Cabinet ratifies pact on Shahpur Kandi project

Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, September 20

The Punjab Cabinet today ratified the agreement on the Shahpur Kandi Dam project, signed on September 8 between the Chief Secretaries of Punjab and Jammu and Kashmir and the Indus Water Commissioner, Government of India.

To be completed in three years, the project would generate 206 MW of additional hydroelectric power, leading to irrigation and power benefits worth Rs 852.73 crore annually. It is also expected to result in optimum utilisation of the Ranjit Sagar Dam and regulate releases at the Shahpur Kandi Dam, improving irrigation facilities to the command area under Uppar Bari Doab Canal (UBDC).

The Cabinet also approved the setting up of a ropeway between Anandpur Sahib and Naina Devi under the public private partnership (PPP) mode to promote tourism in the state. The ropeway will facilitate the visit of lakhs of devotees to these two historical and religious sites.

It is proposed to execute this project by setting up a Special Purpose Vehicle (SPV). The total paid-up equity of the SPV will be Rs 1 crore, with Rs 50 lakh each being the share of the two states. As per the MoU, both states (Punjab and Himachal Pradesh) will have an equal share in the revenue, with a concession period of 40 years. In the first seven years, no concession fee would be paid by the concessionaire and a time frame of three years would be fixed to set up the project.

The Cabinet okayed the rules for the implementation of the Punjab Fiscal Responsibility and Budget Management (FRBM) Act, 2003. The move is likely to help the state achieve specific fiscal targets within a stipulated time period to avail the benefit of the Centre’s debt consolidation and relief facility for states.

The Cabinet also gave the nod to frame the Punjab Wakf Rules, 2018, under the Wakf Act, 1995 (Central Act 43 of 1995). As per Sub-section (1) of Section 109 of the Act, the state government has been authorised to frame the rules by notification in the official gazette.

Nod to land transfer for AIIMS project 

The Cabinet decided to transfer a state government land to the Union Ministry of Health and Family Welfare for the Bathinda AIIMS project. It also gave ex-post facto approval to transfer 175.1 acres belonging to PAU at Jodhpur Romana village, Bathinda,  to the ministry concerned for the project.

CM’s OSDs to get house rent allowance 

The Cabinet gave approval to rules to allow reimbursement of house rent allowance (HRA) to OSDs (officers on special duty) to the CM. They would be entitled to claim rent from the date of their appointment or get a Type-8 government accommodation. Reimbursing the house rent from the date of their appointment would mean that the political appointees would get arrears of over  Rs 1 lakh each.