We never had starvation: Punjab Minister on Niti Aayog's SDG India Index

Punjab Ministers SS Dharamsot and Balbir Sidhu said that that there is no question of anyone going to bed hungry in Punjab, and Niti Aayog's Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) India Index data was "wrong".

"We never had starvation. Everyone should work and a person who works can never die of starvation in Punjab. These figures are wrong. We give atta and dal free - a person can't even make roti?" asked Dharamsot.

Punjab Health Minister Sidhu said, "I don't think there is anyone in Punjab who sleeps without having food, anyone who does so is probably trying to lose weight. We in Punjab have a such a healthy and rich diet, there is no question of anyone sleeping hungry."

Punjab Chief Minister Captain Amarinder Singh had on Wednesday lauded the marked improvement in several key sectors under the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) in the state while calling for more aggressive efforts to boost performance in other areas.

Niti Aayog's -- SDG Index 2019-20 report, based on 17 goals covering 100 indicators, showed that the state has done exceptionally well in areas like open-defecation free (ODF), internet subscribers, Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana (PMAY) and door-to-door waste collection, besides showing improvement in the average annual dropout rate at secondary level, said an official statement.

According to the statement, Punjab ranked 10th with the index score 60 among the states against India's overall score of 57 points in NITI Aayog's first report 'SDG Index India 2018', based on 13 goals covering 62 priority indicators.

However, there were a few indicators where the state's performance had marginally declined. The release further said that employment under the MGNREGA decreased from 81.63 per cent to 76.12 per cent, sex ratio at birth decreased from 893 to 886, and reported cognizable crimes against children (one lakh population) increased from 21 to 24.3.