Cong blames SAD-BJP govt for state's poor fiscal condition

Congress today blamed the SAD-BJP government in Punjab for state's poor fiscal situation and accused it of "delaying payment of salaries."
Addressing party workers here, Partap Singh Bajwa, president of Punjab Pradesh Congress Committee (PPCC) alleged the state government was bent upon selling prime land to fill its revenue deficit and not adhering to fiscal procedures.
"Intra department borrowing was being routed through PUDA which has been assigned to sell prime assets at undervalued prices on the pretext of raising funds for development works," he said.
The fact is, "bragged" tax buoyancy and VAT collection has "fizzled out" and there is a "decline" in the state's income due to "impractical and harsh" policies, he said.

Delay in salaries, the basic parameter of any state government's fiscal governance, has only increased and in the last eight months, employees' salaries were delayed twice, while school teachers and other staff received their salaries in parcels twice or thrice a year, Bajwa alleged.
Punjab government has again overshot its overdraft limit with RBI and the state debt has touched Rs 1 lakh crore, he said.
There is no information on the status of planned expenditure and how the state government plans to fill revenue and fiscal gap mentioned in the last budget, Bajwa said.