Saffron turban, Sikh verses and Punjab pitch: Haryana CM unveils Rs 2.23L cr budget; debt biggest burden

CHANDIGARH: Haryana chief minister Nayab Singh Saini on Monday presented a Rs 2.23-lakh-crore budget for 2026-27 in the state assembly, with debt servicing taking up 30% of the total and the govt announcing initiatives like a new power distribution company for the agriculture sector, a Rs 100-crore green climate resilience fund, and 20% reservation for Agniveers in the state police force.

Saini also announced setting up of ‘Adarsh Pariksha Kendra' on a public-private partnership model, an anti-terrorist squad (ATS) under an IG-rank police officer, a ‘Wedding City' each in Gurugram, Kharkhoda and Pinjore on the concept of ‘Wed in India', a modern film city at Pinjore, besides stating that Rajiv Gandhi Sports Complex, Daulatabad, will be upgraded to the state's first ‘Para Sports Stadium'.


During his three-hour speech in the House, Saini — wearing a saffron-coloured turban — made BJP's ambitions of making inroads into Punjab apparent. Saini read excerpts from the Bani while delivering his budget address and expressed gratitude to the Sikh gurus.

The CM pegged the revenue deficit at Rs 4,293.17 crore, which is 2.65% of GDP. The revenue deficit is 0.87%, effective revenue deficit is 0.41%, capital expenditure is 1.86%, and effective capital expenditure is 2.32%, said Saini.

The fiscal deficit in 2025-26 is estimated to be 2.66% of GDP. In 2026-27, it is expected to be limited to 2.65% of GDP. The total budget for 2025-26 was kept at Rs 2,05,017 crore, with an estimated expenditure of approximately Rs 2,02,000 crore. According to the budget, the state's share from central taxes remained an important source of total revenue in the state govt's budget. As per the recommendation of the 16th Finance Commission, Haryana's share in central taxes will be 1.361% from 2026 to 2031.

Haryana's 2026–27 budget shows the biggest outlays continuing to flow to committed liabilities and core social sectors. Debt servicing remains the single largest burden, with interest payments rising to Rs 29,266.62 crore, followed by repayment of public debt at Rs 36,101.68, underscoring the limited fiscal headroom. In total, debt servicing amounts to Rs 65,368cr.

Among development heads, education and sports (Rs 23,603.69 crore) and health (Rs 14,007.28 crore) retain top priority in absolute spending, while social justice (Rs 17,250.72 crore), development & panchayats (Rs 8,703.74 crore) and home (Rs 8,475.01 crore) also command sizeable allocations. Infrastructure-linked sectors such as irrigation, public works and urban local bodies receive steady funding, though energy sees a notable cut. Overall, the spending pattern indicates continuity in welfare-heavy provisioning alongside the weight of debt obligations.

In terms of focus areas, the sharpest increases point to a tilt towards revenue and disaster management (+84.5%), co-operation (+70.4%), MSME/industries (+46.9%) and youth empowerment (+37.3%), suggesting a push for disaster preparedness, cooperative financing and employment-oriented growth. Health (+21.7%), rural development (+22.9%) and urban planning (+24.9%) also register strong gains, signalling emphasis on grassroots infrastructure and service delivery. The relatively higher rise in social justice and women and child development allocations indicates continued attention to welfare targeting, while modest growth in education and a contraction in energy spending show a selective reprioritisation rather than across-the-board expansion.

Clean air project
The CM said the World Bank's board had approved Haryana Clean Air Project to combat air pollution, under which the World Bank will provide total assistance of Rs 2,716 crore for implementation across all districts by 2031. He added that by October 2026, approval from the World Bank would also be received for Rs 5,715 crore for the Water Secure Haryana project and Rs 474 crore for the Haryana AI Mission.

3 key institutions
Outlining institutional priorities, the CM said three key institutions of the state are gram sabhas, primary agricultural credit societies, and labour and construction cooperative societies. From 2026-27, discussion on six new agenda items will be made mandatory in every gram sabha meeting, he said. In 2026-27, the target is to bring at least 300 loss-making PACS into profit. He also proposed to allocate approximately Rs 4,000 crore worth of govt works to labour and construction cooperative societies in 2026-27. He announced that the long-standing block-based location classification system would be abolished and a new system would be implemented to provide financial incentives for industrial investment in all blocks. In 2026-27, it is proposed to establish a special fund named Saksham with an initial corpus of Rs 500 crore. He also said minimum wages will be increased in 2026-27.

1.4L acres of more cultivable land
In agriculture and allied sectors, it is proposed for 2026-27 to make an additional 1,40,000 acres of land cultivable in Bhiwani, Rohtak, Gurugram, and other districts. Farmers who switch from paddy to oilseeds and cotton will be given an additional bonus of Rs 2,000 per acre. Under the sugarcane technology mission, the incentive amount of Rs 3,000 per acre given to farmers will be increased to Rs 5,000 per acre.

Other initiatives
Rural Haat Mandis will be established across the state for direct sale of rural products. Under the Mukhyamantri Bagwani Bima Yojana, it is proposed to increase the compensation from Rs 40,000 per acre to Rs 50,000 per acre. A Haryana Veterinary Epidemiology Centre will be established in Hisar at a cost of Rs 30 crore. In 2026-27, it is proposed to open 2,000 new Vita Booths and Milk Bars, the CM said.