No forest land will be taken for industrial park: Pb CM

His statement came after some people claimed that forest land would be destroyed with the development of an industrial park in Mattewara area. “There was no question of destroying the Mattewara forest,” Singh said in a Facebook Live session, asserting that statements suggesting that the forest would be destroyed are "simply not true". Terming the rates for Covid treatment fixed for private hospitals as too high, Sewak Singh, Ludhiana, said it was beyond the common man's reach.

Punjab Chief Minister Amarinder Singh on Saturday assured that his government will not uproot trees or take over forest land to develop an industrial park in Ludhiana. His statement came after some people claimed that forest land would be destroyed with the development of an industrial park in Mattewara area.

“There was no question of destroying the Mattewara forest,” Singh said in a Facebook Live session, asserting that statements suggesting that the forest would be destroyed are "simply not true". The government has taken 955 acres of land of the animal husbandry, horticulture department and Gram Panchayat. The acquired land does not include an inch of the 2,300 acres of the Mattewara forest, he claimed in a statement here.

His government had last year planted 75 lakh saplings to commemorate the 550th 'Prakash Purab' of Guru Nanak Dev, the CM said. He also allayed fears that the waste from the industrial park would be discharged into Sutlej river and said a modern common effluent treatment plant would be set up.

The objective behind the planned industrial park is to create a vibrant industrial estate where people of Ludhiana and nearby areas can get good jobs, he added. Replying to another question, Singh said two Special Investigation Teams were investigating the 2015 Bargari sacrilege case and police firing incidents at Faridkot and he was hopeful that the probe would be completed soon. “We will get to the bottom of the matter and no guilty person will be spared,” he added.          

On the Covid-19 situation, he reiterated his appeal for all to take due precautions, wear masks and follow other safety norms to check its further spread in the state.

Responding to the concern of Amit Kumar of Rajpura, who said people in his city were not wearing masks in crowded markets etc and police were only checking at a particular spot, Singh said strict action would be taken against violators. The CM further urged the people to contact hospitals on the first sign of any symptom or suspicion of Covid infection since delay reduces the chances of survival. The cases were continuing to rise, he said, expressing concern over the fact that around 300 cases had been added every day over the past week.

In response to a question, the CM said anyone coming into the state through any border would be checked strictly. To a question from Amarjeet Singh from Anandpur Sahib, he said the Sunday curfew was not being enforced now due to many people needing to leave home for work. Terming the rates for Covid treatment fixed for private hospitals as too high, Sewak Singh, Ludhiana, said it was beyond the common man's reach. The CM pointed out that the rates being charged by the private hospitals so far were exorbitant and that Rs 18,000 per day was for critical patients only. The government hospitals had all the facilities, which they were providing at affordable costs, he added.

(This story has not been edited by Devdiscourse staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)