the goan I network
PANAJI
Chief Minister Manohar Parrikar on Saturday announced that Goa government's spendings on capital and infrastructure expenditure have crossed 40 per cent, the highest in over a decade.
Speaking at his official residence at Altinho, Parrikar said, "I am happy and quite content that we could cross 40 per cent in spendings during the first six months. By October, Goa is likely to have exceeded 48 per cent of the capital spendings. This indicates the possibility of around 90 per cent utilisation of the budget by the end of the financial year. If that happens, it will be among the highest in the last 10 to 15 years."
He informed that, normally the trend is that in first six months the budget spending is restricted to around 26 to 28 per cent of the budget expenditure. This is the cycle in Goa.
Meanwhile, the revenue received touched 40 to 42 per cent. The total spendings of the state government stand at around Rs 5,700 crore in the first half of the year, which is the highest in a decade. "Over Rs 1,300 crore or around 25 per cent of the total expenditure has been made entirely on infrastructure development," Parrikar informed.
Infrastructure departments include departments such as Public Works Department, water resources, irrigation, forest, electricity, agriculture, sports, Goa State Infrastructure Development Corporation and Goa State Urban Development Agency. It was, however, pointed out that the major additional burden on the government at this juncture is posed by the Seventh Pay Commission, which was declared 2016. However, as the actual bills began to pour in only from April this year, Seventh Pay Commission arrears are presently about 20 to 23 per cent of the salary bill.
Chief Minister Manohar Parrikar disclosed that he convened series of macro-management meetings over the month to ensure that budgetary provisions were made properly and that the spendings were made in time so as to avoid the last minute rush.
"28 major departments with more than Rs 100 crore spending were called in for a status report. This is a good trend which showcases healthy, robust spendings on infrastructure and capital items," Parrikar said. Speaking about the hurdles posed by the finance department in monitoring the spendings, Parrikar listed GST and a 15-day delay in receipt of central funds. "In first month, GST plus VAT was around Rs 217 crore. Last month it was around Rs 246 crore. This month it is Rs 254 crore. Since GST is a consumption based tax, I expect next month to exceed Rs 270 crore. By November or December, as more and more people pay, we should come to normalcy," he said. The other difficulty presently managed by the finance department is that the central government has shifted the state share payment of finance commission from 1st to 15 the of the month.
Meanwhile, it was informed that the revenue growth currently stands at 17 to 18 percent despite GST setback. "Once GST gap is matched, our annual growth will match 16 to 18 per cent," the CM concluded.
