CM backtracking on promise of employment : Harsimrat
CM backtracking on promise of employment : Harsimrat : Union Food Processing Industry Minister Harsimrat Kaur Badal said after reneging on his promise to farmers, chief minister Capt Amarinder Singh was backtracking on creating employment and even taking away State employment by refusing to consider the genuine demand to reopen the Bathinda thermal plant.
She said instead of fulfilling his 'ghar ghar naukari scheme', the chief minister had taken away the livelihood of thousands of people of Bathinda by shutting down the Bathinda thermal plant. Harsimrat said that Bathinda thermal plant was an asset, Harsimrat said the plant had undergone Rs 715 crore modernization and was fit to run till 2029.
“The Bathinda thermal plant is a full-fledged township with its own residential colony, market and school. The government is uprooting all these people living in the township and sending them to far off places without making any provision for a rehabilitation package for them. This is an injustice which will not be tolerated”, Mrs Badal said.
She said it was being blatantly misrepresented that the plant was producing power at Rs 11.50 per unit when this cost was in the vicinity of Rs 4 to Rs 4.50 per unit. Speaking about long term projections, Harsimrat said the state was likely to be power deficit by 2022 considering availability of all four units of the Bathinda plant as well as generation of an additional 5775 mw power which may not come about. “Loss of 460 MW of power from the Bathinda plant will worsen this deficit”, she added. 
Stating that the entire issue was centered around a conspiracy to make use of the commercial value of the 2200 acre land parcel of the plant, Harsimrat said instead of making anti-people statements which went against the essence of the promises made to the people, the CM should unmask and punish those who were causing a loss to the State.“This is what the people of Bathinda want and we should honour their sentiments”, she added.
- PTC News
