Goa budget to be presented on Mar 26

Goa Chief Minister Manohar Parrikar will present the annual state budget in the Assembly on Monday.

The budget was scheduled to be presented on March 21, but it was postponed following the death of state tourism minister Matanhy Saldanha.

The Chief Minister, who holds the finance portfolio, is expected to slash the prices of petrol by Rs 11 per litre in the state, as the BJP had assured, prior to election, that it would scrap the entire Value Added Tax (VAT) on petroleum products.

Petrol costs Rs 65 per litre in Panaji. The state exchequer would have to bear an additional burden of around Rs 100 crore annually due to exemption of VAT.

Parrikar is also expected to announce hike in money distributed under Dayanand Social Security Scheme (DSS), an allowance of Rs 1,000 to housewives and honorarium to unemployed youths.

BJP had also promised to stabilise domestic gas cylinder prices for the next five years.

To garner resources, the state government is expected to tax the mining industry more and may levy 'green cess' on iron ore dumps.

The previous Congress-led government had announced a 'green cess' on the dumps in 2009 but the recommendations never materialised due to pressure from the mining lobby.