DW BUREAU / Chandigarh

The Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) today asserted the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) government had burdened the common man with new taxes of Rs 12,500 crore even as it had not undertaken any new infrastructure project or social welfare scheme to justify the unprecedented Rs one lakh crore debt taken by it in the last two and half years. It demanded the centre probe how the debt taken on by the AAP government was being spent.

SAD senior leader Parambans Singh Romana said gross financial mismanagement, misappropriation and huge advertisement expenditure being spent on projecting chief minister Bhagwant Mann and AAP Convener Arvind Kejriwal across the country besides money spent on hiring helicopters and aircraft for campaigning in other States was responsible for this state of affairs. He asserted Punjab had been pushed into bankruptcy with the State recording the second highest debt to GSDP ratio of 46.81 per cent.

Addressing a press conference here, Mr Parambans Romana said the AAP government had imposed taxes on every section of society be it increasing VAT on petrol and diesel three times (Rs 600 crore), removing power subsidy (Rs 1800 crore), increasing power rates (Rs 7,800 crore), increasing collector rates (Rs 2,000 crore), increasing bus fares (Rs 150 crore), doubling motor vehicle tax (Rs 100 crore), introducing green tax on old vehicles (Rs 100 crore) and even taxing loans (Rs 1500 crore).

Mr Parambans Romana said despite imposing these huge taxes and levies in the form of increasing service charges in Suvidha Kendras and hike in license fee for driving licenses and arms licenses, the government had nothing to show by way of any achievement. "I challenge chief minister Bhagwant Mann to tell one new infrastructure project taken up by his government or debate the closure of all social welfare schemes by the AAP government. I am ready to debate on this issue as well as the acute financial crisis facing the State at any stage of his choice".

Mr Romana asked the chief minister why he never talked about the financial condition of the State and explained why Punjab's revenue deficit was increasing and why employees were not getting salary in time among other things. He said the debt to GSDP ratio which was 40.15 per cent when the SAD government took over the reins of the State in 2007, was reduced to 33 per cent in 2017. "Since then the State's finances have been downhill with the Congress raising the dent to GSDP ratio to 45 per cent in 2022 and now it had gone up to 46.81 per cent. He said governance itself was in question with the annual fiscal deficit rising to Rs 34,000 crore.

The SAD leader said similarly during the SAD tenure average borrowings were Rs 8,400 crore per year and rose to Rs an average borrowing of Rs 18,235 crore per year during Congress tenure to Rs 35,000 crore annually now.

Asserting that unlike the SAD which had built schools, colleges, rural roads, highways and airports besides augmenting Mandis and irrigation facilities, the AAP government was spending only seven per cent of its total borrowings on capital expenditure as per the latest CAG report. He said the CAG report had also pointed out that Rs 736 crore collected on account of cess and levies had not been deposited in government accounts, which was also a matter for a thorough probe.
(editor@dailyworld.in)