Given fiscal constraints, Punjab budget couldn't have been better

Given Punjab's financial bind, the budget presented by finance minister Harpal Cheema on Wednesday could not have been more balanced, realistic, or transparent.

- Karan Bir Singh Sidhu

While the state's debt-to-GSDP ratio remains alarmingly high, second only to one other state, it must be viewed in the correct context. This is a legacy burden. Those who left the cupboard bare now occupy the opposition benches or have been relegated to the footnotes of Punjab's political landscape. Their present indignation stands in stark contrast to their past inaction.

The budget team has had to navigate a minefield of unpaid liabilities — dues to the power sector, pending scholarships, subsidies yet to be honoured, and treasury bills carried over from earlier fiscal years. In such an environment, allocating resources to fresh development initiatives becomes not just difficult but almost untenable.

Nonetheless, the budget makes an earnest attempt to clear pending commitments, particularly those relating to socially sensitive sectors such as Scheduled Caste student scholarships and rural infrastructure works. While the criticism over limited capital expenditure is not unfounded, the government's decision to first stabilise the fiscal foundation before embarking on new ventures is sound.

Walking the tightrope In a state where over two-thirds of revenue expenditure is pre-committed to salaries, pensions, interest payments, and subsidies, the room for manoeuvre is narrow. Yet the budget manages to touch upon nearly every vital sector — from agriculture and education to rural roads, health and industrial promotion — without surrendering to populism.