Sidhu smells ‘advert scam’, claims Akali-bjp nexus looted state coffers
CHANDIGARH :Local bodies minister Navjot Singh Sidhu on Saturday alleged an "advertisement scam" during the previous SADBJP regime. A new 'Outdoor Advertisement Policy' was framed by his department and notified in March last year. He said tender for Ludhiana opened on Friday will fetch ₹27.5 crore to the city's municipal corporation in the first year itself.
"No tenders were floated in the last 10 years. During the previous government, Ludhiana's income from advertisements was a meagre ₹1.75 crore. The increase is an unprecedented 1473%. During their 10-year rule, the total income of the corporation was just ₹30 crore whereas it will reap a windfall of ₹289 crore in the coming nine years, an increase of 800%. On an average, its income will be ₹32 crore per year," he said addressing mediapersons.
On reasons behind the steep rise, he hinted at a nexus between not just the Akali and BJP but also connivance of some Congress leaders. "Greenline, which had monopoly over bus shelters in Ludhiana, is a company owned by former Akali minister Sharanjit Dhillon's son. The local bodies department was under a BJP minister (Anil Joshi). Some Congress leaders are also involved.
You can see the magnitude of theft. They even tried to persuade us not to float tenders. The pockets of individuals were being filled at the cost of the state exchequer," the minister later said, refusing to name his own partymen.
Giving entire state's figure, Sidhu said during the previous government, 167 cities of the state mopped up just ₹11.9 crore (2015-16) through outdoor advertisements while under the present government, the income has risen to ₹32.5 crore (2017-18).
"The income has jumped threefold but still this sector has greater potential. We expect to mop up revenue of ₹150 crore from all the 167 urban local bodies (ULBS). Even the annual income of municipal corporation of Moga has increased to ₹1 crore from ₹30 lakh and that of Pathankot from ₹20 lakh to ₹67 lakh. The annual income targets of Amritsar and Mohali have been set at ₹20 crore each while the minimum base price concerning Jalandhar has been fixed at ₹18 crore. The four cities of Ludhiana, Jalandhar, Amritsar and Mohali will together fetch us ₹100 crore," he added.
The minister said the money will help make Punjab's cities economically self-reliant for undertaking development works. "We will work towards giving our cities a uniform beautified look. The policy is a goldmine, spelling massive economic boom," he said.