Stating that his mission to make Goa plastic free by 2018 was delayed because of his illness, Chief Minister Manohar Parrikar on Monday said the state government will take strong steps to achieve the target.

"We will take powerful steps to ensure that Goa is plastic free by 2018. Because of my illness there was a delay, but I want to tell the people that these things need to happen," Parrikar said in his first public speech at a Goa Revolution Day event in Panaji, after his return from the US where he was being treated for advanced pancreatic cancer.