PANAJI: GPCC Working President Sunil Kawthankar accused the BJP government of pushing Goa into a financial crisis, alleging that Chief Minister Pramod Sawant told the Assembly that no loans had been taken during the current period, only for the government to borrow Rs 700 crore soon after the session.
Addressing a press conference on Thursday, Kawthankar said the government borrowed Rs 500 crore in September and another Rs 200 crore within 10 days in October, taking fresh borrowings to Rs 700 crore. He claimed that Goa’s total public debt stood at approximately Rs 38,000 crore. The borrowing followed assurances by Sawant during the recent three-day Assembly session, after Leader of Opposition Yuri Alemao raised questions about the state’s mounting debt, Kawthankar said. He demanded that Sawant, who also holds the Finance portfolio, issue a white paper detailing state borrowings, annual debt servicing costs estimated at around Rs 4,000 crore, and liabilities incurred through state corporations such as the Economic Development Corporation (EDC).
Questioning the government’s claims of a Rs 1,000 crore budget surplus, Kawthankar alleged that the figures were misleading. Referring to the Comptroller and Auditor General’s (CAG) 2025 audit report, he claimed that the state’s borrowings violated Fiscal Responsibility and Budget Management (FRBM) guidelines.
Congress leader Rahul Mhambre also criticised the government’s financial management, alleging that corruption ran into crores of rupees through tenders and commissions. Kawthankar claimed that the government had spent Rs 700 crore on event management over the last five years, averaging Rs 140 crore annually. He alleged that routine events, including those organised for visits by the Prime Minister, Yoga Day and Prerna Din, were conducted without competitive tenders, with post-facto approvals allegedly used to award contracts to favoured vendors. He cited a two-day event involving the Lok Sabha Speaker, which he claimed had cost Rs 8 crore. “Taking loans can be justified if the money is used to build roads, schools or hospitals. However, facilities at the South District Hospital remain inadequate and primary health centres continue to be neglected,” the Congress leaders alleged.
Kawthankar further claimed that around Rs 3,000 crore in green cess remained uncollected from major coal importers, including JSW and Adani. He also alleged that the Electricity Department had around Rs 500 crore in outstanding dues from commercial and industrial consumers, while households faced sharp increases in electricity bills. He accused the government of failing to address the alleged cash-for-jobs scam, claiming that an unauthorised operator had worked out of the Old Secretariat and managed unofficial collection networks involving police personnel. Kawthankar held Sawant accountable in his capacity as Home Minister.
On alleged illegal constructions and conversions under Section 39A of the Town and Country Planning (TCP) Act, including a structure attributed to a West Bengal BJP leader in a heritage or Coastal Regulation Zone (CRZ) area, Kawthankar accused the department of favouring influential outsiders over local residents.
“The TCP Department has become ‘Country Selling’ instead of Country Planning,” he said, adding that Congress leaders in Canacona would pursue the alleged illegal conversions and constructions through legal channels.
