Chandigarh, March 2 Senior Congress leader Bhupinder Singh Hooda on Monday termed the Haryana budget for 2026-27 as "rhetoric without reality" and alleged that the BJP government has pushed the state into a debt burden of more than ₹5.56 lakh crore.
Indian National Lok Dal (INLD) president Abhay Singh Chautala alleged that the BJP government has steadily increased the state’s debt burden over the past eleven years and demanded a white paper on the issue.
Reacting to the budget presented by Chief Minister Nayab Singh Saini, who also holds the finance portfolio, Hooda claimed that the total liabilities of the state, including internal debt, small savings, public sector borrowings, and pending electricity dues and subsidies, amount to approximately ₹5.56 crore.
According to the budget documents, the internal debt stands at ₹3.91 crore, small savings at ₹50,000 crore, public sector enterprises at ₹68,995 crore, and additional liabilities at ₹46,193 crore, he said.
"This reflects the severe financial pressure and the deteriorating state of the economy," he alleged.
The budget envisages an outlay of ₹2.23 crore for 2026-27, which is 10.28 per cent higher than the revised estimates of ₹2.02 crore for 2025-26.
Referring to the Lado Laxmi Yojana, under which eligible women aged 23 and above are to receive ₹2,100 per month, Hooda claimed that the allocation of ₹6,500 crore would cover only around 31 per cent of the estimated 82.5 lakh women in the 18-60 age group.
He also alleged that the actual increase in the budget outlay is much lower after factoring in inflation.
"The state's total budget outlay proposed for this fiscal is ₹2.23 crore. However, due to the state's inflation rate of approximately 5 per cent, the actual increase is only around 4 per cent. This means that the claim of a 10 per cent increase is completely misleading," he further alleged.
Hooda said ₹22,914 crore has been allocated for education, which he claimed is 6.2 per cent of the total budget and 1.9 per cent of the GSDP, while the National Education Policy recommends 6 per cent spending on education.
Similarly, he said ₹14,007 crore has been allocated for health, which he claimed is 6.2 per cent of the total budget and 1.1 per cent of the GSDP, as against the National Health Policy 2017’s recommendation of 2.5 per cent of GSDP.
Alleging neglect of the agriculture sector, Hooda said only 4.8 per cent of the total expenditure has been earmarked for agriculture despite a large population being dependent on it.
He further claimed that after debt repayment and other commitments, only ₹21,756 crore remains for capital expenditure, which he said would affect infrastructure and development works.
"These new medical colleges, roads, bridges, and other projects announced in the budget are insufficiently funded. Capital expenditure accounts for only 28 per cent of total expenditure, while the majority of borrowed funds are being used for current consumption and repaying old loans,” he said.
This is impacting capital formation and development activities, hindering the state's economic growth, he added.
The former chief minister also accused the government of failing to create employment and control inflation, and of presenting incomplete figures on per capita income growth.
"During the Congress government, per capita income increased from approximately ₹37,000 to approximately ₹1.50, a four-fold increase. However, during the BJP’s 10 years, it only increased by two times,” he said.
"This means that if the per capita income increased at the same pace as the Congress government, Haryana's per capita income would be approximately ₹6-7 lakh today. Currently, it is only ₹3-4 lakh," he added.
Hooda further alleged that this government is completely silent on employment generation. The government also made no mention of Haryana’s share of Sutlej Yamuna Link Canal (SYL) water from Punjab, he said.
INLD chief in a statement said the government should issue a white paper on the state’s debt burden. Chautala also said that there is no mention of taking over Haryana’s share of SYL waters, which he claimed, has been done in view of the 2027 Punjab Assembly elections.
"The people of Haryana will not forget this, as the SYL is the lifeline of the people of Haryana," he said.
"There's no mention of loan waivers to provide relief to farmers, nor is there any mention of a minimum support price. Overall, this budget is merely a showpiece," he alleged.