PUNJAB CABINET OKAYS ONE-TIME SETTLEMENT OF NON COMPOUNDABLE BUILDING VIOLATIONS UP TO JUNE 30, 2018

Chandigarh, January 2, 2018: The Punjab Council of Ministers, led by Captain Amarinder Singh, on Wednesday approved One-Time Settlement of non-compoundable violations in the case of unauthorised constructions that have come up in the state up to June 30, 2018, without compromising on fire safety and structural safety standards of the buildings.
The Cabinet, that met here today, approved for promulgation ‘The Punjab One-Time Voluntary Disclosure and Settlement of Violations of the Buildings Ordinance, 2018” for all buildings constructed in violation of the building bylaws in the municipal areas as per this cut-off date, according to an official spokesperson.
The move is aimed at ensuring that the unauthorized buildings that have come up over the years are aligned to the parking, fire and safety standards across the state as it is no longer feasible to demolish such buildings.
Local Bodies Minister Navjot Singh Sidhu told the meeting that his department was also working on a separate policy for a one-time settlement for CLU violations. The issue was raised by Food Minister Bharat Bhushan Ashu.
The Ordinance provides that any person, who has made a non-compoundable building violation till 30th June, 2018 may disclose voluntarily such violation and apply online, along with photographs of the building, to the competent authority within a period of three months. The applicant shall submit the requisite information/documents/Plans and prescribed application fee thereafter within a period of two months.
It has been made clear that violation of land use, except conversion of Shop-cum-Flat to Commercial, in the Town Planning/Building Schemes, Improvement Trust Schemes, Urban Estates, Industrial Focal Points or Schemes formulated under any other Act, Encroachment on any public/private land or on public space by virtue of any Scheme or Restricted areas under any Act prohibiting the construction of buildings in a particular area, would not be compoundable.
It has also been clarified that the one-time settlement shall be without any prejudice to any disciplinary action already initiated against the concerned officer or official of the Municipal Corporation or Municipal Council or Nagar Panchayat or Improvement Trust, as the case may be, who is found responsible for aiding or abetting such violation.
The non-compoundable building violations in Residential plotted Buildings, disclosed voluntarily, may be settled by the Competent Authority on 'as is where is' basis after spot verification, subject to maximum height of 50'-0'', as one-time measure by realising the composition fee of Rs. 300/sq.ft. of the total non-compoundable area on all floors being compounded under this Ordinance, in the case of Municipal Corporations and Improvement Trusts of Amritsar, Jalandhar and Ludhiana. For the remaining Municipal Corporations and Improvement Trust and also all the Municipal Councils and Nagar Panchayats, the amount is Rs 200/sq. ft.
In the case of non-resident building violations, except where fire safety and public safety/security and public convenience is compromised, will be similarly settled against composition fee of Rs. 1000/sq. ft of the total non-compoundable area in Amritsar, Jalandhar and Ludhiana, and Rs. 600/sq. ft in the other instances.
The composition fees in case of Institution buildings shall be 75% of the aforesaid charges for non-residential buildings and for Industrial/Religious buildings shall be 40%. These charges are for maximum 50% excess of the permissible FAR, and for excess FAR more than 50% (maximum upto 75%), double the above charges shall be applicable.
The applicant shall have to make structural changes in the building, if required, to fulfil the requirements of fire safety and parking within a period of two months from the date of submission of details in Form as per section 4(2) and shall also submit mandatory clearances from other departments, if required along with a structural safety certificate that the building fulfils the structural safety requirements as per B.I.S. norms.
In case the unauthorised building does not fulfil the parking norms, on the request of an applicant or a group of applicants an alternate parking site within the vicinity not exceeding a distance of 250 meters from the site under reference exclusively earmarked such parking space shall be provided in the vicinity. The said parking lots shall either be owned or in the enjoyment under lease for a continuous period of not less than 10 years.
In case the applicant is unable to provide parking space, the applicant shall be liable to pay parking cess equivalent to the prevailing collector rate of land required to fulfil the shortage of ECS.
In case the owners of the unauthorized buildings do not apply for settlement of violations or the applicant fails to make structural changes in the building to fulfil the requirement of fire safety within the prescribed period, the water supply/sewerage connections to the whole building would be disconnected without any further notice, followed by sealing and demolition of the building at the cost of the owner.

