The pain of debt increased, every Punjabi has a loan of one lakh; Debt will cross Rs 353 lakh crore in the next financial year

Chandigarh: In Punjab, 114 out of 150 blocks of underground water have come in the dark zone. Like water, the economic situation of Punjab is also rapidly moving towards the dark zone. By the end of the financial year 2024-25, the debt on Punjab will increase to Rs 353 lakh crore. That means every citizen of Punjab will have a loan of one lakh rupees. Figures presented by Finance Minister Harpal Singh Cheema show that the government is having to take loans to repay its debt. While the government will pay Rs 16,625 crore as principal, Rs 23,900 crore will have to be paid as interest, which is 18 percent of the budget expenditure.

Finance Minister Harpal Singh Cheema says that the government has inherited the debt. Our government is continuously working towards increasing revenue. At the same time, Rs 9 thousand crore has not been paid by the Central Government under various schemes, the burden of which is also falling on the Punjab Government. On one hand, the debt burden on the government is increasing every year, on the other hand there is a huge increase in electricity subsidy.

According to the budget data, the Finance Minister has estimated electricity subsidy at Rs 20,200 crore for the next financial year. However, electricity prices are to be reevaluated on April 1. It is estimated that the increase in electricity rates will put an additional burden of Rs 2000 crore on the government. Electricity is already being provided free to the agricultural sector, on which the government has to bear the burden of Rs 9331 crore. At the same time, giving 300 units of free electricity is putting a burden of Rs 7,780 crore on the government. Apart from this, the government will have to bear the burden of Rs 3,376 crore on subsidized electricity to the industry. Budget data shows that Punjab has incurred a debt of Rs 1,24,246 crore in the last six years from 2019-20 to 2024-25. If we look at the population of around 3.5 crores of Punjab, every person in the state has a debt of one lakh rupees.

How much debt was there?

year loan

2019-20 229353 lakh crore

2020-21 249673 lakh crore

2021-22 261281 lakh crore

2022-23 293729 lakh crore

2023-24 323135 lakh crore

2024-25 353600 lakh crore

payment of interest on loan

year payment

2022-23 Rs 19905 crore

2023-24 Rs 22500 crore

23900 crores in 2024-25

electricity subsidy

year subsidy

Rs 20,200 crore in 2022-23

Rs 20,200 crore in 2023-24

Rs 20,200 crore in 2024-25