The Punjab Cabinet has approved the draft of The Punjab Prevention of Damage to Public and Private Property Ordinance-2010 to ensure the safety of public/private property and to punish the rowdy elements damaging these properties during agitations besides recovering the loss caused to the property from the culprits.
Disclosing this here, Punjab Deputy Chief Minister Sukhbir Singh Badal, who is also the minister in-charge of the department of home affairs, said this ordinance would be sent to the governor and after his ascent this would be promulgated for the state.
Badal said whosoever would damage public private property defined in Section 2(a) would be punished with non-bailable rigorous imprisonment for a term up to five years and fine up to Rs 20,000. The deputy CM said that persons committing offense under Section 4 by fire or explosive substance would be punished with rigorous imprisonment not less than one year and up to 7 years with a fine up to Rs 50,000.
Giving the details of the proposed ordinance approved by the Cabinet, Badal said that whosoever was found guilty of any damaging act defined under Section 2(e) in addition to sentence imposed, would be liable to pay amount equivalent to the loss caused to the public property as determined by the competent authority.
