Chandigarh, April 4
Marking four years of the Aam Aadmi Party government in Punjab, Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann on Friday presented what he described as a report card of his administration, highlighting government recruitment, digital services and anti-corruption measures as key achievements.
As part of the government’s “Shandaar Chaar Saal Bhagwant Mann De Naal” campaign, Mr Mann said his government had provided 65,264 government jobs over the last four years, which he claimed was the highest number of appointments made by any state government in Punjab during a similar period.
He said the jobs had been distributed across several departments, including education, police, power, health and local government. According to the figures shared by the chief minister, the education department accounted for 16,308 appointments, Punjab Police for 12,966, the power department for 8,765, health and medical education for 6,320, and the local government department for 5,771 posts.
Mr Mann said the government had also granted a five-year age relaxation to candidates, arguing that many young people had lost opportunities in the past due to delayed recruitment and legal disputes.
The chief minister said the recruitment process under his government had been carried out on merit and without political influence. He claimed there had been no paper leaks, no bribery and no court challenges to the recruitment drives, and said several candidates had cleared more than one selection process. Some, he added, had even returned from abroad to take up government jobs in Punjab.
Drawing a contrast with previous governments, Mr Mann said earlier regimes had often favoured “their own families” over ordinary citizens. He also claimed that, apart from government recruitment, around seven lakh people had secured jobs in the private sector during his government’s tenure.
Speaking about skill development, Mr Mann said the state had launched the Hunar Vikas Mission, under which five Multi-Skill Development Centres had been set up in Amritsar, Bathinda, Hoshiarpur, Jalandhar and Ludhiana. He said around 1.25 lakh youth had been trained at these centres, of whom 73,250 had found placements.
The chief minister said the state had signed agreements with Microsoft and IBM to provide training in areas such as AI, cloud computing.
He said 1,799 self-employment camps had helped nearly 1.99 lakh young people access loans to start businesses, while 6,724 placement camps and job fairs had also been organised.
Mr Mann also highlighted steps taken in defence and paramilitary training. He said 36,342 young people had been trained for recruitment into the Army, Navy, Air Force and paramilitary forces, and 5,509 had been selected.
Referring to the state’s armed forces preparatory institutes, he said the Maharaja Ranjit Singh Armed Forces Preparatory Institute had trained 218 boys, of whom 106 joined the NDA and other academies, while 85 became commissioned officers. He said the Mai Bhago Armed Forces Preparatory Institute had trained 199 girls, with 24 becoming commissioned officers. He added that a new institute would soon be opened in Hoshiarpur.
On governance reforms, the chief minister said Punjab was moving towards becoming a Digital Punjab, with 544 Sewa Kendras now offering more than 465 services. He said nearly 30 lakh people visit these centres every month, and that over 8.2 crore digital services had been delivered so far.
He said documents such as birth, death and marriage certificates were now being sent to citizens through SMS and WhatsApp, and that more than one crore certificates had already been issued digitally. According to him, the pendency rate for services had dropped from 14 percen t to 0.5 percent.
The Chief Minister further said that Tuhade Dwar” scheme was launched in December 2023, allows people to access 437 services from home through the 1076 helpline. He said the scheme had so far benefited 2.66 lakh people, especially senior citizens and those unable to visit government offices.
The chief minister also referred to the Digital Flood Compensation System, saying compensation had been distributed digitally in 3,700 villages, which he said had improved transparency and reduced the scope for wrongful claims.
On land-related reforms, Mr Mann said the government’s Easy Registry system had reduced corruption in tehsil offices and simplified the registration process. He said more than six lakh documents had been registered since July 2025, and claimed the system had largely removed middlemen from the process.
He said people can now register property online, receive updates through WhatsApp, and complete registration at any Sub-Registrar office within their district. A “Draft My Deed” option and complaint mechanism for bribery have also been added, he said.
Highlighting transport reforms, Mr Mann said faceless RTO services had been introduced for the first time in Punjab. He said 56 services, including driving licence and registration certificate-related work, are now available through 1076 and Sewa Kendras, and that 25,236 people had used them so far.
On corruption, Mr Mann said the state government had adopted a zero-tolerance policy and launched its Anti-Corruption Action Line on 23 March 2022. He said the helpline had received 12,218 complaints, of which 10,820 were sent to departments and 1,398 to the Vigilance Bureau.
He said 275 FIRs had been registered and 341 people arrested, including gazetted officers, government employees, police personnel and civilians. According to him, the Vigilance Bureau had conducted 487 raids and registered 534 cases against 1,215 accused.
The chief minister said investigations were continuing against 357 individuals, and claimed 143 cases had led to convictions, with several officials removed from service.
Responding to a question, Mr Mann also took aim at the BJP, accusing it of avoiding accountability by blaming political opponents for governance failures. Referring to unfulfilled promises, he said issues ranging from the ₹15 lakh pledge to MSP remained unresolved.
On farmer welfare, the chief minister said the government was examining a proposal to shift high-tension power lines running through agricultural land underground. He said the project would begin in his native village, where hundreds of tubewells and electricity poles are spread across around 2,000 acres.
Mr Mann also announced that a special session of the Punjab Assembly would be held around Vaisakhi to discuss amendments to the Jagat Jot Sri Guru Granth Sahib Satkar Act, 2008. He said the proposed changes would include stricter punishment in sacrilege cases, with provisions ranging from 10 years’ imprisonment to life.
On wheat procurement, the chief minister sought to reassure farmers and commission agents, saying all arrangements had been made for smooth procurement in the state. Referring to the concerns of Aarthiyas, he said their demands had been repeatedly raised with the Centre, but many of the issues could only be addressed by the Union government.
Punjab Cabinet Minister Aman Arora and other leaders were present at the event.
