'Goa facing funds crunch, must cut expenses'

Newton Sequeira | TNN | Updated: May 4, 2020, 09:10 IST

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PANAJI: A cash-strapped Goa, which has been hit by a double whammy of economic slump and lockdown, is facing severe strain on funds and will have to curb its non-essential expenditure and plug revenue leaks, finance secretary Daulat Hawaldar has said.
He said with drastic drop in GST collections in March and April and the trend likely to continue for a few more months, along with the delay in release of compensation from the Centre, the state is going to face funds crunch in the coming months.
Hawaldar told the state executive committee that Goa has to meet substantial committed expenditure every month and simultaneously keep its growing debt in check.
On April 29, TOI had front-paged a report that said the state government’s tax revenue has dried up, GST dues were delayed and that budget cuts and freeze in increase of DA are being considered.
Senior officials confirmed that the state’s revenue crunch was discussed at the SEC meeting and said chief secretary Parimal Rai stressed on the need for plugging tax leakages.
“Expenditure control measures will be taken after discussion with the government. In the coming weeks, advisories may go out to departments to defer non-priority projects and unnecessary expenditure for the next fiscal year,” said a senior government officer present at the meeting.
The finance department has already started identifying measures to control the state’s expenditure and to optimise funds available with the state and central grants.
The official said the resumption of economic activity in the state will help spur some momentum and improve GST collections for May.
The SEC also noted that there has been a 17% drop in power consumption during the lockdown period as compared to the same period a year ago. The drop has been attributed to the closure of the hospitality sector.
Revenue secretary Sanjay Kumar, in a statement after the meeting, said all norms of social distancing, face masks, sanitisers and other safety norms have to be followed even as restrictions on movement are lifted in the state.
Goa police, district collectors, rural and urban authorities need to ensure that markets close by 6pm and should not open before 8am to ensure compliance with the MHA’s direction.
The SEC also noted that since distribution of ration at fair price shops has returned to normal, KTC buses, which were being used to distribute groceries, would be discontinued.
KTC officials agreed with the SEC’s decision to slowly reduce the number of relief buses since normal public transport services would resume from Monday.