Pb progressive investors meet yields desired result: Sukhbir

The recent 'Punjab progressive investors' summit has yielded positive results, especially in the strategies evolved to make the state power surplus in the country, Deputy Chief Minister Sukhbir Singh Badal said today.
After laying the foundation stone of 34 MW of solar based power project to be set up by Azoor Energy Pvt Ltd at Panjawa village here, he said that MoUs worth Rs 65,000 crore have been signed during the Punjab Progressive Investors' Summit held in December last year.
The summit enabled the state to attract "massive investments" by "top business houses" from within and outside India, Sukhbir said.

"The Punjab government has also issued allotment letters to 26 companies for setting up of 250 MW solar energy projects and this present project was also one of such projects worth Rs 350 crore," he said.
The deputy chief minister said the government has also formulated an extensive action plan to set up pollution free energy plants and under this plan as many as 26 companies have signed the required documents with the Punjab government.
The projects would be commissioned in the state from June to December 2014, Sukhbir added.

He said that at present 10 MW energy was being produced by the solar based energy projects in Punjab including Solar Energy Plant set up by Punjab Energy Development Authority at Phulokheri in Bathinda while total 600 MW power is being produced by the non-conventional energy sources.

Sukhbir said that adequate attention would be paid to achieve the target of producing 1000 MW solar energy, 600 MW from Agro waste/ paddy straw, 250 MW from mini hydle projects and 50 MW from solid waste material from urban areas.
In the coming days major multinational companies like Cargill, Infosys and ITC would start their units as per the MoUs signed during the Punjab Investors' Summit, he said.
Sukhbir told reporters that the aim of organising NRI 'Sammelan' (meet) was not to motivate the NRIs to invest in Punjab but to strengthen the interactive approach between the NRIs and the Punjabis and to ensure spot settlement of their various issues.

Replying to a query on Punjab Congress President Partap Singh Bajwa, he said that everybody knows about the "shady and suspicious background of Bajwa and because of his unscrupulous affinity he was shielding the drug mafia in the state."
He reiterated the commitment of the SAD-BJP government to nab the smugglers and drug peddlers.