In an apparent attempt to woo State farmers with an eye on Lok Sabha elections, Punjab Government on Thursday enhanced the funds allocation for its farm debt waiver scheme to Rs 5,500 crores.
Announcing the decision while chairing 45th meeting of the state Rural Development Board, Chief Minister Capt Amarinder Singh also directed the Mandi Board secretary to expedite the ongoing project of repairing rural link roads across the State for ensuring its time-bound completion.
The increase in funds for farm debt waiver would enable expansion of the scheme, bringing more debt-ridden farmers into its ambit, said the official spokesperson after the meeting.
The Chief Minister told the meeting that his Government would not allow financial crunch to undermine its commitment to provide relief to the distressed farmers in the state. His Government was already working on a plan to cover even landless farmers under its waiver scheme, he added.
During the meeting, Mandi Board secretary apprised the Chief Minister that a comprehensive road repair programme had been drawn up, under which the first phase of around 15,000 kms of repair was already under implementation and would be completed by June 2019.
The Phase II of rural link roads repair had also been initiated to repair another 15,000 kms of rural roads, for which the tendering process had been started and work would be allotted by February this year, with completion scheduled for June 2020.