PANAJI
Goa's burgeoning debt which has been a matter that consistently earns the Government criticism annually has also caught the attention of the Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) who's report for the 2021-22 fiscal was presented to the House on Thursday by Chief Minister Pramod Sawant.
The CAG has flagged the astronomical debt to Gross State Domestic Product (GSDP) ratio of the State which touched 32.13 per cent as of March 2022, way above the 25% upper limit envisaged in the Fiscal Responsibility & Budget Management (FRBM) Act.
According to the CAG report, the debt to GSDP ratio has steadily climbed in five years between 2016-17 and 2021-22 from 26.75 per cent to 32.13 per cent as of March 31, 2022.
In 2021-22 alone, the net debt of the State spiked by Rs 2,597 crore. Pertinently, it was the peak of the Covid-19 pandemic in that year, and States were permitted to borrow above the FRBM Act limits.
The CAG's audit report for 2021-22 also flagged several other fiscal misdemeanors of the State administration including the failure to obtain utilisation certificates in thousands of cases collectively aggregating a spend of Rs 1,971 crore.
The report also found fault in some cases where the State suffered loss of income, including one in which controversial contractor M/s Venkata Rao Infra Projects Pvt Ltd got underassessed for Value Added Tax (VAT).
The CAG pointed out that by allowing M/s Venkata Rao Infra Projects Pvt Ltd, 58 per cent deduction on gross turnover instead of the eligible 50 per cent, the State granted the contractor an excess refund of Rs 3.75 crore.
Short levying licence fees from hotels for sale of liquor by Excise stations in Sanguem, Quepem, Pernem and Canacona was also flagged in the CAG report.
