IEP 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.
