Chandigarh, Jul 15 (PTI) The Punjab Cabinet on Wednesday gave its nod for the recovery of Rs 223.75 crore from private sugar mills.

The amount was paid to cane growers on behalf of private sugar mills for the crushing year 2015-16 after the mills faced cash flow problems.

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This decision was taken at a Cabinet meeting chaired by Chief Minister Amarinder Singh through video conferencing here.

The decision to recover that amount comes in the wake of the recommendations of a high-powered committee constituted under the chairmanship of the chief secretary on November 13, 2017, in compliance of the orders of the Punjab & Haryana High Court, said the release.

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The committee, after hearing the representatives of the private sugar mills, observed that Rs 50 per quintal was given as a temporary support, in a bid to alleviate the distress of the farmers.

"Since the basic principle behind the support was the low price of sugar in the market, once the average price had increased past Rs 3,000 per quintal, there was reason enough to recover the earlier amount from the mills, it said in its report submitted on April 11, 2018," according to an official statement.

Meanwhile, in another decision, the Cabinet also approved the restructuring of the water resources department, while giving the nod to filling up 70 posts in the Punjab Water Regulation and Development Authority (PWRDA) on a contract or deputation basis.

The restructuring of the department will involve cutting down the sanctioned strength of 24,263 employees to 15,606.

Incidentally, only 17,499 of the sanctioned posts are filled up at present.

The entire restructuring plan would result in saving of Rs 71 crore per annum, said an official spokesperson.

The Cabinet also approved amendments to various rules across departments for their more efficacious functioning.

In a bid for more employment opportunities to sportspersons, the Cabinet decided to amend the Rule 2(d)(a) of The Punjab Recruitment of Sportsmen Rules, 1988, to update the definition of sportsman.

With this decision, gold, silver and bronze medallists in national games, senior national championships and recognised international tournaments would be eligible for recruitment for Class I and II posts.

(The above story is verified and authored by Press Trust of India (PTI) staff. PTI, India’s premier news agency, employs more than 400 journalists and 500 stringers to cover almost every district and small town in India.. The views appearing in the above post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY)