Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal has been blaming the Centre for the state’s financial problems and for discriminating against Punjab in providing funds. Talking to mediapersons at Ludhiana on October 6, he also said that “The UPA government at the Centre, led by a thoroughly corrupt Congress, has brought our economy on the brink of disaster”.

Inaugurating the Destination Punjab, the four-day Confederation of Indian Industry exhibition at Amritsar on October 6, Deputy Chief Minister Sukhbir Singh Badal, however, claimed that there was nothing wrong with Punjab’s financial health. “An impression is being created that the state exchequer is empty and the government is in a heavy debt trap due to the loans it has taken. Taking loans from financial institutions is a fundamental of economics.”

The statements call for a reality check.

Punjab’s financial health is on the brink of collapse. For veracity, one has to have a look at the screaming headlines appearing daily in the media about the state’s huge debt and non-payment of salaries and dues to certain categories of the employees because the Finance Department has not been releasing funds. Those, including women, who try to hold demonstrations in support of their demands are dragged and cane charged by the police. The ruling Akali leadership’s decision to reduce the promised Rs.1,100 crores to Rs.317 crore for the development of urban areas, the BJP’s main support base, has annoyed the junior ruling partner. The drastic cut in the grant is mainly because the Banks are refusing to advance more loans to the already heavily indebted state government.

The worst affected by the financial crunch is Punjab State Power Corporation whose working capital loan has already touched Rs 11,000 crore. It has to pay Rs.2,000 crore each year in loan interest alone on the debt inherited from the erstwhile Punjab State Electricity Board.

The charge that the Centre is not providing financial help to the state is a half truth. The fact is that the money provided by New Delhi for different schemes is either not fully utilized because the state does not contribute its own share as stipulated under such schemes or diverts the funds for its populist measures like doling grants during Chief Minister’s “Sangat Darshan” tours.

A shocking example is that of the state government’s pocketing of a profit of Rs.2.55 a kg from the sale of wheat grains it receives under the National Food Mission every year from the Central pool for the above poverty line (APL) category families. Under the scheme, wheat is received at Rs.6.10 a kg. In January 2010, the state government began converting this wheat into atta for which the grain was sold to floor mills at Rs. 8.65 a kg. But the atta was sold at Rs.12 a kg, double the stipulated price, to the APL families. Though the scheme had to be discontinued in July, 2011, the amount made out of this Central scheme was diverted to the Punjab government’s own populist atta-Dal scheme.

Take the corruption issue. Chief Minister’s charge during his talk with mediapersons at Ludhiana that the UPA government was led by a thoroughly corrupt Congress is not without basis. The charge has been substantiated by the media exposures of some of the UPA’s leading persons.

On the other hand, Punjab Congress chief Capt. Amarinder Singh’s charge that corruption is rampant under the Akali-BJP rule is also not wrong. In this context, he has particularly targeted the Badals who have misused the state power to directly or by proxy monopolising passenger transport, sand and gravel mines, liquor trade and cable TV at the cost of the state exchequer. In the latest case of high level corruption, three BJP ministers had to be dropped from the ministry, two of them for alleged involvement in a corruption case.

Inaugurating Destination Punjab, Sukhbir Singh Badal had also said that the government would make Punjab as the destination of choice. But the prevailing situation is not conducive for realizing his dream partly because of the widespread corruption in permitting the setting up of new industrial units.

Investigation by this writer showed that an entrepreneur has to pay bribes almost at every stage to seek permission for setting up an industrial unit. For getting power connection he has to seek Pollution Control Board’s mandatory permission. The Board asks for No Objection Certificates from the Industries and Factory Departments. To get NOCs, the entrepreneur has to pay bribes at almost every stage. Once these formalities are completed which can take several months, the Board gives permission to set up the unit. Power cuts then add to the woes of the entrepreneur.

The government has now taken an appreciable step by getting the Right to Service Bill 2011 unanimously passed by the Assembly. The bill provides for time-bound delivery of 67 citizen-centric services to the public. But one is not sure if the law will also ensure time bound services to make Punjab the Destination state.

Despite the financial crunch, the Akali-BJP government has launched a publicity blitz further burdening the nearly empty exchequer. With the proximity of elections, it has suddenly been reminded of the promises it had not fulfilled for five years and has started announcing concessions and promotions of some categories of the employees. Will the spree of such measures cover up its failures on other major fronts, particularly like making Punjab a power surplus state within three years and help it in realizing its dream of returning to power? The Akali leaders will themselves not be able to affirmatively say “Yes”. (IPA Service)