Chandigarh: Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann Friday said the state has cleared its entire electricity subsidy bill of Rs 20,200 crore for the last financial year and has witnessed a jump in excise and GST revenue.
Mann, addressing the media here, said the state has registered a revenue of Rs 8,841 crore for the financial year 2022-23, up by 41.41 per cent when compared to 2021-22.
He claimed that Punjab’s financial position was on the right track.
Mann spelled out various initiatives taken by his over-a-year-old government in various spheres including health, education and power.
“What we have achieved in one year, other governments were not able to do so in 15 years,” he said.
He also said his government has fulfilled several poll promises in the first year itself, “which other governments are not able to do even in the fifth year”.
He said his government has set a target of 10,000 crore in excise revenue for the current fiscal, as he criticised the previous governments for allowing “liquor mafia” in the state.
Mann said the state has registered a 16.60-per cent jump in the Goods & Services Tax collection, earning Rs 18,126 crore in revenue for the year 2022-23.
“We are now among the top states in terms of GST collection,” he said.
Mann said the state has registered a rise of 78 per cent in stamp duty and fee collection in March. The government earlier announced an exemption of 2.25 per cent on stamp duty and fees on registration of properties.
The chief minister said his government has cleared the total electricity subsidy bill of Rs 20,200 crore for the last financial year, and asserted that the government will ensure uninterrupted power supply to the people.
He said it is for the first time that the entire subsidy bill of a particular fiscal year has been cleared during the year itself.
“In 2022-23, which is the first year when the Punjab government paid the entire subsidy bill of Rs 20,200 crore to the Punjab State Power Corporation Limited. Not even a single penny was pending towards PSPCL,” he said.
He said the government has also paid the first installment of Rs 1,804 crore out of the legacy amount of Rs 9,020 crore which had been pending for years.
The amount of Rs 9,020 crore will be paid in five installments, said Mann.
He said the Rs 20,200 crore amount comprised Rs 9,063.79 crore (free electricity to the farm sector), Rs 8,225 crore for domestic consumers, and Rs 2,910 crore for the industry sector.
PTI

Press Trust of India