Chandigarh, November 25: The Punjab Government on Wednesday released funds to the tune of Rs. 1561.08 crore on various schemes and development projects including sum of Rs. 802.35 crore towards payment of General Provident Fund (Final & Advances)/Group Insurance Scheme to its employees upto November 24.
According to an official spokesperson, the Finance Department has also released Rs.94 crore for Hoshiarpur and Rs.75 crore for Tarn Taran out of total Rs.169 crore on account of 14th Finance Commission Grants and Rs.86.60 crore to Punjab Infrastructure Development Board for the execution of various development schemes and projects across the state.
Apart from these, a sum of Rs.69.31 crore has been released under Standard Object of Expenditure (SOE) to be incurred on electricity (Rs.38.68 crore), Petrol Oil & Lubricants (POL) Rs.18.60 crore, Rent Rates and Taxes (RRT) Rs.4.19 crore and other office expenses (Rs.7.84 crore). Another Rs.51.30 crore has been released under Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA) and Rs.50 crore each under Smart City Mission and Atal Mission for Rejuvenation and Urban Transformation (AMRUT) to boost the pace of urban development.
Pointing out further, the spokesperson said that Rs.48 crore has been released for the payment of Tax Deducted at Source (TDS) and Rs.40 crore on account of fee paid for Court/Tribunal Cases etc. Similarly, Rs.39.96 crore has been paid to Punjab Urban Development Authority for debt servicing besides Rs. 39 crore to the Bhakhra Beas Management Board (BBMB) and Rs.26.42 crore under National Health Mission (NHM).
The Finance Department also released Rs.25 crore for Smart Phones to the youth, Rs.23.59 crore for execution of Flood Control Projects besides Rs.19.54 crore to the Welfare of SC/BC department for Shagun Scheme. An amount of Rs.14 crore has been released to fund Employment Generation & Training programme under Pradhan Mantri Kaushal Vikas Yojana (PMKVY) and Rs.7.01 crore for Technical Education.
These funds have been released to boost the tempo of overall development and growth in the state with a directive from Chief Minister Captain Amarinder Singh to all the departments to intensify its efforts for additional resource mobilisation by cutting down wasteful expenditure to further consolidate state’s fiscal position especially due to sluggish economy amid Covid-19.
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