IEP Chandigarh, January 10
Punjab Cabinet Minister Dr. Balbir Singh today assumed charge of the Health & family Welfare, Medical Education & Research and Elections Departments in the presence of his Cabinet colleagues Finance Minister Mr. Harpal Singh Cheema, Social Security Minister Dr. Baljit Kaur, Rural Development and Panchayat Minister Mr. Kuldeep Singh Dhaliwal, Education Minister Mr. Harjot Singh Bains, Information and Public Relations Minister Mr. Aman Arora, Horticulture and Freedom Fighter Minister Mr. Chetan Singh Jauramajra besides Mr. Kulwant Singh, Mr. Harmeet Singh Pathanmajra, Mr. Ajit Pal Singh Kohli, Kulwant Singh Shutrana, Mr. Gurlal Singh Ghanaur (all MLAs) and Mr. Raman Behl, Chairman Punjab Health System Corporation. Dr. Balbir Singh, MLA from Patiala Rural, who won the 2022 Assembly Election by a whopping margin of over 50000 votes, expressed gratitude towards the Party National Convenor & Delhi Chief Minister Mr. Arvind Kejriwal and Punjab Chief Minister Mr. Bhagwant Mann and assured that he would discharge the responsibility assigned to him with full dedication and honesty. Interacting with the media persons, Dr. Balbir Singh said that the Delhi model of development has been popularized in the country and abroad, and the Delhi model will be delivered in each and every corner of the state of Punjab. The Health Minister said, “health and education are the areas of the core concern of Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann led government. Therefore, it will be my priority that the health programs should be implemented at the grassroots level to provide quality primary, secondary & tertiary healthcare facilities to the people”. The health sector will be taken to greater heights with the cooperation of the government and the private sector, he added. The Cabinet Ministers present on the occasion, expressed hope that Dr. Balbir Singh being a hardworking, capable and visionary leader would take the departments to new heights of glory. Dr. Balbir Singh himself is a renowned doctor and knows the nuances of the health sector. A renowned eye surgeon and a philanthropist, Dr. Balbir Singh has been providing low cost eye care to the farmers and the poor masses since last four decades. As a doctor, he had treated lakhs of patients at a very low cost and donated the gift of vision to over 30,000 blind patients besides distributing free medicines to tens of thousands of patients. Patients from the entire northern region, especially from the states of Jammu Kashmir, Himachal Pradesh, Punjab and Haryana throng to Patiala for getting treatment by Dr. Balbir Singh. The recipients of many awards from state governments across the country, Dr. Balbir Singh organised a free medicines and medical service langar at Delhi borders during the farmers agitation against the draconian farm laws.