Sidhu blames it on SAD-BJP

Shivani Bhakoo

Tribune News Service

Ludhiana, May 21

Four firefighters suffered severe burns while they were dousing flames at a factory in the city recently. Had they been provided with proper gear, they would not have been injured. The previous SAD-BJP government did not bother about utilising the grants sanctioned by the Central Government for improving the Fire Department.

Punjab is the only state in the country which has failed to update its firefighting system while all other states have spent several crores to strengthen their fire stations. As the state government has failed to produce “utilisation certificate” against the grant given by the Centre, Punjab has been put in the “red zone” by the the Central Government, which is shameful.

These views were expressed by Minister for Local Bodies Navjot Singh Sidhu while speaking to the media after enquiring about the health of the firefighters at Christian Medical College and Hospital here today.

Terming the firefighters as “bahadurs and jaanbaaz”, Sidhu said it was unfortunate to know that Rs 90.91 crore was sanctioned by the Central Government from the disaster management head to update the fire services in Punjab, of which Rs 45 crore was released as the first instalment. But the Department of Local Government, Punjab, could not spend more than Rs 17 crore. The balance amount of Rs 27 crore lapsed after March 31, 2017.

“Forget about the next instalment of Rs 45 crore, the previous government failed to utilise the already released grant. They just had to order for equipment, that is it. But they even failed to do so and today our fire service is ailing, crying for revival,” said Sidhu.

Sidhu said the Badals had done irreparable damage to the state. “I am ready to expose them wherever they want me to. If they call me to Badal village, I will go there but they should have courage to face me. They have done severe damage to the state and our Congress government is still in the damage-control mode. At least, give us a few months’ time and we will produce results as per your expectations,” he said.

He also said erring officials in the Local Bodies Department would not be spared and punishment as per law will be given to them.

Smart City: Just trying to understand things

The Central Government, which was too eager to spend Rs 3,000 crore on three cities of Punjab, Ludhiana, Amritsar and Jalandhar, under the Smart City project, today is reluctant to provide even 5 paise to the state for the simple reason that the previous government miserably failed to put the matching grant in Ludhiana Smart City Project, said Sidhu.

When asked about the fate of Ludhiana Smart City, Sidhu said he felt bad as the previous government had “shattered” the dreams of the residents by diverting Smart City funds to other projects. “We are just trying to understand things and streamlining the things first,” he said.

At the same time, he said under the leadership of Capt Amarinder Singh in Punjab, he would make sure that the dream of Smart Ludhiana became a reality.

On being asked how the government with empty coffers will make Ludhiana a Smart City, the minister said: “There is no dearth of funds. One needs to have the will to generate funds and do something practically. Today, illegal buildings stand tall in Punjab. The violators have constructed 20-25 storeys, all in an illegal manner. We will do one-time settlement (as per the guidelines) with the violators and generate huge revenue.”