The cook of Punjab Power and Irrigation Minister Rana Gurjit Singh bagged a mining deal worth Rs 26.51 crore on Friday making him the owner of one of the most expensive sand and gravel mines in the state. Three of the minister's other employees also bagged mining contracts at an e-auction conducted on May 19 and 20.
Amit Bahadur, who worked as a cook in Singh's company Rana Sugars Limited, beat 32 bigwigs to win a quarry at the Saidpur Khurd village located in the Shaheed Bhagat Singh Nagar district of Punjab. The cook of Nepalese origin was made a personal assistant due to his "loyalty" and was recently shifted to the human resource department of the company.
Media reports suggest that Bahadur declared less than Rs 1 lakh in his bank account over the last three years. Questions have been raised as to how a man of his means could manage to bag a Rs 26 crore quarry at the e-auction.
Kulvinder Paul Singh, another employee at Rana Sugars Limited, won the Mehadipur quarry for Rs 9.21 crore. Kulvinder, who is the deputy general manager of the company and deals with several government departments, told the Tribune that he had deposited the bid amount on Tuesday before the deadline.
A couple of Singh's other employees also feature in the list of 89 successful bidders. A man named Gurinder Singh, who handles cane operations at Rana Sugars, bagged a mining siteworth Rs 4.11 crore in Mohali district's Rampur Kalan village. Another employee named Balraj Singh, who also handles cane operations for the company, won a mining site in Bairsal village for Rs 10.58 crore.
Opposition parties demand probe
Opposition parties have alleged that Singh acquired sand and gravel mines through benami transactions in the name of his cook Bahadur and other staff members, PTI reported. The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) has demanded that Singh be sacked from his position. The SAD and the BJP have also demanded an investigation into the matter.
"The case should also be handed over to the Enforcement Directorate for probe as someone who was making 'paranthas' till last night has outbid 32 other bigwigs to acquire a Rs. 26.51 crore mining site," senior SAD leader Prem Singh Chandumajra said in a statement adding that Singh should be prosecuted under relevant sections of the Income Tax Act.
He added that the Punjab government must answer as to why it was "letting cooks and employees of Rana Gurjit, who were paid a couple of thousand as salary, to participate and win auctions by submitting bids of Rs. 50 crore."
Tarun Chugh, national secretary of the BJP was quoted by PTI as saying, "Rana Gurjit Singh's cook and other employees getting mining contracts worth crores is a classic example of what the Congressmen are up to... His cook Amit Bahadur got sand mines worth Rs. 26.51 crore in Saidpur Khurd of Nawanshahr. It is surprising as to how a person, cooking meals in Rana's Sugar Mill could participate in an auction and strike a deal worth over Rs. 26 crore."
Punjab minister denies allegations
Meanwhile, Singh has denied all charges saying that neither he nor his company or family members have any direct or indirect stakes in the sand mining business. He described the media reports of his employees bagging mining contracts as "incorrect" and said that they had left the job at his company a long time ago, a claim that could be verified from the company's records.
"Though I am personally not involved in the day-to-day functioning of my companies for the last two decades, I can say with command and confidence that neither any person working in these companies nor any of my family members has any interest or stake in sand mining business in Punjab," the minister was quoted by PTI as saying.
