Goa CM seeks Rs 100 crore

PANAJI, DECEMBER 10: Weeks after taking over as Chief Minister of Goa, Fransisco Sardinha flew to New Delhi with a mission familiar to eve...

PANAJI, DECEMBER 10: Weeks after taking over as Chief Minister of Goa, Fransisco Sardinha flew to New Delhi with a mission familiar to every leader heading the government in India8217;s smallest state 8211; get more money out of the Centre.

Sardinha told Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee that he would settle for nothing less than Rs 100 crore. Like Luizinho Faleiro and Wilfred D8217;Souza before him, the Chief Minister insisted that the implementation of the Fifth Pay commission for State Government employees is bleeding Goa8217;s treasury dry.

With little funds to go around, Sardinha8217;s pleas may also fall on deaf ears though political compulsions force him to put on a brave face. quot;The Prime Minister agreed with me that Goa needs the money,quot; Sardinha told reporters on his return. Goa8217;s 13th chief minister in ten years is hoping that the presence of the Bharatiya Janata Party in the Government will force open the Union Finance Ministry8217;s purse strings a wee bit.

Sardinha told the Prime Minister that the Centrecollects crores of rupees by way of taxes from mining and tourism industries in Goa, but pumps back very little into the State. quot;If we have to develop infrastructure like good roads, power supply and cleaner beaches for tourists to come here the Centre must help us financially,quot; Sardinha insisted. His pitch to the tourism and telecommunications ministries too was on similar lines.

Incidentally, the presence of the BJP in the Government has also forced Sardinha to put an important source of revenue on the backburner. His predecessor Luizinho Faleiro had proposed permitting three star hotels to set up casinos in their premises. This has now been shelved.

quot;Regardless of what I think of it I will have to take the views of my alliance partners in this regard,quot; Sardinha said.

With one person out of 23 citizens in government service, the State Government is forced to pay more than 50 paise out of every rupee earned on salaries to employees. This includes salaries and pensions to teachers who are paid out ofthe grant-in-aid provided to educational institutions.

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Interest payment on loans availed by the state account for another lumpsum in expenses 8211; 18 paise while just four paise have been kept aside for paying the principal loan amount. This leaves only 14 paise for capital outlay 8211; jargon for infrastructure development and maintenance.

With a revenue deficit of Rs 153 crore estimated for the current financial year, there are not many avenues to tax the people, politicians and bureaucrats admit. With politicians clearly unwilling to take the hard options, softer alternatives like increasing financial outlay from the Centre is clearly preferred by succeeding chief ministers of the State.