Panaji (Goa): Goa Chief Minister Manohar Parrikar has said that the state budget for the financial year 2018-19 may be presented in the month of February next year as against the practice of tabling it in March before the legislative assembly.

Parrikar made this announcement during a press conference held in Panaji at his official residence.

“I am proposing not decided, to get the budget tabled sometime in February so that we can touch the 95 percent expenditure next financial year (2018-19).  This fiscal year we will cross 90 percent,” Parrikar told reporters.

Projecting a sound financial spending during the current fiscal, the Chief Minister said that the State Finance and Planning departments are interacting with all the counterparts (departments) individually to ensure that the budgetary provisions made are properly utilised and spent in time rather than rushing during one or two months prior to the ending of financial year, which is a normal tendency.

“One good thing is that this financial year’s   trend is indicating is extremely healthy and robust spending on infrastructure and capital items,” he said.

Parrikar said that normally by September month the spending is around 26-28 percent, which has been a trend including last fiscal. 

“This is basically due to two reasons. First is that the first 6 months don’t result into adequate financial inputs because the budget is for 12 months but around 40-42 percent of the revenue is received during the first six months. Around 56-58 percent comes in the second half of the year,” he said. 

“Obviously the spending also falls on that trend. Due to rains and other issues, the spending gets restricted to around 28 months of the budget expenditure in the six month,” the chief minister explained.

“I am very happy and quite contended that this year we could cross 40 percent in terms of spending during the first six months. In fact, up to October, the figure is over 48 percent, indicating around 90 percent of the achievement of the budget by end of March 31,” he said. 

“If this happens, it will be highest in last 10-15 years,” Parrikar added.

“All the time the budget was around 70-75 percent utilization during the entire fiscal but this year we may touch 90 percent including supplementary demands,” the Chief Minister said.

Revealing the figures, Parrikar said around 25 percent of the expenditure this time was spent on infrastructure development through agencies like Goa Infrastructure Development Corporation, Public Works Department,  water supply, irrigation and others which is totalling to Rs 1,300 crore.

He said that despite additional burden in the form of seventh pay commission, the state managed to cross this 40 percent spending.

Parrikar said that the Congress which was in power ten years back had made huge borrowings to the tune of Rs 900 crore of which Rs 700 crore was paid by his government. “At the end of the current financial year,  we will pay total 1500 crore including principal amount and interest,” he said adding that the government will project all the data during next assembly session.

Parrikar said that the State is witnessing an increase in revenue to the tune of 17-18 percent despite setback due to GST implementation and delay in getting central grants allotted. “If GST gap is matched by December, the annual growth will touch 18 percent,” he said adding that there is growth in every sector.