Unanimously elected panchayats to get Rs 5L special grant: Minister

Rural Development and Panchayats Minister Tarunpreet Singh Sond today announced that the Punjab Government will provide a special grant of Rs 5 lakh each to all unanimously elected panchayats.

He was addressing members of the newly-elected panchayats of Khanna subdivision in the district.

The first-time MLA from Khanna and inducted into the Punjab Cabinet less than a month ago, Sond emphasised that with the peaceful completion of the election process, the speed of development works would accelerate in the rural areas.

The minister stated that the Punjab Government was committed to putting the state on a high growth trajectory. He stressed that the efforts of the state government would only bear fruit if the newly-elected sarpanches and panches contributed generously for the cause of all-round development of their respective villages.

The minister mentioned that the government had already initiated a campaign to make the state drug-free by taking strict action against peddlers. “Now, the panchayats have to ensure their villages remain free of the menace,” he asserted.