CHANDIGARH: Punjab Finance Minister Harpal Singh Cheema presented a whooping Rs1.96-lakh-crore state budget for 2023-24 in the assembly today which focussed primarily on agriculture, education and health sectors.
In the first complete budget of the AAP government, Cheema unveiled a number of new projects, including a market price risk mitigation programme for the horticulture industry, solarization of agriculture pumps, a programme for young entrepreneurs, and two coaching programmes for students. Education, health, and agriculture are among the government's key sectors, according to Harpal Singh Cheema, who was speaking in the Assembly.
According to the state finance minister, the total budget amount for 2023–24 increased by 26% over the previous year to Rs. 1,96,462 crore. It was the AAP government's first comprehensive budget. When the AAP administration took office in March 2022, it first passed a vote-on account on March 22 before presenting their budget for the remainder of the year in June. After the Speaker refused to allow Punjab Congress head Amrinder Singh Raja Warring to raise a point of order, opposition Congress MLAs staged a walkout from the House while FM was reading out the budget address. The state finance minister addressed the previous administrations for leaving the state in a financial mess and claimed that the AAP government is aiming to deliver clean, effective, and efficient governance. He also singled out the Center, charging it with ignoring the long-overdue valid demands.
The Finance Minister suggested an increase of 20% above the previous budget, or Rs 13,888 crore, for the agriculture and related industry. According to him, the government will shortly release a new agriculture policy for which an expert group has been established. Crop diversification has been given a budget of Rs 1,000 crore. He added that a revolving fund has also been established for the acquisition of Basmati crops.
The government has made the decision to introduce the Bhaav Antar Bhugtan Yojana for growers of horticulture as a new risk mitigation programme. He said, 125 crore rupees have been set aside for the direct sowing of rice and moong crops.
The AAP government plans to convert all diesel-powered agriculture pump sets to solar power over the next five years, and the whole industry by 2030. Cheema claimed that there has been a 30% decrease in the number of occurrences of burning stubble. According to Cheema, the farm sector has been allocated Rs 9,331 crore in free power subsidies for the years 2023–2024. He said that the Bhagwant Mann administration has already provided 26,797 employment. He claimed that 10.50 lakh patients had already received care in the state's "Aam Aadmi Clinics" in the area of health.
In contrast to the initial goal of creating 117 "Aam Aadmi Clinics," 504 have already been established, and another 142 clinics are anticipated to go into operation in the coming days, he said.
Effectively, there is a budgetary deficit of 4.98 percent and a revenue shortfall of 3.32 percent of the gross state product (GSDP), respectively.
The committed expenditure has been budgeted for at Rs 74,620 crore, an increase of 12% from FY 2022–23. Effective capital expenditure is estimated to be Rs 11,782 crore, a 22% increase from the prior year.
The AAP government is working very hard to erase the barriers that our forebears left behind, he claimed. He said that the current administration took on the financial catastrophe that past governments left behind.
Cheema stated that "many of them who stole Punjab are already behind prison" without mentioning any specific individuals. The once pervasive, strong mafia, which functioned with impunity, has vanished. Numerous industries that were riddled with corruption and mafia rule have been eliminated, he claimed, with a strong political commitment and good intentions.
Taking aim at the federal government, Cheema said, "I feel sad to announce that it has been turning a deaf ear to the long-pending lawful demands of the state amounting to Rs 9,035 crore, in spite of repeated representations being made to the Union government."
For instance, the subcommittee established by the 15th Finance Commission and led by Dr. Ramesh Chand correctly validated the claims of Rs. 6,155 crore linked to Clean Term Loan totaling Rs. 31,000 crore that have not been paid to the state in its report.
He also sai, the Center has not yet remitted Rs 2,880 crore related to the Rural Development Fund, which is taxed at 3% of MSP on the purchased grains and was previously reimbursed by the FCI. He stated that the AAP government is doing everything possible to bring much-needed financial relief to common Punjabis through our programmes and policies, despite the challenges being caused by the Center and the "legacy financial mess left by our predecessors," according to him. He also said that 117 schools had been chosen to be upgraded to "Schools of Eminence" in the field of education. Four of these schools in the district of Amritsar have already begun renovation work on a pilot basis.
The Punjab Young Entrepreneur Program has been introduced under the umbrella of education in order to encourage Class 11 students to submit their unique business ideas. The government will assist them by giving each student a start-up loan of Rs 2,000. For this aim, a budget allocation of Rs 30 crore is suggested. For the installation of rooftop solar panels in government schools, the finance minister suggested allocating Rs 100 crore.
Two new programmes were proposed by the finance minister: Professional Coaching for Employment and Soft Skill and Communication Training. Under these programmes, students will receive professional coaching by creating employability coaching centres in government colleges. On law and order, he claimed that some bad forces are constantly looking for ways to disrupt the state's law and order. He issued a warning to Punjab's foes, telling them to get in line or face being completely destroyed by the state government.
He said that the state's law enforcement organisations and police forces are ready for anything. He said, the Punjab police's counterintelligence division is being strengthened with the newest tools and facilities. He suggested Rs 10,523 crore for maintaining law and order, an increase of 11% over the prior year. He also discussed the measures the government has taken to control gangsters and other criminals.
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