Youth and women groups urged to drive clean, green and sustainable tourism.

Goa CM Calls for Local Ambassadors to Lead Waste Management, Green Protection.

Goa Chief Minister Pramod Sawant has called on youth and women self-help groups to become ambassadors for waste management and protection of the state’s green cover. Addressing women entrepreneurs managing homestays, he highlighted that the government spends crores annually on maintaining highway greenery and garbage collection through private contractors. Sawant proposed that local women’s groups be paid to adopt and maintain 25-km stretches of roadside trees, replacing out-of-state contractors and creating local livelihoods. He stressed that a “clean and green Goa” is essential to sustain tourism, noting large-scale tree plantations along national highways from Patradevi to Pollem. Sawant also underlined the role of women and youth in promoting sustainable and medical tourism through rural homestays. Tourism Minister Rohan Khaunte said homestays offer authentic cultural experiences and income for rural women, urging operators to maintain quality standards to attract tourists seeking a unique Goan experience.