Bringing more than 12 bottles of foreign liquor will be a non-bailable offence in Punjab, a Cabinet meeting decided on Wednesday, said an official spokesperson.

The meeting, which was chaired by Chief Minister Amarinder Singh, also decided that vehicles carrying more than three cases of liquor would be confiscated and would be released during trial against cash or bank guarantee equivalent to the value of liquor confiscated thereof, said the spokesperson.

It was also informed that the Cabinet has approved the introduction of the draft Punjab Excise Act, 1914 (Amendment) Bill, 2017 during the forthcoming session of the state Assembly.

Amendment to Section 26-A has been approved in view of the 11 July, 2017 judgment of the apex court.

It provides that the condition of sale of liquor through licensed vends at a distance of 500 meters away from national or state highways would not apply to the licensed liquor vends within the limits of municipal area, said the spokesperson.

In another decision, the Cabinet agreed to bring a Bill in the upcoming Assembly session to exclude banana, guava trees and vineyard lands from the definition of orchard so that the base of agricultural production of the state can be diversified from the monoculture of wheat and paddy towards fruits and vegetables.

This amendment would provide a legal right to a farmer or tenant carrying guava, banana and vineyard farming to keep up to 20.5 hectares of land, said the spokesperson.

The Cabinet has further decided to keep out of the purview of the Punjab Land Reforms Act, 1972 to ensure that agricultural land which has been utilised for non-agricultural purposes.

The decision will benefit housing projects, industrial, infrastructure projects like Special Economic Zone, tourism units, public utilities, warehousing, commercial, cultural, recreational, sports, religious and institutional units.

Meanwhile, the Punjab Cabinet has also given its nod over various amendments to provide relief to the debt-ridden farmers by promoting agricultural diversification and rural infrastructural development in the state.

The amendments relate to Section 5(1) of “The Punjab Rural Development Act, 1987”, increasing the Rural Development fee rate from 2 per cent to 3 per cent, and to Sections 23(1), 26 and 28 of ‘The Punjab Agricultural Produce Markets Act, 1961’, to provide relief to the debt stressed farmers.

In another significant development, the Cabinet also made key changes in Punjab State Cooperative Societies Act 1961 to check unnecessary litigation in or by cooperative societies.

An official spokesperson said the amendments will also boost efficiencies and transparency in the functioning of such societies.

The Cabinet decided to amend Section 13 of the Act, which provides for amalgamation of Cooperative Societies and allows the concerned societies and their creditors to object to the proposed order of amalgamation of more than one society by the Registrar.

Now such societies and their creditors would be given another opportunity to approach the government against the Registrar’s orders.