BATHINDA: Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) president Sukhbir Singh Badal today flagged off trucks carrying 500 quintals of certified seed for the flood affected farmers of Ajnala constituency even as he condemned chief minister Bhagwant Mann for making a mockery of compensation by releasing only Rs 1.16 crore to the farmers of Ajnala.
The SAD president, while thanking Akali workers of Bathinda Rural constituency for collecting certified wheat seed for distribution to the flood hit farmers of Ajnala, said certified seed would be sent to all flood hit areas in phases in coming days.
Speaking about the publicity stunt pulled off by the chief minister in the name of giving compensation to farmers, Mr Sukhbir Badal said only Rs 1.16 crore was awarded for crop loss which covered compensation for only 580 acres of land at the rate of Rs 20, 000 per acre. “Every village has a land area of around 1500 to 2000 acres and crops in thousands of acres were destroyed but compensation has been awarded for only 580 acres”. He said it was condemnable that the total compensation of Rs 5.70 crore including that for house damage and livestock deaths, had been given to only 631 beneficiaries.
Badal also spoke on how the AAP government was surrendering the powers of the State. He said the centre had proposed an amendment in the Punjab Reorganisation Act, 1966 in order to add two members in the Bhakra Beas Management Board (BBMB) from Rajasthan and Himachal Pradesh. He said Himachal was an upstream State while Rajasthan was not even a riparian State. Asserting that the SAD would oppose this move tooth and nail, Mr Badal said “we will not allow this to happen as only Punjab and Haryana are part of the BBMB along with the centre”.
The SAD president also talked about how the AAP government had earlier failed to fill as many as 60 per cent posts of engineers lying vacant in the BBMB besides failing to prevent the deputation of the CISF which had effectively taken the control of the dam out of it’s hands.
Speaking about the suicide case of senior IPS officer and ADGP Y Puran Singh, the SAD president said a case should be registered against all police officials named in the dying declaration of the officer. “The law is very clear. A dying declaration is always considered as a true account and action is always taken on it. If the Haryana government still does not proceed in the matter as per law then it will be assumed that it wants to save its officers”.
Senior leaders present on the occasion included District president (Rural) Jagsir Kalyan, vice president Balkar Brar and Bathinda (urban) incharge Iqbal Singh Babli Dhillon.