Cabinet okays four more Covid labs in Punjab
Tribune News Service
Chandigarh, June 22
The Punjab Council of Ministers today gave nod to setting up of four new Covid testing laboratories in the state. The labs will come up at Guru Angad Dev Veterinary and Animal Sciences University, Ludhiana; Punjab State Forensic Sciences Laboratory, Mohali; Northern Regional Diseases Diagnostic Laboratory, Jalandhar; and Punjab Biotechnology Incubator, Mohali.
Relief for entrepreneurs
To provide further relief to entrepreneurs amid the Covid-19 pandemic, the Cabinet decided to extend the one-time settlement scheme of their dues with the Punjab State Industrial Development Corporation (PSIDC) and Punjab Financial Corporation (PFC) till December 31, 2020. It will help the PSIDC and PFC recover Rs10 crore and Rs2 crore, respectively.
It also approved redevelopment of 1,764 acres of the now-closed Guru Nanak Dev Thermal Power Plant in Bathinda. The land, belonging to the Punjab State Power Corporation Limited (PSPCL), will now be acquired by the Punjab Urban Development Authority (PUDA).
PUDA has also been allowed by the Cabinet to raise a loan up to Rs 100 crore for development and sale of the site with state guarantee. In the first phase, 280 acres will be developed under a 80:20 profit sharing between the PSPCL and PUDA.
Re-employment of college faculty
The Cabinet okayed re-employment of medical, ayurvedic and dental faculty at Government Medical Colleges and Government Dental Colleges in Patiala and Amritsar, as well as Government Ayurvedic College, Patiala, after their retirement at the age of 62. While re-employment will be up to the age of 70 for medical/ayurvedic teachers, for the dental faculty, it will be till the age of 65.
The plant was shut down in 2018 as per the modalities worked out by a sub-committee for the closure of the state-owned thermal plants in view of the Central Electricity Agency guidelines to retire non-viable thermal power plants that had exceeded 25-year life span.
Three new lab units
To ensure expeditious disposal of cases related to the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act and crime against women, the Cabinet has okayed creation of 35 posts for setting up of three new units of DNA, cyber forensic and audio/voice analysis in the Forensic Science Laboratory, SAS Nagar, with an annual outlay of Rs 1.56 crore.
To bring down the pendency of examination of samples of viscera, blood alcohol and others in the Chemical Examiner Laboratory, Kharar, the Cabinet accorded approval to establish a new Chemical Laboratory at Jalandhar, with creation of 21 posts involving an annual financial liability of Rs 42.31 lakh.
Transfer of regional campus
The Cabinet approved transfer of the regional campus of Guru Nanak Dev University (GNDU), Fattu Dhinga, to Bebe Nanki University College (Girls) as a constituent college of the GNDU, Amritsar, as part of the 550th birth anniversary of Guru Nanak. The state government will provide grant-in-aid to the tune of Rs 1.25 crore during the financial year 2019-20 (for 10 months), and subsequently Rs 1.50 crore per annum for subsequent years, to the GNDU for maintenance and salary expenditure of the college.
New lottery schemes
To start new weekly lottery schemes in the state, an amendment to the Punjab State Lotteries Rules, 2015, was allowed by inserting the definition of ‘discount’ and ‘face value’.
Fast-tracking MSME units
To further ease the regulatory burden on micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs), the meeting approved the Punjab Right to Business Rules, 2020, thus paving a way for setting up of MSME units on a fast-track basis across the state. The process of approval for setting up new MSME units, as well as registration of shops or establishments, would be granted by the District-Level Nodal Agency headed by the Deputy Commissioner under the new rules.
