Punjab Finance Minister Parminder Singh Dhindsa on Wednesday came out with a budget that promises not to make life ‘taxing’ in the State, but at the same time providing no relief to the people.
Presenting his fourth consecutive budget in Vidhan Sabha, Dhindsa announced a number of new schemes to give a boost to education, rural development, skill development, healthcare services, among others. On the other hand, he made no mention of the promises made in Shiromani Akali Dal’s poll manifesto like enhancing old-age pension, giving laptops to students, etc.
The new initiatives include Chief Minister Comprehensive Rural Development Scheme, Punjab Urban Development Mission, introduction of e-rickshaws, Entrepreneurship Development Programme for micro and small enterprises, Strengthening girls’ schools, construction of Gaushalas and dog pounds in each district, among many others. The Finance Minister presented Rs79,313.86 crore State annual budget for 2015-16 with a revenue deficit of Rs6393.96 crore — 1.60 per cent of GSDP (Gross State Domestic Product).
On one hand where the State Government’s budget proposals received accolades with its prime focus on skill development, industry, rural development, among others, the figures, at the same time, lay bare the slumping fiscal positions with a fiscal deficit pegged at Rs11895.15 crore — 2.98 percent of GSDP. It was Rs10,372.82 crore — 2.84 per cent of GSDP — during previous fiscal.
Dhindsa, presenting the budget proposals, said that the total size of the budget was Rs79,314 crore which also includes Rs17,500 crore towards ways and means of transactions for current fiscal or overdraft, and its effective size was Rs61,814 crore. He said that the year begins with a negative opening balance of Rs69 crore, while the closing balance at the end of 2015-16 would be Rs125 crore in negative. The state was expecting total receipts of Rs78,085 crore.
Dhindsa projected total revenue receipts at Rs60,585 crore, including Rs 46,229 crore of revenue receipts and Rs14,356 crore of capital receipts, as against Rs54,096 crore in current year. The figures for revenue receipts for the current fiscal stands at Rs42,742 crore, and for capital receipts at Rs11,353 crore. The Budget proposed an expenditure of Rs61,814 crore as against the current year’s figure of Rs56,431 crore.
The next fiscal’s proposals include Rs52,623 crore of revenue expenditure, Rs4,857 crore of capital outlay, Rs3,598 crore of repayment of public debt and Rs736 crore of loans and advance disbursals.
With total debt servicing being projected at Rs13,498 crore — Rs2,002 crore up from previous year’s figure of Rs11,496.25 crore — including interest payment and loan repayment, the state’s outstanding debt (excluding reserve funds) has been projected at Rs1,24,471.38 crore, 31.21 per cent of GSDP for 2015-16. During previous fiscal, the figure stood at Rs1,05,483.37 crore, 28.88 per cent of GSDP for 2014-15. The size of annual plan has been projected at Rs21,174 crore, just five percent up from Rs20,100 crore in 2014-15. “Out of the total plan size, a sum of Rs6764 crore has been earmarked for Scheduled Caste sub-plan,” said Dhindsa.
Giving topmost priority to the education sector, Dhindsa earmarked whopping Rs8,318 crores to upgrade the standards of school education, and Rs782 crores for the higher education. He also proposed Rs20 crores for a scheme of ‘Strengthening of Girls Schools’ in Punjab “to ensure that no girl student misses education due to lack of basic facilities in schools”. Under the scheme, 121 Government girls’ high schools or senior secondary schools in 144 CD blocks will be strengthened in terms of basic infrastructure.
The second highest allocation of Rs5638 crore was made to for justice and law and order including Rs110 crore for infrastructure facility for judiciary, Rs30 crore for prevention of crime and improvement of Police Public Relations, and Rsone crore for setting up suvidha centres.
For power sector, an outlay of Rs5,484 crore has been earmarked “to compensate the power corporation for free power to farmers and rural poor”, including an allocation of Rs50 crore for providing 24-hour urban pattern power supply to left out dhanis, Rs960 crore for transmission, Rs1040 crore for generation, Rs1750 crore for distribution including Rs950 crore for re-structured accelerated power development reforms programme.
Dhindsa maintained that a provision of Rs5484 crores had been made to continue the power subsidy, including free power to 10 lakh farmers’ families in the state and up to 200 units of free power to five lakh BPl and 18 lakh Scheduled Caste (SC) families in the State. The figure stood at Rs5300 crore during previous fiscal.
To ensure farm growth, Dhindsa allocated Rs3,512 crore aiming at strengthening the agriculture and allied sectors. For the same, he allocated Rs300 crore for Punjab Agricultural University, ludhiana, Rs230 crore for strengthening of agriculture and allied sectors under RKVY, Rs63.50 crore for National Horticulture Mission, and Rs50 crore for National Food Security Mission. To facilitate the sugarcane farmers and dealing with their long pending demand of the delayed payments, the Government has set aside Rs600 crore for making payment to the cane growers.
