The SAD-BJP Government on Tuesday not only presented more than 30,000 employees the gift of regularisation in service, but also brightened up its own prospects in the forthcoming Assembly elections.
Describing it as “Diwali bonanza”, the Punjab Cabinet has put its stamp of approval to regularise the services of over 30,000 employees, working on contract or other ad-hoc basis in various departments, boards, corporations and societies.
The “landmark decision”, which comes into force with immediate effect, came barely three months before assembly polls are due in which the ruling SAD-BJP combine is fighting anti-incumbency of two consecutive terms.
The Cabinet has also decided to “adopt” all employees, who have been taken through private outsourcing agencies or contractors.
“These employees will no longer be on contract with the private contractors but would be shifted straightaway to a direct arrangement with the Government...They now become Government’s own contractual employees and will be eligible to benefits which were normally available to other contract employees in their respective categories,” said the Government spokesperson.
The proposal for regularisation of employees was cleared on Monday at a meeting of the cabinet sub-committee chaired by Deputy Chief Minister Sukhbir Badal.
Spokesperson underlined that the last decision on regularisation of employees was also taken during the SAD-BJP Government in its last tenure “when more than 45,000 contract employees were absorbed as regular members of the Government staff...whereas, no employees were regularised during the 2002-2007 tenure of the Congress Government headed by Captain Amarinder Singh”.
“On the contrary, the Amarinder Government had slapped a blanket ban on fresh recruitments and regularisations,” said the spokesperson.
The services of Group A, B and C employees working on contract, ad-hoc, daily-wages, temporary, work-charged basis, who have completed three years of continuous service, fulfilled educational qualifications and age limit at the time of initial appointment, and were recruited in a transparent manner, would be regularised.
“They would continue to draw their existing salary for three years. Another category of such Group-D employees, who have already completed three years of service, would also be regularised,” said the spokesperson.
At the same time, the cabinet also directed the state Chief Secretary Sarvesh Kaushal to ensure that all the cases related to employment on compassionate grounds in all departments should be decided within three weeks.
Besides, the Cabinet decided that the entire backlog of posts, related to all reserved categories, should be immediately filled up through a special recruitment drive.
“Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal also intervened to ensure that the employees were given benefits of the services they have already put in and must not be taken in as fresh recruits. They will be given pay protection and will be allowed to draw pay equivalent to the last pay drawn by them,” said the spokesperson.
In another “goodwill gesture”, the Cabinet formally approved the special grant-in-aid of Rs 50 lakh to be given to war widows or legal heirs of the valiant soldiers who had laid down their lives in the 1965 and 1971 Indo-Pak wars and 1962 Indo-China war.
The grant would be payable in three half yearly instalments of Rs 20 lakh, Rs 15 lakh and Rs 15 lakh.
The Cabinet also gave nod to amend Fiscal Incentives for Industrial Promotion (Revised)-2013, thereby now considering the incentives like exemption from Mandi Fee or Rural Development Fee (RDF) already given to the established or under construction Basmati Processing Units from December 2013 to September 2015, as a part of basket of incentives, the sum total of which should not exceed the approved fixed Capital Investment.
Cabinet also approved to constitute a Finance Management Cell in the state Food and Civil Supplies department, comprising one Additional Director (Finance), one Joint Director (IT), to monitor the accounts related to all procurement agencies on one hand and to ensure proper accounting of funds given to the agencies and the recoveries or payments made by them on the other.
In view of allotment of liquor vends for 2016-17, the Cabinet also gave a green signal to make certain amendments for the issuance of l-1A licence in pursuance with the directions of Punjab and Haryana High Court.
From now on, any eligible person or firm could obtain l-1A license directly from the department, after fulfilling the necessary conditions.
Conceding the demand of 1984 riot affected families, the Cabinet also approved to execute conveyance deed of the houses or booths allotted to them on allotment rates instead of collector rates.
To attract huge investments in industry, trade and housing sector, Punjab Cabinet approved amendments in the earlier policy approved by the Council of Ministers in its meeting held on February 27, 2008. The Cabinet also decided that the District labour Court, District Consumer Forum and the office of District Social Welfare should be set up at Pathankot.