DW Bureau  /  Pathankot: Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Singh Mann said that the state government will explore the feasibility of giving a special industrial and trade package to the border town.

The Chief Minister, while addressing the gathering during second Sarkaar Vapaar Milni, said that he will personally take the issue of starting flights from the Pathankot airport to Delhi with the Government of India. Likewise, he said that massive efforts are already afoot to give a boost to the tourism industry in this area as it is blessed with natural beauty adding that it can give a big boost to the industry. Bhagwant Singh Mann said that the state government will also explore the feasibility of giving a special package to boost the industrial development in the region.

Training his guns against the BJP leader and local MP Sunny Deol, the Chief Minister said that despite of being elected from here he is not aware of basic topography of Pathankot adding that he can bet that Sunny Deol must not be aware that where Dhar Kalan or Chamrod is in Pathankot. He said that the people of Pathankot had made a mistake by electing the bollywood star who has no link with the people and the region. Bhagwant Singh Mann said that this has jeopardized the development of the region but the state government will leave no stone unturned for giving boost to the development of the area.  

The Chief Minister reminded the Lok Sabha MP from Gurdaspur Sunny Deol that politics is not a 9 to 5 job but a person should always be available to the people. He bemoaned that people had elected him but Sunny Deol neither went to the parliament nor ever visited his own constituency. Bhagwant Singh Mann quipped that the star of tinsel world crossed borders in movies but he never enquired about the well being of people of this border region that had elected him.

The Chief Minister said that rather than electing some big name from outside the state, the wise people of the state must vote for a person who is local and available to them. Bhagwant Singh Mann said that there are a lot of dedicated leaders from the state who are serving the state dedicatedly and with zealously. He said that people must vote for these leaders rather than selecting the parachute leaders chosen by people from outside.

The Chief Minister said that Sarkaar Vapaar Milnis are aimed at resolving all the issues being faced by the trading community in the state. He said that traders play a pivotal role in the progress of the state due to which the state government has taken this historic initiative to solve the issues faced by traders. Bhagwant Singh Mann said that the motive is to give fillip to the trade and industry in the region by making the traders an equal partner in this noble cause.

Likewise, the Chief Minister said that in another historic initiative the government has started Sarkar Tuhade Dwaar scheme, which is aimed at bringing the government at the doorsteps of the people. He said that earlier the governments used to run from Chandigarh but now it is being run from the villages. Bhagwant Singh Mann said that the sole aim was to empower the people by sending the officers in field instead of the earlier trend of people running pillar to post in government offices.

The Chief Minister said that as a part of this the state Government had in December 2023 started a flagship scheme regarding doorstep delivery of major Government services by starting delivery of 43 important services to Citizens. Bhagwant Singh Mann said that as per that scheme Citizens can call 1076 number, give appointments as per its own convenience and official visits at the doorstep of citizens, apply service and finally deliver certificates to citizens. He said that now going beyond that the state Government has taken another important initiative ‘Aap ki Sarkar, Aap Ke Dwar’ to reach out to the citizens by organizing Camps across the state adding that four Camps will be organized in every tehsil of the state daily.

The Chief Minister said that in a big relief the state government had closed the Toll plazas that had breached the agreement with the state government. He said that it has facilitated the people in a big way as they had to shelve huge money at these toll plazas. Bhagwant Singh Mann said that the sole aim is to ensure that people do not face any sort of problem while commuting in the state.

The Chief Minister reiterated that the state government has taken an out of box initiative by introducing unique colour coded stamp papers, which is a step forward towards ushering a new era of Industrial Revolution in the state. Bhagwant Singh Mann said that Punjab is the first state to introduce green colored stamp papers to facilitate the entrepreneurs for setting up their units thereby giving much needed fillip to industrial growth of the state. He described it as a revolutionary step aimed at promoting ease of doing business for the entrepreneurs desirous of setting up their units in the state. / DW