Rajya Sabha MP Partap Singh Bajwa has asked the Centre to immediately release all arrears accruing to Punjab to help financially secure the State during coronavirus ( COVID-19 ) epidemic.
In a letter to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Mr. Bajwa said the ongoing national lockdown has brought the country to a standstill.
“While the lockdown was absolutely necessary to ensure that COVID-19 could be managed by our health departments, it has also caused a massive economic slowdown, the brunt of it felt by the States,” he wrote.
The MP pointed out that the Punjab Finance Ministry had revised its revenue receipts from ₹88,000 crore for FY21 as announced in the State budget, to ₹66,000 crore. “That is a revision of almost ₹22,000 crore. A border State like Punjab seeing such a revision outlines the challenges of the post-lockdown economy this country is going to face. This loss of revenue will negatively impact the financial security of the State,” he added.
Mr. Bajwa said the Centre has released arrears including financial compensation for the loss of revenue due to the adoption of GST (₹1,237 crore) which is due to the State as per the GST Act.
“This amount and any money released under the Disaster Management Act, MNREGA and other schemes are those that were already promised to the State under the Budget. In fact, the Central government has still not released ₹4,386.37 crore. that the State is entitled to from the GST pool. It is essential that the Centre releases all arrears to the State immediately to help financially secure the State during COVID-19,” he wrote.
“Apart from releasing these funds, the Centre must come up with a State Economic Stimulus Plan at the earliest. The Union government must act quickly to ensure that the States are in a position to emerge from the national lockdown with the capability to restart their economy ,” he added.
