NEW AGRICULTURE POLICY TO SAFEGUARD INTERESTS OF FARMERS: CM TO FARM UNIONS

SAYS DRAFT OF POLICY READY, WILL BE FINALISED AFTER DUE DELIBERATIONS WITH FOOD GROWERS

STATE GOVERNMENT MULLING TO INTRODUCE OTS SCHEME FOR OUTSTANDINGS OF COOPERATIVE BANKS

Chandigarh, September 5:Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Singh Mann on Thursday assured the farmers that the state government is committed to safeguard their interests and new agriculture policy will be a step forward in this direction.

During meeting with delegation of BKU (Ugrahan) and Punjab Khet Mazdoor Union, the Chief Minister said that the draft of the Punjab Agriculture Policy is ready but will be finalised only after due deliberations with food growers. He said that the draft will be shared with the farmers by September 30 and their suggestions will be sought on the policy. Bhagwant Singh Mann said that the suggestions of the farmers will be duly incorporated in the policy as state government does not want to impose anything on the food growers rather it is committed to consult them for making agriculture a profitable venture.

Dwelling on another agenda, the Chief Minister further said that the state government is also mulling to introduce a One Time Settlement (OTS) scheme to offer much-needed relief to debt-ridden farmers who have been struggling to repay loans to cooperative banks. He said that every effort will be made to bail out the farmers of the state from the ongoing agrarian crisis. Bhagwant Singh Mann said that the state government is solidly with the food growers of the state who through hard work and resilience have made the country self reliant in food production.

On the issue of withdrawing the cases registered against the leaders of farmer unions, the Chief Minister asked the officers to explore the feasibility of this to secure the interests of farmers and a way out will be found in this regard. He also assured the farmers that the state government will re-examine the rejected cases pertaining to compensation in suicides committed by farmers and labourers. Bhagwant Singh Mann also asked the officers concerned to reconcile the cases of five marla plots to be given to the needy persons, besides directing them to make the 5 marla plots free from encroachment within three-six months across the state. The Chief Minister assured the delegation of farmers and farm labourers to sympathetically look into issues like compensation in death of dairy livestock, depleting ground water table, water pollution and Buddha Nullah and others.

The Chief Minister was accompanied by Cabinet Ministers Harpal Singh Cheema, Harbhajan Singh ETO and Gurmeet Singh Khudian.

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CM LED CABINET GIVES NOD TO FORMULATE AGRICULTURE POLICY FOR STATE

MOVE AIMED AT MAKING AGRICULTURE A PROFITABLE VENTURE

Chandigarh, September 5:The Punjab Cabinet led by Chief Minister Bhagwant Singh Mann on Thursday gave nod to formulate a new Agriculture policy in the state for ensuring the welfare of the farmers on one hand and giving impetus to the food production on the other.

A decision to this effect was taken in a meeting of the Council of Ministers held under the chairmanship of the Chief Minister at his official residence today.

Disclosing this here today, spokesperson of the Chief Minister’s Office said that with the traditional agriculture in the state reaching a stage of plateau, it is imperative to formulate a robust agriculture policy to give boost to food production. It is also necessary for saving the groundwater for our coming generations and making agriculture a profitable venture. It was decided that the new agriculture policy will be formulated by taking into confidence all the major stakeholders.

GIVE ITS CONCURRENCE FOR INTRODUCING EDUCATION POLICY IN THE STATE

The Cabinet also gave its concurrence for introducing Education Policy in the state for giving major thrust to skill and technical based education. This will help in opening new avenues of employment for the youth of the state thereby making them an integral part of the socio-economic growth of Punjab. This policy will focus on effectively transforming Education in the state so that youth can be immensely benefited from it.

AMBIT OF OTS III TO BE EXPANDED FOR BEFITTING MAXIMUM NUMBER OF TRADERS

The Cabinet also gave its consent to expand the ambit of the OTS III for pending VAT cases for befitting the maximum number of traders. It was observed that the ongoing scheme has immensely benefited the traders and in comparison to the previous schemes, that were totally flop, the state government had earned Rs 164 crore more than the previous fiscal years through this OTS scheme. The formal orders for the expansion of this scheme will be issued shortly.