PUNJAB CABINET SETS UP SUB-COMMITTEE TO STUDY WAYS TO REGULATE WATER USAGE IN STATE
Chandigarh: The Punjab Cabinet on Wednesday constituted a sub-committee to study ways and means to regulate the use of water in the state through conservation and management of the critical water resources.
The issue was taken up for an informal discussion during the cabinet meeting held today under the chairmanship of Captain Amarinder Singh.
The sub-committee consists of cabinet ministers Navjot Sidhu, Tripat Bajwa, Sukh Sarkaria and Razia Sultana. It has been mandated to explore and suggest measures to tackle the critical water situation in the state.
The sub-committee members will visit Israel to study their water conservation model and examine the feasibility of its adoption in Punjab, according to an official spokesperson.
The cabinet also entrusted the sub-committee with the task of examining the various objections expressed by some of the ministers on the scope and functioning of the proposed Punjab Water Regulation and Development Authority (PWRDA), which was mooted last month.
The government had later decided to withdraw the proposed legislation for the constitution of the Authority after reservations were expressed by some of the ministers with respect to its operations, particularly with reference to its powers to impose tariff. It may be noted that the proposed legislation had specifically provided that there would be no tariff on water use for agricultural purposes.
Taking up the issue at an informal level today, the Cabinet decided that the sub-committee should examine all aspects of the matter before giving its final suggestions.
Earlier while making a detailed presentation on the current ground water scenario in state, Principal Secretary Water Resources Sarvjit Singh apprised the Cabinet that of 138 blocks, 109 were “over-exploited”. And of these ground water extraction, without prior approval, had been prohibited in 45 blocks by the Central Groundwater Authority.
He said that the total available ground water in Punjab was 324 Billion Cubic Metres (BCM) and every year 35.77 BCM was being extracted, which is 11.88 BCM in excess of the annual recharge of 23.89 BCM. He said that at this rate, the water level in the entire state would go beyond 300 metres depth in 28 years.
He pointed out that water table was falling at the rate of 0.4 metre annually. As many as 16 districts out of total 22 districts spread across 72% of state area fall in the category of those over-exploiting ground water.Sangrur, Jalandhar, and Moga, tops the list with maximum over exploitation of ground water followed by Kapurthala, Barnala, Fatehgarh Sahib, and Patiala, Ludhiana, Faridkot, Ferozpur, Mansa, TaranTarn, Amritsar, Gurdaspur, Ropar and Nawanshahr.

PUNJAB CABINET GIVES NOD TO REPUBLISH 'FUGITIVE ECONOMIC OFFENDERS ACT, 2018' TO ATTACH & CONFISCATE PROPERTIES OF ECONOMIC OFFENDERS
Chandigarh: Tightening the noose around the necks of absconding economic offenders, the Punjab Cabinet led by Chief Minister Captain Amarinder Singh on Wednesday gave the nod to republish the Fugitive Economic Offenders Act, 2018, which has already been approved by the Parliament, with a view to attaching and confiscating their properties and assets.
A spokesperson of the Chief Minister's Office said the Act would empower authorities to attach and confiscate properties and assets of the economic offenders, such as loan defaulters, who had fled the country.
The State Government would republish the Fugitive Economic Offenders Act, 2018 (Act No. 17 of 2018) in the State Gazette in larger public interest, said the spokesperson, adding that after the Rs. 13000 crore PNB scam by Nirav Modi and Mehul Choksi, it had become apparent that the existing civil and criminal provisions were not entirely adequate to deal with the severity of the problem. He said that absence of offenders during investigation was creating hurdles for probing agencies, apart from undermining the law of the country. He recalled that the Act came into effect after the assent of the President on July 31, 2018 and was published in the Gazette of India Extraordinary, Part-II, Section on August 1, 2018.
The Act will force the absconders to return to India and face trial for economic offences, which would further help the banks and other financial institutions to achieve higher recovery from such defaulters, besides improving the financial health of these institutions. The creation of a special forum for speedy confiscation of the proceeds of crime, in India and abroad, would force the fugitive to return to India to submit to the jurisdiction of courts in India to face the law in respect of the scheduled offences.

