CHANDIGARH, Nov 6: The Punjab cabinet on Monday gave its nod to a free pilgrimage scheme for elderly people and a one-time settlement scheme for traders to clear their tax arrears.
The approval came during a meeting of the council of ministers chaired by Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann here. Addressing the media after the cabinet meeting, Finance Minister Harpal Singh Cheema said the cabinet has approved the ‘Mukh Mantri Tirth Yatra’ scheme under which senior citizens could visit various religious places including Hazur Sahib, Mata Chintpurni temple, Mata Jwalaji temple, Naina Devi temple through buses and trains free of charge.
The scheme also allows the elderly to visit religious places in other states such as Patna Sahib in Bihar, Ayodhya Ram Mandir in Uttar Pradesh, Ajmer Sharif in Rajasthan, Anandpur Sahib in Punjab and Mata Vaishno Devi Temple in Jammu.
This scheme will be rolled out on ‘Parkash Purb’ of Guru Nanak Dev on November 27, the chief minister said in a post on X.
A sum of Rs 40 crore has been earmarked for the ‘Mukh Mantri Tirth Yatra’ scheme, FM Cheema said, adding that a sub-committee has also been formed for the implementation of the scheme.
Asked about the permissible age of people who could avail of this scheme, he said the sub-committee would take a call on it.
A similar scheme is being run in AAP-led Delhi where the ‘Mukhyamantri Teerth Yatra Yojana’ was launched by Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on July 12, 2019.
Under this scheme, the Delhi Government has facilitated pilgrimage for more than 75,000 elderly people of the national capital, Kejriwal claimed on Sunday.
In another decision, Cheema said the cabinet has also given its nod for the launch of a one-time settlement scheme (OTS) for the state’s traders and business community. “We are going to give a very big relief to Punjab’s traders. It is a Diwali gift for them,” he said. Cheema said under the OTS, a lump sum tax to the tune of up to Rs 1 lakh has been waived. This will benefit 39,787 traders in the state. He added that the cabinet has also decided to waive 50 per cent of the tax dues of traders from Rs 1 lakh to Rs 1 crore.
There will also be a 100 per cent waiver on interest and penalty on tax dues, he said. The cabinet has approved the OTS for pending cases of the Punjab Value Added Tax Act, 2005, the Central Sales Tax Act, 1956, the Punjab Infrastructure Development Regulation Act, 2002, the Punjab General Sales Tax aAct 1948, the Punjab Entertainment Tax Act, 1954, the Punjab Tax on Luxuries Act, 2009 and Punjab Institutions and Other Buildings Tax Act, 2011, the minister said. Cheema said that there are 19,361 such cases where relief will be provided to the trading community. This will benefit around 60,000 traders. Later, a spokesperson of the chief minister’s office said the OTS will be applicable from November 15, 2023 till March 15, 2024. In another decision taken at the meeting, the cabinet gave its consent to double the ex-gratia grant of disabled soldiers both from the military and paramilitary forces. Soldiers with disability from 76 per cent to 100 per cent will now get an ex-gratia of Rs 40 lakh, those with 51 per cent to 75 per cent disability will get Rs 20 lakh and disabled soldiers with 25 per cent to 50 per cent disability will get Rs 10 lakh, the spokesperson said.
The cabinet also gave a nod to amend the East Punjab War Awards Act, 1948 to enhance the financial assistance of 83 beneficiaries from Rs 10,000 per annum to Rs 20,000 per annum, the spokesperson added.
Under ‘The East Punjab War Awards Act 1948’, the government provides financial assistance to those parents whose only child or two to three children had served in the Indian Army during the Second World War, National Emergency 1962 and 1971. Presently, 83 beneficiaries are availing the benefits under this policy.
The cabinet also approved a proposal to create a state cadre of ‘patwaris’ and ‘kanungos’ — revenue officials — to streamline the functioning of the revenue department, said the spokesperson. (PTI)
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