Fastway Cables caused Rs 700 crore loss to state exchequer: Sidhu

Ruchika M Khanna/ Jupinderjit Singh

Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, June 23

Local Bodies Minister Navjot Singh Sidhu on Friday alleged that Fastway Cables caused a loss of approximately Rs 700 crore to the state exchequer.

Speaking in the Punjab Assembly, he said that Fastway started with Rs 25 lakh and had profit of Rs 30 crore immediately and nothing was given to the treasury in ten years of Akali rule.

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After exposing tax evasion worth Rs 684 crore by Fastway Cable, owned by Former Deputy Chief Minister Sukhbir Singh Badal, the Local Bodies Department has started serving notices to the company for recovery of charges.

The charges being sort by the department are for use of poles, digging of roads for laying the cables and towards entertainment tax.

He also demanded a separate probe into the under reporting of total TV connections and cable operators engaged by the company.    

He alleged that only 1,25,000 cable connections  were shown but actually 80 lakh connections existed.                     

Out of 8,000 cable operators, 6500 were under Fastway, he said.                        

He sought an FIR against Fastway for laying wires without permission.

“Fastway owed rent for hanging cables per pole. Punjab has 3 lakh poles,” he said, but not a single penny given.

He demanded vigilance inquiry from Chief Minister Amarinder Singh against the “cable mafia”.