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‘Selling PSPCL land highly imprudent, Punjab Govt has caved in to pressure from Centre’: former Punjab power secretary EAS Sarma
The PSPCL land sale move of the Punjab government has already been challenged in the Punjab and Haryana High Court.
The retired bureaucrat alleged that the Punjab government has embarked on this “futile and counter-productive exercise” to mimic the overall land monetisation policy adopted by the NDA government at the Centre.
Former Punjab power secretary EAS Sarma Monday wrote an open letter to the state chief secretary, opposing the proposed sale of Punjab State Power Corporation Limited (PSPCL) land to private players.
The 1965-batch IAS officer, who retired in 2000, termed the state government’s decision as “highly imprudent”.
“Most of PSPCL’s lands were originally acquired under the Land Acquisition Act, 1894, on the ground that those lands were required for a ‘public purpose’…
“In other words, the lands in question were acquired at that time on the ground that they were required for a corporation wholly owned and controlled by the government. If the Punjab government now alienates those lands to private agencies, it would be in gross violation of that statutory requirement, which also indirectly constitutes a breach of the public trust,” the letter states.
“Moreover, selling PSPCL’s lands to private parties is ill-advised as it would imply placing those lands in the hands of real estate agents who will profit at the cost of the State. PSPCL itself would require those lands in the future for expanding its activities,” it further mentions.
The retired bureaucrat alleged that the Punjab government has embarked on this “futile and counter-productive exercise” to mimic the overall land monetisation policy adopted by the NDA government at the Centre.
“The Centre itself, under intense pressure from corporates who provide election funds, is in a senseless, short-sighted spree of selling… assets… It is unfortunate that the AAP-ruled Punjab should cave in to pressure from the NDA government at the Centre and yield to pressure from the corporates in the State,” Sarma claimed.
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Ajnala MLA Kuldeep Singh Dhaliwal, who is also the chief spokesperson of the AAP Punjab unit, could not be contacted for his comments.
Meanwhile, the PSPCL land sale move of the Punjab government has already been challenged in the Punjab and Haryana High Court through a Public Interest Litigation.
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