PUNJAB CM, DEMANDS LARGER PIE IN CENTRAL TAXES
Begowal November 6:
Union government-sponsored National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (NREGA) Scheme is not feasible for Punjab.
Disclosing this ahead of his sangat darshan programme here today, Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal said the money spent by centre on the scheme should be given to the state government for development works as the scheme was not at all practicable in Punjab.
Badal said only Rs 100 per day was given to a person getting work under the scheme, but in Punjab, no labourer was getting too low daily wages for his or her work. Being a prosperous state, labourers here were getting Rs 150 or even Rs 175 as daily wage, he added. “So, we can not find proper persons to provide them work under this scheme and most of the times we engage those persons under this scheme who are not even interested to work,” he said.
Badal demanded that the Centre should increase the share of states in the taxes collected from their respective areas from 30 to 50 per cent. States were mostly responsible for development works in their respective areas, so their share from centrally collected taxes required to be increased, he added.
Congress Workers Victimised: Khaira: Bholath MLA Sukhpal Singh Khaira submitted a complaint to the Chief Minister at a college library soon after landing from his helicopter. In the letter, Khaira states despite an elected representative of Bholath, he had neither been informed nor invited about sangat darshan programmes in his constituency.
Khaira alleged Congress workers of Bholath were being victimised at the behest of his political rival with Badal’s tacit support. He said he had approached the Governor, on whose directions 33 “false” cases slapped on Congress workers were investigated. Of them, 28 were found to be falsely registered during the course of an investigation against him and other persons of his constituency, he claimed. The MLA met Badal with his nearly 100 supporters. Badal said Khaira’s complaints would be probed.
Begowal November 6:
Union government-sponsored National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (NREGA) Scheme is not feasible for Punjab.
Disclosing this ahead of his sangat darshan programme here today, Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal said the money spent by centre on the scheme should be given to the state government for development works as the scheme was not at all practicable in Punjab.
Badal said only Rs 100 per day was given to a person getting work under the scheme, but in Punjab, no labourer was getting too low daily wages for his or her work. Being a prosperous state, labourers here were getting Rs 150 or even Rs 175 as daily wage, he added. “So, we can not find proper persons to provide them work under this scheme and most of the times we engage those persons under this scheme who are not even interested to work,” he said.
Badal demanded that the Centre should increase the share of states in the taxes collected from their respective areas from 30 to 50 per cent. States were mostly responsible for development works in their respective areas, so their share from centrally collected taxes required to be increased, he added.
Congress Workers Victimised: Khaira: Bholath MLA Sukhpal Singh Khaira submitted a complaint to the Chief Minister at a college library soon after landing from his helicopter. In the letter, Khaira states despite an elected representative of Bholath, he had neither been informed nor invited about sangat darshan programmes in his constituency.
Khaira alleged Congress workers of Bholath were being victimised at the behest of his political rival with Badal’s tacit support. He said he had approached the Governor, on whose directions 33 “false” cases slapped on Congress workers were investigated. Of them, 28 were found to be falsely registered during the course of an investigation against him and other persons of his constituency, he claimed. The MLA met Badal with his nearly 100 supporters. Badal said Khaira’s complaints would be probed.
