PANAJI
Leader of the Opposition Yuri Alemao on Wednesday termed the 2024-25 budget as a make-believe document which only promises on paper but on the ground, the government of Chief Minister Pramod Sawant who presented the budget, has nothing to show of what is promised therein.
Participating in the general discussion on the budget, Alemao said the government spends wastefully to organise events under various departments but actually does nothing concrete. Citing an example, he said, the government spent a few crores on a 'soil conservation' event of Jaggi Sadhguru but has zero expenditure on actual soil conservation measures anywhere in Goa
For the tribal welfare department, the budget paints a rosy picture claiming that there are benefits galore for the tribal communities in it.
"In reality however, tribal brethren struggle to avail benefits under existing schemes," Alemao said, adding that applicants have to wait endlessly for scholarships and other scheme benefits.
He went on to list several other departments which similarly have very rosy claims made in the budget but have nothing much to show on the ground.
Power arrears recovery
Alemao censured the government for resorting to a hike in power tariffs at a time when the electricity department has abysmally failed to recover energy dues arrears owed to it by defaulter consumers.
According to him, the electricity department had energy dues outstanding to be recovered from defaulting consumers to the tune of Rs 1,400 crore in 2023-24 and it has only increased to almost double within the first four months of the current fiscal.
"In the first four months of the current year, the recoverable energy dues have almost doubled to around Rs 2,200 crores," Alemao said, adding that when the backlog of energy dues from consumers is so huge, it was immoral to introduce the tariff hike which he said was almost 3.5 per cent per unit.
The Opposition Leader also charged the government of being "cunning" by introducing the power tariff hike only after the recent Lok Sabha elections.
'Public debt has touched Rs 40,000 crore'
Alemao raised an alarm over what he termed as a "dangerous trend" of a burgeoning public debt of the State due to indiscriminate borrowings by the government.
He repeatedly claimed that Goa's public debt had doubled over the last seven years and said it had currently touched nearly Rs 40,000 crore.
"Stop this 'sickness' of resorting to borrowings. You (CM) are a doctor. Doctors usually prescribe medications to get rid of the sickness but you are talking of more sickness suggesting that more borrowing is permitted under the FRBM Act," Alemao said.
The Opposition Leader also urged the government to introduce fiscal discipline measures and to also immediately halt wasteful expenditure on events with fancy names like 'Viksit Goa, Swayampurna Goa' or other government events like janata darbars and 'Sarkar tumche daari'.
