Goa Casinos Get Three-Month Extension in River Mandovi

Goa Casinos
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  • PG News July 5, 2017
  • 2 Minutes Read

Offshore casinos in Goa got a fresh lease of life after the government extended permission to the vessels by three months to continue operations from River Mandovi after failing to find a suitable alternative site for them.

The initial deadline of March 31 was extended till June 30 previously and now after the extension, casinos can continue to operate from Mandovi till September 30.

The decision was taken on the condition that the licensees would honor their earlier undertaking that they would move out of the River Mandovi as and when directed.

The five-offshore casino licensees — Delta Corp Ltd, Goa Coastal Resorts and Recreation Pvt Ltd, Highstreet Cruises and Entertainment, Golden Peace Infrastructure Pvt Ltd and Delta Pleasure Cruise Company now have relief for the next three months at least.

The sixth offshore casino, belonging to Golden Globe Hotels Private Ltd (GGHPL), is also likely to enter the Mandovi river as directed by the Bombay High Court at Goa and is likely to be moored soon after the third rug is provided as per specifications.

The state cabinet earlier resolved not to renew offshore casino licenses expiring after March 31, 2014, for operations in the current location, but in a cabinet meeting in March 2014, licenses of offshore casinos expiring on or before March 31, 2014, were renewed for two years. It was done to allow them suitable time to make alternate arrangements and move out of Mandovi.

The government had started looking for alternate sites at Aguada Bay, Zuari, Chapora and Sal rivers but somehow the proposal to shift the vessels never saw the light of day these past two years. In fact, the proposal was shot down on grounds of non-viability.

With the BJP-led government coming to power, the new chief minister Manohar Parrikar had already said that his government is committed to moving casinos out of the Mandovi river, but only after an alternate site is identified. BJP’s coalition partners have also demanded that casinos be moved out of Mandovi.

Even in its recently announced common minimum program, the state government has stated that floating casinos will be shifted from their current location.

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