Chandigarh, January 10: Punjab is paying a whopping Rs 5,100 crore annually while procuring foodgrains for the Central pool, even as the Capt Amarinder Singh government is busy reworking the legacy food credit limit settlement with the Union Government.
This figure includes Rs 3,200 crore, the interest on the Rs 31,000-crore loan the state has to bear to settle the legacy food credit account (from 2002-03 to 2014-15). The government is also shelling out Rs 1,900 crore each year for settling the current cash credit limit (CCL). A sum of Rs 1,100 crore was given from the state treasury for settling the cash credit limit availed for procuring wheat last year, while Rs 800 crore was used to settle the CCL availed for paddy.
Sources in the Finance Department said this additional burden was eating into the already depleted finances.
“With the GST rollout during this fiscal, the annual hike in revenue for Punjab is just Rs 2,000 crore. But the expenses incurred on food procurement have gone up by Rs 5,100 crore. This means that Punjab is spending Rs 3,000 crore more compared to last year,” said Finance Minister Manpreet Singh Badal. Though tight-lipped about the deal he is working on with the Central Government for resettlement of the legacy food credit accounts, he expressed hope that it would happen this fiscal itself.
Sources in the Finance Department told The Tribune that they were examining the original proposal agreed to by the Centre, wherein it was decided that the burden of Rs 31,000 crore would be shared equally between the Food Corporation of India, the Central and state governments. This proposal was, however, later struck down by some Central departments, and Punjab was asked to bear the entire burden.
“It’s an unfair proposition. A dispute resolution mechanism has to be put in place,” said Manpreet.
News Source: http://www.tribuneindia.com
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