Punjab Cabinet gives not to draft law officers’ engagement Bill for greater transparency in AG functioning
Chandigarh: As part of the Captain Amarinder Singh government’s administrative reforms agenda, the Punjab Cabinet on Monday approved the introduction of a draft bill to streamline appointments and bring transparency into the functioning of the office of the Advocate General. A Cabinet meeting, chaired by Chief Minister Captain Amarinder Singh, also approved key amendments in the qualifications and experience for the post of the Chairman-cum-Managing Director (CMD) in the Punjab State Power Corporation Limited (PSPCL) in order to strengthen the organization and make it more effectual. The 'Punjab Law Officers (Engagement) Act, 2017' Bill will be tabled for enactment in the current session of the Vidhan Sabha, an official spokesperson disclosed after the second meeting of the state cabinet, held at the CMO here at the Punjab Civil Secretariat. Giving details of the proposed legislation, the spokesperson said it was aimed at putting in place an efficacious mechanism for the engagement of law officers in the Advocate General’s office purely on the merit, as per the directions of the Hon’ble Supreme Court and the High Court. The enactment of the legislation will bring in greater transparency, fairness and objectivity in the appointments of senior additional advocate general, additional advocate general, senior deputy advocate general, deputy advocate general, assistant advocate general and advocate on record, the spokesperson added. As per the Cabinet decision, the PSPCL CMD would now be an IAS officer, in the rank of Principal Secretary or above, having prior experience of working in the Power sector. Concurrently, the Cabinet has also amended the terms and conditions with respect to qualifications and experience for the said post, adding the streams of civil engineering, electronics and communication engineering, instrumentation engineering and information technology to the existing basic qualifications. In addition, the experience of Central Electricity Authority (CEA) would also be considered for the post of CMD. In another decision, the Cabinet decided to engage the services of Inspector General of Police (Retd.) Mr. Khubi Ram as Security Advisor to the Chief Minister in the rank of Additional Director General of Police (ADGP), with entitlement to equivalent status, pay, perks, privileges and allowances, as admissible in such case.
