Punjab Health Minister Balbir Sidhu’s NGO had plan to build ‘banquet hall’ on gaushala land in Mohali

Vishav Bharti

Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, August 9

Though Health Minister Balbir Sidhu has been claiming that there will be no other activity except keeping stray cattle on the 10-acre panchayat land allotted for a gaushala to his NGO, it has come to light that there was a plan to build a banquet hall on it.

Never knew this

The only proposal cited by the NGO for taking land from us was gaushala. There was no mention of either a banquet hall or a temple. Bahadur Singh, Balongi Sarpanch

Meant for poor

The plan to build a banquet hall was not for commercial activities, but functions to be held by the poor people. — Naresh Kansal, NGO General Secretary

Last week, the Health Minister had come in the eye of the storm when over 10 acres of prime land of Balongi panchayat in Mohali was allocated to Bal Gopal Gau Basera Welfare Society, an NGO registered at his Mohali residence address. The minister is also president of the NGO.

The minister had claimed that the land would solely be used to take care of stray cattle and there will be no other commercial activity on the premises. However, as per the documents in possession of The Tribune, there was a plan to build a banquet hall on the land. As per a resolution of the NGO prepared in October last year and signed by its general secretary Naresh Kansal, besides gaushala, mandir and diagnostic centre, building of a banquet hall was also part of the plan.

Besides, it has been mentioned that trustees would bear the expenses of the building. Kansal claimed the banquet hall was to be built not for commercial activities, but the poor people so that they can hold their functions.

However, neither the panchayat nor villagers are convinced with anything other than the gaushala. Balongi Sarpanch Bahadur Singh said the only proposal cited for taking the land from them was gaushala. “There was no mention of either banquet hall or a temple,” he said.

Under the Punjab Village Common Lands (Regulation) Act 1961 there is no provision to build any religious establishment on the panchayat land. All attempts to contact the Health Minister remained futile as his staff refused to connect to him. The land in Balongi was allotted on 33 years lease to the society at Rs 25,000 per acre annually, much lower than the prevailing market rate.