FM Harpal Singh Cheema approves phased recruitment of 345 veterinary inspectors, ensuring better care and services at animal hospitals and polyclinics.

Advocate Harpal Singh Cheema, the Punjab Finance Minister, declared on Tuesday that the request for the phase-wise recruitment of 345 veterinary inspectors in the Animal Husbandry Department has been accepted by the Finance Department.

The Animal Husbandry Department now has a total of 2010 approved jobs for Veterinary Inspectors, of which 345 are currently empty and 1665 are filled, according to a news release released here by Finance Minister Harpal Singh Cheema. According to him, the Finance Department has given its approval for the 345 open positions to be filled in stages, with 150 positions to be filled in the current budget year 2025–2026 and the remaining 195 positions to be filled in the second phase during the next fiscal year 2026–2027.

The need to fill such positions was brought up in a meeting with the Punjab State Veterinary Inspectors Association, according to the Finance Minister, who is also the chairman of the cabinet subcommittee established to address employee concerns. According to him, the Animal Husbandry Department mentioned in the meeting that there is a staffing deficit as a result of the growing number of animals being treated at the state’s 22 Veterinary Polyclinics.

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Finance Minister Harpal Singh Cheema hailed the approval to fill all 345 open positions as a significant step in ensuring that Punjab’s livestock keepers continue to receive seamless and effective animal health services. The department of animal husbandry has been providing its services through the state’s extensive network, which includes 1,367 animal hospitals, 1,489 animal dispensaries, and 22 veterinary polyclinics. He confirmed that this choice ensures the continuous provision of vital treatment and is a direct response to urgent departmental needs.