Goa Chief Minister Pramod Sawant on Thursday launched the state government’s ambitious ‘Atmanirbhar Bharat Swayampoorna Goa’ initiative, which aims at making every village in the coastal state self-sufficient, in sync with Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s vision to make India a self-reliant nation.
Sawant said that as part of the initiative 41 village panchayats had been identified for the early phase of the government’s self sufficiency initiative, which will involve creating a detailed dossier on each village, listing existing infrastructure, potential and seeking inputs on the requirements to make it self-sufficient.
“Today, Goa has to rely on importing goods from other states, because we have neglected our own produce. Every day, we need two lakh litres of milk to be imported. 1.5 lakh eggs are a daily requirement during the (tourism) season in Goa. Why can’t we produce this in our villages,” Sawant said during a virtual launch of the initiative.
Sawant said that as per the ‘Atmanirbhar Bharat Swayampoorna Goa’ initiative, government officers and school teachers will travel to 41 villages and seek feedback on the existing infrastructure as well as identify potential sectors for furthering the self-reliance agenda.
“All government officers should be ‘karmayogis’ in their efforts to conduct the exercise to make Goa Swayampoorna,” Sawant said.
The Chief Minister added that one of the key agendas of his government was to eliminate poverty in the state.
“We want to eliminate poverty. We are completing sixty years of Liberation (from Portuguese rule), and if a resident of Goa is still below the poverty line, we need to change this and increase his income,” Sawant said.
