Chandigarh, March 31 (IANS) The Punjab Cabinet led by Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann on Friday gave nod for hiking the compensation due to unseasonal rains by 25 per cent per acre.
A decision to this effect was taken by the Council of Ministers at its meeting held here.
A spokesperson for the Chief Minister's Office said keeping in view the loss incurred by the farmers due to rains, the Cabinet decided to enhance the relief amount from Rs 12,000 per acre to Rs 15,000 per acre for 76-100 per cent for loss of crops.
This measure will give a healing touch to the affected farmers who will be able to get a reasonable financial relief from the government. These relief rates will be applicable from March 1.
Keeping in view the larger public interest, the Cabinet also gave its consent to extend the exemption of 2.25 per cent stamp duty and fees to those registering their property or land by April 30.
Those opting for registration of land will now be exempted from one per cent additional stamp duty, one per cent PIDB fees and 0.25 per cent special fees.
It also gave approval for hiring 2,574 Kisan Mitras and 108 field supervisors in the Agriculture Department.
These Kisan Mitras and field supervisors will encourage the farmers to get out of the rut of wheat and paddy circle and cultivate less water guzzling crops like cotton and basmati.
This step will act as a catalyst to save groundwater by boosting crop diversification programme on one hand and providing employment to the youth of the state on the other.
The court had on February 7 taken cognisance of the charge sheet filed by the Delhi Police against Poonawala. On January 24, the police had filed the charge sheet in the case which contains over 6,000 pages, and the court had extended his custody for 14 days.
A spokesperson for the Chief Minister's Office said the Cabinet authorised the Governor to convene the session, as per Article 174 of the Constitution. As per the schedule, the budget session will commence on March 3 at 10 a.m. with Governor's address followed by obituary references at 2 p.m.
Inspired by the character 'Maya Bhaiya' from the Bollywood movie 'Shootout at Lokhandwala,' a 17-year-old boy, who had been taking advantage of being a minor and had committed crimes including murder, attempt to murder and robbery among others, has been apprehended, said an official of Delhi Police's Crime Branch on Friday.
Mohsin Ibrahim Sayyed was convicted in January 2022 in the Malvani ISIS case on charges of trying to radicalise Muslim youths to join the Islamic State terror group in India and by the Patiala House Court last year in June for conspiracy to perform a terror strike during the Ardh Kumbh Mela at Haridwar.
A Nigerian woman has been apprehended at the Indira Gandhi International Airport here by Customs officials with 1.2 kg of cocaine valued at Rs 18 crore, officials said on Friday. The official said that the accused Nigerian woman came from Addis Ababa.
The move will not only streamline the passport verification process but will also help for timely updation and issuance of the passports as all verifications will take five days now. The Ministry of External Affairs on Friday announced that it has introduced an 'mPassport Police App' to further streamline and expedite the passport issuance system.
