Panel to suggest austerity measures

Panaji: Goa government has decided to notify a high-level committee to work for the economic revival of the state. The panel will also suggest austerity measures to be adopted by the government.

Chief Minister Pramod Sawant told reporters that the committee, which will be headed by a senior IAS official and comprising of experts would be notified by June 10. The economic revival committee headed by industrialist Shivanand Salgaonkar has already submitted its report to the state government. The committee has suggested various measures that need to be adopted to get the state economy on track.

Sawant also said the government has already begun taking austerity measures, which is one of the steps towards economic revival. “Once the committee is announced, you will know the details on what strategy it is working,” he said.

The Chief Minister had earlier stated that the tax collection in the state had dipped by almost 80 per cent during the current lockdown.

Earlier, panel had suggested various measures for revival of the state economy including banking, agriculture, mining and other sectors.

The Goa government, which has been struggling to manage the state finances after closure of the mining industry for the last more than two years, is now facing a bigger challenge on the revenue generation front as tourism industry has also been totally shut down after the lockdown, which has been imposed due to the COVID-19 pandemic.