Budget reflects AAP govt's commitment to transforming Punjab: FM Cheema

Chandigarh, Mar 27 (PTI) Punjab Finance Minister Harpal Singh Cheema on Thursday emphasised that the "Badalda Punjab" budget reflects the AAP government's commitment to transforming the state and ensuring the well-being of its citizens.

He also chastised the previous governments for lesser mobilization of resources as he compared the AAP government's three-year performance with that of erstwhile SAD-BJP and the Congress regimes.

With a theme of 'Badalda Punjab' (transforming Punjab), Cheema on Wednesday presented a Rs 2.36 lakh crore budget for the financial year 2025-26.

During discussion on the state budget in the Vidhan Sabha here on Thursday, Cheema expressed gratitude to both the ruling party and the opposition for their contributions to the budget discussions.

Cheema said the Aam Aadmi Party came to power with five guarantees, and over the past three years, significant changes have been implemented across various sectors in Punjab.

He said this commitment to transformation is reflected in naming the budget as "Badalda Punjab" (transforming Punjab).

He said the AAP government has fulfilled four out of five guarantees, adding that the finance department, welfare department, and other concerned departments are collecting data to implement the fifth guarantee of providing Rs 1,000 to women, soon.

Addressing the topic of goods and services tax revenue, compared the efforts of previous governments with that of the current administration.

When the GST system was introduced in 2017, the then Congress-led government collected only Rs 21,286 crore of GST without making efforts to increase it, he said.

In stark contrast, under Chief Minister Bhagwant Singh Mann's leadership, GST revenue has surged to Rs 64,253 crore over three years.

He criticised the previous Congress finance minister, who later joined the Bharatiya Janata Party, for handling financial matters through poetic expressions rather than substantive action.

He challenged Congress leaders, including former ministers Tript Rajinder Singh Bajwa and Aruna Chaudhary, to acknowledge whether they ever truly understood the budget during their regime.

Cheema further elaborated on the state's financial challenges, attributing them to the Congress-led government's reliance on compensation, which was counted as a loan by the government of India.

He said the state still carries a debt entry of Rs 20,000 crore received as GST compensation, arguing had efforts been made to boost GST revenue earlier, Punjab would not have needed to take loans now.

He dismissed allegations of "tax terrorism" by the opposition, stating that the previous government did not make any efforts to create a tax intelligence unit or bring in reward schemes like 'Bill Liyao Inam Pao'.

He said the state suffered huge loss due to tax evasion caused due to "inaction" by the Congress-led government in making necessary corrective measure for five years.

On excise duty, Cheema compared revenue collections during the previous SAD-BJP and Congress regimes The then Akali-BJP led government collected Rs 20,545 crore from 2012 to 2017 while the then Congress government collected Rs 27,395 crore during tenure of five years, whereas the AAP government collected Rs 28,000 crore in three years, he stated.

He pledged to bring an additional Rs 25,000 crore to the state treasury in the next two years.

He criticised the Congress and Akali-BJP governments for failing to eliminate mafias, which hindered revenue growth.

He highlighted the AAP's success in eliminating land mafia, resulting in increased revenue from stamp and registration, which rose to Rs 14,786 crore in three years compared to five-year collection of Rs 12,387 crore under the then Akali-BJP government and Rs 12,459 crore under then Congress government.

He said the state is committed to uplifting marginalized communities, allocating Rs 13,987 crore to the Scheduled Caste Sub-Plan (SCSP) for FY 2025-26, accounting for 34 percent of the state's total development budget.

He said a significant initiative introduced in the budget is a loan waiver scheme for individuals who defaulted on loans taken from the Punjab Scheduled Castes Land Development and Finance Corporation (PSCFC) until March 31, 2020. This scheme will benefit 4,650 individuals, providing them with an opportunity to rebuild their lives.

Later, the House passed the state budget. PTI CHS HIG HIG

Source: PTI