North News
Bathinda/Chandigarh, November 19
Punjab Finance, Planning, Excise and Taxation Minister Harpal Singh Cheema on Tuesday emphasised the crucial role of village panchayats as the foundation of democracy while administered the oath of office to 2,490 newly elected panches from 318 villages of the district Bathinda during the district-level oath-taking ceremony held at Shaheed Bhagat Singh Multipurpose Sports Stadium. On this occasion, Finance Minister Harpal Singh Cheema congratulated the district administration for conducting elections in a fair and transparent manner. Describing panchayats as the foundation of democracy, Finance Minister Cheema emphasised that decisions related to the development of villages should be taken in gram sabhas. He urged the panches to ensure proper utilisation of the grants provided by the Chief Minister Bhagwant Singh Mann-led Punjab Government so that the villages can be developed and taken towards further progress. He highlighted that if the panches and sarpanches perform their duties well, they can change the destiny of their villages. He also announced that after reviewing the works of the panchayats, a special grant of Rs 5 lakh will be given to them, and the state government will provide full support to the village panchayats for every noble work.
The Finance Minister called for uprooting the scourge of drugs from the state and stated that with the active role of the village panchs and sarpanchs, Punjab will soon be made a drug-free state. He assured that the Punjab government and the Punjab Police are committed and active in this work, making all possible and appropriate efforts for this purpose. He strongly appealed to the panches to give their full support in this noble effort.
For the welfare of the villages, the Finance Minister urged the panches and sarpanches to perform their duties with complete honesty and transparency. He also emphasised that the panchayat can play an important role in the all-round development of the village only if every decision is taken in consultation with the villagers. On this occasion, the Finance Minister appealed to the members of the panchayats to plant more and more trees to maintain environmental cleanliness, and encouraged them to ensure availability of safe water and clean air for future generations. On this occasion, the Finance Minister also released posters dedicated to the World Toilet Day and distributed certificates to the beneficiaries.
