AAP’s mining chaos: Punjab gets fourth minister in 30 months

Chandigarh: With the latest cabinet reshuffle, the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) government in Punjab has appointed its fourth mines minister in just two-and-a-half years, highlighting its difficulties in handling critical sectors in the state.

Besides irrigation and mining, local bodies, public relations, prisons and rural development departments have also seen a new minister in every cabinet reshuffle in the last two-and-a-half years, indicating that governance is still a challenge for the AAP, which has a number of first-time MLAs.

In the 2022 parliamentary elections, the AAP has promised a stunning victory ₹20,000 crore in revenue from the mining sector. This ambitious figure appealed to voters, who voted for better governance, an end to the mining mafia and profitable sand and gravel mining.

The reality, however, is different. Reports suggest that the state has only been able to generate about ₹Rs 300 crore per year from mining activities, raising questions about the effectiveness of the government’s strategies.

The mining sector faces multiple challenges. Regulatory frameworks, environmental concerns and widespread illegal mining have complicated matters and driven up prices for sand and gravel, drawing criticism of the government.

The Irrigation and Mines Department was initially headed by Harjot Singh Bains, who was replaced by Gurmeet Singh Meet Hayer. However, the CM later removed the charge of Meet Hayer and gave it to administrative novice Chetan Singh Jouramajra, who failed to control illegal mining. On the contrary, he and his henchmen were accused of giving free rein to illegal miners. This led to his exit from the cabinet. Now, the charge of this department has been given to Birinder Kumar Goyal, who is also a first-time MLA. However, achieving the target of ₹Earning $20,000 crore from mining revenue is a tough task and not anyone can achieve it.

Now, the only alternative is to check illegal mining and provide sand and gravel to the public at lower cost to combat the soaring prices, an AAP leader said.

The local government department also saw a third minister. After the sacking of Inderbir Singh Nijjer, the charge was given to Balkar Singh, who has been under fire from the opposition over an allegedly shocking video. After his sacking, the department was given to Dr Ravjot Singh, who is a doctor by profession.

Similarly, the AAP has changed the prisons minister for the third time. The prisons department has been heavily criticised for ransom calls from gangsters from jail and later for corruption. Initially, the chief minister took charge of the department, removing Harjot Bains, but as the situation did not improve, he thought it better to hand over the charge to another minister, Laljit Singh Bhullar.

While Bhullar was given the charge of the prisons department, he was removed as rural development minister. Bhullar had been given the department after taking it over from Kuldeep Singh Dhaliwal. However, the department has now been handed over to the newly appointed Tarunpreet Singh Sodh.

Similarly, the public relations department was transferred from the chief minister to Aman Arora, then to Chetan Singh Jouramajra and now to Harjot Bains, making it the fourth such change.

Punjab Pradesh Congress Committee president Amarinder Singh Raja Warring said, “The AAP government is functioning like a headless chicken, devoid of any sense of governance. The frequent cabinet changes within the party can be seen as a desperate attempt to address these concerns, reflecting a government that is struggling to achieve its own ambitious goals. Most of the AAP leaders have no experience of governance, so Punjabis are suffering and the state is sliding into a debt trap.”