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Manpreet Badal urges Sitharaman to allot pharma, food, textile parks for Punjab
Punjab finance minister Manpreet Singh Badal also demands a special package to Punjab on the lines of Himachal Pradesh, Jammu & Kashmir and Uttarakhand
Punjab finance minister Manpreet Singh Badal on Tuesday urged the central government to allot pharmaceutical, food and textile parks for the state.
Taking part in a virtual meeting with Union finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman, he demanded a special package to the state on the lines of Himachal Pradesh, Jammu & Kashmir and Uttarakhand.
“Punjab needs support from the Centre as the state is facing new-age challenges in transition of agriculture,” said Manpreet who urging Sitharaman to give production-linked incentives to the industry so that Punjab can successfully migrate to other crops out of wheat and paddy cycle.
He suggested that it will increase the income of farmers and help in conservation of groundwater and solve the problem of stubble burning which is again a burning issue in the country. He also asked the Centre to set up solar or gas-based power plants so that transportation cost of coal could be cut down.
The minister sought rail links between Patti and Makhu, Rajpura and Mohali, and Beas and Qaddian.
He also urged the Union minister to ask the health ministry to start a National Institute of Virology in Punjab as soon as possible as the land has been provided for the same.
