Punjab Congress demands White Paper on state's economy

Punjab Congress today demanded that White Paper be brought out on state's financial position even as it welcomed the decision of the Akali government to start recruitment to fill up posts lying vacant for years.
"You must make it clear as to how various announcements made by the government after the cabinet meeting are to be funded. The state government has been running on deficit over the years and the total debt including that of the public sector undertakings has crossed Rs two lakh crore," Punjab Congress chief Pratap Singh Bajwa said.
The government has been slipping on every promise, he said, adding that the people have a right to know whether the government had resources or it is going to add to the already burgeoning debt burden.

He said Bathinda, the bastion of the Badal family, had turned into city of protests like the Tiananmen Square of Beijing over the years with various categories of employees camping there including school teachers who don't get their salaries on time.
"The government should desist from playing games and come out with the facts of the situation through White Paper," he demanded.
He pointed that the Badal government has finally implemented the poll promise of doubling the social security pensions at the end of its fourth year but the fact of the matter is that it has miserably failed to pay even Rs 250 per month regularly and has been running in arrears for months.

The Chief Minister said the state has witnessed

unprecedented development in all the sectors during the last one decade of alliance rule whereas the Congress couldn't even list a single achievement of its regime.
Badal said besides providing quality education and healthcare facilities to the people, the alliance government has also focused on the overall welfare of almost every strata of the society.
Badal said farmers were providing with free power worth Rs 5,000 crore annually.
He termed Congress and AAP as the "bunch of opportunists and anti-Punjab people".
The Chief Minister said that in order to facilitate the people, the state government would offer compensation to the Indian Army in lieu of removing Octroi from two cantonments of Jalandhar Cantt and Ferozepur.

He promised to set up Jamsher Solid Waste Management plant here at some alternate place in view of larger public interest.
Badal also assured the people to resolve the matter pertaining to periphery roads around the cantonments.