Daijiworld Media Network - Panaji (MS)

Panaji, Jun 6: Pramod Sawant, chief minister of Goa is instructed by the governor of Goa, Satya Pal Malik to reduce the expenditure to make funds available to battle the COVID-19 pandemic and also to help bring the economy back on track of the state.

In his letter, the governor stated that the coronavirus pandemic has severely affected the financial condition of the state treasury and the government should make all efforts to bring it back on track.

At present, the revenue loss for the government is estimated at 80% drop, while for the whole year the projection is 50%. The state could collect GST worth Rs 83.25 crore in May, which is far below the usual monthly collection. The situation in April was even worse with only Rs 30 crore collected by the state exchequer.

Commercial tax collections of the state, which is a popular tourist destination fell by 53% while the GST slumped by 55%.

The usual GST collection of the state is Rs 300 to 360 crore every month. In addition, the state also had debt and payments needs to be done for other committments which are unavoidable.

The governor had set an example by donating 30% of his yearly salary to fight the COVID-19 pandemic in addition to asking his staff at Raj Bhavan to curtail unnecessary expenditure. Sources confirmed that the Raj Bhavan will set its budget of expenses to 80% of the usual target and use the remaining 20% for measures against the coronavirus pandemic.