Punjab Budget session from March 6-16; govt likely to announce Rs 1,000 per month for women

Cheema said the Cabinet also approved payment of compensation to farmers who have been cultivating government lands for crop damage caused by floods in 2025. The Cabinet also approved granting the benefit of additional marks and relaxation in the upper age limit to Covid volunteers who worked during the pandemic in the Department of Health and Family Welfare, the minister said.

The Punjab Cabinet on Monday gave its nod to holding the Budget session of the state assembly from March 6 to 16. The Budget will be presented on March 8. The Bhagwant Mann government is also likely to announce Rs 1,000 per month to every woman, one of its poll promises, in the budget. Addressing the media here, Finance Minister Harpal Singh Cheema said the session will start with the Governor's address and later the Obituary references on March 6. The Budget will be presented on March 8, which is Sunday and coincides with International Women's Day, Cheema said. He said that the discussion on the Governor's address will be held on March 9, and the discussion on the Budget will be held on March 10-11. Cheema said the Cabinet also approved payment of compensation to farmers who have been cultivating government lands for crop damage caused by floods in 2025. According to the decision, farmers whose crop damage was assessed during the special 'girdawari' of 2025 but were not granted compensation will now be given the relief amount. This will be implemented as a one-time measure on humanitarian grounds and will not confer proprietary rights in any manner, he said. Accordingly, wherever the person recorded in the 'khasra girdawari' (revenue records) prior to September 25, 2015 is still cultivating the land, or his legal heirs are cultivating it, compensation will be disbursed to that person or the legal heirs. In cases where there is a change in possession, not in consonance with the revenue records of the year 2015, no compensation shall be granted. A committee comprising the panchayat head, 'Nambardar', and 'Patwari' will verify the status and submit a report for the disbursement of compensation to eligible farmers. The Cabinet also approved the extension of the validity of the one-time settlement (OTS) scheme notified on March 13, 2025, from December 31, 2025 to June 30, 2026. This extension shall apply only to plots allotted to government departments/PSUs and to allottees who had submitted appeals for restoration of plots under the policy dated May 7, 2025 and were eligible to settle their dues under the OTS scheme, and whose plots have been restored by the board of directors of Punjab Small Industries and Export Corporation. A reward policy for the arrest of wanted criminals was also approved by the cabinet. This move aims to institutionalise a transparent and systematic mechanism for granting rewards, thereby motivating informers and recognising the efforts of law enforcement personnel in apprehending wanted criminals. The Cabinet also gave its nod to the creation of two additional posts of vice-chairpersons in the Economic Policy and Planning Board, taking the strength from three to five. This will enable sector-specific focus, improved monitoring of schemes, better coordination with departments and district planning committees, and faster decision-making. The Cabinet also approved granting the benefit of additional marks and relaxation in the upper age limit to Covid volunteers who worked during the pandemic in the Department of Health and Family Welfare, the minister said. The benefit will also be given to employees working on a contractual or outsourced basis under the department, against vacant posts of Group-C and Group-D. This benefit will be applicable in direct recruitment during the current year up to December 31, 2026, treating the services rendered during the Covid pandemic as relevant experience. The Cabinet also gave its nod to the revival and filling of 361 vacant posts of staff nurses (Group-C) in the department. These include 224 posts that have been lying vacant for more than one year and 137 posts that have been vacant for less than one year.

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