National patron of the Indian National Lok Dal (INLD) Sampat Singh has levelled allegations of gross financial mismanagement and betrayal of the people of the State against the BJP government regarding the 2025-26 budget.
Holding a press conference at the party’s headquarters in Chandigarh on Tuesday, Mr. Singh disputed Chief Minister Nayab Saini’s claim during his budget speech on March 2 that 98% of the previous year’s budget had been utilised. Saying that he had “access to expenditure figures for the budget period extending up to February 25, 2026”, Mr. Singh, a former Finance Minister, claimed the government had made 729 announcements in the 2025-26 budget and allocated ₹7,500 crore to around 300 of them, but did not spend a penny.
Giving details, Mr. Singh said that within the Department of Agriculture and Farmers’ Welfare, ₹406.12 crore was allocated for subsidised agricultural infrastructure, yet the actual expenditure remained zero. Similarly, the Department of Panchayati Raj and Development failed to spend even a single rupee out of ₹890 crore allocated under the State Finance Commission for rural development. Furthermore, funds amounting to ₹248 crore under the Swachh Bharat Mission and ₹73 crore for the Karnal Smart City project remained unutilised. The ₹357 crore allocated for strengthening healthcare services and for the National Cancer Prevention Program also went unspent.
