Punjab to set up backward classes welfare board

Patiala, Sep 29 (UNI) Punjab Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal today announced to set up a board for the welfare of all the backward classes to ensure justice and level playing field to these classes in the government jobs.

Besides, the board to be set up under the chairmanship of the Chief Minister and vice chairmanship of president, Backward Classes Wing of Shiromani Akali Dal and Cabinet Minister Hira Singh Gabria, would also moniter implementation of different schemes aimed at the welfare and uplift of these classes for their overall socio-economic development.

Addressing a state level public rally of the backward classes organised by the Backward Classes Wing of Shiromani Akali Dal here, Mr Badal said that the board would also ensure that the backlog of the posts reserved for backward classes over the past many years would be filled up amongst the eligible beneficiaries of this category within a time bound frame.

Speaking in the rally, Mr Badal also declared that all the different communities belonging to backward classes would be soon conferred upon the rights of ownership of 40000 acres of government land on which they had been continuously tilling over the past 10 to 15 years.

Mr Badal also pointed out that a comprehensive survey would be soon conducted by the state revenue department under the guidelines of Financial Commissioner Revenue to ascertain the modalities for these ownership rights.

The Chief Minister also announced that the state government would soon recommend the case of 'Gadria' community to the Central Government to declare it scheduled caste on the pattern of 'Rai Sikhs' community which had been recently brought within the ambit of scheduled castes category.

Later, while talking to the media persons, Mr Badal said that the Punjab government would ink a Memorandum of Understanding with the Ministry of Railways on October 1 to start a luxury train which would cover all the important religious, tourist and cultural destination in Punjab to showcase the untapped tourism potential of the state.

Addressing on the occasion, Shiromani Akali Dal president Sukhbir Singh Badal asked the members of the backward classes to organise themselves in the form of committees with a membership of 20 to 30 representatives from different communities in each block and district across the state to strengthen the backward classes wing of the party.

UNI PS MMS2038