PUNJAB CABINET GIVES NOD TO REPUBLISH 'FUGITIVE ECONOMIC OFFENDERS ACT, 2018' TO ATTACH & CONFISCATE PROPERTIES OF ECONOMIC OFFENDERS
Chandigarh: Tightening the noose around the necks of absconding economic offenders, the Punjab Cabinet led by Chief Minister Captain Amarinder Singh on Wednesday gave the nod to republish the Fugitive Economic Offenders Act, 2018, which has already been approved by the Parliament, with a view to attaching and confiscating their properties and assets.
A spokesperson of the Chief Minister's Office said the Act would empower authorities to attach and confiscate properties and assets of the economic offenders, such as loan defaulters, who had fled the country.
The State Government would republish the Fugitive Economic Offenders Act, 2018 (Act No. 17 of 2018) in the State Gazette in larger public interest, said the spokesperson, adding that after the Rs. 13000 crore PNB scam by Nirav Modi and Mehul Choksi, it had become apparent that the existing civil and criminal provisions were not entirely adequate to deal with the severity of the problem. He said that absence of offenders during investigation was creating hurdles for probing agencies, apart from undermining the law of the country. He recalled that the Act came into effect after the assent of the President on July 31, 2018 and was published in the Gazette of India Extraordinary, Part-II, Section on August 1, 2018.
The Act will force the absconders to return to India and face trial for economic offences, which would further help the banks and other financial institutions to achieve higher recovery from such defaulters, besides improving the financial health of these institutions. The creation of a special forum for speedy confiscation of the proceeds of crime, in India and abroad, would force the fugitive to return to India to submit to the jurisdiction of courts in India to face the law in respect of the scheduled offences.

CAPT AMARINDER LED PUNJAB CABINET APPROVES MODALITIES FOR DISTRIBUTION OF SMART PHONES TO YOUTH
Chandigarh: Less than two years after it took over the state’s reins, and despite the acute financial crunch faced by it, the Captain Amarinder Singh led Punjab government is all set to implement its key poll promise of giving smart phones to the youth.
The state cabinet, at its meeting on Wednesday, approved the modalities for the distribution of the smart phones, with graduating students of government schools, colleges and technical institutions to be covered in the first phase of the scheme, according to an official spokesperson. The students would be required to submit self-certification stating that they do not already possess a smart phone.
The scheme, which will give a further impetus to the state government’s digital empowerment agenda, will provide for distribution of mobile phones with various smart features, such as touch screen, camera and applications to access social media etc. In addition, one time bundled 12 GB data & 600 local minutes talk time (voice) with one year validity would also be provided under the scheme.
The vendor to implement the scheme shall be selected through an open transparent bidding process for which the tender document has already been floated by Punjab Information and Communication Technology Corporation. Vendors shall be on board within a period of about two months and the first batch of phones is expected to be distributed in the month of March.
According to the spokesperson, the Cabinet also authorised the Chief Minister to finalise the name of the scheme, besides authorising the chairman of the committee for procurement and distribution of smart phones to make changes in the Request For Proposal (RFP) as may be required in the future.
Notably, the Punjab government had announced a scheme named ‘Mobile Phone to the Youth’ in its budget for the Financial Year 2017-18 with the objective of providing digital access to youth and information regarding education, career opportunities, access to skill development & employment opportunities and basic citizen centric services through government applications, etc.
It may be recalled that the Department of Sports and Youth Affairs had constituted a committee in April 2017 with the objective of implementation of the aforesaid scheme. The committee was reconstituted in August 2017 and the Department of Industries was made the nodal agency. Punjab Information and Communication Technology Corporation Ltd. (Punjab Infotech) under the Department of Industries was designated as the Executing Agency of the Project.
The reconstituted committee decided that a Project Management Consultant (PMC) be appointed to assist in conceptualising the project, preparation of Detailed Project Report and planning and executing other related activities. Punjab Infotech invited open bids for selection of PMC from National Informatics Centre Services Incorporated (NICSI) empanelled consulting organizations. The selection criteria was based on ‘Quality and Cost Based Selection’ (QCBS) & the bidders were required to quote for efforts for the assignment on the basis of fixed NICSI rates. The most responsive bid was found to be from M/S KPMG. M/S KPMG was thus selected to be the PMC at a cost of Rs.72.19 lakhs for the duration of the project.
This unique initiative would help in connecting in digitally engaging the youth of the state. It would also encourage and incentivise youth to use digital technology in their day to day life besides enabling them, among other things, to be a beneficiary and a partner in the government’s efforts to digitise Punjab through the Digital Punjab Initiative.

