State’s finances back on track: Punjab CM Mann
Says Punjab has transformed from a ‘fiscal deficit’ to ‘fiscal profit’ state by massive generation of revenue
Chief minister Bhagwant Mann on Friday said the state finances are back on track as his government has witnessed a jump in excise and GST revenue and cleared its entire power subsidy bill of ₹20,200 crore for the financial year 2022-23.
Mann said that due to strenuous efforts of the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) government, Punjab has been transformed from a ‘fiscal deficit’ to ‘fiscal profit’ state by massive generation of revenue. “The state finances are on the right track, and we have to now speed up,” the CM claimed while addressing a press conference here.
Additional chief secretary to chief minister (ACSCM) A Venu Prasad, principal secretary, finance, Ajoy Kumar Sinha and PSPCL managing director Baldev Singh Sran were also present.
The chief minister said his government has cleared the entire power subsidy bill of ₹20,200 crore for the last financial year, and will ensure uninterrupted power supply to the people. He said it is the first time that the total power subsidy bill of a particular fiscal year has been cleared by the government in the same year.
“Every single penny has been paid,” he said, pointing out that the ₹20,200 crore amount comprised ₹9,063 crore for free electricity to the farm sector, ₹8,225 crore for domestic consumers, and ₹2,910 crore for subsidized power to industry. The government has also agreed to pay the legacy amount of ₹9,020 crore to PSPCL in five instalments, and already released the first instalment of ₹1,804 crore along with interest of ₹663 crore.
‘Big jump in GST collections’
On revenue generation, Mann said that though his government had launched the excise policy three months after it took over the reins of the state, the state registered revenue of ₹8,841 crore for the financial year 2022-23 with an increase of 41.41% over the revenue collection in previous fiscal. The government has set an excise revenue target of ₹9,754 crore for the current financial year, he said, hitting out at the previous governments for allowing liquor mafia in the state.
He further said that the state has witnessed massive increase in GST collection. “Punjab was earlier the worst performing state in GST collection but now with a jump of 16.6% it is one of the top performing states in the country,” he claimed, putting the GST collection at ₹18,126 crore in 2022-23 as compared to ₹15,542 crore in previous year.
The chief minister said the state has seen a rise of 78% in stamp duty for property registration in March after the state government announced an exemption of 2.25 per cent. The revenue collection has increased from ₹339 crore in February to ₹658.68 crore. “As per the feedback received from people, the exemption has now been extended till April 30,” he added.
Exploring possibility of
moving court on RDF: CM
Asked about Rural Development Fund dues totaling ₹3,000 crore from the Centre, he said the state government is exploring the possibility of moving the court. “If they release the funds, it is good. If we have to move the Supreme Court for our right, we will do that,” he said. In response to a query on crop damage due to unseasonal rains, Mann said that 60% girdawari to assess the crop damage is complete and the compensation will be released to the affected farmers soon. He said the payment of compensation will start on Baisakhi. The CM also announced that 10 centres will be opened in the state to provide free coaching for UPSC exams.