Patiala, November 19: Punjab Health & Family Welfare and Medical Education & Research Minister Dr. Balbir Singh administered oath to 6276 newly elected Panchs from 1022 Gram Panchayats of Patiala district. Participating as the Chief Guest in the district level oath taking ceremony held at Aviation Club near New Polo Ground on Sangrur Road here today, Dr. Balbir Singh congratulated the Panchs on being elected as Gram Panchayat members and invited every villager to rise above the politics of revenge and work for the development of villages with a new thinking.
The Health Minister said that the Punjab Government has started a new era of health, education, employment and public welfare in the state by doing politics of work with a new thinking. He said that for this reason, the new Gram Panchayats should also move forward with a new thinking to make their villages ideal villages. Since Punjab resides in villages, the villages should be changed keeping an eye on Punjab and Punjabiat. He said that the Panchayat that resolves disputes in the villages will be given special respect.
Dr. Balbir Singh told the Panchs about the efforts being made by the Punjab Government to keep the youth of the state away from drugs and appealed to them to come forward to make the state drug free by joining the Nasha Mukt Gram Mission. He asked the Panchs to work together in the villages under MGNREGA and create employment opportunities and said that even the Central Government cannot change the MGNREGA budget passed in the villages.
He said that all the members of the Panchayat should start working from now itself by making a plan for the development of the village through the Gram Sabha in the village. He said that if a health committee is formed in the villages, then a grant of Rs 10,000 will be given to each committee. 
On this occasion, Chairman Punjab Mandi Board Harchand Singh Burst, Chairman District Planning Committee Jasvir Singh Jassi Sohianwala, Chairman Punjab Technical Education Board Principal JP Singh, Chairman Improvement Trust Megh Chand Shermajra, Jasbir Singh Gandhi, Divisional Commissioner D.S. Mangat, Deputy Commissioner Dr. Preeti Yadav, SSP Dr. Nanak Singh, ADC (Rural Development) Anupreeta Johal, SP Muhammad Sarfaraz Alam, SDM Dr. Ismat Vijay Singh, Kirpalveer Singh and Manjit Kaur along with officers of Rural Development and Panchayat Department and other dignitaries were also present.