Punjab Election 2022: BJP announces manifesto for polls, promises to waive debt of farmers

The Bharatiya Janata Party launched its manifesto for the Punjab Assembly elections on Tuesday, vowing to cancel the debt of all farmers in the state who own less than five acres of land.
Furthermore, the party pledged 'Mehnat Da Pakka Mull,' which will ensure the Minimum Support Price (MSP) for farmers farming fruits, vegetables, pulses, and oilseeds as part of the Central Government's MSP extension programme. The coalition committed a dedicated yearly budget of Rs 5,000 crore to preserve crop diversity and make it more profitable.

The BJP is campaigning in the Assembly elections alongside former Chief Minister Amarinder Singh's Punjab Lok Congress (PLC) and Sukhdev Singh Dhindsa's Shiromani Akali Dal (Sanyukt). The coalition stated that one lakh acres of 'Shamlat Land' in the state would be provided for cultivation to rural landless farmers. Furthermore, under the Pradhan Mantri Kisan Sanman Yojana, every landless farmer in the state would receive an annual cash aid of Rs 6,000. The manifesto pledged an annual budget of Rs 5,000 crore for 'Sustainable Green Revolution' to encourage Sustainable Agriculture and Organic Farming in the state.

Rainwater collecting equipment will be installed at no cost to safeguard Punjab's diminishing water table. Subsidies will be made available for alternative automated and smart irrigation systems that will aid in water saving. The irrigation department will be probed for corruption, and corrupt officials will face charges. An organised milk marketing system would be established to encourage dairy production, with chilling milk centres in each village and milk processing plants in clusters of 30 villages. Every tehsil will have veterinary help, artificial insemination, and breeding centres.

It offered subsidies and loans to women and individuals from Backward Classes, Scheduled Castes, and Economically Weaker Sections who wanted to start companies in Dairy Farming, Poultry Farming, and Beekeeping. Under the Prime Minister Employment Generation Programme, the manifesto pledged subsidies to agro-based companies. To encourage investment in rural regions, tax-exempt agro-based industrial clusters comprised of small and medium-sized firms would be developed. Mega Food Processing Parks will also be built.

Under the 'Healthy Villages' concept, each community will have Aarogya Kendras (clinics) with a 24x7 doctor facility and a laboratory where all types of tests may be performed to strengthen the healthcare system. The '108 ambulance' service would be available in all rural regions within 15 minutes. Permanent housing would be offered to economically disadvantaged societies under the 'Pakki Chhatt - Har Ik Da Haqq' (Housing for All) plan. Every family would be provided with clean and safe piped drinking water under 'Har Ghar Jal.'

The government would supply free power to each family up to 300 units, after which the residential electricity rate will be Rs 3 per unit. According to the BJP, world-class facilities would develop international level, hockey players. Rural competitions will promote the sport of Kabaddi.  In the 2017 Assembly elections in the state, Congress secured an absolute majority with 77 seats, deposing the SAD-BJP administration that had been in office for ten years.

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• Punjab Election 2022
• BJP
• Congress
• farmers
• farm laws