Assurances, promises galore in Punjab Guv's Budget speech

| | Chandigarh
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Assurances, promises galore in Punjab Guv's Budget speech

Wednesday, 13 February 2019 | Monika Malik | Chandigarh

In the last assembly session before the Lok Sabha polls, the Congress-led Punjab Government, through the Governor’s Address, on Tuesday doled out assurances and promises to various “afflicted” sections, including the teachers, and the state government employees, while underscoring its achievements in controlling drugs, waiving of farmers’ loans, among others.

On back-foot following the police action against the protesting teachers on Sunday at Patiala, Punjab Government conveyed through Governor VP Singh Badnore that the State Government was “seriously concerned” about the grievances of its employees, including the teachers, and their issues will soon be “addressed effectively”.

“My Government is seriously concerned about woes of teachers and it shall take all possible measures to redress their grievances. In fact, not only the teachers, the grievances of all employees of the state are receiving full attention of my government and these shall soon be addressed effectively as the government does not want its dynamic work force to suffer any disadvantage or handicap in any manner,” said Badnore while addressing the legislators on the first day of the budget session.

Notably, the Punjab Government has been under fire from the opposition over the use of water cannons, and lathi-charge on the protesting teachers at Patiala on Sunday to protest against the conditions for their regularisation leaving a dozen of them, including women, severely injured.

Apart from that, the ruling regime is also facing severe criticism from its employees over the non-payment of dearness allowance and its arrears.

Speaking at length about Capt Amarinder Singh-led State Government's policies and programmes intended for the people’s welfare, Bandore assured the House “his government” was committed to pursue and take to their logical conclusion the investigations into the sacrilege cases and the false cases registered during the previous regime.

He said that action against those who registered false cases during the previous regime was continuing as per the recommendations of the Commission of Enquiry headed by Justice Mehtab Singh Gill and it shall be taken to its logical conclusion.

Likewise, Badnore said that the government was committed to pursuing the recommendations of the Commission of Enquiry headed by Justice Ranjit Singh, who probed the cases of sacrilege in the State in the year 2015-16, and these will be taken to their logical conclusion, allowing the law to take its full course.

Regarding the farming sector, the Governor noted that the farmers’ welfare remained the “undeterred priority” of his Government. “My government has notified a farm debt relief scheme and it was being implemented with 5.83 lakh small and marginal farmers being provided loan relief to the tune of Rs 4,736 crore,” he said.

“My government is fully convinced that farmers' income can be doubled with greater ease and speed only by assisting them in subsidiary occupations such as dairy farming, piggery, goat farming, poultry,” he said in his 55-minute speech.

Without mentioning the SYL canal, Badnore said that the Government had taken every possible administrative and legal measure to protect the state's river water. “Punjab does not have surplus water and is, in fact, threatened with a water famine in not too far a future,” he said while expressing hope that the Central Government would take a realistic view of the “looming water crisis in Punjab and helps the state in avoiding the same before the state turned in a desert and millions of Punjabis lose their livelihood”.

While throwing light on the “financial crunch” and the poor fiscal situation Punjab is in, Badnore pointed at the improving financial figures with the state government’s persistent efforts.

Blaming the erstwhile SAD-BJP Government for financial imprudence resulting in outstanding liability of Rs 13,039 crore in March 2017, Bandore said that his government made every possible effort to revive State's economy.

“It has reduced the resource gap to Rs 4175 crore in 2017-18 and increased the revenue receipts by 23 percent in December 2018. It has brought down State's fiscal deficit to GSDP of 2.65 percent in 2017-18 as against 12.34 percent in 2016-17,” he said.

The Governor also patted the back of his government for neutralising gangsters and busting 19 terror modules, action taken against drug smugglers and peddlers in the last two years.

Besides, he apprised the members of various programmes launched by the Government to mark historic 550th prakash purab of Guru Nanak Dev, while welcoming the historic laying of the foundation stone of a corridor to Sri Kartarpur Sahib (in Pakistan) on November 26, 2018.

“The state government shall spare no effort to make this corridor operational by the coming Maha Gurpurab on November 12, 2019,” he announced while giving details of the programmes planned by his government to commemorate the Centenary of the tragic Jallianwala Bagh massacre, which falls on April 13, 2019, and the celebration of the 150th birth anniversary of the Father of the Nation Mahatma Gandhi.

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