Hoshiarpur, August 16:- Punjab Cabinet Minister for Jails, NRI Affairs and Parliamentary Affairs, Dr. Ravjot Singh, hoisted the National Flag at the Police Lines Ground in Hoshiarpur on the occasion of the 80th Independence Day. Addressing the gathering, he said that everyone should make collective efforts to make Punjab a ‘Rangla Punjab’. He assured that the Punjab Government would provide every possible support to achieve this objective so that the dreams envisioned by the great martyrs of the country could be fulfilled.
Addressing the district-level Independence Day function after hoisting the National Flag and inspecting the parade, Cabinet Minister Dr. Ravjot Singh said that during the last four and a half years, the Punjab Government had implemented unprecedented development and welfare initiatives for every section of society and in every sector. He said that under the leadership of Chief Minister Bhagwant Singh Mann, Punjab had established new milestones in education and healthcare and had secured a prominent place on the national map in these sectors.
Paying tributes to Shaheed-e-Azam Sardar Bhagat Singh, Rajguru, Sukhdev, Kartar Singh Sarabha, Udham Singh, Madan Lal Dhingra, Lala Lajpat Rai, Shaheed Diwan Singh Kalepani and other freedom fighters, Dr. Ravjot Singh said that Punjab had always played a leading role in maintaining the unity and integrity of the country. He added that Punjabis had made some of the greatest sacrifices during the freedom struggle.

**Welfare Initiatives for Martyrs’ Families and Women
Speaking about the work undertaken by the Punjab Government during the last four years, Dr. Ravjot Singh said that under the leadership of Chief Minister Bhagwant Singh Mann, commendable initiatives had been undertaken for the welfare of armed forces personnel, families of martyrs and ex-servicemen. He said that the ex-gratia amount for the families of martyred soldiers had been increased from ?50 lakh to ?1 crore.
He said that the pension being provided to the descendants of freedom fighters in the state had been increased from ?9,400 to ?11,000. Under the Maavan-Dhiyan Satikar Scheme for honouring women, more than 74.59 lakh women had so far received financial assistance amounting to ?2,274.42 crore directly in their bank accounts.
He said that during the last four years, 28,734 self-help groups had been formed through government initiatives, benefiting around three lakh women by providing them opportunities for self-reliance. He added that the facility of free bus travel for women continued to remain fully available.
Under the Ashirwad Scheme, financial assistance of ?51,000 is provided, and during 2025-26, more than 62,000 beneficiaries received assistance amounting to ?318.32 crore.

**Initiatives in Health, Education and Transport
Speaking about the Chief Minister Meri Rasoi Scheme, Dr. Ravjot Singh said that licences had been issued to 2,800 new depot holders. With the opening of new ration depots, ration card holders would no longer have to travel long distances to access ration facilities. He said that ration kits containing essential kitchen items were also being provided under the Meri Rasoi Scheme.
Regarding the Chief Minister Health Scheme, he said that free treatment up to ?10 lakh was available at more than 900 government and empanelled private hospitals. He said that the Aam Aadmi Party Government would leave no stone unturned to eradicate the menace of drugs so that future generations of the state could remain protected from this problem.
He said that the state’s Road Safety Force had saved more than 25,000 people by providing immediate first aid at the spot. He informed that this year, 361 students from government schools qualified in JEE Main, 64 in JEE Advanced and 882 students secured places in the NEET examination.
He said that transportation was extremely important for the progress of every sector and that the Public Works Department had constructed 45,000 kilometres of roads across the state. He added that the Punjab Government was providing 1,279 new buses, taking the total number of government buses to 3,546, which would be the biggest increase in the last two decades.

**Initiatives for Overall Development of Villages
Speaking about the overall development of villages, Dr. Ravjot Singh said that following the appeal of Chief Minister Bhagwant Singh Mann, as many as 2,670 panchayats had been elected unanimously this time. The Punjab Government had already released grants of more than ?133 crore at the rate of ?5 lakh per panchayat.
He said that for the convenience of people, 437 citizen services were being provided through Sewa Kendras close to their homes. People could also avail themselves of these services by calling 1076. He said that more than 3.70 lakh registrations had so far been completed transparently through the ‘Easy Registry’ project.
He said that under various reforms, the objective was to transform prisons from merely places of punishment into centres of security, modernisation, correction and rehabilitation.
He said that under the free electricity facility for 14 lakh agricultural tubewells, ?9,992 crore had been provided during 2025-26. Farmers had also been assured uninterrupted power supply for more than eight hours during the paddy season. He added that the Aam Aadmi Party Government had arranged canal-water irrigation for 60.30 lakh acres in the state, on which ?7,200 crore had been spent.

**Punjab Becomes the First State to Resolve NRI Issues Online
NRI Affairs Minister Dr. Ravjot Singh said that Punjab had become the first state in the country to resolve the issues of NRI Punjabis through an online system. He said that NRIs could send their problems through WhatsApp at 90560-09884.
He added that through the online system, as many as 21,103 documents belonging to Punjabis settled abroad had so far been counter-signed.

**650th Prakash Purb of Sri Guru Ravidas Ji to be Celebrated on a Grand Scale
Punjab Cabinet Minister Dr. Ravjot Singh said that the Punjab Government would celebrate the 650th Prakash Purb of Sri Guru Ravidas Ji on a grand scale, for which a budget of ?100 crore had been earmarked.
He said that the Punjab Government respected all religions and was organising various religious programmes in accordance with the sentiments of the people. Under the Chief Minister’s Pilgrimage Scheme, people were also being taken to religious places for darshan.
He said that in view of the 650th Prakash Purb of Guru Ravidas Ji, gardens in the name of Guru Ji were being established on 650 acres of land across Punjab. A campaign to plant 6.5 lakh saplings and distribute 6.5 lakh commemorative flags in every district was also underway.
He informed that in Hoshiarpur, 53 Nanak Bagichis, six sacred forests and around 5,000 saplings along roadsides were being planted.

**Schools in Hoshiarpur District to Remain Closed on Monday
Cabinet Minister Dr. Ravjot Singh announced at the conclusion of the district-level Independence Day function that all schools in Hoshiarpur district would remain closed on Monday, August 17.
During the district-level function, the Cabinet Minister, accompanied by Deputy Commissioner Ashika Jain, SSP Sandeep Kumar Malik and Parade Commander DSP Kulwant Singh, inspected the parade while travelling in a gypsy.
The parade, led by Parade Commander DSP Kulwant Singh and Second-in-Command Inspector Jasvir Kaur, comprised contingents of Punjab Police personnel, the Women Wing of PRTC Jahan Khelan, Punjab Police Women Wing, Punjab Home Guards, NCC 12 Punjab Battalion, Girl Guides, Scouts and the PRTC Jahan Khelan band.
On the occasion, MLA Bram Shankar Jimpa, MLA Jasvir Singh Raja Gill, MLA Karmveer Singh Ghuman, MLA Dr. Ishank Kumar, Mayor Praveen Saini, Chairman BACKFINCO Punjab Sandeep Saini, Chairperson District Planning Committee Karamjit Kaur, Chairman Improvement Trust Gurwinder Singh Pabla, Chairman Market Committee Hoshiarpur Jaspal Singh Chechi, Senior Deputy Mayor Surinder Kumar, Deputy Mayor Sandeep Chechi, District and Sessions Judge Rajinder Aggarwal, Deputy Commissioner Ashika Jain, SSP Sandeep Kumar Malik and other officials were present.