Team Herald

PORVORIM: The Opposition on Friday denounced the Goa Budget saying it lacked a clear vision and failed to tackle the main issues pertaining to the State such as Medium of Instruction (Mol), shifting of casinos. 

Leader of the Opposition Chandrakant Kavalekar said, “The budget does not project anything new. The chief minister has said that the pending schemes will be taken up. This budget offers packages only for the constituencies of their MLAs, it may be that as they were not given ministries and the government wanted to keep them happy.”

He added, “It does not look like there will be development in all 40 constituencies as some constituencies have not been taken equally. The projects currently going on in the opposition constituencies were not taken up. Suddenly they have increased 15 percent VAT on petrol,” Kavalekar said.

Congress also stated that the budget lacks ‘lustre’ and termed it ‘totally hollow’ as there is nothing for Goenkar or Goenkarponn.

“Development and progress have come to a grinding halt. The economic status of the State is on a total meltdown. RBI is saying we are on the debt trap while the RBI Governor is saying that the State’s loans have reached to such an extent and we have nearly one lack per capita loan, the biggest challenge is unemployment situation. This budget has nothing for the famers as well as the unemployed. The government is totally bankrupt. What is there for the educated? How are we going to face this and the future? Congress party has worked for Goenkarponn and preserved it. This budget has nothing for Goa,” State Congress President Luizinho Faleiro said.

The opposition also said there is no mention whether the government will reduce public debt or how it is planning to tackle this issue or if the government will pay.

“There is no mention whether the government will reduce public debt. Vigilance in the last five years has gone to minus zero, and not a single case of vigilance has been taken to a logical end,” Curtorim MLA Aleixo Reginaldo Lourenco said.

The opposition has also claimed that the government has still not implemented the Minimum Essentials Services Implementation Bill.

 which was passed in 2013 and that the Chief Minister has promised to implement it now.

“Most of the things which had remained unimplemented in the last four years are being taken up now in this budget, so there is nothing new, even for that matter district hospital in Margao which was suppose to be completed in December 2016 is now extended further to 2018 so for a record six years the people of South Goa have suffered. Even VAT on petrol has increased in this budget. I think hardly anything is there in this budget. I really do not know what is the meaning of Goenkarponn they should define it,” Digambar Kamat said.