Pb: ‘Honest govt results in facilities for public with increase in revenue’

Chandigarh: Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann on Friday said that due to strenuous efforts of the Aam Aadmi government, the state has been transformed from a ‘fiscal deficit’ to a ‘fiscal profit’ state by massive generation of revenue.

Interacting with the media persons here at Punjab Bhawan, the Chief Minister said that though the previous governments had always thought of their vested interests his Government has pulled all plugs to enhance the revenue in the state. He said that these efforts have produced desired results as the state has been able to generate maximum revenue.

Bhagwant Mann said that the honest government in the state has changed the direction of fund flow from private houses of leaders to the government exchequer.

The Chief Minister said that though the state government had launched the Excise policy after a delay of three months it has fetched revenue worth Rs 8,841 crore in the state. He said that this is Rs 2,587 crore more than last year which was roughly an increase of 41.41 per cent. Bhagwant Mann said that the target for the next financial year is Rs 9,754 crore adding that this will also be achieved.

The Chief Minister said that the state government has for the first time presented a zero tax budget in the state. He said that this is first of its kind pro-people initiative which will go a long way in ensuring the welfare of people.

Bhagwant Mann envisioned that no stone will be left unturned for the holistic development of the state and the prosperity of its people.

Dwelling on another agenda, the Chief Minister said that the state has witnessed a massive increase in the GST collection. He said that earlier the state was worst performing in GST collection but now with a hike of 16.6 per cent Punjab is one of the top most performing states in GST collection. Bhagwant Mann said that the collection of last fiscal was Rs 1,8126 crore as compared to Rs 15,542 crore of the previous year.

The Chief Minister said that in a landmark initiative, the state government has taken a new experiment on giving an exemption of 2.25 % on stamp duty for land registration. He said that due to this in the month of March revenue collection enhanced from Rs 339 crore in February to Rs 658.68 crore. Bhagwant Mann said that as per the feedback of people the exemption has now been extended to April 30.

The Chief Minister said that though earlier PSPCL symbolised loss due to wrong policies of the successive state governments.

However, he said that his government has taken unprecedented initiatives to strengthen this public sector undertaking. Bhagwant Mann said that for the first time in the history of the state, the government has released all the pending subsidies worth Rs 20,200 crore.

The Chief Minister said that out of this subsidy Rs 9,063.79 crore has been given to the agriculture sector, Rs 8,285.90 crore has been paid on domestic subsidies and Rs 2,911 crore has been provided to the industrial sector.

He said that the state government has inherited a debt of Rs 9,020 crore from previous governments and the state government is also repaying the inherited loan through instalments worth Rs 1,894 crore. Bhagwant Mann said that the state government has so far provided 3,538 jobs to the youth in the power sector.

The Chief Minister said that due to the strenuous efforts of the state government, the power generation in the state has enhanced manifolds. He said that the already smooth and hassle-free supply of coal has started from the Jharkhand coal mine. Bhagwant Mann said that the state is heading towards becoming a power surplus state in the country.

The Chief Minister reiterated that the state government is exploring the possibility of moving to the court for seeking pending funds under the Rural Development Fund from the centre. He said that the Union government is unnecessarily harassing the state by stalling funds worth Rs 30,000 crore under the RDF.