Chandigarh, June 26
A conscientious decision on subsidies and freebies and political “collusion not collision” on a common minimum economic programme are the mantras on which Punjab finance minister Manpreet Singh Badal wants the unanimous support of the legislature for reviving the fiscal health of the state.

Winding up a three-day debate on the budget here this afternoon, Manpreet Badal reiterated that the size of the Punjab plan would be raised from Rs 5,111 crore to Rs 10,000 crore in the next four years. He also promised to present a zero deficit budget two years from now.

“It is time for all political parties to stand together and keep the economy above their affiliations. The economy is correlated to our culture, our self-esteem and our self-confidence and in Punjab we do not have any more the luxury of political fights over economic issues,” he said.

Acrimonious scenes witnessed during the debate notwithstanding, camaraderie prevailed in the house as at the end of the debate, members of the Congress legislature party queued up to greet the finance minister on his maiden budget. Earlier, Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal congratulated Manpreet on his 45-minute wrap-up of the discussion.

Expressing concern over the poor fiscal health of the once number one state in the country, Manpreet Badal said that against a national target of 9 per cent, Punjab could at best peg its growth at 6 per cent and would continue to lag behind other states.

“My maiden budget may not be the best, but under the given circumstances and conditions, it is the best. It is agonising for me that I could not fund a plan bigger than Rs 5,111 crore this time. Though it shows an increase of nearly 25 per cent over that of last year, it needs to be much bigger. When we sought suggestions from various departments, the demands were worked out to be Rs 14,000 crore.

“Our endeavour is to end the mismatch between expenditure and income. Just for administering the state, we raise a loan of Rs 2,190 annually. For the past 15 to 20 years, the gap between the income and expenditure has been widening. We want to reduce the committed expenditure from the present 68 per cent to 50 per cent in the next two or three years.

“We have perhaps the lowest VAT buoyancy of 11 per cent against some states enjoying 50 to 70 per cent increase in collections annually. We have fixed a target of achieving a 25 per cent increase ever year from now on,” said Manpreet.

Coming to the observations made by leader of the opposition Rajinder Kaur Bhattal yesterday, Manpreet Badal clarified that the opening balance was in the negative, minus Rs 659.97 crore and not a cash surplus of Rs 816 crore. This, he said, was probably because of payments which had been delayed due to the model code of conduct imposed before the assembly elections.

Further, he said, there was no slashing as such of Punjab’s share in the devolution of central taxes as it was calculated on the basis of a complicated central formula.

Coming back to Reliance, Bharti and Quark, Manpreet Badal said the Shiromani Akali Dal never opposed these companies. All it did was criticise the government policy of pick and choose or first come, first served, which lacked transparency. " We are ready to welcome any big or small company to invest in Punjab. Without rapid industrialisation, achieving 8 to 10 per cent economic growth is not feasible,” he said.

Coming to criticism for waiving VAT on naswar, Manpreet Badal held that the step aimed at saving the livelihood of 3,000-odd households of Gidderbaha.

He supported the demand for an increase in the allocation of funds for research both at Punjab Agricultural University and Guru Angad Dev Veterinary University.

Earlier, Brahm Mohindra of the Congress wanted the allocation for Rajiv Gandhi Law University to be increased. He carried with him the resolution of a gram panchayat of Patiala offering 50 acres for the law university. He also sought a clarification on the continuation of the BPL and antodaya scheme of subsidised foodgrains to the weaker sections.

Ripjeet Brar said that 272 farmers had committed suicide after the SAD-BJP government assumed office in Punjab and wanted an increase in the allocation for diversification. Kamaljit Singh Brar wanted the government to do something to raise the income of farmers and ensure a clean and efficient administration.

The others who participated in the debate included Jagdish Sahni, Bishambar Dass and Tikshan Sood (all BJP) and Sarabjit Singh Makkar (Akali Dal).