Panaji, Mar 30 (PTI) Goa Chief Minister Pramod Sawant has asserted that the Rs 28,163 crore state budget tabled in the legislative assembly will be implemented in totality in 2025-26, and the coastal state will achieve the target of 'Viksit Goa' by 2037 with the help of Centre.

Talking to PTI on Saturday, Sawant pointed out that his government had implemented 95 per cent of proposals from the 2024-25 budget, and he tabled details about the same in the Action Taken Report (ATR) during the budget session last week.

He said the 28,163 crore budget for 2025-26 would be passed in the next assembly session scheduled in July, but the government has already approved the vote-on-account, appropriating the finances till then.

The budget will be implemented in totality in 2025-26, he said.

Sawant, who completed three years of his current tenure on March 28, said the 2025-26 budget was "tourist-centric as well as a "Viksit Goa" budget aligning the PM's vision of "Viksit Bharat 2047".

He expressed confidence that the target of "Viksit Goa" will be achieved by 2037, 10 years before "Viksit Bharat" 2047, with the help of the Narendra Modi-led government in the Centre.

Sawant was sworn in as the chief minister on March 28, 2022, after his party managed to win maximum seats in the assembly election.

Asked about the revenue sources he intends to tap to fund the budget, Sawant said the state's routine sources were from tax collection, GST shares, and VAT collection, while the mining industry will also contribute to the revenue.

In the last fiscal, the state managed to collect almost 70 to 80 per cent of the targeted revenue, he said.

The state has e-auctioned nine mining blocks, of which two were operational, and it has already announced that the dumps (piles of ore lying in the mining belt) would be e-auctioned this financial year.

The chief minister said that the state government has started getting revenue from the Manohar International Airport at Mopa (North Goa), a Greenfield project by the GMR Goa International Airport.

"We have increased the non-tax revenue, especially from the town and country planning and revenue departments, through FAR (Floor Area Ratio) prices or circle rates on land," Sawant said.

He assured that the coastal state need not worry about revenue to fund the budget, as it has been getting tremendous support from the Narendra Modi-led Central government.

"The Union government has provided Rs 1,500 crore as an additional amount for projects, which is a 50-year interest-free loan for capital expenditure during the last fiscal, and that same amount will continue this financial year too. This scheme benefits small states like Goa," he said.

Sawant said while PM Modi has set a target of "Viksit Bharat 2047", Goa can achieve this goal in advance.

"Goa has the highest per capita income and GDP compared to other states. After developing so much infrastructure in a small state like Goa, there is no harm in aiming for Viksit Goa by 2037, and we can do that," he said.

He pointed out that of the prime minister's 13 flagship programmes, including the Har Ghar Nal and Har Ghar Insurance, 80 per cent of them have been completed.

The chief minister said the state government is also working on reviving industries, information technology, logistics, tourism, and education.

"We are working on these sectors and have full faith that we will achieve the target of Viksit Goa by 2037," he added. PTI RPS ARU

Budget implementation secured by vote-on-account; revenue measures and central support to fund development targets by 2037. The 2025-26 state budget will be implemented in full, with an approved vote-on-account appropriating funds until formal passage; fiscal support relies on tax receipts, GST shares, VAT, a central interest-free capital expenditure loan, and targeted revenue measures including mining e-auctions, increased non-tax revenue via FAR and circle rates, and airport receipts to fund infrastructure and sectoral development toward the 'Viksit Goa' 2037 target.