To strengthen the mutual brotherhood in Punjab's villages, the state cabinet has decided to amend the rules of conducting sarpanch/panch elections without symbols of political parties, state's Finance Minister Harpal Singh Cheema announced on Thursday.
"Earlier, sarpanch and panch elections could be fought on political party's symbol. But the cabinet decided that now the upcoming panchayat polls will be contested without the symbol of political parties," Cheema told reporters after the meeting of the state cabinet which was held under the chairmanship of Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann.
"An amendment to Rule 12 of the Punjab Panchayat Election Rules, 1994 has been approved by the cabinet... Now, sarpanch and panch elections in the villages will not be held on political party's symbol," he said.
As cited in an official statement, the Cabinet observed that contesting elections on party symbols leads to many unwanted incidents.
"Political affiliations of panchayat members create instances of violent clashes during and after elections among various party groups at village level which deteriorates the law and order situation and also adversely affects the social fabric of rural society," said the statement about the cabinet decision related to panchayats.
Only the symbols which have been allotted by the Election Commission would be used by the candidates for the sarpanch and panch elections, said Punjab's finance minister.
Meanwhile, in another cabinet decision, the strength of Punjab Civil Services (Executive Branch) cadres has been increased to 369 posts from the current 310 posts.
This decision is intended to address administrative requirements, provide more employment opportunities for youth, and boost the administrative efficiency of the state government.
Additionally, the Cabinet gave the green light for the construction of ponds along the river Ghaggar in village Chandu, aimed at recharging groundwater. These ponds get filled during flood times and through canals during normal times.
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