log on to thegoan.net SATURDAY DECEMBER 21, 2024 BOOK AVAILABLE ON @thegoanonline Facebook.com/thegoan The Goan E-Paper (Playstore/IOS) 15 pages PRICE ` 10 PANAJI MARGAO GOA VOLUME X, NO. 184 RNI: GOAENG/2015/65729 HC grants conditional approval to Sunburn SAYS STRICT ADHERENCE TO NOISE POLLUTION CONTROL, TRAFFIC MANAGEMENT, PUBLIC SAFETY ESSENTIAL THE GOAN I NETWORK page 7 Goan pastry chef’s cake is icing at HCI Christmas event in London Goan group in US pushes for St Joseph Vaz as Patron Saint PANAJI The High Court of Bombay at Goa has given the organizers of Sunburn Electronic Dance Music (EDM) festival a green signal, allowing the three-day event at Dhargalim to proceed under strict conditions. After a marathon hearing on a petition challenging the finalization of the festival venue, the Division Bench of Justice M S Karnik and Justice Nivedita Mehta stated that noise pollution, traffic management and public safety must be strictly adhered to. The court also stated that event organizers must adhere to the guidelines and ensure compliance with earlier directions issued by the High Court and the Goa government. KEY HIGH COURT CONDITIONS „„Event organizers must adhere to guidelines, ensure compliance with earlier directions issued by HC, govt „„Will closely monitor event and reconvene hearing post-event to assess any breaches or need for corrective action „„High-ranking officials to be present at festival site throughout the event „„Police to monitor traffic to prevent congestion & ensure safety „„Festival to go on but only under stringent conditions & interim arrangements “The festival will proceed but only under stringent conditions and interim arrangements,” Advocate General Devidas Pangam said quoting the orders of the Court, add- ing that it will closely monitor the event and reconvene hearing post-event to assess any breaches or the need for corrective actions. To ensure smooth execu- Instagram.com/thegoanonline tion, high-ranking officials will be present at the festival site throughout the event. The police will monitor traffic to prevent congestion and ensure safety. AG Pangam, representing the State, assured the Bench government's commitment to enforcing the directives. “All precautions mandated by the High Court and the State government will be implemented to ensure that the festival complies with the law and does not inconvenience the public,” he said. Addressing concerns raised during the plea arguments on Wednesday about the powers of the Gram Sabha to regulate such events, Pangam clarified that these powers are >Continued on P8 CM jets off to Rajasthan with 3 MLAs, fuels political buzz MOVE FOLLOWS RANE’S SOJOURN TO DELHI THE GOAN I NETWORK PANAJI Chief Minister Pramod Sawant dashing off to Rajasthan on a chartered plane with three other MLAs in tow on Friday barely a day after the number two in his Cabinet TCP Minister Vishwajit Rane's sojourn to Delhi where he had a tete-atete with Prime Minister Modi on Goa affairs has created at buzz in political circles and the corridors of power. A CMO official, however, played down the political connotations of Sawant's trip to Rajasthan saying he has gone there to attend a pre-budget meeting at Jaisalmer with Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman. A meeting of the Goods and Services Tax (GST) council is also scheduled in the desert State, the official added. The official, however, had no plausible explanation for why three other MLAs -- Krishna Daji Salkar and Premendra Shet of the BJP and POLITICS IN THE AIR „„CMO official plays down political connotations of Sawant’s trip „„Claims he has gone there to attend a prebudget meeting with Sitharaman „„No explanation why three MLAs -- Krishna Daji Salkar, Premendra Shet and Jit Arolkar -accompanied CM „„Sawant later expected to head to Delhi ally MGP's Jit Arolkar -- also accompanied the Chief Minister on the chartered plane to Rajasthan. Sawant is expected to head to Delhi after his engagements in Rajasthan, which has further fuelled the political intrigue and discussion related to this outstation trip. Here in Goa, meanwhile, speculation continues over the expected Cabinet reshuffle which Sawant himself has said will be effected by him. In the interview with the Prudent news channel, he had also ruled out any leadership change but did not give any timeline for his Cabinet rejig. In the recent past, several politicians said to be clamouring for a Cabinet berth, including Speaker Ramesh Tawadkar, Mormugao MLA Sankalp Amonkar and some other MLAs have also made trips to Delhi and met senior leaders of the BJP there. Sawant had faced a challenge to his leadership from Rane right from the day the results of the 2022 assembly elections were declared. The Sawant-Rane leadership duel even delayed government formation for almost a month. However, BJP leadership eventually settled for Sawant to don the leadership role again and placated Rane by allocating him hefty portfolios.