The Goa government granted a six-month extension to off-shore casinos, located on the Mandovi river, on Wednesday. A policy decision on their relocation will be taken at a later date.
Goa Chief Minister Manohar Parrikar, at his Cabinet briefing at the State Secretariat, urged people not to “draw a wrong meaning”.
He said that the decision taken by the Cabinet was in accordance with the promise of a new relocation policy which was made by the BJP-led coalition government.
“We have extended it by six months, but it will not take that long. By December we should be able to come out with the policy,” Mr. Parrikar said.
The state has five operational off-shore casinos on the Mandovi river and ten operate from hotels. Anti-casino groups including women's collectives and political parties have been critical of the State government for allowing offshore casinos on the river.
