Gurdaspur: Punjab Chief Minister Amarinder Singh on Tuesday announced a series of projects for the holistic development of the border areas of Gurdaspur and Pathankot, including health and education infrastructure, besides new cards under the MGNREGA scheme.


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As many as 67,000 MGNREGA cards would be issued to beneficiaries in Gurdaspur and 30,000 in Pathankot, the Chief Minister said in his Independence Day speech here.


Fulfilling a long pending demand, he announced a state- of-the-art new bus stand to be constructed in Gurdaspur at a cost of Rs 20 crore.


An amount of Rs 84 crore had been set aside for providing toilets and water connections to all rural households in the district, he added.


In a bid to improve police functioning, the Chief Minister announced Rs 2.50 crore for the upgradation of the infrastructure of police stations in Gurdaspur, Batala and Pathankot.


Amarinder also said that though the Gurdaspur Civil Hospital had been shifted to the bypass, the dispensary with emergency, as well as maternity and child care ward, would continue to function from the old building in the city.


The Chief Minister further said that the water supply and sewerage works in Gurdaspur would be completed at a cost of Rs 7.50 crore. Another Rs 18 crore had been released for development projects in Dera Baba Nanak and other areas of the district, he added.


Stressing the importance of ensuring the progress of the sensitive border areas, the Chief Minister announced allocation of Rs 44.02 for health infrastructure upgradation and Rs 118 crore for school infrastructure upgradation in Gurdaspur.


Another Rs 45 crore had been allocated for disbursement under the old age pension scheme, in addition to Rs 7 crore for the 'Ashirwad' scheme, he added.


The Chief Minister also announced the construction of a new Sainik School in village Dalla Gorian, Tehsil Gurdaspur.


Besides a Rs 67 crore outlay for the urban facelift of Pathankot and another Rs 42 crore for urban facelift of Batala, the Chief Minister also announced the setting up of a PEPSICO bottling plant at Pathankot, where link roads would be repaired at a cost of Rs 55 crore.


The Chief Minister also announced air connectivity to Pathankot, with flights set to be operational by September 30 this year.


The announcement of development projects assumes significance in the wake of upcoming Gurdaspur Lok Sabha bypoll. The seat fell vacant after BJP MP Vinod Khanna died of cancer in April this year.


In other key announcements, the Chief Minister said the civil hospital at Fatehgarh Churian would be upgraded, with water supply and sewerage works in the area also to be completed at a cost of Rs 7.5 crore.


A new Navodya Vidyalaya would also be set up in Fategarh Churian, said the Chief Minister, besides announcing the establishment of a new Revenue Sub-division, as well as a railway over bridge in Dina Nagar and a new degree college at Kalanaur.


Among other development initiatives, the Chief Minister announced the construction of a new bus stand at Qadian, along with 100 per cent water supply and sewerage facility at a cost of Rs 32 crore.


The government has also decided to set up a new hospital, in addition to 100 per cent water supply and sewerage in village Ghumaan in Sri Hargobindpur.


Later, the Chief Minister also inaugurated the newly built Gurdaspur District Administrative Complex, constructed at a cost of Rs 50 crores. Spread over an area of 6 acres, the complex houses the offices of the DC and other administrative officials.