Caste certificate to have lifetime validity in Punjab

Punjab deputy chief minister Sukhbir Singh Badal directed the state welfare department on Tuesday to issue Scheduled Caste (SC) certificate with validity for the person’s lifetime.
Presiding over a meeting of deputy commissioners, Sukhbir said Sewa Kendars in urban areas will be operational from July 21 and in rural areas from August 11.
He said all the skill-development centres in state should be completed by September 2 and asked the DCs to monitor them.
Laying stress on the implementation of government’s welfare schemes, Sukhbir said all the cards under the Bhagat Puran Singh Sehat Bima Yojna should be distributed by July 15. He was told that 27-lakh cards had been distributed and about 11,000 people were availing the scheme every month.
He said DCs were fully empowered to take decisions for speedy execution of development projects and set November as the deadline for utilising Rs 500 crore for Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA). He also asked the DCs to submit within a week the list of roads that needed repairs.