Punjab forms teachers’ cadre for border areas
No longer govt’s burden; CM says decision on legislators paying their own tax will be taken after their feedback
CHANDIGARH: THE Punjab cabinet on Thursday cleared the proposal to create a separate cadre of teachers for the six border districts of Pathankot, Amritsar, Fazilka, Tarn Taran, Ferozepur and Gurdaspur.
“As per the decision, the teachers recruited from each district will be posted there only. Before moving ahead with the proposal, chief minister Capt Amarinder Singh (who chaired the meeting) suggested to take opinion of the state advocate general,” said CM’S media advisor Raveen Thukral, who along with local bodies minister Navjot Singh Sidhu briefed the media.
The decision was taken as the government has been struggling to depute teachers at schools in the border belt for years, with the majority of teachers reluctant to join there.
It was also decided to set up a cabinet sub-committee to oversee the implementation of the Right to Education and to examine the suggestions for revamping the department.
The cabinet took a serious note of private schools continuing to deprive poor students of admissions despite reservations for them under the RTE.
CHANDIGARH : Punjab chief minister Capt Amarinder Singh and his ministers on Thursday announced to voluntarily pay their income tax, which is currently paid from the state exchequer.
First mooted by the state finance department in October last year, the move was endorsed by Amarinder during a meeting of a cabinet sub-committee on fiscal management on February 5.
With regard to paying the MLAS’ income tax, the CM said the final decision on this will be taken after getting their feedback. The state government pays income tax of its 117 legislators to the tune of ₹11.08 crore. Of this, ₹10.72 crore is paid as income tax of MLAS who are not ministers.
There are nine ministers, including the CM, in the state cabinet which can have strength up to 18. Of the 117 legislators, 95 (81%) are crorepatis, according to a report from the Association for Democratic Reforms (ADR), an independent agency.
Yet in percentage terms, the present House has 7% fewer crorepatis than the previous assembly.
DEPTS RENAMED
In the cabinet meeting, the department of planning was renamed as the department of economic policy and planning while the Punjab State Planning Board will be known as the Economic Policy and Planning Board. This will help the two units to primarily focus more cogently on formulating policies for the development and on monitoring and reviewing the policy implementation, it was claimed.
TRANSPORT, LABOUR POLICIES FOR RABI
As per the new rules for the forthcoming wheat crop, the work of labour and cartage (up to 8km) and transportation of wheat, beyond 8km, will be allocated though a competitive and transparent online tender system.
AD, TOURISM POLICIES
The cabinet also approved the Punjab Municipal Outdoor Advertisement Policy-2018 stipulating provisions relating to permissible content on outdoor advertisements and identification of suitable places where advertisement rights can be awarded. Local bodies minister Navjot Singh Sidhu said currently there is no such policy and the state was losing revenue.
The minister said a new policy will double tourist visits from 25 million to 50 million in the next five years by creating infrastructure. He said there was a lot of scope for medical tourism in the state as people living in foreign countries look at Punjab as a destination
for cheap and quality treatment.
A DEPT OF MINING
The departments of mining and geology will be separated from the department of industries and commerce, seen as a major contributor to the state’s revenue.
The move entails no additional monetary burden for the state, said the government spokesman, since the new department, which will get 598 employees from the water resources department. The cabinet noted that most of the mining activities are on the riverbeds and the department of water resources, with its professional manpower and technical knowhow, could better handle this.