*PUNJAB TO BECOME POWER SURPLUS STATE BY THE END OF NEXT YEAR- CM
*CM UPGRADES KOT ISSE KHAN TOWNAS SUB TEHSIL AND NAGAR PANCHAYAT
*DEVELOPMENTAL GRANTS WORTH RS 2.82 CRORES DISBURSED TO 67 VILLAGE PANCHAYATS
Fatehgarh Panjtoor (Moga) – Punjab Chief Minister Mr Parkash Singh Badal today slammed the Congress led UPA government at the centre for deliberately spoiling the precious food grains by not providing the permission to Punjab government for constructing the silos for storing them.
Talking to the media persons on the sidelines of his second day of his Sangat Darshan programme in the Dharamkot Assembly segment Mr Badal said that it was very unfortunate that the farmers of the state by their immense hard work were providing the grains to the country but the apathetic Union government is not at all bothered to store it properly. He asserted that as Punjab was serving the needs of the country by making it self sufficient in food grain production so it becomes the utmost duty of the Union Government to ensure adequate facilities of storage and timely movement of the food grains. But Mr Badal regretted that despite of the fact that they had been requesting the Government of India (GoI) time and again for setting up of silos on scientific lines, no heed has been paid towards their requests. He said the movement of grains is to be carried out by the railways which were under the exclusive control of Centre but as they have failed to perform their duty so the situation has aggrieved further.
Lambasting the Union government the Chief Minister said that the Union government was infact conspiring to ruin the economy of the state adding that the continuous hike in the prices of agriculture inputs like diesel and fertilisers which aims towards breaking the backbone of the Punjab’s economy is also a part of this conspiracy. “The SAD-BJP government is committed for the welfare of the farmers of the state and we will not allow the Union government to ruin the farmers” he added.
Giving another example of the discrimination of the Union government with the Punjab the Chief Minister said that the state was not getting its due share in the revenue collected from taxes and only 38% of the total revenue collected from the state was given to them, which was too miniscule. He said that the Union government was largely focusing on getting the credit for welfare works by starting the schemes that too by the money collected from the states, which was totally unjustified. He demanded that out of the remaining 62% also the Union government must give some more funds to state so as to ensure the welfare works in Punjab.
Replying a query regarding the Power situation in the state the Chief Minister asserted that owing to path breaking initiatives taken by the SAD-BJP government for power generation, the state would become a power surplus state by the end of next year. He said that the state government was committed for the all round development of the state and no stone would be left unturned for it.
Commenting on the demand of various government employee unions of the state for implementing the 4-9-14 scheme, the Chief Minister said that they have already accepted more than 90% of the genuine demands of the employees adding that the remaining ones would also be accepted after examining them. Mr Badal also said that the state government has taken many steps for the welfare of the employees and promotions along with hike in salaries, in parity with the current inflation had been given to them in an unprecedented manner.
Mr Badal also reiterated that the people of Mansa region want that Peona Thermal plant should be established in village Gobindpura of the district due to which more than 90% of the farmers have given their consent wilfully for acquiring the land. However he said that certain organisations who do not want to see a prosperous Punjab were politicising the issue. The Chief Minister reiterated that as per their policy of land acquisition the state government was not inclined to acquire even an inch of land without the express consent of the farmers.
Later on during the Sangat Darshan programme at Kot Isse Khan the Chief Minister accepted the long pending demand of the residents to give the status of Sub Tehsil to the town along with upgrading its status from Gram Panchayat to Nagar Panchayat. He said that the status of Sub Tehsil to Kot Isse Khan would provide a new impetus to the all round development of the town. On the occasion the Chief Minister gave 20 bicycles to the girls studying in the schools under its flagship programme of Mai Bhago Scheme. On the occasion Mr Badal said that the state government was committed for imparting quality education for the girls to empower them so that they could become ideal citizens of the society.
The Chief Minister disbursed a grant of Rs 2.82 crores to 67 village panchayats falling in Dharamkot assembly segment during the Sangat Darshan programme. He also asked the Deputy Commissioner (DC) of Moga to organise village level camps for providing tube well connections to Panchayats for irrigating the waste lying common land in the villages, which could supplement income of the concerned village panchayat. Meanwhile Jaswinder Singh Sidhu the President of ETT Teachers Union Punjab, who had unsuccessfully contested the election for SGPC from Dharamkot as candidate of Panthic Morcha, joined the fold of SAD in the presence of the Chief Minister. Welcoming him to party Mr Badal hoped that the leader would contribute in strengthening the party. Similarly expressing faith in leadership of the Chief Minister, Sidhu said that he would untiringly work for the welfare of the party.
Prominent amongst those present on the occasion included Lok Sabha MP from Faridkot Bibi Paramjeet Kaur Gulshan, Chief Parliamentary Secretary Mr Sheetal Singh, Former Minister Jathedar Tota Singh, Chairman Zila Parishad Mr Gurbax Singh Kapure, SGPC Member Gurmeet Singh and Youth Akali leader Mr Barjinder Singh Brar.
