Now Navjot Sidhu targets previous government for poor advertisement revenue in Local Bodies
By Vijay Pal Brar
Chandigarh, August 12, 2017:Punjab Local Government Minister Navjot Singh Sidhu on Saturday said a new state advertisement policy would be announced soon.
Sharing this with the mediapersons here, Sidhu the new policy would aim at increasing the advertisement revenue from Rs 25 crore to Rs 300 crore.
He targeted the previous government for its alleged failure to maintain transparency in the existing policy.
He alleged nepotism by the previous government in awarding advertisement contracts which caused huge loss to the state exchequer.
The contract given to a select company by bringing in a change in the policy to put up advertisement at Bus Stand and other places in Ludhiana at nominal rates resulted in loss of Rs 100 crore to the government, he alleged.
He cited example of neighboring state of Haryana which, according to him, earned Rs 150 crore through advertisement as compared to Rs 25 crore during the tenure of the previous government in Punjab.
S per the existing policy, a part of the advertisement revenue was to be spent on road safety. The Traffic Advisor Navdeep Asjia had challenged the policy in the Punjab and Haryana High Court on the plea that if the government’s advertisement income was how, then how could required spending on the road safety could be made.
The HC then ordered to constitute a Special Investigation Team (SIT) whose report had given a clean chit to the advertisement companies.
The SIT has been reconstituted after formation of Congress government in the state by inducting a Vigilance Officer, Chief Engineer of Local Government Department and Commissioner, Municipal Corporation, Jalandhar. This team has been asked to submit its report before the HC by August 18, 2017.