Chandigarh, December 14
Defending the acquisition of land for various projects,the Chief Minister, Capt Amarinder Singh, today said there was no alternative except to acquire fertile land to set up development projects in the state. " We have 1.05 lakh hectares of land and all is fertile", said Capt Amarinder Singh.

"Which piece of land should be acquired and which not, it is difficult to decide", he said, in reply to a question on farmers opposing the acquiring of land for the international airport project at Halwara near Ludhiana.

If the airport project was cleared by the Union Cabinet on December 18,the foundation stone would be laid by the Prime Minister, Dr Manmohan Singh, on December 20. He said the Prime Minister was scheduled to arrive at Amritsar late in the evening on December 19 and return the following day.

Capt Amarinder Singh said farmers, whose land would be acquired would be given compensation on the basis of the prevailing market price.

Besides reviewing Guru Ram Dass Project launched for the improvement of sanitation at Amritsar, the Prime Minister would lay the foundation stone of a thermal plant at Goindwal. The 600 mw plant worth Rs 3,000 crore would be set up by the GVK Group, a private company. The Prime Minister would also visit Jallowal village where world's largest citrus nursery project had been set up.

“We are not expecting any package from the Prime Minister, who has already given a lot to the state. We do not want that every time the PM visits the state, he should come with a cheque book", he added.

However, informed sources said the power purchase agreement had not been signed with the company yet. Officials of the PSEB were hesitant to sign the agreement in haste ." The agreement, spread over 150 pages, requires scrutiny by expert lawyers. Each clause is to be examined from the legal angle", said a PSEB officer.

Speaking to mediapersons, Capt Amarinder Singh said investment in Punjab had crossed Rs 1.05 lakh crore. "We had promised to achieve the figure of Rs 1 lakh crore, but we have crossed it". In all, 377 mega and super mega projects had been cleared for investment in the state. Of these projects worth 59,000 crore were in the industrial sector, and worth Rs 41,000 crore in the housing sector. In the infrastructure sector, projects worth Rs 2,600 crore had been approved.

"We have created jobs for 20 lakh youths and if returned to power, projects worth Rs 2 lakh crore would be approved to create jobs for 40 lakh youths", he claimed. He said officers concerned had been told to start distribution of pulses on subsidised rates at the earliest. Every month, 1,000 tonnes of pulses would be distributed.

He said the response to his Vikas Yatra was very good in Doaba region.

Asked about giving a " clean chit" to certain ministers perceived to be corrupt, Capt Amarinder Singh said it was easy to level allegations, but difficult to substantiate these ."If anyone has any proof against any minister or officer, I am ready to take action", he added.

He said Mr Parkash Singh Badal was levelling allegations of corruption against the government because he was facing such charges himself.