Paonta Sahib, May 4
Ruling out the possibility of a nuclear generation plant in the state, the Punjab Chief Minister, Capt Amarinder Singh, said his government would instead explore the possibility of a joint venture with the Uttaranchal Government in hydel power generation.

“We are waiting for the Uttaranchal government to unfold its new policy on power generation,” he said, maintaining that of late Punjab had not done much to explore possibilities in this field. “Too much of emphasis on thermal generation may not be in the interests of the state. Since power is an essential ingredient for industrialisation, we have to think of cheap and reliable ways for its generation.”

“As far as nuclear generation is concerned, I am totally opposed to it. Our proximity to Pakistan and the remote possibility of leakage could be greatly detrimental to a small state like ours,” he explained.

The Punjab Chief Minister said his government was embanking upon a three-point programme — fighting corruption to the finish, provide good governance and restoring the fiscal health of Punjab.

“If people describe our fight against corruption as extension of police raj, then I must reiterate that this police raj will continue in the state till corruption is wiped out,” he said.

Earlier, Capt Amarinder Singh joined his counterpart from Uttaranchal, Mr N.D. Tewari, at the historic Gurdwara Paonta Sahib here on the occasion of the birth anniversary celebrations of Sahibzada Ajit Singh, the eldest of the four Sahibzadas of Guru Gobind Singh. It is, perhaps, for the first time that two Chief Ministers of neighbouring states have met at the historic gurdwara here.

The Himachal Pradesh Chief Minister, Mr P.K. Dhumal, greeted the Sikh community on the occasion but expressed his inability to join the celebrations because of other commitments.

Both Capt Amarinder Singh and Mr N.D. Tewari were presented “siropas” at the gurdwara by Mr Rattan Singh, the local MLA, on behalf of the Parbandhak Committee of Gurdwara Paonta Sahib. ‘Siropas’ were also presented to members of the entourage of the two Chief Ministers.

Mr N.D. Tewari was hopeful that a special package for Uttaranchal announced by Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee during his recent visit to Nainital would be implemented soon.

“This package would also benefit Himachal Pradesh as we want integrated development of this entire region,” said Mr Tewari, hoping that the new package would not only bring industry to the state but also help explore its tremendous potential for hydel power generation.

“We hardly have any power cuts in Uttaranchal,” he said.

Talking on the problem of land ceiling as projected by Punjabi farmers in Terrai in general and Udham Singh Nagar in particular, Mr Tewari said there had been “no such issue before him. People call me half Punjabi. It was me who as Chief Minister gave them the tilling rights. There will be no problem whatsoever for them,” he said, claiming that he represented Udham Singh Nagar in the Lok Sabha.

“I have been in electoral politics for more than five decades now,” said Mr Tewari, claiming that the endeavour of his new government was to look for ways and means for overall development of Uttaranchal.

“Ours is a very peaceful state. Udham Singh Nagar, for example, is a mini-India represented by people from all states,” he remarked.

Earlier, Mr Kartar Singh Takkar, member of the managing committee of the Parbandhak Committee of Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee, recalled the association of the Patiala family with this historic shrine and said Punjabis in various states, including Haryana, Uttaranchal and Himachal Pradesh, were happy with his crusade against corruption.

Among others present at the felicitation function were Mr Paramjit Singh Chanana, Mr Rajinder Singh Rajan, Mr Habhajan Singh, Mr Balak Singh and Mr Swaran Singh — all prominent Akali leaders of Himachal Pradesh and Uttaranchal.