DECISIONS TAKEN TO ENHANCE STATE REVENUE BY Rs 2400- 3000 crore ANNUALLY

In order to enhance the Government Revenue, the Cabinet also gave nod to enhance VAT rate on Diesel from 12.00 percent+ 10% Surcharge or rupees Rs 10.02 per litre (including Surcharge), whichever is greater to 13.09 % + 10% Surcharge or Rupees 10.94 per litre (including Surcharge) whichever is greater. Likewise, VAT rate on Petrol has been enhanced from 15.74 %+ 10% Surcharge or Rupees 14.32 per litre (including Surcharge), whichever is greater to 16.52 % + 10% Surcharge or Rupees 14.88 per litre (including Surcharge) whichever is greater. As a result, the VAT rate of Diesel will increase by 92 paise per litre and that of Petrol will increase by 0.61 rupee per litre. The state government also abolished the subsidy being given to power consumers having load of more than 7 KW. This will enhance the State Revenue by around Rs 2400 to Rs 3000 crore.

MAJOR RELIEF TO THE OWNERS OF GOOD VEHICLES AND THREE WHEELER (PASSENGER) AUTO RICKSHAWS

In a major relief to the owners of good vehicles and three wheeler (passenger) auto rickshaws in the State, the Cabinet also gave nod to do away with the process of paying the tax after every quarter that caused harassment of the owners. The owners of these old commercial vehicles can now deposit the lump sum tax of their vehicles annually thereby saving their time, money and energy. The buyers of new such vehicles have been given the option of paying this tax for four years or eight years thereby availing a discount of 10% or 20% respectively.

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Punjab clinched "Best Performing State Award" in India under AIF Scheme

Horticulture Minister Chetan Singh Jouramajra applauds officials for this coveted achievement

Chandigarh, September 5:Punjab has been recognized as "The Best Performing State" under the Agriculture Infrastructure Fund (AIF) Scheme for the year 2023-24. The award was presented to Punjab by Union Agriculture and Farmers Welfare Minister Mr. Shivraj Singh Chauhan during the AIF Excellence Awards Ceremony held at the National Agriculture Science Complex, New Delhi, by the Department of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare, Government of India.

Horticulture Minister S. Chetan Singh Jouramajra congratulated the department officials and the entire AIF team, applauding their efforts for elevating the scheme to new heights.

The coveted award was handed over to Horticulture Minister S. Chetan Singh Jouramajra at his office today by Director Horticulture Mrs. Shailender Kaur IFS, Joint Director Mr. Tajinder Bajwa, Deputy Director Harpreet Singh, and AIF Team Leader Ms. Ravdeep Kaur.

The Cabinet Minister highlighted Punjab's remarkable progress, noting that in FY 2021-22, only 164 projects were approved. However, with the introduction of strategic planning and a dedicated Project Monitoring Unit (PMU) within the Department of Horticulture (State Nodal Agency for AIF), the numbers soared to new high. By the financial year 2022-23, the state had sanctioned 3,480 projects, which nearly quadrupled to 12,064 by the financial year 2023-24. As of August 2024, the total number of sanctioned projects stands at 16,680.

Notably, these projects represent a substantial investment of ₹6,626 crores aimed at bolstering agricultural infrastructure. Of this, participating banks have approved term loans totaling ₹3,941 crores, signaling a robust financial commitment to improving agriculture across Punjab. Major categories of projects established through the scheme in Punjab include custom hiring centers, primary processing centers, sorting-grading units, cold stores, infrastructure for post-harvest management, solar pumps and solar panels on existing infrastructure, etc.

The scheme has been actively promoted and advanced in Punjab under the leadership of S. Chetan Singh Jouramajra, Minister of Horticulture, with strategic support from Sh. K.A.P Sinha, Special Chief Secretary, Government of Punjab. Remarkably, over 70% of the beneficiaries of AIF in Punjab are farmers.

The Cabinet Minister stated that this achievement is highlighting Punjab's progressive role in extending benefits of the scheme to the agriculture community and sets a benchmark in scheme implementation in the agriculture sector.

