State govt seeks central assistance of Rs 1,000 crore

The state government has demanded Rs 1,000-crore central assistance for strengthening police infrastructure and security set-up in border districts. Industrial incentives similar to those provided to Jammu & Kashmir and neighbouring hill states were also sought to support MSMEs in Punjab’s border and sub-mountainous regions, during the pre-Budget meeting held with Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman at Jaisalmer.

Revealing this in a press communique on Sunday, Finance Minister Harpal Singh Cheema said the state strongly raised the demand to restore NABARD’s short-term seasonal agricultural operations (ST-SAO) limit to Rs 3,041 crore, from the reduced limit of Rs 1,100 crore for FY 2024-25. He said the restoration was vital to prevent farmers from turning to moneylenders.

For road connectivity in Rajpura under the PM Gati Shakti, the state government has requested Rs 100 crore to construct a 45 m wide and 5.6 km long approach road connecting the NH-44 with the Integrated Manufacturing Cluster, Rajpura.

He sought Vande Bharat train to connect Bathinda, incentive of Rs 2,500 per acre (Rs 2,000 per acre by the Centre and Rs 500 per acre by the state) for crop residue management, enhancing the grant under the Pradhan Mantri Gramin Awas Yojana from Rs 1.2 lakh to Rs 2.5 lakh per beneficiary, increasing the honorarium for cook-cum-helpers under the PM Poshan Abhiyaan from Rs 600 to Rs 2,000 per month and Rs 300 crore for the procurement of 250 new electric buses and setting up charging stations.

He also sought reimbursement of pending Rural Development Fee amounting to Rs 6,857 crore.