Punjab govt strengthens traders’ grievance redressal mechanism; Cheema reviews 1,386 complaints at PSTC meeting

Punjab Finance, Planning, Excise and Taxation Minister Harpal Singh Cheema on Friday chaired a high-level review meeting of the Punjab State Traders Commission (PSTC), asserting that the Bhagwant Mann-led Government is moving decisively to ensure the time-bound resolution of traders’ grievances through a strict, accountable, and transparent system.

Reviewing 1,386 complaints and the progress of 256 meetings held across Punjab, the Finance Minister underlined that the government has institutionalised structured dialogue with the trading community, enforced strict SOP compliance, and activated a three-tier PSTC framework to ensure real-time, ground-level redressal of issues, while fixing clear administrative responsibility at every level.

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The meeting centred on a comprehensive review of the master list of complaints, marking a decisive step towards resolving pending cases and actively noting new concerns raised by the business community.

Underscoring the ground-level impact of this framework, Finance Minister Harpal Singh Cheema stated, “A total of 256 meetings have already been successfully conducted across the state. The primary objective of this structure is to facilitate a regular, structured, and mutually beneficial dialogue between the state administration and the trading fraternity. By reinforcing this formal system, the Chief Minister Bhagwant Singh Mann-led Punjab government aims to provide a highly transparent and responsive platform for traders to voice their concerns.”

Furthermore, the meeting emphasised the need to fix clear administrative responsibilities at the district and sub-divisional levels for the effective management, documentation, and resolution of these issues. Officials have been directed to ensure that all meeting records, photographs, and grievance resolutions are promptly uploaded to the official government portal to ensure public accountability.

During the meeting, Finance Minister Harpal Singh Cheema also highlighted the critical role of the PSTC’s robust three-tier framework, which operates actively at the state, district, and Vidhan Sabha constituency levels.

Finance Minister Harpal Singh Cheema, who is also Chairman of the PSTC, was accompanied by Excise and Taxation Commissioner Jitendra Jorwal. All Deputy Commissioners, Commissioners of Police, Municipal Commissioners, and Senior Superintendents of Police joined the high-level virtual meeting conducted via video conferencing from Punjab Bhawan in Chandigarh.

They were accompanied by the Chairperson and Members of the Punjab State Traders Commission, as well as the respective Chairpersons of the District and Vidhan Sabha Constituency Traders Commissions. All participants joined directly from their local Deputy Commissioner offices to ensure the immediate, ground-level implementation of the government’s directives.