PANJIM: While the State’s debt to Gross State Domestic Product (GSDP) ratio saw a decline in the financial year 2016-17, the Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) observed that Goa government will have to shell out over Rs 5900 crore to repay the debt by 2025.
CAG, in its report, said that such a huge liability to repay the debt would put a strain on the government budget during that period.
“Debt sustainability implies State’s ability to service the debt in future,” CAG said, revealing that while outstanding debt increased from Rs 11,232 crore in 2012-13 to Rs 16,824 crore in 2016-17, debt to GSDP ratio depicted a declining trend from 35.34 per cent in 2013-14 to 26.07 per cent in 2016-17.
“The ratio of outstanding debt to revenue receipt fell from 196.82 per cent in 2013-14 to 175.89 per cent in 2016-17,” the auditor said.
“While this is an improving trend, the State government may continue to make efforts to bring the debt-GSDP ratio to 25 per cent as per target fixed in the Fiscal Responsibility and Budget Management (GFRBM) Act 2014.
CAG said that the maturity of the State debt indicates that 54.11 per cent of the total debt is repayable within the next seven years. “The maturity
further indicates that the liability of the State to repay the debt would be Rs 1,884 crore during the period 2018-20 and Rs 4,037 crore during 2020-25, which would put a strain on the government budget during that period,” the report said.
CAG has observed that the ratio of interest payments relative to revenue receipts during the year 2016-17 was 12 per cent, which was less than the projected ratio of 12.43 per cent prescribed by the XIV Finance Commission.
During 2016-17, the government raised internal debt to Rs 1,427 crore, loans and advances from Government of India Rs 92 crore and other obligations of Rs 1,128 crore. “The government repaid interest debt of Rs 441 crore, Government of India loans Rs 27 crore and discharged other obligations of Rs 930 crore and paid interest of Rs 1,148 crore resulted in net availability of debt receipts by Rs 101 crore,” the auditor said.
