Saddled with pending projects

From industries to mining and from transport to local bodies, the Capt Amarinder Singh government has promised more than it has delivered. A review of the performance shows this is time for a mid-term correction and political will to meet targets LESS WO

Sarkaria has been able to curb illegal mining of sand and gravel and tame sand prices. But against estimated revenue of Rs 400 crore for current fiscal, mining was able to mop up just Rs 32 crore as the government failed to get the court stay on the policy vacated. There are still reports of stakes of ruling party MLAS in the “sand mafia”. On SYL, the government has changed its aggressive stand and requested the Centre to mediate with Haryana, which has refused to budge. Though Rs 272 crore has been distributed to farmers for damage to crops, the compensation has not been hiked to the promised Rs 20,000 an acre. The department has gone tech-savvy; land records have been digitised in all 164 fard kendras and sale deeds can be registered online. The appointment at the sub-registrar office has gone online and summons by all revenue courts come as SMS alerts. The revival of Shahpur Kandi project by resolving issues raised by J&K, relining of feeders and canals and electronic demarcation of land are among his scores. Sarkaria headed the house committee on farm suicides but his department has given only Rs 11 crore as compensation to the victim families in two years. Providing them debt waiver has been promised but not sanctioned by the cabinet.

Sarkaria put brakes on the mining policy drafted by panel headed by local bodies minister Navjot Singh Sidhu after he took over as minister. Sidhu had mooted the Telangana model of setting up a state sand mining corporation. He later had a standoff with his secretary, Jaspal Singh, who wanted smaller clusters, one in each district, to be auctioned to curb cartels.

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