DECIDES TO RECALL UNUTILIZED PRE-POLL FUNDS FROM ALL GOVT DEPARTMENTS TO GENERATE FINANCES
RESOLVES TO
PURSUE ALL LEGAL & ADMINISTRATIVE MEASURES ON SYL, CRACK DOWN ON DRUGS
MAFIA & CORRUPTION, ABOLISH INSPECTOR RAJ
CM DIRECTS ALL
MINISTRIES, DEPARTMENTS TO START IMPLEMENTATION OF WORK PROGRAMME WITHOUT DELAY
Chandigarh, March 18
Just
two days after taking over Punjab’s reins, the Captain
Amarinder Singh government on Saturday kicked off the state’s development
agenda with its first cabinet meeting adopting the PPCC manifesto as its work
programme for the next five years, and taking more than 100 important decisions
aimed at fulfilling one-third of the electoral promises in the first phase.
To
meet some of the expenses involved in taking the work programme forward, the
cabinet decided to recall the unutilized funds, amounting to thousands of crores
of rupees, which had been granted by the previous SAD-BJP regime to various
government departments in the run-up to the polls.
Thanking
the people of Punjab for their emphatic mandate to the Congress in the assembly
polls, the cabinet resolved that the administrative secretaries would be
entrusted with the task of time-bound implementation of every single commitment
in the manifesto relating to their respective departments. It was also resolved
that the government would pursue all legal and administrative measures on the
SYL issue to protect the state’s water.
The
key decisions taken by the cabinet, attended by all the nine ministers of the
newly constituted government, include a major crackdown on the drugs mafia and
corruption, abolition of Inspector Raj, abolition of VIP culture, time-bound
waiver of farm loans, constitution of various high-level committees to bring
agriculture and industry on track, reforms in education and health, extension
of various benefits to Dalits and other backwards, employment generation, etc.
During
the meeting, which lasted over three hours, Chief Minister Captain Amarinder
directed his ministerial colleagues and the various departments of the
government to get down to the task of implementing the manifesto promises in
all earnestness, taking all necessary measures to ensure that there is no delay
in taking the reforms and development process to the people.
Abolition
of District Transport Officers (DTOs), as well as elimination of the
controversial halqa in-charge system, are among the important decisions taken
by the cabinet as part of the anti-corruption agenda of the government.
Immediate
steps will be taken to abolish the VIP culture in the state in line with the
promises made by the Congress in its manifesto.
It
was also decided to establish Employment Bureaus, manned by specialist and
professionals, in all districts to tackle the problem of unemployment by
carrying out surveys of both, the educated and the uneducated unemployed in the
state and preparing annual district employment plans with clear targets.
Repeal
of the Punjab Lokpal Act, revisiting of the citizens’ services delivery process
by the Department of Governance Reforms, and establishment of Unified Service
Delivery Centres are
some
of the major decisions taken by the cabinet with the aim of uplifting the
quality of public service in the state.
The cabinet decided that all subsidies, pensions, and other pro-poor schemes such as Ashirwad
and Atta Dal would be better targeted towards genuine beneficiaries through Direct Benefit
Transfers, wherever possible.
The
Department of Personnel would be directed to submit a complete proposal to
regularize all adhoc and contractual employees recruited through transparent
systems and procedures, according to an official spokesperson, who added that
the cabinet also decided to ban recruitment of contractual staff against the
regular sanctioned posts in various departments of the Government.
To
ensure rule of law and speedy justice, a series of new legislations, as
proposed in the manifesto, will be enacted at the earliest. This includes the vital
Confiscation of Drug Dealers’ Property Act. The concerned departments would
prepare the necessary legislation for immediate enactment through an ordinance.
Another
important decision relates to reforms and upgradation of educational
institutions, with free connectivity to be provided in all government schools
and colleges, for which the government will tie up with telecom companies to
provide free Wi Fi service to such institutions. Students in government schools
will be given free transportation facility and textbooks. One degree college,
at least, will be established in each sub-division of the state.
