The Punjab Cabinet on Saturday approved "The Punjab Labour and Cartage Policy 2019-20" for labour work and cartage of food grains from mandis to the storage points at minimum rates through competitive tenders from various contractors.
The decision, taken at the Council of Ministers' meeting chaired by Chief Minister Capt Amarinder Singh here, is aimed at bringing further operational efficiency and transparency in procurement of food grains.
A spokesperson of the Chief Minister's Office said that for the ensuing season, commencing from April 1, labour operations in godowns and cartage of food grains from mandis to various storage points, located up to 8 Kilometers (KMs) from such mandi (s) / purchase centre ( s), would be allowed through a competitive online tender process.
This would be done by district tender committees, of which the respective Deputy Commissioners would be the Chairpersons, with district FCI head, district heads of all state procurement agencies and district Controller of Food Supplies as members. The tenders under this policy would be invited for the financial year 2019-20 and would be valid for the period from 1-04-2019 to 31-03-2020.
To ensure greater financial viability, slab-wise labour rates have been prescribed in Provincial Reserve Form (PR 66) incorporated in the policy, listing out rates per tonne from beyond 1 KM to up to 8 KMs of distance covered. No premium beyond 120% of these basic rates mentioned in the PR 66 shall be permissible in any case. The powers to open the tenders, evaluation of technical bids and finalization of the financial bid shall lie with these Committees, the spokesperson added.
To ensure minimum expenditure on transportation of food grains, tenders would be invited cluster wise, and the entire tendering process shall be completed through e-tender on the website of e-tender portal of Punjab Government ie eproc.punjab.gov.in. eproc.punjab.gov.in
It may be noted that the state procuring agencies of Punjab, namely PUNGRAIN, MARKFED, Punjab State Warehousing Corporation (PSWC), PUNSUP, along with Food Corporation of India (FCI), procure food grains every year for the Central Pool or for Public Distribution System (PDS) at the Minimum Support Price (MSP) fixed by the Government of India.
RS. 10000 MONTHLY PENSION FOR PARENTS OF CRPF PULWAMA MARTYR KULWINDER
The Punjab Council of Ministers has okayed Rs. 0000 per month pension for the bereaved parents of CRPF Pulwama martyr Constable Kulwinder Singh, whom Chief Minister Captain Amarinder Singh had met at their village in Anandpur Sahib last month and promised all government support.
The Chief Minister had, during his visit to the house of Darshan Singh and his wife in village Rauli, announced a special monthly pension of Rs. 10,000 to them (either or surviving parents ) since they had no other children and the deceased was unmarried. He had then said the agenda note for the pension would be presented by the Department of Defence Services Welfare at the next cabinet meeting.
The pension will be given in lieu of the job to the next of kin of the martyr, and will be in addition to the Rs. 7 Lakh Ex-Gratia and Rs. 5 Lakh Cash in lieu of Land which the family is entitled to.
PUNJAB CABINET GIVES EX POST FACTO APPROVAL TO HAND OVER HC CIVIL JUDGE SELECTION PROCESS TO REGISTRAR GENERAL
The Punjab Cabinet gave ex-post facto approval to entrusting the selection process of 75 posts of Civil Judge (Junior Division-cum-Judicial Magistrate) to the Registrar General, Punjab and Haryana High Court, after taking out them from the purview of Punjab Public Service Commission. Due to urgency, the Departments of Finance, Personnel and Punjab Public Service Commission, Patiala had already accorded their approval to hand over the recruitment process of 75 posts of Civil Judge (Junior Division-cum-Judicial Magistrate) to the Registrar General, Punjab and Haryana High Court.
ACCREDITED PUNJAB JOURNALISTS OVER 60 TO GET RS. 12000 MONTHLY PENSION
The Punjab Cabinet gave approval to grant financial assistance of Rs.12000 per month to the state's journalists who are accredited to the Department of Information and Public Relations. According to the proposal approved by the State Cabinet, journalists working with the State of Punjab, who are above 60 years of age and who have been accredited for five years out of the last six years, shall be given a financial assistance of Rs.12,000 per month.