Rajya Sabha MP Partap Singh Bajwa has asked the Central government to release all arrears for Punjab immediately to help financially secure the State.
Mr. Bajwa in a letter to the Prime Minister Narendra Modi has said that the ongoing national lockdown has brought the country to a standstill. “While the lockdown was necessary to ensure that COVID-19 could be managed, it has also caused a massive economic slowdown, the brunt felt by the States,” he wrote.
Pointing out that the State Finance Ministry had revised its revenue receipts from ₹88,000 crore for FY21 as announced in the State budget to ₹66,000 crore, Mr. Bajwa said, “That is a revision of ₹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.”
Mr. Bajwa said that the Central government 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 and any money released under the Disaster Management Act, MNREGA and other schemes are those that were already promised in the Union Budget. In fact, the Central government has still not released ₹4,386.37 crore the State is entitled to from the GST pool,” he wrote.
‘Act quickly’
“The Centre must also 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.
