Punjab Chief Minister Prakash Singh Badal has called upon the Central Government to strengthen the states financially
CHANDIGARH: Punjab Chief Minister Prakash Singh Badal has called upon the Central Government to strengthen the states financially in order to achieve better and equitable economic development in the country.
Speaking at the Economic Times Chief Ministers' Summit here, he said that in a globalized world, the Indian economy was not insulated from the world economy and the impact of the recessionary trends was bound to be felt here.
Most of the economic measures needed to combat the situation were required to be taken by the Union Government and some steps had already been taken in this direction.
However, what was of greater concern was the likely impact of the recession on the lives of the vast multitudes that still struggle to meet out a respectable living, he said.
He urged the economists and captains of industry to also factor the concerns of these people while deliberating over the required intervention by the Union Government.
Badal said that the greatest challenge facing states today is that arising out of rising inequity.
The "Other India" has failed to keep pace with the corporate India growing at 9 per cent.
Naxalism has emerged as a major challenge to the peace and development in a number of states of the country and the widening gap between the rich and the poor could provide a fertile ground for its further spread, he said.
He said that he had raised the matter at many fora before the country's Prime Minister and Home Minister.
Elaborating further, the Chief Minister highlighted three main issues that states must focus in the current scenario.
Firstly, being a state subject it was imperative to maintain good law and order and it was distressing to see the spread of regional and communal strife in the country.
Peace was the basic pre-requisite for economic development, he stated.
Secondly, people-oriented land acquisition policies were the need of the hour after the unfortunate events in Nandigram in West Bengal.
In Punjab, almost 5000 acres of land had been acquired for three Thermal Plants and an International Airport without any resistance from farmers as the State had formulated a progressive acquisition policy and made farmers partners in the state's progress.
Finally, the states must invest in infrastructure and in improving their manpower base. Punjab had embarked upon adding 7000 MW of power against a present installed capacity of 6500 MW to make the State power surplus by 2012.
Similarly, the State was giving due attention to skill development and setting up of high level institutes in the State.
Besides the Knowledge City in Mohali, an Indian School of Business was being set up here along with an IIT, a Central University and a World Class University.
Steps were afoot to provide better educational facilities to school children in order to improve the indices of human resources development in the state, he added.
Badal, however, lamented that Punjab's industry had been rendered uncompetitive by grant of special concessions to the neighbouring States.
He said that he was not against grant of any concessions to them but urged a similar package to revive Punjab's industry and service sector.
He also urged the Central Government to compensate the farmers adequately by fixing realistic Minimum Support Prices of crops.
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