Chandigarh: Expressing apprehensions of the prolonged impact of Covid-19, Punjab Chief Minister Amarinder Singh on Monday directed all departments to further rationalise their expenses in order to ensure no shortage of funds for fighting the pandemic at all costs.
With studies and reports from around the world presenting a grim picture on the Covid outlook, the projections were not good, the Chief Minister said at a video conference meeting of the Empowered Committee of Cabinet on Fiscal Management.
The Chief Minister made it clear that capital expenditure in essential sectors such as health education and infrastructure would be retained at Rs 5,000 crore, notwithstanding the economic crisis facing the state, which was expecting a shortfall of nearly 30 per cent in the Total Revenue Receipts (TRR) in FY 2020-21 on account of the Covid and lockdown effect.
Reviewing the economic situation of the state amid the unprecedented crisis, the Chief Minister said the focus of his government was on ensuring that salaries and pensions continue to be paid on time, along with power subsidy to the Punjab State Power Corp Ltd (PSPCL).
No compromise could be made to ensure funding for all frontline departments, such as health, police and the local bodies, which were working 24 x 7 in battling the disaster, he added.
In spite of its strained finances, the state has successfully paid all grants to Local Bodies and Panchayati Raj Institutions, ensuring they do not face problems in disbursement of salaries, the Chief Minister said.
To help the state tide over the critical economic situation, Amarinder Singh underlined the need for fast-paced industrial revival and called for greater thrust on the development of the industrial parks.
The focus should be on attracting more investments, particularly from industries and businesses seeking to shift out of China in the wake of the pandemic.
Earlier, the meeting took stock of the state’s deteriorating fiscal situation, which showed drastic decline in receipts since the beginning of this financial year.
For April 2020, the decline in TRR against the budget estimates was 12 per cent, which went up to a whopping 37 per cent in May, aggregating to a total of 25 per cent of the budget estimates for these two months.
The total expenditure budgeted for FY 2020-21 was Rs 108,644 crore — including revenue expenditure of Rs 95,716 crore and principal repayment of Rs 12,928 crore.
The state’s own receipts came down to a mere Rs 396 crore in April 2020 amid the total lockdown, with total receipts for the month standing at Rs 6,797 crore, followed by Rs 3,891 crore in May (state’s own receipts at Rs 1,252 crore).
In fact, total receipts (inclusive of the Rs 4,200 crore of marketing borrowings) have been an abysmal Rs 15,882 crore from April to June 5, 2020.
