Giving her reaction on the serious issue of farm suicides, the Union Minister for Food Processing Mrs Harsimrat Kaur Badal said that Punjab government was committed to protect the interests of farmers and is ready to extend all kind of help to the debt ridden farmers. She warned people against those who cut political gains out of such serious issues.After sorting out the isues of village Harranpura and Dhelwan during sangat darshan conducted at village Gobindpura, Mrs Badal interacting with the media persons states that the Punjab government was completely committed to resolve all kinds of issues of the farmers and different farmers welfare schemes have been launched with the same purpose. She said that from tomorrow onwards, the Punjab government was launching Bhagat Puran Singh Health Insurance Scheme, which is part of the series of pro-farmer initiatives government has launched.
She said that more than 11 lacs farmers having J forms, can take benefit of this scheme under whose first phase 3 lacs farmers are being given the benefit.
She added that the scheme includes health insurance upto Rs 50000 for the head of family and his family members for an year.Answering another query Mrs Badal stated that the state government has been paying power bills of the farmers for the last 9 years amounting to Rs 6000 cr and in coming days around 1.56 lac new tubewell connections will be alloted to the farmers whose power bills government will pay. She said that the Punjab government has left no stone unturned in implementing pro-farmer schemes at the grass root level. Responding to a media query on SGPC forming a committee to probe into incidents of attack on Sikhs on foreign shores, the Union Minister appreciated the decision and said that it was need of the hour so that such racist attacks can be stopped in future. She added that post 9/11 America attack, SIkhs in foreign countries were facing many kind of problemsfor which the Punjab government has timely appealed center government to run campaigns and create awareness regarding Sikhs.
Terming the hurling of shoe on Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal as unfortunate, Union Minister said that this way of protesting was not correct. She said that politicians should understand the feelings of people and should consider their demands seriously. Answering a question on solid waste management plant constructed on Bathinda-Mansa Road she said that the project was set up after getting approval from the National Green Tribunal (NGT).Earlier the Union Minister, while addressing a large gathering said that people of Punjab should decide between good and bad for the 2017 polls as the SAD-BJP alliance has heralded in overall development for poor, needy, farmers, industry etc and has always stood by them. She added that after sometime of its formation in centyer, the BJP government gave Punjab Rs 30000 cr road network, which will propel the development in state. She said that in next one year, travelling from one corner of state to another, would become easy. Talking about the misleading campaign that Congress and AAP are running, she said that people give a befitting reply to this wrong campaign in forthcoming 2017 elections.
Mrs Badal approved Rs 19 lacs for various works to village Harrangpura, Rs 12 lacs to Gobindpra and Rs 1.10 cr grant to Jail Road. For village Dhelwan she gave approval for worth works Rs 25 lacs grants. Earlier she conducted sangat darshan of villages Bibiwala and Joganand at village Bibiwala. She inaugurated water supply project at Nathana and laid foundation stone of various CC flooring works under urban mission. She also conducted sangat darshan at village Nathpura, Kalyan Sukha and Bhaini, at village Ganga, Gidder, Kalyanm Malka, Kalyan Sadda, Kothe Gobind Nagar, Mari Bajjoana and Burj Dalla etc.MLA Mr Darshan Singh Kotfatta, DC Dr Basant Garg, SSP Mr Swapan Sharma, Dr OP Sharma and others were also present.