Punjab Chief Minister Mr. Parkash Singh Badal today presided over the Civil Military Liaison Conference (CMLC) here at Headquarters Western Command in the presence of Food and Civil supplies Minister Mr. Adaish Partap Singh Kairon and senior officers of the State administration.Taking Part in the deliberations Mr. Badal reiterated the firm commitment of the state government for the welfare of the serving and ex-servicemen. He said that state government had taken path-breaking initiatives in this regard through establishing a 'Monitoring Cell' to monitor the re-employment of ex-servicemen by ensuring 13% reservation in all Punjab Government Services. Likewise the amount under various financial assistances had also been doubled besides, enhancing the assistance for Gallantry Award Winners by 20%. The Punjab Government had taken a policy decision to offer Honour and Gratitude appointment to the widows/ dependants of the family of War Heroes added Mr. Badal and 437 jobs were given which included 9 - PCS, 24 - Class I & II, 252 – Class III and 152 – Class IV.
Expressing concern over the decline in the numbers of Punjabis in the defence services, Mr. Badal said that to restore the imbalance in officer cadre of the Defence Services the state of Punjab had launched a motivational scheme wherein, a cadet joining National Defence Academy Pune (NDA), Indian Military Academy Dehradun (IMA), Officers Training Academy Chennai (OTA), Naval/Air Force Academies with effect from 01 Apr 2010 and subsequent dates, would be given an incentive of Rs one lakh. This would motivate youth from Punjab to seek commission in the Defence Services, under this scheme budget of 146 Lac rupees had been released to concerned District Defence Services Welfare Offices for payment to 146 cadets during year 2012-13.
The Chief Minister also informed in the meeting that issues pertaining to inadequate water supply at Fazilka Military station at a cost of Rs. 12.50 crore, Civil Sewage and Sludge Disposal at Air Force Station, Pathankot, reimbursement of additional excise duty in lieu of octroi charged by government in Jalandhar, Ferozepur cantonments, exemption of entry tax on lubricating oil, besides acquisition of 350 acres of land at Patiala and other many issues had also been resolved. Earlier, in his welcome address the General Officer Commanding-in-Chief Western Command, Lieutenant General Sanjiv Chachra, AVSM, VSM, thanked the Chief Minister and Civil administration that had always been responsive and helpful to the need of the Defence Forces. He mentioned that with Mr. Badal’s personal intervention numerous issues related to defence services had already been resolved through interactive sessions held prior to the CMLC.
He further said that Punjab and the Armed Forces shared a strong and enduring relationship, which the Army was proud of. The State had given the Armed Forces distinguished military leaders, brave heart soldiers and had always been generous to the ex-servicemen community when rolling out concessions and benefits for their yeoman service. The Army Commander was confident that this trend would continue in the years to come.The issues were discussed in a frank & forthright manner. Punjab Govrnment sought coaches from Army for training of members of Punjab Amateur Rowing Association (PARA) which was agreed to by Army. The issue of Ammunition Dump Patti was discussed along with other Dumps with Army where various unauthorized constructions had come up in the notified area. Army Commander clarified that the provisions of the Act could not be violated being a Govrnment of India Notification. It was decided that a committee would study the case and come out with concrete recommendations. Army also made a request for 500 acres at Mand for setting up a Aviation Base.
The Chief Secretary brought out that the development of the area as a Greenfield Project could be considered. Army raised the requirement of land for Jai Jawan Awas Yojna and AWHO colonies. Chief Secy mentioned that State Govt was constructing housing colonies in 50 Tier I and II towns and a certain percentage could be shared based on their requirement. The Hon’ble CM also agreed to extend all possible support to bring up the standard of Sainik School Kapurthala. The Govt also agreed to analyse whether wards of Defence personnel could be classified as a ‘disadvantaged group’ under the RTE Act. The CM agreed wholeheartedly to provide all possible help to ensure greater employment to retired officers, JCOs and jawans. The flooding issue of Chandigarh Airport also came up for discussion and Govt agreed to address the problems afflicting the Airport at an early date. It was also decided in the meeting that Army authorities would re-examine the construction of security wall around the Jalandhar Cantonment. On conclusion, a vote of thanks was proposed by the Army for the Hon’ble CM and the Govt of Punjab for their positive response to all issues discussed. The Govt of Punjab assured greater interaction at functional level for early resolution of all ongoing issues.