Inviting Kejri for talks on smog unwise: Hooda

Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, November 15

Former Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda said today that inviting Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal to Chandigarh over air pollution was an unwise decision of CM Manohar Lal Khattar, as the Delhi CM merely wanted to use the opportunity for political mileage.

In an informal chat with mediapersons at his official residence here today, Hooda said, “The contribution of stubble burning towards air pollution these days is very small. Instead of inviting him for talks, Khattar should have asked Kejriwal whether he has taken steps to end the pollution.”

“The contribution of smoke emanating from the burnt stubble is hardly 15 per cent of the total pollution. Dust from construction activities, industrial pollutants and diesel vehicles are the others pollutants that contribute more to smog. Before asking Haryana and Punjab for curbing stubble burning, Kejriwal should tell them what steps he has taken end pollution from these activities,” said Hooda.

The former CM lauded Punjab CM Capt Amarinder Singh for giving a befitting reply to Kejriwal and said Khattar, too, should have taken a cue from him.

Hitting out at the state government for penalising farmers in the name of stubble burning, Hooda said the fine, if any, should be paid from the state exchequer as the government had failed to provide any alternative to farmers.

Hooda demanded that farmers should be paid compensation of Rs 250 per quintal for the management of paddy stubble and the government should collect the stubble and utilise it for generating power.

Accusing the BJP government of promoting corruption, the former CM alleged, “The Khattar government’s act of appointing Sunil Sharma as the chief coordinator in the HSIIDC, allegedly without having the required qualification and then giving him important charge of mining division, estate division and nodal officer of the Haryana Enterprises Promotion Centre, speaks volume about the illegalities under the present regime.”

“Why doesn’t the government order a probe into how he was appointed and given key posts within 15 days, particularly when the Supreme Court has assailed the CM’s office for mining scams?” Hooda asked.

He alleged that a number of scams and illegalities had come to the fore during the present BJP regime, but the government had not acted on any of them.

The former CM named electricity metre purchase, paddy procurement, Gurugram Metro route change and Dadam mine among some “scams” where the government had been keeping silence.

On the allegations of shoddy investigations by the state police in the Ryan murder case, Hooda said he had been demanding CBI probe from the very first day since Pradyuman’s family was not satisfied with the police investigations.