Chandigarh:Ahead of Prime Minister Narendra Modi's visit to Punjab, Congress MLA Rana Gurjeet Singh on Tuesday sought from the Centre a special package for infrastructure development and tax exemptions for boosting the industrial sector in the state. The Kapurthala MLA said his party affiliation notwithstanding, he welcomes the prime minister to Punjab.
Modi will visit Punjab on August 24 and inaugurate Homi Bhabha Cancer Hospital and Research Centre in Mohali district. The hospital has been built at a cost of over Rs 660 crore by Tata Memorial Centre. Addressing reporters here, Singh said Punjab needs a special package for infrastructure development. "Infrastructure such as roads, hospitals, medical colleges, etc., are required for the development of the state. Punjab needs a package from the Centre for this purpose," he said.
The Centre should also announce tax holidays for the revival of the industrial sector on lines of hilly states, he said. "Industry in Punjab is a big source of employment for both skilled and unskilled people and it plays a vital role in the journey of progress. We need to revive the industrial sector by giving tax holidays, a freight equalisation scheme and other exemptions to boost investments," the MLA said.
Singh, a former minister, also spoke about the problems of depleting groundwater table and farmers' suicide. "The viability of the entire agriculture sector is at stake as continuously depleting water table, availability of unchecked spurious seeds, pesticides and insecticides, and high rates of fertilizers etc., are killing agriculture," he said. He stressed steps need to be taken for boosting crop diversification in the state. (PTI)
