Cheema meets with industrialists, traders to take suggestions

The minister said that previous governments did not formulate any concrete policy for the development of Punjab due to their narrow political and personal interests due to which Punjab was constantly ruined and millions of crores of debt fell on Punjabis.

Harpal Cheema

The Punjab government shall present a balanced budget in the coming days and is, for the first time, taking suggestions from the people. Punjab Finance Minister Harpal Cheema held a meeting with industrialists and traders on Wednesday and took their suggestions.

“This is happening for the first time in the history of Punjab when an elected government is going to the people before presenting the general budget and asking them for their suggestions regarding the budget. The Aam Aadmi Party government will present a comprehensive budget in line with the expectations of the people which will provide balanced budgetary allocations for the holistic development of industry, education, health and rural development as well as other sectors,” the minister said.

Cheema said that Chief Minister Bhagwant Singh Mann had promised the people that the budget of Punjab would be presented as per their wishes and expectations. In this regard, he said that he has visited various parts of Punjab and collected suggestions from the industrialists and traders.

The minister said that previous governments did not formulate any concrete policy for the development of Punjab due to their narrow political and personal interests due to which Punjab was constantly ruined and millions of crores of debt fell on Punjabis.

Cheema said that before 1987, Punjab had a surplus budget but due to the misguided, anti-people policies of the government since 1992, Punjab went into huge debt, with the government currently having a debt of over Rs 3 lakh crore. The situation has become such that now the Punjab government has to take a loan to repay the loan, he said.

“Due to the genocidal policies of previous governments, Punjab’s industry was ruined and it had migrated to other neighbouring states. The youth of Punjab is suffering from unemployment and is fleeing abroad in search of employment”, Harpal said.

Describing the industries as the backbone for the development, growth and employment of the state, the Finance Minister said that the general budget would be presented in accordance with the public opinion after giving due consideration to the suggestions made by the industrialists. He said that the Punjab government had also launched a portal for soliciting suggestions from the people on which lakhs of people have submitted their budget suggestions. The Finance Minister said that a blueprint has been prepared by his department after studying these suggestions and a meeting is to be held with the CM.

Story continues below this ad

J S Majha President CREDAI, Vikas Mahajan of Hotel and Restaurant Association, Dr B S Ghumman Former Vice Chancellor Punjabi University Patiala, Dr RS Bawa Vice Chancellor Chandigarh University Gharuan, Dr Debulal Saha Assistant Professor IISER addressed the gathering and gave their suggestions on Punjab Government’s Public Budget 2022-23.

Stay updated with the latest - Click here to follow us on Instagram