Punjab cabinet clears a bill to regulate private school fee hikes, approves outsourcing transition law
Cabinet also approves three digital open universities, GST amendments, a tree protection bill, and changes to the Panchayati Raj Act.
The Punjab cabinet on Wednesday approved a series of legislative and policy measures spanning education, employment, taxation and governance, including a bill to regulate fee hikes by private unaided schools and another to facilitate the transition of eligible outsourced personnel to contractual employment.
Chaired by chief minister Bhagwant Singh Mann, the cabinet approved the Punjab Regulation of Fee of Un-aided Educational Institutions (Amendment) Bill, 2026, which seeks to regulate fee increases by private unaided educational institutions. According to the state government, the amendments have been proposed following complaints of arbitrary annual fee hikes that have increased the financial burden on students and their families.
The proposed legislation will amend the Punjab Regulation of Fee of Un-aided Educational Institutions Act, 2016; its 2019 amendment; and the rules framed under the Act.
Outsourced staff, digital universities among key approvals
The cabinet also approved the Punjab State Outsourced Personnel Transition to Contractual Engagement Bill, 2026. The bill proposes direct contractual engagement for eligible outsourced personnel after five years of continuous service, while employees working in notified hazardous categories would become eligible after three years. Their remuneration will be determined by the finance department and cannot be lower than the minimum wage prescribed under applicable law. The proposed law will replace the Punjab Ad Hoc, Contractual, Daily Wage, Temporary, Work Charged and Outsourced Employees' Welfare Act, 2016.
The cabinet also approved the Punjab Private Digital Open Universities Policy, 2026, clearing the establishment of three private digital open universities—Cloud University in Bohan (Hoshiarpur), MS Digital University in Fatehpur (Patiala) and PhysicsWallah Digital University in Nandpur Kesho (Patiala).
Among other decisions, the cabinet approved a one-year extension of services for 449 veterinary pharmacists and 451 safai sewaks working across 582 veterinary hospitals from 1 April 2026 to 31 March 2027. It also approved the creation of Block Tarsika in Amritsar district by carving out 64 gram panchayats from the Jandiala Guru block and cleared recruitment for 19 draftsman (civil) posts in the Public Works Department.
GST, tree protection and Panchayati Raj amendments
The council of ministers approved the Punjab Protection of Trees Bill, 2026, which aims to strengthen tree conservation, maintain ecological balance and establish a framework to compensate for environmental loss caused by tree felling. The state has set a target of increasing its forest and tree cover from about 5.92% to 7.5% by 2030.
The cabinet also approved amendments to the Punjab Goods and Services Tax (Amendment) Bill, 2026, proposing measures to simplify GST compliance, reduce litigation and ease procedures related to post-sale discounts, input tax credit refunds and export-related refunds.
Additionally, it cleared amendments to the Punjab Panchayati Raj Act, 1994, paving the way for the merger of the Panchayat Secretary and Gram Sewak cadres into a new Panchayat Development Secretary cadre. Existing Panchayat Secretaries opting for the merger will be placed at the end of the current seniority list of Gram Sewaks after submitting a self-declaration, while those who do not opt in within the prescribed period will continue in the existing cadre, which has been designated as a dying cadre.