Chandigarh: Punjab agriculture and farmers welfare minister Gurmeet Singh Khudian on Friday distributed appointment letters to 30 persons from the families of farmers who lost their lives during the protests against the farm laws.

Among these, 25 will serve as clerks, while five will work as ``sewadars’’ in the agriculture and farmers welfare department.

Additionally, the appointment letters were handed over to eight more youths including two veterinary inspectors and four clerks, with three clerks being appointed on compassionate grounds, in the animal husbandry department and two stenographers received appointment letters in the dairy development department.

Speaking on the occasion, Khudian exhorted them to work for the development of Punjab and to give their utmost to ensure transparent and efficient delivery of services to the people of the state.

He held that chief minister Bhagwant Singh Mann-led Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) government has so far provided 44,974 government jobs in various departments. He emphasised that this recruitment process has been carried out solely based on merit, following a completely transparent procedure.