PANAJI
The 16th Finance Commission has allocated Rs 1,049 crore to Goa for the five-year period from 2026-27 to 2030-31, a recommendation that has been accepted by the Central government. This is significantly lower than the State’s demand of Rs 3,600 crore, but still marks a substantial increase over the previous award.
The Commission has also turned down Goa’s request to raise the States’ share in central tax devolution to 50 per cent, with the Centre deciding to retain the existing 41 per cent vertical devolution for all States.
Despite falling short of the State’s expectations, the total allocation represents a jump of nearly 49.85 per cent compared to the Rs 700 crore granted to Goa by the 15th Finance Commission for the period beginning 2020-21.
According to the report tabled in the Lok Sabha by Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, Rs 726 crore of the total allocation has been earmarked for urban local bodies (ULBs), while Rs 174 crore has been allocated for rural local bodies (RLBs). In addition, Rs 149 crore has been sanctioned towards disaster management.
For the financial year 2026-27, the Commission has proposed grants of Rs 93 crore for ULBs and Rs 22 crore for RLBs. The allocation increases progressively over the years, with ULBs set to receive Rs 134 crore and RLBs Rs 29 crore in 2027-28. In 2028-29, ULBs are to get Rs 149 crore, while RLBs will receive Rs 37 crore.
In 2029-30, the allocation rises to Rs 166 crore for ULBs and Rs 41 crore for RLBs. In the final year, 2030-31, ULBs are expected to receive Rs 184 crore, while RLBs will get Rs 45 crore.
For disaster management, the Commission has allocated Rs 119 crore under the State Disaster Response Fund (SDRF) and Rs 30 crore under the State Disaster Mitigation Fund (SDMF).
The report does not provide any sector-specific allocations for areas such as tourism, health, education or green energy, which were among the priority sectors highlighted by the Goa government in its submissions.
The Commission, however, noted Goa’s strong fiscal performance, pointing out that the State is among a few that show a high own-revenue-to-GSDP ratio. In 2023-24, Odisha led with 13.8 per cent, followed by Goa at 13.2 per cent and Chhattisgarh at 10.6 per cent.
It also observed that Sikkim, Arunachal Pradesh and Goa spend the most per capita on health and education, and receive significantly higher per capita devolution compared to the national average. “Goa was the only State to receive a larger share in devolution than its share in population under all five Finance Commissions,” the report said, noting that under the 14th and 15th Finance Commissions, Goa received more than three times the overall per capita devolution.
