Punjab Vidhan Sabha will hold a special session on January 16 and 17 for ratification of the Constitution (126th Amendment) Bill, 2019, for extending SC/ST quota, excluding anglo-Indians, in the House by another 10 years, and to take up any other important business.
As per the decision, taken during a Cabinet meeting chaired by chief minister Capt Amarinder Singh, the Cabinet has recommend to the Governor to summon the 10th session of the House under Article 174 (1) of the Constitution of India.
The Cabinet authorized the Chief Minister to approve the address by Punjab Governor VP Singh Badnore, with which the special session will commence on January 16 at 10 am. The next day, after obituary references, a resolution would be placed for ratifying the amendments in the Constitution (126th Amendment) Bill, 2019.
The House would adjourn sine-die after the proposed legislative business on the same day, said the spokesperson.
It was further decided that the Cabinet will meet on January 14 to approve various Bills that will be placed before the House during the special session.
MINISTERIAL EMPOWERED PANEL TO EXPEDITE PROJECT IMPLEMENTATION
An empowered committee of Ministers, headed by Punjab Chief Minister Capt Amarinder Singh, will now take all necessary decisions relating to the delays and speed up implementation of various projects and schemes in the .
The decision to establish an empowered committee of Ministers was taken during the Cabinet meeting. With the Chief Minister as its Chairman, the Empowered Committee will have Local Government Minister and Finance Minister as its members and the Minister in-charge of the concerned department as its co-opted member.
On the suggestion of the Chief Minister, who pointed out that many issues that come up in project implementation are SC-related, the Cabinet also approved inclusion of the senior-most SC Minister Sadhu Singh Dharamsot as a member.
The meetings of the empowered committee would be attended by the Chief Secretary and Administrative Secretaries of the concerned departments, besides the Chief Principal Secretary to Chief Minister, Principal Secretary to the Chief Minister and Principal Secretary (Finance).
The committee will meet every week, at least for the first six months, and the concerned administrative department would put its agenda of schemes and projects to the Chief Minister through its Minister-in-charge, for further placing it before the Empowered Committee for consideration.
The agenda of the empowered committee would be circulated to all concerned departments in advance, and they would be provided an opportunity to present their views in the meeting of the committee before a final decision is taken.
“Once a decision has been taken by the empowered committee, the concerned administrative department shall not be required to send any reference or proposal to any other department, including the Departments of Finance and Personnel, for any further approvals. It shall be incumbent upon the concerned administrative departments to ensure compliance of all decisions of the empowered committee,” said the official spokesperson.
Spokesperson said that the administrative department would be required to give specific timelines for completion of projects and schemes or assigned tasks, and it would submit its progress report thereon to the empowered committee.
The very first item on the agenda of each meeting of the empowered committee would be to review the progress of decisions taken by it in the previous meetings, and discuss bottlenecks, if any.
All decisions to be taken by the empowered committee shall be placed before the Council of Ministers, for their information, from time-to-time.
WATER REGULATION AND DEVELOPMENT AUTHORITY
To manage and regulate water resources efficaciously, besides ensuring its judicious, equitable and sustainable utilization, Punjab Cabinet on Thursday paved way for setting up a Water Regulation and Development Authority by approving enactment of ‘The Punjab Water Resources (Management and Regulation) Ordinance, 2019.
The Ordinance, which was approved by the Cabinet in its meeting on December 4, 2019, is now all set for legislation as ‘The Punjab Water Resources (Management and Regulation) Bill, 2020’.
The Bill proposes to set up a Punjab Water Regulation and Development Authority, consisting of a chairman and two other members to be appointed by the Government.
The authority will also be empowered to issue directions and guidelines for the conservation and management of the water resources, besides issuing tariff orders specifying the charges to be imposed by entities supplying water for drinking domestic, commercial or industrial .The Bill also proposes the constitution of an Advisory Committee on Water Resources, to be notified by the Government, consisting of experts and ex-officio members from various government departments, to advise the authority. The authority may also engage experts on its own.
The authority shall have, and maintain, a separate fund, to be called the Punjab Water Regulation and Development Authority Fund, in which the grants or loans would be credited by the Punjab Government.
TOURISM POLICIES TO BE MADE MORE DISABLED-FRIENDLY
To make tourism more disabled-friendly, Punjab Cabinet has approved necessary amendments to the Punjab State Culture Policy, 2017, and Punjab State Tourism Policy-2018, in compliance with Rights of Persons with Disabilities (RPWD) Act, 2016.
In line with RPWD Act passed by the Central Government for protection of rights of disabled persons, all the State Government departments are required to adopt and incorporate its provisions relating to the facilities, support and sponsorship to artists and writers with a disability to pursue their interests and talents, making art accessible to persons with disabilities, facilitating participation in dancing and art and redesigning courses in cultural and arts subjects to enable participation and access for persons with disabilities.
Similarly, special provisions for persons with disabilities have also been incorporated in Punjab State Tourism Policy-2018, which stipulates facilities and support to persons with disability to visit places of tourist interest in the state of Punjab; making art accessible to persons with disabilities and promoting recreational centres and other associational activities.
MOUNTAINEER BRAR, MAJOR SUMEER SINGH TO BE APPOINTED
The Cabinet has approved the appointment of mountaineer Fateh Singh Brar and former Indian Army soldier Major Sumeer Singh as Deputy Superintendents of Police (DSPs) in Punjab Police as “special cases”.
Brar, one of the youngest mountaineers in the country, had scaled Mt Everest at the age of 16 years nine months on May 21, 2013, while Major Sumeer Singh was involved in a number of cross border operations and was instrumental in eliminating terrorists in cross border surgical operations conducted by the 9 PARA Special Force.
The Cabinet felt that Brar’s appointment as DSP would go a long way in encouraging adventurous sports in the State, besides felicitating and providing better opportunities to outstanding achievers in their respective field of sports.
In the case of Major Sumeer, the Cabinet decided to relax the Punjab Police Services Rules, 1959, to enable his direct recruitment as DSP. In recognition of his outstanding services in Indian Army, the Punjab Police Department had desired to utilize his services, especially amid efforts by terrorists to revive militancy in the State.
The department felt the need to recruit persons who possess in-depth knowledge and experience of combating terrorism, intelligence gathering, building intervention and hostage rescue operations etc. Besides this, the services of such meritorious officers are also required for the purpose of imparting training to the Punjab Police personnel of different ranks, in order to make them proficient in conducting such operations.