The Punjab cabinet on Monday approved an amendment to the election department’s service rules to remove administrative bottlenecks and ensure adequate manpower for upcoming election-related work.The decision was taken during a meeting of the council of ministers chaired by Punjab chief minister Bhagwant Mann in Chandigarh. (HT)The decision was taken during a meeting of the council of ministers chaired by chief minister Bhagwant Mann in Chandigarh.According to an official release shared by the chief minister’s office, the amendment reduces the experience required for promotion from the post of election kanungo to election tehsildar from 15 to 12 years.The modification was necessitated by seven existing vacancies for the post of election tehsildar in the department. Under the previous rules, none of the presently serving election kanungos were eligible for promotion due to the 15-year experience requirement. The department proposed reducing the criteria to 12 years so that eligible kanungos can be promoted in the near future, filling the vacant posts and strengthening the election machinery.The state government said that election tehsildars’ immediate services are required to ensure smooth operations for both the ongoing special intensive revision (SIR) of electoral rolls and the assembly elections early next year.In the same meeting, the cabinet also approved the annual administrative report of the department of water resources for 2025-26. Officials noted that the approval will facilitate the documentation and review of the department’s administrative functioning and achievements during the financial year.