Chandigarh| DW Bureau| Feb 13 : In a bonanza to employees and pensioners of the government, the Punjab Cabinet led by Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann on Thursday accorded consent to disburse arrears of Rs 14,000 crore to them. A decision to this effect was taken in the meeting of the Council of Ministers held here under the chairmanship of the Chief Minister. A spokesperson for the Chief Minister’s Office said the Cabinet gave approval to release arrears of revised pay and pensions and leave encashment from January 1, 2016, to June 30, 2022, and that Dearness Allowance (DA) and Dearness Relief (DR) from July 1, 2021, to March 31, 2024, for pensioners and employees.

This sum worth Rs 14,000 crore will be released in stages and will give much-needed relief to the employees and pensioners, an official statement said. Pertinently, there are three lakh employees and three lakh pensioners of the government who will directly benefit from this decision. Additionally, the Cabinet gave the nod to create new posts in the Punjab State Legal Services Authority for setting up 22 new Lok Adalats to dispense justice to the people. The Cabinet also gave approval to create three new posts of Assistant Director, Senior Assistant and Sewadar in the newly created district of Malerkotla.

In order to check the pilferage of taxes by proper utilization of the human resources in the Taxation Department, the Cabinet also gave approval for the creation of 476 new posts in the department. Along with it green signal was given for changing the nomenclature of the posts of the Inspectors in the department as they will be now known as State Taxation Officers. The Cabinet also accorded consent for the recruitment of 53 drivers in the Excise Department on a regular basis. The Cabinet also gave the green signal to amend the rules and qualifications for the direct recruitment of Physical Training Instructors (PTI teachers) in the Elementary Education Department. This will facilitate the recruitment of 2,000 teachers.

In order to impart quality health services to the people of the state, the Cabinet also gave a nod for the revival of 822 posts of the Group-C cadre in the Health and Family Welfare Department. This will help enhance the efficiency of the department, thereby benefitting the people by providing them with quality healthcare services. The Cabinet also gave approval for the creation of 97 posts of various cadres in the Dr B.R. Ambedkar State Institute of Medical Sciences, SAS Nagar. This will further help in increasing the efficiency of the institute to provide quality medical services to the people.

In a move aimed at generating more than 50,000 jobs for youth, the Cabinet also gave the nod for waiver of stamp duty, registration fees and other additional charges for the transfer of land to the special purpose vehicle (SPV), NICDC Punjab Industrial Corridor Development Corporation Limited, for integrated manufacturing cluster being developed as a part of Amritsar-Kolkata Industrial Corridor (AKIC) Project. The project aims to serve as a catalyst for local commerce, business with global competitiveness and creating an environment conducive to investment. The project will generate employment of about 32,724 from industrial and 14,880 from industrial support amenities.

In an endeavour to provide houses to the economically weaker sections (EWS), the Cabinet gave a nod to a policy for optimum utilization of land reserved for them. As per this, scattered land pockets falling in various colonies will be monetized and the funds received from such sale will be utilized for the benefit of EWS, adding for this 1,500 acres will be acquired across the state. In a significant decision, the Cabinet decided to rename the scheme for financial assistance to acid victims as the Punjab Financial Assistance to Acid Victims Scheme of 2024, thereby including the males and transgenders victims in the scheme besides increasing the financial assistance of Rs 8,000 to 10,000 per month. The Cabinet also gave the nod for convening a special session of the Vidhan Sabha on February 24-25. Legislative business will be conducted during the two-day session.