Punjab to spend Rs 126 crore for border area development

Chandigarh, June 4 (UNI) The Punjab Government has embarked upon an ambitious plan to spend Rs 126 crore under Border Area Development Programme (BADP) during the current financial year.

This plan would cover 18 blocks of four border districts of Amritsar, Tarn Taran, Gurdaspur and Ferozepur. Each block would be given Rs seven crore for the development of the area within the BADP guidelines.

A decision to this effect was taken at a high level meeting held here at Punjab Bhawan under the chairmanship of Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal. The MLAs of the border districts also participated in the meeting.

The main objective of the 100 per cent centrally funded BADP was to meet the special developmental needs of the people living in remote and inaccessible areas situated near the international border.

Mr Badal asked the MLAs to prepare a blueprint of the blocks falling within their Assembly constituencies for the overall development that would broadly include the up-gradation of at least four schools, a civil hospital or community health centre, a veterinary hospital and a skilled training centre or industrial training institute (ITI) with the latest infrastructure including the building and equipment besides the trained manpower.

The Chief Minister asked the MLAs to submit the plan within ten days either to their respective Deputy Commissioners or directly to the Secretary Planning.

Emphasising the need to ensure the availability of qualified teachers, doctors, veterinary doctors and paramedics in the border areas, Mr Badal called upon the departments of Finance, Personnel and Rural Development and Panchayats to chalk out a proposal for the appointment of the requisite staff especially teachers from the border areas. He stressed the need for creating a special cadre of teachers at the block level to avoid the problem of frequent transfers.

He said that the development of border areas was mainly hampered due to the shortage of staff and the government was fully seized of the situation and was now prepared to put in position the requisite staff in these districts. He said that the unemployed youth of the border areas would be given vocational training in trades like carpentry, plumbing, TV and mobile phone repair and refrigeration/air conditioning.

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