Chandigarh, March 27

Finance Minister Advocate Harpal Singh Cheema, during the discussion on the “Badlda Punjab” budget for the year 2025-26 in the Vidhan Sabha, expressed gratitude to both the ruling party and the opposition for their contributions to the budget discussion. He provided detailed insights into the key issues raised during the deliberations, emphasizing the transformative journey of Punjab under the Aam Aadmi Party's leadership.

Highlighting the party's commitment to change, Finance Minister Harpal Singh Cheema said that 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 that this commitment to transformation is reflected in the naming of the budget as "Badlda Punjab" (Transforming Punjab). He assured the House that that the Aam Aadmi Party-led Punjab government has fulfilled four out of five guarantees, and the Finance Department, Welfare Department, and other concerned departments are actively collecting data to implement the fifth guarantee of providing Rs 1,000 to women, soon.

Addressing the topic of GST revenue, he contrasted the efforts of previous governments with the current administration. He said out that when the GST system was introduced in 2017, the Congress-led government collected only Rs 21,286 crore in GST revenue without making efforts to increase it. In stark contrast, under Chief Minister Bhagwant Singh Mann's leadership, GST revenue has surged to Rs 64,253 crore over three years. He criticized the previous Congress Finance Minister, who has since joined the Bharatiya Janata Party, for handling financial matters through poetic expressions rather than substantive action. He challenged Congress leaders, including former Cabinet Ministers Tript Rajinder Singh Bajwa and Aruna Chaudhary, to acknowledge whether they ever truly understood the budget during their regime.

Finance Minister 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 revealed that the state still carries a debt entry of Rs 20,000 crore received as GST compensation. He argued that had efforts been made to boost GST revenue earlier, Punjab would not have needed to take loans today. 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 that the state suffered huge loss due to tax evasion caused due to inaction by the Congress-led government in making necessary corrective measure for 5 years.

Discussing Excise duty, Cheema compared revenue collections during SAD-BJP and Congress regime. The Akali-BJP led government collected Rs 20,545 crore from 2012 to 2017, the Congress led government collected Rs 27,395 crore during tenure of 5 years, whereas the Aam Aadmi Party led government has collected Rs 28,000 crore in three years. He pledged to bring an additional Rs 25,000 crore to the state treasury in the next two years. He criticized the Congress and Akali-BJP governments for failing to eliminate mafias, which hindered revenue growth. He highlighted the Aam Aadmi Party'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 years collection of Rs 12,387 crore under the Akali-BJP government and Rs 12,459 crore under the Congress government.

Punjab's Finance Minister reaffirmed the state's commitment to uplifting marginalized communities, allocating Rs 13,987 crore to the Scheduled Caste Sub-Plan (SCSP) for FY 2025-26, accounting for 34% of the state's total development budget. He said that 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

Finance Minister Cheema also provided updates on the state's financial strategies, including an investment of Rs 8,000 crore in the sinking fund for short-term loans. He outlined allocations for medical colleges, with Rs 404 crore reserved for the financial year 2025-26 and Rs 188 crore as Grant-in-Aid, totaling Rs 592 crore. He said that a budget of Rs. 5,598 has been allotted for Health and Family Welfare. The budget for education stands at Rs 17,975 crore, while Rs 979 crore has been allocated for sports. Under the war on drugs initiative, Rs 110 crore has been earmarked for anti-drone technology, Rs 150 crore for drug tests, Rs 125 crore for emergency response vehicles, and Rs 53 crore for building a headquarters. Additionally, 5,000 home guards will be deployed as a second line of defense.

Finance Minister mentioned the increased allocation of Rs 250 crore next year towards giving financial incentives to various industries, which is by far the highest allocation in Punjab’s history. He said the previous Congress government spent only Rs 53 crore towards financial incentives to industry in its five-year term and the Akali-BJP government before that spent no money at all in five years. He said that Rs 3426 crore has been alloted for Industries & Commerce.

In terms of capital expenditure, he highlighted the progress made under the current administration. During the Akali-BJP rule, Rs 14,641 crore was spent, while the Congress government spent Rs 19,356 crore. In comparison, the Aam Aadmi Party government has spent Rs 19,810 crore in three years, showcasing the state's development in infrastructure, schools, and hospitals. The Finance Minister also touched on various topics, including solar subsidies, service centers, and employee-related issues, which were previously discussed by other ministers or elaborated on in the budget speech.

In conclusion, Finance Minister Harpal Singh Cheema Cheema emphasized that the "Badlda Punjab" budget reflects the Chief Minister Bhagwant Singh Mann led Punjab Giovernment's commitment to transforming Punjab and ensuring the well-being of its citizens.