Nobody sleeps hungry in Punjab unless they are dieting, a minister here said when asked to comment on the state's lower ranking in the latest Niti Aayog's sustainable development goals (SDG) Index.
"Look, there is no person in Punjab who sleeps without having food at night," Minister Balbir Singh Sidhu said.
"And if anybody is missing on his meal then he has done so just to reduce his weight. Punjab's diet is very heavy and healthy and our food is rich. There is no one in Punjab who sleeps hungry," Sidhu said.
Punjab's ranking has slipped two points from 10 to 12 in Niti Aayog's SDG index 2019-20.
When asked about the rankings to another minister, Sadhu Singh Dharamsot, he said there has never been starvation in Punjab.
"The Almighty never allowed starvation in the state at that time when the state was not growing enough foodgrains.
"All should work and one who works cannot die of starvation. I think these are wrong statistics. We are giving 'atta dal' free of cost to the poor, said Dharamsot.
On Wednesday, PunjabChief Minister Amarinder Singh had lauded the "marked improvement" in several key parameters under the SDG in Punjab, while calling for more aggressive efforts to boost performance.
According to the government statement, the report, based on 17 goals covering 100 indicators, showed that the state had 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.
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