Establishment
of an Employment Commission, setting up of an Expenditure Reforms Commission,
setting of military training academies and sainik schools, and sweeping health
reforms will also be taken by the Congress government up on priority.
The
cabinet further decided to extend the state’s reservation policy to contractual
and outsourced appointments. Enhancement of the job reservation quota as
promised in the manifesto, along with housing and other benefits for SCs/STs
and OBCs, are other major decisions of the cabinet, which also decided on a special
package for border areas, to be worked out by the Department of Planning for
notification within 30 days.
The
government will also initiate immediate steps to provide jobs to the unemployed
as provisioned for in the manifesto, while the Department of Youth Affairs will
take measures to
give
smart phones to the youth who had registered themselves under the Captain Smart
Connect scheme.
To
set up special courts for cases related to NRIs, serving soldiers, drug
peddling and narcotics, the Department of Home and Justice would put up a final
proposal in consultation with the Punjab and Haryana High Court for the
approval of the Chief Minister.
Other
important manifesto promises on which the government will work on priority
basis include simplification of the procedure for getting retirement benefits,
establishment of a grievances redressal mechanism, establishment of a National
Institute for Promotion and Development of Punjabi Language (the Department of
Higher Education will pursue the proposal with the Government of India for its
early finalization), constitution of an Ex-Servicemen (ESM) Cell under the
chief minister’s control, appointment of Guardians of Governance and launch of
`Sasti Roti’ community kitchens to be run by the district Red Cross societies.
CABINET DECIDES TO ABOLISH DTOS, HALQA INCHARGE SYSTEM
STAYS ALL DECISIONS OF LAST 6 MONTHS OF BADAL GOVT. PENDING REVIEW
COMMISSION OF INQUIRY TO REVIEW ALL FALSE CASES, FIRS REGISTERED UNDER PREVIOUS REGIME
Chandigarh, March 18
As part of the Captain Amarinder Singh led
government’s sweeping administrative reforms to wipe out corruption and
Inspector Raj from the state, and to undo the wrongs perpetrated on the people
under the erstwhile Badal regime, the Punjab cabinet on Saturday decided to
abolish the post of District Transport Officers, while initiating steps to do
away with the controversial Halqa Incharge system that was introduced during
the SAD-BJP rule.
It was also resolved that all decisions taken
by the previous government in the last six months would be reviewed by the
administrative departments, whose reports would be submitted by the Chief
Secretary in the next meeting of the council of ministers. Till the completion
of the review process, further action thereon would remain stayed except in
cases where it was not feasible to do so owing to some legal or administrative
implications. Such cases would be put to the Chief Minister through the Chief
Secretary, an official spokesperson said after the cabinet meeting.
A proposal to abolish the Improvement Trusts
and amalgamate their activities with the concerned Municipal
Corporations/Councils was also considered at the meeting but a final decision
on the same was postponed to the next cabinet meet after Local Bodies Minister
Navjot Singh Sidhu sought more time to examine the matter. The cabinet took
note of the fact that similar institutions had already done away with in
neighbouring Haryana.
Cracking down on corruption and Inspector Raj
in the transportation services and end the unnecessary harassment of
transporters due to frequent checking, the cabinet decided to abolish the posts
of District Transport Officers (DTOs) in the state, and reassign and distribute
the work of their offices to the SDMs/SDOs for their respective territorial
jurisdiction. It was noted that the DTO post had been abolished by Haryana
about a decade ago.
The cabinet also decided to open up the
transport sector, and ensure free and fair grant of licenses for buses, mini
buses and other commercial vehicles in a transparent way, thus freeing the
sector of the SAD stranglehold. The Department of Transport would review and
reformulate its existing policy and submit the next policy for consideration in
the next meeting. A Punjab Road Safety Authority will be set up to study the
causes of road accidents and deaths in the state with a view to minimize the
same through effective planning.
