MEGA MOVES, MEAGRE MEANS

FM allocates ₹1,500 crore for farm debt waiver, ₹10 crore for free smartphones; stamp duty on property registration in urban areas cut by 3%

CHANDIGARH: Barely 24 hours after he painted a grim picture of the state’s financial crisis, Punjab finance minister Manpreet Singh Badal on Tuesday presented his big plans to implement the party’s poll promises, including the long-awaited farm debt waiver, with meagre fund allocations.

The finance minister, who presented the first budget of the Capt Amarinder Singh-led Congress government in the state assembly, incorporated the agricultural loan write-off, free smart phones, hike in social security pension, employment generation initiatives, crop damage compensation and some other promises in his proposals.

However, the allocations made for most of these fund-guzzling schemes are token, raising questions about the state government’s ability to implement them. The bank and cooperative loans write-off announced by Capt involves a liability of over Rs 20,000 crore, but the finance minister has proposed an outlay of only Rs 1,500 crore for waiving the debts of the distressed farmers in the state.

Similarly, a sum of Rs 10 crore has been proposed to provide free smartphones to youth of the state. In its manifesto, the Congress had promised to give free phones to 50 lakh youth. The crop damage compensation to farmers is being raised from 8,000 per acre to 12,000 per acre despite the promise of ₹20,000 per acre. The hike in monthly social pension has been stag- gered with the minister proposing to increase it from ₹500 to ₹750 against the promised ₹1,500.

Manpreet, who presented a ₹1.18 lakh-crore budget, made these proposals in his 45-page speech that he finished in 55 minutes, skipping several paragraphs altogether. When he made his budget presentation, Amarinder was not in the House.

The “token allocation” riled opposition parties, as the Akali MLAs flung the budget papers and started protesting. The slogan-shouting legislators went to the well of the House, accusing the government of betraying the farmers. They were seeking complete waiver of all loans of farmers. The AAP MLAs led by HS Phoolka also staged a walkout amid the din.

Later, Manpreet defended the outlay for debt waiver, calling it just the first instalment. “The government will own up the loans of farmers, but debt waiver alone will not help. There is a need to give them new skill sets and create jobs,” he said, refusing to term these as populist promises.

› There will be no central funding for any state’s farm loan waiver. We have got fiscal deficit target to meet ARUN JAITLEY, Union finance minister