Punjab government employees have not received their March salaries as of Tuesday. Finance Minister Harpal Cheema attributed the delay to software issues and bank holidays. Some employees may receive it after April 15.
Punjab government employees had not received their March salaries by Tuesday evening. Finance Minister Harpal Cheema stated, “The salary for March is delayed every year. There are issues with the software. There were bank holidays for two days. It will be credited soon (but) some employees may get it after April 15. They understand. They never raise any objection because they know it is a technical issue.”
The state's monthly salary bill stands at Rs 3,260 crore. Sukhchain Singh Khaira, president of the Punjab government employees association, confirmed, “We have not been paid. We have been told that we will get it tomorrow.”
Meanwhile, the government raised a Rs 1,500 crore loan for capital expenditure through a yield-based auction on the RBI’s e-Kuber platform on Tuesday. As per a Finance Department notification dated April 2, the tenure commences on April 8, 2026, and matures on April 8, 2036, with half-yearly interest payments.
Cheema downplayed the borrowing, saying, “We already made it clear in the Budget 2026-27 that we will be borrowing around Rs 39,970 crore. This was the first instalment.”
Punjab’s total debt has reached Rs 4.07 lakh crore and is projected to rise to Rs 4.47 lakh crore this fiscal. Per capita debt is around Rs 1.04 lakh. Economist Kesar Singh Bhangu criticized it as fiscal mismanagement, questioning funding for schemes amid rising debt.