The Punjab Cabinet today gave a go ahead to the prestigious Rs 100 crore ropeway project between Sri Anandpur Sahib and Sri Naina Devi by approving the Memorandum of Understanding to be signed between the governments of Punjab and Himachal Pradesh. A decision to this effect was taken in a Cabinet meeting chaired by Punjab Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal here at CMO this morning. Disclosing this here today a spokesperson of the Chief Minister’s Office said that a joint venture Special Purpose Vehicle (SPV) Sri Naina Devi Ji and Sri Anandpur Sahib Ji Ropeway Company Pvt. Ltd. would be formed to develop this project on Design, Build, Finance, Operate and Transfer (DBFOPT) basis or any other appropriate PPP format as may be finalized and mutually agreed to the parties. The Cabinet also gave approval to set up two self-financed private universities namely Desh Bhagat University at Mandi Gobindgarh in district Fatehgarh Sahib and DAV University at Jalandhar for imparting multi-disciplined quality education to the students.The Cabinet also gave nod to provide 12.5 acre land at Birla Farm of state agriculture department in Ropar free of cost to the National Institute of Electronics & Information Technology (formerly DOEACC Society), Chandigarh for setting up its full-fledged Center, which deals with computer education, software development and consultancy besides the upgradation of skills in manpower in the field of information, electronics and communication technology. The Cabinet also approved the drafts of Punjab Right to Information (Disclosure of Information by Public Authorities Providing Services in Municipalities) Rules, 2012 and Punjab Fire Prevention & Fire Safety Rules, 2012. The Cabinet also approved to amend the Punjab State Finance & Accounts (Group A) Service Rules, 2012 for regulating the recruitment and conditions of the services of the Section Officer in the Punjab State Finance & Accounts (Group A) services. The Cabinet also approved the amendment in the Optimum Utilization of Vacant Government Land (OUVGL) to enable the government for creating a land, which would be exclusively utilized to finance infrastructure schemes and projects in the rural areas besides the urban areas of the state. Pertinently earlier the funds collected under the OUVGL scheme were utilized for developmental works in the urban areas only.The Cabinet also gave nod for amending the clause 3 of the tripartite agreement between the Punjab Institute of Medical Sciences (PIMS) Jalandhar, the Punjab Government and PUDA for enhancing the amount kept reserved for funding the Health institutions across the state from Rs 100 crore to Rs 130 crore, so as to improve the Health services in the state. The amended clause would be incorporated in a new tripartite agreement which would be signed by the concerned authorities and consequently the approved sum would be released by the PUDA to the Health and Family Welfare department. In another significant decision, the Cabinet also approved to create 134 new posts in the 7 Nursing Schools run by the state government. These posts included 6 Principals, 7 Vice Principals, 100 tutors and 21 Additional Tutors which would entail extra burden of Rs 423 crore annually on the state exchequer. The Cabinet also approved to take these posts out of the purview of the State Services Selection Board so as to enable the Directorate of Health Services to fill these posts in accordance with the rules and criteria prescribed by the Indian Nursing Council (INC).The Cabinet also approved to amend Punjab Civil Services (Executive Branch) Rules, 1976 by incorporating sub clause (2-A) under the sub clause (2) of the clause 10 and sub clause (2) of the clause 15, which would enable the Punjab Public Service Commission (PPSC) to frame rules regarding the syllabus and conduct of the screening test. This step would enable the commission to remove hurdles in recruiting the PCS officers from Group 'A' and 'B' employees falling in categories of Register A-11 and Register-C, besides overcoming the shortage of PCS officers due to which general public was facing extreme difficulties in getting their day to day administrative work done. The Punjab Cabinet also gave approval for amending Rule 1.1 of the Punjab Police Rules, 1934 thereby abolishing the provision of separate cadre of women in the Police force thus facilitating to constitute a common cadre of male and female Police officers.The Cabinet also approved the allotment of booths to the tenants of the shops demolished during the construction of beautification project (Galiara) around Sri Harmandir Sahib after Operation Bluestar through draw of lots instead of auction by amending Section 8 of the Punjab Town Improvement Act (Utilization of Land and Allotment of Plots) Rules 1983 in the light of the decision Punjab & Haryana High Court.The Cabinet also gave approval to amend the preamble of Punjab state Board of Technical Education & Industrial Training Act, 1992 by incorporating ‘an act to provide for the establishment of a State Board of Technical Education & Industrial Training for promotion and co-ordination of technical education and industrial training in polytechnics and industrial training institutes in the state of Punjab and for subjects connected therewith, including skill development with related infrastructure’.