Says AAP govt must clarify from where funds will come for free healthcare
By agreeing to cut 11 lakh ration cards, AAP government has betrayed the poor, succumbed to BJP’s pressure
Punjab’s financial condition already deteriorating, government now resorting to land sales
Punjab Newsline, Chandigarh-
All India Congress Committee Secretary and MLA Padmashree Pargat Singh welcomed the Punjab government’s Chief Minister Health Scheme but simultaneously raised questions over its financial viability. He asked the government how it plans to fund health insurance for 3 crore people in the state. He sought clarity on how and from where the installments for the budgetary provisions of this scheme will be paid.
He further questioned whether, like other free schemes, the people of Punjab are being misled again or whether the citizens will actually receive tangible benefits. He recalled that earlier too, schemes such as the Sarbat Da Bhala Sehat Scheme had failed to provide significant advantages to the public.
Highlighting Punjab’s fragile economic condition, Pargat Singh pointed out that the state already bears a debt burden running into lakhs of crores, which continues to rise. Government infrastructure has been steadily deteriorating. Punjab Roadways and PRTC still have pending dues of around Rs. 1,100–1,200 crores for the free travel of 1.5 crore women passengers, which have yet to be cleared. At present, Pepsu Road Transport Corporation and Punjab Roadways together have fewer than 3,000 buses, whereas the state requires around 10,000 buses.
According to Pargat Singh, the AAP government is now preparing to sell government land to meet its expenses. The government has already decided to sell 8 acres of land of the Printing Press Colony in Patiala, 10 acres of Printing Press site, 2.27 acres of the Veterinary Hospital in Ludhiana, 89 acres of the Sugar Mill in Tarn Taran, and 1.75 acres of the PWD Guest House land in Gurdaspur. He questioned whether it is justified to offer free facilities by mortgaging and selling state assets in this manner.
Condemning the decision of the AAP-led Punjab government to accept the cut of 11 lakh beneficiaries from the ration list, Pargat Singh said this is a shameful betrayal of the state’s poorest citizens. By agreeing to reduce beneficiaries under the National Food Security Act (NFSA) free ration scheme, the AAP government has clearly succumbed to the pressure of the BJP-led central government.
He reminded that the state government had promised the poor that no ration cards would be canceled. Yet, now it has completely surrendered before the BJP. He described the move as deplorable and said it clearly exposes the collusion between the AAP government in Punjab and the BJP government at the center.