Panaji, Feb 11 (IANS): Goa has become the sixth state in the country to successfully undertake the Urban Local Bodies (ULB) reforms stipulated by the Union Finance Ministry.

With this, the state has become eligible to mobilise additional financial resources of Rs 223 crore through Open Market Borrowings. Permission for the same was issued by the Department of Expenditure.

Goa has joined five other states namely, Andhra Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Manipur, Rajasthan and Telangana, who have completed the ULB reforms. On completion of this set of reforms, these five states have been granted a total additional borrowing permission of Rs 10,435 crore.

These reforms are aimed at financial strenghtening of ULBs in the states and to enable them to provide better public health and sanitation services to citizens.

In view of the resource required to meet multiple challenges posed by the Covid-19 pandemic, the Government of India had on May 17, 2020 enhanced the borrowing limit of the states by 2 per cent of their GSDP. Half of this special dispensation i.e., 1 per cent of GSDP was linked to undertaking citizen centric reforms by the states.

Till now, 17 states have carried out at least one of the four stipulated reforms and have been granted reform linked borrowing permissions. Out of these, 13 states have implemented the one nation one ration card system, 12 states have done ease of doing business reforms, 6 states have done local body reforms and 2 states have undertaken power sector reforms.

Total reform linked additional borrowing permission issued so far to the states stands at Rs 76,512 crore.