PUNJAB MINISTERS’ REPORT CARD
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
The Congress government in Punjab completed two years in office on Saturday. HT takes stock of the performance of chief minister Capt Amarinder Singh and 17 members of his cabinet. Last of the three-part series.
NAVIGATING A MINEFIELD Sukhbinder Singh Sarkaria
Age: 61 Qualification: Bachelor of science
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.
PROMISES: CLAIMING 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.
PERFORMANCE: 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.
CONTROVERSIES: 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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I’ve controlled sand prices and illegal mining. Now only 19 mines are running. Once the HC stay is vacated on auctions, mining would fetch us ~400-cr revenue next fiscal.