THE NEWS FREEDOM
CHANDIGARH, FEBRUARY 29
Labeling serious allegations against the Badal family for looting crores of rupees from the state for personal benefits, the Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Singh Mann on Thursday said that Akali-BJP alliance government had tweaked rules to favour the Akali Dal leader Sukhbir Singh Badal for construction of Sukhvilas Hotel. The Chief Minister, while interacting with the media persons here, said that the SAD-BJP government had introduced an Eco-Tourism policy in 2009 with the sole motive of benefiting the construction of this resort. He said that it is unfortunate that the Poultry farm was converted into a resort and Rs 108 crore rupees were waived off thereby bringing a huge loss to the state exchequer. Bhagwant Singh Mann said that originally the Metro Eco Green Resort village, Palanpur now called Sukhvilas is real Dukh Vilas for the state as it has been constructed from the blood of Punjabis.
On March 1, Shiromani Akali Dal refuted the accusations, asserting that the Chief Minister had made baseless allegations solely to divert public attention from the death of farmer Subhakran.
The Chief Minister alleged that PLPA had approved 7.20 Acre on March 2, 2009, and only two companies had got approval. He said that the Badals purchased 21 acres of land in the name of own two companies which were later transferred to another subsidiary. Bhagwant Singh Mann said that the majority of the shares 1,83,225 in this company are owned by Sukhbir Singh Badal adding that Harsimrat Badal and Dabwali Transport Company also own the Shareholdings in this company.
The Chief Minister bemoaned that the then Punjab government headed by Parkash Singh Badal incentivized this resort by waiving off state GST and VAT 75 percent each for ten years. He said that in total Rs 85 crore was waived off in the shape of SGST and VAT adding that electricity Duty worth Rs 11.44 crore has also been waived off 100 percent for 10 years. Bhagwant Singh Mann said that not only this but luxury tax and annual licence fees worth Rs 11 crore have also been exempted thereby incurring huge losses to the state exchequer.
The Chief Minister said that a sum of Rs 108.73 crore has been waived off in the form of taxes adding that this money has been used for the personal interest of Badals. He said that this amount could have been duly utilized by the state government for the welfare of the people. Bhagwant Singh Mann said that ironically none of the other companies had got the benefit of this policy introduced in 2009 but Badals used it for their personal gains. The Chief Minister said that the road leading to Dukh Vilas was specially constructed by GMADA from the taxpayers’ money. Bhagwant Singh Mann said that forest guidelines have also been modified in favour of this resort, which charges Rs. 4 to 5 lakh as rent of a single room.
The Chief Minister said that the tax of resort has been waived for the period from May 11, 2015, to May 10, 2025. He said that 81,500 shares are in the name of Harsimrat Kaur Badal and 5350 shares are in the name of Dabwali Transport Company, owned by the Badals. Bhagwant Singh Mann announced that every single penny of the state exchequer will be recovered and suitable action will be taken.
The Chief Minister said that a detailed enquiry is going on to check which laws were misused or twisted for the construction of this resort. Bhagwant Singh Mann said that the entire amount of taxpayer’s money will be recovered from these people. He said that we are saving Punjab from this family who is indulging in gimmicks such as Punjab Bachao Yatra. Bhagwant Singh Mann said that these leaders will be exposed before the people as their hands are drenched with the blood of every common Punjabi.
Here is a video posted by the Shiromani Akali Dal on their social media platform Facebook, denying the allegations.
https://fb.watch/qAokJ66T5m/