Chandigarh: While addressing the Vidhan Sabha here on Monday, Minister for Social Justice, Empowerment and Minorities Baljit Kaur said the ‘Shagun’ sheme would be available online in the next two months. Answering a query by MLA Sukhwinder Singh Kotli, Baljit Kaur said, “The state has 43,640 cases against which the Shagun payments had not been released due to paucity of funds. We need Rs 219.2 crore. An adequate provision has been made in the budget this year.”
She assured the house that all pending cases, including those wrongly rejected, would be settled by the department. MLA Narinder Kaur Bharaj highlighted the problems of long delays being faced by the farmers in transfer of tubewell connections to the new owners after the sale of land.
Minister for Power Harbhajan Singh said 3,17,781 tubewell connections had been transferred to the family members after the death of the original allottees. However, there was a delay in transfer of connections to new land buyers.
The House discussed the issue of poor availability of sports fields in the state. MLA Gurlal said, “Our state is losing out on youth participation in sports as we don’t have the sports equipment or the required coaches. The state needs a sports policy.”
Minister for Sports Meet Hayer said, “We have started the process of hiring PTIs to give the youth an opportunity to exploit their potential.” Congress MLA Pargat Singh said, “We need to begin immediately if we want to see any changes in the next five to seven years. You don't excel in sports overnight.”
Minister for Tourism and Cultural Affairs Harjot Singh Bains, in his reply to a question raised by MLA Amritpal Singh Sukhanand, said, “The state is considering setting up a film city in Punjab on the basis of a report prepared by the Department of Industries and Commerce.”
Bains informed the House that the state is soon coming up with a policy on tourism. The issue of slow pace of work on the Kandi canal affecting farmers in the Doaba region was highlighted by MLA Harmit Singh Pathanmajra and Mukerian BJP MLA Jangi Lal Mahajan.