Promote less-water guzzling crops, Assocham to Punjab

Chandigarh: Punjab needs to promote less-water guzzling crops like pulses, oilseeds, cotton, maize, millet, vegetables and fruits - by providing improved seeds and ensuring that farmers get a fair price for these crops through a market support mechanism. The fertilizer subsidy policy needs to be revisited to achieve balanced use of nutrients and subsidy should be transferred directly to farmers. The health expenditure needs to go up to Rs 5,000 per capita by 2030 from the current level of Rs 1,015 (2014-15), the proposal said. The public health infrastructure needs drastic restructuring at sub-centre, PHC and CHC levels to ensure adequate healthcare coverage, including treatment for cancer and drug addiction, it stated. Octroi and cow cess should be withdrawn and cheaper power available to new industries should be extended to the existing ones.