Excluded from the category of debt-stressed States, the ruling party in Punjab on Thursday reached out to the Centre to flag up the issue of State's elimination from the category by the 14th Finance Commission.
Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal along with his Deputy Sukhbir Badal called on Union Finance Minister Arun Jaitley soliciting his attention to the fact that Punjab along with West Bengal and Kerala were treated as fiscally-stressed States by the 13th Finance Commission. Badal apprised Jaitley that the 13th Finance Commission had recommended to the Government to help these States come out of the fiscal stress.
"The State continued to incur revenue deficit ranging from 3.5 to 1.2 per cent of the GSDP during 2004-05 to 2014-15 except in 2006-07 when it showed a revenue surplus due to grant received from the Centre against the waiver of special term loan incurred for payment for central forces deployed in the State during militancy period," elaborated Badal.
He pointed out that the debt to GSDP ratio of the State continued to be high at 32 per cent. The State spends 23 per cent of its Revenue Receipts on interest payments, he added.
The father-son due maintained that the report submitted by the 14th Finance Commission failed to take due cognizance of these facts and has ignored the state's requirement of revenue deficit grant, even as it has recommended revenue deficit grant for the other two States treated as fiscally stressed by 13th Finance Commission besides adding some other States to the list of recipients of the Revenue Deficit grant.
Both the leaders requested Jaitley to at least provide the State some relief by reimbursing Rs2,684 crore repaid by the State against principal and interest of the Special Term loan provided by the Centre during period of militancy. The rest of this Special Term loan has already been waived, they remarked.
On the occasion, the Chief Minister also handed over a letter to Jaitley stipulating Department wise Grants recommended by 13th Finance Commission pending with Centre. They also sought Jaitley's personal intervention for immediate release of pending grants of Rs283 crore recommended by the 13th Finance Commission. Badal informed Jaitley that these grants, duly recommended by 13th Finance Commission, were already overdue for release and would subsequently lapse after March 31, 2015.
Responding, Jaitley assured them that he would direct the Finance Ministry to ensure the timely release of these grants of Rs283 crore without any further delay.