Latest news with #RanglaPunjabFund
Hindustan Times
09-05-2025
- Politics
- Hindustan Times
Punjab extends farishtey scheme for victims of war, terrorism
Chandigarh, People affected by war and terrorism will now be included under Punjab's 'farishtey' scheme, which was originally aimed at providing free treatment to accident victims. A decision to this effect was taken at the cabinet meeting chaired by Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann on Friday. A spokesperson of the Chief Minister's Office said coverage under the farishtey scheme 2024 has been expanded to provide immediate, hassle-free medical treatment to victims of war and terrorist activities, at government and empanelled private hospitals in the state. The move is aimed at lowering the mortality and morbidity rates resulting from injuries sustained during war and terrorist activities, and to encourage common people to come forward and help such individuals get timely treatment, he said. Under the original farishtey scheme, any person who voluntarily rescues accident victims and help save their lives will be considered a 'farishta' and conferred with a commendation certificate and ₹2,000 cash prize. The scheme applies to all victims of road accidents in Punjab and provides comprehensive treatment to accident victims, without a cap on the cost. The cabinet has also approved a pilot project to promote kharif maize in three regions, in order to push for crop diversification in the state. The project will be launched in three regions Gurdaspur-Pathankot, Bathinda and Jalandhar-Kapurthala spread over 12,000 hectares. The government will evolve a foolproof mechanism to ensure marketing of kharif maize to benefit the state's farmers, the spokesperson said. "The government has decided to buy maize crop at the minimum support price," he said. In another decision aimed at preserving the rich Punjabi culture, the cabinet gave its consent to bring an ordinance to start bullock cart races in the state. The game was once an integral part of Punjabi culture. A special clause in the ordinance lays emphasis on ensuring that no bulls are tortured during the race. The other decisions taken included cover under the Old Pension Scheme for 2,053 state government employees whose joining process started before January 1, 2004, and the installation of high-end 5G-enabled V-Kavach jammers for better security in 13 high-security jails. These jammers have already been successfully tested and they will be installed in all the jails in the state gradually, the spokesperson said. The cabinet also approved the transfer of 135 acres of the housing department's land at Faridkot to the industries department. The land, which originally belonged to a cooperative sugar mill and was transferred to the housing department, has huge potential for industrial use and hence will be developed into an industrial zone, he said. The creation of a 'Rangla Punjab Fund' was approved in order to give Non-Resident Indians a stake in the state's development. NRIs or resident Indians can contribute to this fund that would give a fillip to the state's growth. Managed by the finance department, the Rangla Punjab Fund will be used to accelerate growth in education, health, industry and other sectors. The cabinet also gave green signal to set up a 'centre of excellence for mining' at Indian Institute of Technology, Ropar. The centre of excellence will assess the area covered under mining and the extent of exploitation being done in the sector.
Indian Express
09-05-2025
- Business
- Indian Express
Cash-crunched Punjab looks at crowdfunding for giving villages a facelift
Cash-crunched Punjab will raise funds through crowdfunding by setting up a 'Rangla Punjab Fund', under which donations would be accepted from NRIs and others to help the state villages with infrastructure. The decision was taken by the Punjab Cabinet at a meeting in Chandigarh on Friday. Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann told the media that NRIs and others would be able to spend money on their native villages, adding that the government will write to the Centre to exempt income tax on these donations. 'If any NRI wants to donate money for the development of the villages, we will soon announce an account number. He can deposit the money in the account. If any NRI wants the money only to be spent in his native village, then we will do that,' said Mann. The development comes at a time when Punjab has been facing a funds crunch, with freebies bleeding the state exchequer dry. The government has not been able to spend much on the development of the state either. Sources said that while the fund was being set up, keeping in mind those NRIs who had made it big abroad, even those in India could donate funds for setting up projects in the villages. 'We always get requests from such persons, who want to pay back to their motherland, and help provide infrastructure like schools, stadiums in their native villages. However, there was no way to do so. They will be invited to deposit the money in the state finance department's account under the head of the fund,' a functionary of the government told The Indian Express. He added, 'For instance, an NRI got in touch with us that he wanted to spend Rs 50 lakh on his native village for cleaning the pond. But we could not help him. There was no way. Now, we have decided to set up the fund. The money will be deposited here.' 'Earlier, some central rules did not allow such funding to the government. Now, there has been an amendment. The money thus donated and deposited in the government account will not be considered parked money. We have taken legal opinion. Decks have been cleared for setting up this fund,' he further said. After taking over the reins of the state, the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) government in Punjab had given a similar call for crowdfunding. However, the Centre had not permitted the state government to accept such donations. 'At that time, it had come to a halt. Now, we will make this happen. All the money collected would be spent on the villages,' the government functionary said. Before the AAP government, former Congress finance minister Manpreet Singh Badal had also chalked out a plan to fill the state's coffers by crowdfunding. He had worked out a plan at that time and had issued an appeal to the NRIs to help the state. However, the scheme had not yielded anything. 'We are now prepared. We will manage. There are several villages in the state in which NRIs have already contributed. For instance, in Sarseeni village near Lalru, an NRI has given a total facelift to his native village. The village has a lake, a good school, and a stadium. It is a delight to visit the village. With our Rangla Punjab Fund, many villages will get a facelift,' the government functionary added.
