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Dhindsa to present Punjab budget
CB Singh
Chandigarh
ALL EYES ARE set on Punjab finance minister Parminder Singh Dhindsa as to how he would fulfill the election promises of issuing laptops to all schoolchildren importing education right from Class XI to XII.
Besides he also faces the challenge of generating fund for the overall development of debt strap Punjab, which is eyeing the enhancement of central fund.
The budget presentation on 20 June will be Dhindsa’s first opportunity to please the voters by not imposing any additional burden in the form of new taxes.
The state is already reeling under severe fund crunch. However, it needs to generate fund for development projects in view of the forthcoming Lok Sabha election.
Byelection of Dasuya assembly in Hoshiarpur is also slated to be held next month.
It is worth mentioning that Punjab was among five debt trap states and its debt has already crossed more that Rs 1.6 lakh crore including Rs 80,000 crore in lieu of expenditure to fight militancy in the state.
The per capita income of the state has gone down to 14th position in the country whereas its neighbouring state Haryana holds second position.
The state has been facing fund shortage because of free electricity supply to farmers. Austerity measure is also a biggest challenge before the SAD-BJP government, as it has adopted a stiff posture to cut the over-rising establishment expenditure in the state.
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