PANAJI:
The Goa government today told the State Legislative Assembly that it plans to avail loans worth ₹4,500–₹5,000 crore in the coming financial year under the Centre’s Special Assistance for Capital Investment scheme, which offers a 50-year interest-free tenure, even as the Opposition flagged concerns over the State’s rising debt and off-budget borrowings.
Chief Minister Pramod Sawant said that the State had already utilised ₹4,148 crore this year towards capital expenditure under the scheme and would continue to use such borrowings to fund infrastructure and development projects.
“We have taken only ₹1,250 crore loan from the open market this year against the borrowing limit of ₹4,500 crore. Next year we plan to take only about ₹1,000 crore from the market,” Sawant said, adding that Goa ranks third in fiscal management as per the assessment of NITI Aayog.
Responding to concerns over the State’s financial health, Sawant said Goa’s debt-to-GSDP ratio, which had touched nearly 30 per cent earlier, has now been brought down to 27 per cent and would be further reduced to around 25 per cent.
However, Opposition MLAs pointed out that Goa’s total outstanding debt has increased significantly over the past decade.
AAP MLA Venzy Viegas said the State’s total debt had risen from around ₹16,000 crore to nearly ₹35,000 crore over the last nine years, effectively doubling during the period.
He also noted that the government is expected to repay about ₹3,600 crore in debt this year, which could increase to around ₹4,300 crore annually by 2030-31.
Leader of Opposition Yuri Alemao criticised the government over what he described as excessive spending on events.
Alemao claimed that the government had spent around ₹677 crore on events since 2022, averaging nearly ₹47 lakh per day. Referring to the “Viksit Goa, Viksit Bharat” programme attended by the Prime Minister, he alleged that ₹13 crore was spent on a 60-minute event, amounting to about ₹22 lakh per minute.
He questioned whether the government would curtail expenditure on such events to ensure more funds are available for development.
Responding to the criticism, Sawant clarified that borrowings were strictly used for capital expenditure and not for organising events.
