Colleagues pat FM’s back, term budget as ‘development-centric’
Wednesday, 21/06/2017
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Chandigarh : State Cabinet minister Navjot Singh Sidhu termed the budget presented on Tuesday by Finance Minister Manpreet Singh Badal as “development centric, pro-people and futuristic.”
Speaking to reporters, he said the chief minister had boosted the morale and put a stamp of approval on the path-breaking initiatives being taken by his department. It is first time in the history of Punjab that the tourism and cultural affairs department has been accorded a special place, he said.
Sidhu said that the amount of Rs 2,268.18 crore released previous year for the development of urban areas has now been doubled to Rs 4,610.59 crore which accounts for 103.27 per cent increase. The four premier cities of Amritsar, Ludhiana, Jalandhar and Patiala would be transformed into smart cities, he said. The announcements made on Tuesday included easing CLU procedure, low cost LED lights in cities, addressing the problem pertaining to parking of vehicles by constructing a multi-level parking, he said.
Likewise, Punjab Minister for Forests and Wildlife Preservation, SC and BC Welfare Sadhu Singh Dharamsot on Tuesday termed the budget presented by the state government as pro-farmer, SC and BC and minority apart from being development-oriented.
While praising the budget as being realistic, futuristic and taking care of the interests of all the sections of society, the Minister in a statement issued here late on Tuesday evening further stated that the Captain Amarinder Singh government is fully aware of the condition of weaker and deprived sections and has increased the pension of Rs 500 per month to Rs 750 per month given to 14.50 lakh people who are in their old age, 1.70 lakh dependent children, 1.90 lakh disabled persons, 3.80 lakh widows and homeless women.
Meanwhile, state Education Minister Aruna Chaudhary stated that education has been given special attention in the budget for which she was thankful to the Chief Minister and the Finance Minister. The minister said that primary education forms the base of the educational infrastructure and Rs 21 crore have been earmarked in the budget especially for furniture purchase to reform the basic infrastructure of the primary schools.
