The city district government on Monday held balloting for 392 subsidized green tractors under the “Green Tractor Scheme”, which will be distributed among the youth residing in the rural areas of the district.
Under the scheme, the Punjab government would give Rs. 200,000 as subsidy on each tractor. This year, 10,000 tractors would be given to young farmers falling within the age bracket of 18-30 years, while the same number would be given away in the next year through computerized balloting. Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) Member National Assembly (MNA) Malik Abrar who was the chief guest on the occasion, pressed the button to start the computerized balloting.
The district government had received around 2,048 applications from the youth of Kahuta, Kotli Sattian, Murree, Taxila, Kallar Syedan and Gujjar Khan.
The provincial government had allocated more than four billion rupees for the scheme under which Rs. 200,000 would be given as a subsidy on each tractor, while the remaining cost would be paid by the selected farmers.
Addressing the participants of the ceremony, Executive District Officer (Agriculture) Dr. Ghulam Ahmed Gill highlighted the importance of the scheme and said it had been launched to effectively engage the younger generation in the farming sector, which was considered the backbone of the national economy.
PML-N parliamentarians Malik Shakeel Awan, Advocate Raja Haneef, Ziaullah Shah, Tahira Aurangzeb and District Coordination Officer (DCO) Saqib Zafar were also present on the occasion.
