Punjab MLAs must declare immovable assets in January every year: Cabinet

The Punjab government on Friday approved a proposal to make it mandatory for all the 117 MLAs to declare their immovable properties in January of every year.

A decision to this effect was taken at a cabinet meeting held here under the chairmanship of Chief Minister Amarinder Singh, an official spokesman said.

He said the cabinet approved the necessary amendment in The Punjab Legislative Assembly (Salaries and Allowances of Members) Act, 1942 for this purpose, in line with the desire of the Speaker Punjab Vidhan Sabha (assembly).

The proposal would now be sent to Legal Remembrancer (LR) to prepare the draft of the bill, which the cabinet has authorised the chief minister to approve, the spokesman said.

The Council of Ministers had on March 18, 2017, decided that all MLAs and MPs shall be required to declare their immovable properties as on January 1 every year.

The cabinet, the spokesman said, also approved The Punjab One-Time Voluntary Disclosure and Settlement of Violations of the Buildings Bill-2019 for enactment in the budget session of the state assembly next week.

The bill had been drafted following the cabinet's approval on January 2, 2019, for all buildings constructed in violation of the building bylaws in municipal areas up to June 30, 2018, he said.

The enactment is aimed at ensuring that the unauthorised buildings that have come up over the years are aligned to the parking, fire and safety standards across the state since it is not feasible to demolish the same, the spokesman said.

This decision, he said, would also provide one-time opportunity to the violators within the municipal areas, who have made non-compoundable violations in the buildings, for regularisation without compromising on public safety or security and convenience.

In another decision, the cabinet provided a one-time opportunity for regularisation of unauthorised commercial establishments in Galiara in Amritsar, the spokesman said.

In view of this, effective from March 1, 2019, applicants would require to submit details of violations in the walled city of Amritsar for one-time settlement, he said.

The cabinet, the spokesman said, also gave its nod to the creation of 4,521 new posts for the Bureau of Investigation.

The Supreme Court had in July 2014 directed separation of investigative and law and order functions of the police to reduce the burden on the men and bring greater efficiency into their working.