Punjab: Rajya Sabha MP meets Sitharaman to discuss state’s fiscal roadblocks

Punjab Rajya Sabha MP Vikramjit Singh Sahney dis­cussed with Nirmala Sitharaman the issue of the increasing state debt of ₹2.63 trillion – 45.88% of the GSDP

Punjab Rajya Sabha MP Vikramjit Singh Sahney met Union finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman to discuss the settling of issues pertaining to the goods and services tax (GST) on the Gurdwara Sarai, and also steps to help improve the fiscal health of his state.

Representational image.

Sahney, having got the clarification that there is no GST on the gurdwara, stated that Punjab is the biggest contributor to national buffer stoc­ks and contributes about 250 lakh MT of food grains to it every year. To achie­ve this objective, the state has been availing cash cred­it limits (CCLs) from a consortium of ba­nks after due approv­al from the Reserve Bank of India and the finance ministry.

Sahney requested Sitharaman to facilitate CCL and short-term loans at lower rates for Punjab, and also requested that the central government should contribute ₹1,500 per acre to check stubble burning, one of the major causes of air pollution in the national capital resgion during winters; the Punjab and Delhi governments have already agreed to pay ₹500 per acre in this regard.

The MP also dis­cussed the issue of the increasing state debt of ₹2.63 trillion – 45.88% of the gross state domestic product.

“Finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman agreed to consider all the requests, especially the cash cred­it loan at lower int­erest rates for the proc­urement of good grai­ns,” Sahney said after the meeting.