Patiala, October 30
Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) president Sukhbir Singh Badal today announced the next SAD government would provide power to the industrial sector at Rs five per unit besides creating a new department by the name of Build Punjab to provide time bound clearances to builders and give top priority to establishment of new IT and Artificial Intelligence facilities in Punjab.
The SAD president, who held an open interaction with the trade and industry along with Trade and Industry wing president N K Sharma, said industry had become unviable in Punjab due to high power rates of Rs ten to Rs twelve per unit. He said besides bringing down these rates, the next SAD government would allow industrialists to install their own solar power plants which would bring down their power rates to Rs 1.50 per unit.
Badal also announced that like the Invest Punjab department established by the erstwhile SAD government to ensure time bound clearances for new investment, a Build Punjab department would be established under the next SAD government. “The department will be liable to issue all permissions to builders within one month”. He also announced that CLU charges would be reduced and the entire process of granting CLU would be made completely transparent. He said a one-time settlement scheme would also be announced for all irregular colonies.
Answering a question from Harpreet Singh who has established a BPO in this city, Mr Sukhbir Badal said “we will bring in an IT policy which will encourage establishment of data centers and give a push to AI in the State. Our focus would be on developing Amritsar and Mohali as IT hubs”.
Kirpal Singh of the Dairy Association, Tejinder Singh Teji of the Resident Welfare Association, Jogeshwar Singh Monu of the Builders Association, Pawan Ghai of the Arhtiya Association, Kuldeep Singh Ratta of the Transport Association, Manjit Singh Shahi of the Property Dealers Association, Paramjit Singh Cheema of the Beopar Mandal and the district chemist association besides others also interacted with the SAD president on the occasion and relayed their grievances to him.
Badal said the next SAD government was committed to giving 75 per cent subsidy for purchase of milch animals and asserted that Section 307 would be imposed on all those who indulged in adulteration of milk. He also announced that the SAD believed in trusting the citizens of Punjab and that it would enforce self –attestation to remove all paperwork and would make all permissions online to ensure no citizen had to go to any government office for official work. He said the next SAD government would also take up the issue of freezing of 2.5 per cent commission of Arthiyas while procuring food grains. “The interests of small transporters who are being made to pay four years tax in advance will also be looked into. Chemist shop owners will also not be harassed and their complaints that habit forming drugs are being sold from online platforms in Punjab will also be looked into”.
Badal also addressed very successful interactions with the trade and industry at Samana and Shutrana. Traders complained that violence had increased manifold due to drug addiction following which the SAD president assured that the next SAD government would bring in a law to deny bail to drug offenders for ten years. He also announced that their properties would be seized.
The SAD president also appealed to the trade and industry to compare the previous ten year tenure of the SAD with the last ten year rule of the Congress and the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP). “You need to choose the right chief minister who is forward thinking and progressive. On one side is a drunkard – comedian while in the SAD leadership you have a man who has proven his mettle with speedy development and astute administration. Choose the SAD for peace and progress of the State”, he added.