adding the Centre has last week released the first instalment of Rs 200 crore.

"Initially, we found it very difficult to get central funding due to the failure of the previous government to submit the utilisation certificates for Rs 14.6 crore released between 2007-09," he said.

The minister was responding to a joint question tabled by BJP MLAs Pramod Sawant, Michael Lobo and MGP legislator Lavoo Mamledar. He said the state government will now focus on promoting heritage, hinterland tourism and projecting Goa as a wedding destination.

PTI