The new Congress government in Punjab, at its first cabinet meeting on Saturday, took up issues pertaining to agriculture, industry, drugs and excise policy.
It decided to continue with the free power given to farms in the state, and set up a Group of Experts to assess and analyse the quantum of agricultural debt and propose ways and means to implement the waiver in a time bound manner. The GoE will submit its report within 60 days.
A cabinet sub committee headed by the chief minister will consider and finalise the waiver.
Agri-debt waiver was the major manifesto promise that drew voters to rally behind Capt Amarinder Singh, who chaired the cabinet meeting and focussed primarily on promises made and their early fulfillment. The cabinet also decided to bring in a new legislation to prohibit the sale and take over of farmers' lands by lending agencies
In order to revive industry, the cabinet has decided to notify a new industrial policy within 90 days. It decided to waive the condition of procuring Change of Land Use (CLU) for notified Industrial Zones. Also, a 'no objection certificate' of CLU will be required for new power connection or additional load.
People in Punjab may love their peg—Patiala or chota, but the first decision to be taken by the first cabinet meeting was to do away with liquor vends within 500 metres of national and state highways.
This is in compliance with the orders of the Supreme Court, as well as a fulfillment of one of the pre-poll promises made by Captian.
The government has also reduced the quota of liquor that may be sold in the state as well as the number of vends, in the new excise policy for 2017-18.
A Special Task Force would be set up in the chief minister's office to go into the drugs menace, and submit by March 24 a comprehensive road map to eliminate it. The government intends passing an ordinance to confiscate drug dealers' property, pending an act to this effect.
But it dealt with a soft touch with the drug addicts, offering free treatment, compassion and no police cases against the addicts.
On the contentious SYL issue, the government referred to the party manifesto which underlined the use of Punjab's water for Punjab only, as there was no surplus water. The cabinet decided to take up the matter in the courts and at the administrative level on a priority basis.
It was decided that the irrigation department would formulate a proposal to canalise major rivers—Ravi, Beas and Sutlej—for construction of high speed economic corridors. Apart from providing livelihood for a large number of farmers, this would also provide jobs for farmers along the route.
