Manpreet Badal meets Rajnath Singh, seeks Sainik School for Bathinda

BATHINDA: Punjab Finance Minister Manpreet Singh Badal Wednesday met the Union defence minister Rajnath Singh and urged him to approve the establishment of two additional Sainik schools in Punjab.
Badal said Punjab bags most of the gallantry awards.
The state next in line after Punjab accounts for less than half of the honours bagged by Punjab soldiers.
However, Punjab has only one Sainik School in Kapurthala, and the state is now seeking the establishment of two more Sainik schools — one in Gurdaspur and the other in Bathinda.
The finance minister said that other states like Haryana, Bihar and Maharashtra have two Sainik schools each, while Uttar Pradesh has three.
The Union defence minister assured him of due and adequate action, stating that he personally appreciates the role played by Sikhs and Punjabis in the defence of national security and the defence of India’s social and cultural values.
While thanking the minister of defence for his time and words of appreciation for Punjab, the Punjab finance minister also presented a letter by the chief minister Capt Amarinder Singh to the Union defence minister, stating that the state government has allocated 40 acres of land at Dalla Gorian in Gurdaspur for the Sainik School.
However, Punjab desires another Sainik school that could be established in Bathinda.
This way, each of the three regions in Punjab, Doaba, Majha, and Malwa, will host one Sainik School.
Manpreet Singh Badal also requested the approval of the Ministry of Defence for issuing an official clearance for establishing a modern bus station and terminal at Bathinda. Since the proposed location is adjacent to the Bathinda military station, it requires a formal “No Objection Certificate” from the Defence Ministry.
The Punjab finance minister added that all required military norms had been adhered to, and a clear passage of 100 metres had been left from the military boundary.
Similarly, the proposed bus terminus is well below the officially prescribed height for adjacent buildings.
The required papers for the NOC have been submitted to the defence headquarters, and an early approval will help expedite the project.
The Punjab finance minister also invited the Defence Minister to visit the Punjab War Heroes Memorial and Museum at Amritsar, which the Punjab government has established at the cost of 144 crore.