Fastway Cables caused Rs 700 crore loss to state exchequer: Sidhu

Chandigarh, June 23 : Local Bodies Minister Navjot Singh Sidhu on Friday alleged that Fastway Cables caused a loss of Rs 700 crore to the state exchequer.
Speaking in the Punjab Assembly, he said that Fastway started with Rs 25 lakh and had profit of Rs 30 crore immediately and nothing was given to the treasury in ten years of Akali rule. Fastway Cables is owned by Gurdeep Singh of Jujhar Transport company. He alleged that only 1,25,000 cable connections were shown but actually 80 lakh connections existed. Out of 8,000 cable operators, 6500 were under Fastway, he said.  He sought an FIR against Fastway for laying wires without permission. “Fastway owed rent for hanging cables per pole. Punjab has 3 lakh poles,” he said, but not a single penny given. He demanded vigilance inquiry from Chief Minister Amarinder Singh against the “cable mafia”.