Punjab to become power surplus state

CHANDIGARH: Punjab, which is presently undergoing acute shortage of electricity, will be a power surplus state within the next five years, Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) acting chief Sukhbir Singh Badal said here on Friday.

The state government is going to invest a sum of rs 14,000 crore in the next five years to streamline electricity and set up power generating plants, he said. To improve the irrigation sytem, the state would invest rs 4,000 crore in the next five years, he told reporters here.

A trade centre spreading on an area of 1000 acres would also be set up in Mohali near here, he said.

Mohali will be connected to Jalandhar by an express highway by mid of next year, the MP from Faridkot said.

About the corruption case against former chief minister Amarinder Singh, he said that the vigilance would recover the entire amount of rs 3000 crore which he had embezzled in the Ludhiana City centre project during his tenure as the chief minister.

Taking a dig at Punjab Congress chief Rajinder Kaur Bhattal, Sukhbir said that she was left with no work and unnecessarily criticising the government.

On being asked why the name of B I S Chahal former media advisor to Amarinder is not figuring in the chargesheet filed by vigilance bureau in the Ludhiana City Centre scandal, he said "only vigilance can answer this question.