Capt Amarinder Singh takes salute from the march past at Patiala. Tribune photo

Tribune News Service

Patiala, January 26

Chief Minister Capt Amarinder Singh on Friday appealed to the state’s farmers not to commit suicide saying his government is committed to the total implementation of its farm debt waiver programme by November 2018.He also launched the release of benefits under a unique scheme aimed at the inclusive growth of the distressed sections of society.In his brief speech after taking the salute and unfurling the national flag at the Republic Day parade at the YPS Stadium here, Amarinder assured the beleaguered farmers of the state that each of the 10.25 lakh farmers covered by the debt waiver scheme would receive its benefit by November this year.

(Follow The Tribune on Facebook; and Twitter @thetribunechd)

Underlining his government’s commitment to the development of Patiala, which had been “sidelined” by the erstwhile SAD-BJP government completely during its 10-year rule, the Chief Minister announced a development grant of Rs 45 crore for rural areas and Rs 5 crore for urban areas over and above the Rs 100 crore already announced by him for the upgrade of infrastructure in both urban and rural segments of the district.Holding the Akalis solely responsible for the ruin of the state’s economy, Capt Amarinder pointed out that when his government demitted office in 2007, the total debt burden on state was Rs 46,000 crore, which had now mounted to Rs 2,08,000 crore due to the misrule and ill- conceived policies of the SAD-BJP government.Listing out the various initiatives taken by his government to bring about the development of the state, which had been totally ruined by the Akalis, Capt Amarinder inaugurated a Rs 2000 crore project to repair 16,000 km rural link roads. This was the first time that the state government was investing such a huge amount for the development of rural link roads, he added.

Launching the benefits under the Mahatama Gandhi Sarbat Vikas Yojana, with the aim to ‘Wipe every tear from every eye’ as envisioned by Mahatma Gandhi, Amarinder said the programme’s objective is to give the distressed sections the help they needed, socially or economically or psychologically.

The government had identified a large number of such needy people who had so far been deprived of the pro-poor initiatives, he said, adding that of these, two lakh people would start getting the benefits of 20 different schemes of the government from today onwards.Extending Republic Day greetings to people, Amarinder recalled the historic moment in 1950 when India adopted its Constitution.He said the government had also decided to waive loans up to Rs 50,000 of Punjab Backward Classes Land Development and Finance Corporation (Backfinco) given to the beneficiaries.Amarinder also launched the e-POS scheme to cover the state’s fair price shops to replace the earlier blue card system for distribution of atta-dal.The Chief Minister lauded the visually and hearing and speech impaired students who participated in the parade and presented a taekwondo show. He announced Rs 1 lakh per school/college which participated in the cultural function, from the CM’s fund.The CM honoured freedom fighters and their families with shawls and sweets. He also honoured 67 eminent personalities from different walks of life for their outstanding contributions in their respective fields.