To ensure hassle-free availability of sand and gravel, Punjab Cabinet on Tuesday gave its go ahead to the Amendments in the mining auction procedure.
After reviewing the situation of availability of sand and construction material, the Cabinet approved Amendments of rules, auction procedure, lease policy and policy guidelines for stone crushers to enable a level playing field to all the stakeholders in the infrastructure or construction projects.
The development is also expected to expedite the auction of more mines and increase the availability of sand, gravel (bajri) and other construction material.
Cabinet, as a price regulatory measure, has also decided that some mines would be operated by the Industry Department so that material was made available at affordable rates. To regularly monitor the situations in this regard, Cabinet also constituted a committee under the chairmanship of chief secretary.
In another important decision, Cabinet approved the Amendment in the existing policy regarding purchase of the land for compensatory afforestation due to non-availability of degraded forestland in the State.
As per the Amendment, every user agency which required forestland should provide equivalent non-forest land or pay its cost to the Forest department. Funds, thus generated, would be utilised for the purchase of non-forest land by the department for
carrying out afforestation.
The policy exempts all the Government sector cases and certain roads to be constructed on BoT basis besides the landowners of the Punjab land Preservation Act, 1900, areas from the condition of the payment of cost of equivalent non-forest land.
Spokesperson stated that the department had already transferred 50 per cent of the funds, nearly Rs 32 crore, along with interest received thereof to the Greening Punjab Mission Fund.
Cabinet also decided to amend the Punjab Act and Pepsu Act enabling NRIs to get their all ancestral or five-year-old properties vacated expeditiously. Earlier, they could get only one property vacated.
It also decided to contribute 10 per cent of their discretionary funds placed at their disposal towards the creation of corpus fund for the construction of Jang-e-Azadi Memorial. An amount of Rs 2,87,50,000 has been sent directly to the foundation instead of Cultural Affairs Department for the establishment of the memorial.
Cabinet approved the revival and filling up of 175 vacant posts of different teaching and non-teaching staff in Industrial Training Department. Besides, creation of 30 regular and 25 outsourced posts for setting up of instructor training wing with the assistance from World Bank at Government Industrial Training Institute, lalru, has also been sanctioned.
“The decision would help the State to build capacity for skill development and start apprenticeship training in Micro, Small, and Medium entrepreneurship besides providing quality training and gainful employment to the youth of the State,” added spokesperson.
To ensure prompt release of financial benefits to the victim’s family, Cabinet approved to amend rules along with forms of the Punjab Motor Vehicles Rules, 1989, regarding motor accidents claims tribunal rules.
Cabinet also approved to provide 214 posts of various levels for running three drug de-addiction centers at Amritsar, Patiala, and Jalandhar, effectively and in a result-oriented manner to wean away the youth from the menace of drug addiction.
Cabinet also gave ex-post facto approval to the amendment in Punjab lokpal Act, 1996 (Second Amendment) Act, 2013, to bring the chairman and the vice chairman of the Zila Parishad and its officials; mayor, senior deputy mayor, deputy mayor of a Municipal Corporation and its official; besides the president and vice-president of a municipal council or nagar panchayat and its officials under the jurisdiction of lokpal Act.
“This would enable the lokpal to look into the complaints of corruption and mal administration against the functionaries of local bodies - both elected and officials,” added spokesperson.
The Cabinet also approved the exemption of fee charged for the registered mortgage deed in the larger public interest. likewise, the Cabinet also approved the loan of Rs 1,500 crore raised by PUDA against OUVGl properties triggering the tempo of growth and development in the State.
With a view to ensuring the best health care and diagnostic facilities to the people across the state, the Cabinet also cleared the proposal of Medical Education and Research Department to fill 129 posts of super specialists and medical teaching faculty in Medical Colleges of Amritsar and Patiala.
Of these, 80 super specialists would be recruited in departments of Oncology, Surgical Oncology, Nuclear Medicine, Radiotherapy, Radiology and Immuno-Haematology and Blood Transfusion of Government Medical College Amritsar and Patiala to effectively combat the deadly menace of cancer so that these posts were filled up quickly.
Recruitments would be made by Departmental Selection Committee on merit after taking out these posts from the preview of Punjab Public Service Commission (PPSC).
Cabinet also approved amendment in Punjab Privately Managed Recognized School Employees (Security of Service) Act, 1979, to include non-aided posts of employees under its ambit. On one hand, where the move would empower the Educational Tribunal to settle disputes between the management and employees of these institutions, it would also facilitate the government by mitigating mounting litigation by such teachers against their management, on the other.
‘Sarabjit’s daughter gets Naib Tehsildar’s post’
living up to its words, Punjab Cabinet on Tuesday cleared the appointment of the
daughter of “martyr” Sarabjit Singh, Swapandeep Kaur,
as Naib Tehsildar on
compassionate grounds.
Besides, Cabinet also approved a Government job in Group ‘D’ category at Moga Deputy Commissioner Office to one Manjit Kaur, resident of village Daultpur Neewan, Moga district, who lost her all kith and kin in a fatal road accident in Moga recently.
Disclosing, spokesperson of the Chief Minister office said that Swapandeep’s father Sarabjit Singh had succumbed to a deadly attack in Pakistan jail and subsequently the state government had declared him national martyr. In another case, all 11 family members of Manjit Kaur had died in a fatal road accident near Moga on May 6, 2012.
It may be recalled that the Chief Minister had announced to offer government job to Swapandeep Kaur at Sarabjit’s bhog, while he had promised to give a government job to Manjeet Kaur during a sangat darshan program.