The Punjab Cabinet on Monday approved the Ranjitgarh Development Authority (RDA) Bill, 2026, paving the way for planned, sustainable and eco-tourism-oriented development of the Ranjit Sagar Dam and Shahpur Kandi Dam areas.
After the Cabinet meeting, State Finance Minister Harpal Singh Cheema said the authority would oversee the integrated development of the areas around the two dams.
“We have decided to develop the area around the Ranjit Sagar Lake, which spans 305 acres in Punjab's Pathankot district in accordance with world-class standards. To this end, we have constituted the Ranjitgarh Development Authority so that a large number of tourists can visit the site in the future,’’ he said.
The RDA will be constituted as a statutory body under the administrative control of the Department of Tourism and Cultural Affairs. It will have administrative, financial and regulatory powers for integrated development, land management, project implementation and destination governance.
Chief Minister Bhagwant Singh Mann will be the authority’s Chairman, with the Minister of Tourism and Cultural Affairs as Vice-Chairman. An Executive Committee headed by the Chief Secretary will oversee its day-to-day functioning and interdepartmental coordination.
In other decisions, the Cabinet approved the creation of new driver posts in the office of the Chief Electoral Officer, Punjab. The posts will be created by surrendering posts of peons from the 19 permanent posts and one permanent post of Moharrir. The move is aimed at streamlining the functioning of the CEO’s office.
The Cabinet also approved an amendment to Appendix-B of the Punjab Nursing Education Service Rules (Group B), 2016, to fill tutor posts at government colleges of nursing in Patiala and Amritsar through promotion.
The posts will be filled from among regular staff nurses and nursing sisters working under the Director, Research and Medical Education, Punjab, who have obtained an M.Sc. (Nursing) in the concerned speciality. Preference will be given to candidates with one year of teaching experience in nursing education.
The Cabinet also gave its concurrence to regularise the services of non-teaching staff working on a contractual basis under the Punjab Information and Communication Technology Education Society (PICTES). Employees covered by the decision will receive the benefits of regularisation under PICTES in the prescribed pay scales.