Punjab debt doubled under SAD-BJP govt

As per Punjab Finance Minister Parminder Singh Dhindsa, the government borrowed around Rs 10,698 crore in 2007-08; nearly Rs 13,652 crore in 2010-11; nearly Rs 16,723 crore in 2011-12; Rs 18,406 crore in 2012-13 and nearly Rs 18,448 crore in 2013-14. Last fiscal, it borrowed over Rs 20,750 crore.

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Dhindsa’s figures were part of his written reply to a question from Congress MLA from Dera Baba Nanak Sukhjinder Singh Randhawa; the reply was tabled in the Punjab Assembly on Monday.

While Randhawa was not present during the session, he later told The Indian Express that the government is using a sizeable part of the loans it has been raising to meet non-plan expenditure. “The government has been raising loans to service old loans, pay salaries and pensions and its populist schemes. No loan amount has been used for infrastructure,” he claimed.

He also sought details of loans raised by state undertakings. As per the reply, total outstanding amount of loans raised by this sector was over Rs 62,137 crore.
125 schools closed.

As many as 125 government schools shut down in Punjab while 250 were merged with other schools, between April 2007 and September 2015, Punjab Education Minister Daljit Singh Cheema said in a written reply on Monday. His reply, to a question from Congress MLA Tarlochan Singh, was tabled in the Assembly. As per the reply, the border districts of Ferozepur and Tarn Taran have seen the maximum closures: 28 schools in Ferozepur and 22 schools in Tarn Taran. Around 12 schools each have been closed in Patiala and Hoshiarpur. Cheema said schools that did not have any students were shut and those with less than 10 students were merged.

Punjab Roadways In Deep losses

The Punjab Roadways has seen its losses rise, under the SAD-BJP government, from Rs 72.51 crore in 2006-07 to Rs 112.19 crore in 2014-15. The losses, however, have decreased twice under the SAD-BJP government. They decreased from Rs 72.51 crore in 2006-07 to Rs 60.07 crore in 2007-08, the first year of the then SAD-BJP government. After registering the initial decline, however, the losses climbed over the next four year, touching a high of Rs 108.74 crore in 2011-12, the last year of the previous government’s tenure. The losses of Punjab Roadways were contained in 2012-13, the first year of SAD-BJP’s second term, when they were brought down to Rs 62.47 crore.

The losses, however, again mounted to Rs 83.49 crore in 2013-14 and subsequently to all-time high, since 2007-08, of Rs 112.19 crore in 2014-15. The sorry state of government buses came in a written reply tabled in Punjab Vidhan Sabha by Transport Minister Ajit Singh Kohar on Monday. He was responding to questions from Congress MLA Charanjit Singh Channi. Channi alleged that the losses were due to politicians of the ruling party owning bus companies. The minister, however, blamed old buses, shortage of staff among the reasons for the loss.