Friday, December 11, 1998
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P U N J A B | |
Friday, December 11, 1998 |
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spotlight today's calendar |
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Badal
meets Central Ministers Action
against more gurdwaras likely Plan
to keep cops in top gear |
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 Populist policies, bulging bureaucracy CHANDIGARH, Dec 10 — After the outcome of the Adampur Assembly byelection, the SAD-BJP government in Punjab has received yet another shock, delivered by a committee of officers assigned to study and analyse the causes of fiscal imbalance and suggest a strategy to pull the state out of a quagmire. SGPC report blames local
BJP leaders Scientists
want more funds |
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Punjab to
amend Court Fees Act Bar
protest against police inaction |
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Badal
meets Central Ministers NEW DELHI, Dec 10 — The Punjab Chief Minister, Mr Parkash Singh Badal, today met senior Central Ministers and took up several issues of the state with them. At a meeting with the Union Food Minister, Mr Surjit Singh Barnala, and other senior officers of the ministry, Mr Badal took up the issue of paddy procurement during the kharif season 1998-99. This included relaxation in rice specifications, fixation of yield and output ratio, enhancement of milling charges, augmentation of storage capacity and normal rice specification for Grade A paddy. Mr Badal said since heavy rain damaged standing crops and also the farmers' stocks of paddy lying in the mandis and fields, the relaxation in rice specifications should be granted with effect from September 15. He said the grant of relaxation with effect from October 15 was 'inadequate'. Mr Badal demanded that the relaxation should apply for both custom milling and levy rice. The Chief Minister also stressed that revised Grade A specifications should be on the pattern of earlier fine variety and not the superfine, as almost 90 per cent of the paddy sown in the state was of earlier fine variety. Mr Badal also urged the Union Government to constitute a group of experts to make a detailed study for fixation of yield. The method proposed by the state government would act as an incentive for expeditious milling of paddy, he added. He also urged the Union Food Ministry to enhance milling charges in view of heavy increase in labour charges, electricity and repairs. The Chief Minister said that movement of wheat stocks in Punjab should be expedited and the storage capacity for agricultural produce augmented. The Badal was accompanied by the Punjab Food and Supplies Minister, Mr Madan Mohan Mittal, the state Education Minister, Mr Tota Singh, and other senior officials. He also met the Union Home Minister, Mr L.K. Advani, and discussed the problem of people staying in the border areas. He pointed out that lack of infrastructure development, tardy industrial growth and bad shape of border roads were responsible for the hardships faced by the people in these areas. He called for early release of compensation money to the farmers whose land fell in between the fencing and international border. The Chief Minister also called on the External Affairs Minister, Mr Jaswant Singh, and congratulated him on his induction in the Union Cabinet. He urged Mr Jaswant Singh, who is also the Deputy Chairman of the Planning Commission, to immediately release funds for the Thein Dam project, Health and Medical Sciences University at Faridkot and special allocation to border areas for implementing various social and community development programmes. Mr Badal also paid a
courtesy call to the Prime Minister, Mr Atal Behari
Vajpayee, and the Union Human Resource Development
Minister, Dr Murli Manohar Joshi. |
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Populist
policies, bulging bureaucracy CHANDIGARH, Dec 10 — After the outcome of the Adampur Assembly byelection, the SAD-BJP government in Punjab has received yet another shock, delivered by a committee of officers assigned to study and analyse the causes of fiscal imbalance and suggest a strategy to pull the state out of a quagmire. While Adampur forced the government to do some "introspection", the committee has x-rayed its financial and administrative functioning. It "warns" of the implications if immediate and long-term measures are not taken to put the state’s economy and the political agenda on development back on the rails. The report, "A Strategy of Fiscal Management for Punjab", can be ignored by the government at its own peril. Unless it shows a strong political will to improve its housekeeping, Punjab’s economy will "lag behind" the rest of the country. At least 11 recommendations and reforms have been suggested in the report. The in-depth analysis of causes, observations and implications has been presented in a simple and cogent manner. The report is backed by facts and statistics. It is a telling comment on the state’s financial and administrative style of governance. It attributes the present crisis to "populist"policies pursued by successive governments (including during President’s rule when the bureaucracy ruled the roost) in the past 15 years or so. Among