Parrikar left us with no funds to borrow: CM

TEAM HERALD

PANJIM: Before leaving the state to join the Union cabinet, former Chief Minister Manohar Parrikar had exhausted the borrowing limit for the financial year (FY) 2014-15, Chief Minister Laxmikant Parsekar said on Friday.

Speaking after a cabinet meeting, he said that under his reins since November 8, 2014, the coalition government had refrained from introducing any new schemes as this could further strain the state’s coffers. “When I took charge, the entire borrowings limit for the financial year was exhausted. I could not borrow for the remaining four months (before the beginning of 2015-16 FY),” he said. 

Learning from the situation, he revealed that the state government – left with no alternative but to wait for borrowings for the new FY – has now decided to resort to borrowing judiciously and spread this over the year. 

“We are dividing the borrowings over 12 months. The installment of the old debt which is left to the current government is also impacting finances in a big way,” Parsekar said.

Parsekar conceded that the Centre’s funds to Goa came as a big relief and the state was able to release financial benefits to beneficiaries of various welfare schemes from these funds. “Though our financial situation is very tight, we have managed to meet the requirement as the funding from the Centre to the state has increased,” the CM said, highlighting that the halt in mining operations was a major cause of Goa’s poor financial condition.

The Union government’s initiative to enhance funding to all states helped Goa overcome a possible crisis. Its borrowing capacity has been enhanced by Rs 1,100 crore along with a Rs 1,000 crore annual raise in the share from central taxes.

“We are also getting finance by way of various Central projects like national highways, power and health. We managed to clear the backlog of payment for the social security schemes like Dayanand Social Security Scheme and Griha Aadhar of the last three months. We have not only cleared the backlog but beneficiaries are also getting paid regularly,” he added.