STATE TIMES NEWS
CHANDIGARH: BJP National General Secretary Tarun Chugh on Friday lashed out at the Bhagwant Mann government for selling off the valuable 14-acre Mandi Board land in Mohali to PUDA for Rs. 700 crore.
In a statement, he said that after the failed attempt to sell Punjab via the controversial land pooling policy, the Mann government is now eyeing Mandi Board land to continue its loot of Punjab’s resources.
Chugh said that the land was originally meant to build a modern Mandi for the benefit of farmers, but now the government has decided to auction it for private developers. This, he said, is a betrayal of the farmers and traders who had invested their hopes and money in the project.
He added that allotments made to shopkeepers have been cancelled, and they are now being refunded with a meagre 6 per cent interest, while the government prepares to reap huge profits through resale of the land.
Chugh stressed, “This isn’t the first betrayal of Punjab’s farmers – whether it is the fake promise of loan waivers, the unfulfilled MSP Top-Up, or the callous neglect in rehabilitating farmers devastated by the Mann-made floods, the AAP government has failed at every step.”
Chugh warned that the Mann government is on a mission to sell Punjab acre by acre. He demanded immediate rollback of this decision, transparency in all land deals, and accountability from the Chief Minister and Arvind Kejriwal for pushing Punjab into economic disaster.