The Goa Legislative Assembly has quickly passed their own salaries, allowances and pension bill overruling the opposition and factual information by brute force of majority. When there is a pay commission for government bureaucrats and others, they have used their power to not install any statutory independent authority that justifies a hike based on finances.
This is an undemocratic and bad precedent that has been set by and for themselves especially when there is a financial crunch and the CAG report ending March 2022 red flags a spike in debt to GDP ratio as 32.6% way above the ceiling of 25% under the GFRBM Act (Goa fiscal responsibility and budget management Act). Also, the state’s contributory pension scheme has adversely impacted the revenue and fiscal deficit.
The lavishness under the circumstances can be gauged despite the hike/perks, allowances for accommodation outside state raised from Rs7000/month to Rs 12,000/day, personal staff from 5 to 7 and ex-MLAs will reportedly now get a pension of 2 lakhs. We the people are quietly watching the government be able to do anything they want like withdrawing the Bhumiputra bill, passed in haste in 2021 without giving any justification as reportedly demanded by the opposition now reduced to only to 7 members. Where is democracy and accountability going?
