M A I N   N E W S

Punjab liquor consumers to bear brunt of cess
Prabhjot Singh
Tribune News Service

Even today when the Leader of the Opposition, Mr Parkash Singh Badal, in his wrap-up on the budgetary proposals insisted on a CBI inquiry into the excise auctions, the Chief Minister, Capt Amarinder Singh, flatly turned it down saying that the increase in revenue from the auctions was in consonance with that in previous years, including the time of the Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) and Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) coalition government in the state.

In his final wrap-up on the Budget, the Finance and Planning Minister, Mr Surinder Singla, reiterated that there was nothing final on public-private sector participation in the delivery of education and health services in the state. There was no question of the government running away from its responsibility.

By seeking the participation of the private sector, the idea was to improve the quality of service. He said that when he proposed the “reinventing of the government,” it was to seek the participation of both the private sector and financial institutions in creating permanent assets, both for local bodies and panchayats in the state. The state needed Rs 4,500 crore for the upgradation of water supply, sewerage, roads and other basic amenities. On the other hand, 159 towns and cities in Punjab with an income of Rs 600 crore were in no position to fund these projects as 70 per cent of their income went to salaries and establishment. There was nothing like privatisation or handing over anything to “thekedars”, as was being alleged by the Opposition.

Earlier, Mr Badal described the excise auctions as “broad daylight dacoity on the state exchequer”, He said the Congress government had done nothing for farmers as there was stagnation, nominal increase in the minimum support price, sharp rise in the prices of farm inputs and withdrawal of concessions given to the farm sector by the previous government. He said an increase in the diesel price by more than Rs 5 a litre during that past one year had cost farmers more than Rs 500 crore . Farmers had to shell out Rs 664 crore on deepening or fresh bore of their tubewells while they lost Rs 450 crore in cotton and Rs 12 crore in sugarcane.

Mr Badal also accused the government of not utilising the grants received from the Centre, saying that only Rs 6.2 crore out of Rs 92 crore could be utilised for farm development and soil conservation last year. Similarly, out of a matching contribution of Rs 51.40 crore state spent only Rs 60 lakh.

Mr Badal suggested the setting up of a price stabilisation fund as well as a rural indebtedness fund and wanted that the focus of diversification should be on biotechnology, organic farming and the cultivation of medicinal plants.

Be factual in debate: CM

The Punjab Chief Minister accused the Opposition of being not truthful in reeling out figures in the debate on the budgetary proposals, he held that diversification had started showing results as the area under contract farming for hyola, sunflower and malted barley was increasing every year.

Joining the debate on the budgetary proposals, the Chief Minister said that four fruit processing units were being set up in the state as efforts were being made to bring back malta, a citrus fruit, as kinnow was difficult to process. Responding to criticism by Mr Badal that several senior functionaries of the Punjab Agro-Industries Corporation had been travelling to the USA, Holland, Germany, and the UK on the pretext of seeking expertise on diversification, the Chief Minister held that it was he who had sent them abroad.

Stuttgart in Germany, he said, held one of the world’s biggest agri fairs every year. Holland was far advanced in floriculture and Florida was leading in fruit processing. Punjab would be getting root culture on some of the fruit varieties for cultivation in Punjab under an agreement with Tropicana.

Ridiculing the claim of Mr Badal that agri production had come down, the Chief Minister held that from 22 million tonnes, the annual production of foodgrains would be touching 30 million tonnes and the annual income had recorded a growth of more than Rs 400 crore in three years.

Admitting that the growth of the agricultural sector in Punjab had slowed down and was a cause of concern for everyone, he said that weakening of the soil, deficiency of micro-nutrients, depleting subsoil water in some areas and waterlogging in others areas were areas of concern.

He said the government bought electricity for Rs 1,600 crore last year to make sure that farmers do not suffer. This year, he said, the government would spend Rs 2,400 crore on purchasing electricity to ensure proper supply to farmers during the peak seasons. The number of tubewell power connections sanctioned was much higher than that under the previous government and even the charges for deep bore or fresh bore had also been reduced.

The cultivation of cotton had been revived and it was expected to touch 13 lakh bales this year and 21 lakh bales next year.

Coming to the excise auctions, he said that during its first year, the SAD-BJP government had recorded 9 per cent increase at such auctions which fell by 1.9 per cent next year. On an average there had been around 2.5 per cent growth in the revenue from excise auctions which had been maintained this time also, he said while brushing aside the demand for a CBI inquiry into the recent auctions.