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PIL in HC against Punjab transport policy
Hearing before a Division Bench tomorrow
Saurabh Malik/TNS

Chandigarh, October 1
Immediately after The Tribune exposé on how the transport policy was manipulated for driving private players in Punjab towards profits, a Barrister-at-Law today moved the Punjab and Haryana High Court seeking probe by the Central Bureau of Investigation or a High Court Judge.

In his petition based on the series of investigations carried out by The Tribune, city-based Barrister Himmat Singh Shergill has made Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal and son Sukhbir Singh Badal a party, along with two other respondents.

The petition filed in public interest is expected to come up for hearing before a Division Bench on Monday.

Referring to the news reports “Badals, buses and public losses”, “How the Badals hijacked Punjab’s luxury bus business”, “How the transport policy was manipulated for private profit” and “Public losses private profits”, Shergill has submitted "a thorough independent investigation is required to punish the guilty”.

Giving details, Shergill has asserted if the newspaper reports project the true picture, the Chief Minister and son Deputy Chief Minister “have breached their oath of office”.

He has added if the contents of these newspaper reports are true, the father and son have “prima facie manipulated the policy in the Department of Transport, thereby causing huge losses to the state exchequer”.

He has further contended the two have illegally benefited “luxury and super luxury private bus operators”, specifically when they “are themselves the major beneficiaries” and are “directly and indirectly owning maximum number of buses in the sector”.

Shergill has asserted: “It is in utmost public interest that the truth should be presented before the public”. Therefore, an agency like the CBI, or any other agency not under the direct or indirect control of the two respondents, or a sitting or a retired High Court judge, "after investigation should bring out the truth in an objective and independent manner in the present circumstances”.

Shergill has added: “The Chief Minister is a public servant, who has to function within the confines of the rule of law and his actions should not be arbitrary or be taken with a motive to serve his own business interests, thereby causing loss to the state exchequer.

“The Chief Minister is a trustee of the people who elect him, and quick, independent and effective action should be taken against him if he breaches the trust of the people; and it is submitted that only that agency or official can hold independent investigation against the Chief Minister who is not under his or her direct control…..”

Liberally quoting from The Tribune, he has asserted: “By 2011 when the new transport policy was fully implemented, the companies controlled by the Badals had acquired or taken over 150 such luxury buses”.

MLA Khaira seeks CBI inquiry
Varinder Singh/TNS

Jalandhar, October 1
Seeking a CBI probe into the allegedly blatant and ruthless annual ‘loot’ of public exchequer to the tune of over Rs 1,500 crore and ‘hijacking’ of the transport business by the family of Punjab Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal, Bholath MLA Sukhpal Singh Khaira has alleged Badals have “willfully marginalised” the state transport undertakings (STUs) to increase share of private transporters in the business.

Khaira, who has also urged the Vidhan Sabha speaker to permit a detailed discussion on the transport policy of the SAD-BJP-led state government in the forthcoming session, has also made it clear that the Congress leaders who were in the transport business and had “unduly” benefited from the “lopsided” transport policy should also be subjected to the CBI probe.

“The September 2007 state transport policy made at the behest of Badals clearly smacked of favouritism towards the top SAD leaders who were also running several “benami” transport companies. Instead of giving benefit to ordinary bus operators including the STUs like the Punjab Roadways or the PRTC, the entire tax slash has favoured the super luxury buses or integral coaches. It is astonishing that while the tax was reduced by just a half, from Rs 2 to a rupee per kilometre for air-conditioned buses, it was slashed from Rs 7.50 per kilometre in case of luxury buses which had also got a tax exemption for 150 days in a year,” said Khaira, adding that 70 per cent of luxury bus business was owned by Badals and the rest of it, by other powerful politicians.

“Badals had even pressurised the then Punjab governor SF Rodrigues to allow their 75 of a total of 150 buses in Chandigarh, while the same facility was not available to government-owned buses. Even the CAG has pointed out that there has been a loss of a whopping Rs 462.03 crore to the state-owned STUs. Badals have ousted all PRTC buses from monopoly routes,” alleged Khaira.