SUMER GARG
DIRBA: Punjab Finance Minister (FM) Harpal Singh Cheema today visited nearly half a dozen villages in the Dirba Assembly constituency (DAC) and handed over cheques worth over Rs 1 crore to panchayats for various development works. Without holding any formal functions, he visited village gathering places, presented cheques to sarpanches and reviewed the progress of ongoing development works.
Speaking to journalists after inspecting the premix-laying work on the peripheral road at Rogla village and handing over a development grant cheque to Sarpanch Manpreet Kaur, the Finance Minister said that the Punjab Government, under the leadership of Chief Minister Bhagwant Singh Mann, was prioritising the comprehensive development of villages alongside towns and cities. He said funds were being regularly provided to panchayats to strengthen basic amenities and complete development works according to local needs.
Harpal Singh Cheema said that Rogla village’s peripheral road was being widened to 18 feet and surfaced with premix at a cost of nearly Rs 90 lakh. He said the road’s poor condition had previously caused inconvenience to villagers, and the completion of this work would ensure smoother travel.
The Finance Minister also visited the gathering place at Camper village and handed over a development grant cheque to Sarpanch Gursewak Singh. He said funds were being released for other necessary works alongside projects already underway in the constituency’s villages. He assured residents that there would be no shortage of funds for village development.
Harpal Singh Cheema said that a shortage of masons and labourers in some villages was affecting the pace of development works. Despite these difficulties, efforts were being made to complete all works at the earliest so that residents could benefit from the facilities.
Highlighting initiatives to encourage young people to take up sports, the Finance Minister said that a well-equipped sports stadium was being built in nearly every third village of the Dirba constituency. He said access to sports facilities at the village level would help young people develop their talent, stay away from drugs and engage in constructive activities.
He further said that pipelines were being laid to supply canal water to every field as part of efforts to conserve groundwater. Greater use of canal water would reduce dependence on groundwater and provide farmers with better irrigation facilities, he added.
On the occasion, Rogla Sarpanch Manpreet Kaur and Camper Sarpanch Gursewak Singh thanked the Punjab Government and the Finance Minister, describing his visits to villages to hand over development grant cheques as a commendable initiative. They said the Finance Minister had informed them of his visit over the phone and met them at the village gathering places to present the cheques. The sarpanches said that handing over grant cheques without organising formal functions saved panchayats both time and the expense of organising such events.