SAD blows lid off Rs 1,500-crore scam in Local Bodies Department
Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) trade and industry wing president NK Sharma on Wednesday blew the lid off a Rs 1,500 crore LED purchase agreement scam "perpetrated by the Local Bodies Ministry in conjunction with private players to install 74,944 LED lights at severely inflated prices in municipalities across Punjab".
Alleging that the scam was initiated by then Local Bodies Minister Navjot Singh Sidhu and completed by his successor Brahm Mohindra, SAD leader NK Sharma said "it was for the first time in the history of Punjab that the government agreed to pay private players
Rs 1,520 crore over a period of 10 years for an investment of Rs 60 crore".
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NK Sharma, who also reported the matter to the State Vigilance Department and demanded a thorough probe into the episode, said “there is very less likelihood of getting justice from this corrupt government”.
"Once the SAD-BSP alliance government is voted to power in Punjab, we will not only order the registration of a case in this matter, but also forward the case for a CBI or central vigilance commission probe. We are determined that all those guilty of looting the state exchequer in this case should be put behind bars”.
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Asking Punjab Chief Minister Charanjit Singh Channi why he was not taking action in the case, the SAD leader said, “the Chief Minister must explain if he has become a party in the case and is also partaking of the spoils of this scam”.
He also highlighted other "corrupt activities" being conducted in Dera Bassi constituency, including large-scale illegal sand mining in Zirakpur as well as cutting of Khair trees on 90 acres at Lalru.
-PTC News
