Punjab Congress to hold block level rallies

Ludhiana, Oct 26: Gearing up for the next Assembly polls, the Punjab Pradesh Congress Committee (PPCC) would hold block level public rallies from October 31 to November seven.

The rallies would be jointly addressed by Chief Minister Amarinder Singh and PPCC president Shamsher Singh Dullo, Capt Singh said while talking to mediapersons here yesterday.

After the completion of these rallies, the Chief Minister would embark upon a 'Road Show' from November eight. The 'Road Show' would commence from Nangal and would take the Chief Minister through various parts of the state to highlight his governments achievements.

Referring to the delay in establishment of SEZs in the state, Capt Singh said the government had no role in the setting up of SEZs because the land for these projects had to be purchased individually at the prevalent market rates. The state government was merely a facilitator, he added.

He said the delay was mainly due to non-availability of land. He also clarified that the delay in implementation of mega projects approved by the state government was due to the normal gestation period that was three to fours years in the case of housing and township projects and minimum one to two years for industrial projects.

Such delays were beyond the government's control, he said. He was hopeful that within the next three to four years, all the mega projects would be operational.

Referring to the visit of Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, Capt Singh said Dr Singh and AICC president Sonia Gandhi would certainly visit Punjab to address election rallies.

The Prime Minister was likely to lay the foundation stone of Halwara airport and inaugurate Jawaharlal Nehru Urban Renewal Mission Programme at Ludhiana and Amritsar to boost urban development in both the cities.

Lauding the congress-led UPA for development initiatives in the state he said no Prime Minister had ever sanctioned development projects worth Rs 10,000 crore. Former Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee had merely sanctioned Rs 50 crore for the Khalsa Heritage Project of Anandpur Sahib, he added.

Replying to another question on the empowerment of Panchayati Raj Institutions (PRIs) under 73rd amendment, Capt Singh said his government had transferred seven departments to the PRIs in the first phase and was considering to transfer a few more gradually.

UNI