CM to review state’s fiscal health on monthly basis

CHANDIGARH: With Punjab’s revenue receipts falling by 21% in the first quarter of the financial year 2020-21, chief minister Captain Amarinder Singh on Wednesday announced to undertake monthly review of the fiscal situation of the state.

The decision was taken at the cabinet meeting, in which the CM said the financial support was not forthcoming from the Centre. He agreed to finance minister Manpreet Singh Badal’s suggestion to draw short-term financial plans on quarterly basis in view of the critical situation since the beginning of this fiscal, on account of the Covid outbreak and the prolonged lockdown.

Manpreet warned that faced with its own revenue shortfall, the Government of India was likely to pull back finances even further from states in the coming quarter. The funds expected from the Centre in the first quarter had not come, thus leaving the state government struggling to cope, he said.

Earlier, highlighting the grim fiscal situation , principal secretary (finance) KAP Sinha said as of June 30, the share of central taxes for Punjab had gone down by 32%. The grant-in-aid from the Centre for the March-june period showed an increase of 38%, but that was mainly on account of the GST receipt of Rs 3,070 crore received in April, which included Rs 2,366.46 crore against pending arrears for 2019-20.

While state’s own tax revenue fell by 51%, the first quarter decline in the state’s non-tax revenue

stood at 68%, Sinha informed the cabinet, adding that more prudent measures would need to be taken to survive the current crisis.

MUTATION FEE DOUBLED

In a bid to mobilise additional revenue, the cabinet gave the go-ahead to increase the mutation fee from Rs 300 to Rs 600 and the decision would help add nearly Rs 10 crore to the state exchequer. The CM also asked the revenue department to launch a special campaign for clearing all pending mutations in the interest of landowners. According to a spokesperson of the chief minister’s office, the fees set by government for revenue collection is very low in today’s high currency environment and the mutation fees was last increase in October 2012, when it went up from Rs 150 to Rs 300.

Earlier, the cabinet also reviewed the Covid situation in the state, with the CM appealing to all to be cautious in view of the increasing number of cases. The government’s health advisor Dr KK Talwar said the next four weeks were critical. The cabinet also approved hike in the number of attempts for candidates belonging to ex-servicemen category in the Punjab State Civil Services combined exam.

NOD TO TWO NEW INDUSTRIAL PARKS

The cbinet approved setting up of a Modern Industrial Park and Integrated Manufacturing Cluster over an area of 2,000 acres on government and panchayat land near Mattewara (Ludhiana) and Rajpura in Patiala district, respectively, at a total cost of Rs 3,200 crore.

To be set up at Rs 1,600 crore each, the projects will cater to prospective entrepreneurs/ industrialists for setting up their ventures expeditiously, in line with the urgent need to develop such industrial/economic hubs in the state. The panchayat land for the said projects would be purchased by the Housing and Urban Development Department, for development as mixed land use/ industrial park/imc.

The integrated manufacturing cluster near Rajpura would be developed with help of National Industrial Corridor Development Corporation on 1,000 acres of government and panchayat land.