Punjab Budget today, likely to focus on education, health, sports

Ruchika M Khanna

Chandigarh, March 4

As Finance Minister Harpal Cheema is ready to announce his Budget proposals for 2024-25, all eyes are on him to see if and how the government will try to woo voters with sops ahead of the Lok Sabha elections.

Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann last week hinted that there would be no new taxes imposed on people. The announcement of Rs 1,000 assistance to be given to women over 18 years of age in the Delhi Budget today has raised expectations of all to see if a similar announcement will be made for women in Punjab.

In the run-up to the Vidhan Sabha elections of 2022, the Aam Aadmi Party had announced to give the assistance to all women, if they were voted to power. Among other guarantees was 300 units of free power to each household, which was implemented immediately after the government was sworn in.

Though fiscal indicators of the state present a dismal picture, with growing reliance on borrowings and market loans to meet expenses, sources say that the government is likely to announce infrastructure projects in healthcare (Aam Aadmi Clinics, tertiary care health facilities), sports (sports nurseries in each village, 260 to be opened initially) and in education sector (more Schools of Eminence to be set up).

The Budget allocation for the three sectors is expected to go up by 8-15 per cent. It is also expected that the government will make some budgetary provisions for re-carpeting/repair of village roads. These used top be built/maintained with the Rural Development Fund, which has been stopped by the Centre.

The government is likely to announce the construction of a canal in Malwa tomorrow. Some incentives for “restive” farmers, including the fiscal ones, are likely to be given to farmers who opt for moong and direct seeding of rice. Efforts on crop diversification made by the government are also likely to be announced.

The size of the Budget is expected to be 10 per cent higher than the Budget last year. The government, say sources, will continue to rely on checking tax evasion and plugging loopholes in tax collection to meet the revenue demands, besides projecting a growth in excise and stamp duty collections.