Amarinder exhorted people to follow philosophy of peace and non-violence propounded by Mahatma Gandhi

Punjab Chief Minister Amarinder Singh Tuesday exhorted the people to follow the philosophy of peace and non-violence as propounded by Mahatma Gandhi to carve out an egalitarian society.

Paying rich tributes to the father of the nation on his 149th birth anniversary, he said Gandhi won the battle of freedom through his ideology of non-violence.

Singh was addressing a gathering after inaugurating a mega camp on the Mahatma Gandhi Sarbat Vikas Yojana (MGSVY) scheme at Kisan Vikas Chamber here.

Gandhi was a great statesman and an iconic personality who widely travelled across the world to propagate his philosophy of love, peace and non-violence, an official release quoted him as saying.

Even South African anti-apartheid revolutionary Nelson Mandela, who spent nearly 27 years in prison, was an admirer and follower of Gandhi's ideology, the chief minister added.

He said the MGSVY was launched in the state to ensure inclusive development by reaching out to the deprived sections of the society. And also to ensure that the benefits of all the schemes of socio-economic development reach the poorest of the poor as a befitting tribute to Gandhi, Singh added.

The chief minister said the Rural Development & Panchayats Department, being the nodal department, had organised mega camps in all the 22 districts and 90 sub-divisions across the state.

He pointed out that the underprivileged and disadvantaged people across the state would be benefitted from 18 pro-poor initiatives such as ration card, atta-dal, MNREGA, Aashirwad scheme, Ghar-Ghar rozgar, debt relief, among others.

Singh said the sole objective of launching these schemes was to ensure that only the deserving and underprivileged sections of the society get the benefits of the state government's pro-poor initiatives.

On the occasion, the chief minister handed over appointment letters to 31 persons under the Ghar-Ghar rozgar scheme, besides cheques of debt waiver to 23 farmers and a financial grant to five beneficiaries under the Ashirwad scheme.

He also interacted with the beneficiaries at different stalls during the camp, where nearly 4,000 beneficiaries were registered under various citizen-centric schemes, the statement said.

A MoU was signed between Invest Punjab and Mahindra Waste to Energy Solutions Limited for a project to effectively convert waste to wealth at a cost of Rs 15 crore in the presence of the chief minister, it said.

After extensive research in Punjab, the Mahindra & Mahindra has decided to put up this pilot Bio-Methanation project and expressed its willingness to support the state government by processing 10,000 tons of paddy and wheat straw per year, the statement said.

This project would go a long way in providing a permanent solution to the menace of stubble burning. This initiative is expected to generate direct employment for 50-75 people and support around 1,000 farmers in the vicinity of the plant, it said.

(With inputs from agencies.)