Punjab Finance Minister Harpal Singh Cheema on Monday presented the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) led Government’s maiden budget with main focus on education, health, and agriculture sectors. However, Punjab’s all 18-plus women have to wait, as of now, for Rs 1000 benefit.

Presenting a tax-free and “paperless” budget by making it available to all members via a mobile app, Cheema announced providing 300 units of free electricity to households from July 1, setting up of 117 Mohalla Clinics and upgrading 100 schools as ‘Schools of Eminence’ in the State among other proposals.

The Bhagwant Mann-led Government also announced setting up cyber-crime control units in all districts of the State while keeping its focus on health, education, agriculture, and police modernization.

However, the budget remained silent on giving Rs 1,000 to all 18-plus women in the State. Responding, Cheema said that his Government will soon fulfil “this guarantee”, while claiming that the AAP Government, in its first budget, has fulfilled four out of five guarantees it gave in run up to state assembly polls.

“In this budget, four of the five guarantees given by AAP have been fulfilled...The guarantees regarding improving health infrastructure, education infrastructure, 300 units of free power, and enhancing compensation given to families of martyred soldiers have been fulfilled...Only one guarantee of Rs 1,000 to each woman is yet to be fulfilled. And it will be done in due course of time,” said Cheema while addressing the media after tabling the budget proposals in the Vidhan Sabha.

Cheema stressed that the government will fulfil its promise of giving 300 units of free electricity per month to each household from July 1, saying it has already planned to finance this scheme by cutting wasteful expenditure and through enhancement of own tax revenue.

Presenting Punjab’s “first paperless budget”, Cheema pointed that the move is expected to save Rs 21 lakh per annum.

Among new proposals, Cheema announced setting up of modern digital classrooms in 500 government schools to bring quality education in villages, upgrading 100 existing schools as ‘Schools of Eminence’, and posting Estate Managers for a cluster of schools for the upkeep of government schools and a comprehensive scheme for installation of roof top solar panel systems in government schools.

Cheema also proposed to start a ‘Punjab Young Entrepreneur programme’ for encouraging Class XI students to propose their business ideas. The State Government will provide seed money of Rs 2,000 per student under this start-up programme, he said.

To augment additional resource generation, Cheema proposed to establish a Tax Intelligence Unit which will equip the finance department to improve tax compliances under GST through taxpayer facilitation and communication.

Cheema also announced that the government will set up 16 new medical colleges over five years, taking the total number of colleges in the state to 25. The government will establish 117 ‘Mohalla Clinics’, for which Rs 77 crore has been earmarked.

The government has decided to approve fresh recruitment of 26,454 people and regularisation of 36,000 contractual employees, the Minister said.

Amidst opposition’s allegations of deteriorating law and order in the state, Cheema announced an allocation of Rs 108 crore during 2022-23 to strengthen the police force and equip them with latest gadgets, technology and tools to tackle crime, maintain law and order.

Further, cyber-crime control rooms shall be set up in all districts with an outlay of Rs 30 crore, said Cheema. Police have to develop new strategies to deal with crime and criminals. It is important that Punjab police personnel learn about new strategies, said Cheema.

We accord top priority to the safety and security of our men and women. During our tenure, the entire State would be covered with CCTV network to check the crime and tap criminals, said Cheema.

On the stubble burning issue, Cheema said that various possibilities and solutions will be explored, and for this, Rs 200 crore has been earmarked in the budget. “Reflecting our priority to the agriculture sector, I propose an allocation of Rs 11,560 crore in FY 2022-23, said Cheema.

The focus in the first year will be to restore deteriorating fiscal health, deliver on the promises of good governance by ensuring effective use of public funds and concentrate on health and education, the Minister said, while proposing a budget expenditure of Rs 1,55,860 crore for 2022-23 reflecting 14.20 per cent growth as compared to 2021-22.

The current effective outstanding debt of Punjab stands at Rs 2.63 lakh crore.

The Finance Minister said that the Government has launched a new project namely Shaheed-e-Azam Sardar Bhagat Singh Hariawal Lehar, under which 50,000 saplings would be planted in all Vidhan Sabha constituencies on the 115th birth anniversary of martyr Bhagat Singh.

Cheema said that the State Government will issue this year the Gender Responsive Budgeting Guidelines, setting out the strategy to promote the goal of gender equality and mainstreaming for bringing in social transformation and eliminating inequality.

On the issue of free power to farmers, the Finance Minister said that the AAP-government pledges to stand by its farmers and shall continue providing free power for the agriculture sector. I am proposing a budgetary allocation of Rs 6,947 crore, he said.

Maintaining that AAP government will set up a model of good governance, Cheema said: “Our government has zero-tolerance towards corruption...Our party's birth started from the anti-corruption movement...The government is acting against those who indulge in corrupt practices.”

The Finance Minister said that the Janata budget (people's budget) has been prepared after receiving 20,384 suggestions on the government portal and through e-mails.