Government SPEEDS UP ON ELECTION 2022 HIGHWAY

Team Herald

PORVORIM: With an eye on the elections to the State Assembly, due early 2022, Chief Minister Dr Pramod Sawant on Wednesday presented a “please all” Budget, and avoided imposing or raising taxes as a measure of garnering revenues, to revive the State economy hit by the COVID-19 pandemic. The government announced the creation of 48,000 jobs of which 11,000 will be in government and the rest in the private sector in the coming year.

Though the government announced a Rs 58 crore revenue surplus Budget for 2021-22, it failed to highlight the source of income generation, while it proposed to slash Infrastructure Tax by 30 per cent for a period of six months with effect from April 1, 2021. 

“Administration at Your Doorstep” and “Health for All” are the two major initiatives, that the Budget proposes to roll out from September onwards.

With a 19 per cent rise (Rs 1,719 cr) in budgetary provision for the Health Sector, Sawant has proposed to amend the existing Mediclaim Scheme to include cancer patients, with credit facilities, within the scheme and to increase the income limit eligibility to Rs 5 lakh. The government also proposes exploring covering major organ transplants for which a provision of Rs 3 crore has been made for the year.

A master plan for sewerage facilities for the State amounting to Rs 4,735 crore, construction of the tallest state-of-the-art multi-storeyed administrative complex/building at Patto, Panjim at a cost of Rs 250 crore, Rs 600 crore outlay for hot mixing and maintenance of the roads, Rs 100 crore provision under MLA Local Area Development scheme are some of the major announcements. 

The Chief Minister on Wednesday presented a Rs 25,058.65 crore Budget, which is 19 per cent more than the Budget outlay for 2020-21. The total capital expenditure is pegged at Rs 6,914.65 crore, while the revenue expenditure is at Rs 14,729.03 crore. 

The capital receipts are at Rs 3,631.84 crore while the revenue receipts are Rs 14,787.49 crore. 

“The net expenditure for the year 2021-22 has been estimated at Rs. 21,646.68 crore showing an increase of 12.8 per cent over the last year. Similarly the revenue receipts are estimated to increase at 16.39 per cent over the last year, due to greater central assistance in this fiscal year,” the Chief Minister said in the Budget speech.

He also said that due to the COVID 19 pandemic, the Gross State Domestic Product (GSDP) estimates for the year 2021-22 are estimated at Rs 89,421.61 crore with a growth rate of 9.72 per cent as compared to 2020-21 and a Per Capita Income of Rs 5.70 lakh, which is highest in the country.

Responding to media questions, Sawant said that revenue would be generated from the State’s own tax share, non-tax share and from the Central tax share. “I have a scope till December end to implement my Budget. Before the election code comes into force, the Budget will be implemented,” he said.