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Punjab cabinet clears 19 acres in Lehragaga for medical college
he cabinet also cleared India’s first comprehensive Private Digital Open Universities Policy, 2026, extension of Amnesty Policy 2025 for plot allottees, rationalisation of GMADA property prices, desilting of the Sutlej to fast-track infrastructure projects, and adjustment of staff of Baba Hira Singh Bhattal Institute of Engineering and Technology, Lehragaga, in government departments.
The Punjab Cabinet on Friday gave approval for over 19 acres of land at Lehragaga for setting up a minority medical college and hospital to be run by the Jain community.
The decision was taken at a meeting of the Council of Ministers chaired by chief minister Bhagwant Mann.
The cabinet also cleared India’s first comprehensive Private Digital Open Universities Policy, 2026, extension of Amnesty Policy 2025 for plot allottees, rationalisation of GMADA property prices, desilting of the Sutlej to fast-track infrastructure projects, and adjustment of staff of Baba Hira Singh Bhattal Institute of Engineering and Technology, Lehragaga, in government departments.
In the statement, the CM’s office said the cabinet approved the allotment of 19 acres at Baba Hira Singh Bhatthal Institute, on nominal lease rent to Janhit Society.
The admission of students and allocation of seats in the medical college to be established by the Jain community will be regulated strictly in accordance with the guidelines/notifications issued by the state government from time to time.
The fee structure for all categories of seats will also be determined and charged strictly in accordance with the guidelines/notifications issued by the Punjab government.
The cabinet decided that the trust should start the functioning of hospitals at the earliest and within a period of five years from the date of execution or commencement of the memorandum of understanding (MoU).
The medical college would be established and operationalised with a hospital having at least 220 beds and an intake capacity of 50 MBBS seats. It will be further expanded to 400 beds with an intake capacity of 100 MBBS seats within eight years of MOU.
The staff members of Baba Hira Singh Bhattal Institute will be adjusted against the vacant posts available in the department of technical education & industrial training, and autonomous institutions under the department on deputation.
Decks cleared for digital open universities
In another decision, the cabinet gave nod to the Punjab Private Digital Open Universities Policy, 2026, to regulate and promote private digital open universities offering online and open distance learning (ODL) programmes.
As per the statement, this is India’s first such policy. So far, only Tripura has set up a digital university, but without a comprehensive policy. Thus, Punjab becomes the first state to provide both a policy and a model in this area. The policy aligns with UGC Regulations, 2020, and introduces state-level standards for quality, accessibility, digital infrastructure, data governance and learner protection.
The spokesman said, “Now students can complete their entire degree from home on mobile or laptop and these degrees will be legally valid and compliant with AICTE/UGC standards. This will prove to be boon for students or professionals busy with life, family or jobs as they will be able to complete degrees without quitting jobs or changing cities and even without going to classrooms.”
Amnesty Policy 2025 extended for plot allottees
In a big relief to plot allottees, the cabinet approved the extension in the Amnesty Policy 2025 for allotted/auctioned plots under various schemes of the housing and urban development department.
This will allow the default allottees of the Special Development Authority to apply one more time under Amnesty Policy 2025 before the cutoff date March 31, 2026, and allow the allottee to deposit the requisite amount within three months of its approval to the authority.
Green signal to rationalise GMADA property prices
The cabinet also allowed reduction in prices of various properties of the Greater Mohali Area Development Authority (GMADA) as per the report submitted by the independent evaluators.
The government has amended the guidelines for e-auctions related to determining reserve prices for various residential, commercial, institutional and industrial plots.
Development authorities will now appoint three independent valuers empaneled by nationalised banks/income tax department to assess the rates of such sites.
For sites that go unsold in two or more auctions, the average of the rates reported by these valuers will be considered to determine the reserve price after approval from competent authority.
Approval for desilting of Sutlej river
The cabinet gave permission to the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) or its agencies to carry out the desiltation in Sutlej river at the sites allotted by the department of water resources at ₹3 per cubic feet. The approval comes with the condition that the price will be available to NHAI or its contractors/agencies only till June 30, 2026, for providing simple earth to NHAI for construction of road projects.
