Chandigarh, September 21:
On the directions of the Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann to ensure holistic development of the state, the Punjab Chief Secretary Vijay Kumar Janjua today directed the officers to give fillip to development of Aspirational Districts viz Ferozepur & Moga.
Chairing a meeting to review the development of Aspirational Districts viz Ferozepur & Moga, the Chief Secretary said that the work must be accomplished in a time bound and result oriented manner. He said that Aspirational District Programme(ADP) was launched in January, 2018 with aim of expeditiously improving the socio-economic status of 112 Districts from across 28 States in India. He said that two districts of Punjab viz. Moga and Ferozepur have been selected under this ambitious project.
The Chief Secretary said that these Districts were identified on the basis of composite index, comprising challenges faced by them in terms of poverty, poor health and nutrition, education status and deficient infrastructure. He said that ADP focuses on five themes- Health & Nutrition, Education, Agriculture & Water Resources, Financial Inclusion & Skill Development and Basic Infrastructure. He said that a sum of Rs.18 Cr and Rs.9 Cr for various projects has been released as Reward Money for Ferozepur and Moga District respectively for securing good rank in overall category/different themes.
Chief Secretary directed the Deputy Commissioner Ferozepur and Moga to complete the projects at the earliest and within the stipulated time period. He further directed to integrate the funds received under District Mineral Foundation with allocation made to the Aspirational Districts to give impetus to the Aspirational Districts Programme. He also directed both the Deputy Commissioners to ensure completion of all projects well before the deadline.
