Former Punjab chief minister Rajinder Kaur Bhattal has been appointed as vice chairperson of the State Planning Board in the rank and status of a cabinet minister, an official spokesperson said.
As per the notification, Bhattal's appointment would be effective from the date she assumes the charge of her assignment. The detailed terms and conditions of her appointment would be determined in a due course, it said.
The erstwhile SAD-BJP government had two posts of vice chairperson in the State Planning Board, of which one was earlier held by eminent industrialist Rajinder Gupta and another by former Punjab BJP chief Rajinder Bhandari.
Consequent upon Bhandari's resignation, one of the two posts of vice chairperson, Punjab Planning Board, had fallen vacant, which has now been filled with the appointment of Bhattal.
A month back, the Punjab government had clarified that the likely appointment of Bhattal to the Punjab State Planning Board was in no way linked to retention of her official accommodation in the city's high-security Sector 2.
An official spokesperson had then said Bhattal's appointment to the post of vice-chairperson of the coveted body was solely based on her merit and vast experience.
"The suggestion that Bhattal's likely appointment is to facilitate her in retaining the said accommodation is unfounded," the spokesperson had earlier said while reacting to media reports in this regard.
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