NT Reporter Panaji
The state assembly witnessed sharp exchanges during budget discussions as opposition MLAs criticised the budget as one of “empty promises,” while ruling party members defended it as realistic and achievable.
BJP MLA Ganesh Gaonkar said that from 2015-16 to 2022-23, revenue receipts dropped by 10% and actual expenditure by 22%, with capital outlay 51% lower than budgeted. “In the past two years, net receipts were 10% lower and capital outlay 29% less. This year’s budget is realistic and can achieve 90% utilisation,” he said.
Opposition MLA Venzy Viegas termed the budget “a menu card of corruption,” claiming revenue receipts were 10% lower while capital spending dropped 30–40%.“This budget shows empty promises, presented as Mount Everest but delivered as Moti Dongor,”he said, further alleging discrepancies in the Economic Survey 2024–25, which he said were corrected only after opposition intervention.
Viegas also said departments like TCP, Power, and Excise had shown incorrect data from 2019-20 to 2023-24. He alleged scams including a Rs1,000 crore land grab, a Rs717 crore Smart City scam, and a Rs70 crore PWD recruitment scam. He said revenue surplus figures included loans to project a surplus where a fiscal deficit existed.
Citing the CAG report, Viegas said Rs400 crore was underspent on roads and bridges, with over Rs2,500 crore in utilisation certificates pending.
BJP MLA Aleixo Reginaldo Lourenco said that for the first time, borrowing estimates and actuals had matched, and debt repayment was reduced. However, he noted difficulties in fund utilisation and called for increased allocations to agriculture and soil conservation to attract youth to farming.
