CHANDIGARH: On completion of four years of the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) government, Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Singh Mann placed a report card on Monday, stating that the government has fulfilled all guarantees made to the people and the State is moving forward on the path of progress.
He announced that an international cricket stadium will be constructed in Amritsar, and added that Punjab is most likely to host the Asia Cup Hockey after a long time.
Sharing details of his government's achievements, Mann highlighted key achievements including free electricity, daytime power for farmers, canal irrigation reaching 78 per cent of fields, 65,000 government jobs and 5.5 lakh employment opportunities, along with expanded healthcare through Aam Aadmi Clinics and free treatment up to Rs 10 lakh.
He also released a booklet on his government's achievements so far.
Lashing out at the previous governments, Mann said, "The coming year will be devoted to taking Punjab to a new zenith of development and prosperity. Punjab is moving on the path of progress.’’
He said that after his government came to power in 2022, the Opposition parties raised questions over the free electricity promised to households.
"We fulfilled our first poll promise in July," he said, referring to the 300 units of free electricity for households.
There was no condition on providing electricity to the people, he said, highlighting that almost 90 per cent of the households are getting free electricity, which translates into the monthly relief of Rs 5,000 to Rs 7,000 per household.
He also spoke about the resumption of coal supply from the Pachwara coal mine and buying a 540 MW private power plant at an outlay of Rs 1,080 crore. Mann further said his government set up 881 Aam Aadmi Clinics in the State, and over 200 more such clinics would come up.
The number of OPD visits in these clinics crossed 5 crore, indicating people's trust in their services.’
He also asserted that the government started Mukh Mantri Sehat Yojna under which cashless medical treatment of up to Rs 10 lakh will be provided to every resident family.
"Seven new medical colleges are being built in Hoshiarpur, Kapurthala, Sangrur, SBS Nagar, Lehragaga, Malerkotla and Ludhiana,” he said.
“Around 600 new MBBS seats will be added in Punjab, giving students more opportunities to study medicine within the state,’’ he added.
"Punjab is making a historic investment in village playgrounds, and three thousand modern sports grounds are being built with an investment of Rs 1,100 crore. Work on 6,000 more grounds will start soon, and free sports kits including cricket, volleyball and football equipment will be provided in all village playgrounds so that every young person gets the chance to play. Six thousand indoor gyms are being built in villages to promote fitness and sports among youth,’’ he said.
On women Empowerment he said, "Free sanitary pads are distributed every month through 27,314 anganwadi centres and so far 7.4 crore sanitary pads have been distributed to 13.7 lakh women.”
Referring to the setting up of 'Sadak Surkhya Force', Mann said that with it, there is a drop of 50.12 per cent in road accident deaths in the state, and more than 47,000 people have received timely assistance during road accidents. He claimed that this initiative was well appreciated by many States.
Talking about upcoming initiatives, Mann stated, "The ultra-modern stadium at Burlton Park in Jalandhar will be ready, while the stadium in Mohali will also be used for the tournament."
He said that the Punjab government has no shortage of funds for development schemes, and our competition is not with political parties but with corruption, unemployment and poverty.
"Tata Steel will start its operations in Punjab on March 20; it will be the company’s biggest investment outside Jamshedpur,’’ he said.
Taking a dig at the political opponents, Mann alleged that the BJP governments never bother about fulfilling promises and have also ruined the future of youth through repeated paper leaks.
"Promises like depositing Rs 15 lakh in people’s accounts and providing two crore jobs have proved to be a mirage. The BJP must remember that the seeds of hatred will never germinate in Punjab, and the state does not need a double-engine government because a single engine is already delivering results. The Union government has stalled Punjab’s funds related to NHM, RDF and other schemes, which is unfair and against the federal structure," he said.
Notably, he alleged that Akali leaders, who do not even have strong leadership, are patronising gangsters to distribute election tickets and are pretending ignorance about the gangster culture that flourished during their rule.