Punjab Budget To Raise Rs 1,000 Crore More

The Punjab government has proposed to raise Rs 1,000 crore annually through expenditure reduction, a cess on petrol of Re 1 per litre and revision of user-charges for a range of services.

Presenting the Rs 26,173.49-crore budget for 2002-03 in the Assembly, finance minister Lal Singh estimated the revenue receipts at Rs 12,469.36 crore and expenditure at Rs 15,963.98 crore. The budget shows a gross fiscal deficit of Rs 5,446 crore. The cess on petrol will fetch an additional revenue of Rs 70 crore.

Besides transport, drinking water and irrigation, revised user-charges have been proposed for technical education, higher education and secondary and tertiary health care. Revised user-charges had been proposed to fully recover the direct operation and maintenance costs of these services in a phased manner, the minister said.

 

The minister called for curbing expenditure to partly cover a deficit of Rs 3,494.62 crore estimated by March 31, 2003. He announced a ban on foreign tours of ministers and officers, reduction by one-third in the security staff of the chief minister, ministers, cut in vehicle strength of departments and public sector undertakings and a freeze on leave travel concessions facility for employees. It would save Rs 500 crore, he added.

However, no cess would be charged from farmers on diesel used for running tractors and tubewells and thrashing of crops.

To cut expenditure, he also proposed withdrawal of prerequisites like houses for former chief ministers, review of leave encashment, non-practising allowance, formula for commutation of pension and replacing the medical reimbursement by medical insurance scheme.

The measures of fiscal reforms proposed in the budget to improve financial position of the state included, compression of non-Plan expenditure, improving finances of power board, fast-track disinvestment in public sector undertakings and co-operative institutions.

Taking to reporters later, the minister said there were no hidden taxes in the budget. He said there would be restructuring of all major departments. But there would be no reckless retrenchment of surplus staff. A survey would be conducted to ascertain the scope for absorption of surplus staff in other departments.

He announced the setting up of an independent regulatory authority to decide on privatisation of the loss-incurring Punjab roadways and other undertakings. He said the Punjab roadways and the Pepsu Road Transport Corporation had been incurring Rs 200 crore loss every year. The state public sector undertakings were incurring Rs 2,000 crore loss annually, he added. He hinted at imposition of levies on drinking water, irrigation and power in the near future.

Surprisingly, there was no mention of the long-pending Sutlej-Yamuna Link canal in Punjab in the budget speech. The Supreme Court has asked the Punjab government to complete the canal by January 15, 2003, to carry the Haryana's share of the surplus Ravi-Beas waters.

Former finance minister Kanwaljit Singh said the budget was directionless and there were many hidden taxes in it.