Goa CM to begin consultations ahead of budget

Goa Chief Minister Manohar Parrikar will start holding consultations with different sections of people to seek their inputs for the state budget to be presented on March 18.
Parrikar will meet most of the stakeholders right from farmers, taxi drivers to professionals like doctors and industry players to seek their inputs for the budget, a highly placed source told PTI.
The state government officials have already begun the process to draft the budget, which would be the second one by Manohar Parrikar who also hold the finance portfolio.
The BJP-led government was sworn in on March 9 last year, after the party and its allies registered a landslide victory in the assembly election.

Sources said that Parrikar will have to do a tight rope walk while drafting the budget as income from mining activity has stopped following a directive by the Supreme Court.
The government was expecting to receive Rs 1,000 crore by way of royalty from mining.
"New avenues of resource mobilisation will be explored in the budget while ensuring that it does not tax the common man," a senior official said.