PUNJAB

As per the latest All-India Debt and Survey (AIDIS), the rural household indebtedness inPunjabhas increased from 33.1% in the year 2012 to 35.1% in 2018, Union finance minister for state Pankaj Chaudhary informed Lok Sabha on Monday. Similarly, the urban household indebtedness in Punjab has also witnessed nearly 2% increase from 18.3% to 20.6% during the same period.

The Average national rural household indebtedness was recorded at 35% and the average national urban household indebtedness at 22.4% in 2018. Chaudhary was responding to a question put by Congress MP from Ludhiana Ravneet Singh Bittu.

Similarly, in the hill state of Himachal Pradesh, the rural household indebtedness witnessed an escalation from 26% to 27.3% and the urban household indebtedness an increase from 21.9% to 23.9% between 2012 and 2018.

To find a sustainable solution to the municipal solid waste (MSW), Punjab New and Sources Minister Aman Arora emphasized the need to make its optimum use to generate green energy and bio-fuel from the same.

The organic-rich fraction will be processed into a dry anaerobic digestion plant to produce bio-CNG and high-quality compost, while, the RDF will be shredded, baled, and transported to a central refinery where it will be gasified to produce a range of fuels including methanol, biodiesel, and sustainable aviation fuel.

The company will make an Investment of Rs 1500 crores to set up the hub and spokes in collaboration with the ULBs. The plant will create up to 500 green jobs and could handle 1600 TPD of MSW from these major urban centers of the state, he added. Hydrogen mobility can play a pivotal role in decarbonizing sectors such as long-distance transport by trucks and buses that are difficult to electrify.

The newly formed Power Sector Reforms Forum has cautioned the against cancellation of power purchase agreements saying that such a step might have an adverse effect on consumers.

The forum, comprising retired power engineers of the Pspcl, said the government should instead buy private Plants. However, power experts believe that buying the private thermal plants will not solve the issue as the underutilisation of power is the root cause of the losses.

The forum leaders also opposed the privatisation of the distribution, proposed in the new electricity act which shall, on one hand, make electricity costlier and also deteriorate the quality of supply to the rural areas.

The decision, taken at a high-level meeting chaired by the Chief Secretary Vini Mahajan on Tuesday, will help the State to ensure seamless power supply to the Agriculture-notes-for-state-psc-exams”>Agriculture, , and domestic sectors even during the peak load time.

Reviewing the current power supply and demand status with the administrative secretaries, the Chief Secretary issued strict instructions to the Power Department to enhance the ATC and TTC capacity on priority and ensure seamless power supply to agriculture, industry, and domestic sectors as part of the continuous process to further improve the present system in the state.

Reiterating the Chief Ministers commitment that there will be no dearth of funds for the development projects, Mahajan asked the Finance Department to ensure the release of funds as per the requirements of the implementing departments.

Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann today said the guarantee given by the Aam Aadmi Party to give Rs 1,000 per month to all Women over 18 years of age would be fulfilled soon.

The CM made this statement during his speech while concluding the debate on Budget proposals for 2022-23. He said his government was trying to find Resources for implementation of this guarantee as soon as possible. Unlike previous governments, which only sent files for approval to regularise jobs of contractual employees but advertised that they have done it, we will fulfil our commitment to the women of the state this year, he said.

The Chief Minister bemoaned that the previous government have jeopardised the government Education and Health sectors to give open space to private players for expanding their business. However, he said this trend would be reversed in the coming years by his government. Mann said those who have ruined the government schools and hospitals have been shown the door by the people.

Virasat-e-Khalsa, the landmark museum showcasing heritage and culture of Punjab at Sri Anandpur Sahib, has accomplished a rare achievement by bagging the top state energy conservation award for the third year in SUCCESSION.

The award has been announced by Punjab Energy Development Agency, the state sponsored agency that gives these Awards annually for making extra efforts for efficient utilisation, management and conservation of energy in different sectors.

The award this year is special as it comes on top of awards for Virasat-e-Khalsa in the two preceding editions besides a host of other museum awards Virasat-e-Khalsa has bagged in the recent years.

In a big push to upgrade Education, Sunam has become the first Assembly constituency in the state to have started the process of setting up Robotics labs in all 18 Government Senior secondary schools.

One lab was inaugurated on Saturday by Minister Aman Arora and for the remaining 17 labs, authorities have dispatched latest equipment. Apart from robotics, three XR reality labs are also being set up with the help of a German firm.

The parliamentary standing committee on rural development has expressed its disappointment on the progress of implementation of watershed development component ofPradhan Mantri Krishi Sinchayee Yojana(WDCPMKSY) projects in five states, includingPunjabandHimachal Pradesh.

The department of land Resources informed the parliamentary standing committee that the funds released by it to the state governments during a particular financial year are not timely transferred to the respective SLNAs for project implementation, which hampers the release of central funds in the subsequent year also.

The committee report reveals that the department of land resources has not released any funds to the Punjab government in the last three years (2018-19 to 2020-21).

This scheme is also important for Punjab as the department of land resources informed the parliamentary committee that the necessary provisions for giving due priority to the areas witnessing low water table have already been incorporated in the revised draft guidelines for watershed projects to be followed under the proposed new generation WDCPMKSY.
The groundwater table in Punjab has been declining at the rate of 25-30 centimetres per annum in the past two decades. The central ground water board has already warned that Punjab could turn into a desert state in the next 25 years.

The Chief Minister said that Unemployment is the root cause of several social problems due to which the is focusing on eradicating this malady. So far, 27,042 government jobs have been given to the youth within merely one year of assuming the charge of office. This spree will continue in the coming days too as the State Government is laying major thrust on providing jobs to the youth, he said.

The Chief Minister said that this venue has witnessed a number of such events in which youth have got jobs in various government departments. This reflects the state governments commitment to ensure the well-being of youth and opening new avenues of EMPLOYMENT for them. It is a matter of immense pride and satisfaction for me that all the youth have been selected for these posts purely on the basis of merit, he said.