2024, A year to be known for developmental projects and new initiatives in the larger interest of public

Jalandhar News: The year 2024 will be best remembered for significant developmental projects and innovative initiatives in Jalandhar District. These initiatives have not only put Jalandhar on a high growth trajectory but also made Jalandhar a leading District in several developmental aspects. 

In February, Punjab Chief Minister Hon’ble Bhagwant Singh Mann gifted the district with ₹283 crore worth of developmental projects. The inauguration of a state-of-the-art Mother and Child Hospital in Nakodar provided significant relief to the residents. Under the CM’s vision of delivering quality healthcare near to people homes, the number of Aam Aadmi Clinics in the district were increased. Currently, 66 clinics are successfully providing free health care and treatment services to the public, benefitting nearly 19,29,603 individuals till date.

To fulfill its commitment of timely Government assistance during road accidents, Punjab CM Hon’ble Bhagwant Mann flagged off 129 high-tech vehicles for the entire state to the Nation’s first Sadak Surakhiya Force from PAP Stadium, Jalandhar. 

Furthermore, under the ‘Farishte’ Scheme, 15 government and 25 private hospitals in the district were empaneled to provide free treatment to accident victims.

During the year, Punjab’s then Revenue Minister Sh Brahm Shankar Jimpa inaugurated a memorial dedicated to Pandit Shraddha Ram Phillauri, composer of the revered hymn “Om Jai Jagdish Hare.” Punjab’s Power Minister Sardar Harbhajan Singh ETO laid the foundation stone for ₹7 crore, 66 kV power substation in Nakodar, benefitting residents of 37 villages. Further ₹32.32 crore bio-mining project was initiated to resolve the garbage issue at the Variana dump.

To provide relief to residents of Jalandhar West constituency, ₹1.15 crore modern fire station was also inaugurated. 

Throughout the year, the district administration, under the leadership of Deputy Commissioner Dr. Himanshu Aggarwal, IAS demonstrated transparency, neutrality and efficiency in conducting General Parliamentary (Lok Sabha) elections, Jalandhar West Assembly by-election, and local body elections of Panchayats, Municipal councils and Municipal Corporation of Jalandhar in a very peaceful manner. During election period, the wheat procurement process was also simultaneously managed smoothly despite having various challenges, providing significant relief to farmers.

In efforts to curb crop residue burning, district officials and employees worked tirelessly under the able leadership of the Deputy Commissioner resulting in a remarkable 87% drop in such cases in 2024 compared to the previous year. Initiatives like the “Vatavaran De Raakhe Award” recognized progressive farmers, encouraging sustainable practices. Over 100 progressive farmers have been honoured by Administration under this campaign who are being accorded top priority in government offices during their visits. The Administration has also ensured delivery of 613 machineries to farmers at a subsidy worth Rs. 13 crore with 6956 total number of machines been distributed so far. In the wake of such massive initiatives, this year 157 farm fire cases were reported in comparison to 1196 cases of last year. This year the administration also planted more than 10 lakh trees in the entire district to give a major boost in improving the air quality in coming years.

In order to provide employment opportunities to youngsters, the Administration held over 61 employment camps benefiting 6,707 youths with placements. During Monsoon the entire administration led personally by Deputy Commissioner ensured swift water drainage during rains. 

Efforts to improve public health included organizing 167 yoga camps under the CM’s Yoga-Shala program which witnessed participation of over 6000 people at 167 locations. Likewise, training for 200 youth as yoga instructors was also initiated to further expand the ambit of this program while giving employment opportunties to youth. The Administration also started anemia eradication programs in Shahkot Assembly Segment for nearly 3,000 girls.

The administration also initiated free self-defence and coaching classes for girls. Nearly 120 girls have recieved training while 60 girls are getting free of cost benefit of various coaching classes. 

Jalandhar has set another milestone in citizen centric services with lowest pendency in the state by serving about four lakh applicants. Despite receiving one of the highest number of files for processing, Jalandhar was the number one district in the state for having least pendency of files processed through Sewa Kendras.

The Deputy Commissioner also launched Chetna Project aiming training of 10,000 students in life-saving skills, with 3,500 trained so far. The effort is aimed to save lives in emergency situations like road side accidents, heart attacks, epilepsy attacks etc.

The Deputy Commissioner informed that on the directions of Hon’ble CM and the Government of Punjab, in 2025 the district administration will work on major projects like completion of Lamma-Jandu singa road, completion of Adampur road, improved connectivity of Adampur Airport, resolving issues of PAP flyover, boost to industry sector by resolving their issues, providing platform to NRIs and resolving their issues and beautification of Burlton park etc.

These initiatives demonstrate Government’s commitment to progress and public welfare of district Jalandhar.