As a result, Punjab is facing many multifaceted crises such as agricultural crisis, debt crisis, investment crisis, rural areas crisis, economic crisis, unemployment crisis, industrial sector problems etc. In the 2022 Assembly elections, the current Aam Aadmi Party Punjab government will address the above-mentioned crisis-ridden Punjab and the economic and financial mismanagement during the previous Akali-BJP and Congress governments, especially the Punjab debt and all kinds of mafia issues. Came to power mainly by raising and promising Punjabis to solve them immediately. Last month, two and a half years of this government’s existence have been completed and now it is time to look at the performance of this government in terms of the promises it made to the people during the elections.
First of all, if we talk about the agricultural crisis, it is known that the experts had foreseen the agricultural crisis of the state in the 1980s because at that time the productivity of the main crops had started to stagnate. Among the main reasons for the agricultural crisis in the state, lack of agrarian policy due to need and timing, excessive reduction of government investment in agricultural sector, stagnation in agricultural productivity, high cost of all types of agriculture. loss of crops due to natural and other causes and non-compensation of losses, low income of farmers due to high costs and low prices of crops, excessive mechanization of agricultural activities and capacity of agricultural implements. There are less utilization and marketing problems etc. Along with this, in the early 1990s, due to the implementation of pro-corporate policies by international organizations, the World Trade Organization, the state’s agricultural crisis worsened. Due to this crisis, a large number of farmers and farm laborers have committed suicide in Punjab and are continuously committing suicide. The analysis of the data in this regard makes it clear that there has been an increase in the suicide rate of farmers in the country. From this it is clear that agriculture in Punjab is facing dire crisis, especially the marginal, small farmers and farm laborers have been and are being exploited in every way, resulting in economic crisis in the rural areas of Punjab. are facing Now if we look at the reality of the current government’s claims to solve this crisis, everything is going on as before, nothing has changed. Even the agriculture policy could not be released, only a draft has been released for discussion, two such drafts were released by earlier governments. It can be said that the government’s performance so far to solve the agricultural crisis has not been satisfactory and good as per the promises made.
Aam Aadmi Party had made a big promise before forming the present government that it would make Punjab debt free. When we look at this aspect, it is clear that the state is facing huge debt burden. At the end of March 2023, the state had a debt of Rs 3.13 lakh crore, while in March 2022 it was Rs 2.82 lakh crore. At the end of the financial year 2023-24, the amount of debt was 3.43 lakh crore and will cross 3.74 lakh crore at the end of March 2025. If we assume that in the coming two years of the current government, the debt continues to rise like in the first three years, then when this government leaves office in 2027, the debt burden will be close to 4.50 lakh crore rupees. It is worth mentioning here that during the two governments before this government, the debt of about 20,000 crore rupees was rising every year, but during the time of the current government, the amount of annual debt rising will increase to more than 30,000 crore rupees. It is also important to clarify here that every year the government gets only 7.8 percent of the total debt taken as net debt and the remaining 92.2 percent is spent to clear the previous debt. This shows how much the state is trapped in the cycle of debt. The above facts make it very clear that Punjab has sunk into debt trap. It is also clear that the present government has not been able to take the path of making Punjab debt-free by removing the debt burdened by the state, because the government has not come forward with any initiative on this front.
As per the promises made in the assembly elections, the aim of revitalizing the economy of Punjab was to increase investment in all sectors as Punjab has been suffering from severe lack of investment for capital formation in infrastructure for the last four decades. The state has an investment-domestic product ratio of less than 20 percent, which is the lowest among major states in the country and about 15 percent below the national ratio. Punjab urgently needs additional investment of more than Rs 10,000-15,000 crore annually to build India-level capital formation. Further, the amount of capital investment in Punjab’s agricultural sector has also been steadily declining as a proportion of agricultural output, falling to an all-time low of 8-9 percent. This has happened due to neglect of economic management by the state government and failure of fiscal policy. The current government has been following the policy of giving freebies and subsidies to everyone without any justification since the beginning, due to which the expenditure on freebies and subsidies has almost doubled in just a few years, for example e.g. It has happened in the case of free electricity facilities and subsidies. The government should increase the tax-domestic product ratio from the current 7-8 percent to 12-13 percent to increase investment in all sectors. This is possible by increasing tax collection, eliminating tax evasion and imposing new taxes. The government should have immediately rationalized all subsidies according to the principles of social justice and abandoned/abandoned the approach of subsidizing everyone immediately. Subsidies should be used for capacity building of the downtrodden and weaker sections of the society for a limited period of time. By doing this, necessary funds could also be provided for the rapid economic progress of the state. It is clear from this that the present government has not been able to show sufficient performance in terms of generating income and employment opportunities in the state by increasing investment in every sector, nor does the government have any such effective program.
Similarly, in terms of finding and solving the rest of the issues and crises as promised in the elections, the situation has remained almost as it is. such as plumsProblems of employment, problems of health and education sectors, economic problems, problems of rural development, development of industrial sector and problems of mafia dominance in almost every sector etc. It is noteworthy that Punjab spends 11-12 percent of its expenditure on education, the average of all states is 15-16 percent. Similarly, Punjab has 4 percent for the health sector while the national average is 5.5 percent. Punjab contributes 2-3 percent to rural development and the national average is 6-7 percent. Similarly, for the construction of roads and bridges, Punjab is 1-2 percent and the national average is 4-5 percent. In the end, it will not be an exaggeration to say that the people of Punjab elected this government with a large majority by believing in the promises made by the present Aam Aadmi Party, its current performance is a disappointment to the people of Punjab. has found The above analysis and facts make it clear that this government has not been able to live up to its promises and aspirations of the people o far.
