Goa Chief Minister Pramod Sawant has said that a ‘pro-people’ budget will be in place for the state this year too. He stated that the budget will stress on Swayampurna Goa or making the state self-sufficient.
Sawant said he had discussed the issue with many stakeholders and invited suggestions.
“We have taken suggestions from various areas. This will be a pro-people budget,” Sawant said. He also said that meetings with all the secretaries heads of the departments and other officials have been held to prepare a good budget.
The Chief Minister has held consultations with representatives of liquor traders, Goa Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Confederation of Real Estate Developers Associations of India (CREDAI), and small-scale industries.
He held a pre-budget consultation with representatives of co-operative societies including Goa Bagayatdar, members of the 15th Finance Commission, and tourism bodies.
Sawant said the meetings held with local bodies linked to the tourism, finance, agriculture and hospitality sectors will ensure a development-oriented budget for the financial year 2024-25.
Stating that various stakeholders have put forth their issues and made suggestions to resolve the issues, Sawant said, “Travel and Tourism Association of Goa (TTAG) has provided suggestions for a relaxation on arrival on visa, ease of doing business etc.”
“I have taken stock of the expenditures of the previous year and discussed budgetary requirements of the department and other concerns,” he said.
The Goa Chamber of Commerce and Industry has urged the government not to impose new taxes on industry and also not to hike the existing taxes.
In its suggestions to the government, the GCCI has said a three-to-five-member task force could be set up to assess the problems faced by the existing units in the state.
Goa Governor P. S. Sreedharan Pillai has summoned a six-day session of Goa Legislative Assembly from February 2.
Namrata Ulman, Legislative Secretary, had issued a notification in this regard stating the Sixth Session of the Eighth Legislative Assembly of Goa will have six sittings, from February 2 to 9.
During last year’s budget, the state government had focused on resumption of mining and tourism for revenue collection.
