Rs 1,000 for women in Punjab figures in pre-budget discussions

A elder authorities authoritative said, “Discussions are surely on. However, we are fund-starved. We are collecting information connected income taxation payees and different women voters. If astatine all, the strategy is implemented, it volition lone beryllium extended to non-income-tax-paying women. However, arsenic of now, it seems impossible. It remains to beryllium seen however overmuch we tin pay, but income taxation payees volition decidedly not beryllium included.”

He added that, successful immoderate case, the authorities would request to allocate funds for this strategy successful adjacent year’s budget. “Next twelvemonth volition beryllium the past fund of the existent dispensation, arsenic elections are owed successful aboriginal 2027, and we won’t beryllium capable to array the fund then. Questions are being raised now, and we are exploring if it tin beryllium implemented this year. We are trying hard.”

Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann precocious told the media successful Delhi that the monthly allowance for women would beryllium rolled retired successful the adjacent fund (2025-26). “All eyes are connected america now,” helium said. Mann had antecedently announced during the Lok Sabha elections successful June past twelvemonth that the allowance would beryllium accrued to Rs 1,100 from the Rs 1,000 promised earlier. He claimed that the record related to the strategy was connected his table, but helium couldn’t o.k. it owed to the codification of conduct. He assured that the record would beryllium signed erstwhile the elections were over. However, Punjab’s fiscal constraints person delayed its implementation.

The state’s fiscal information remains precarious. The authorities struggled to wage worker salaries earlier September 4 past year. Subsequently, it withdrew a Rs 1,500 crore subsidy introduced by erstwhile Chief Minister Charanjit Singh Channi, hiked VAT connected petrol and diesel, and accrued autobus fares. Non-payment of the Rs 1,000 monthly allowance was a large contented during the Lok Sabha elections, with voters questioning AAP candidates astir the delay.

While the AAP authorities has improved gross postulation successful excise and GST, it has fallen abbreviated connected its soil mining gross projections. Before the Punjab Assembly elections, AAP claimed it would make Rs 20,000 crore from soil mining. However, it has lone managed to gain Rs 527 crore implicit the past 2 fiscal years—Rs 247 crore successful 2022-23 and Rs 300 crore successful 2023-24. The projected gross from soil mining for the existent fiscal twelvemonth is besides Rs 300 crore.

Of Punjab’s full budget, 23 per cent is allocated for indebtedness repayment and interest, 57.5 per cent for salaries and pensions, and 25.14 per cent for the powerfulness subsidy.

In a caller study connected the Fiscal Health Index (FHI) for 2022-23 by NITI Aayog, Punjab was ranked the lowest among each states, with the worst FHI successful the country. The study highlighted Punjab’s mediocre show successful “quality of expenditure” (spending heavy connected non-development activities), “fiscal prudence” (reliance connected autarkic gross generation), and “debt index” (high gross expenditure connected indebtedness repayment).