log on to thegoan.net @thegoanonline Facebook.com/thegoan The Goan E-Paper (Playstore/IOS) WEDNESDAY SEPTEMBER 10, 2025 15 pages PRICE ` 10 PANAJI MARGAO GOA VOLUME XI, NO. 83 GOA Power Dept issues notices to shift meters outside houses >> pg 6 Asier Solutions: Inspiring young minds through robotics, coding IN SHORT >> ED cracks down on land grab in Anjuna, Assagao MAPUSA: In a major development, the Enforcement Directorate carried out early morning raids on Tuesday in coastal villages of Anjuna and Assagao in connection with alleged land grabbing cases. Teams of ED officials swooped down simultaneously at multiple locations, including the residence of an Anjuna panchayat member and the residence and office of a businessman. >> See pg 3 Minor boy kidnapped from Mormugao VASCO: A minor boy was reportedly kidnapped by an unknown person from the jetty at Mormugao on September 8 sending shock waves in the locality. According to sources, the boy’s father approached Mormugao police with a complaint that his son had been taken away without the consent of family members and his lawful guardianship.  >> See pg 3 New Lokayukta soon: Sawant PANAJI: Chief Minister Pramod Sawant on Tuesday said that a new Goa Lokayukta will be appointed at the earliest. The Goa Lokayukta has remained non-functional for almost nine months now since the end of Justice (retd) Ambadas Joshi’s tenure in December 2024.  >> See pg 3 2 GOA CM clears roadblocks for Mapusa traders, lease renewals fast-tracked 3 THE GOAN I NETWORK MAPUSA A new flashpoint has emerged in the ongoing efforts to establish a permanent campus for the Indian Institute of Technology-Goa (IIT-Goa) amid conflicting statements over approval from the Codar Comunidade. Attorney of the Codar Comunidade Prashant Gaonkar emphasised that the proposal to earmark comunidade land for an IIT campus is currently in its initial stages. He clarified that no approval has yet been granted by the managing committee, which must first formally receive a written proposal before presenting it to the general body for ratification. “The managing committee has only conveyed to the government that land is available with the comunidade...There is a process which has to be followed,” Gaonkar stated. Sawant slams villagers for opposing... PANAJI: A day after the villagers of Codar-Bethora strongly opposed the proposed IIT Goa project in their village, Chief Minister Pramod Sawant slammed the protestors, stating that the IIT is a project of national interest that will benefit the State, and cautioned people against opposing it ‘just for the sake of it.’ Speaking to media persons on Tuesday, Sawant underlined the educational opportunities the project could open up for Goan youth while also maintaining that in a State with 100 per cent literacy, such “mindset” should not prevail. “Why are people opposing a project like IIT? One should not unnecessarily oppose the IIT project just for the sake of it; we need to welcome such initiatives. Let people tell me why they are opposing…let them tell what the reasons are,” Sawant said.   >> See pg 3 He said there should be a written proposal followed by the managing committee’s approval and culminating with the general body’s resolution. However, sources within the Administration of Comu- Nepal on edge; Parliament House torched, PM resigns n HOMES OF SEVERAL HIGH-PROFILE LEADERS BURNT n EX-PM’S WIFE TRAPPED IN BURNING HOUSE, DIES Israel targets Hamas leaders in Qatar Max: 30.5 C Min: 25.6 C Humidity: 95% TIDES Low: High: 06:03 18:31 00:12 12:07 FIRE & FURY: Protesters storm Nepal’s parliament, breaking windows and setting the building ablaze on Tuesday. PTI KATHMANDU Nepal reeled under a serious political crisis on Tuesday as Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli resigned in the face of massive protests for a second day, with the demonstrators storming many government buildings Get sanction to proceed on leave: Govt to babus THE GOAN I NETWORK PANAJI The State government has issued a stern warning to its senior officers and heads of departments against proceeding on leave or official tours without prior sanction from the competent authority. In a circular issued last week, Under Secretary (Personnel-II) Durga Kinlekar has said that any violations would be viewed seriously and necessary action under the Central Civil Services (Leave) Rules 1972 would be initiated. Kinlekar said that it has been observed by the government that some HoDs or senior officers are proceeding on INFO Natural anti-ageing face masks for every skin type 10 AWAITING WRITTEN PROPOSAL FROM GOVT, MOVE TO EARMARK LAND IN INITIAL STAGES: ATTORNEY PANAJI: In a drive against noise pollution, the Goa police have detained 21 motorcycles fitted with modified silencers over the past few days. Riders and owners of the vehicles have been booked under provisions of the Motor Vehicles Act. WEATHER >> RNI: GOAENG/2015/65729 Comunidade denies granting nod for IIT campus at Codar Cops crack whip on modified silencers DUBAI: Israel launched a strike targeting Hamas’ leadership in Qatar on Tuesday as they considered a US proposal for a ceasefire in the Gaza Strip.  >> See pg 8 Instagram.com/thegoanonline leave or official tours without prior sanction of the competent authority in violation of the CCS Rules and relevant instructions. “The Authority has viewed it seriously as it affects smooth functioning of the department,” Kinlekar said directing the officers to submit leave applications or tour programmes well in advance so that adequate time is available to seek the approval. “All officers including department heads must not proceed on leave/official tour without prior nod of the competent authority, failing which action may be taken under CCS(CCA) Rules/Service Rules,” the circular warned. and setting the parliament as well as homes of several high-profile leaders ablaze, a day after 19 people died in violence. Though the ban on social media was lifted late last night, the intensity of protests grew on Tuesday, with the focus of the agitation shifting to anger over the deaths of 19 people in police action on Monday and the larger issues of alleged corruption and luxury lifestyles of the political elite. A mob set a house belonging to former prime minister >Continued on P5 SPORTS India takes on UAE in Asia Cup campaign opener 15 Govt notifies 4% job quota for sporting heroes RESERVATION TO BE THROUGH DIRECT RECRUITMENT TO GROUP ‘C’ POSTS THE GOAN I NETWORK PANAJI Goa government has notified four per cent job reservation to medal-winning sportspersons at national and international level, through direct recruitment to Group ‘C’ posts. Under Secretary (Personnel-II) Durga Kinlekar  in a circular issued has directed all the government departments, semi government corporations, autonomous bodies and corporates to reserve 4 per cent of the vacancies to those sportspersons  who represent the State in the recognized National and International Sports Events and win medals. “In pursuance to the Goa Sports Policy 2009 and Circular read at preamble (1), Government is pleased to declare mandatory sports reservation of four percent (4%) for meritorious sportsperson in direct recruitment, to Group “C” posts,” the circular stated. However, the departments Circular directs all govt depts, semi-govt corporations, autonomous bodies and corporates to reserve 4% vacancies to sportspersons who represent State in recognized national and international sports events and win medals nidades (Central Zone) claim the managing committee has already sanctioned the goahead. Citing this, the administrator has reportedly advanced the next steps – and even issued a public notice regarding a plot in Survey No 63/2 on a perpetual lease  for the campus. Supporting this site selection, the State government in August decided a permanent IITGoa campus would be established on approximately 14.6 lakh square metres  of Codar comunidade land in Ponda taluka. A corresponding proposal has been forwarded to the central government for consideration. In response, residents of Codar-Bethora voiced sharp opposition during a public meeting held on Monday. They criticised the government for bypassing them in the decision-making process and raised multiple objections, including loss of fertile and cultivated land, threat to local biodiversity and wildlife and lack of community consultation. In attendance were local environmentalists, who supported concerns over irreversible ecological damage. Residents warned of escalating protests, launching a signature campaign  and public awareness drive to pressurise authorities. This controversy marks the latest setback in Goa’s nearly year-long search for a viable IIT-Goa campus location. Earlier site proposals – including Loliem-Canacona, Melauli-Sattari and Cotarli-Sanguem  – were abandoned due to public backlash. Two others – Rivona-Sanguem and Dharbandora – were dropped because of complicated land acquisition issues. Radhakrishnan elected India’s next VP, wins by 152 votes Delimitation freeze puts ST Assembly quota in limbo PTI NEW DELHI NDA candidate C P Radhakrishnan was elected the next vice president of India on Tuesday as he bagged 452 votes against the opposition candidate B Sudershan Reddy’s 300, winning the contest with a bigger than expected margin, indicating cross-voting from the rival camp. Announcing the result of the vice presidential election this evening, Rajya Sabha Secretary General and Returning Officer P C Mody said 767 MPs cast their votes out of the total valid electors of 781 in a turnout of 98.2 per cent. He said 752 ballots were valid and 15 were invalid, bringing down the required majority of first preference votes to 377. The victory of Radhakrishnan was a foregone conclusion due to ruling alliance’s numerical edge but the extent of his victory margin is a setback to the Opposition. >> See pg 8 will have to ensure that all other reservations including reservation for sportsperson do not exceed 50% of the total number of vacancies proposed to be filled by direct recruitment. Kinlekar said that in order to ensure appointment of meritorious sportsmen in Government Departments/Offices, instructions were issued to all reiterating that the appointing authorities while notifying vacancies to the Employment Exchange may reduce the number