Team Hearald
PORVORIM: Assuring the state legislative Assembly that the State’s financial position was “sound”, Chief Minister Manohar Parrikar on Friday said the state’s revenue growth witnessed 21.83 per cent growth in the first quarter of the current financial year.
Expressing confidence, the chief minister also went on to say that the state’s fiscal management was totally under control and that currently Rs 152 crore was available in the state’s treasury.
“With the implementation of the GST, the state is expected to receive Rs 400 to Rs 500 crore,” said Parrikar while replying to the budget discussion.
He further said the state receives a total of Rs 268 crore annually from the casinos and that the government shall not issue any more licences.
“In 1995, the first licence for off-shore casino was issued by the then Congress government and later the same government in 2003 issued another licence from where the (casino) tradition in the Goa got underway and Ravi Naik was the chief minister then,” Parrikar explained during the budget reply.
The chief minister also assured that the National Games will take place in Goa next year in November and soon after Ganesh Chaturthi, a series of meetings will take place along with the sports minister Manohar Azgoankar assuring that the state will not have to pay the fine due to the postponement of the games.
Speaking about social welfare schemes, Parrikar said the state government spends a whopping Rs 63 crore monthly and that there was need to review the schemes as there were many beneficiaries who were taking undue benefits.
“In my estimation, almost 15,000 names will be deleted after the schemes are reviewed as after the implementation of the Seventh Pay Commission, their income limit has crossed the eligibility limit,” he said.
Parrikar further clarified that only coconut vendors have been removed from the highways in view of the rising accidents and not the local vegetable vendors.
“Only the coconut vendors have been removed from the highways and not the local vegetable vendors but only in the case where it is an accident-prone zone, the vegetable vendors have been removed and they shall be shifted to a new location,” assured Parrikar.
The Chief Minister also went on to say that the growth target was expected to be 11 per cent in the next year.
