Chandigarh, March 28
Drastic reforms in the police, strong action against corrupt politicians and officials, three months to one year remission in the jail term of convicts, free education up to graduation for students from poor sections, setting up of urban development authorities in five cities, one-time loan settlement scheme for SCs and BCs and health insurance for poor families are some of the important announcements made today by Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal in the Punjab assembly.

Badal said he would bring about drastic changes in the functioning of the police and convert it into a force that would respect human dignity and human rights.

Delivering a lengthy speech, at times loaded with boring statistics and unnecessary details but marked by incisive comment against opponents, Badal said the Amarinder Singh government ruined the police set-up and politicised the bureaucracy. Advising politicians not to develop a close relationship with bureaucrats, he recalled how he was ditched by certain officers at the fag end of his tenure as Chief Minister last time.

He criticised a former DGP in the house for his uncalled-for role during the tenure of the Amarinder Singh government.

Badal said the convicts undergoing jail terms of 10 to 20 years would get one-year remission and with jail terms of 5 to 10 years, remission of nine months. Those undergoing jail terms of 2 to 5 years would get remission of six months and for periods less than that, remission of three months.

He increased the financial grant from Rs 1 lakh to Rs 2 lakh for building new dharamshalas for dalits while the grant for repairs was increased from Rs 25,000 to Rs 50,000.

He said in adarsh schools, children of dalits, poor shopkeepers and farmers would get free education up to the plus 2 level. Such schools would have the facility of free board and books would also be given free of cost.

Already, Rs 1 crore had been released to set up such a school at Khatkar Kalan, he said. He claimed that such schools would match the education standards of the best schools in the country. For poor students, education would be free up to the graduation level. There would be a free health insurance cover of up to Rs 1 lakh for all poor families in the state. As many as 22 lakh poor persons would benefit from this scheme, he said. Besides, there would be a provision for mobile health dispensaries.

All 32,000 vacant posts of teacher would be filled soon and teachers would be promoted to fill 13,110 vacant posts of principal in schools.

He said Rs 13.77 crore had been earmarked for the one-time settlement of the pending dues of loans of government organisations against dalits and members of the backward classes. No dues would be recovered from defaulters who had already paid, for example, Rs 200 for Rs 100 availed of as loan, he added.

He said farmers would be given payment within 48 hours for wheat brought by them to various grain markets. He criticised the union government for banning corporates from purchasing wheat in various markets in Punjab. He urged Congress leaders to urge the union government to revoke such an order.

He said to streamline development, an urban development authority would be set up in Bathinda, Ludhiana, Jalandhar, Patiala and Amritsar. Potable water would be provided to the remaining population in all urban settlements by March, 2008, and the sewerage facility provided in five years. Sector 62 of Mohali would be developed as one of the best commercial centres in the world, he added. Those executing mega housing projects would be asked to simultaneously make houses for low-income groups, he added.

He said that within six months, 800 MW would be added to the state grid. He said the total availability of power at present was 6,088 MW and the demand 9,000 MW. There would be 39 per cent shortage of power during peak load hours, he added. The Amarinder government had not added even 1 MW to the state grid, he asserted. Industrialists would be allowed to buy power from outside. All canals would be desilted and water courses bricklined.