Portfolio: Revenue, mining and geology, water resources

Made minister in April last year, Sukhbinder Singh Sarkaria is part of the kitchen cabinet of chief minister Captain Amarinder Singh, holding plum departments such as mining and revenue. The Congress had a bumpy ride in its first year in power over allegations of ministers and MLAS having benami stakes in new sand mines auctioned by the government, forcing Rana Gurjit Singh to resign as minister. Heading a controversial department, Sarkaria keeps a low profile but has his way. His policy to auction seven clusters of river beds in the 13 mining districts was stayed by the Punjab and Haryana high court. Three smaller contractors have been allowed to bid together for a cluster to ensure bigger ones do not monopolise the trade.

that the cost of sand was more than that of wheat flour, the Congress manifesto promised to end the mining mafia by abolishing cartels to boost state revenue. The party had claimed to push for bricks, sand and gravel to be included in the exemption list of goods and services tax (GST). It pledged not to allow the construction of the Sutlej-yamuna Link (SYL) canal, saying Punjab has no water to spare. It was to arrest the alarming fall in groundwater as several zones have turned “dark” and update revenue records, family partitions and raise crop compensation to Rs 20,000 per acre besides giving debt relief to suicide-hit families.