As Gurdaspur by-poll looms, Punjab CM announces sops on I-Day

With a by-election to the Gurdaspur Lok Sabha seat looming large, Punjab Chief Minister Amarinder Singh on Tuesday announced various schemes and incentives for holistic development of border areas in Gurdaspur and Pathankot districts.

He made the announcements in his speech after unfurling the Tricolour during the state-level 71st Independence Day celebrations function in Gurdaspur.

The projects announced included those relating to health and education infrastructure, besides new cards under Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act scheme.

"In all, 67,000 MGNREGA cards will be issued to beneficiaries in Gurdaspur and 30,000 in Pathankot," Amarinder Singh said.

The Gurdaspur seat fell vacant in April after veteran actor and sitting BJP MP Vinod Khanna died due to cancer. The resultant by-election to the Lok Sabha seat is likely to be announced any time soon by the Election Commission. The seat will witness a tough fight between the Bharatiya Janata Party and Punjab's ruling Congress.

The Chief Minister announced a state-of-the-art new bus stand at Gurdaspur, which will cost Rs 20 crore.

As many as Rs 84 crore had been set aside for providing toilets and water connections to all rural households in the district, he added.

He announced Rs 2.5 crore for the upgradation of infrastructure of police stations in Gurdaspur, Batala and Pathankot.

Other schemes and incentives for Gurdaspur included completion of water supply and sewerage works at a cost of Rs 7.50 crore, release of Rs 18 crore for developmental projects in Dera Baba Nanak and other areas of Gurdaspur.

He also announced allocation of Rs 44.02 crore to upgrade health infrastructure and Rs 118 crore for school infrastructure in Gurdaspur.

Another Rs 45 crore has been allocated for disbursement under the old-age pension scheme, and Rs 7 crore for 'Ashirwad' scheme.

The Chief Minister announced construction of a new Sainik School in Dalla Gorian village in Gurdaspur district.

Besides a Rs 67 crore outlay for facelift of Pathankot and another Rs 42 crore for facelift of Batala, the Chief Minister announced setting up of a Pepsico bottling plant at Pathankot, where link roads would be repaired at a cost of Rs 55 crore.

--IANS

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