The Centre should give the surplus revenue collected so far from Chandigarh to the Punjab government till a political decision is taken on making the Union Territory as its capital, NDA ally Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) demanded in Rajya Sabha on Thursday.
Raising the issue during a debate on the Union Budget 2019-20, SAD leader Naresh Gujral (SAD) said Chandigarh was the capital of Punjab and it should be returned to the state.
"Punjab is the only state apart from Haryana which does not have its own capital. Chandigarh was our state capital. We need to have our Chandigarh back because the state capital is always the revenue generator," he said.
All surplus revenue collected from the UT goes to the Centre, Gujral said, "Till such time, a political decision is taken, till then, give this money to Punjab.
"I can tell you, the money that has come to the Centre's coffers since Punjab was divided, that amount if you total up over the years plus the interest, is more than the total debt on Punjab."
"But the transportation and labour rate are much higher in Punjab as compared to other states like Bihar, Odisha. All I am saying is please put an arbitrator. I am not asking to waive it. You make a commission and let it decide and we will accept."
Disclaimer: No Business Standard Journalist was involved in creation of this content