Badal raises demand for own capital of Punjab

Firozpur MP and Shiromani Akali Dal president Sukhbir Singh Badal on Monday raised the demand for Punjab’s own capital, saying that Chandigarh, the present capital of the state, is a union territory.

He said in the absence of its own capital, Punjab was suffering revenue loss. “Punjab has been deprived of its due state capital and the amount of revenue and resource that a state capital generates is phenomenal,” he said in the Lok Sabha during discussion on the union budget.

He added, “All the resources and revenues that the centre has collected from Chandigarh over the years should be remitted back to Punjab.”

He cited the example of Mumbai and said the city was financial epicentre of Maharashtra without which the state will face financial crisis.

He also spoke of an impending water scarcity crisis in Punjab and said that 80% of the state’s water resources are overexploited in comparison to Rajasthan’s 71%. “Punjab farmers are producing increased crops despite deficient monsoons year after year. In the last decade, Punjab has faced six deficient monsoons and yet the state’s farmers have increased the production of paddy and wheat,” he said. He also talked about the state’s 17,000 acres farmland falling in no-man’s land.

First Published: Jul 08, 2019 23:15 IST