Pb govt forms foundation to mark 350th birth anniv of Guru

In a bid to propagate the teachings of Guru Gobind Singh, the Punjab government has decided to celebrate 350th birth anniversary of the tenth guru of the Sikhs at a grand scale in Patna Sahib, Bihar from January 4 to 6 in 2017.
The government also decided to include water supply and sewerage charges in the electricity bills for urban consumers in the state.
The decision was taken by the Council of Ministers' meeting under the chairmanship of Punjab Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal here.
A spokesperson of Chief Minister's Office said that the Cabinet approved to form a foundation, under the chairmanship of the Chief Minister, for commemoration of 350th birth anniversary of Guru Gobind Singh at Patna Sahib and empowering him to appoint other members.

The Foundation would also decide to organise other programmes besides major events/programs connected with the celebrations to be organised in Patna Sahib.
The Cabinet also decided to make special budgetary provision of Rs 100 crore in its annual budget 2016-17 besides releasing an amount of Rs 5 crore to the Foundation immediately for grand celebrations of this historic event.

The Cabinet also gave approval to present Transplantation of Human Organs and Tissues (Amendment) Act, 2011 and Transplantation of Human Organs and Tissues Rules, 2014 framed by Government of India, in the next session of Punjab Vidhan Sabha for adoption by the state government.

The amended Act makes organ tissue donation easier and systematic.
After adoption of this amended Act, organ and tissue transplantation would become easier and more transparent.
The Cabinet also approved the introduction of a scheme to include water supply and sewerage charges in the electricity bills of urban consumers in the state.
Under the new system a fixed amount based on slabs of power consumption would be added to power bills and thus no separate bill for water supply and sewerage would be generated.
The new system of linking water supply and sewerage charges with electricity bills would not only prove to be cost effective but also save lot of manpower involved in duplicity and was consumer friendly, the spokesman said.

It was also decided that each household, shop, hotel would install a Water Meter upto March 31, 2017.
After the installation of water meters, consumers of
residential and non-residential categories who consume more than 20 kiloliter of water every month, would be charged Rs 7.60 (Rs.3.80 each for water and sewerage) per klitre.
In case of special category, after the water metres were installed, 2 per cent collection would be stopped and they would be charged at the rate of Rs 15.20 (Rs 7.60 each for water and sewerage) per klr. New system of linking water and sewerage charges with electricity bills was expected to generate collections to the tune of Rs 502.25 crore annually.

In order to deal with ill effects of plastic carry bags on the environment, the Council of Ministers gave a green signal to insert clause-2 in section 7 of the 'Punjab Plastic Carry Bags (Manufacture, usage & Disposal) Control Act, 2005'.
The amended provision would now empower the state government to completely prohibit the manufacture, sale and use of plastic carry bags and containers made of virgin or recycled plastic and plastic items having one time use such as disposable plastic cups, tumblers, spoons, forks and straws by way of issuing a notification in the official Gazette, the spokesman said.

To rationalise the VAT (Value Added Tax) on petrol in Punjab and neighbouring states, the Cabinet gave a nod to constitute a committee comprising Deputy Chief Minister and Finance Minister to take decision with regard to increase or decrease the VAT/ID (Infrastructure Development) Cess on Petrol.
The Cabinet also decided to amend Punjab Civil Services (General and Common Conditions of Services) Rules, 1994 to make compulsory the passing of typewriting test on computer in English apart from Punjabi at prescribed speed, before appointment by direct recruitment to the post of senior assistant and clerk.
The Cabinet also approved an amendment to the Schedule 1 of the Indian Stamp Act, 1899 by including an entry 62 (c) in Schedule IA of the Act for levying 0.1 per cent of the amount as Stamp Duty subject to a maximum of Rs one lakh on registration of documents for the Assignment of debt or securitisation of loans presented by Asset Reconstruction Companies, which assisted in recovery of bad debts.