Punjab Chief Minister Captain Amarinder Singh on Wednesday lauded the marked improvement in several key sectors under the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) in the state, while calling for more aggressive efforts to boost performance in other areas.
Niti Aayog's -- SDG Index 2019-20 report, based on 17 goals covering 100 indicators, showed that the state has done exceptionally well in areas like open-defecation free (ODF), internet subscribers, Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana (PMAY) and door to door waste collection, besides showing improvement in the average annual dropout rate at secondary level, said an official statement.
According to the statement, Punjab has ranked 10th position with the index score 60 among the states against India's overall score of 57 points in NITI Aayog's first report 'SDG Index India 2018', based on 13 goals covering 62 priority indicators.
Chief Minister Captain Amarinder has appreciated the constant and effective monitoring by various departments, coupled with field visits senior officers, that had led the state to score 62 points as compared to India's Index Score of 60 points.
However, there were a few indicators where the state's performance had marginally declined, said the spokesperson.
The release further said the employment under the MGNREGA decreased from 81.63 per cent to 76.12 per cent, the sex ratio at birth decreased from 893 to 886, reported cognizable crimes against children (one lakh population) increased from 21 to 24.3.
"The Chief Minister, who is regularly monitoring the state's performance under the indicators envisaged under Sustainable Development Goals, has asked the concerned departments to work more zealously to achieve the desired targets and ensure better citizen-centric services," added the statement.
It stated that Punjab has adopted the United Nations 2030 Development Agenda, with 17 SDGs, 169 Targets and 306 Indicators, with the Chief Minister closely overseeing the planning, implementation and monitoring of the progress to realise Sustainable Development Goals.
( With inputs from ANI )