Local Government Minister Dr. Ravjot Singh, in the presence of Food, Civil Supplies and consumer affairs Minister Lal Chand Kataruchakk, Health and Family Welfare Minister Dr. Balbir Singh, held a meeting with municipal commissioners from Patiala, Jalandhar, and Amritsar; additional deputy commissioners from Patiala, Mohali, Jalandhar, Amritsar, Pathankot, and Tarn Taran; and Executive officers from various municipal councils and panchayats, including Raja Sansi, Narot Jaimal Singh, Khemkaran, Tarn Taran, Sanaur, Devigarh, Ghanaur, Ghagga, Bhadson, Gharuan, Goraya, Shahkot, Bhogpur, and Bilga.
During the meeting, he instructed officials to accelerate the completion of ongoing development projects across the state. At the start of the meeting, Minister Dr. Ravjot Singh reviewed the progress of projects under various schemes like the Swachh Bharat Mission, AMRUT Mission, and the 15th Finance Commission, gaining insights into the current status of these projects. He emphasized the importance of maintaining high-quality standards in development works.
The cabinet minister instructed that tenders should be called promptly for sewerage and water treatment plants whose Detailed Project Reports (DPRs) have been completed, so work can commence at the earliest. He also emphasized identifying Panchayati land for these projects in coordination with the district administration, and if Panchayati land is unavailable, alternative private land should be identified and rates finalized as per government guidelines.
Minister Dr. Ravjot Singh highlighted that Chief Minister Bhagwant Singh Mann’s vision is to make cities in Punjab garbage-free. He stressed to the field officials that no garbage piles should be present anywhere and emphasized effective waste management, focusing on door-to-door waste segregation.
Minister also directed officials to ensure daily cleanliness in their respective areas, including timely cleaning of sewer systems to prevent wastewater from flooding streets and alleys during the rainy season. He emphasized providing clean drinking water to residents, keeping street lights operational, and focusing on the cleaning and beautification of ponds.
Dr. Ravjot Singh further mentioned that there is no shortage of funds for development projects. Therefore, if any urban local bodies require additional funds for other projects, they should prepare a complete proposal and submit it to the headquarter.
Present at the meeting were MLAs S.S. Ahluwalia, Gurdev Singh Mann, Gurlal Ghanour, Ajit Pal Singh Kohli, Dr. Charanjit Singh, Inderjit Kaur Mann and Raman Arora and Jeevan Jot Kaur and Dalbir Singh Tong as well as Additional Chief Secretary of the Local Government Department Tejvir Singh, Director of the Local Government Department Gurpreet Singh Khaira, PMIDC CEO Deepti Uppal, Halka incharges and other officials from the department.