Merger of small depts a cost-effective measure, says Punjab Finance Minister

The Punjab Government is taking several steps to improve the economic condition of the state and one of them will be the merger of some small departments, which will be done soon. Under this, some small departments, which now have only a few employees left or departments which have lost their importance over time, will be merged, benefiting the state government in financial terms.

This was stated by Punjab Finance Minister Harpal Singh Cheema while addressing the media here today. Cheema was here to address a meeting of district officials on the campaign being run by the state government against drugs.

The minister said that in the last three years, GST collection in the state has increased three times compared to the last five years. He said that during the rule of the previous state government —- from 2017 to 2022 —- the GST collection was Rs 21,286 crore, which has reached Rs 64,253 crore in the three years from 2022 to 2025. He claimed that no decision of the government regarding GST or VAT has been challenged in the High Court or VAT Tribunal. When asked about Punjab Congress president Raja Warring’s allegations of taxation terrorism in the state while talking to reporters, he said that the GST system was brought by the Congress’s own Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, which was later implemented by the BJP government, so how can they question the system created by themselves.

The Punjab Finance Minister said that the previous governments used to collect tax from those who evaded them illegally instead of cracking down on evasion and theft, while the present government has taken strict measures to increase GST collection and stop tax evasion, which has shown results. When asked about the increasing debt burden on the state, he said that this debt has accumulated during the 30-year tenure of previous governments, for which Rs 24,000-Rs 25,000 crore has to be paid every year as interest. Now, citing the reduction of pensions received by MLAs to one pension, it is being claimed that the government is taking tough steps to reduce debt.

Responding to a question, Cheema said that the state government has passed a proposal in the cabinet to release Rs 14,141 crore to pensioners and employees as the first installment of the arrears of the Sixth Pay Commission. He said that all these arrears will be paid by January 2028. Referring to the campaign going on under the war against drugs in the district, he said that so far, 179 FIRs have been registered in the district and 271 accused have been arrested. He informed that of these, 17 FIRs have been registered on the basis of information given by the general public on the helpline issued by the government. So far, 527 meetings have been held in the district. Anti-drug committees have been formed in 970 villages and 547 panchayats have passed resolutions to declare their villages drug-free. He said that the district administration has identified 18 hot spots to prevent drug abuse. Apart from this, joint action is being conducted by the police forces of Punjab and Himachal Pradesh at the border.

Jalandhar