EMPLOYEE WELFARE

Reiterating commitment for welfare of employees, chief minister Jai Ram Thakur said the government will notify new pay scales after Punjab Pay Commission gives its recommendations. Contribution of the state government under the New Pension Scheme was also increased to 14%. Earlier it was 10%. Dearness allowance to the employees and dearness relief to the pensioners of the state government at the rate of 4% will be provided from July 1, 2018.

The policy to provide job on compassionate grounds was also changed and the age limit increased from existing 50 years to age or retirement. This budget has been formulated entirely by the bureaucracy. CM spoke about attracting global investment, but as the past has shown us, investors don’t come here due to lack of a proper market . So due to lack of resources, it becomes tough to implement the schemes. Virbhadra Singh, ex-cm and

senior Congress leader

These include 100 MW UHL-III and 111 MW Sawara-kuddu.

The two projects will generate additional 700MW units of power per year. State will also get additional 200 million units of power after commissioning of Renuka project, which has been declared a project of national importance. 850 new distributions sub-centers will be set up by the state electricity board to provide new connections and improve voltage.

Ten MW capacity rooftop solar power plants are also proposed to be installed. The government will spend ₹475 crore on power subsidy to domestic consumer.