By Asia Samachar | Panjab |
The two opposing side in the Panjab politics are trading barbs, with a resort at the heart of the matter.
On Thursday, Panjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Singh Mann alleged that former deputy chief minister Sukhbir Singh Badal’s Sukhvilas Resort in Palanpur village had caused a loss of Rs 108.7 crore to the state exchequer after the then SAD-BJP government gave tax exemptions to it.
Mann said that state GST and VAT, applicable at 75% each, were waived for the resort from May 2015 to May 2026. Besides both taxes amounting to Rs 85.84 crore, 100% electricity duty worth Rs 11.44 crore was also waived for 10 years. The chief minister said the road leading to the resort was constructed by the Greater Mohali Area Development Authority at a cost of Rs 4.13 crore, reported The Indian Express.
“This is people’s money. We will recover this amount. We have taken legal advice. The advocate-general is looking into it. I do not do anything without studying the legal aspects. We will ask the officials responsible also as to how these exemptions were given. All former ministers who were involved in giving permissions would also be investigated,” he said.
But the Badal side came back with a rebuke of their own.
In a press conference, Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) general secretary Parambans Singh Romana on Friday said the CM will have to face a defamation suit in case he did not apologise.
“Bhagwant Mann’s claims that a tailor-made policy was made to extend tax incentives to Sukhvilas and that the same was revoked when the resort was completed is a lie,” he told a press conference, according to media reports.
Romana said the truth of the matter was that the incentives were given as part of the state’s investment policy, and this policy exists even today.
“The incentives for eco projects are still in force. The current incentives being offered by the AAP government are more than what Sukhvilas received,” Romana said, reported The Hindustan Times, sharing details of eight hotels and 56 industries that had received similar incentives under this policy in Mohali alone. He added that around 600 projects have benefited from the policy across the state.
Romana asserted that the incentives in the new Punjab Industrial and Business Development Policy framed by the AAP government had increased the SGST exemption from 75% for 10 years to 100% for 15 years. “The electricity duty exemption has also been increased from 100% for 10 years to 100% for 15 years. This shows the CM is completely ignorant about policies or is a habitual liar,” he added.
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