Reviving industry is Batala MLA's agenda

Ravi Dhaliwal

Batala, March 25

For young Batala Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) MLA Amansher Singh Kalsi, it is the case of being second time lucky. In the 2017 polls, he was all set to bag the ticket, but at the last moment he was denied it.

The man was not at all disappointed. For five years, he remained the voice and face of the AAP in Batala. This time he was seen as the “natural candidate.”

No more ‘iron bird’

Batala was once called the ‘iron bird’ of the country for the large number of industrial units it had. Barely 200 of the 1,500 units remain now. — Amansher Singh Kalsi, Batala MLA

Someone like Gurdaspur Planning Board chief Dr Satnam Singh Nijjar, who has seen him from close quarters ever since his birth, says Kalsi has the potential to raise the bar. “He understands the problems of the city like no other person does,” added

Dr Nijjar.

Kalsi says his first and foremost priority will be to improve the civic amenities, including widening and re-carpeting of roads and replacing decades-old sewer lines. This may prove to be an uphill task as the Municipal Corporation is controlled by the Congress.

“I will sit down with the civic body officials and chart out a plan for welfare of the residents. The political configuration of the MC does not matter. What matters is the will to work for the benefit and welfare of the people. If you have the will, half the battle is won,” he said.

Kalsi will also have to take a hard look at the industry. “Batala was once called the ‘iron bird’ of the country for the large number of industrial units it had. This, however, no longer remains true as barely 200 of the 1,500 units remain,” he says. The MLA will have to impress upon the state government to dole out sops to the ailing units.

“He will also have to bat for rationalisation of the tax structure. A majority of the factories have shifted to the neighbouring states of HP and J&K because of the favourable tax climate. All in all, it is going to be a Herculean task to provide a fillip to the factories,” said Harinder Singh, a councilor from Ward No. 38.

The MLA exudes a lot of confidence and claims that he will sit with leading industrialists of the area and prepare a blueprint which will ensure “the old units do not shift base.