Chandigarh, June 1 (IANS) The Punjab Cabinet, led by Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann, on Monday took a step to strengthen the state’s election machinery ahead of the forthcoming legislative Assembly elections by approving an amendment to the service rules of the Election Department.

The decision removes long-pending administrative bottlenecks, facilitates a smooth, hassle-free Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls, and paves the way to fill crucial vacancies to ensure adequate manpower for election-related work.

The Cabinet also approved the Annual Administrative Report of the Department of Water Resources for 2025-26.

Sharing details of the decision, the Chief Minister’s Office said the amendment to the Service Rules of the Election Department enabled reducing the experience required for promotion from the post of election ‘kanungo’ to ‘tehsildar’ from 15 years to 12 years.

The amendment was necessitated due to the existence of seven vacancies for the post of election ‘tehsildar’ in the department. With the ongoing Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls and the upcoming elections, the services of election ‘tehsildars’ are required immediately to ensure smooth election-related work.

None of the presently serving election ‘kanungoes’ are eligible for promotion under the existing rules, which require 15 years of experience. The department had proposed reducing the required experience to 12 years so that eligible election ‘kanungoes’ can be promoted in the future and the vacant posts can be filled to strengthen the election machinery.

Meanwhile, the Cabinet approved the Department of Water Resources’ Annual Administrative Report. The approval of the report will facilitate the documentation and review of the department’s administrative functioning and achievements during the financial year.

–IANS

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