Punjab Cabinet okays pay hike for PPSC staff, OTS plan for industrialists

The state Cabinet today okayed a substantial hike in the salaries of Chairman and members of the Punjab Public Service Commission (PPSC). It also accorded approval for introducing a one-time settlement policy for the industrial plot owners who had defaulted on paying the enhanced land cost and the original allottees who defaulted on paying the principal amount for the plots allotted to them by the Punjab Small Industries and Export Corporation (PSIEC). They can avail the OTS scheme by paying 8 per cent simple interest.

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“In all, 4,000 industrial plot owners will benefit under the policy that provides them relief of Rs 410 crore,” said Industry Minster Tarunpreet Singh Sond and Rajya Sabha MP and Ludhiana West candidate Sanjeev Arora.

Arora had been taking up this issue with the government for quite some time. Before the Cabinet meeting, he also met CM Bhagwant Mann and apprised him of the problems being faced by industrialists. A special virtual help desk would be set up by the PSIEC to assist industrialists in availing benefits under the scheme, Arora said.

Meanwhile, the pay of the PPSC Chairman has been fixed at Rs 1,82,200 in addition to all other financial benefits that are given to the Principal Secretary. If a retired employee is appointed as the Chairman, he will receive the last pay received by him at the time of his retirement or Rs 1,82,200, whichever is higher, subject to a maximum of Rs 2.25 lakh per month. Till date, their salary was in the scale of Rs 37,400-Rs 67,000 plus Rs 12,000.

Similarly, the pay of PPSC members has been revised to Rs 1,44,200. In case of a retired employee being appointed as member, he will also receive the last pay drawn by him or Rs 1.44 lakh, whichever is higher, with a maximum cap of Rs 2,18,200. These members were at present getting salary in the pay scale of Rs 37,400-Rs 67000 plus Rs 10,000.

The Cabinet also okayed a policy to allow surrendering of the layout plan of industrial park projects, provided that the promoter deposited the outstanding dues of statutory charges, as levied by the competent authority at the time of approval.