Vigilance Bureau Punjab must investigate the role of Capt. Amarinder Singh in Rs.1,178 crore farm machinery scam: Bir Devinder Singh
Chandigarh, August 12, 2022: Punjab Vidhan Sabha Former Deputy Speaker Birdevinder Singh today said that the media reports suggest that the Punjab Government has decided to hand over the probe of Rs. 1,178-cr farm machinery sub-sidy scam to the vigilance bureau, Punjab. It also suggests that a report submitted by the Agriculture department reveals that 11 to12 per cent of the farm machinery meant to control the stubble burning, worth 100 crore is untraceable in the State, indicating huge embezzlement in the purchase of the machinery.
He said that to control stubble burning the Government of India had provided Rs 1,178 crore sub-sidy to Punjab farmers in four years from 2018 to 2022 for individually buying machinery as well as setting up the machinery banks for crop residual management under the In-Situ Crop Residual Management Scheme, unfortunately a large number of these machinery bank remained on the papers of the agriculture department and the subsidy amount was allegedly embezzled by the officials of the Punjab Agriculture Department, especially when Capt. Amarinder Singh was at the helms as minister in charge of the agriculture portfolio. He said a scam of such a huge magnitude, worth hundreds of crores can not occur in the department without the implied acquiescence of the minister. Therefore, the Minister in charge cannot escape the responsibility for the scam. Its either the case of brazen negligence and stupidity of the minister concerned or his explicit involvement in the scam cannot be ruled out. He said that in both the eventualities the sinister role of Capt. Amarinder Singh calls for thorough investigation, with clinical precision, in a transparent manner, by the vigilance bureau of Punjab.