Chandigarh, March 27:
In a major gift to residents of Jalandhar, the Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann on Monday dedicated and kicked off development projects worth around Rs 100 crore to give facelift to the city.
The Chief Minister dedicated newly constructed automatic fermented milk product plant of Verka at a cost of Rs 84 crore to the city residents. Likewise, he also virtually inaugurated the Smart school at Basti Danishmanda at a cost of Rs 4.83 crore. Bhagwant Mann also laid foundation stone of roads and street lights to be installed at Leather complex in the city.
Meanwhile addressing the gathering, the Chief Minister said that Jalandhar will be developed as a model city in the coming days. He said that no stone will be left unturned for this noble cause. Bhagwant Mann also announced to give impetus to the sports industry in the city.
The Chief Minister said that in a major relief to the farmers of the state the state government has announced 25% upward revision in the compensation for the crop loss to the farmers. He said that in case the loss is more than 75% then the state government will compensate the farmers with Rs 15,000 per acre. Bhagwant Mann said that the motive is to ensure the well being of the farmers at all costs.
The Chief Minister said that the compensation was earlier only 12,000 but his government has decided to enhance it. He said that earlier the entire process was a sham as the government used to give meagre compensation to farmers. Bhagwant Mann said that instead of giving relief to farmers the previous governments used to rub salt into wounds of food growers.
The Chief Minster said that fully Automated Fermented Milk Product Plant with capacity of 1.25 lakh litre per day milk has been constructed at a cost of Rs.84 Crore. He said that it has fully automated Dahi Plant of 50 MT/ Day and Lassi processing and packaging infrastructure of 1.5 Lakh Litre/Day.
Bhagwant Mann envisioned that this step will go a long way in ensuring remunerative rate of milk to milk producers of Jalandhar, Kapurthala &SBS Nagar Districts besides providing direct or indirect employment opportunities to the youth and entrepreneurs of adjoining areas.
The Chief Minister said that a year ago the people of state had voted them to power by pressing a button on the EVM. Bhagwant Mann said that today within a year he is pressing four-five buttons daily for dedicating new projects to the people of the state. He said that the day is not far when due to strenuous efforts of state government, Punjab will emerge as frontrunner state in country.
The Chief Minister said that his government is making concerted efforts to eliminate the gap between rich & poor to create an egalitarian society. Bhagwant Mann said that the state government has taken path breaking initiatives in this regard. He said that focus is being laid on strengthening health and education sector along with providing jobs to the youth.
The Chief Minister said that Punjab Government has so far given 26797 jobs to youth across the state adding that the sole criteria for selection in this entire recruitment process is merit and the entire procedure is being followed in a transparent manner. He said that now these youth have become integral part of the socio-economic growth of state. Bhagwant Mann said that such a whopping number of jobs in merely one year reflect the commitment of the state government to ensure the well being of youth and opening new avenues of employment for them.
The Chief Minister said that 117 Schools of Eminence have been setup in 23 districts of the state to provide quality education to children. Bhagwant Mann said that these schools will focus on grooming students for five professional and competitive courses including engineering, law, commerce, UPSC and NDA.
The Chief Minister further said that the state government has dedicated more than 500 Aam Aadmi Clinics across the state to impart quality health services in the state. He said that these clinics are providing world class treatment and diagnostic facilities to the people free of cost. Bhagwant Mann said that so far 15 lakh patients have been benefitted from these Aam Aadmi clinics adding that 1.75 lakh patients have undergone free tests in merely few months.
Later on interacting with the media, the Chief Minister slammed the Union Government for step motherly treatment meted out with the states. He said that usurping of states legitimate rights by centre was weakening the federal structure of the country adding that Centre was blatantly ignoring the rights of States. He said that Governors appointed by the centre are acting as machines to suppress voice of democratically elected Governments. He said that the rights of state were being usurped by the Union government which was not a harmful trend for democracy and federal structure. Bhagwant Mann said that this autocratic attitude of the Union government is dangerous for the democratic setup.
The Chief Minister further said that Union government is unnecessarily harassing the state. He said that funds worth Rs 30000 crore under the RDF are still pending with the Union government. Bhagwant Mann said that while the state government has completed all the formalities but then also the centre government is was deliberately stalled the legitimate funds of the state including RDF and state’s share of GST. He said that even in another case the state was asked to get coal from its allotted mine via Sri Lanka which was not at all justified. Bhagwant Mann said that such false decisions are adversely affecting the centre-state relations.
On another query, the Chief Minister unequivocally said that the law will take its own course in Amritpal Singh’s case. He said that the state government has taken every decision consciously to maintain peace and amity across Punjab. Bhagwant Mann reiterated the firm commitment of state government to maintain law and order in the state at all costs.
The Chief Minister asserted that he is the votary of the fact that the democracy with diverse ideas and views is always a successful one. In the same manner, Bhagwant Mann said that in democracy opposition and ruling party both are important. He said that voice of people should be respected in democracy by all means.
