Finance Minister Harpal Singh Cheema presented the fourth budget of his government. Even before the budget was presented, it was a common discussion that there is no special hope for the main issues like development, employment and social security from this budget. So, although the relevance of every expenditure has been presented in great detail in this budget, the reality is that no relief can be expected from it. In the budget of Rs 2 lakh 36 thousand crore, the highest amount of Rs 17,925 crore has been allocated for the education department, which is about 12 percent of the budget. This amount is 10 percent more than last year, which is the government’s attempt to make government schools at par with private public schools. The government’s intention to continuously develop sports is proven by the fact that a huge amount of Rs 979 crore has been allocated for the agriculture department. In this budget, construction of sports stadiums in villages, construction of 87 sports grounds in Tarn Taran, construction of 3000 indoor gyms in villages have been announced as very big works.
The central government provides a lot of help to the states. The state governments take matching grants from the center for many issues, of which some part has to be given to the state. But in the past, the full benefit of those schemes could not be taken. Although it is not clear in this budget how the benefits of various central schemes will be taken, the interest and principal payment of the huge debt incurred by the government are a big obstacle in this. In this budget, Rs 585 crore or Rs 5 crore for each constituency has been kept for the development of villages to create a changing Punjab, which is very little, but trying to develop villages in this way is a good start. Therefore, it is also very important to take help from the central government. Agriculture is a subject of both the central and provincial governments. The Punjab government should take the benefits of every scheme that the central government has started for public welfare. There are big opportunities for agriculture-based industries in Punjab. These are industries that can also run cooperative institutions on a small scale. In the past, fruit marmalades, juices, pickles, jams etc. have been sold in Punjab from outside states. In this budget too, no special effort has been made in this direction, which would have benefited the farmers of Punjab and created employment opportunities for the youth near their homes. The Punjab government has kept the highest price of sugarcane so that the sugar industry can be encouraged, for which Rs. 250 crore has been kept in the budget.
Agriculture is the main occupation in Punjab, for which a huge amount of Rs. 14,524 crore has been kept. Under the changing Punjab, the amount for agro-based industries has been kept 5 percent more than last year, under this, it is advisable to keep Rs. 187 crore for horticulture, Rs. 115 crore for natural farming and Rs. 704 crore for auxiliary professions, and Rs. 281 crore for forestry. Especially natural farming is the only agriculture that can be done continuously. Although chemical-based agriculture has become a compulsion for farmers, it has caused great damage to the land and water of Punjab. Therefore, although only Rs 60 crore has been allocated in this budget to balance the changes in Punjab’s environment, it is a new beginning in this direction, which is expected to increase the trend in this direction in the coming time.
Employment is a big problem of Punjab, the only solution to which is to increase industries. The Finance Minister has announced in the budget that a new industrial policy will be announced in the coming time, which will contain those items that will attract industrialists. But only Rs 250 crore allocated for investment in this budget is very little. In the budget, arrangements will also be made to organize exhibitions at different places throughout the year to promote the work of various artisans, for which Rs 80 crore has been allocated, which is a very good step for the development of handicrafts, which will meet the demand for goods in the country and the state. There were many opportunities for export of such items from India and Punjab, which had been neglected in the past. In this budget, a separate amount has been kept for agro-based industries, which can be most successful in Punjab. Although it is very small, there is a great need for continuous attention to it.
Rs. 5983 crore has been kept in the budget for urban and housing development by the government. These will also create employment opportunities. The plan to repair 155 bridges and build new bridges is development-oriented. The government’s agricultural diversification, which is not only necessary for the state’s economy and exports, will also increase employment, which will be provided to the youth near their homes. Provisions have been made in the budget for that. Therefore, it has been announced to give Rs. 17,500 per hectare (Rs. 7000 per acre) to farmers to increase the cultivation of maize in Kharif. Rs. 268 crore has been kept for further expansion of the 881 Aam Aadmi Clinics that are running in the state. The best scheme in the budget is to provide health insurance of 10 lakhs to 65 lakh families of the state, for which Rs 5598 crore has been kept. 5 different development schemes in villages, in which Rs 3500 crore has been kept for cleaning ponds, sewage, providing canal water and building sports stadiums. Spending Rs 2873 crore for repairing 1800 kilometers of roads and constructing new roads also promotes agricultural and industrial development. In the budget, first 4 cities Amritsar, Jalandhar, Ludhiana and Mohali are to be made world class, for which Rs 140 crore has been kept in the first year and these roads are to be built in 10 years. Rs 225 crore has been kept for water supply and sewerage.
In Punjab, except Amritsar, attention has been paid to tourism in other places. In public welfare, backward areas
