Chandigarh: Giving a further fillip to its development agenda, the Captain Amarinder Singh led Punjab government on Monday released Rs. 469 crore towards pending payments for various schemes and development projects, besides clearing the entire pendency of VAT/GST refunds in the state treasury.
The funds released today relate to the Local Government and Education departments, as well as pending Social Security Pensions. Disclosing this here today, a spokesperson of the Chief Minister’s Office said that the funds, released on the directives of the Chief Minister, are aimed at expediting the pace of development in these key areas.
Of the total amount, Rs.188 crore has been released to the Local Government Department for the execution of its ongoing projects, while Rs.138 crore is on account of Social Security Pensions for various categories of beneficiaries.
An amount of Rs.77 crore has been released to the Education Department under the Rashtriya Madhyamik Shiksha Abhiyan (RMSA) and Mid Day Meal (MDM) schemes, said the spokesperson. The government has also released refunds on account of VAT worth Rs.62 crore and GST for Rs.4 crore, thus clearing its entire pendency in the treasury, added the spokesperson.
The Chief Minister has reiterated his earlier directive to all the departments to manage their finances more prudently to cut down wasteful expenditure to further consolidate the state’s fiscal position, which has already been on the path of resurgence.
