Finance Minister attends Sanstha Parvesh ceremony at Maharaja Bhupinder Singh Punjab Sports University
Patiala News (April 20): Punjab Finance Minister Harpal Singh Cheema today said that the Chief Minister Bhagwant Singh Mann-led government has earmarked a budget of ₹1,793 crore for sports with the twin objective of eradicating the drug menace and promoting sports and youth development in the state.
The Finance Minister was addressing the gathering after attending the bhog ceremony of Sri Guru Granth Sahib’s Akhand Path, organised to mark the institutional inauguration (Sanstha Parvesh) at the new campus of Maharaja Bhupinder Singh Punjab Sports University, Siddhuwal. On the occasion, Vice Chancellor Dr Pushpinder Singh Gill thanked the Finance Minister and the sangat for their presence and honoured Mr Cheema with a siropa.
Finance Minister Cheema stated that while the state government has launched a decisive campaign against drugs to safeguard Punjab’s youth, it has simultaneously laid strong emphasis on strengthening sports infrastructure. He highlighted that the government has provided 66,000 government jobs over the past four years, which has significantly helped in checking the brain drain of youth from the state.
He further noted that there has been a visible decline in the number of passport applications, indicating growing confidence among youth to build their future within Punjab. This positive trend has also resulted in increased admissions in colleges and universities across the state.
The Finance Minister pointed out that previous governments had never allocated more than ₹150 crore for sports, leading to Punjab lagging behind and youth drifting towards drugs due to lack of adequate sports infrastructure. He asserted that the present government has consistently increased sports budgets to develop playgrounds and modern stadiums in villages, yielding encouraging results.
Cheema, who also holds the portfolios of Taxation, Excise, and Transport, said that Chief Minister Bhagwant Singh Mann recently inaugurated new buildings of the academic block and boys’ and girls’ hostels at the university, constructed at a cost of ₹53 crore. He added that funds for the remaining campus development will also be released shortly.
The Finance Minister further informed that Punjab has successfully reduced its debt by 3 percent in terms of the debt-to-GDP ratio. He attributed this achievement to the government’s transparency and efficient governance, which has led to a more than 100 percent increase in GST revenue—from ₹60,000 crore to over ₹1.30 lakh crore. Similarly, revenue from stamp and registration has increased from ₹12,000 crore to ₹30,000 crore, while excise revenue has risen from ₹6,551 crore to ₹12,800 crore annually. He said these developments are steering Punjab towards becoming a “Rangla Punjab.”
Vice Chancellor Dr Pushpinder Singh Gill reiterated the university’s commitment to aligning with the state government’s vision by encouraging youth participation in sports and contributing to the eradication of drugs.
Among those present on the occasion were Vice Chancellor of Punjabi University Dr Jagdeep Singh, Chairman Punjab Agro Baljinder Singh Dhillon, Chairman District Planning Committee Tejinder Mehta, Chairman Improvement Trust Harpal Singh Virk, Amrik Singh Bangar, Amit Dabi, Colonel J.V., Jasvir Singh Gandhi, Registrar Colonel Parminder Singh Sidhu, former DIG Mandeep Singh Sidhu, Advocate Swaran Singh, Kamaljit Singh Dhindsa, members of Gram Panchayat Siddhuwal, local residents, besides faculty members and students of the university.
