Punjab govt to upgrade infrastructure of industrial focal points in state: Industries minister

The minister has also written to the Union railway minister to arrange trains for bringing migrant workers who wish to come back from their home states and start working

Punjab industries and commerce minister Sunder Sham Arora on Thursday said that the infrastructure in all Focal Points of the state would be upgraded as well as beautified and funds amounting to ₹400 crore would be spent on this project.

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He said this while laying the foundation stone of the upgradation and beautification work of Focal Point Khanna.

While speaking at the function organised by Industrial Focal Point Welfare Association, Khanna, Arora said that the Focal Point of Khanna is in a poor state for the last more than 30 years. He said that it was a long pending demand of the industrialists to upgrade the infrastructure at Focal Point Khanna.

He said that the infrastructure of Focal Point Khanna, such as roads, streetlights, sewerage etc would be upgraded at a cost of ₹10.65 crore. He said that the share industrialists of ₹2.65 crore (out of the total cost of the project) would also be paid by the PSIEC. He assured that the state government is committed to promoting Punjab as an industrial and business hub.

He said that industry is the backbone of our economy. He added that there are around 2.55 lakh industries in Punjab, out of which 2.32 lakh were made operational when relaxation was given during lockdown. He said that thankfully, all these industries are following government directions and protocols and that is why no positive cases have been reported from the industries. He said that even during the wheat procurement season, the Punjab government made elaborate arrangements to ensure that no person visiting mandis get affected by Covid-19. He said that around 27 lakh farmers had visited the mandis during the wheat procurement season and not even single tested positive, which is an achievement for the Punjab government.

He added that he has written to the Union railway minister to arrange trains for bringing migrant workers who wish to come back from their home states and start working.

With a view to utilise the state’s capacity in the manufacturing of PPEs, Arora said that he has written to the Union minister of commerce and industry to consider allowing its exports to other countries in need. He said that at present, out of 131 units manufacturing government-approved PPE kits and masks in the state, 121 are from Ludhiana alone. He said that to assist the industry in this hour of need, the Punjab government has also written to the Union government that instead of another loan, they should waive off bank interest of existing loans taken by industrialists for a period of at least six months.

He added that for the benefit of industry, new industrial parks are coming up on 135 acres at village Wazirabad near Mandi Gobindgarh, on 1100 acres near Mattewara (Ludhiana), Rajpura (Patiala), Mohali and Bathinda.