Punjab Chief Minister Captain Amarinder Singh on Wednesday announced that SC post metric scholarship in government and private colleges, which had been cleared in the audit inquiry conducted to weed out fake enrolments, had been disbursed up till January 2018.The Chief Minister also disclosed that all arrears towards old age pension had been cleared with the disbursement process completed till February, thus making the pension payment up-to-date for 2018. The government had already announced its decision allocate a monthly sum of Rs 128 crore to ensure regularisation of old age pension payment, he added.The Chief Minister disclosed this while interacting with Congress MLAs in the concluding round of the pre-budget discussions initiated by him as part of a unique, democratic exercise to take suggestions, inputs and feedback from the elected representatives.During the meeting, which saw the MLAs laud the Chief Minister for demonstrating a firm resolve to wipe out illegal mining from the state, Captain Amarinder promised in-toto implementation of the report of the expert group set up to examine ways and means to revive the defunct sugar mills in the state. He assured the members that the government would leave no stone unturned to restart such mills and to facilitate modernisation of sugar mills and upgradation of their cogeneration facilities.Members from Nawanshahr sought release of funds for pending dues of sugarcane farmers, on which the Chief Minister said the issue was being addressed.
Some members asked for softening of CLU conditions for setting up new rice shelling units to boost industry and employment opportunities.The Chief Minister also responded positively to the request from members for greater financial support for development in their respective constituencies in the forthcoming budget. Captain Amarinder said his government was committed to the implementation of every poll promise and would continue to explore ways to generate revenue and resources for development works.Ludhiana MLAs expressed concerns about the pitiable condition of the 16-km Buddha Nala and encroachment of government and corporation land, to which Local Government Minister Navjot Singh Sidhu assured of early steps to initiate the process of recalling encroached land.Most MLAs wanted better education infrastructure in their respective constituencies. The Chief Minister said education was high on his government’s priority agenda. Technical Education Minister Charanjit Singh Channi informed the meeting that job letters would be given to unemployed youth during the job fair to be held on March 11.Traffic concerns, sewerage problems, shifting of dairies and bus stands and stubble burning were some of the other concerns raised by the members. Members also wanted higher allocation of funds, in the budget, for research and prevention of cancer, as well as for pollution control programmes in the state.
Discussions were also held on the issue regularisation of illegal colonies, for which a time-bound policy was sought. Members also wanted a policy to enable registration of ownership rights for long-held tenancy properties to bring in revenue for the state exchequer and fulfill a long-standing public demand.There were suggestions to further engage with Punjabi NRIs settled abroad to encourage them to harness the new industrial and investment opportunities in the state to boost its overall development. Captain Amarinder said his government was working hard to partner with the NRI community to push progress in the state.Underlining the importance of regular interaction between the elected representatives and government officials, the Chief Minister assured the members of continued coordination and communication between the two.Thanking the Chief Minister for his pioneering initiative in holding the pre-budget discussions, Punjab Pradesh Congress Committee (PPCC) president and Gurdaspur MP Sunil Jakhar said the party would continue to address the aspirations of the people under Captain Amarinder’s able leadership. The budget, he said, should reflect the hopes and desires of the last man standing.