Director Horticulture Mrs. Shailender Kaur mentioned that PM Kusum Component-A and integrated primary-secondary processing projects are now eligible activities under the expanded AIF Scheme. Individual beneficiaries can now apply for projects such as mushroom farming, polyhouse/greenhouse setups, vertical farming, hydroponic and aeroponic farming, as well as logistics facilities. These additions present further opportunities for farmers and entrepreneurs in the state to adopt modern farming techniques and infrastructure. Punjab will continue to benefit from AIF Scheme, as its latest expansion makes the scheme more inclusive, she added.

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Four MBBS Seats earmarked for terrorist victim students in Central Pool

Chandigarh, September 5:The Ministry of Home Affairs has earmarked four MBBS seats from the Central Pool for the academic year 2024-25 for the nomination of candidates who are either the spouse or children of deceased/disabled civilian victims of terrorism.

Elaborating on the allocation, an official spokesperson of the state government said that one seat each will be available in A.N. Magadh Medical College, Gaya (Bihar) and Grant Medical College, Mumbai (Maharashtra), while two seats will be in Pt. JNM Medical College, Raipur (Chhattisgarh).

The spokesperson further said that the eligible students from Punjab can also avail these seats. He said that the eligibility criteria for these seats stipulate that the candidate must be an Indian national who has completed 17 years of age at the time of admission or will complete that age on or before 31 December of the year of admission to the first year of the Undergraduate Medical Course.

More information and term & conditions pertaining to the MBBS seats can be seen by downloading the notification and application form, issued by the Ministry of Home Affairs, Government of India, from the ministry's website (https://mha.gov.in) under the "What's New" section.

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Dr. Baljit Kaur Instructes Immediate Action to Fill SCs posts Backlog

Punjab Government, under Chief Minister Bhagwant Singh Mann, Committed to Safeguarding Rights of Scheduled Castes

Chandigarh, September 5-Punjab’s Minister for Social Justice, Empowerment and Minorities , Dr. Baljit Kaur, has instructed all state Government departments to prioritize the immediate filling of backlog posts related to Scheduled Castes.

In her directive, Dr. Baljit Kaur emphasized that several posts reserved for Scheduled Castes across various Government departments remain vacant.

"The Punjab Government, under the leadership of Chief Minister Bhagwant Singh Mann, is steadfast in its commitment to protect the rights and interests of the Scheduled Castes" said Dr. Kaur. She added that a notification has been issued, urging all departments to expedite the process and ensure the backlog is fill without delay.

Reaffirming the government's focus on social equity, Cabinet Minister highlighted that the inclusion and empowerment of marginalized communities, particularly Scheduled Castes, remains a top priority for the state. She also directed Special Chief Secretaries, Additional Chief Secretaries and Principal Secretaries to personally oversee the swift implementation of this directive.

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Jimpa hails CM for pro-people decision of doing away with practice of NoC

- Says this path breaking initiative will facilitate the people

Chandigarh, September 5- Revenue Minister Mr. Bram Shanker Jimpa on Thursday hailed the Punjab Chief Minister Mr. Bhagwant Singh Mann for taking historic decision of doing away with the clause of seeking NOC for registration of land deed.

In a statement issued here today, the Minister said that since long people were facing a lot of inconvenience in getting the registration of their land done. He said that now Punjab Apartment and Property Regulation (Amendment) Act 2024 has been passed. Mr Jimpa said that as per the amendment, any person who upto July 31, 2024, for an area upto five hundred square yard situated in an unauthorized colony, has entered into a power of attorney, agreement to sell on stamp paper, or any other such document will not require any No Objection Certificate for registration of land.

The Minister said that this is a big relief to the people adding that the state government led by Mr. Bhagwant Singh Mann is a making every effort to facilitate people. He said that this path breaking initiative will curb the menace of illegal colonies on one hand and will generate state revenue on the other. Mr. Jimpa urged the people to take maximum mileage of this pro people initiative of the state government.

Jimpa appealed to the people of Punjab not to give any bribe to any officer or employee of the revenue department and if anyone asks for a bribe then it should be reported immediately. He said that corrupt officers and employees will not be spared at any cost.

He said that as soon as the government was formed, efforts were initiated to eradicate corruption from Punjab. Revenue Department also issued a helpline number 8184900002 for filing complaints regarding the functioning of Revenue Department. NRIs can register their complaints on 9464100168. These numbers are for written complaints only.