PANAJI
The Government of Goa will begin implementing Seventh Pay Commission salaries for government servants from November 1 this year while the arrears from January 1 will be credited to either the Provident Fund or to the New Pension Scheme. Replying to concerns of the legislators over the implementation of the VIIth Pay Commission, Chief Minister, Laxmikant Parsekar said his government was fully prepared for the additional expense. “Seventh pay notification of the government accepting it will be notified after Ganesh Chaturthi and it will reflect in the November salary,” Parsekar told the Goa Legislative Assembly. The Chief Minister, who was replying to the House on the state of the State finances, sought to reassure the House that there was nothing amiss and dismissed the Opposition s claim that the State had entered into a debt trap . “There is a limit to the borrowing. It cannot be more than 3 per cent of GDP. All States borrow on this principle. Our borrowings are within the limit and are exclusively for capital expenditure like that of infrastructure including building roads, water supply, sewerage, bus stands colleges, markets, schools, etc.” Parsekar said. “We funded social welfare schemes which were generated through tourism. The money was pushed into the market through social schemes, due to which there was growth,” he said. “We are responsible for the repayment. We are paying all installments both interest as well as principal amount on time,” Parsekar said.
