NT Reporter
Panaji
Congress on Wednesday said that the Union Budget 2026-27 has exposed what it termed as hollow claims made by Chief Minister Pramod Sawant during his post-Budget press conference.
Goa Pradesh Congress Committee president Amit Patkar said that despite tall rhetoric of a “visionary, people-centric and growth-oriented Budget”, the ground reality is that Goa has been completely ignored and financially short-changed.
Referring to Sawant’s statement that Goa will receive Rs 5,570.83 crore as tax devolution in FY 2026-27, Patkar said, “Not a single rupee of this amount reflects a Goa-specific decision in the Union Budget.”
Addressing a press conference along with Shrinivas Khalap and John Nazareth, Patkar said that despite the “double engine Sarkar”, Goa has been ignored, even though the Chief Minister had demanded Rs 4,000 crore from the Union Government just a month ago.
“No special package, no sector-specific allocation, no recognition of Goa’s unique vulnerabilities as a coastal, tourism-driven and ecologically sensitive state,” he said.
Congress further said that claims of Rs 3,000-Rs 4,000 crore for road infrastructure are misleading, as these amounts refer to ongoing national highway projects and not to any new announcements or Budget commitments. No fresh Goa-specific infrastructure project was announced in the Budget speech, he said.
Patkar said Goa had demanded Rs 700 crore for tourism-linked infrastructure, Rs 500 crore for the proposed Kushavati district, Rs 600 crore for coastal erosion and flood mitigation, Rs 300 crore for strengthening healthcare, Rs 160 crore for the Margao railway station redevelopment, and Rs 1,000 crore for an industrial corridor.
Against a consolidated demand of Rs 3,600 crore, Goa has been allotted only Rs 1,049 crore for five years, which works out to barely Rs 210 crore per year. Panchayat funding has been slashed from Rs 368 crore to Rs 174 crore, weakening grassroots governance, he said. He added that while the Chief Minister praises national schemes related to tourism skilling, the blue economy, MSMEs and agriculture, there is not a single Goa-specific allocation for cashew farmers, coconut growers, fishermen, tourism workers or Goan youth.
“For Goa, this Union Budget is a story of neglect, not development,” the Congress said, adding, “The Budget also exposes the failure of the 16th Finance Commission for Goa.”
