Bathinda, May 07, 2019: Union food processing industries minister Harsimrat Kaur Badal today said the Congress government was set to dismantle the iconic thermal plant chimneys post elections besides enforcing bills on tubewells.
In a statement here, Mrs Badal said the Congress government was coming out with a tender next month to dismantle the four huge chimneys of the Sri Guru Nanak Dev thermal plant which had been closed arbitrarily after it took over the reins of the State.
Mrs Badal said the chimneys were identified with Bathinda city and its citizens did not want them to be dismantled. “It is unfortunate that instead of developing the entire complex as a tourism hub along with its lakes, the Congress government wanted to make use of its real estate value only”. She said she would oppose this move tooth and nail and ensure her best that the iconic chimneys were not dismantled.
The Bathinda Mp also asked finance minister Manpreet Badal to tell why the iconic chimneys which represented the pride of Bathinda were being demolished. She said earlier Mr Manpreet Badal had assured during the run up to the 2017 assembly elections that the thermal plant, which had been modernised during SAD- BJP tenure, would not be closed. “However after the Congress government came into power Manpreet Badal led the campaign to close down the thermal plant. Now the government is moving to dismantle the iconic chimneys. This is condemnable and we will oppose it”, she added.
Mrs. Badals said the Congress government was also moving to end the free power faculty extended to farmers by S Parkash Singh Badal. She said earlier the government had put up meters on tubewells. “Post parliament elections the Congress government is aiming to end the free power facility”. Stating that any such step would ruin farm economy in Punjab,
Mrs. Badal urged farmers to unite as one against this step. She said the SAD would use all means at its disposal to ensure this anti- farmer step was not put in force”.