An entire generation of youth is being eaten hollow from within due to drugs, he lamented, adding that the AAP government’s resolve is to build a “Rangla Punjab”, a Punjab that is inclusive, progressive, and brimming with opportunity for all, said Cheema.Moreover, a budgetary allocation of Rs 5,598 crore has been provided for the health sector, an increase of ten per cent over the previous year. Cheema said, for the first time in the history of the state, the AAP government has decided to extend the state health insurance scheme in the coming fiscal year to make it universal and cover all the 65 lakh families in the state.There will be no bar or discrimination– rural or urban, rich or poor –everyone can participate in this scheme, he said. At present, 45 lakh families are enrolled in government health insurance schemes, of which 16 lakh families are covered under the Centre’s Ayushman Bharat Yojana and the remaining 29 lakh families are covered under the state government’s Mukh Mantri Sarbat Sehat Bima Yojana.The insurance coverage for the entire family is only Rs 5 lakh per annum in these schemes. “The government has decided to extend the insurance cover for all families across the state to Rs 10 lakh per annum, which will include those enrolled in the central government scheme, also as they will get an additional top-up cover of Rs 5 lakh from the state government. Meanwhile, all families who are covered under the Mukh Mantri Sarbat Sehat Bima Yojana will get a Sehat Card next year through which they can avail cashless treatment of up to Rs 10 lakh in government and private hospitals across the state,’’ he added.Cheema further said that to ensure that the state police is well-equipped to respond immediately, Rs 125 crore has been allocated to buy new vehicles for the fleet of emergency response vehicles (ERVs), which will thus be strengthened and will be able to respond to calls made on 112.”Thus, the government has decided to procure 758 four-wheelers and 916 two-wheelers, which will be deployed as ERVs and will increase the fleet size by six times. Besides this will reduce the average response time to emergency calls to eight minutes, which will be the lowest in the country as at present the average response time to distress calls goes up to 30 minutes as there are only 258 dedicated vehicles in this fleet,’’ he said.He also spoke about the Rs 53 crore allocation towards building the new Dial 112 headquarters. For the agriculture and allied sectors, Rs 14,524 crore has been allocated in the next financial year, which is 5 per cent higher than last year. While Rs 9,992 crore have been allocated as power subsidy for 14.5 lakh agriculture tubewells and Rs 500 crore earmarked to support farmers, cooperatives, and gram panchayats for crop-residue management, to check stubble burning, specifically during paddy harvest.
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