NT Reporter
Panaji
Leader of Opposition Yuri Alemao called the state Budget “a catalogue of promises without financial backing”, and said it was designed for political optics ahead of elections.
“The Chief Minister has promised milk and honey in the Budget, but the Dudhsagar is running dry,” Alemao said in the House while criticising the
government’s fiscal claims.
He described the document as “a political advertisement” rather than a serious instrument of economic governance.
Highlighting the projected figures in the Budget, the Opposition Leader said that total receipts were estimated at Rs 29,181 crore while expenditure was projected at Rs 30,195 crore. He said the government was spending
beyond its means.
Referring to the claimed revenue surplus of Rs 1,666 crore, Alemao said it was “hollow fiction — achieved not through sound management but through deliberate non-release of funds to departments.”
Alemao also raised concerns over the state’s public debt, which he said now stood at Rs 35,312 crore compared with Rs 16,000 crore nine years ago.
“Today’s growth is funded by borrowing. This is
a warning for the future,”
he said.
On the Economic Survey, Alemao said tourism contributes 43.5 per cent to Goa’s Gross State Domestic Product, while agriculture accounts for about
five per cent.
“The government speaks of Swayampurna Goa, yet our farmers and fishermen have been abandoned. This is the slow disappearance of rural Goa,” he said.
Alemao also raised concerns about the credit-deposit ratio in the banking sector, which he said stood at 33.68 per cent.
“Capital is leaving the state. Our people save here, but the money is invested elsewhere,” he said, adding that the government should introduce a pro-employment policy in
the private sector.
On health infrastructure, Alemao said facilities at primary health centres and community health centres were facing shortages of staff and medicines while budget allocations were concentrated at Goa Medical College.
On education and skill development programmes, Alemao said the government should provide outcome data.
“The government talks of re-skilling but cannot tell us how many people found jobs,” he said.
