Punjab 2025 Legislative Reforms: Advancing Governance, Compliance, and Sustainable Development
SDG 8: Decent Work and Economic Growth | SDG 11: Sustainable Cities and Communities
Institutions: Ministry of Agriculture and Farmersβ Welfare | Ministry of Finance | Ministry of Cooperation | Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs | Government of Punjab
Punjab Government has introduced a series of legislative reforms aimed at strengthening regulatory frameworks, enhancing compliance, and promoting urban and agricultural development.
Seeds (Punjab Amendment) Bill: Introduces stringent penalties for producers and dealers violating quality standards under the Seeds Act, 1966, making offences cognizable and non-bailable to protect farmers and improve agricultural productivity.
Punjab Goods and Services Tax (Amendment) Bill: Enhances GST compliance by clarifying definitions, introducing a track-and-trace mechanism with unique identification marking, enforcing pre-deposit of penalties for appeals, and aligning State provisions with the Central GST Act.
Punjab Co-operative Societies (Amendment) Bill: Mandates registration of debentures and other instruments to secure legal titles, improve regulatory compliance, prevent fraudulent transfers, and strengthen state revenue through stamp duty and registration fees.
Punjab Town Improvement (Amendment) Bill: Establishes the Municipal Development Fund, enabling better utilization of resources from Improvement Trusts for upgrading municipal infrastructure and improving civic services in urban areas.
Punjab Apartment and Property Regulation (Amendment) Bill: Revises land ownership requirements and payment mechanisms for promoters developing new colonies, strengthens guarantees for internal and external development works, and facilitates efficient recovery from defaulting developers to ensure planned urban growth.
Relevant Question for Policy Stakeholders: How do the 2025 legislative reforms in Punjab collectively improve regulatory compliance, urban development, and agricultural protection, and what governance model can other states adopt from these measures?
Follow the news here:
https://pvs.neva.gov.in/Notice/Index/PB
https://cms.neva.gov.in/NeVA/PB/FileStructures//Notices/04124c53-2b27-4a12-87fb-7272534f94b9.pdf
https://cms.neva.gov.in/NeVA/PB/FileStructures//Notices/14424fd7-6f89-4686-b9b5-8bca351395d2.pdf
https://cms.neva.gov.in/NeVA/PB/FileStructures//Notices/590d3bd6-7d24-4b23-95f6-f4dc5e347e7e.pdf
https://cms.neva.gov.in/NeVA/PB/FileStructures//Notices/7b03cd5c-1459-4383-aba0-b853db4a4281.pdf
https://cms.neva.gov.in/NeVA/PB/FileStructures//Notices/91102439-3bfd-40a6-8b80-6eb82d5bcaad.pdf