Punjab Governor Banwari Lal Purohit on Friday reiterated the firm commitment of the state government to bridge the gap between the privileged and the marginalized, to ensure that the fruits of development reach every section of society.
In his address during the sixth session of 16th Punjab Vidhan Sabha, the Governor said that the journey of Punjab, our vibrant state, is intertwined with the indomitable spirit of its people, who have time and again demonstrated resilience, determination, and a relentless pursuit of progress. He said that today it is imperative for us to acknowledge the challenges that confront us and chart a course towards a future that is defined by prosperity, inclusivity and sustainable development. Banwari Lal Purohit said that one of the foremost priorities of my Government is to foster an environment of inclusive growth, where every citizen of Punjab has equal opportunities to thrive and prosper.
The Governor said that his Government has successfully launched the last mile delivery of ration to every household in Punjab under the scheme Ghar Ghar Muft Ration. He said that the state government has launched several groundbreaking schemes in the important sectors of Health and Education. He said that 664 Aam Aadmi Clinics are successfully operational throughout the state of Punjab adding that a total of 1.07 crores of people have visited the clinics to seek the medical treatment. Banwari Lal Purohit said that Medicines worth Rs. 450 crores at the prevailing market rates and diagnostic tests worth Rs. 70 crores have been provided to the patients at these clinics.
The Governor said that the state government is committed to provide free medicines to all the patients in Government Hospitals adding that this year, medicines worth Rs. 222 crore have been purchased for supply of free medicines in Government Hospitals. He said that the state Government is committed to provide X-rays and Ultrasound facility in all the District Hospitals, Sub-Divisional Hospitals and Community Health Centres. Banwari Lal Purohit said that a comprehensive plan has been made for the upgradation of buildings of all the District Hospitals over the next three years.
The Governor further said that his Government has started “Punjab Sikhya Kranti” to improve infrastructure in all Government schools adding that as a part of this campaign work on building boundary walls in 7082 schools has started and out of these 1429 schools are getting boundary walls for the first time. He said that till now 12126 schools have received internet connection, 4369 toilets in the schools have been repaired and In addition to that 95,000 dual desks are being provided to government schools. Banwari Lal Purohit said that state Government is committed to make 118 Government Senior Secondary Schools as Schools of Eminence adding that these schools will be equipped with smart classrooms, fully equipped labs and playgrounds for scientific learning.
The Governor said that with all these efforts the enrollment in government schools has been increased by around 17% in Pre- primary classes.
He said that state Government has ensured to make canal water
available to farmers at the tail ends who were deprived of canal water for years. He said that during this year, utilization of canal water has increased by more than 38% during the period when there was peak demand of water adding that this was made possible due to the timely cleaning of the canals and the daily monitoring of canals with the help of technology. Banwari Lal Purohit said that 45 canals with an approximate length of 400 kilometres, which were lying abandoned, were made functional and than 1000 kilometres of canal were concrete-lined for the first time adding that 14100 water courses which were lying idle for the last more than 30 years have also been restored.
The Governor said that he is happy to inform that with the consistent efforts
and monitoring by my government, the Shahpurkandi Dam Project which was pending for execution for more than 25 years, is seeing the light of the day at last and filling of water in the reservoir of the dam has been started. He said that this will help the State to stop any water going downstream to Pakistan and will also create an irrigation potential of more than
37,000 hectare and will help in creating an additional power of 206 megawatt. Banwari Lal Purohit further said that the dam will create new tourism potential creating employment opportunities for the state.
The Governor said that state Government is fully aware of the declining groundwater table in the State. He said that in many districts the groundwater is declining at an alarming rate. Banwari Lal Purohit said that to arrest this declining trend, canal water is being used to recharge the ground water and for this purpose 129 recharge sites have already been constructed just in one year.
The Governor said that state Government has acquired a private thermal plant GVK Goindwal Sahib of 540 MW capacity at a very low cost which is history in itself by any state Government. He said that this plant has been acquired at a cost of₹1080 Crores i.e.₹2 Crore per MW whereas a new thermal plant costs₹ 8.5 Crore/ MW. Banwari Lal Purohit said that after Acquisition this plant has been renamed as Guru Amardas Thermal Plant adding that with the use of Coal from Punjab’s own Pachhwara Coal Mine, the generation from this plant will increase by more than double.
The Governor said that there will be saving of about₹ 350 Crores per Year in terms of Power Purchase cost. He said that during 2023-24 Punjab has met its all time highest ever peak demand of 15,325 Megawatts on June 23, 2023. Banwari Lal Purohit said that his Government has implemented a free electricity scheme of 300 units monthly to domestic consumers since July 2022 adding that this has benefited around 70 Lacs i.e. 90% of households, receiving zero bills in a billing cycle.
The Governor said that state Government has launched a new scheme namely Door-Step Delivery of Services under “Bhagwant Mann Sarkar TuhadeDwar” to provide services to the citizens at their door-step on demand. He said that Under the scheme, 43 citizen services were identified which constitute more than 99% of the volume of the transactions adding that more than 15,000 citizens have availed the services till date. Similarly Banwari Lal Purohit said that another scheme namely AAP ki Sarkar AAP De Dwar, under which camps are being held all over the State to provide services to the citizens in their village has been launched adding that than 8 lakh citizens have already visited the camps and have taken the benefit of the availability of services at their places of residence.
The Governor said that state Government is committed to providing a boost to the investment and industrial infrastructure in the State. He said that with its earnest efforts, my Government has received 4242 investment proposals with proposed investment of about Rs. 65,993 Crores with the proposed employment of about 3,20,882. Banwari Lal Purohit said that state Government have also introduced Green stamp paper in the registration of sale deed to ensure faster and smooth issuance of regulatory clearances to industry projects.
The Governor said that in last one year, my Government has given job/self employment facility to 1,11,810 candidates through 1,332 placement camps/job fairs/self-employment camps. He said that the state government has set up 25 new Government Industrial Training Institutes in the State adding that with the opening of these new ITIs about 8000 youth of the State will get benefits. Banwari Lal Purohit said that Continuing the endeavour of providing government jobs on merit to deserving candidates, my Government has ensured fairness in recruitment while also ensuring efficiency adding that more than 40,000 jobs have been given so far to youth of the state.
The Governor said that state Government is committed to provide safe drinking water to every rural household in Punjab. He said that in April 2023, Punjab became the fifth state in the country to achieve 100 percent coverage in providing Functional Household Tap Connection to every rural household. Banwari Lal Purohit said that the focus, in recent years has been to use surface water instead of ground water, particularly in areas affected with geological contaminants such as Arsenic, Floride and Iron.