NRIs seek, Sukhbir vows to deliver Punjab to NRIs
Saturday, 05/01/2013
http://www.tribuneindia.com/2013/20130105/punjab.htm#1
Chandigarh : Chief Minister Sukhbir Singh Badal today donned the roll of chief executive officer to showcase Punjab to NRIs and prove through a power-point presentation that the state was on way to become an ideal investment destination.
During his 90-minute presentation to elected representatives of various countries with Punjab roots on the first day of the NRI Sammelan here, Sukhbir said the state was poised to become power surplus this year and that it would soon have the best air and road connectivity.
Hard-selling the state, Sukhbir said three mega thermal plants with an investment of Rs 50,000 crore were coming up in Punjab which would make the state power surplus by December this year. Also, the government had decided to improve air connectivity as it had no ports. The Amritsar international airport was already functional while international airports were coming up in Mohali and Machhiwara. On the road network, he said in the next three years, all important roads would be four-lane or six-lane expressways and that Rs 7,600 crore was being spent on this job.
Sukhbir highlighted the new transport systems with work on the Rs 7,500 crore Ludhiana Metro starting soon and the Rs 200 crore Pods system slated to come up in Amritsar. He said the government had empowered its residents through governance reforms, including the Right to Service Act that covered 67 services.
Sukhbir said in the past five years, the state had attracted an investment of Rs 24,000 crore and that 359 mega projects and 114 manufacturing projects were in the pipeline with an investment of Rs 11,3503 crore.
He said Punjab, during the Congress rule, had a growth rate of 4.5 per cent against the target of 6.4 per cent whereas during the SAD-BJP rule, the growth was 8.1 per cent against the target of 5.9 per cent set by the Planning Commission. Sukhbir said Punjab had improved its debt (Gross State Domestic Product) ratio to 33.4 per cent from 43.2 per cent during the Congress rule.
Boosting infrastructure
Sukhbir says efforts are afoot to improve air connectivity
Important roads are to be made expressways in 3 years
State is poised to become power surplus by the year-end
Claims growth rate in state is 8.1 per cent against the target of 5.9 per cent set by the Planning Commission
That debt Gross State Domestic Product Ratio has decreased to 33.4% from 43.2%
On the sidelines of the sammelan
Majithia earns praise
NRI Affairs Minister Bikram Majithia won accolades for successfully hosting the Pravasi Punjab conference today. Speakers said as the conference was so close to the New Year celebrations, it was Majithia’s persuasion that won them over. Alberta MP Peter Sandhu even asked the Chief Minister to give a recognition reward to Majithia and his team of Manpreet Ayali and Rinku Atwal who, he said, had made the sammelan a success. Majithia also announced that the Punjab Government would give due recognition and even accreditation to the NRI media so that they felt part of the Punjab Government set up.
Punjabis and ‘aloos’
Deputy Chief Minister Sukhbir Badal’s quip that Punjabis and “aloos” could be found all over the world had everyone in splits. He went on to claim that he had even found a Punjabi during a trip to Mongolia who had settled there after being dropped off by a travel agent ostensibly taking him to the United States.
Born leaders
Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal claimed that Punjabis were born leaders and that he had once come across a Punjabi who was the President of the Muslim League in Uttarakhand. US Mayor Gurpreet Dhaliwal went on to prove this by saying that he was the Mayor of a town which only had 10 Punjabis. Ugandan MP Parminder Singh Marwaha said he represented a constituency that did not have a single Punjabi.
