Punjab Cabinet on Tuesday okayed the presentation of five Ordinances, introduced earlier by the State Government, for enactment in the forthcoming one-day session of the Vidhan Sabha on August 28, including amendment Bills related to regulation of private clinical establishments, temporary release of some prisoners amid Covid-19 pandemic, control of drugs dispensation by private de-addiction centres, industrial disputes and child labour.
As there is no legislation at present in the State to register or regulate private clinical establishments, the Government is enacting The Punjab Clinical Establishment (Registration and Regulation) Ordinance-2020 to bring the clinical establishments under a regulatory mechanism to ensure that there is more transparency in their functioning.
It also seeks to improve quality public healthcare, prevent overcharging of patients, and to lay down norms, terms of physical standards, medical standards, staff norms, record maintenance, reporting etc. The legislation will provide for such establishments to support the State during natural disasters, calamities as well as pandemics and epidemics.
Considering the prevailing situation arising out of COVID-19 pandemic, the Cabinet approved the introduction of ‘The Punjab Good Conduct Prisoners (Temporary Release) Amendment Ordinance, 2020 (Punjab Ordinance No. 1 of 2020)’ in the upcoming session.
The enactment of the legislation would pave the way for extending the period of parole in situations of disasters, epidemics, and extreme emergencies. “The rationale behind bringing the legislation is to enable the Jail Department to take measures to decongest jails, besides ensuring that the jails remain COVID-19 free, as readmitting the inmates released on parole or interim bail, who reside in different parts of State and outside, would expose other inmates to the risk of contracting COVID-19,” said the spokesperson.
Notably, the Punjab Good Conduct Prisoners (Temporary Release) Act, 1962, did not have any provision through which parole of prisoners could be extended from 16 weeks and the condition of parole being availed on quarterly basis could be waived in unprecedented situations of disasters and epidemics.
In another move, the Cabinet has approved amendment to ‘The Punjab Substance Use Disorder Treatment and Counseling and Rehabilitation Centres Rules, 2011’ to enable the Health Department to control the private de-addiction centres dispensing Buprenorphine-Naloxone and monitor private psychiatric clinics in order to avoid misuse of drugs.
The Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act, 1985, was introduced by the Centre to prevent illicit trafficking in narcotic drugs and psychotropic substances, to implement the provision of international conventions on Narcotics Drugs and Psychotropic Substances and for matters connected therewith, and to make stringent provisions for the control and regulation of operations relating to narcotic drugs and psychotropic substances.
As per section 78 of this Act, the State Government may, by notification in the official gazette, make rules for carrying out the purpose of this Act. The state Health and Family Welfare Department had earlier formulated the Punjab Substance Use Disorder Treatment and Counseling and Rehabilitation Centres Rules, 2011, in line with this provision.
The Cabinet has also given its nod for conversion of Ordinance amending section 2A, 25K, 25N, 25-O and fifth Schedule of Industrial Disputes Act, 1947, into a Bill to be presented during the forthcoming session.
The amendment provides for enhancement of the threshold limit for applicability of Chapter V-B from the present limit of 100 to 300 workers. Apart from this, now workers will be eligible for three months of extra wages on retrenchments or on closure of establishments. This move will go a long way in further improving the process of ease of doing business.
The State Government will also present before the House necessary amendment for raising the number of workers for attracting the provisions of sub clause (a) and (b) of sub-section (4) of section 1 of the Contract Labour (Regulation and Abolition) Act, 1970, from 20 to 50.
ONLINE PADDY PROCUREMENT, NEW CUSTOM MILLING POLICY APPROVED
For the first time, amid COVID-19, all rice delivery operations in Punjab, including allotment, registration and physical verification of rice mills through videos, will be undertaken online, under the new Punjab Custom Milling Policy for Paddy for Kharif 2020-21 — approved by the State Cabinet on Tuesday.
To ensure smooth paddy procurement this kharif season, the State Government has decided to launch a dedicated portal — www.anaajkharid.in — as a part of the new policy which is aimed at ensuring seamless milling of paddy and delivery of rice into the Central Pool from more than 4150 mills operating in the State.
The whole gamut of yearly procurement operations — from allotment of mills, their registration, application of release order, deposit of RO fee and levy or CMR security besides all important monitoring of stocks — will be done online now on a continuous basis, said an official spokesperson.
All the state procuring agencies — PUNGRAIN, MARKFED, PUNSUP, Punjab State Warehousing Corporation (PSWC) — including the Food Corporation of India (FCI) and the Rice Millers or their legal heirs as well as all other stakeholders will operate and interact on the website, with the Department of Food, Civil Supplies and Consumer Affairs acting as the Nodal Department.
Under the policy, the sole criterion for allotment of free paddy to mills this season would be the miller’s performance in previous year, KMS 2019-20, and an additional percentage-wise incentive would be provided to mills as per their date of delivery of rice against milling of custom milled paddy, including RO paddy in the previous year.
