Punjab MLAs to declare immovable assets every yr
Government to issue appointment letters to 1,337 TETqualified teachers
The Punjab government on Friday decided to make it mandatory for all state MLAs and MPs to declare their immovable properties on January 1 every year. The decision was taken at a meeting of the council of ministers chaired by chief minister Captain Amarinder Singh at the state secretariat here.
The Punjab government on Friday decided to make it mandatory for all state MLAs and MPs to declare their immovable properties on January 1 every year.
The decision was taken at a meeting of the council of ministers chaired by chief minister Captain Amarinder Singh at the state secretariat here.
A chief minister’s office (CMO) spokesperson said the cabinet gave approval to amend ‘The Punjab Legislative Assembly (Salaries and Allowance of Member) Act, 1942’ to make it mandatory for all MLAs and MPs from Punjab to declare their immovable properties for 2017-18, immediately after the said amendment.
“It was also decided that IAS and IPS officers will also have to declare their assets every year,” said finance minister Manpreet Badal, while addressing the media after the cabinet meeting.
STAMP DUTY REDUCED FROM 9% TO 6%
To boost the real estate sector in the state, approval has been given to reduction in stamp duty on the registration of property in urban areas from 9% to 6% till March 31, 2018.
Also, in-principle approval was given to the proposal to lower or rationalise circle and collectorate rates.
A formal proposal on reduction in circle/collectorate rates is to be presented in the next cabinet meeting.
It was also decided to remove the 3% additional stamp duty chargeable as Social Security Fund.
The cabinet also decided to grant exemption from 10% increase in change of land use (CLU), external development charges (EDC) and licence fee (LF), permission fee from April 1, 2017 to March 31, 2020 for real estate projects.
RELIEF TO TEACHERS
In a relief to the Punjab Teacher Eligibility Test (TET)-qualified candidates, the council of ministers gave the nod to issue appointment orders to 1,337 candidates against the 6,060 posts of TET-qualified mastercadre teachers advertised in 2015.
The cabinet also decided, in principle, to advertise 4,183 new posts in view of a judgment of the Supreme Court.
Acceding to the long-pending demands of these TET-qualified candidates, the cabinet also gave approval to grant relaxation in the age for fresh recruitment from the existing 37 to 38 years.
It directed the education department to immediately take up the issue with the National Council for Teacher Education (NCTE) to enhance the state TET validity to eight years from the existing seven.
As per the current provisions, these teachers could only be appointed within seven years of clearing the TET examination conducted by the State Council for Education, Research and Training (SCERT).
Since these teachers had passed the examination in 2011, their eligibility for appointment will lapse in 2018.
NOD TO MARRIAGE PALACE POLICY
The cabinet also approved new the marriage palace policy for regularisation of unauthorised marriage palaces, besides granting approval for construction of new marriage palaces in the state.
The new policy replaces the earlier marriage palace policies framed by the previous government, from time to time, to ensure regularisation of marriage palaces constructed before November 16, 2012. FILLIP TO AIR CONNECTIVITY In another decision to give a fillip to air connectivity from Ludhiana, Pathankot, Bathinda and Adampur under Regional Connectivity Scheme ‘UDAN’ of the civil aviation ministry, the cabinet also decided to grant ex-post facto approval for signing memorandum of understanding among the Punjab government, ministry of civil aviation, central government and Airport Authority of India.
The move will boost economic and trade activity in the state with the launch of new flights from the new airports.