Ruchika M Khanna
Tribune News Service
Chandigarh, September 20
The populist decisions to be taken by the newly appointed Chief Minister Charanjit Singh Channi may be difficult to implement, considering the precarious financial position of the state.
The three-member Cabinet, including Deputy Chief Ministers Sukhjinder Randhawa and OP Soni, that met on Monday night, discussed various issues, which not only counter the narrative of the Opposition looking to woo voters with sops, but are also likely to bring several categories of voters to the Congress fold.
It has been decided to allow free access of sand to the owners of land and the system of contracts for sand mining will be abolished. The decision is to be implemented from October 2 and will be finally passed by the Cabinet next week, after instructions to frame a policy and bring it to the next meeting was taken tonight. Though move is populist and likely to bring down the price of sand, the state government will lose about Rs 300 crore it earns from auctioning of quarries.
The decision to give additional 100 units of free power to already subsidised consumers (from SC/BC/BPL domestic categories), by October 2, will actually raise the power subsidy bill of the state government by Rs 800 crore. These categories are already getting 200 units of free power. The Additional Chief Secretary, Power, was instructed to extend the scheme for power consumers and get it approved in the next Cabinet meeting, scheduled for September 29.
Already, the annual power subsidy bill of the state is Rs 10,668 crore, which the state finds difficult to bear. Each year, the subsidy due in the previous year is carried forward. This fiscal, too, the unpaid subsidy that has been carried forward from 2020-21 is Rs 6,000 crore.
Increasing the subsidy bill of the state further may hit the financial health of the state power utilities, which after several years have come out of the red.
The directions given to officers to frame a policy to waive the water bills of domestic rural consumers and giving them free supply, besides subsidised supply to urban domestic consumers will cost the state over over Rs 100 crore. In 2017, when the Congress government took over, the total pending water bills of consumers were about Rs 650 crore. Since then two One-Time Settlement (OTS) Schemes were announced and total bills, including penalty and surcharge, worth Rs 460 crore have been waived. Since August 2018, the water bills are again pending.
A complete waiver of water bills now will only cement this belief that bills need not be paid. As on July 31, the state government was facing a revenue deficit of Rs 3,099 crore. The state’s revenue receipts are Rs 20,539. 83 crore, against the annual estimated receipts of Rs 95,257.60 crore. The expenditure comparatively is Rs 23,639.66 crore.
Hussan Lal picked Principal Secy to CM
Chandigarh: After the oath ceremony, the CM announced Hussan Lal as his Principal Secretary and Rahul Tiwari as Special Principal Secretary. They replace Tejveer Singh and Gurkirat Kirpal, respectively, who are yet to be given a posting. Both Lal and Tiwari have worked with Channi. There is speculation over administrative overhaul in Punjab in a day or so, with officers in districts too being transferred.
Power, water bills taken up at first Cabinet meet
{$excerpt:n}
