Sukhbir Badal pledges urban amenities for 13k villages

Bathinda: Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) president Sukhbir Singh Badal on Sunday announced a comprehensive rural development plan, pledging to equip all 13,000 villages in Punjab with concrete streets, sewerage systems, and beautified ponds if his party forms the government in 2027.Addressing a rally in the Sardulgarh constituency at Jhunir village, the SAD president detailed a phased infrastructure upgrade. Under the proposal, 3,000 villages would be developed annually. Badal asserted that this initiative would ensure every village in the state possesses the same civic amenities currently available in cities. "We never made promises we can't fulfill," he stated, urging voters to choose SAD for world-class roads, modern hospitals, medical colleges, and an advanced schooling system.He also extended several commitments to government employees, promising to release all dearness allowance arrears, reintroduce the Old Pension Scheme, and ensure prompt pay revisions. Furthermore, he proposed a system to facilitate postings closer to employees' hometowns.Telling Punjabis not to be befooled by the recent move of the AAP govt to sell off govt properties in the guise of providing Rs 1,000 per month to women for 3 months in the run-up to the assembly elections, Badal said this was a conspiracy to loot Punjab and spend part of the proceeds to influence votes. "We will oppose tooth and nail a plan to sell off land belonging to the PSPCL and the municipal corporations."The SAD president also announced that tubewell connections would be given to all those who were bereft of this facility.Bathinda MP Harsimrat Kaur Badal highlighted the previous development work undertaken in Sardulgarh during SAD tenures, citing the upgrade of 32 schools, the establishment of seven power grids, 10 water works, a judicial complex, and the installation of RO water 1plants in every village. Both leaders concluded by expressing their gratitude to senior party leader Balwinder Singh Bhundar for his longstanding loyalty to the party. MSID:: 129092881 413 |