`15000 crore. That is how much the govt has borrowed till now - oHerald

20% of borrowings used to fund social security schemes with heavy interest; there’s a Rs 1 lakh debt burden on every resident of Goa; BJP govt has borrowed RS 4972 cr in 4 years

 24 Jan, 2016, 07:42AM IST

 SURAJ NANDREKAR

suraj@herald-goa.com 

PANJIM: The next time the government boasts of schemes it has introduced for the people of Goa, keep this in mind. In the last four years the BJP-led government has taken a total borrowing of Rs 4,972 crore.

Out of this nearly Rs 5,000 crore borrowings the government has taken, it has spent Rs 1052 crore on social security schemes and Rs 3761 crore on infrastructure.

Contrast this with what the Congress government had borrowed in 2011-12, in the last year of its term. A mere Rs 100.95 crore.

When the BJP came to power it first borrowed Rs 1203.23 cr in 2012-13, Rs 1296.62 cr in 2013-14, Rs 1267.36 in 2014-15 and Rs 1105.52 in 2014-15 (up to December 31).

The loans taken were from the open market, LIC, NABARD, NCDC, PFC, HUDCO, NSSF, Central loans and other ways and means.

The State has spent Rs 1052 cr on social security schemes like DSS pension, Gruha Aadhar, Ladli Laxmi, etc. In 2012-13 it spent Rs 266.34 cr, in 2013-14 it spent Rs 368.91 cr and in 2014-15 it spent Rs 417.04. On infrastructure the State has spent Rs 3761 cr so far.

Porvorim MLA Rohan Khaunte, who has been a vocal speaker on government loans in the Assembly, says that every Goan is born with a loan of over Rs 1 lakh.

“What was the need of the third Mandovi bridge when mining has been down? The government has to understand that we have a shortfall of Rs 2000 cr of mining revenue and as such there was no need for such needless expenditure,” Khaunte said.

Chief Minister Laxmikant Parsekar, who is also the Finance Minister, said the State has been borrowing within the limits as against the picture projected by the opposition that the government is heading towards a big debt trap.

“It is not that just BJP-led government has been involved in borrowing loans. All the former governments have also borrowed to meet the financial requirements of the State," Parsekar said.

“We were permitted to borrow an advance of Rs 1,945 crore for the current FY, but between April and December last year we borrowed only Rs 950 crore,” Parsekar said.

He reminded that the State is losing revenue of Rs 1,000 crore annually due to the ban on the mining industry, which has stressed it financially.

“An impression is being created that the government is funding its social security schemes through borrowings (loans). But that is not true. We spent Rs 950 crore on creating infrastructure,” Parsekar said.

According to him, between April and December 2015, Rs 260 crore was disbursed to Goa State Infrastructure Development Corporation, Rs 395 crore to Public Works Department, Rs 83 crore to Water Resources Department, Rs 110 crore to Electricity department, Rs 30 crore to Sewerage corporation, Rs 35 crore to Goa Tourism Development Corporation, Rs 20 crore to Goa State Urban Development Agency and Rs 40 crore to Sports Authority of Goa.

The government also paid Rs 100 crore installment towards the borrowings fetched during earlier financial years,” he added.

“We believe that the borrowings should be used to create capital assets. These assets are for the posterity; it is for next generation,” he said.

The CM said his government spent its revenue collected in the form of taxes on salaries, pensions and to fund social security schemes like Dayanand Social Security Scheme, Griha Adhar, Ladli Lakshmi, etc.

 

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