Bailed out PSUs, Punjab FM Harpal Cheema lists Rs 47K crore loan details

Chandigarh, September 25

Responding to the charge by the Governor and the Opposition over the state’s debt being raised by Rs 50,000 crore under 18 months of the Aam Aadmi Party rule in Punjab, Finance Minister Harpal Cheema today gave details of every penny raised as debt by the government.

“Our government has taken a loan of Rs 47,109 crore between April 2022 and August 2023. Of this loan, Rs 27,106 crore has been paid as interest for the debt taken by the previous SAD-BJP and Congress governments. I would also like to appeal to Governor Banwarilal Purohit to help the state government in getting dues of Rs 8,145 crore from the Union Government,” he said.

Addressing a press conference, Cheema said he was giving an account of Rs 48,530 crore in response to the debt of Rs 47,109 crore raised by Punjab. “The debt of Rs 32,448 crore raised during the fiscal year 2022-23 and Rs 14,661 crore from April 1 to August 31, 2023. We have spent Rs 10,208 crore on capital expenditure. We also bailed out several state undertakings like PUNSUP (Rs 350 crore), Punjab State Cooperative Agriculture Development Bank (Rs 798 crore) and Rural Development Board (Rs 845 crore). We had to pay Rs 2,556 crore to the PSPCL for pending power subsidy, which we inherited from the previous Congress government. The unpaid dues of sugarcane farmers (Rs 1,008 crore) and clearing unpaid bills of Rs 1,750 crore under Centrally sponsored schemes have also been paid by us. We have managed to set aside Rs 4,000 crore in the sinking fund of the state,” he said.

Cheema said the state had registered an increase of 17 per cent in GST, 44 per cent in excise revenue, 13 per cent in taxes on vehicles and 3 per cent in revenue from stamp and registration.

Meanwhile, BJP state chief Sunil Jakhar said the state was heading towards a financial abyss because to resolve any problem, one has to acknowledge it first.

Loan spending

• Cheema said a debt of Rs 32,448 crore was raised during the fiscal year 2022-23 and Rs 14,661 crore from April 1 to August 31, 2023
• Rs 27,106 crore was paid as interest on the debt raised by previous govts
• Rs 10,208 crore was spent on capital expenditure
• Several state undertakings like PUNSUP were bailed out
• Rs 2,556 crore was paid to PSPCL for pending power subsidy