Staff Reporter
Panaji
A total of 24 state government departments have spent only 30% fund of the allocation made in the state budget 2024-25. These figures came to the fore during the pre-budget meeting chaired by Chief Minister Pramod Sawant on Thursday at the Mantralaya in Porvorim.
The meeting discussed various aspects of the budget, which will be presented by Sawant in March, including identifying innovative ways to boost state revenue for the upcoming financial year.
“The government has made a financial provision of Rs 1,680 crore for these 24 departments. However, they have spent only Rs 323 crore, while Rs 1,285 crore is still pending. I have instructed the concerned departments to spend as much funds of the budgetary allocation as possible in the next three months,” Sawant said.
He also claimed that out of 446 announcements made in the budget 2024-25, 70% have been fulfilled.
The pre-budget meet was attended by Chief Secretary Dr V Candavelou, secretaries and heads of departments of the government.
The crucial discussion held focussed on key aspects of preparing and implementing a balanced and forward-looking budget.
Addressing media after the meeting, the Chief Minister said 24 departments have till now spent only 30% funds of the budgetary allocation made in the fiscal year 2024-25.
“The government has fulfilled 263 announcements, while six have not been completed and remaining 107 announcements would be fulfilled by March 2025,” he said.
According to Sawant, the government has till date collected Rs 1,423 crore surplus revenue for the current fiscal. The government is making efforts to bring down the GSDP on borrowings to 25%; it has been reduced to 29% from 30%, Sawant said.
He further said that outstanding guarantee on loans has also come down to Rs 298 crore from Rs 1,500 crore in the last year.
During discussion at the meeting, Sawant, who also holds the finance portfolio, directed the departments to identify and implement innovative ways to boost revenue. He said focus is being placed on addressing under-utilisation of allocated budgets, and that the departments must ensure effective and timely utilisation of resources to prevent inefficiencies.
All the departments, corporations and autonomous bodies have been directed to explore strategies to monetise existing assets for self-sufficiency and revenue enhancement.
Deliberation was also held on reforms in service delivery processes that are essential for efficiency and improved citizen satisfaction. Sawant said the departments will simplify procedures to maximise impact. He said the departments will also conduct regular evaluation of corporations and autonomous bodies under their purview to ensure optimal performance, relevance and output.
