the goan I network
PANAJI
In a worrying signal for the State Government’s finances, sources revealed that the government’s borrowings are about to touch Rs 681 crore in December.
This is the highest that the government has borrowed for any month. So far, the maximum the government borrowed in a particular month was Rs 400 crore.
On December 31, the government will borrow Rs 381 crore after borrowing Rs 200 crore on December 17 and Rs 100 crore on December 10.
Goa’s borrowings are already hitting a ceiling even though three months are still remaining for the 2019-20 financial year to end.
Sources further informed that the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) had fixed a credit limit of Rs 2,691 crore for Goa Government for the entire financial year 2019-20. Every year, in the beginning, the RBI fixes credit limit for all the states.
Goa Government is close to touching the yearly borrowing limit of Rs 2,691 crore within the first 9 months itself. It remains to be seen what will happen in the next three months, till the end of March 2020.
Meanwhile, the RBI had fixed a credit limit of Rs 3,250 crore for 2018-19 and Rs 2,540 crore for 2017-18 for Goa Government. This shows that the ongoing financial year’s credit limit was anyway lower than the previous year’s limit.
Sources revealed that the main reasons for the government to increase the borrowings are loss of revenue due to mining closure, delay in getting GST compensation from the Central Government, and no meaningful contribution from any other sector.
Despite repeated assurances, there are no signs of mining restarting again. Historically, iron ore mining has been one of the major contributors to Goa’s economy. However, mining is shut for a long
time now and as a result, Goa Government is losing its tax revenue and mining dependents have lost their livelihood.
Another major sector, tourism, is going through a massive slowdown with a severe decline in the number of British and Russian tourists. This is the second consecutive season that tourism has shown a decline.
The Central Government is delaying compensation for GST collections to the State Government, which is adding the pressure on the latter. Goa Government is yet to receive Rs 230 crore from the Central Government for the shortfall in its GST collections for October and November.WORRISOME
Government borrowings were highest in the month of December at Rs 681 crore
However, the State administration says the borrowings are within the prescribed limit of 3 per cent of gross state domestic product (GSDP).
As statistics submitted by Chief Minister in the Assembly, the debt which was Rs 9,936.02 crore in 2015-16 increased to Rs 11,344.19 crore in 2016-17.
In 2017-18, it increased to Rs 12,395.42 crore and Rs 13,180.55 crore in 2018-19
The government pays around Rs 1000 crore per year towards interest on these loans
