Chandigarh, 05 November 2024: The UT administration faced a revenue loss of ₹240 crore in the first half of the 2024-25 fiscal, according to data from the Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) of India. This loss comes amid ongoing financial strain that has already slowed development and maintenance projects within the city due to the municipal corporation’s fiscal challenges.
Although the UT administration set a revenue goal of ₹6,112 crore for the current fiscal year, it collected only ₹2,815.94 crore by the end of September—just 46.07% of the target. This total is 1.48% lower than last year’s collection of ₹2,815.04 crore against a slightly smaller target of ₹5,918.93 crore.
A senior official attributed the decline in revenue to a combination of competitive pressures from Punjab’s excise policy and business migration to nearby towns like Mohali and Panchkula, which has affected the city’s GST and sales tax earnings. Additionally, stamp duty revenue fell due to a Supreme Court ruling banning floor-wise property sales in Chandigarh’s heritage sectors (Sectors 1 to 30), the official noted.
The CAG report further highlights that the UT’s primary deficit—the gap between this year’s fiscal deficit and interest payments on previous borrowings—rose from ₹894 crore during the same period in 2023 to ₹931 crore in 2024. This increase is largely driven by lower-than-anticipated revenue from GST, sales tax, and excise duties, which make up a significant portion of UT’s revenue base.
On the expenditure side, the UT recorded spending of ₹3,493.83 crore, representing 59.04% of the total budgeted amount of ₹5,858.62 crore. This is slightly lower than last year’s spending of ₹3,528.85 crore, or 62.6% of a ₹5,636.71 crore budget. Capital expenditure, earmarked for development projects and asset creation, also dropped—from ₹722 crore in 2023 to ₹655 crore in 2024—indicating a reduced focus on infrastructure investment this year.
Efforts to contact UT Finance Secretary Hargunjit Kaur for comments were unsuccessful.
Meanwhile, RK Garg, president of the Second Innings Association, voiced concerns over the administration’s financial management. “I have repeatedly raised the need for financial prudence, but the administration has failed to effectively manage its finances, resulting in a loss of public funds,” he said. Garg urged the administration to adopt policies that would attract capital, stimulate business, and create jobs in the city. He added, “The UT administrator should monitor current practices more closely and convene a meeting with financial experts to address these issues.”
