The Punjab Cabinet through a resolution today strongly condemned the dastardly act of sacrilege of Sri Guru Granth Sahib Ji in various districts of the state and described it as a deep rooted conspiracy to disturb hard earned peace, amity, brotherhood and communal harmony in the state.Expressing profound grief and anguish over this ‘inhuman and heinous act’, the Cabinet said that it was a sin committed against humanity perpetrated by a handful of anti-social elements, who were hell bent upon to disturb peace, amity, brotherhood and communal harmony in the state. The Cabinet reiterated the firm commitment of the state government to expose this conspiracy with the active support and cooperation of the people of state. The Council of Ministers resolved that anyone found guilty in this unpardonable offence would not be spared at any cost and exemplary action would be taken against them as a deterrent for others.
The Cabinet called upon the people of the state to rise above the parochial considerations of caste, religion and creed to give a befitting reply to the fissiparous forces active in the state. Reiterating that Punjabis have always upheld the ethos of peace and brotherhood in the state, the Cabinet hoped that no one would be ever able to destroy the deep knitted social fabric of the state. Making firm resolve to maintain peace and communal harmony at all costs, the Cabinet said that the state government would thwart any such attempt, which could pose a danger to the communal harmony, progress and prosperity of the state.At the very outset, the Punjab Cabinet today expressed deep shock and anguish over the tragic incident of death of two persons in Behbal village of Faridkot district and observed two minutes silence in their memory.Expressing profound grief and sorrow over this tragic incident, the Cabinet shared its heartfelt sympathies with the members of the bereaved families and prayed to the Almighty to give them courage to bear this irreparable loss and grant peace to the departed souls.
Meanwhile, the Cabinet meeting chaired by the Punjab Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal here at Punjab Bhawan, this evening, also took call on several other key decisions. Disclosing this here a spokesperson of the Chief Minister’s office said that with a view to creating robust telecommunication infrastructure with adequate bandwidth to promote Information Technology, e-Governance, e-commerce and other services besides reducing call drops and also to improve quality of internet services, the Cabinet also gave nod to issue guidelines for grant of permission to install Telecom Towers/ Mats/ Poles and Right of Way Clearance for laying optical fibres cables etc. to registered telecom operators at Government buildings and lands, as per the approved policy of Government of India (GoI). The Cabinet also decided to amend Rule 5 (1) and 5 (2) in the Punjab VAT (Incentives) Rules, 2013 and The Punjab VAT (Incentive for Expansion Projects) Rules 2015 and delete rule 2 (r) thereby conferring the power to determine the Fixed Capital Investment to Competent Authority cum CEO Invest Punjab. Earlier, this power was vested with the Inter Departmental Committee.
The Cabinet authorized the Deputy Chief Minister, who was also the Excise and Taxation Minister, to take a decision regarding rationalizing the rates of VAT on automobiles in a manner that the existing diversion in trade/ sale of vehicles was rectified.The Cabinet also gave ex-post facto approval to the notification dated June 30, 2015 issued by the Revenue department extending the period for another two months thereby enabling the property owners who could not get their property registered within the stipulated period. Likewise, the Cabinet also gave ex-post facto approval to a subsequent notification in which it was provided that if the conveyance deed of any such property could not be got registered within the stipulated periods due to any court case, in that case the said period shall recur from the date of decision or order of such court.In order to streamline the administrative work in larger public interest, the Cabinet also gave approval for up-dation of the Punjab Civil Services Rules by accepting the amendments made thereof in accordance with the instructions issued from time to time.The Cabinet also gave nod for reviving three posts of Drivers in the Fisheries department to ensure its smooth functioning.