VIGILANCE BUREAU NABS ASI FOR TAKING RS 10,000 BRIBE
Chandigarh December 31 – The Punjab Chief Minister Mr. Parkash Singh
Badal said here today that the emphasis of the SAD-BJP government in
Punjab in 2016 would continue to be on peace, communal harmony and
development.
“Punjab today is the most peaceful, the most developed and the
fasting developing state in the country, and we are committed to
preserve peace and maintain a high tempo in pace of development in
the years to come also,” said the Chief Minister in his eve-of-new
year statement here today.
“Despite vicious propaganda, every Punjabi is proud of his state.
Admittedly, there are challenges, as in the farming sector for
instance, but the government is taking every challenge head on and is
determined to defeat every challenge in the true, never-say-die
Punjabi spirit. This resolve will mark our functioning in the new year
too,” said Mr Badal.
Mr. Badal regretted the tendency in some of the government’s
opponents to damage the image of the great state in their desperate
bid to defame the government. He said that these opponents not only
try to lower the morale of the people of the state but even go the
extent of disturbing the hard earned atmosphere of peace and communal
harmony. “In 2015, peace and communal harmony were put under severe
strain by some rejected, desperate and cynical elements who were
desperate to gain political relevance by taking political advantage
out of an atmosphere of suspicion , uncertainty and bitterness. They
tried to revive their ‘divide and rule’ card during this year and did
not spare even the holy Shri Guru Granth Sahib from their political
opportunism and adventurism. But the SAD-BJP responded with vigour and
commitment and successfully mobilized the Punjabis to defeat those
forces and save Punjab from being pushed back into the dark era of the
1980s and 90s. We will continue our work for strengthening the
sentiment of peace and communal harmony and will step up the tempo of
development even further. ” said Mr Badal.
Mr Badal described the incidents of sacrilege of Shri Guru Granth
Sahib as the “most painful moments” of my life and said that he was
pained to see politics being played even on this extremely sensitive
issue.” He said that the government acted with firmness in dealing
with those responsible for this heinous outrage against humanity and
will ensure that every guilty person is made to face the law of the
land in all its severity.
On development and financial health of the state, Mr Badal
regretted that some political elements and parties were acting with
utter irresponsibility and working day and night to defame Punjab as a
rotten and banktrupt state and to tarnish the image of the Punjabis by
declaring most of them as drug addicts. “ They are working on the
belief that they will be able to destroy the traditional gusto and
energy of Punjabis by filling them with defeatist thoughts about their
state. But even a routine drive through Punjab can convince every
unbiased and unprejudiced observer that the state is developing in
leaps and bounds and is already so well developed and advanced that it
no longer looks to be a part of the third world. Punjab is already
knocking on the doors of the advanced world for entry into a new age
and Punjabis are proud of their state, despite the efforts of some
group to fill the people here with pessimism and negativism,” said the
Chief Minister.
Mr Badal said that the government’s War on Drugs showed definite
results and we have already turned the corner on the issue.
The Chief Minister said that a few stray but most unfortunate
incidents, like the one in Abohar, did take place, and the government
acted promptly and without prejudiced and none of the accused is being
spared. “There were in nine years about four or five incidents in
all . “ We believe that even these four or five incidents should never
have happened. But these did not reflect the overall atmosphere in
Punjab which remained peaceful and the rule of law prevailed
everywhere. Whenever some one was found violating the rule of law,
the government came down with a heavy hand against the culprits and
none of the accused was spared in any such case., “ said Mr Badal.
Listing the achievements of his government, the CM said that there
were massive strides in every field . “We made the state power
surplus, something which our critics had described as a pipe dream. We
also realized the ‘impossible dream’ of putting the international
airport in place. We continued free fpower to farmers and stepped up
relief and help to the poor and dalit and other backward sections. We
brought world class infrastructure to the state which today boasts of
IIM, AIIMS Hospital and Post Graduate Institute of Horticulture
Research. Punjab continues to get awards for the finest
infrastructure and highest consumer purchase power in the country.
These are signs of a state that is firmly in a high development
trajectory, and not what our political opponents say,” said the CM
The Chief Minister said that Punjab employees continue to be the
highest paid in the country, Punjab was the only state giving free
power to its farmers, shagun to its dalit and poor population,
subsidized atta daal for the poor. We are now giving a 50,000 free
medical treatment facility to our farmers, traders and other poor
sections.
Mr Badal said that the government is set to transform the face of
the rural and urban Punjab with an unprecedented development. All
cities in the state will be connected with world class four or six
lane express ways and Rs. 18000 crore have been set aside for it.
Sri Guru Gobind Singh Marg from Sri Anandpur Sahib to Takht Sri Hazur
Sahib in Nanded via Talwandi Sabo will soon be in the national
highways project. We have got Punjab included in the Adarsh Gram
Yojna” scheme, which was aimed at transforming the fortunes of SC
population in the state.
Mr Badal said that international agencies including the world bank
have rated Punjab as one of the most investment friendly places in the
world. “They are talking about a state which our political opponents
try to paint as a dismal state,” said the CM. He said that the
country’s biggest names in business and industry have started flocking
to the state, as was seen in the two Investment Summits.
The CM said that farmers in the country were facing a major crisis.
Biut in Punjab, we are trying to help them in the most liberal way .
We ensured that each and every grain of wheat was lifted in year 2015
that was damaged by untimely rain. Likewise Rs 540 Crore arrears was
paid to sugarcane growers by farmers by Government besides arranging
Rs 200 Crore loan to Private Sugar Mills for sugarcane arrears. Punjab
Government has also decided to give Rs 295 per quintal for sugar cane
against Rs 220 fixed by the Centre. In the same manner Rs 644 Crore
was given as compensation to farmers for loss of cotton crop by White
Fly and Rs 64 crore for farm labour. Rs 8000 per acre Compensation for
cotton crop damaged above 33%. Similarly government purchase of 1509
Paddy at MSP was ensured. In a major reprieve to farmers compensation
for loss of crop due to natural calamities has been enhanced from Rs
3600 above 75% loss to Rs 8000 above 33% loss. state government was
paying Rs 2600 from budget.
The CM said that the government is focusing on making governance
transparent and people friendly and for this a wave of governance
reforms have already been put in place, such is making key works like
vehicle registration, licenses, FIR, revenue records like fards
available online.
“We have gone out of our way to preserve its rich cultural legacy
by building world class monuments of all religions and communities in
the state.
The state government has decided to double the pensions given to
people under the social security schemes besides hiking the honorarium
of the Nambardars. Apart from this in case of accidental death or
incapacitation of a head of registered family under this scheme, the
affected family would get compensation of Rs.5 lakh.
“These are only some of the highlights of the work we are doing in
Punjab. We are determined to take the state forward for making it the
best place to live in on the planet.We will not be deterred by
dooms-dayers. The whole world knows that once Punjabi set their minds
on something, they always achieve their targets,” said Mr Badal.