In a bid to improve functional and
operational efficiency, the cabinet decided to withdraw the previous
government’s notifications on territorial restructuring of police stations, and
also to abolish the Halqa Incharge system introduced by the SAD-BJP regime,
making sub-divisions and assembly constituencies conterminous. The council of
ministers noted that the Halqa Incharges had become parallel power centres,
controlling the administration and the police in their respective regions, and
misusing their powers to indulge in political vendetta and corruption.
To fulfil another key PPCC manifesto promise,
the cabinet decided to establish a Commission of Enquiry to review all false
cases and FIRs registered during the last decade of the SAD-BJP Government with
a view to ensuring justice to innocent people and fix accountability of the
guilty so that such things were not repeated in the future. The Department of
Home would put up a draft notification in this regard for the approval of the
Chief Minister, it was decided.
The cabinet further decided that the
Departments of Governance Reforms and Finance would prepare a White Paper
exposing the false claims of the previous SAD-BJP regime on development,
governance reforms and the financial position of the state to apprise the
common man of the legacy inherited by the Congress government.
Another important cabinet decision relates to
carrying out, within three months, a third party professional audit of rural
and urban infrastructure in the state to identify the existing inadequacies and
deficiencies for remedial measures. The cabinet noted that the previous regime
had allowed the infrastructural foundations of the state to fall to ruin and
decided that Infrastructural Renewal Plans would be prepared for all the blocks
and municipalities for time-bound action.
It was also decided to reconstitute Governance Reforms Commission as Governance Reforms and Ethics Commission (GREC), to be manned by professionals who are experienced in governance processes and procedures. The Department of Governance Reforms would issue the requisite notification after approval of the Chief Minister.
CABINET MEET DECIDES TO SET UP SPECIAL TASK FORCE TO ELIMINATE DRUGS FROM PUNJAB
Chandigarh, March 18
Launching
a major crackdown on the drugs menace in the state, the Punjab cabinet on
Saturday decided to set up a Special Task Force (STF) in the Chief Minister’s
office to prepare and implement a comprehensive programme to eliminate drugs
from the state, as promised by the Punjab Pradesh Congress Committee (PPCC) in
its election manifesto.
It
also decided to direct the State Home Department to prepare and submit a
proposal, in the next cabinet meeting, for the enactment of the Confiscation of
Drug Dealers Property Act by issuing an ordinance. The proposed legislation
will pave the way for the authorities to confiscate the properties and assets
of those found guilty of trading or dealing in drugs.
The
cabinet, at its first meeting chaired by Chief Minister Captain Amarinder Singh
at the Punjab Bhawan here, decided to take up the elimination of drugs from the
state on top priority.
CABINET OKAYS NEW EXCISE POLICY FOR PUNJAB
CUTS DOWN ON LIQUOR VENDS & QUOTA
ABOLISHES WHOLESALE LICENCE L-1A
Chandigarh, March 18-
The Punjab Cabinet on Saturday approved the historic Excise Policy for
the year 2017-18, bringing down the
number of liquor vends from 6384 to
around 5900, and banning
operation of all liquor vends within 500 metres from National and State
Highways.
A decision to this effect, in line with the pre-poll promise of Captain
Amarinder Singh, was taken by the Council of Ministers in its maiden meeting
held under the chairmanship of the Chief Minister here at Punjab Bhawan.
Disclosing this here,
a spokesperson of the Chief Minister's Office said that in compliance with the
orders of the Supreme Court of India, no liquor vend would be allowed to
operate within a distance of 500 metres from the outer edge of National
Highways and State Highways.
As per the new Excise policy, the system of wholesale licence L-1A has
been abolished. The L-1 licensees would lift their quota directly from the
distilleries/ bottling/ plants/ manufacturing companies. The L-1 licence would
be granted to a retail licensee (L-2 Licensee) in the concerned district who
has secured atleast one group/ zone in a district.
The quota of country liquor has been reduced from 10.10 crore proof litres to 8.70 crore proof litres i.e.
by 14%. Similarly, the quota of Indian Made Foreign Liquor (IMFL) has been
reduced from 4.73 crore proof litres to 3.80 crore proof litres i.e. by 20%.
