Badal asks Centre to release Rs 5,187.75 cr

Punjab Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal today urged Union Urban Development Minister Venkaiah Naidu to release Rs 5,187.75 crore to ensure 100 pc water supply, sewerage facilities besides providing a network of roads and street lighting in all towns of the state.
Badal also impressed upon Railway Minister Suresh Prabhu to develop High Speed Rail Corridor Delhi-Chandigarh-Amritsar on priority and include it in its 'Vision 2020' plan.
He also urged HRD Minister Smriti Irani for expediting the process to constitute a site selection committee to finalise the site for Indian Institute of Management (IIM) at Amritsar.
He told her that the state has identified two sites with one being of 192 acres at Awan village, about 40 km from the airport and another one nearby.

Batting for fixation of Minimum Support Price (MSP) of crops as per Swaminathan formula, Badal impressed upon Agriculture Minister Radha Mohan Singh to continue the MSP regime of procurement for providing food security to people.
He called for revival of agriculture sector which has turned non profitable due to high input costs and low returns resulting in mounting farmers' debt and suicides, saying the continuation of procurement at MSP was the need of the hour.

He said any change in this could lead to serious unrest amongst farmers. Badal asked the Union Minister to make necessary recommendations to the concerned quarters for continuing this system of price support mechanism to farmers.

Pleading the case of implementing agricultural scientist M S Swaminathan's formula (cost + 50 pc profit), the Chief Minister said it was one of the viable solutions to stabilise the present crisis in agriculture economy of the country.
He also urged the Union Minister to revise the norms for relief of damage to crops due to natural calamities thereby re-fixing compensation in case of complete crop loss to at least Rs 20,000 per acre instead of existing Rs 3,600 per acre, which was too meagre and inadequate.
Badal also met Health Minister J P Nadda and impressed upon him for clearing pending health projects in the state.