Punjab Assembly passes Appropriation Bill

Punjab Assembly today passed the Appropriation Bill amounting to about Rs 86,386 crore towards defraying several charges that will come in course of payments to be made during 2016-17.

The Bill was moved by Finance Minister Parminder Singh Dhindsa.

Earlier, the Assembly passed supplementary demands for grants for 2015-16 involving gross additional expenditure of Rs 10,418.84 crore.

Leader of Opposition Charanjit Singh Channi speaking on grants in the assembly alleged that a family in the state has set up a parallel business to the one of government. The name of the family was expunged by the Speaker Charanjit Singh Atwal.

He alleged that the government claims that Punjab is a power surplus state and still purchasing power to the tune of Rs 10000 crore.

“There is a debt of Rs 2.25 crore on Punjab,” he said. Balbir Singh Sidhu of Congress alleged that the new excise policy of the state government will monopolise the liquor trade in Punjab.

“The government will give license of liquor to few of those who are their close,” he alleged.

Policy will put a burden on the common man, he said even as Deputy Chief Minister Sukhbir Singh Badal maintained that the number of vends have been increased and the new policy will make the trade transparent.

Ashwini Sekhri claimed that Punjab is getting power from Bhakra at a cost of ten paise only and still the state

government is giving Rs 5500 crore to the state power utilities which smacks of a scandal.