The Punjab government led by Captain Amarinder Singh on Thursday released funds to the tune of Rs. 562.05 crore towards pending payments for various schemes and development projects, including the maintenance of important memorials in the state..Disclosing this here today, a spokesperson of the Chief Minister’s Office said that the government has released the funds, with a directive from Chief Minister to all the departments to mobilize additional resources through financial prudence and economic management to further consolidate the state’s fiscal position, which is showing signs of gradual recovery.Retirement benefits and GPF advances have been cleared till May 15, 2018, with the release of Rs. 300 crore, while Rs. 100 crore has been released on account of power subsidy, according to an official spokesperson.
Apart from these, the state government has also released Rs. 37 crore to the Tourism Department for the maintenance of memorials, including Guru Ravidass ji Memorial, Khulargarh and Jang-e-Azadi, the spokesperson disclosed.A sum of Rs. 16 crore and Rs. 60 crore has also been released for Water Supply & Sanitation and health insurance respectively. Amounts of Rs. 17 crore and Rs. 9.46 crore have been paid under GST refund and Border Area Development Fund (BADF) respectively.Further, a fund to the tune of Rs. 11.20 crore has been released for Environment, Forestry & Wildlife, and Rs. 7.96 crore for the development of Infrastructure facilities for judiciary including Gram Nyayalayas.Another Rs. 3.43 crore has been released for other development programs, according to the spokesperson.