Says – “Simply cancelling the resolution will not be enough”
Strict action must be taken against the political leaders and govt officials who conspired behind the scenes: Sidhu
Punjab Newsline, Mohali :
The issue of handing over the expensive land of Daun village to Shyam Builders through the Kharar Municipal Council has once again sparked a major uproar. Even after the District Development and Panchayat Officer withdrew his recommendations and the Additional Deputy Commissioner (Urban Development) ordered a halt to the entire process, the Kharar Municipal Council still passed Resolution No. 16 in favor of Shyam Builders, transferring the land to them.
Former Cabinet Minister and ex-MLA from Mohali, Balbir Singh Sidhu, has termed it a case of serious corruption and demanded a vigilance probe. Sidhu said, “Even though the government has now cancelled this resolution, it clearly proves that something wrong was happening in this case right from the beginning. The fact that first the Gram Panchayat passed the resolution, and immediately after, the Municipal Council passed it as well, raises serious questions.”
Raising questions over the whole process, the former Health Minister said that on the one hand, Bhagwant Mann’s Punjab government never tires of claiming that it has freed hundreds of acres of panchayat land from illegal encroachments, but on the other hand, lower-level officials are conspiring to commit scams in panchayat land matters. He said it appears as if there is no functioning government in Punjab, otherwise lower-level officials would not dare to indulge in such fraud. He stressed that it is absolutely essential to put a strict check on this.
The former Health Minister further pointed out that during his government in 2021, the entire Gram Sabha had unanimously passed a resolution stating that the land of Daun village would not be given to anyone. “Then why,” he asked, “were such hasty steps taken now?” He alleged that this resolution involves corruption worth crores of rupees. “Merely cancelling the resolution is not enough. If the Bhagwant Mann government claims to be honest, then it must conduct a high-level inquiry, bring forward the leaders who conspired behind the scenes, and take strict action against all those responsible. If the government truly believes in transparency, the inquiry should not only be conducted by the Vigilance Department but also by an independent agency, so that the truth comes out and the guilty are punished.”
Balbir Singh Sidhu also said that the voters of Daun village and several social organizations condemned the Gram Panchayat and Kharar Municipal Council for passing the land in favor of the builder without taking the consent of the people. They even held a protest outside the Kharar Council, yet the council went ahead and passed the resolution.
He alleged that in this entire case, from the Gram Panchayat to the Kharar Municipal Council, there seems to be collusion between officials and political forces. It is also being alleged that the land transfer was carried out forcibly to benefit the builder’s project.
Sidhu concluded by saying, “Now the question is how the Punjab government deals with this case. Will it simply end the matter by cancelling the resolution, or will the Hon’ble Chief Minister Mann ensure a fair and impartial inquiry as demanded?”
