submit your suggestions
1 Register on www.goaonline.gov.in by providing email id, mobile no, name, address and date of birth along with OTP authentication.
2 On successful registration, login using credentials and click on the Budget 2020-21 link.
3 Select sector towards which the idea/suggestion is intended. If the sector is not known or if the idea/suggestion is not pertaining towards any specific sector then select ‘Other’ option from the list.
4 Enter idea/suggestion for the upcoming budget 2020-21 in detail towards the selected sector within 10000 words.
5 Upload the supporting documents (if any) in Jpg/Png/Doc/Pdf with max size of 5MB.
6 Click on the submit suggestion button to save and submit your idea/suggestion.
* The last date of submission is January 31, by 6pm
#TGLife
In a new move, Chief Minister Pramod Sawant recently asked for suggestions from the public for the upcoming State Budget which will be presented on February 6. The present economic scenario appears challenging for Goa as two ‘traditional’ revenue-earning sectors-tourism and mining- have been battling a slowdown for the past few years. Additionally, the slowdown and fall in consumption at the national level has also adversely affected the industry, impacting areas such as automobile sales in the state. Reports suggest that the state is presently facing a 30 percent deficit. Additionally, The state government has borrowed around Rs 2,081 crore this financial year, with another set of borrowings expected in two more quarters.
During the recent meeting of various political parties and stakeholders from the industry with the members of the central Finance Commission, the ruling party asked for Rs 1300 crore for the state’s overall development, and Goan industry stated that it needs around Rs 2500 crore. Demands were also made for an amount of Rs 6000 crore to provide relief to those affected by the downturn in mining. This sort of serves to underline that the state is facing challenging economic situation. It is in this light that Sawant’s move needs to be interpreted, and this raises an important question: Will asking for public suggestions just days before the state budget really help?
GCCI’s industry related suggestions for Goa State Budget 2020-21
Water supply
n The industry requires improvement in the supply of water. It demands that the government should make regular budgetary provisions to revamp the existing distribution system or lay separate pipelines to ensure regular supply of raw water to all industrial estates over the next five years.
n A beginning could be made this year by making provision for providing raw water pipelines and other infrastructure at Verna and Kundaim industrial estates.
Task force to rejuvenate sick units
n It is estimated that there are more than 300 sick and closed units in the industrial estates
n a task force cane be set up to study the cases of closed units and come up with a scheme to cause auction of these assets and share the auction proceeds / sacrifice in proportion to their dues. This will help in the units being operative and generate employment. GIDC will also start earning lease rentals.
Power
n Allocation of Rs 1000 crore for capital works for GED, with special emphasis on improvement of the transmission system.
n Power grid has proposed setting up of a 400 KV substation at Dharbandora, 220 KV and 110 KV lines and related substations are to be set up for receiving power. In North Goa, for meeting loads of the coastal belt 220 and 110 KV substations in Saligao and Tuem were proposed.
n Subsidy for solar plants below 90 KW, both for industrial and commercial, should be continued. This will encourage usage of solar power.
Support to local industry / trade
n The industry has requested to formulate a procurement policy for the state that will ensure that at least 50 percent of all government requirements is reserved for Goan entrepreneurs as this will provide a big boost to all start-ups and other businesses in Goa and to get jobs for youth.
n The state government should implement IT policy provision to allot at least 50 percent of all government IT business to local start-ups and other IT companies in Goa.
Asking for suggestions from the public is a good step by the government, but I feel that this should have happened earlier. Having such an exercise just days before the budget may not be of much help. There’s barely any time to sift through the flood of suggestions that will be generated. That said, I would suggest that the government look for ways to increase revenue as well as cut expenditure. Maybe reintroducing the ‘border tax’ levied by the previous government might help in some small way.
” Makarand Barve, businessman Valpoi
I feel that the state needs to drastically cut wasteful expenditure on many unnecessary schemes and projects. Imagine for instance reducing the spending on building memorials of politicians, and using that money to support infrastructure and industry. Also,the government should consider reducing its stake or making an exit from public sector undertakings that are not making a profit. Finding ways to increase revenue by measures such as increasing taxes or taking loans is easy. What the government should really focus on is cutting expenditure
” Chinmay Hegde, engineer, Marcel
Firstly, requesting the public for ideas is an important step as the government can receive first-hand information from a variety of sections of society and businesses. However, this should be a continuous process between the government and the people so that there can be constant evaluation regarding the state of the economy so that action can be taken before the financial situation reaches a tipping point.
Secondly, I would like to see Goa get promoted more as a tourist destination. By this, I mean that it should be easy for a tourist to come to the state and enjoy their time here. Since mining cannot be counted as the main source of income for the state, the government should look to push out other areas. The appeal of the state should be able to match those of international destinations and draw a much larger crowd. The infrastructure of the state should also be able to cope with the demands of the influx of tourists.
” Samuel Pereira,
digital marketing professional, Porvorim
