Goa envisages higher perfomance in 11th Plan

Panaji, Mar 7: Goa, which witnessed bouyancy in revenue collection and expenditure during the concluding 10th Five Year Plan (2002-07), hopes to witness ''much higher performance'' in the 11th Plan period beginning on April 1 this year.

Progressively rising expenditure during the successive annual plans in the 10th Plan period is a ''measure of confidence in the growth potential of the state's economy that much higher performance is being envisaged during the 11th Five Year Plan,'' says the Economic Survey 2006-07 document.

The planning commission, it said, had put the indicative growth target of 12.1 per cent, with agriculture growth at 7.7 per cent, industry at 15.7 per cent and services at nine per cent.

''This compares with the all India GDP target of nine per cent, with agricultural growth of 4.1 per cent, industry 10.5 per cent and services at 9.9 per cent,'' the document said.

Stating that the enactment of the Fiscal Responsibility and Budget Management (FRBM) Act, 2006 by the government was a landmark development'', the document said it was expected to bring down the ratio of fiscal deficit to Gross State Domestic product (GSDP) to three per cent and revenue deficit to nil by March 31, 2009.

The act is to ensure fiscal stability and sustainability through progressive elimination of revenue deficit and planned reduction of fiscal deficit. It also helps prudent and sustainable debt management and transperancy in the fiscal operation of the government.

During the fiscal 2002-03 to 2005-06, Goa registered 22 per cent compound annual growth rate in its non-tax revenue and 12 per cent in its tax revenue.

At the sametime, during the first year of implementation of Value Added Tax, the tax collection registered a growth of 31 per cent over the previous year 2004-05. During 2005-06, the revenue collection was of the order of Rs 900 crores, the document said.

The document also noted that the State Plan for the 11th Five year Plan, beginning on April 1 this year, would be finalised and approved after the constitution of the new government subsequent to holding of elections to the Goa Legislative Assembly whose term expires by May end. The legislation providing for contract farming now underway in the ongoing budget session was expected to go a long way in ''ushering a set of new programmes, policies and processes for boosting agriculture sector as envisaged in the overall strategy of the 11th Five Year Plan.

Goa was also poised to tackle rural unemployment problem through its Goa Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme enacted on the lines of the Central legislation, providing for 100 days of guranteed wage employment to the unskilled labour force, the document said.

It also mentioned of the government intention to slash non-development non-plan expenditure without affecting the development expenditure that results in creation of productive economic assets.

At the sametime, the government had been actively pursuing the public-private-partnership model for development to 'meet the gaps in infrastructure services'.

Building an International Convention Centre, Goa Broad Bnd Network, Cruise Terminal at Aguada, North-South Express way, mini-hydro electric projects on Mhadei river basin and Monorail were some of the projects envisaged under the PPP model.

''While large and mega projects would raise the level of economic activity in the state and push up the growth rate, the social and environmental aspects besides distributional impact of such proJects will have to be carefully analysed,'' the document added.

UNI