PANAJI: Stating that the financial health of the state is not precarious since the government has never crossed the permissible limits as regards seeking advances and borrowings, Chief Minister Laxmikant Parsekar on Wednesday assured the House that his government is fully geared up for implementing the VIIth Pay Commission, which would put an additional burden of Rs 72 crore on the government exchequer.
The revised pay rules of the VIIth Pay Commission have been recently released by the central government.
Earlier, Independent Fatorda MLA Vijai Sardesai, who raised a question during the question hour on liabilities faced by the state, said the financial status of Goa is so pathetic, that he would not like to come on the ruling side after the 2017 election for the state assembly, as the ‘legacy of debt’, which this government would leave behind for the next government would be too difficult to handle. “Today, this government has made Goans insolvents, and if it comes back to power then Goans would be reduced to the status of beggars,” he added.
“Presently, the government spends Rs 272 crore per month on the salaries of its employees as well as those in the government-aided institution, while it incurs an expenditure of Rs 52 crore on the pensions,” Parsekar, who also holds the finance portfolio added, pointing out that after the implementation of the new pay commission, an additional Rs 59 crore would be required towards these salaries, while further Rs 13 crore would be needed towards the pension payments, considering 25 per cent rise in the pension amount.
Revealing that during the year 2015-16, the government had spent Rs 1,946 crore on the salaries of its employees, and that the provision for salaries this year is Rs 2,553 crore, the Chief Minister said that like any other government, his government has been borrowing money, ensuring that the rate of interest is least. “However, that is within the permissible limits and therefore, no one should be worried,” he noted, pointing out that his government has always ensured the capital expenditure being spent on planned works including the infrastructure, and not on salaries, pensions, maintenance or schemes.
It was also informed that during the year 2015-16, an amount of Rs 1,041 crore was used by the government over capital expenditure, while during the same year, the government borrowed Rs 1,450 from the open market.
Informing that during the year 2014-15, the total public debt of Goa was Rs 9,936 crore, the Chief Minister stated that this amount looks big since the Reserve Bank of India had also taken into account the loans taken by bodies in the state public sector such as Goa Industrial Development Corporation, Economic Development Corporation, Goa Tourism Development Corporation and so on. “This figure of Rs 9,936 crore also reflects the overdrafts, which the government settles before the end of the financial year,” he added.
Maintaining that there is no concept of ‘per capita debt’ in the accounts, Parsekar said that however, if one considers the present per capita debt in Goa, which stands at Rs 68,195, then one should also consider the current per capita income of the state amounting Rs 2,71,091. He also brought to the notice of the House that the Central Statistics Organisation of India has named Goa as the number one state in the country, in terms of the per capita income.
The Fatorda MLA pointed out that as per the Reserve Bank of India observations, for every rupee spent on revenue expenditure, 78 paise are earned by the government of Goa, which means 22 per cent of the revenue expenditure is through borrowings. He also quoted the report of the Reserve Bank of India for the year 2015-16, stating that as per the report, Goa today faces a liability of Rs 14,530 crore.
NT Network Goa News
The revised pay rules of the VIIth Pay Commission have been recently released by the central government.
Earlier, Independent Fatorda MLA Vijai Sardesai, who raised a question during the question hour on liabilities faced by the state, said the financial status of Goa is so pathetic, that he would not like to come on the ruling side after the 2017 election for the state assembly, as the ‘legacy of debt’, which this government would leave behind for the next government would be too difficult to handle. “Today, this government has made Goans insolvents, and if it comes back to power then Goans would be reduced to the status of beggars,” he added.
“Presently, the government spends Rs 272 crore per month on the salaries of its employees as well as those in the government-aided institution, while it incurs an expenditure of Rs 52 crore on the pensions,” Parsekar, who also holds the finance portfolio added, pointing out that after the implementation of the new pay commission, an additional Rs 59 crore would be required towards these salaries, while further Rs 13 crore would be needed towards the pension payments, considering 25 per cent rise in the pension amount.
Revealing that during the year 2015-16, the government had spent Rs 1,946 crore on the salaries of its employees, and that the provision for salaries this year is Rs 2,553 crore, the Chief Minister said that like any other government, his government has been borrowing money, ensuring that the rate of interest is least. “However, that is within the permissible limits and therefore, no one should be worried,” he noted, pointing out that his government has always ensured the capital expenditure being spent on planned works including the infrastructure, and not on salaries, pensions, maintenance or schemes.
It was also informed that during the year 2015-16, an amount of Rs 1,041 crore was used by the government over capital expenditure, while during the same year, the government borrowed Rs 1,450 from the open market.
Informing that during the year 2014-15, the total public debt of Goa was Rs 9,936 crore, the Chief Minister stated that this amount looks big since the Reserve Bank of India had also taken into account the loans taken by bodies in the state public sector such as Goa Industrial Development Corporation, Economic Development Corporation, Goa Tourism Development Corporation and so on. “This figure of Rs 9,936 crore also reflects the overdrafts, which the government settles before the end of the financial year,” he added.
Maintaining that there is no concept of ‘per capita debt’ in the accounts, Parsekar said that however, if one considers the present per capita debt in Goa, which stands at Rs 68,195, then one should also consider the current per capita income of the state amounting Rs 2,71,091. He also brought to the notice of the House that the Central Statistics Organisation of India has named Goa as the number one state in the country, in terms of the per capita income.
The Fatorda MLA pointed out that as per the Reserve Bank of India observations, for every rupee spent on revenue expenditure, 78 paise are earned by the government of Goa, which means 22 per cent of the revenue expenditure is through borrowings. He also quoted the report of the Reserve Bank of India for the year 2015-16, stating that as per the report, Goa today faces a liability of Rs 14,530 crore.
NT Network Goa News
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