Giving priority to the welfare of SCs, BCs and minorities, Rs1173 crore has been allocated for the same. The plan outlay has increased from Rs819 crore in 2014-15 annual plan to Rs984 crore in 2015-16.
Dhindsa has proposed Rs45 crore “for integrated development of all villages having SC population of more than 50 percent under the Pradhan Mantri Adarsh Gram Yojana”. Besides, a pilot project for solar roof top programme, exclusively for SC population, has been included with an outlay of Rs1.50 crore.
Also, the Government has set aside Rs98 crore for Shagun scheme, Rs13 crore for attendance scholarship to SC, BC, EWS primary girl students, Rs10 crore for vocational training in ITIs for SC students, among others.
Focusing on skill development, Dhindsa earmarked Rs200 crore for setting up of three specialised Skill Development Centres in construction sector, besides opening 2,000 skill training centres for girls and 500 for boys in villages. “The State will be a crucial partner in the ‘Make In India’ campaign. The State has set up an empowered ‘State Skill Development Mission’ with three tiers at state, district and block level,” said Dhindsa, in his budget speech.
For its ambitious and “election-wining” Atta-Dal scheme - under which subsidised food grains were provided to weaker sections, the state budget made provision of Rs400 crore. “Around Rs400 crore has been allocated for New Atta Dal Scheme and it is estimated that 8,70,000 MTs of wheat and 65,000 MTs of pulses shall be distributed during the year,” said Dhindsa.
A sum of Rs2,018 crore is proposed to be spent on road infrastructure, besides Rs3,000 crore for national highways. Under this, Rs700 crore has been sanctioned for strengthening of rural roads, Rs66 crore for high level bridges, Rs64 crore for ROBs/RUBs, Rs302 crore under Pradhan Mantri Gram Sadak Yojana.
Besides, Rs1,005 crore shall be invested by the Punjab Government on improving the Irrigation Infrastructure including Rs135 crore for re-construction of distributaries and minors, Rs211 crore for construction or lining of water courses, Rs190 crore for anti-water logging and flood protection - that is Rs180 crore for anti-water logging measures in South western districts of the state.
“The State Government will provide Rs15 crore for cleaning of various canals in the State. Besides, an amount of Rs55 crore collected on account of water cess will be spent on maintenance, repair and modernization of minors and distributaries in the State,” he said.
Growth-oriented, pro-people: CM
It is growth-oriented and pro-people. It is in consonance with the State Government’s endeavour to achieve a target of comprehensive development and will take care of each section of the society besides propelling the tempo of overall growth of the State. This is a perfect roadmap to further put the State in the orbit of high growth trajectory.
The budget strikes a perfect balance in agriculture and industry as the agrarian sector has been allocated Rs3,512 crore while industrial sector would get a major fillip with the new Entrepreneurship Development Programme for micro and small enterprises. It has taken care of all core sectors — health, education, power, infrastructure, social security, water supply and sanitation, horticulture and others.
Sukhbir lauds Dhindsa for fiscal turnaround
I congratulate Parminder Singh Dhindsa for the fiscal turnaround achieved by the State along with the new thrust given to development and social welfare. Fiscal measures have resulted in 10.16 per cent growth in gross state domestic product (GSDP) at for fiscal year 2014-15.
‘Worst ever’ Budget, will add to agonies
Punjab budget, tabled in the Assembly on Wednesday, came under attack from the opposition Congress and the Aam Aadmi Party, which described it as the “worst ever” budget which will “add to the agonies” of the people. Punjab Congress chief Partap Singh Bajwa termed the budget proposals as the “worst ever” in the democratic history of the State. “Dhindsa had made a desperate attempt to just sail through without promising any new schemes while admitting that the State was bankrupt. It is an exercise in futility,” he said.
Congress Deputy leader in lok Sabha Capt Amarinder Singh criticised the budget saying that “only recurring theme of the budget is debt and deficit both of which are multiplying at an alarming proportion”. “With the State debt mounting to a humungous figure of Rs1.25 lakh crore and revenue deficit crossing Rs6,000 crore, one can hardly expect anything else from this budget,” remarked the former Chief Minister.
ClP leader Sunil Kumar Jakhar described the budget as “merely an empty vessel and which will further increase the debt of Punjab”. Jakhar said during the discussion on Budget proposals, Congress legislatures will expose the real situation of the State with facts and figures. Punjab’s AAP convener Sucha Singh Chhotepur maintained that this sort of budget will “not make any sector of society happy, rather it will add to the agonies of Punjabis”.