DURING LAST ONE YEAR THE STATE GOVERNMENT HAS MADE ARDUOUS EFFORTS TO REJUVENATE THE GLORY OF PUNJAB: SAYS GOVERNOR

LISTS SEVERAL PRO-PEOPLE AND DEVELOPMENT ORIENTED POLICIES OF THE STATE GOVERNMENT

Chandigarh, March 3-

Governor of Punjab Mr Banwari Lal Purohit on Friday said that in the last one year the state government has made arduous efforts to rejuvenate the glory of Punjab.

In his address during the Budget session of the Punjab Vidhan Sabha, the Governor said that people of Punjab gave his government an opportunity to serve them for the first time. He said that his government began with the goal of delivering on all our promises not withstanding severe financial constraints. Mr Purohit said that the motto of his government is to provide its people, a transparent governance and for this, his government has adopted a Zero Tolerance Policy towards corruption.

The Governor said that to eradicate corruption from the State, his government has launched Anti-Corruption Action Line adding that from March 16,2022 to February 28, 2023 Vigilance Bureau, Punjab has registered cases under various sections of the Prevention of Corruption Act. He said that state government is committed to provide employment to the youth of the state. Mr Purohit said that in the last one year 26,797 Appointment Letters have been distributed to the eligible beneficiaries.

The Governor said that the state government is according top priority to health and education sectors. He said that 504 Aam Aadmi Clinics have been opened in the state to impart quality health services to people. Mr Purohit said that Punjab is one of the three front ranking States with 99.24o/o institutional deliveries as per HMIS data adding that Infant Mortality Rate in the State has been reduced to 18 per 1000 live births.

The Governor said that In order to improve the quality of education in the State, his Government has notified a Policy of Welfare of Ad hoc, Contractual, Temporary Teachers and Other Employees working in School Education. Pursuant to this Policy, 13,769 applications of candidates have been received so far for regularization of their services. He said that the Government has launched a flagship program – ‘schools of Eminence’ on January 21, 2023 under which 117 Government Senior Secondary Schools have been selected to be transformed into ‘Schools of Eminence’ which will cater to the students of classes IX to XII. Mr Purohit said that these Schools will be built on five pillars of support and strength i.e. Infrastructure, Academics, Human Resource Management, Sports & Co-curricular Activities and Community Engagement to nurture individual ability and skills valuable for higher education, employment and training of students.

The Governor said that an International Education Affairs Cell (IEAC) has been established to provide world class training to teachers, school heads and educational administrators working at different levels in the School Education Department. He said that first batch of trainees consisting of 36 Principals/Education officers has been sent to Principals Academy, Singapore for Leadership Development Program. Mr Purohit said that Power is the most vital necessity for an agrarian State like Punjab referred to as ‘Food Bowl of India’.

The Governor said that Punjab has ensured 24×7 Power to more than one crore consumers adding that despite of the nationwide coal crisis this year, his government has met its all-time high peak demand during paddy season. He said that Pachhwara Central Coal Mine, closed for past 7 years due to legal issues was operationalized giving the State access to cheaper and higher quality coal. Mr Purohit said that True to its commitment, his government has granted free 600 units of electricity bimonthly/300 units of electricity monthly to all domestic consumers, for consumption of electricity from July 2022.

The Governor said that For the first time, over 90% domestic consumers received Zero Bill. He said that right hours regular electric supply was given to Agriculture Consumers. Likewise, the Governor said that Pending domestic bills amounting to Rs.1298 crore have also been waived off in line with the Government’s commitment.

The Governor said that state government is deeply concerned about depleting ground water. He said that for its better management and conservation, an incentive of Rs.1500 per acre is being given to the farmers for Direct-Sowing of Rice (DSR). Mr Purohit said that Total funds of Rs.25.06 crore have been released during kharif season for 1,69,008 acres of land verified under DSR.

The Governor said that To promote crop diversification in the State, state Government has purchased Moong for the first time at MSP of Rs 7275- per quintal and a total of Rs.61.85 crore was transferred to bank accounts of 15,737 farmers. He said that state government is providing machinery at subsidized rates to manage crop residue. Mr. Purohit said that cases of paddy stubble burning had drastically reduced from 71,304 in 2021-22 to 49,922 in 2022-23 which has been possible only because of the efforts of state government in ex-situ and in-situ management of stubble, awareness campaigns, monitoring and effective enforcement of law.

The Governor said that state government has also increased the Sugarcane procurement price by Rs.20 and also cleared long pending dues of 492 Crores. He said that Crop diversification is the need of hour and to encourage this, 23 districts have been classified into six Agro Climatic Zones according to the adaptability of the crops. The Governor said that First ever Kisan-Sarkar Milni program was organized at PAU in Ludhiana to involve farmers into policy making adding that more than 15000 farmers participated in it and expressed their views.

The Governor said that a special campaign was launched to take possession of illegally encroached Shamlat Land. He said that under this campaign possession of total of 9447 Acre has been taken so far by my government. Mr Purohit said that Measures are being taken to take possession of remaining Gram Panchayat land during the next year.

