Punjab chief minister Amarinder Singh on Saturday ordered expenditure cuts by all government departments to meet urgent expenses needed to deal with the coronavirus crisis, the Chief Minister's Office said. Earlier, the Punjab CM had sought prime minister Narendra Modi's intervention for the release of the Rs 6752 crore of pending GST arrears since October 2019.
The Punjab government has also on Saturday also announced special health insurance cover of Rs 50 lakhs each for police personnel and sanitation workers in the wake of COVID19, on the lines of that announced for health workers by the Centre.
He has already directed the health department to make mobile testing vans operational in all districts having pandemic hotspots to conduct community testing for Novel Coronavirus. Amarinder had earlier asked Finance Minister Manpreet Badal to come out with a contingency financial plan in order to cater to the COVID-19 pandemic.
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The CM had also directed the officials to ensure an uninterrupted supply of medical items and essentials commodities in the current battle against coronavirus. The Punjab CM had also given his nod for the extension of services of the 2000-odd sanitation workers, who were due to retire on March 31, to deal with the prevailing situation emerging out of the coronavirus pandemic.
Punjab CM, who has taken a tough stand in the view of religious congregation organised by the Jamaat emerging as a key source for the spread of COVID-19 in the country, also prohibited all gatherings in the state. According to the latest updates, the number of coronavirus cases in Punjab has crossed the 45-mark with 15-plus cases reported from Chandigarh only.
(With PTI inputs)
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