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"Punjab surging ahead"

Staff Correspondent

Corrective steps by Cong. Govt. has boosted economy: Amarinder

CHANDIGARH: Chief Minister, Amarinder Singh has said that Punjab had begun to surge ahead to new heights after the present Congress regime undertook corrective measures which reversed the stagnating trends to bring about buoyancy in the economy.

According to an official release here on Sunday, the Chief Minister made the claim while addressing a "Vikas rally" in Phillaur town of Kapurthala district, where he foresaw Punjab as a front-runner in the country. He said that unlike the previous Akali-BJP rule, which accounted for the various problems, the present government undertook wide ranging measures to rejuvenate the economy and putting it on a high growth trajectory.

With elections drawing near, the Chief Minister appealed to the people to analyse the overall development and progress in the state during the present government's tenure as compared to that of the Akali-BJP alliance. He said that it was time that the people ascertained the sincerity and honesty of every party in pursuing the interests of the state.

He urged the people to give another change to the Congress party to serve them and ensure that the economy reached those heights from where Punjab would never look back.

Elaborating on the efforts in the Industrial and Agriculture sectors, Capt Singh said that 218 mega projects with investment worth Rs.73,000 crore and job potential for 16 lakh, stood testimony to the Congress's commitment to ensure all round development in the state.

He said that these investments were likely to cross the Rs. one lakh crore figure by December this year. He said that Punjab was the only state in the country that had deposits worth Rs. 2203 crore with the Reserve Bank of India.

On the Agriculture front, Capt. Singh said that the state Government had tied up with large business houses like the Reliance and Bharti Group to give a boost to its programme of diversification of agriculture. He said that it was the high time to motivate farmers to shift from the traditional wheat-paddy rotations to remunerative crops like oil seeds, pulses, fruits and vegetables.

He announced to flag off the two cargoes of fruits and vegetables of Bharti group's Laddowal venture from Amritsar on August 1, 2006.

"A modest beginning has been made towards the second green revolution. Like the first one, Punjab would once again lead the nation in attaining self-sufficiency in agro products other than wheat and paddy," Capt. Singh said underlining the need to adopt better farm practices and marketing strategies to make agriculture economy more sustainable and dynamic.

Later, talking to reporters, Capt Singh supported the stance adopted by the party's General Secretary, Janardhan Dwevedi who opposed the demand for a financial package to Punjab on rural indebtedness on the pattern of Vidarbha.

The Chief Minister sought to explain that the background of Punjab's rural indebtedness was entirely different from Tamil Nadu's. The problem here was primarily based on the loans from the money lenders whereas Vidarbha's rural debt largely consisted of cooperative loans.

The Chief Minister ruled out the possibility of any Cabinet reshuffle.

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