of vacancies by up to >Continued on P5 CENSUS COMMISSION SAYS NO REDRAWING OF BOUNDARIES BETWEEN JAN 2026 & MARCH 2027 THE GOAN I NETWORK PANAJI With the Census Commission of India announcing a pause in the process of redrawing electoral boundaries until March 2027, the much anticipated move to grant political reservation to Scheduled Tribe (ST) community for the 2027 assembly elections seems to have fizzled out. The BJP-led government was eyeing for 2027 polls to have four seats reserved for STs, who currently have got no seat reserved in the 40-member State Assembly, despite having a population of close to 1.50 lakh. However, the Registrar general and census commissioner of India, Mritunjay Kumar Narayan in a communication to Goa government has asked to ensure that no changes are made in the boundaries of administrative units between January 1, 2026, and March 31, 2027, during which Census exercise will take place. “For Census 2027, boundaries of DELIMITATION & CENSUS TIMELINE „„No delimitation exercise will be conducted after December 31 until the census process is complete „„Delimitation commission can only be set up once population data is available „„Constitutional amendments freeze delimitation until 2026 „„Fresh delimitation will take place only after the next census „„Census will be held in two phases -- Phase 1 (April– Sept 2026): House-listing of all buildings and housing units. Phase 2 (Feb–March 2027): Population enumeration (headcount) administrative units will be frozen on December 31, 2025,” he said. Despite repeated attempts Chief Electoral Officer Sanjay Goel and Additional Chief Electoral Officer Sunil Masurkar remained unavailable for the comments. But sources confirmed that the Election Commission of India will not conduct any delimitation exercise after December 31 and till the census process is complete. Also, the delimitation commission will have to be set up, which is possible only once population data is out. “Through constitutional amendments, the Union government had frozen the delimitation of constituencies until 2026. Therefore, a new delimitation exercise, which readjusts constituency boundaries and seat allocations, will only happen after the first census, >Continued on P5 BUYERS STAND TO GAIN, BUT… Dealers struggle to cope with GST transition challenges THE GOAN I NETWORK PANAJI onsumers will see lower prices on air-conditioners, dishwashers and large television sets from September 22, when the Goods and Services Tax (GST) on these appliances is cut from 28 per cent to 18 per cent. But while buyers stand to benefit, dealers are worried about losses on stock already purchased at the higher tax rate. Under GST rules, the tax is applicable at the time of supply, not at the time of purchase -- which means goods already lying in showrooms or warehouses will attract 18 per C Revise MRP on unsold stock, manufacturers told NEW DELHI: The government on Tuesday directed manufacturers and importers to declare revised maximum retail prices (MRP) on unsold stock to reflect changes in goods and services tax (GST) rates, with the deadline set for December 31 or until stocks are exhausted, whichever is earlier. The directive comes as the government has reduced GST on various products and services, which will come into effect from September 22. cent GST when sold after September 22, even if they were originally billed to distributors “As per the new GST rates, manufacturers, packers, and importers can revise the MRP on unsold stock until 31st December 2025 (or until stock lasts),” Union Food and Consumer Affairs Minister Pralhad Joshi said in a social media post on X. The minister emphasised that the revised prices must reflect GST changes only. “Any increase or decrease in price can only match the tax change,” Joshi said. at the higher 28 per cent rate. However, there’s a breather. “Dealers need not rush to clear their inventory, even if they have purchased at old rates. They can continue to sell their old stock at the new rate without losing input credit, provided the tax was correctly charged when they purchased it,” a GST official explained to The Goan. The GST Council reduced the levy on air-conditioners, dishwashers and televisions of 43 inches and above from 28 per cent to 18 per cent. Industry estimates suggest that buyers may save between Rs 1,500 and Rs 2,500 on average, depending on the model. “This is welcome for buyers, especially in the festive season. But distributors are worried because they purchased inventory at the higher tax rate. Unless manufacturers adjust the difference, we could face losses,” said one of the distributors. In fact, the official further stated, dealers will not face any losses, explaining that during any fluctuation in prices, the adjustments are made. “Wherever the goods have MRP, the manufacturer will have to issue the revised MRP chart. If decreased, the MRP drops and vice versa. They cannot face losses because, anyway, the goods purchased are at the ‘purchase rates’ which are sold at MRP to the consumers. The profit margin will increase,” the official said adding that all apprehensions were addressed during a >Continued on P5