The Punjab cabinet on Monday approved a five-year extension for the completion of mega projects that have been hanging fire for the past nine years, since 2016. There are at least 100 such projects in the state that were registered in 2016 and are seeking extension.
The extension has been allowed from a cut-off date of December 31, for five years. With the cabinet approval, the projects can be completed by December 31, 2030. The promoter of the project seeking extension has to deposit a sum of ₹25,000 per acre per year.
As per the decision, the payment shall be deposited upfront for the extension of the implementation period, and no extension in the implementation period shall be permissible thereafter.
These mega projects fall under the Greater Mohali Areas Development Authority (GMADA), and the local authorities in Patiala, Bathinda, Amritsar, Ludhiana, and Jalandhar.
Policy to fix reserve price of lots amended
To ease the process of determining the reserve price of the various sites of development authorities, the cabinet also gave its consent to amend the policy to fix the reserve price of plots. As per the amendment in the e-auction policy, the reserve price of the sites will be fixed in accordance with the valuation of the three independent evaluators empanelled in nationalised banks. The reserve price once fixed for an auction will remain valid for the calendar year.
Allotment of housing sites to cooperative societies
{{/usCountry}}Allotment of housing sites to cooperative societies
{{/usCountry}}The cabinet also gave approval to a policy for allotment of sites to cooperative societies for the construction of multi-storey flats under the group housing scheme – 2025. This policy aims to boost the supply of affordable and planned housing in urban areas of Punjab by facilitating cooperative housing societies. It provides a transparent, fair, and structured framework for the allotment of land, ensuring timely construction and development in line with the state’s urban planning goals.
Enhancing crop loss compensation
The council of ministers also gave a nod for enhancing the compensation for crop loss to farmers up to ₹20,000 per acre. CM Bhagwant Mann had earlier made the announcement. A spokesperson of the Chief Minister’s Office said that in order to provide adequate relief to the affected persons for crop loss and house damage caused by natural calamities, the cabinet also gave nod to ex-post facto approval regarding the revision of the rates of relief amount to be paid from the state budget for crop loss and house damage. “As the state has faced severe floods, so the relief amount was increased to ₹10,000 per acre for crop loss of 26-75%, ₹20,000 per acre for crop loss of 76-100%, and ₹40,000 per unit for partially damaged houses from the existing ₹6500,” the spokesperson added.
“Since the amount given from the state disaster response fund (SDRF) by the Centre will not be increased, this additional compensation will be provided by the state government from its own treasury,” the spokesperson added.
Amendment in minor mineral rules
For better functioning of interstate check posts, the cabinet decided to amend the Punjab Minor Mineral Rules, 2013, to levy a fee on the vehicles carrying processed or unprocessed minor minerals entering the state. This will help in raising the operational cost being incurred by the department on interstate check posts.
Remuneration for OSDs (litigation) fixed
The cabinet gave its consent to increase the fixed remuneration payable to OSDs (litigation) working in various departments by ₹10,000, taking the total monthly emoluments to ₹70,000. As many as 13 temporary posts of OSD (Litigation) have been created in various departments.
PNG for rolling mills
The cabinet also gave ex-post facto approval to constitute a cabinet sub-committee for the shifting of rolling mills of Mandi Gobindgarh and the Khanna area from coal to piped natural gas. The cabinet also gave a nod to implement the Telecommunications (Right of Way) Rules, 2024, in Punjab.
BOX Sniffer dogs to check drugs inflow in jails
To prevent the flow of drugs into the jails, increase the level of search of visitors, and strengthen the overall security arrangements of prisons, the cabinet allowed the purchase of sniffer dogs. Six sniffer dogs from BSF and CRPF will be purchased for the security needs of the jails to prevent criminal activities from inside the jails. This move will help in enhancing the security of jails and checking the criminal activities in the prisons.