PUNJAB BUDGET 2018-19 Aparna Banerji Jalandhar, March 24 Manpreet Promises the moon Rs 120 crore for 1,597 additional classrooms during 2018-19 Rs 5.25 crore for green boards for 3281 primary schools, Rs 21 crore to be spent during 2018-19 for procuring green boards RO systems in 1,500 schools: Rs 9 crore A school in every educational block to be converted to smart school. Rs 50 crore for the purpose Free sanitary napkins to all girl students from Class VI-XII. Initial allocation of Rs 10 crore during 2018-19 Installation of solar power systems in all senior secondary schools Rs 10 crore for activities undertaken under ‘Padho Punjab, Padhao Punjab’ programme Wi-Fi services for 200 schools by March 2018. Remaining schools to be covered in next two years Vocational education under NSQF scheme extended to 380 schools Rs 2.50 crore for pre-primary classes Rs 49 crore for textbooks Higher education Ten new degree colleges, Rs 30 crore this year for the purpose Rs 1.50 crore in 2018-19 to complete Sports College, Jalandhar Culture Water conservation Development Tax From smart schools in each state block to solar panels in schools and the provision of Wi-Fi facility in schools and government colleges besides digital certificates for students in matriculation, the budget makes some tall promises. However, the silence on the seething demand for the provision of better salaries for over 27,000 teachers across various unions has been given a comfortable miss in the state budget. While this was the key electoral promise of the present Congress government, this has also kept the teachers angst-ridden for the past many months with various unions claiming that the government – CM and officials – have become inaccessible ever since they came to power, and the budget’s complete silence on the staff allocations is bound to add fuel to the fire. The key promises made to the education sector include Rs 5.25 crore for green boards for 3,281 primary schools, Rs 21 crore to be spent during 2018-19 for procuring green boards; RO systems in 1,500 schools: Rs 9 crore; a school in every educational block to be converted into smart school: Rs 50 crore for the purpose; free sanitary napkins to all girl students from Class VI-XII: initial allocation of Rs 10 crore during 2018-19; installation of solar power systems in all senior secondary schools; Rs 10 crore for the activities undertaken under the Padho Punjab, Padhao Punjab programme; Wi-Fi service in 200 schools by March 2018, remaining schools to be covered in next two years; vocational education under the NSQF scheme extended to 380 schools; Rs 120 crore for 1,597 additional classrooms during 2018-19; Rs 2.50 crore for pre-primary classes and 49 crore for text-books. For higher education, ten new degree colleges have been sanctioned, Rs 30 crore this year for the purpose and Rs 1.50 crore in 2018-19 to complete the Sports College in Jalandhar. Ram Bhajan Chaudhary, president of the SSA/RMSA Union, said, “The Congress government has not made a mention of even one of its promises made to the state teachers in its election manifesto. There is nothing new for teachers to look forward to in the budget. There is no good news for the 27,000 contractual teachers of the state who were given the electoral lollipop of regularisation. The government lures and fools people by making populist promises like laptops and mobiles and in today’s budget, free Wi-Fi, smart schools and solar panels have been promised.” District Education Officer (DEO) Satnam Singh said, “The provision of smart schools for the state is a great declaration made by the government in the budget. It will benefit the schools greatly and the students will gain from it. In Jalandhar, there is a proposal to convert 27 schools into smart schools. However, it’s true that the budget does not say anything about staff allocation which is a big problem currently. We are happy with the government’s plan to boost education in the state.”Where FM hit a sour note...The Punjab Budget has given a total miss to the Jalandhar-based Harivallabh Sangeet Sammelan which didn’t even find a mention in it. While the government has notified the Punjab State Tourism Policy, 2018 with special focus on medical tourism, film tourism, rural tourism and development of the theme-based Heritage Circuit, Maharaja Circuit, Mughal Circuit and Sufi Circuit, there is a meagre allocation of Rs 5 crore to connect the people, especially the youth and NRIs, with the state’s rich heritage of festivals and culture. The greatest cultural allocation is the Rs 100 crore earmarked for the 550th birth anniversary celebrations of Sri Guru Nanak Dev in 2019 for preparatory arrangements,Despite the CM’s thrust on water conservation during a recent rally – amidst expressing fears of the state becoming a desert for the coming generations – there was no major promise to safeguard the water resources of the state in the budget. While sullage water or liquid waste Management in the rural area fmds mention with 740 villages to be covered under the scheme, the budget has remained mum on any special government plans to ensure water conservation, rainwater harvesting or groundwater recharge in the state with waters constantly receding at an alarming rate in various areas.Income tax payers in the district have been left livid with the Rs 200 development tax for income tax payees. Rakesh Sharma, a city based businessman said, “The centre imposes GST and asks as to pay for transactions at ATMs and banks and now the state imposes tax on us for paying income tax. It seems like the governments deem tax payers as the real criminals even as the real criminals like Neerav Modi are enjoying hefty bank bail outs. Its is a totally unjustified tax and clearly goes to show how we the common people are being burdened for being law abiding citizens.”

Stay updated with all the Latest Jalandhar headlines here. For more exclusive & live news updates from all around India, stay connected with NYOOOZ.