The Governor said that as a mark of respect towards the patriotic and brave soldiers of the State, the state government has enhanced Ex-Gratia to next of kin of martyred jawans of State from existing Rs.50 lakh to Rs.1.00 crore. He said that state Government is committed to the welfare of the Scheduled Castes, Backward Classes and Economically Weaker Sections of the State. Mr Purohit said that Under Ashirwad Scheme, Financial assistance of Rs.100 crore to 19,646 beneficiaries of Scheduled Castes and Rs.61.61 crore to 12,090 beneficiaries of Backward Classes and Economically Weaker Sections has been provided during the year 2022- 23.

The Governor said that For the smooth and transparent implementation of this Scheme, ‘Ashirwad Portal’ has been launched for online acceptance of applications under this Scheme. He said that in order to prevent misuse of SC scholarship, Dr,Ambedkar Scholarship Poftal has been opened for inviting online applications adding that Total 2,47,049 applications have been received. Mr Purohit said that state Government is keen to reform medical education in the State by establishing new Medical Colleges in the State.

The Governor said that state Government is according top priority to the welfare of youth. He said that considering ‘Sports’ as a key to youth development, a total budget of Rs.229 crore has been allocated for the year 2022-23, which is 38.14 percent higher as compared to the previous year. Also, Mr Purohit said that a State- Wide Sports tournament named ‘Khedan Vatan Punjab Diyan-2022’ was conducted from Block to the State level where around 3 lakh players participated and Rs.6.85 crore prize money was distributed to 9961 winning players.

The Governor said that state government has also distributed a prize money of Rs.9.30 crore to the players of State who won medals in Commonwealth Games-2022 held at Birmingham during August, 2022. He said that a new Sports Policy is being prepared to raise the standard of Sports, in which a Committee, comprising of Sports Experts, has been formed. Mr Purohit said that to develop sports at School and College level, 4750 spofts trainees were admitted in Sports Wing of Schools and 1000 in Sports Wing of Colleges.

The Governor said that Drug addiction can be eliminated by providing employment to the youth of State so the state government has incurred an expenditure of Rs.29.97 crore to provide jobs to 20,661 candidates through 1,766 placement camps/job fairs/self- employment camps and others. He said that skill training to 36,841 unemployed youth was provided under Punjab Skill Development Mission, out of which 23,869 youth were facilitated to get gainful wage employment from April 2022 to January 2023. Mr Purohit said that state government is committed to promote industrial development in the State.

The Governor said that For this, new Industrial & Business Development Poliol 2022 has been unveiled with focus on attractive incentives both for existing and new units. He said that state Government has allotted Industrial Chunks through mode of e-auction to large corporates like M/s Tata Steel Limited, M/s Sanathan Polycot Private Limited & M/s Cargill India Private Limited to set up their projects. Mr Purohit said that state government has received 2295 investment proposals with proposed investment of about Rs.41,043 crore, which will provide employment to about 2,50,585 youth.

The Governor said that Department of Civil Aviation and Invest Punjab intend has developed a ‘Centre of Excellence’ for Maintenance, Repair and Overhaul of electrical and mechanical aggregates of civil and military aircraft engine components and avionics at Patiala Aviation Complex. He said that the state government is committed for enabling an environment of efficient, transparent and accessible administration through e-governance. Mr Purohit said that state Government is also in the process of introducing doorstep delivery to citizens adding that the issue of receipts and delivery of ceftificates through WhatsApp shall be introduced.

The Governor said that the functioning of the State Legislative Assembly shall be made paperless under National e-Vidhan Application (NeVA) project and, thus, making it easier to trace decisions and documents as well as to share information for transparent and answerable processes. He said that state Government will never compromise on law and security of its people adding that enough funds have been allotted to Police department in the financial year 2022-23. Mr Purohit said that to effectively combat gangster culture and restore people’s confidence in law-and-order machinery, Anti-Gangster Task Force (AGTF) headed by an ADGP rank officer has been formed and this unit has spearheaded dedicated operations against the gangsters and criminals in the state and other parts of the country.

The Governor said that this state government is committed to provide civic amenities in 163 towns of Punjab where 40 percent population lives. He said that Projects worth Rs.1500 crore for 24×7 canal-based water supply projects at Patiala, Jalandhar and Amritsar are under execution. Mr Purohit said that Canal basd 24×7 water supply proJect for Ludhiana, amounting to Rs.1537 crore is under tendering.

Likewise, the Governor also said that the work for Rejuvenation of Budha Daria at Ludhiana with a cost of Rs.650 crore is in progress and is expected to be completed in this year. He said that urban Punjab has achieved 99 % door to door collection of solid waste with source segregation. Mr Purohit said that it is planned to be augmented to 100 % by March 2023 and December 2023, respectively adding that state government plans to remediate all 152 legacy waste dump sites by March, 2024.

The Governor said that state Government has started a new initiative to reach out to the common masses as per which district level officers are visiting the field areas under their jurisdiction and resolving the grievances of general public on the spot. He said that state Government has started luxury bus services from various cities of Punjab to Delhi Airport at affordable prices. Mr Purohit said that learning driving license can now be obtained online, thus, providing real time online services.

Listing several other pro-people and development oriented policies of the state government, the Governor complimented all the Members for actively pafticipating in the activities of the august House. Mr. Purohit said that he is confident that all will serve Punjab and its people with utmost dedication and sincerity and will cooperate with state Government in its endeavour to take the Punjab forward on the path of development and make it corruption free. The Governor said that he was sanguine that we all will walk together step-by-step to re-establish’ Rangla Punjab’.