Punjab moots Commonwealth working group HQ in state

Punjab Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal Wednesday mooted a proposal to form a working group of members of Commonwealth nations with a permanent headquarters in the state to create a mechanism for the exchange of ideas, experiences and future strategies.

Addressing a three-day Commonwealth Parliamentary Association (CPA) workshop for chairpersons and members of Parliamentary Agriculture Committees for India, Asia and South East Asia regions, at the Punjab assembly complex here, Badal said that that countries taking part in the conference had almost similar social-economic conditions and were confronted with nearly similar challenges.

He sought cooperation from Lok Sabha Speaker Sumitra Mahajan for establishing a permanent headquarter of CPA in Punjab.

Badal said that the state is known for the most advanced agriculture practices and its enormous contribution in the country's food bowl by making it self-reliant in food production.

Highlighting the problems faced by the peasantry in the entire region, he hoped that the deliberations at the conference would be result-oriented, paving the way for closer cooperation in agriculture at all levels.

'Green Revolution' state Punjab contributes over 50 percent of food grains, wheat and rice, to the national kitty despite having only 1.54 percent of the country's geographical area.