Chandigarh, April 18, 2020 (Yes Punjab News)
Union food processing industries minister Harsimrat Kaur Badal today asked chief minister Capt Amarinder Singh to tell Punjabis why no relief was being given to them from either the money or the food material sent to Punjab by the centre after March 20 when COVID -19 broke out and said it would be better if he distributed this relief before asking for more central funds.
In a statement here, the Union minister said as far as funds received by Punjab from the centre were concerned, the State had received Rs 3,485 crore including Rs 2366 crore on account of GST compensation & arrears, Rs 638 crore as a Revenue Deficit Grant, Rs 247 crore for disaster management, Rs 72 crore for MNREGA, Rs 41 crore under the National Health Mission and Rs 72 crore as hundred per cent assistance under the emergency response and health preparedness package announced by the Prime Minister. “Besides this Punjab has also received 10.70 lakh Hydrochloroquine tablets, 33,615 N-95 masks and 4,500 PPE kits from the centre”.
Mrs Harsimrat Badal said Punjabis wanted to know why the State government was not taking required efforts to give direct support to those most affected by the ongoing curfew despite receiving funds under various heads including disaster management. She said it was unfortunate that even PPE kits as well as N-95 masks had not been distributed to frontline medical care givers.
“The required number of ventilators have similarly not been provided to government hospitals despite the fact that funds have been received for this purpose under the Emergency Response Health Preparedness Package”.
Mrs Badal said this was not all. She said the centre had also despatched 15 kg wheat and 3 kg pulses each for 1.4 crore people which was half of the population of Punjab since March 26. “This relief material is still lying in Punjab government godowns and has not reached a single household.
Please prioritise distribution of the food material on an urgent basis. The tardy approach of the State government in distributing central relief is condemnable. Relief must reach the poor and needy at the earliest”, Mrs Badal added.
Asking the chief minister to take immediate action on all issues raised by her, the Union minister stressed that cooperation was the need of the hour. “The centre has acted with speed and provided funds to the State to tackle all exigencies arising due to the COVID-19 pandemic and resultant curfew.
It is the duty of the State to distribute this relief among the people quickly. We should expend our energies in this rather than picking at the centre and only focussing ourselves on making more demands”, Mrs Badal told chief minister Capt Amarinder Singh.
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