Hooda's announcement is being seen in the light of the impending assembly polls in the state to be held Oct 13. The state has a sizeable Sikh population.

'The Haryana government is just playing politics and it is not at all interested in the welfare of Sikhs. They do not facilitate us whenever we approach them with some developmental project,' stated Makkar.

'We had mooted a proposal of setting up a Rs.125 crore (Rs.1.25 billion) medical college and hospital in Shahabad in Haryana. But for the last four years, they have not given us an NOC. We want to establish schools and colleges in Haryana but the state government creates hurdles in our path,' said Makkar.

The SGPC, headquartered at the Golden Temple complex in Amritsar, is dominated by the ruling Akali Dal in Punjab.

'Despite the fact that huge number of Sikhs live in Haryana, they have not given the Punjabi language the status of 'second language' in the state,' said Makkar.

Usually, the SGPC takes 30 percent of the gurdwara income and 70 percent is spent on the development of the shrine.

'The SGPC wants overall development of Haryana gurdwaras. Depending on the need, we are ready to spend the entire income on the gurdwara and have no vested interest in it,' said Makkar.