Mills which had completed their entire milling by January 31, 2020, would be eligible for additional 15 percent of free paddy milled in 2019-20, as per the policy. Those who had completed delivery of rice by Feb 28, 2020, would get an additional 10% of free paddy.
For security of the stocks, millers this year would be required to furnish enhanced bank guarantee, equal to value of 10 percent of acquisition cost of allocable free paddy above 3,000 Metric Tonnes (MTs), as against five percent on 5,000 MTs last year.
Lowering of the threshold limit for submission of bank guarantee would bring an additional 1000-plus mills within the direct monitoring ambit.
In another measure to guard against any paddy diversion, RO paddy has been brought into the ambit of Custom Milling Security (CMR). Millers will be required to deposit Rs 125 for each MT for every paddy stored or part therefore, including RO paddy, with the concerned agency.
In another unique step, to tackle the issue of moisture content in CMR, the policy stipulates compulsory installation of Dryer and Sortex for a new mill and/or in case of enhancement of capacity.
The state is expected to procure 170 Lakh MTs of paddy during Kharif season beginning October 1, with total area under paddy sowing this year at 26.60 Lakh hectares, down from 29.20 Lakh hectares the previous season in line with the state’s crop diversification efforts. The target was to complete the Custom Milling of Paddy, thereby delivering all due rice to Food Corporation of India, by March 31, 2021.
Under the milling schedule prescribed, millers would have to deliver 35 percent of their total rice due by December 31, 2020, and 60 percent of total rice due by January 31, 2021, 80 percent of total rice due by February 28, 2021, and total rice due by March 31, 2021.
CABINET APPROVES INTRODUCTION OF PUNJAB GST (AMENDMENT) BILL
Paving way for simplification of provisions and processes to levy and collect taxes under Punjab GST, the Cabinet has approved the proposal for introduction of ‘The Punjab Goods and Services Tax (Amendment) Bill, 2020’. “The introduction of the Bill would not only ensure simplifications of provisions and processes but also make it more user-friendly. It envisioned to provide changes so as to make levy and collection of taxes under GST, which would be effective and easier for the taxpayers, like provisions related to composition levy, eligibility and conditions for taking Input Tax Credit, cancellation of registration, revocation of cancellation of registration, tax invoice, tax deduction at source, penalty und punishment for certain offences and transitional arrangements for Input Tax Credit.
NOD TO SET UP SRI GURU TEG BAHADUR UNIVERSITY OF LAW AT TARN TARAN
The Cabinet has approved the establishment of a law university in the border district of Tarn Taran to commemorate the 400th birth anniversary of the Sikhs’ ninth master Guru Teg Bahadur, by approving the ‘Sri Guru Teg Bahadur State University of Law Bill – 2020’ for presentation in the forthcoming Assembly session. The draft Bill seeks “to establish and incorporate a State University for the development and advancement of legal education and for the purposes of imparting specialized and systematic instruction, training and research in the field of law and for the matters connected therewith or incidental thereto”.
Rs 1.5 CR ANNUAL RECURRING GRANT FOR 11 CONSTITUENT COLLEGES
To further improve the standard of higher education in the State, the Cabinet has approved the release of Rs 75.75 crore recurring grant for 11 more constituent colleges at Rs 1.5 crore per college per annum from the year 2016-17 to 2020-21. The Cabinet also okayed regular budgetary provision of Rs 1.5 crore per annum per college for the subsequent year. With this, the total number of colleges to which the State Government is paying recurring grant has gone up to 30.
CONCERNED OVER FISCAL LOSSES DUE TO COVID, CABINET SEEKS COMPENSATION FROM CENTRE
Citing huge revenue losses suffered by the State Government on account of COVID pandemic and the resultant lockdown, the Punjab Cabinet on Tuesday sought adequate compensation from the Central Government to support the State in these difficult times.
The Cabinet, during a review of the state’s fiscal situation amid the pandemic, noted that the situation was grave, considering the decline in revenue collections over the first quarter of 2020-21 financial year and the estimated losses for the full current financial year.
A presentation made to the Cabinet by the Finance Department showed that the state’s own tax revenue collections for April-June 2020 period had gone down by a whopping 51 percent, with GST losses alone to the tune of 61 percent as against the budgetary estimates for this period. GST and VAT revenue collections for this quarter together went down by 54 percent, and the decline in total revenue receipts for April-June quarter was 21 percent.
Cabinet further noted with concern that in terms of state’s non-tax revenue collections, the shortfall against budgetary estimates for first quarter of 2020-21 was a massive 68 percent. The figures are as per the initial estimates derived from the Integrated Financial Management System (IFMS), as accounts are yet to be received from Accountant General, Punjab.
The Cabinet observed that the situation was extremely grim, while calling for financial support from the Centre to compensate for these huge losses. The revenue loss would badly impact not just the battle against COVID, which was now peaking in the State, but also obstruct the implementation of key schemes and programmes of the State Government in addition to affecting routine expenses, including payment of salaries, pointed out the Council of Ministers.
The Central Govt needed to come out with urgent financial help for the State Government to tide Punjab over the current crisis, felt the Cabinet.
