Punjab gets fourth mining minister in 30 months

way2barak, Sept 24: am Aadmi Party (AAP) government in Punjab has appointed its fourth mining minister in just two-and-a-half years, pointing at its struggle with managing critical state sectors.

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

During the 2022 assembly elections, AAP promised a staggering ₹20,000 crore revenue from the mining sector. This ambitious figure captivated voters, who voted for better governance, an end to the mining mafia and cost-effective sand and gravel.

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

Punjab Pradesh Congress Committee president Amarinder Singh Raja Warring said, “The AAP government is running like a headless chicken, lacking any sense of governance. The party’s frequent ministerial changes may be perceived as a desperate attempt to address these concerns, reflecting a government struggling to meet its own ambitious goals. Most AAP leaders have no experience of governance, thus Punjabis are suffering and the state is slipping into a debt trap.”