Cabinet decisions: Now, knowing Punjabi a must for govt jobs in state

Punjab cabinet led by CM Bhagwant Mann on Friday gave the nod for amending amend rules to ensure only those candidates are appointed to the state government’s Group C and D posts who have “in-depth knowledge” of the Punjabi language

In a landmark decision, the Punjab cabinet led by chief minister (CM) Bhagwant Mann on Friday gave the nod for amending amend rules to ensure only those candidates are appointed to the state government’s Group C and D posts who have “in-depth knowledge” of the Punjabi language.

To pay respect to the religious scriptures of every religion, the Cabinet also gave its nod to exempt especially-designed vehicles for carrying the Parkash of Religious Scriptures of different religions in the state from the Motor Vehicle Tax (MVT). (ANI)

A spokesperson for the chief minister’s office said, “In Rule 17 of the Punjab Civil Services (General and Common Conditions of Service) Rules, 1994, the first proviso the words ‘Provided that where a person’ have been replaced with ‘provided that no person shall be appointed to any post in Group C’ service unless he has passed a qualifying test in Punjabi equivalent to matriculation with at least 50% marks. The exam will be conducted by the respective recruitment agencies in addition to the competitive examination. “

“The test for Punjabi language will be a mandatory qualifying test and failure to secure a minimum of 50% marks in Punjabi will disqualify the candidate from being considered in the final merit list of candidates to be selected, irrespective of their score in other papers,” he said.

A similar amendment has been made to clause (d) of Rule 5 in the Punjab State (Group D) Service Rules, 1963 to state that no person shall be appointed to any post in any service by direct appointment, unless he has passed a qualifying test in Punjabi equivalent to middle standard with at least 50% marks, to be conducted by the respective recruitment agencies in addition to the competitive examination.

Penalty for illegal mining enhanced

To check illegal mining in the state, the Cabinet also gave green signal to amend rule 7.5 of the Punjab Minor Minerals Rules, 2013, to enhance the slab of penalty from ₹5,000- ₹25,000 to ₹50,000 to ₹2.5 lakh. The cabinet has enhanced these rates by 10 times.

Post of vice-chairperson, senior vice-chairperson abolished

To reduce financial expenditure and the administrative burden on the state, the Cabinet also agreed to amend Section 3 (1) of ‘The Punjab Agricultural Produce Markets Act 1961’ to abolish the posts of vice-chairperson and senior vice-chairperson in the Punjab Mandi Board. The posts of vice-chairperson and senior vice-chairperson were created in 2010 and 2016, respectively.

Creates 23 posts of CM’s field officers

To overhaul the grievance redressal mechanism, the Cabinet gave its approval to abolish 23 posts of assistant commissioners (grievances) and created a similar number of new posts of chief minister’s field officers at district-level. The deputy commissioner of the district will monitor the work of the chief minister’s field officer regularly and will provide requisite support for effective redressal of grievances.

Compassionate appointments

The Cabinet also approved a scheme for providing compassionate appointment to the wards of deceased employees of the PSEB (now the Punjab State Power Corporation Limited), who passed away before April 16, 2010, and were earlier covered under the Solatium Policy. As per this decision, grant of compassionate employment will be applicable prospectively to only those cases where the employee died before April 4, 2010, including cases in which date of death is prior to 2002 (the year in which compassionate appointment policy was discontinued). This scheme will be optional. Dependents who do not want to opt for a job on compassionate grounds under this scheme will be allowed to retain the benefits and/or special pension already availed under the solatium policy.

Vehicles carrying religious scriptures exempt from Motor Vehicle Tax

To pay respect to the religious scriptures of every religion, the Cabinet also gave its nod to exempt especially-designed vehicles for carrying the Parkash of Religious Scriptures of different religions in the state from the Motor Vehicle Tax (MVT).

There are around 25,000 such vehicles in the state. The MVT under Section 13 (3) of Punjab Motor Vehicle Taxation Act, 1924, for these vehicles is around ₹10,000 per annum. This will provide a financial relief of around ₹20-25 crore.

The spokesperson said the Cabinet had decided to grant exemption for these vehicles in view of the nagar kirtans and harinaams performed by different religious organisations, which act as a catalyst for communal harmony, peace and brotherhood and strengthen the state’s social fabric.