Assailing the Centre for step-motherly treatment with Punjab, Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal on Monday called for a nation-wide political initiative to recast the Constitution along federal lines, scrapping of all Central schemes, direct transfer of 50 per cent of Central taxes to States, among other things.
Badal also demanded the transfer of its capital Chandigarh and other Punjabi speaking areas to Punjab.
Giving his reply while concluding the discussion on the Governor’s Address in the absence of the Opposition, Badal impressed upon for an end to the politics of confrontation and starting of an era of cooperation politics for taking the State forward on the path to progress and getting its long pending demands settled.
During the discussion, none of the members from the Opposition congress participated in the wake of its decision to boycott the proceedings over the issue of alleged “raid” on the ClP office by the Punjab police cops, and suspension of nine MlAs.
Badal, in his address, accused the Centre for usurping the powers vested in states by the Constitution under State’s list.
He also pleaded that fixation of agriculture inputs and MSP, upgradation of schools, allocation of funds under the National Rural Urban Health Mission and allotment of link roads under Pradhan Mantri Gram Sadak Yojna among others should be solely left to the States so that they could prioritise these projects according to the felt needs of the people.
He pleaded for scrapping all Centrally sponsored schemes “arbitrarily based on the parameters suited to the Centre”
“Centre should transfer the funds directly to the States as Untied Funds and Direct Grants to enable them to formulate schemes,” he added.
listing out the achievements and priorities of his government briefly, Badal promised a ‘New Punjab’ with a modern outlook having world class social and physical infrastructure within next four years.
Chief Minister Parkash singh Badal demanded that the Centre should immediately enhance the allocation of crop diversification to Rs5,000 crore, from meager Rs500 crore for the Green Revolution States as announced by the Union Finance Minister in his budget speech, on the pattern of already sanctioned Rs4,000 crore to the eastern States under bringing Green Revolution to Eastern India.
To ensure planned and integrated urban development, he said that for the first time master plans for cities had been formulated.
“Thirty two master plans have already been notified and 18 would be notified within a year and 40 more would be notified in next three years,” he added.
Strenuous efforts have been made to cover all the villages and Dhanis across the state with quality potable drinking water supply by December 2014 at 70 litres per person per day, said Badal adding that out of total 15,170 villages and dhanis, 7,085 had been covered during over Government at a cost of Rs1664 crore.