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Punjab cabinet meeting today, new bill on SCs could be on agenda
As per an official order, the meeting, which will be chaired by chief minister Captain Amarinder Singh, will be held at 3pm via video conferencing. The last meeting was held on June 18.
The Punjab council of ministers will be meeting on Monday after a gap of nearly two months. This is the first cabinet meeting of the state after Navjot Singh Sidhu took over as the president of the Congress party's Punjab unit. Sidhu continues to be at loggerheads with chief minister Captain Amarinder Singh and the state government - the latest being the cricketer-turned politician’s criticism of the government’s delay in action on the special task force (STF) report on drugs. Amarinder Singh, meanwhile, met Congress interim chief Sonia Gandhi on August 10 amid talks of a possible cabinet reshuffle in Punjab.
As per an official order, the meeting, which will be chaired by chief minister Captain Amarinder Singh, will be held at 3pm via video conferencing. The last meeting was held on June 18.
Though the agenda of Monday’s cabinet meeting is yet to be revealed, news agency PTI reported last week that a new bill which seeks to earmark a part of Punjab’s annual budget for the welfare of Scheduled Castes (SCs) in proportion to their population in the state, is likely to be considered for approval.
In July, chief minister Singh gave his approval for putting the ‘Punjab State Welfare and Development of Scheduled Castes (Planning, Earmarking and Utilization of Financial Resources) Sub-Allocation Bill, 2021’ before the state cabinet, to pave way for its enactment in the next session of the assembly, PTI further reported. The bill will enable the Punjab government to put in place an institutional mechanism to formulate and monitor the implementation of the Scheduled Caste Sub Plan (SCSP) and issues related to it.
Hindustan Times earlier reported that the cabinet meeting will also see a discussion on bringing an ordinance for the establishment and incorporation of a private university coming up in Mohali along with deciding the date for convening the monsoon session of the assembly.
