Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) on Thursday alleged favoritism in the allocation of Tubewell connections in Punjab accusing ruling Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) of granting out of turn tubewell connections on the recommendations of its leaders.
Addressing a press conference in Chandigarh, AAP leader Sukhpal Singh Khaira said that the ruling party had been using the so called Chairman’s quota to achieve political gains. Presenting documents accessed under RTI, Khaira said that the government had granted 25000 tubewell connections after March 1, 2016 from the discretionary quota, while putting the waiting list on the back burner.
Terming the discretionary quota to be unconstitutional, Kharia said allocation of 25,000 out of turn tubewell connections, was a cruel joke with more than 4 lac applicants of the state, who have been waiting for tubewell connections since 1996.
Khaira claimed that the government had made the Akali MlA’s or the Halqa-Incharge the allocating authority as the on the verbal orders by the political leadership, the MlA or “Halqa-Incharge” was authorized to recommend 250 new tubewell connections under the discretionary quota of the Chairman PSPCl, throwing to winds all norms, rules and regulations.
He said that under the tubewell connections distribution spree, 1055 and 1461 connections respectively have been allocated in the constituencies of Deputy CM Sukhbir Singh Badal and Revenue Minister Bikram Singh Majithia.
He said that the unconstitutional move of the Badal government not only smacks of nepotism, favoritism but is gross discrimination with the poorest of poor 4 lac applicants, who have deposited their requisite fees with the PSPCl for decades.