Amid concerns over how the Punjab Government will meet its ambitious target of earning an additional Rs 8,000 crore next fiscal year without imposing new taxes, Finance Minister Harpal Singh Cheema has revealed plans to build new townships as a key strategy.
Cheema mentioned that instead of going through the prolonged process of land acquisition, the government plans to adopt land pooling, allowing landowners to receive residential or commercial units in exchange for their land. This approach is expected to accelerate the development process and help meet revenue goals.
In an exclusive interview with The Tribune, Cheema shared that the government is in the final stages of planning new townships between Mohali and Ropar, Patiala and Bathinda, and Ludhiana and Jalandhar. He also mentioned that areas in Sangrur, Bathinda, Amritsar, and Gurdaspur will be developed into townships as planned as Chandigarh, with all civic amenities. These projects will soon be rolled out, and where land has already been acquired, its sale to real estate developers will be expedited to generate revenue.
Cheema also confirmed that the state is pursuing off-Budget additional resource mobilization. For the current fiscal year, Punjab has seen a Rs 2,500 crore increase in stamp duty collections by revising collector rates in major cities, which had not been updated for years.
The Finance Minister also highlighted that tax intelligence units are playing a crucial role in improving tax compliance and targeting tax evaders.
When asked about Punjab’s growing public debt, Cheema stated that the rise in debt is aligned with the state’s increasing Gross State Domestic Product (GSDP), emphasizing that the debt is manageable in the context of the state’s economic growth.
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