Punjab at Rock Bottom in NITI Aayog Index; Dewan Accuses Mann Govt of Economic Collapse
In one of the fiercest attacks on the Bhagwant Mann-led AAP government, senior Congress leader and former DCC President Ludhiana (Urban) Pawan Dewan has branded the regime “a disaster for Punjab.”
City Air News
Mar 13, 2026 01:45
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Chandigarh, March 13, 2026: In one of the fiercest attacks on the Bhagwant Mann-led AAP government, senior Congress leader and former DCC President Ludhiana (Urban) Pawan Dewan has branded the regime “a disaster for Punjab.” Quoting the NITI Aayog’s Financial Health Index for 2023–2024, wherein Punjab has been ranked the lowest among major states in terms of economic health, standing at 18th position with a score of 12.4, in a hard hitting statement, Dewan said, “Ever since the AAP assumed power four years back, instead of witnessing the all round development, Punjab has only been pushed backwards in each and every sector.”
Launching a blistering attack on the Mann-led AAP government, Dewan accused the regime of “looting Punjab with both hands.” Citing NITI Aayog’s Financial Health Index 2023–24, Dewan said, “The economic growth assessed on five critical parameters – quality of expenditure, debt index, revenue generation, financial prudence and debt sustainability – lays bare Punjab’s collapse. The state has scored miserably low across all indicators, exposing a reality of persistent deficits, ballooning debt burdens and shrinking revenue capacity. This is not governance, it is economic collapse.”
Referring to hard statistics, senior Congress leader Pawan Dewan launched a scathing attack on the Mann-led AAP government, highlighting Punjab’s spiraling debt crisis. “When AAP came to power, Punjab’s debt stood at ₹2.82 lakh crore. By the end of the current financial year, it is projected to balloon to ₹4.17 lakh crore – a staggering jump of ₹1.35 lakh crore in just four years. This is not governance; this is disastrous fiscal mismanagement that has dragged Punjab to the brink of bankruptcy.”
Pointing out that the Punjab’s debt and interest payments are among the highest in the country, Dewan said that though according to the report, Punjab falls under the aspirational category, requiring major reforms to improve its financial condition but the way Mann government is functioning and indulging into wasteful expenditure to the tune of crores on “fake publicity campaigns” besides doing election campaigning in the other states at the cost of state exchequer, he has certainly no hope of any course correction.
Dewan also said that a debt index score of barely 2.1 is enough to exposes Punjab’s shockingly poor financial health. “The state’s quality of expenditure score is equally abysmal at 8.1 – meaning that only a sliver of Punjab’s earnings is being directed towards essential development in infrastructure, healthcare and education. This is a glaring indictment of fiscal mismanagement.” Dewan reiterated that Punjab will only break free from this financial stranglehold when the Congress assumes power next year.
