Chandigarh, Oct 21 (IANS) In a major decision, the Punjab Cabinet led by Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann on Friday approved restoration of the old pension scheme for the government employees.
A spokesperson for the Chief Minister's Office said a decision to this effect was taken in meeting of Cabinet, with Mann in the chair, here.
The spokesperson said the employees will be given option for adopting the old pension scheme or the new pension scheme. The old pension scheme was discontinued in 2004 and ever since then the employees are being given the new pension scheme.
However, the employees have been since long demanding the restoration of the old pension scheme.
Keeping in view the well-being of the lakhs of employees, the Cabinet has decided to restore the old pension scheme, a major relief to the employees.
Realising that the employees are the backbone of the government, the state has taken this historic decision which is likely to benefit all category of the employees, the spokesperson said.
Also, the Cabinet decided to give six per cent dearness allowance (DA) to government employees and pensioners with effect from October 1.
The Council of Ministers opined that the employees were a critical segment of the state administration and safeguarding their interests was the government's top priority, the spokesperson said.
According to the SHO of Cantonment police station, Rajeev Singh, Ram Lakhan's wife informed the police that her husband had confessed to killing their son following a fight with her. A police team went looking for the 'body' but could not find the child.
Police said that doctors gave him enema to recover the jewellery from his stomach. The man along with his girlfriend was invited by a friend for Eid celebrations at her home.
"The vehicle was on its way from Udhampur to Jammu when it went out of the driver's control and rolled down into a deep gorge near Jambhu Zoo."In the incident, three persons identified as Gurdeep Singh, Sham Lal and Vikas Kumar, all residents of Punjab, died on the spot".
Asking Mann not to become a puppet in the hands of Kejriwal, the SAD President said: "The Chief Minister should take review meetings of the law and order situation as well as ensure those responsible for flaring communal tensions in the recent Patiala clash are brought to task instead of keeping himself busy by deputing Punjab Police teams to Delhi to arrest opponents of AAP."