PUNJAB CABINET APPROVES ONLINE TRANSFER POLICY 2019 FOR SCHOOL TEACHERS
Chandigarh: To make the process of transfers more rational and transparent, the Punjab Cabinet led by Chief Minister Captain Amarinder Singh on Wednesday approved the Online Transfer Policy-2019 of the School Education Department, thus ensuring equal opportunity for all employees using online method for seeking transfers.
The transfer policy would become effective from academic session 2019-20 i.e. April 1, 2019, according to an official spokesperson, who said the Chief Minister had asked all departments to come up with performance based review policy for transfer of employees.
The policy would be applicable to all teaching cadre posts i.e. ETT, HT, CHT, Master, C&V, Lecturer, Vocational Masters, Principals and Headmasters, except employees on extension of services after attaining the age of superannuation. Posts of Ministerial cadre, Block Officers, District Officers, Principal DIETs shall not be covered under the policy.
The condition that the teachers would be compulsorily transferred after seven years of service in a particular zone/school has been removed. The earlier condition of having three-year minimum stay at one particular station before a teacher can put a request to get himself or herself transferred has been now changed to one year, but for newly appointed teachers the minimum stay at one place will be three years. However, newly married female teachers could seek transfer once in these three years if they get married after appointment.
Cancer patients/patients on dialysis, those with over 60% disability, hepatitis B & C, sickle cell anemia, Thalassemia, divorced/persons having differently-abled children or mentally challenged children/war widow/widow of Shaheed/where death of the spouse makes it necessary for the serving employee to relocate to another place immediately and having children below 15 years of age or teachers who are spouses of armed force personal, who have been posted in difficult areas, may put in request for transfer any time during the year and the same shall be considered by the department on merit.
In case of a complaint or on account of poor performance, teachers could be transferred at any point of time on administrative grounds. There will be two rounds of transfers. After the first round of transfers, the eligible teachers could apply for transfers against the vacancies created due to transfers in the first round.
In case any relative of the teacher husband/wife/mother/father/brother/sister/ mother-in-law/father-in-law/sister-in-law/brother-in-law/son/daughter are running any private school or any of them is a member of the management Committee of such school, whether affiliated or not, within a radius of 15 km from the school of posting his/her then he/she will be transferred to a school which is not located within a radius of 15 km of that private school.
Teachers shall not bring in any outside influence and if such an influence from whichever source espousing the cause of teacher is received, it shall be presumed that the same has been brought in by the teacher. The request of such a teacher shall not be considered and action may also be initiated against such a teacher under relevant Service Rules/Employees Conduct Rules and an entry to this effect shall be made in his/her service record.
As per the policy, 20 marks may be assigned to teachers seeking transfer from schools located within Municipal area of city of District Headquarters, schools located within 10 KM radius starting from the boundary of Municipal Area of city of District Headquarters and schools located in city/town of Tehsil Headquarters, as well as schools lying within 5 KM radius starting from boundary of municipal limits except those which are co-located with District Headquarters to schools located on State Highways or National Highways (schools within distance of 250 meter from State and National Highways including) and all remaining schools not covered in the above categories.
Marks have been awarded to teachers suffering from diseases like thalassemia, sickle cell anemia, Hepatitis B & C. Likewise, marks have been awarded to teachers if both husband and wife are working in State/Central Government or PSU and distance between their places of posting is more than 15 KMs.

PUNJAB CABINET APPROVES NEW RULES FOR BACK-END COMPUTERISATION OF ALL PUBLIC SERVICES IN 3 YEARS
Chandigarh: To ensure greater transparency, efficiency and accountability in public services, the Punjab Cabinet, led by Chief Minister Captain Amarinder Singh, on Wednesday approved a new set of draft rules.
The draft rules under Section 20 of the Punjab Transparency and Accountability in Delivery of Public Service Act, 2018, have been framed by the Department of Governance Reforms and Public Grievances.
The rules would help in ensuring back-end computerisation of all public services within three years, besides making mandatory the provision of online receipt of service requests, according to an official spokesperson.
The rules emphasise on electronic delivery of services to citizens, as far as possible, in a time-bound manner to enhance transparency and accountability, besides inclusion of a healthy system of incentives and disincentives for the public authorities and their staff.
They also provide for intimation or tracking of application status by the applicants through mobile phones or internet. A simplified redressal/appeal mechanism, as well as a lean and thin Commission, namely Punjab Transparency & Accountability in Delivery of Public Services Commission, with faster delivery of justice, has also been incorporated to strengthen the provision of the Act in letter and spirit.
Notably, the Punjab Transparency and Accountability in Delivery of Public Service Act, 2018 received the assent of the Punjab Governor on July 12, 2018, and was notified and came into effect on July 17, 2018.