Questions were being raised over the allotment of mining contracts to Amit Bahadur at Saidpur Khurd village in Shaheed Bhagat Singh Nagar for Rs 26.51 crore, Kulvinder Paul Singh at Mehadipur in SBS Nagar for Rs 9.21 crore, Gurinder Singh at Rampur Kalan village in Mohali district for Rs 4.11 crore and Balraj Singh at Bairsal village for Rs 10.58 crore.
"An inquiry into the mining contract awarded to four persons whose names have appeared in newspaper reports, has been initiated but it is at preliminary stage now," an income tax official said today.
The one-man commission would include Justice (Retd) J S Narang and would submit the report within one month.
The terms of reference for the inquiry commission, formed under the Commission of Inquiry Act, would be notified soon, an official statement said.
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Rana has denied any links of his company, Rana Sugars Limited, with the auctions and has said his company has no stake, direct or indirect, in the sand mining business.
"There was no question of allowing any deviation from the government's policy of clean governance," Amarinder Singh said, adding he would take all steps to ensure that there was no violation of the trust reposed by the people in his government and the Congress.
The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) has demanded the minister's resignation or dismissal from state cabinet pending inquiry, arguing that otherwise the entire probe would appear to be "meaningless and a farce".
"The belated inquiry ordered by Amarinder Singh into the mining scandal appears to be a tailor-made exercise to absolve the accused minister, Rana Gurjeet Singh. We are of the firm opinion that if Rana Gurjeet Singh continues to be a member of cabinet, the said inquiry can never be free, fair and impartial," AAP leader and MLA from Bholath Sukhpal Khaira said in a statement here.
The AAP also sought to remind the ruling Congress of its "double standards" saying it had vociferously rejected the Justice Jindal Commission which was tasked to probe role of former education minister in NDA government in state, Sikandar Singh Malooka, on grounds that he had not resigned from the cabinet.
"The Congress had also staged a 'dharna' to pressure the then Badal government to sack the minister but why different yardsticks now," Khaira asked.
Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) termed the judicial inquiry ordered by the government as "too little too late" and demanded immediate sacking of the minister to ensure a free and fair probe.
"This is a clear case of corruption, benaami deals and possibly even hawala transactions. It would have been in the fitness of things if chief minister Amarinder Singh had handed over the case to the Enforcement Directorate besides involving the Income Tax authorities," he added.
"Obviously all this was done at the behest of Rana Gurjit. If the minister is not sacked it is likely he will be able to influence key witnesses and a fair investigation of the case would not be possible," he alleged.
The BJPs youth wing in Punjab sought a CBI probe in the matter pertaining.
BJP's Punjab unit secretary Vineet Joshi issued a statement demanding the government order a CBI probe to inquire into the mining contracts allegedly bagged by four former employees of the Punjab minister.
Another 56 mines would be put to auction on June 11 and the government is expecting to generate another Rs 300 crore from them. The state government's revenue from the mine auction last year was merely Rs 40 crore.
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