Earlier this month, the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP)-led Punjab government failed to pay salaries to its employees on time. This led to questions on financial prudence and, specifically, the AAP’s pre-poll promises of providing ‘freebies’.
The AAP government has completed six months in Punjab. The government began giving 300 units of free electricity to every household from July 1, which is expected to place an additional burden of ₹1,800 crore on the State exchequer. As per the State’s annual budget, a total power subsidy bill of ₹15,845 crore has been proposed compared to the ₹13,443 crore in 2021-22. One of the AAP’s key pre-poll promises, of giving financial assistance of ₹1,000 to all women aged 18 and above every month, is yet to be implemented. There are close to one crore women voters in Punjab. This means the cost of fulfilling this promise would amount to some ₹12,000 crore per annum.
Also read | Opposition tears into AAP’s six-month rule in Punjab
