DW BUREAU / chandigarh The Punjab government on Friday decided to pay 40 per cent of the Rs 200 crore arrears of private educational institutions against the post-matric scholarship scheme for SC students, for the period 2017-18 to 2019-20. The cabinet, which held a virtual meeting chaired by Chief Minister Amarinder Singh, decided that the CM will take up the issue of the balance 60 per cent pending arrears with the Prime Minister, an official statement said. It further said that the cabinet, while approving the report submitted by the Group of Ministers (GoM), decided that the government will give these arrears to private institutions in three equal quarterly instalments during the year 2021-22. The GoM, comprising Finance Minister Manpreet Singh Badal, Social Justice, Empowerment & Minorities Minister Sadhu Singh Dharamsot, Higher Education Minister Tript Rajinder Singh Bajwa and Technical Education Minister Charanjit Singh Channi, was constituted on January 14, 2021 to look into the difficulties faced in the implementation of the scheme. The statement said the scheme is being implemented through Central assistance but no funds have been released against the demand for the years 2017-18 to 2019-20. Keeping in view the hardships faced by Schedule Caste students, the GoM was constituted to examine and resolve this issue to secure the future of these students, it said. The GoM had also recommended that private educational institutions would not retain the roll numbers, certificates and degrees of SC students, would make no claims nor approach court against Punjab government for claiming pending fees for the sessions from 2017-18 to 2019-2020. Further, they will withdraw cases pending in court in this matter, the Group had suggested. The report also stated that if the 60 per cent amount is not received from the Government of India, then the educational institutions could not claim their fee from the Punjab government. The Punjab Government has also decided to regularise the sanitation employees working on contract basis for various municipalities of the state. In a virtual meeting, chaired by Chief Minister Amarinder Singh, the state cabinet directed the Department of Personnel to expedite the proposal to enact a new legislation to regularise these contractual employees, an official statement said. The Cabinet also decided to allow hiring of more safai karamcharis and sewer men on contract as per the requirement of municipalities. However, the cabinet noted that employees provided by service providers or contractors through outsourcing arrangements cannot be regularised or hired by the government even through direct contract. It observed that such employees cannot be part of the government payroll in view of the existing law laid down by the Apex Court. In another decision aimed at ensuring effective management of Covid isolation facilities, the cabinet decided to allow doctors of medicine, anesthesia and Tuberculosis (TB) and chest to continue their services, after their superannuation on completion of 58 years of age, till March 31, 2022 on clinical posts. The Cabinet also gave a go-ahead to regularisation of standalone buildings, constructed outside municipal limits without approval of the Housing and Urban Development department but with strict adherence to building by-laws. The one-time settlement policy for which applications will be accepted till March 31, 2022, would enable such buildings to be regularised with payment of nominal fee and statutory government dues, besides bringing them within the ambit of planning and ensure safety of the public, the statement said. All statutory charges are to be paid along with the regularisation fee, including Rs 20 per square feet of covered area for farmhouses, educational and medical Institutions; Rs 35 for commercial buildings, including hotel and eating joints; Rs 15 for industrial; and Re 1 for religious, social and charitable institutions, it added. The Punjab Bureau of Investment Promotion (PBIP) had been requesting for reduction in regularisation charges to facilitate industries in the state. In another decision to further curb illegal mining in the state, and to check degradation of the environment, the cabinet gave nod to more stringent guidelines and rules through various amendments. The Punjab Minor Mineral Rules, 2013 and Policy Guidelines for Registration and Working of Stone Crushers in the State of Punjab, 2015, will be amended. (editor@dailyworld.in)