In view of the impending elections, the Goa Electricity Department has not recommended any increase in power tariffs. The gap in revenue of Rs 360 crores shall be recovered by budgetary support by the state government. Consumers have been paying the same rates since 2019 after the Cabinet kept the increased tariff orders in abeyance except for a levy of Rs3.50 per unit to consumers utilizing electric vehicle charging stations. For the record, the JERC had approved an increase of 5.3% across energy and fixed charges for domestic and commercial connections. This move shall provide some relief but what happens post polls is anybody's guess.
On the flip side, GST on textiles and footwear has been increased as also charges for ATM use from January 1 this year which shall hit the common man hard. Goa has registered a 73% jump in GST collections, the highest in the country on the back of economic revival especially the tourism industry and anti-evasion enforcement measures. A rollback of GST to March 2020 levels will ease the burden on the 'aam aadmi' and provide further impetus to industry and employment generation.
