Punjab Assembly session to begin from Dec 22

The Winter Session of Punjab Assembly will commence from December 22, an official spokesperson said here today.
The decision to summon the Session of the Assembly was taken at the Cabinet meeting held under the Chairmanship of Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal, the spokesperson said.
Meanwhile, the Cabinet also decided to waive off the water user charges on tube wells run by Punjab Water Resources Management and Development Corporation (PWRMDC) at the rate of Rs 1 per unit for Kandi (sub mountainous) area and Rs 1.60 per unit electricity consumed for other areas, the spokesman said.
It also decided to waive off the arrears amounting to Rs 6.50 crore recoverable from the shareholders of these tube wells, he said.

The state government had levied the charges for water supplied through tube wells run by the erstwhile Punjab State Tube well Corporation now PWRMDC at the rate of Rs 1 per unit of Kandi area and Rs 1.60 per unit electricity consumed for other areas in May 2003.
The Cabinet approved to convert the ordinance regarding the levying of water cess at the rate of Rs 50 per acre per crop by amending the Indian Canal and Drainage Act, 1873, into Bill for presenting in the forthcoming session of the state Assembly.

"The water cess thus collected would be utilised for maintenance, upkeep and modernisation of the canals," he said.

Besides, the state government will engage the services of 'Online Social Media Agency' for "effective dissemination" of state government's policies and programmes, the Cabinet decided.
Meanwhile, the government decided to grant financial assistance as livelihood to the victims of botched eye surgeries recently in an eye camp organised by an NGO.
"It was decided to amend Financial Assistance to Disabled Person Rules 1996 to pay special pension of Rs 2,000 per month to victims, who lost their vision, during the Eye Operation camps organised in Gurdaspur and Amritsar districts," the spokesman said.