Punjab CM Amarinder Singh pitches for lockdown extension, but with effective exit strategy

Punjab Chief Minister Capt. Amarinder Singh has pitched for an extension of the lockdown, but with a carefully crafted exit strategy, backed by fiscal and economic empowerment of the states, to save lives and secure livelihood.

Clearly favouring continuation of a strict lockdown in view of the increasing cases of COVID-19 nationwide, the Chief Minister said at the video conference with Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday that states needed to be given greater flexibility in micro-planning as part of a carefully planned exit strategy, encompassing both COVID-19 containment and a defined path of economic revival.

The exit strategy should consider and focus on fiscal and economic empowerment of the states, which are responsible for the real action directly impinging upon the livelihood and social health of the common man, said the Chief Minister, suggesting that states should be allowed great flexibility in micro-planning, with MSMEs being allowed to function in Red Zone districts with proper safeguards. The decision on designating the red, orange/yellow and green zones should be left to the states, which were more cognizant of the ground realities, he said.

Capt Amarinder Singh demanded urgent financial assistance to states to meet at least 33% of their committed liabilities, along with revenue grants to the states for 3 months to meet shortfall in revenue and to fund expenditure on COVID-19.

The Punjab CM also called for a national strategy on COVID-19 testing for making the battle against it more effective, pointing out that he had also written to the Prime Minister to direct Central government institutions in Chandigarh and Punjab to increase testing capacity. Punjab has so far done 40,962 tests, with current testing rate at 2500 per day, which the state government planned to scale up to 6000 by the end of the month.

Pointing out that Punjab had procured 115 lakh MT of wheat, with proper social distancing and hygiene protocols in place, the Chief Minister also requested for early declaration of MSP on paddy and a bonus on non-burning of paddy stubble.

The CM informed the Prime Minister that Punjab was losing ₹ 3000 crore per month in revenue (overall 88 per cent of the estimated revenue loss recorded in April), along with Rs 30 crore daily loss for Punjab State Power Corporation Ltd (a decline of 30 per cent). He also reiterated his demand for immediate release of Punjab’s GST arrears of ₹4365.37 crore.

In view of the complete change in the situation due to the pandemic, the 15th Finance Commission should review its report for the current year, and recommend devolution of funds for 5 years beginning from April 2021 (instead of 2020) after factoring in the impact of COVID-19, for which the term of the Commission should be extended by another year, he said.

Capt Amarinder Singh also urged the Prime Minister to increase the borrowing limit under the Financial Responsibility and Budget Management Act 2005 (FRBM Act) from 3 per cent to 4 % of SGDP to enable states to meet their fiscal liabilities.

The Punjab Government had been fighting the COVID battle from the front, and had successfully brought down the mortality rate in the state to 1.8%, while containing the doubling rate at around 7 days against the national average of 11 days, the Chief Minister pointed out during the meeting. The rate of increase was falling after having risen sharply in the last 10 days due to the large number of persons who tested positive among returnees from other states, he said, expressing confidence that the situation should improve further in the coming week.

With four containment zones, Punjab currently has 1823 positive cases (2.75 per cent of national cases), with 31 deaths (1.40 % of pan-India figures), translating into a mortality rate of 1.70 %.

In terms of inbound movement of stranded people, the Chief Minister disclosed that around 56,000 persons from Punjab stranded in other states had registered with his government, with around 20,000 Indian

nationals returning from other countries. The state government had made elaborate arrangements for quarantine and testing, he said.

For outbound transportation, 11.50 lakh migrants had registered (mainly in Ludhiana, Jalandhar and Amritsar), most of whom were bound for UP, Bihar, Jharkhand, said Captain Amarinder Singh, adding that 50 trains with such migrants had already left, with an average of 13-14 trains leaving daily.