Pegging the April revenue shortfall for Punjab at 88 per cent, Chief Minister Amarinder Singh on Wednesday said with all tax revenues dried up and only 1.5 per cent of the industry currently operational, the state was facing a difficult financial situation. He said that the situation has been compounded by the absence of aid from the central government.

Participating in a video conference of Chief Ministers of Congress-ruled states with party president Sonia Gandhi, along with Manmohan Singh and Rahul Gandhi, Mr Singh shared his state’s COVID-19 containment strategy and the roadmap for economic revival.

Advertisement

During the meeting, Sonia Gandhi asked the Chief Minister to convey her congratulations to the farmers of Punjab for a smooth procurement season.

As against the estimated revenue of Rs 3,360 crore for April, only Rs 396 crore had been received during the month, the Chief Minister said, adding that the state’s power consumption had declined by 30 per cent with a daily loss of Rs 30 crore to the Punjab State Power Corporation Ltd.

In addition, the state’s GST arrears of Rs 4365.37 crore are yet to be paid by the centre, he said.

The initial report of the ”Group of Experts” headed by Montek Singh Ahluwalia, on the economic and industrial revival of the state, was likely to be received in three months, and it would take another month after that to refine and finalise the same, Singh said.

However, he said that despite the financial crunch, his government was committed to preparing the society and the common man to manage and contain the coronavirus, and it was also taking every possible step to upgrade and readjust the state’s healthcare system to meet the challenges of the pandemic.

The Punjab government is hoping to generate some revenue with alcohol sale. The government on Wednesday issued orders to open the liquor vends from Thursday with the provision of home delivery.

As per an the order issued by Excise and Taxation Department, the liquor stores would remain open from 9 am to 1 pm. The timing for home delivery will be decided by the respective assistant excise and taxation commissioners in consultation with deputy commissioners.

The Indian Express reports, though the Punjab Excise Act 1914 and the Excise Rules has no provision of home delivery of liquor, a decision in this regard has been taken to ensure social distancing in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, the order states.