DW BUREAU / Phillaur (Jalandhar)

Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Singh Mann on Tuesday said that the state government has set a new benchmark by giving 44, 250 government jobs to the youth of the state in merely 872 days of its tenure thereby ensuring that on an average around 51 youth get government jobs daily in the last 2.5 years.

Addressing the gathering during a function to disburse appointment letter to 443 officers in Police, Law and Justice& HomeAffairs Department, the Chief Minister said that with the handing over of these appointment letters, the state government has till now 44250 government jobs to the youth adding that all the recruitments have been made completely on merit. He said that the recruitments have been done after adopting a complete transparent process and the youths have been given jobs after clearing the exams in cut throat competition. Bhagwant Singh Mann said that the sole agenda of his government from day one has been to empower the youth by giving government jobs to them.

He said that for the second time he has visited this historic campus to give government jobs to the youth. He congratulated all the 443 youth who have been given job letters on this day adding he expressed hope that these young officers will contribute in restoring the pristine glory of the state. Bhagwant Singh Mann said that this is a momentous day as these youth had got these jobs and entered the government service to serve the people.

He said that now these youth have become integral part of the government adding that now should serve the people with missionary zeal. Bhagwant Mann hoped that the new recruits will use their pen for helping the needy and underprivileged sections of society. He said that the newly recruited youth should ensure maximum welfare of the public so that every section of society is benefited from it.

The Chief Minister said that in the last 2.5 years people have reposed faith in pro-people policies of the state government due to which tax collection has been enhanced a lot. He said that till now 19 toll plazas have been closed in the state including the two that were shut yesterday night adding that though most of them had sought extension but they have been denied it in larger public interest. Bhagwant Singh Mann said that with the closing of these toll plazas Rs 63 lakh is being saved from the pocket of the common man in Punjab daily.

The Chief Minister further said that the state government has passed the historic 'One MLA, One Pension' bill which stipulates that each MLA will get only a single pension. He said that this is contrary to the earlier provision of permitting multiple pensions for every term due to which these leaders earned a huge amount of money. Bhagwant Singh Mann said that the motive is to ensure that there is no wastage of public money and every single penny is utilized in a judicious manner.

He said that for the first time 410 hi-tech new vehicles have been given to the Station House Officers (SHOs) in Punjab Police to maintain the law and order efficiently in the state. He said that this is contrary to earlier trends when the new vehicles were given to the top officers instead of those at grassroots level. Bhagwant Singh Mann said that this has helped a lot in effective discharge of the duty by cops to maintain law and order on one hand to safeguard the people on the other adding that there is no dearth of funds to upscale the functioning of the government.

The CM called upon the Police officers to play a proactive role in wiping out the menace of drugs from the state. He said that Punjab is fighting the nation's war against drugs and the Punjab Police has always acted as a barrier for checking its supply. Bhagwant Singh Mann said that now the time has come when the cops should uphold the glorious tradition of Punjab Police for weeding out the scourge of drugs from the state.

The Chief Minister also said that the state government has taken a path breaking initiative of constituting first of its kind Sadak Surakhya Force (SSF) in the state. He said that the Sadak Surakhya Force has got a fleet of 144 ultra modren vehicles in the first phase to monitor the roads efficiently adding that these vehicles have been deployed after an interval of every 30 kilometres to monitor the roads. Bhagwant Singh Mann said that this force has played a key role in saving more than 1000 precious lives after its launch in February 2024.

The Chief Minister said that it is a matter of great pride and satisfaction that Punjab Police is discharging its duty to ensure that more than three crore people of the state sleep well. Bhagwant Singh Mann said that ever since he has assumed the charge of office his government has been laying major trust on the upgradation of the Police force. He said that focus is being laid on the modernization of the Police force on scientific lines and even Artificial Intelligence is being introduced.

The Chief Minister said that the state government has already sanctioned Rs 45 crore for this purpose and a major revolution is in offing. He said that for the first time around 3000 AI enabled cameras will be installed at the borders for keeping a check over smuggling of drugs, weapons and other things from across the borders. Bhagwant Singh Mann said that the state government will soon recruit 10,000 new cops in the Punjab Police for which notification has already been issued.
(editor@dailyworld.in)