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3 years of Cong government : Will give 1-lakh jobs, rationalise power rates, says Capt Amarinder Singh
Says 225 of the 424 items on the party manifesto for the 2017 assembly polls have already been implemented, 96 are in the process, and remaining 103 will be implemented in the next two years
Chief minister Capt Amarinder Singh on Monday said his government will fill one-lakh vacancies in various departments over the next two years and rationalise power tariffs in the state.
Addressing a press conference here on completion of three years of the Congress government in the state, Amarinder said the jobs will be given in several government departments, including health, police and education, but department-wise data was not available at this stage.
On rationalisation of power tariffs, he refused to give details, saying that domestic electricity consumers deserved relief, but power regulator Punjab State Electricity Regulatory Commission (PSERC) will take the final call. Power rates in Punjab for consumers of domestic and some other categories are among the highest in the country.
The chief minister was flanked by his cabinet colleagues, AICC in-charge for Punjab Asha Kumari, Punjab Congress president Sunil Jakhar and four party MPs Preneet Kaur, Manish Tewari, Jasbir Singh Gill and Gurjeet Singh Aujla. Amarinder also repeated his earlier announcement of setting up 750 rural stadiums across the state, a law university in Tarn Taran and medical college each in Malerkotla and Gurdaspur.
He said 225 of the 424 items in the Congress party manifesto for the 2017 assembly polls have already been implemented, 96 partially implemented, and remaining 103 will be implemented in the next two years.
He also announced to bring an anti-red tape legislation to simplify government procedures, including land leasing and tenancy act. The CM again announced to issue permits to 5,000 buses and 2,000 stage carriages on commercially viable routes and cut road tax for ordinary buses by 12 paise.
He reiterated his promise to end monopoly in liquor and transport businesses, besides checking drug and mining mafia. He said new mining proposals will be announced in 2-3 weeks.
He also promised to punish all those guilty of beadbi (desecration) of Guru Granth Sahib in the Bargari case.
Referring to a suggestion by jails minister Sukhjinder Singh Randhawa, Amarinder said he will personally take up with the Union home minister the issue of shifting top gangsters out of Punjab prisons. Earlier cabinet ministers Manpreet Singh Badal (finance), Brahm Mohindra (local bodies), Vijay Inder Singla (education) and Charanjeet Singh Channi (tourism and technical education) spoke on the achievements in their respective departments.
Still young, will contest next election: Capt
Amarinder said he will fight the next state assembly polls. “Do you think I am too old to fight the polls? I’m still young,” said the two-time chief minister who turned 78 last week, in response to a question. The state assembly polls will be due in early 2022.
In the run up to the 2017 assembly elections, Amarinder had said that it was his last electoral battle. A year later, he said that he would not retire until the state is brought out of the “mess”.
