Punjab Govt recovers Rs 243-cr grant given to small industries corp

The state’s AAP government has taken back Rs 243.73 crore given as grant-in-aid over the past five years to Punjab Small Industries and Export Corporation (PSIEC) to develop infrastructure projects across the state.

The move has drawn the ire of PSIEC employees, who have moved the Punjab and Haryana High Court, terming the move “illegal and unjustified”. The amount was transferred on September 26, almost two months after the court forced the government to retract its order asking the PSIEC to deposit the unutilised accumulated fund of Rs 500 crore.

According to employees, the grant had already been utilised for various infrastructure projects such as industrial focal points (IFP).

Tara Singh, general secretary of the employees’ association, said the grant was not a loan granted by the government that it could be withdrawn or taken back in any point of time.

Questioning the move, the association said the state government forced the corporation to deposit the already-spent money, within hours of issuing a notification and getting consent of the corporation’s Board of Directors on September 26.

The association in its petition before the court stated that the corporation was directed to refund Rs 243.73 crore to the state government given as grand-in-aid since 2019-20.

Former Health Minister and Congress leader Balbir Singh Sidhu said the government orders were “arbitrary and illegal” as the grant had already been fully utilised as per approved guidelines for industrial projects. The state government had last month directed different departments, including the Industries Department, to deposit a collective amount of Rs 1,441.49 crore in the state treasury.

After the PSIEC Employees’ Association contested that the constitution of the corporation did not allow such transfer without the nod of the Punjab Governor, the government asked for the refund of the grant-in-aid.

The Punjab Bureau of Investment under the PSIEC has separately given Rs 140 crore to the state government.

The state government has already taken Rs 5,400 crore from the Greater Mohali Area Development Authority (GMADA) to help address its ongoing financial crisis. Funds from GMADA were raised using the overdraft facility against its vacant properties.