A cabinet meeting was held on Wednesday at the Punjab Chief Minister's residence in Chandigarh. The meeting approved the prosecution of former Congress minister Sadhu Singh Dharamsot in a corruption case. The Vigilance Bureau filed an FIR against Dharamsot in June 2022. The investigation revealed that Dharamsot had accepted a bribe of ₹1.67 crore.
According to a government spokesperson, action will also be taken against Dharamsot under the PMLA 2022. The cabinet has sent a recommendation to the Governor to initiate the case.
Finance Minister Harpal Cheema stated that the cabinet has approved the central government's decision to reduce GST. It will be passed in the upcoming assembly session.
He stated that a special court will be established in Mohali under a sessions judge to handle all NIA cases currently being heard in various courts. All cases will be heard in the Mohali court. The Punjab government will arrange for this, while the central government will pay for the costs.
Illegal encroachments in villages will be recovered.
The Punjab government has decided to recover money from people who have illegally occupied the village common land that was left vacant. A committee headed by the District Deputy Commissioner (DC) will be formed to determine the rates. Once the rates are finalized, the encroachers will be charged accordingly. Half of the recovered money will go to the committee and the other half to the department.
Two types of OTS schemes launched
A one-time settlement policy has been approved for Punjab shellers. Under this, 188 cases will be covered, for which penalties and interest will not be charged. The Punjab government has launched two types of OTS (One-Time Settlement) schemes to facilitate people in paying their past dues.
The first is for food supply defaulters. This scheme is for 1,688 sheller owners who have not repaid the Food Supply Department's money. They can pay their outstanding amount in three installments. Only after depositing the money will they be able to operate their shops.
The second is for pre-GST cases. This includes 20,039 cases. If the tax case is up to Rs 1 crore, 50% of the penalty and basic tax will be waived. Cases between Rs 1 crore and Rs 25 crore will receive a 25% waiver. Other conditions remain the same. Both schemes will remain in effect until December 31st. After that, no such OTS scheme will be introduced.
Amendment to the Right to Business Act
Industry Minister Sanjeev Arora stated that the Right to Business Act has been amended to cover a larger number of industries. The limit has been increased from Rs 25 crore to Rs 125 crore. Now, industries with turnover above Rs 105 crore can also be included under this Act and will receive approval in a shorter time.
He said that five new approvals have been added. This includes labor department approval, factory license approval, consent to establish from the Pollution Department, no objection certificate from the Forest Department, and other necessary approvals.
The Act will cover all approved real estate projects.
The Minister stated that previously, the Right to Business Act only applied to approved industrial parks. Now, all approved real estate projects will be included. Real estate projects will be approved within five days. Projects that do not fall into this category will receive approval within 15 days. If a project is an extension, it will receive approval within 18 days. Green and orange industries will be given priority in this process.
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