In a bid to effectively combat the Covid-19 emergency situation across the state, the Punjab Cabinet gave approval to allow the recruitment of 473 posts of staff nurses in Rajindra Hospital, Patiala and Guru Nanak Dev Hospital, Amritsar, attached with Government Medical Colleges of Patiala and Amritsar respectively by taking these posts out of the purview of Subordinate Service Selection Board to Baba Farid University of Health Sciences, Faridkot through written test on the basis of merit.
According to a spokesperson of the Chief Minister’s Office, the basic pay of these newly recruited staff nurses would be Rs.29,200/- per month as already approved by the Finance Department.
In a bid to improve efficacy of available resources, Punjab Cabinet on Monday gave approval for Redevelopment, Operation & Maintenance (O&M) of Circuit Houses at Amritsar, Ludhiana and Jalandhar on Public Private Partnership (PPP) mode.
A spokesperson of Chief Minister’s Office said that Punjab Infrastructure Development Board (PIDB) being the nodal agency of the state has been authorised for taking necessary action in this regard. The spokesperson further said that the General Administration department intends to develop and operate circuit houses at Ludhiana and Jalandhar on Public Private Partnership (PPP) mode to be operated as Circuit Houses-cum-Hotels.
Pertinently, the General Administration department operates 10 Circuit Houses in Amritsar, Jalandhar, Ludhiana, Bathinda, Ferozepur, Faridkot, Patiala, Gurdaspur, Chandigarh and Shimla. In addition there are two Punjab Bhawans in New Delhi and Chandigarh. These Circuit Houses were developed for stay of Government Officers/Officials visiting different district headquarters for official work. However, over a period of time on account of recurrent expenditure on maintenance and updating of the facilities of Circuit Houses lead to financial burden on the state government.
Also, to facilitate seamless e-learning in government schools amid Covid-19 pandemic, the Cabinet approved modalities for distribution of mobile phones to nearly 2.15 lakh students of class 12 for the academic session 2021-22 under ‘Punjab Smart Connect Scheme’. The procurement shall be carried out through Punjab Infotech, under the Industries & Commerce department. The mobile phones to be distributed under the scheme shall have various smart features such as touch screen, camera and pre-loaded government applications such as e-Sewa App with e-content related to Class 12 as approved by School Education department.
