Chandigarh: Leader of opposition Partap Singh Bajwa on Friday accused the AAP-led Punjab govt of attempting to auction panchayat land to bail itself out of a deep financial crisis.Bajwa alleged that the state govt was now targeting Punjab’s common village land to finance its much-publicised but long-delayed monthly financial assistance scheme for women.“The AAP govt has emptied the state treasury through financial mismanagement and is now eyeing panchayat land to fund its populist promises. This is nothing short of selling Punjab’s rural future to cover up its fiscal failures,” Bajwa said.Bajwa claimed that the Mohali district administration recently attempted to auction 43 kanals and 3 marlas of panchayat land in Daidi village, with the reserve price reportedly fixed at nearly Rs 40 crore per acre. However, the proposed auction failed after no bidder submitted the mandatory demand draft.Bajwa said the failed auction exposed the govt’s intention to monetise village commons instead of addressing the state’s deteriorating financial health through sound governance.Warring slams AAP over fresh Rs 1,500-cr loanMeanwhile, Punjab Congress president Amrinder Singh Raja Warring criticised the AAP govt for taking more loan amounting to Rs 1,500, warning that it will push Punjab towards bankruptcy.He said Punjab’s debt had already reached about Rs 4.5 lakh crore, and the AAP was continuously taking debts, knowing well that its time is already up and it is creating massive liabilities for the next govt. He warned that it may take generations for Punjab to repay these loans. He said the tragedy is that the loans are not being taken for any productive or purposeful development but only for the AAP’s extravagance.Warring referred to recent Punjab govt Gazette notifications saying that the state govt was selling its securities to generate a Rs 1,500-crore loan. MSID:: 132017693 413 |
