PANJIM: Law and Judiciary Minister Nilesh Cabral had flagged Chief Minister Dr Pramod Sawant over the withdrawal of House Building Advance (HBA) scheme for government servants retrospectively as it could be hit by the doctrine of promissory estoppel.
In a letter to the Chief Minister, Cabral had contended that retrospective withdrawal of the Housing Building Advance at concessional rate of interest of two per cent, wherein the government had to bear the entire difference between the prevailing bank rate of interest and the subsidised rate of interest, would cause immense hardship to nearly 1955 beneficiaries.
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Cabral in his letter had stated, “For a better understanding a beneficiary who has taken a HBA loan of Rs 36 lakh with 20 years of repayment schedule, would pay an EMI of Rs 17,430 under the scheme and the difference between the prevailing bank rate of interest and the subsidised rate of interest was borne by the government. However, after the withdrawal of his HBA scheme, the same beneficiary will have to pay an EMI of Rs 32,786 which is Rs 15,356 additional amount every month.”
“Considering the total salary that the beneficiary draws and his or her other expenses including amount required for sustaining his or her family, it will surely not be possible for the beneficiary to pay the total EMI regularly and most of the loans will become Non Performing Assets (NPAs). This in turn would have wide ramifications and lead to distress among government servants and their families and might even render them homeless,” Cabral had said in his letter.
The Minister had also pointed out that the beneficiary, before opting for the HBA scheme, will also plan for other basic requirements such as educational needs of his/her children. He had also apprehended that efficiency of beneficiaries will drop and some of them may be forced to indulge in unfair practices unbecoming of a government servant for their survival and sustenance of their families.
The sudden change in the scheme may even result in a situation like distraught farmers committing suicide when their crops are damaged and unable to repay their loans and that a similar situation may arise in the State, the Minister had cautioned.
The Law Minister had requested the Chief Minister to revisit the decision and include a saving clause in the proposed ordinance to safeguard government servants, who had already availed the HBA at the rate of two per cent interest so that such government employees should not face any financial hardships by virtue of the proposed ordinance.
The Goa government had withdrawn the House Building Advance scheme for government servants in May last year.
Cabral appears to be the first Cabinet Minister to flag the Chief Minister on any issue, followed by Revenue Minister Jennifer Monserrate who too had cautioned the government before the passing of the Goa Bhumiputra Adhikarini Bill.
