Punjab Cabinet Discusses New Agri Policy - PTI

Chandigarh, Sep 5 (PTI) The Punjab Cabinet on Thursday held a discussion on the formation of a new agriculture policy in the state.

The council of ministers held a meeting under the chairmanship of Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann at his official residence here.

A spokesperson of the Chief Minister's Office said that with the traditional agriculture in the state reaching a stage of plateau, it is imperative to formulate a robust agriculture policy to give a boost to food production.

It is also necessary for saving groundwater for our coming generations and making agriculture a profitable venture.

It was decided that the new agriculture policy will be formulated by taking into confidence all major stakeholders, said the spokesperson.

Speaking to reporters after the cabinet meeting, Finance Minister Harpal Singh Cheema said the council of ministers held a discussion on the new agriculture policy as he emphasised saving the depleting underground water level.

The majority of blocks in Punjab are in the danger zone as it has become difficult to draw water, he added.

He further said soon the new agriculture policy will be announced.

In another decision, the Cabinet gave its concurrence for introducing education policy in the state for giving major thrust to skill and technical based education.

This will help in opening new avenues of employment for the youth thereby making them an integral part of the socio-economic growth of Punjab, said the spokesperson.

The policy will focus on effectively transforming education in the state so that youth can immensely benefit from it.

The Cabinet also gave its consent to expand the ambit of the one-time settlement scheme for pending value-added tax cases for the benefit traders.

It was observed that the ongoing scheme has immensely benefited the traders, and the state government recovered Rs 164 crore.

The formal orders for the expansion of this scheme will be issued shortly, the spokesperson said.

In a relief to the owners of goods vehicles and auto rickshaws in the state, the Cabinet gave nod to do away with the process of paying tax after every quarter that caused harassment to them.

The owners of these old commercial vehicles can now deposit the lump sum tax of their vehicles annually, the spokesperson said.

The buyers of new such vehicles have been given the option of paying this tax for four years or eight years thereby availing a rebate of 10 per cent or 20 per cent respectively, the spokesperson added.