In a sitting lasting nearly seven-and-a-half hours without a lunch break, the Punjab Vidhan Sabha on Monday cleared nine Bills, even as the Opposition members asked why no legislative business was taken up during the entire preceding week, leaving it to for the last day of the monsoon session.
The House cleared all nine Bills in less than three hours. The Bill were tabled from around 2.41 pm and Vidhan Sabha passed all of them by 5.21 pm. The hurried legislative business triggered protests from Congress members. Leader of Opposition Partap Singh Bajwa said the Bills were circulated at the last-minute.
Raising the issue during Zero Hour, Bajwa said, “We are tired of saying it again and again. What is the purpose of this House? Nine Bills introduced in one day?” He said that six Bills were circulated among the MLAs on Sunday while three were sent on Monday. Referring to the anti-sacrilege law, he recalled that the Akal Takht’s Jathedar had asked the MLAs and the ministers if members had even read the Bill before passing it in the Vidhan Sabha. “The whole purpose is defeated. It gives a very, very wrong message. It shows we are not serious. It shows every sitting member in poor light,” Bajwa said.
To this, Speaker Kultar Singh Sandhwan asked Parliamentary Affairs Minister Ravjot Singh to ensure that Bills are provided to the members at least 15 days before they are tabled in the House.
Later, Congress MLA Sukhpal Singh Khaira too stressed giving adequate time for studying the Bills for discussing them in the House.
Sandhwan said six Bills were circulated on August 7, two on August 9 and one on July 22.
Of the nine Bills, two are politically significant, coming ahead of the Assembly polls that are due in state early next year. They include The Punjab Regulation of Fee of Un-aided Educational Institutions (Amendment) Bill, 2026, which caps fee hikes by private schools at 5 per cent per annum and also mandates educational institutions to refund the excess amount to parents in cases where cumulative fee hike exceeded 15 per cent over the last three years. The other one, The Punjab State Outsourced Personnel (Transition to Contractual Engagement) Bill, 2026, paves way for bringing 26,000 to 28,000 outsourced employees under direct contractual engagement with the government, entitling them to statutory benefits such as provident fund (PF), gratuity, maternity leave, and 10 days of casual leave per year.
Story continues below this ad
Both the Bills were passed unanimously. The House also passed three Bills pertaining to universities.
The Cloud University, Hoshiarpur Bill, 2026, the MS Digital University, Patiala Bill, 2026, and the Physicswallah Digital University, Patiala Bill, 2026, were moved by Education Minister Harjot Singh Bains.
The Cloud University, Hoshiarpur Bill, 2026 was passed by a voice vote after a 36-minute discussion.
Independent MLA Rana Inder Partap Singh sought more time from Speaker Jai Krishan Rouri to speak on the Bill, saying he had come prepared and wanted to discuss the future of children. He was allowed only two minutes. He and Congress MLAs trooped to the Well of the House, protesting over the denial of extra time. Later, Congress MLAs returned but Rana Inderpartap Singh continued be in the Well. After sometime, he walked out of the House.
Story continues below this ad
Amid the commotion, Rouri proceeded with four Bills, three of which were passed without discussion, in less than five minutes each.
Earlier, The Punjab Common Infrastructure (Regulation and Maintenance) Amendment Bill, 2026, tabled by Cabinet Minister Aman Arora was passed in about four minutes without discussion. It seeks to reform the system governing common infrastructure in industrial areas by strengthening Special Purpose Vehicles (SPVs), which will be responsible for maintaining roads, streetlights, parks, security, drainage and other shared facilities.
The Bill provides for SPVs in industrial areas to be registered under the Societies Registration Act and operate on a no-profit, no-loss basis. District Monitoring Authorities will oversee their functioning and provide a mechanism for monitoring and dispute resolution.
The Punjab State Goods and Services Tax (Amendment) Bill, 2026, was passed unanimously in about two minutes. Tabled by Finance Minister Harpal Cheema, the Bill aims at promoting voluntary compliance, minimizing litigation, and streamlining GST-related procedures across the state.
Story continues below this ad
Cheema said the amendments to the PGST provisions are designed to fundamentally support “our trade and industry sectors by removing procedural bottlenecks, improving liquidity, and easing the overall compliance burden on taxpayers”. The proposed legislation permits the exclusion of post-sale discounts from the value of supply through the issuance of a credit note without mandating a prior agreement between the supplier and the recipient. Furthermore, it allows the issuance of credit notes for post-sale discounts extended for any commercial reason, drastically simplifying the adjustment of trade discounts for taxpayers.
It also extends the benefit of a 90% provisional refund of Input Tax Credit (ITC) for cases involving an inverted duty structure. It also removes the previous lower threshold, permitting the refund of IGST paid on the export of goods even when the refund amount is less than Rs 1,000.
The Punjab Panchayati Raj (Amendment) Bill, 2026, was passed by voice vote after discussion. Cabinet Minister Tarunpreet Singh Sond said the government had merged the cadres of Panchayat Secretaries and Village Development Officers (VDOs) to create a common cadre of Panchayat Development Secretaries. The merger, he said, would benefit around 1,384 employees and provide them with a defined promotional pathway. Panchayat Secretaries, who earlier could rise only to Panchayat Officer, would now have a promotional avenue to Panchayat Officer, VDO and further posts.
Sond also raised delayed salaries, saying Panchayat Secretaries were paid from panchayat funds and sometimes faced delays of three to six months. The two cadres would now be governed by a uniform set of rules.
Story continues below this ad
The Punjab Protection of Trees Bill, 2026, was also passed by voice vote after discussion. Cabinet Minister Lal Chand Kataruchak said the legislation provided for compensatory plantation and sought to strengthen protection of trees in urban areas.
The Bill provides for a fine ranging from Rs 10,000 to Rs 50,000 for cutting a tree in an urban area without prior permission and mandates the planting of 10 trees in lieu of every tree felled. Shiromani Akali Dal MLA Manpreet Singh Ayali, while participating in the discussion, sought punishment in addition to the monetary penalty.
