Chandigarh: Finance minister Harpal Singh Cheema said the AAP govt allocated Rs 1,500 crore for the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA) scheme and Rs 800 crore to construct 1 lakh houses under the Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana (Gramin).He added the municipal development fund was increased fourfold to Rs 1,000 crore. Also, Rs 500 crore was proposed for the canal-based surface water supply project in Ludhiana and Amritsar, and Rs 665 crore for AMRUT 2.0 projects. “In total, Rs 7,257 crore was proposed for the housing and urban development sector,” he said.The budget included Rs 500 crore for fiscal incentives and provisions for one-time settlement (OTS) schemes.Speaking about youth engagement, Cheema said, “The govt is investing Rs 1,791 crore in sports infrastructure, with plans to build 6,000 new village playgrounds, establish 5,000 indoor gyms, and organise adventure sports camps.”Highlighting infrastructure investments, Cheema added the allocation for roads, bridges, and public buildings doubled to Rs 5,440 crore, covering projects under Plan Roads, PMGSY-III, and the central road and infrastructure fund. Rs 2,971 crore was allocated for water resources to optimise canal networks, with the govt aiming to double canal irrigation capacity to 7 million acres by the end of the year.Turning to the power sector, the Finance Minister said the “Mission Roshan Punjab” initiative included a Rs 5,000 crore investment to modernise the electricity distribution network with new substations and 25,000 kilometres of power lines.He added that Punjab achieved the top rank in the national Mining Readiness Index and that mining revenue doubled to over Rs 500 crore. The transport sector will also witness expansion with the addition of 1,279 new buses.MSID:: 129282115 413 |
