Goa Chief Minister Laxmikant Parsekar today informed the Assembly that his government is financially equipped to implement the Seventh Pay Commission award and Rs 2,553 crore have been provided for the same in the current year budget.
"We will be implementing the Seventh Pay Commission. As per the revised pay scale, the government will have to pay Rs 272 crore per month which is against Rs 213 crore per month as per the existing scales," Parsekar told independent MLA Vijai Sardesai.
He said for the payment of pensions, the government will have to pay Rs 13 crore more from the present Rs 52 crore being paid under the existing scale.
"As per the revised scales, after the implementation of the Seventh Pay Commission, the government has to pay Rs 72 crore per month," the Chief Minister added.
Parsekar said during 2015-16, Rs 1,946 crore were earmarked for salaries and pensions, which has now gone up to Rs 2,553 crore to make up for the liability created by the Seventh Pay Commission.
Sardesai claimed there were discrepancies in the state's debt and fiscal deficit numbers provided by the government as well as the Reserve Bank.
While total public debt of the state stood at Rs 9,936 crore in March 2015, the RBI has put the same at a much higher Rs 14,530 crore, the MLA claimed.
Claiming that Goa is inching towards a debt trap, Sardesai, quoting RBI numbers, said out of every rupee spent by the state only 78 paise are earned, while the rest comes from borrowings.
Defending the financial situation, Parsekar said per capita public debt in the state is Rs 68,195 while per capita income is Rs 2,71,091 and that the state has been borrowing within the permissible limit only.
He further said the borrowings are spent towards infrastructure creation and not to fund social welfare schemes and during 2015-16, the state spent Rs 1,041 crore as capital expenditure.
