Move aimed at curbing unregistered possession, benami transactions, and other illegal arrangements
Chandigarh, August 14–
The Punjab Cabinet, led by Chief Minister Bhagwant Singh Mann, on Thursday approved an amendment to the Punjab Cooperative Societies Act, 1961.
A spokesperson from the Chief Minister’s Office disclosed today that the decision was taken during a meeting of the Council of Ministers chaired by the Chief Minister.
As per the decision, the Cabinet approved amendments to the Punjab Cooperative Societies Act, 1961, and the withdrawal of stamp duty and registration fee exemptions for certain classes of cooperative societies. Currently, the Act provides exemptions from compulsory registration, originally intended to facilitate the development of cooperative institutions. However, this provision has enabled property transactions—particularly in urban housing societies—to take place without formal registration or the payment of stamp duty and registration fees.
This situation has encouraged unregistered possession, benami transactions, and other legally risky arrangements. Therefore, an amendment to Section 37 of the Act has been made by adding Clauses 2 and 3. These clauses stipulate that the State Government may, through a notification in the Official Gazette, direct that the exemption under sub-section (1), or any part thereof, shall not apply to certain classes of cooperative societies or specified categories of instruments. Upon the issuance of such a notification, the instruments so notified shall be deemed to fall within the scope of clauses (b) and (c) of sub-section (1) of Section 17 of the Indian Registration Act, 1908, and will accordingly be subject to compulsory registration under that Ac.
Cabinet Approves Creation of “Panchayat Development Secretary” Post
To enhance the development of rural areas through proper execution and supervision, the Cabinet also approved the creation of the post of “Panchayat Development Secretary” by merging the cadres of Panchayat Secretaries and Gram Sevaks (Village Development Officers). Subsequently, a state cadre will be constituted for these posts to accelerate rural development across Punjab. For existing Panchayat Secretaries, a dying cadre will be created, who will be placed based on their self-declaration letters and as per their seniority, following the existing Gram Sevaks (VDOs) in the seniority list.
Ex-post Facto Approval for Formation of GoM for Crop Procurement
The Cabinet granted ex-post facto approval for the formation of a Group of Ministers (GoM) to ensure the smooth procurement of Kharif and Rabi crops during the procurement seasons. This GoM is chaired by the Agriculture Minister and includes the Ministers for Food & Civil Supplies, Transport, and Water Resources as members.
Ex-post Facto Approval for Cabinet Sub-Committee Formation
The Cabinet also granted ex-post facto approval for the formation of a Cabinet Sub-Committee. This committee will review and consider the recommendations made by the Committee of Officers regarding Parts II and III of the 6th Punjab Pay Commission Report.
Gives nod to withdraw notification for Land Pooling Policy 2025
The Cabinet also decided to withdraw notification of Department of Housing and Urban Development, Punjab pertaining to Land Pooling Policy 2025 issued on June 4, 2025 along with subsequent Amendments.
