DW BUREAU / Chandigarh

Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) president Sukhbir Singh Badal today asked chief minister Bhagwant Mann to stop wreaking Punjab's economy and its industrial climate besides playing with the future of its coming generations by failing to attract any investment into the State.

In a statement here, the SAD president said it was shocking that investment in Punjab had fallen by 85 per cent in the first year of the Aam Aadmi Party's government in the State. He said as per the study conducted by the MSME Export Promotion Council and Confederation of Organic Food Producers and Marketing Agencies, investment in the State had fallen from Rs 23,655 crore in 2021-2022 to only Rs 3,492 crore in 2022-2023.

Sukhbir Badal said the chief minister was solely responsible for this state of affairs. "We have been consistently warning that industrialists are shunning Punjab due to the downslide in the law and order situation, gangster culture and everyday extortions besides targeted killings. Punjab has also witnessed how even homegrown industrialists are shifting to other States including Uttar Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh. Forget attracting investment, Punjab has witnessed investment worth Rs 22,000 crore of Punjabi businessmen shifting to Uttar Pradesh last year".

Asserting that the chief minister was oblivious to the situation and was resorting to lies to cover up his poor track record on this front, Mr Badal said "Mr Bhagwant Mann even claimed that leading car manufacturing company BMW was going to establish a manufacturing plant in Punjab which was contradicted by the company".

He said it was condemnable that the single window Invest Punjab department established by the erstwhile Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) government had become virtually defunct and that no sincere effort was being taken to attract investment into the State. "The industry is also facing power hikes due to which there is no incentive for further industrial growth". He said it was also unfortunate that no initiatives were being taken to protect the small and medium industry in the State which was also in a crisis. "Punjab has remained a hub for small and medium industries and if this hub disintegrates it will be catastrophic for the State's economy", Mr Badal added.

The SAD president said it was also disconcerting that the report of the MSME Export Council and Food Producers had also revealed that investment projects worth Rs 1.39 crore were pending. "This is a sign of sheer apathy and indicates that the AAP government is dragging its feet in approving the projects and facilitating their start up in the State".
(editor@dailyworld.in)