The Punjab Government has decided to allow the state-level and district-level empowered committees, constituted to ensure use of Punjabi language, to inspect all government offices and educational institutions in the state.

Dr Upinderjit Kaur, Education and Languages Minister, Punjab, in a meeting with representatives of the Kendari Punjabi Lekhak Sabha and Punjabi Sahit Akadami, Ludhiana, held here today said the Punjab government had already implemented two legislations to implement use of Punjabi in all government offices, boards, corporations, subordinate courts and educational institutions.

The minister said it has been decided to empower the committees to form two sub-committees at the district and state level. The district-level sub-committee will be headed by the district education officer (DEO) concerned and the district language officer (DLO). The sub-committee, comprising a journalist and a writer, will inspect educational institutes and government offices. These sub-committees will be supervised by the deputy commissioners concerned, who will submit the report to the district-level empowered committee, she said.

Two sub-committees will be constituted at the state-level also for inspection of government offices and educational institutes at Chandigarh and Mohali.

To constitute a Punjabi language tribunal, as demanded by the writers’ associations, legal opinion would be taken from the legal luminaries including the advocate general, Punjab, she said.