Panjab Lowers SC Lawyer Income Bar; High Court on Land for Highways

The Panjab Cabinet approved a significant 50% reduction in the income criteria for Dalit (Scheduled Caste) advocates, allowing more SC and Scheduled Tribe (ST) lawyers to compete for reserved positions in the Advocate General’s office. This was in response to a move introduced by the Aam Aadmi Party government in 2023 to fill 25% of the reserved posts and facilitate appointments to High Court benches. Finance Minister Harpal Cheema noted that of the 58 SC/ST posts available, 15 had remained vacant due to stringent income standards. In tandem, the Cabinet increased the retirement age for medical teaching faculty from 62 to 65 years and raised specialist doctors’ retirement from 58 to 65 years with provisions for contractual re-employment. The Cabinet also passed orders to reorganize the Rural Development Department. Meanwhile, the Punjab and Haryana High Court (PHHC) directed Deputy Commissioners (DC) in Panjab to ensure prompt, encumbrance-free handover of land to the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) for highway projects spanning 1288.31 km, with possession still pending for between 88.39 and 136.67 km. Following detailed timelines from the 4 Apr hearing, PHHC has set a 5 May deadline for DCs and Senior Superintendents of Police across 11 districts. The court emphasised that pending arbitration cases are not valid grounds for delaying or halting land possession by NHAI and if landowners obstruct, the authorities must utilise all available measures to remove obstacles. On 9 Apr, the Union Cabinet approved a 19.2-km Zirakpur Bypass in Panjab and Haryana, valued at USD 217.8 M, to ease congestion in major areas and improve regional connectivity. This cost was shared in an official statement, which noted that the Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs, chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, authorized the project on the Hybrid Annuity Mode. This decision follows widespread calls for improved infrastructure to handle escalating traffic volumes in Panjab and Haryana, where rapid urbanization has strained current roads (earlier coverage).