Cabral at a press conference, flanked by Finance Secretary Daulat Hawaldar, gave facts and figures on the amount previous governments have borrowed and how much is being paid back. He said that every government borrows for development and infrastructural works, and this government’s borrowing is well within ‘permissible’ limits, a word which is becoming quite popular with the current dispensation.
Agreed, Cabral said that the Congress government from 2007 to 2011 had borrowed huge sums, even when mining was at its peak, and its revenue had contributed immensely to State treasury. This was a good argument, considering no major developmental work was carried out then. We understand there is no financial emergency, as of now, but at this rate we are surely heading for a crisis. Also, the question arises as to why borrow and create infrastructure? Can’t we wait till the mining issue is settled and the dwindling tourism figures return to normal, and then take a call on development?
To Cabral’s contention on debts, here are a few facts: in 2018, for the first time a State government document had admitted that public debt has been rising continuously. The Economic Survey 2018 said that the State’s public debt as on March 31, 2018 was estimated at Rs 13,203.42 crore, which has now risen to 15,000-odd cr in 2019. “It is observed that public debt of State is continuously rising. The public debt, which was Rs 9936.02 cr in 2015-16, increased to Rs 11,344.19 cr in 2016-17. It further increased to Rs 12,388.29 cr as per revised estimates in 2017 and is likely to increase to Rs 13203.42 cr as per 2018 (estimates),” the report had said then. The report had also criticised the sharp increase in the State’s fiscal deficit, which had shot up drastically to Rs 1,418.7 crore from Rs 763.7 crore. Mind you, this was in 2018. As on date, the loans in total are around Rs 15,000 cr and considering the budget outlay of over Rs 19,000 cr the State is paying 13 per cent, nearly Rs 2,722 cr, just to service the debt.
As per government documents, the State’s financial dependence is 24 per cent on loans and borrowings. Power is one sector, which has caused losses to the State. While the receipts from power amount to Rs 587 cr, the disbursement to the power sector is a whopping Rs 2,405 cr. Another factor is the salaries, wages, pension and gratuity, which eats into 21 per cent of the budget. What is even more shocking, is that the government says it is pro-development, but at what cost? Every individual in Goa has a debt of over Rs 1 lakh, if the debt figure of Rs 15,000 cr is considered. Should development be carried out in the current financial condition? This is a million dollar question the government and the people have to answer before it is too late. Also, it’s true that the Centre has given us about Rs 20,000 cr worth of projects but what is the use when we are finding it hard to run the government?
Despite this, the State continues with the doles of the DSS schemes for senior citizens, Griha Aadhar and other schemes of the BJP, where the disbursement to the Social Welfare is nearly Rs 800 cr. If this was not all, the State has now set its sight on the Consolidated Sinking Fund (CSF) and the Guarantee Redemption Fund (GRF), which Goa has been maintaining with the Reserve Bank of India as buffers for repayment of State debt liabilities.
