Punjab News Daily
Dirba, October 5

Punjab Finance Minister Harpal Singh Cheema visited five villages in the Dirba Assembly constituency and presented cheques totalling Rs 1.18 crore to their panchayats to accelerate development works. He personally handed over the cheques to the sarpanches at village gathering places and directed them to begin the works promptly and complete them within the stipulated time so that residents could benefit without delay.

Sharing details, the Finance Minister said grants of Rs 20 lakh had been provided to Guru Teg Bahadur Nagar, Abadi Hariau; Rs 3 lakh to Sangatpura; Rs 40 lakh each to Ratolan and Sular Gharat; and Rs 15 lakh to Rampur Gujjaran. He said the funds would be used for development works and improvements to basic amenities in accordance with the local needs of these villages.

Cheema said the Punjab Government, under the leadership of Chief Minister Bhagwant Singh Mann, was consistently working for the overall development of villages and towns. He said improving people’s quality of life through better roads, streets, drainage systems, sports facilities and other essential infrastructure was a key priority of the government.

The Finance Minister said Dirba had earlier been regarded as a backward constituency, but development works undertaken by the present government had transformed it. He said special attention had been paid to strengthening road connectivity, sports infrastructure and irrigation facilities to make Dirba one of the leading constituencies in terms of development. He asserted that, over the past four and a half years, the present government had completed several works that had remained pending for decades.

Cheema said that, alongside connecting villages with paved roads, sports stadiums had been constructed for young people. He said sports grounds provided opportunities for youngsters to develop their talent and encouraged them to stay away from drugs and adopt a healthy lifestyle. He added that the Punjab Government aimed to channel young people’s energy into constructive pursuits and create opportunities for their advancement.

The Finance Minister directed sarpanches and officials of the departments concerned to ensure the transparent and proper utilisation of the grants. He said there should be no compromise on the quality of development works and that every rupee must be spent on public welfare. He assured them that there would be no shortage of funds to meet the legitimate development needs of villages and that additional funds would be provided whenever required.

Referring to irrigation facilities, Cheema said efforts to ensure that canal water reached the tail ends of canals had brought relief to farmers. He said improving the supply of water to fields was essential to strengthening agriculture and reducing farmers’ irrigation costs.

He said the provision of 300 units of free electricity per month to domestic consumers had brought financial relief to a large number of families. Similarly, initiatives such as the ‘Mawan Dheeyan Satkar Yojana’ were aimed at empowering women economically and enhancing their dignity and respect.

Cheema said the money contributed by people through taxes was being used to improve public amenities and promote their welfare. He said expenditure on roads, village streets, drainage systems, stadiums and other public facilities reflected this people-centric approach. He appealed to panchayats to play an active role in monitoring development works and to prioritise the needs of village residents.