Punjab CM reviews fiscal situation amid coronavirus lockdown, asks all departments to rationalise expenses
Punjab Chief Minister Captain Amarinder Singh on Monday said that the situation was unlikely to improve in the immediate future, citing the continuously declining collections of the state, as well as the worsening coronavirus situation in the country. He also directed all the departments to rationalise their expenses in an order to ensure no shortage of funds to combat the pandemic at all costs.
With studies and reports from across the world presenting a grim picture on the coronavirus outlook, the projections were not good, the Chief Minister said.
Meanwhile, the Chief Minister made it clear that the capital expenditure in essential sectors such as health education and infrastructure would be retained at Rs 5000 crore, notwithstanding the economic crisis facing the state, which was expecting a shortfall of nearly 30% in the Total Revenue Receipts (TRR) in FY 2020-21 on account of the coronavirus lockdown effect.
Captain Amarinder Singh also said that the focus of his government was on ensuring that salaries and pensions continue to be paid on time, along with power subsidy to the PSPCL. He also said that no compromise could be made to ensure funding for all the frontline departments, such as health, police and the local bodies, which were working 24X7 in battling the pandemic.
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The state has successfully paid all grants to Local Bodies and PRIs, ensuring that they do not face problems in the disbursement of salaries, the Chief Minister said. He further said that up to date releases have been made for medical bills, POL bills and all other SOE expenditure, as well as for the successful roll-over to the new IFMS.
-PTC News
