In what could spell fresh trouble for former chief minister Charanjit Singh Channi, Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann on Wednesday said his government has identified nine acres of Punjab land in Goa, which was leased out at throw away prices during tenure of previous Congress government.
Addressing a gathering in Sangrur after inaugurating a renovated Baba Banda Singh Bahadur District Library, the CM, without naming anyone, said the land would be vacated soon and anyone found guilty won’t be spared.
He said the Vigilance Bureau was probing the alleged anomalies in the leasing of Punjab Tourism’s land in Goa during the previous Congress government under then CM Channi.
Three companies of the state Tourism Department, Gulmohar Resorts, Satkar Holidays and the Punjab Tourism Development Corporation had stake in this property in Goa. After inviting bids from private parties, the property was leased by the Punjab Heritage and Tourism Promotion Board to a five-star hotel chain.
Sources said the nine acres of land on a beach in Goa, which is worth crores of rupees, was allotted to a five-star hotel chain at the rate of Rs 1 lakh per month. Sources said preliminary probe revealed anomalies in the lease process and a case may soon be registered against Channi by the Vigilance Bureau in the matter.
Channi is already facing a Vigilance Bureau probe in connection with his income purported to be disproportionate to known sources of his income when he was serving as the state CM. Besides Channi, the Bureau is probing his brothers, family members and some close aides for allegedly possessing wealth beyond their declared sources of income.
Earlier this year, Channi’s nephew Bhupinder Singh Honey was arrested by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) as part of its money-laundering investigation into alleged sand mining operations in Punjab. The agency had seized about Rs 7.9 crore cash from Honey’s premises and another about Rs Two Crore cash from a linked person identified as Sandeep Kumar.
Meanwhile, slamming successive governments, the chief minister said they were neck deep in corruption with ministers along with other leaders, looting the money meant for the public.
Citing an example, he said two machines for counting notes were recovered from a former minister’s house at Hoshiarpur along with other wealth reflects how mercilessly these leaders had minted the money illegally by misusing their official position. Mann vowed that none of these leaders will be spared and they will be made accountable for every sin done against Punjab and its people.