Driving Naari Programme launched in Chandigarh
Chandigarh, People’s Party of Punjab chief Manpreet Singh Badal today said the first three years of the Parkash Singh Badal government had been an “inexcusable failure on every front,” especially in economic and social sectors. To make matters worse, the Narendra Modi government had refused to grant a fiscal package to the state, he said.“The gravity of the situation can be gauged from the fact that the state spends Rs 600 crore more than what it receives as revenue every month. This amount is not sufficient to meet even committed liabilities.
The debt burden will rise to Rs 1.13 lakh crore by the end of this fiscal with debt servicing estimated at Rs. 11,496 crore per annum.“Even the growth of revenue receipts has declined from 18 per cent to about 11 per cent. To top it all, the Centre has removed Punjab from the category of debt-stressed states,” Manpreet said in a statement.He said he apprehended that Punjab may not benefit from the rise in states’ share of central taxes from 32 to 42 per cent. With certain schemes removed from the list of centrally sponsored schemes, no money would be left for development projects, Manpreet said.He pointed out that state Finance Minister Parminder Singh Dhindsa had accepted the gravity of the situation in the wake of the 14th Finance Commission recommendations.He said the SAD-BJP government had failed to live up to the expectations of the people. It had failed to honour the promises made in its election manifesto. With the state coffers empty, the people could not hope for any relief.Referring to the tension between the SAD and the BJP, he said the alliance had become “non-functional” and clashes between activists of the two parties had become routine.
