Punjab Cabinet under the Chief Minister’s leadership approves empanelment of 300 specialist doctors across 12 important categories

Chandigarh (The Uttam Hindu): With the aim of providing high-quality healthcare services to people across Punjab, the state Cabinet led by the Chief Minister has approved the empanelment of 300 specialist doctors in 12 major categories.

This decision was taken during the Cabinet meeting chaired by the Chief Minister here today.

Sharing the information, a spokesperson of the Chief Minister’s Office said that the Cabinet has approved empanelment of specialist doctors in 12 key categories — Medicine, Pediatrics, Psychiatry, Dermatology, Chest & TB, Surgery, Gynecology, Orthopedics, Ophthalmology, ENT, and Anesthesiology.

This move will increase the availability of specialist doctors and improve the quality of secondary-level healthcare services for the people of Punjab. The empanelment process will be conducted at the district level through Civil Surgeons. The empanelled doctors will be eligible to receive empanelment fees per patient for OPD, IPD, emergency care, major/minor surgeries, and other services.

Approval of a Uniform Disciplinary and Appellate Framework under Punjab Co-operative Societies Rules, 1963

The Cabinet has also approved Rule 28A under the Punjab Co-operative Societies Rules, 1963, which establishes a uniform disciplinary and appellate structure.

This will eliminate dual appeal channels, prevent contradictory decisions within the same board or its committees, ensure a clear chain of command in disciplinary actions, and restrict appeals to only one hearing within the institution.

This uniform framework will strengthen institutional accountability, ensure due process at every level by defining authority, and safeguard employee rights. It will also bring consistency across apex institutions and central cooperative banks operating under the cooperative sector in Punjab.

Approval for Amendments in Punjab Minor Mineral Rules, 2013

To make mining services more efficient, citizen-friendly, and transparent, the Cabinet has approved amendments to the Punjab Minor Mineral Rules, 2013, in line with the Punjab State Minor Minerals (Amendment) Policy 2025.

These amendments were necessary to incorporate new regulations for the allocation of mining rights to mining leaseholders of crusher mining sites and landowners’ mining sites across the state.