State seeks release of Rs 300 crore from Delhi to implement Centre’s schemes

Panaji: State govt has urged Union govt to release Rs 300 crore in special assistance for capital investment as it has successfully onboarded centrally-sponsored schemes (CCS). Chief minister Pramod Sawant, in a letter to Union finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman, said that Goa, under Part XI of the scheme of ‘Special Assistance to States for Capital Investment’, successfully onboarded six CSS, and is eligible for Rs 300 crore as special assistance under the scheme.
The six schemes were onboarded before the deadline and in this financial year, after putting in lots of effort and follow-ups, despite the fact that the state completed UAT and other formalities with the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) and the Public Finance Management System (PFMS), Delhi, only in the third week of Feb, Sawant said.
“The entire exercise was carried out within the timelines prescribed by the ministry to get the special assistance to the extent of Rs 300 crore for Goa in this financial year itself,” the chief minister said. “However, to date, we have not received any releases under the scheme despite onboarding six schemes through the SNA SPARSH model.”
“We also projected that this assistance would be received in this financial year and have capital liabilities to be cleared against these releases,” Sawant said.
The budgetary outlay for 2025-26 is Rs 28,162 crore, of which Rs 20,299 crore will go towards salaries and loan repayment, while just 26% or Rs 7,863 crore will be used to create new infrastructure. The budget estimates total receipts of Rs 27,994 crore, a 13% rise over the revised estimates of 2024-25, while total gross expenditure stands at Rs 28,162 crore, including Rs 7,863 crore for capital expenditure.
Govt’s substantial borrowing repayment of over Rs 3,500 crore began in the financial year 2025-2026.
A senior officer said that in 2014-2015, govt borrowed approximately Rs 1,500 crore from the open market, and the 10-year term of repayment will commence from current financial year.
Besides, Goa has over Rs 30,000 crore in public debt, and considering the interest on that amount, govt has to pay around Rs 2,000 crore. Before the mining closure, govt had a public debt of approximately Rs 15,000 crore, and open market borrowing was approximately Rs 600 crore.