Punjab Technical Education Minister Chanranjit Singh Channi said that the state government led by Chief Minister Capt Amarinder Singh is committed to making debt and drug-free state adding he said that it was due to pro-people steps of the state government that Punjab once again has returned on the development track.Addressing the massive gathering at the district level republic day event at Shaheed Bhagat Singh Stadium, the minister said that the contribution of Punjabis in the independence movement can never be forgotten as Punjabis account for about 80 percent contribution into this movement despite having 1.6 percent geographical area of the country.Talking about development in Ferozepur district, Mr. Channi said that the projects worth Rs. 60 Crore are in the pipeline to develop Harike wetland and Ferozepur district as a major tourist destination in the region adding he said that Rs. 50 crore will be spent on the development of Harike wetland and Rs. 10 Crore will be spent to increase tourism infrastructure in Ferozepur district. To give a fillip to the skill development mission in the district a new ITI has been planned in the village Tibbi of Mamdot tehsil besides reviving the old ITIs, said the minister. Mr. Channi said that the state government will leave no stone unturned to ensure the holistic development of this border district.After unfurling the national flag, he said in his address that we were fortunate that we got the opportunity to celebrate the 550th birth anniversary of Shri Guru Nanak Dev Ji as a part of which gala events were organized at Sultanpur Lodhi and Dera Baba Nanak, where about 70 Lac devotees paid obeisance during the birth anniversary festivals. The minister stated that the state government has prepared a plan to develop the Sultanpur Lodhi as a heritage city with the cost of Rs. 271 Crore besides developing 70 villages of Punjab related to Shri Guru Nanak Dev Ji, with a total cost of whopping Rs. 300 Crore. Apart from that Bebe Nanki University College has been established in the Sultanpur Lodhi and the inter-religion center has been set up at Guru Nanak Dev University, Amritsar, added Mr. Channi.
The minister further added that, taking steps to achieve the goals a whopping amount of Rs. 4736 Crore as debt has been waived of benefitting around 5.83 Lac small and marginal farmers adding he that Chief Minister Captain Amarinder Singh led state government has ensured the crop payment to farmers with 48 hours of the sale. Whereas a sum of Rs. 675 Crore is being spent on the holistic development and up-gradation of grain markets in Punjab, said the minister. He further added that Punjab has witnessed the massive investment of Rs. 55,000 Crore due to its industry-friendly policies.Addressing the mammoth gathering on the auspicious occasion, the Minister said that state government has brought a debt-waiver scheme and fulfilled its promise besides cracking down on drug menace by setting up Special Task Force (STF) in the state to wipe out this menace from Punjab. Due to crack down on the supply-line of drugs the recovery of Heroin has increased from 191 Kilogram in 2017 to 432 Kilogram in 2019.He said that to bring drug-affected people to the mainstream, the state government has set up 35 drug de-addiction centers in the state besides 192 government fun outpatient opioid assisted treatment (OOATs) centers and as a result of these efforts about 3.66 Lac patients have got themselves registered for the treatment and a sum of Rs. 104 Crore has been spent on this task.Fulfilling its promise to employ the youth of the state, the government has started the construction work of Shri Guru Gobind Singh Skill institute (a state of the art institute), which will come up at Shri Chamkaur Sahib at 42 Acre of Lands. Notably, the state government has provided job opportunities to 6,30,433 families under the MGNREGA scheme during the year 2019-2020 adding he said that the four new ITIs have been started by the state government in Malout, Adampur, Singhpur, and Manikpur Sarif.Throwing light on efforts being made to preserve the environment to mark the 550th birth anniversary of Shri Guru Nanak Dev Ji, a total of 76 Lac plants have been planted in the entire state, which led toward the increase of forest area of the state by 1,363 Hectares.
Delivering on its promise of improving education infrastructure in the state, the state government making a bright future of the students has converted 5730 government schools into smart schools, said the minister. He said that the government is committed to opening 11 new government colleges in the state with the cost of Rs. 50 Crore and to improve the quality of education the bio-metric attendance of students and teachers is being mandatory in educational institutes.Improving the road infrastructure in the state, the government has approved the projects of up-gradation of 2259 kilometers of roads with the cost Rs. 1221 Crore besides building 39 new bridges by spending Rs. 483 Crore said Mr. Channi adding a total of 15,660 kilometers of roads have been repaired at the cost of Rs. 1682 in the state.Earlier the minister visited Hussainiwala, the martyrdom place of Shaheed Bhagat Singh, Rajguru and Sukhdev and laid a wreath to pay his obeisance to the martyrs. Meanwhile, Chief Guest took a salute during an impressive march past accompanied by deputy commissioner Mr. Chander Gaind and SSP Mr. Vivek S. Soni. Mr. Channi also felicitated the various officers or employees and persons from different walks of life for their remarkable contribution towards society.Deputy Commissioner Chander Gaind announced local holiday on January 29th, on the context of festival Basant Panchmi. He added that the holiday which usually announced for the next day of Republic Day shall now come into effect on January 29th, 2020.On the occasion MLA Parminder Singh Pinki, MLA Kulbir Singh Zira, MLA Satkar Kaur Gehri, IG B. Chandersekhar, Divisional Commissioner Sumer Singh Gurjar, District and Session Judge Parminder Pal Singh, SSP Vivek S. Soni, GOG in-charge Gen. S.S. Chauchan, ADC Ravinder Singh, ADC Ravinderpal Singh Sandhu, SDM Amit Gupta were present.