Mashelkar,Bhatkar,Gadgil to help Goa put together Vision-2035

“The committee is expected to interact with people of Goa,find out the issues that concern them the most and give clear indication to the state on how to tackle them over the next 25 years,” Kamat told The Indian Express. He added that issues like tourism,mining,housing projects and migrants would probably top the list.

According to Mashelkar who was born in Goa and thus calls himself a “son of the soil”,the most important aspect of the document is that it will involve people rather than being one imposed from the top. “The youth have to be a major part of the vision because they are the ones who are going to be affected by it 25 years down the line. We are in the process of identifying talented young Goans through essay competitions and are also creating a web portal to reach out to them,” said Mashelkar,adding that with the highest GDP in the country,Goa is already way ahead of the rest of the country.

While the GJDC held its first meeting in Goa in July the second one took place in Pune last month. The deadline for the vision paper is March 31,2011. “The most unique part of the initiative is that it tries to transcend political limitations. In a democracy governments change all the time. This document would be one that every government in power would be bound to heed to for the state’s sustainable development,” said Bhatkar.

Others on the 10-member committee include former chairman of the finance commission Vijay Kelkar,also from Pune,Raj Paroda,architect Charels Correa,Satish Shetye and Girish Karnad.