Former Punjab Health Minister and senior Congress leader Balbir Singh Sidhu has questioned the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) government, stating that while it continues to burden Punjab with increasing debt, it has completely failed to recover outstanding government dues from major real estate developers. Sidhu said that nearly 20 real estate promoters have failed to pay more than ₹1,000 crore in government dues.
All these projects are located in Mohali and fall under the jurisdiction of GMADA. Most notably, the list of defaulters reportedly includes Janta Land Promoters, linked to AAP MLA Kulwant Singh from Mohali, with outstanding dues of approximately ₹152 crore. He said that when ordinary citizens are subjected to strict recovery measures for electricity bills, water bills, taxes, and other government dues, it raises serious questions as to why crores of rupees owed by ruling party legislators and large builders are not being recovered.
He asked what special concessions are being extended to them. Sidhu further stated that the Punjab government is taking fresh loans worth thousands of crores every month, pushing the state deeper into debt. If the government cannot recover its legitimate dues from such defaulters, it raises serious concerns about both its intent and administrative capability.
He described it as unfortunate and discriminatory that Punjab's farmers are forced to struggle for their rights, are denied loan waivers, and receive notices even for small outstanding amounts. However, when it comes to AAP legislators and influential builders, the government appears to remain silent.
According to Sidhu, this clearly indicates that there is one set of rules for ordinary citizens and farmers and another for builders allegedly favored by the ruling party. The people of Punjab want to know why the government is being so lenient toward these major defaulters and why public money is not being recovered from them.
He said Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann should clarify whether separate rules exist for AAP leaders and companies linked to them. If Mohali alone accounts for nearly ₹1,000 crore in pending dues, one can imagine the scale of such outstanding amounts across Punjab.
Sidhu demanded that all GMADA defaulters be compelled to clear their dues immediately and without any political interference so that further losses to the state exchequer can be prevented.