Moga 11 January 2019: The State government led by Chief Minister Capt. Amarinder Singh is committed giving a facelift to State's villages, said Minister of Food and Civil Supplies and Consumer Affairs, Mr. Bharat Bhushan while addressing the newly elected Sarpanchs / Panchs and members of Zila Parishad/ Panchayat Samitis after administering an oath to them. He administered oath to 337 Sarpanches, 2,452 panches from 341 new panchayats in the district, 115 members of block samiti and 15 members of Zila Parishad at a ceremony held in local Grain Market.
Felicitating, the newly elected representatives, Mr. Ashu said that they should work without prejudice for the development of villages and for strengthening communal harmony. He said that Panchayats in our country is the basic foundation of democracy and if our Panchayati Raj system is strengthened then our country's democratic system will also be strong. He said that Gram Panchayats have an important role in the development of rural areas and this purpose cannot be fulfilled without the active participation of Sarpanches and Panches.
Addressing the elected representatives of Gram Panchayats, he said that after free and fair elections the responsibility of overall development of the villages rests upon them so they should work hard for the same. The Minister motivated the office bearers of Gram Panchayats to work toward ending the menace of drugs from the villages.He also asked them to free the ‘ Shamlat land’ from illegitimate possession and encroachment, on priority. He informed that under Captain Amarinder Singh's leadership government has rid nearly 1,400 acres of land from illegal occupation and the earnings from Shamlat lands has increased from Rs. 290 crores to 330 crores.
On this occasion, the Minister also administered the oath to 'Drug Abuse Prevention Officers' for the elimination of drug addiction and creation of a healthy society.
Later, talking to the media, the minister said that there will be no shortage of funds for the development of villages and that the government has a firm resolve to bring an end to the drug addiction in the state. On this occasion MLA Baghapurana Darshan Singh Brar, MLA Dharamkot Sukhjit Singh Lohgarh, Ex-minister Dr. Malti Thaper, ex MLA bibi Rajwinder Kaur Bhagike, district president congress Maheshinder Singh Nihal Singh Wala, DC Sandeep Hans, SSP Gulneet Singh Khurana and other prominent personalities were present.