In a move aimed at easing the regulatory burden, the Haryana Cabinet on Sunday (October 12, 2025) approved a proposal to introduce the Haryana Jan Vishwas (Amendment of Provisions) Bill, 2025.

The state cabinet, in its meeting chaired by Chief Minister Nayab Singh Saini, also approved the proposal for amendment in the Punjab Factories Rules, 1952 to allow employment of women in certain operations in factories.

An official statement said that the Haryana Jan Vishwas Act seeks to decriminalize 164 provisions contained in 42 government laws administered by 17 departments.

“This initiative is in line with the Government of India’s vision to reduce compliance burdens and decriminalize minor crimes across sectors,” the statement said.

The decree replaces criminal penalties for minor technical and procedural lapses with civil penalties and administrative procedures. It also removes outdated and duplicate clauses, ensuring that the legal framework is more transparent, efficient and facilitating.

This reform initiative comes on the heels of the enactment of the Jan Vishwas (Sentencing Amendment) Act, 2023 by the Government of India, which decriminalized 183 provisions in 42 central laws.

Following the advice issued by the Union government, Haryana has undertaken a comprehensive review of its laws to adopt a similar approach at the state level, the statement said.

The introduction of the Haryana Jan Vishwas Bill, 2025, was identified as a key action item during the Fourth Conference of Chief Secretaries and constitutes an important component of the ongoing Compliance Reduction and Deregulation (CRD) process coordinated by the Cabinet Secretariat and the Government of India.

A series of meetings chaired by the Chief Secretary, Haryana, with the participation of the Administrative Secretaries of all the departments concerned, led to the completion of this historic reform.

The decree will constitute a major shift from governance based on implementation to governance based on trust.

This represents the largest decriminalization effort undertaken by any state government to date, with the largest number of criminal provisions proposed to be removed, the statement said.

In another decision, the Cabinet approved the proposal to amend the Punjab Factories Rules, 1952 to allow employment of women in certain operations in factories.

The proposed amendment will allow online filing of applicable fees under the rules.

The proposed amendment allows the employment of women in all categories of work, taking into account established safety conditions.

“The amendment will eliminate gender disparities, expand employment opportunities for women, and promote inclusivity in industrial sectors such as engineering, chemicals and manufacturing where women’s participation was earlier restricted,” the statement said.

“It reflects Haryana’s commitment to modern labor reforms, women’s empowerment and the principles of equal opportunities enshrined in Articles 14, 15 and 16 of the Constitution of India,” she said.

She also said that the amendment ensures the exclusion of pregnant women and breastfeeding mothers from hazardous labor categories, thus maintaining the required health and safety protections.

The Haryana Cabinet also approved the formulation of state rules under sub-section (1) of Section 49 of the Haryana HIV and Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome (Prevention and Control) Act, 2017.

The new rules will be called Haryana HIV and Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome Rules, 2025.

Under these rules, the state government will appoint commissioners of its six administrative divisions to act as ombudsmen.

“Their role, as stated in Section 23 of the Act, is to deal with complaints and grievances of persons affected by HIV/AIDS. Each Ombudsman will work within his divisions – Rohtak, Hisar, Karnal, Gurugram, Faridabad and Ambala – and will be supported by the Civil Surgeon of the respective district,” the statement said.

The Cabinet also approved amendments to the Haryana Prison Rules, 2022, to include the definition of ‘habitual offender’. The revised rules will be named as Haryana Prison (Amendment) Rules, 2025.

Under the amended rules, the definition of habitual offender in Rule 2, Sub-Rule (1), Clause (XI) of the Haryana Prison Rules, 2022 has been revised.

“Habitual offender means a person who has been convicted and sentenced to imprisonment on more than two occasions, within any continuous period of five years, for one or more offenses committed on different occasions and not forming parts of the same transaction, and such sentence has not been overturned on appeal or review.

The statement read: “Provided that when calculating the continuous five-year period referred to above, any period spent in prison whether under a prison sentence or under detention shall not be taken into account.”

The Cabinet also approved the proposal to amend Rule 6(2) of the Punjab Village Common Land Rules, 1964 to stipulate that of the land proposed to be leased out for agriculture, 4% shall be reserved for persons with a standard disability of 60% or more.

Published – 12 October 2025 at 10:29 PM IST