Amarinder apprises Sonia Gandhi of Pb govt's performance in implementing poll promises

Punjab Chief Minister Amarinder Singh on Friday apprised Congress president Sonia Gandhi of his government's performance in implementing the party's election promises in the state.

The Chief Minister made the appraisal during a meeting convened by Sonia Gandhi to review the performance of various Congress-ruled states in executing the party's plans and policies and assess the general governance.

Amarinder later told media persons in an informal chat that he had apprised Gandhi that of the 161 promises made by his government before assuming power, 140 had been implemented while the remaining were in the process of being execution.

The Chief Minister also informed the Congress president of the key programmes implemented successfully by his government, including employment generation, drug eradication, farm debt waiver and the extension of PMJAY health insurance cover to 42 lakh families in the state, among others.

According to a statement released by the Punjab government, the Chief Minister said Gandhi particularly appreciated the success of his government in raising on-ground investment to the tune of over Rs 50,000 crore during the first two years of his dispensation and the extension of PMJAY scheme to cover almost the entire population in the state.

Amarinder said they had also discussed the problems faced by the state government in implementing some of the projects of the Government of India due to financial and other constraints.

The issue of greater coordination between the party and the government in the Congress-ruled states also came up for discussion, said the Chief Minister.

He added that he had assured the party president that his government was working closely with the elected representatives to reach out to the people across the state and ensure the fulfillment of their aspirations.

The MLAs were giving regular inputs and feedback to the administrative authorities to facilitate greater coordination between them, leading to focused efforts to address the problems of the people, Amarinder said.

The Punjab Chief Minister described the review meeting as a fruitful exercise to strengthen the governance system in the Congress-ruled states.