the causes identified are an "oversized" administration (with a top-heavy civil and police set-up), galloping growth of "non-Plan" expenditure and a hefty outgo of money on "salaries and allowances". There is also increasing expenditure on "law and order machinery". The growth of taxes has been poor, there is indebtedness and an inefficient public and cooperative sector. The Plan schemes are retained indiscriminately. There is monopolistic growth of delivery system and overlapping of social and promotional services. Inefficiency, resulting from centralised authority at Chandigarh, also contributed to financial and administrative mismanagement. Because of excessive expenditure on administration, the implication is there is no money left for development, which is gradually coming to a halt. The government continues to borrow to pay salaries and for development, pushing the state into a debt-trap. There is a growing feeling that the government exists only for its employees. The report says with the tax payers not contributing to the exchequer and revenue inflow being in driblets, there is "unsystematic release of money for development or even withholding of the sanctioned payments". As such, an impression of "poor credibility" of the government persists. The public good stands neglected. The tax regime is inadequate and there is no compliance of the law, says the report. Punjab is slipping in
performance and sliding down from its position of
eminence. According to the report, despite increase in
manpower or size of work force, there is a reduced level
of services rendered to the people. The
"crushing" weight of the bureaucracy is felt
but not its corresponding efficiency in performance. The
public perception is it is paying for maintenance of the
government and its institutions. The number of senior
officers is also increasing. |
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Action
against more gurdwaras likely AMRITSAR, Dec 10 — Despite the defeat of fundamentalists in the recently held Khalsa Dewan Society (Vancouver) elections at the hands of ex-communicated Sikhs, Akal Takht chief Bhai Ranjit Singh may initiate action against more gurdwaras in foreign countries where the "hukamnama" (edict) on "Guru ka langar" is not being implemented in toto. Talking to mediapersons here today, he said reports from Kenya and other South Asian countries had stated that "Guru ka langar" was not being served as per the "maryada". Giving details, Bhai Ranjit Singh said while the members of the management of a gurdwara in Kenya partook "langar" served on the table, the same was being served to the poor on the floor. This was against the teachings of Guru Nanak. He said he was ready to sort out the dispute among jathedars at the behest of the "sangat" as suggested by Yogi Harbhajan Singh. However, Prof Manjit Singh and Giani Kewal Singh were no longer "Singh Sahiban" (high priests) as they were not attending meetings of the Akal Takht. In yet another statement, Bhai Ranjit Singh said he would not lead the religious procession to be started at Fatehgarh Sahib on December 25 and the Hola Mohalla procession at Anandpur Sahib in March if the SGPC invited Prof Manjit Singh and Giani Kewal Singh for participation as "Singh Sahiban". The jathedars could join
the processions as humble Sikhs, he added. |
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SGPC
report blames local BJP leaders AMRITSAR, Dec 10 — The SGPC committee has held the local BJP leadership of Dehra Dun responsible for the "ransacking" of Guru Ramdas Academy on December 2. It has accused the local civil and police administration of siding with local BJP leaders and "hooligans". In its report submitted to the SGPC president, Mr Gurcharan Singh Tohra, which was released to the press here today, the three-member inquiry committee headed by Mr Sukhdev Singh Bhaur says the Chairman of the academy, Mr Raja Singh, had purchased the land, adjoining the academy. The "registration deed" was available with the committee. The land belonged to the erstwhile State of Nabha and was leased out to Mr Sher Singh, a resident of Dehra Dun, by Mrs Sarojani, a legal heir of the state. Mr Gobind Sehgal, a Congress leader and brother of Mr Harish Sehgal, a local BJP leader, had been laying claim on the land. The report alleges that Mr Harish Sehgal, Mr Gobind Sehgal, along with Mr Ram Saran, president of the zila parishad (BJP), Mr Rajinder Shah, Mr Harish Kapur (both BJP MLAs), Mr Vinod Chamoli, Chairman, municipal board (BJP), Dr Baleshwer Lal, district president of the BJP, and Mr Surinder Aggarwal (Cong), accompanied by their gunmen and 300 hooligans, tried to encroach the land. They beat up the security guards. When Mrs Lata, Estate Officer, intervened, she was pushed away. Several teachers and students of the academy were also beaten up and abused. The report points out that though Guru Granth Sahib was not installed at the site, the "chandoa sahib" had been erected there. The unruly mob dismantled the "Nishan Sahib" (religious flag) and set on fire "gutkas" and religious literature. Though the land had been attached by enforcing Sections 145 and 146 and the police deployed there, yet a board depicting "Garhwal Sishu Siksha Sanstha" had been installed. "Sehgal office" had been written on one of the doors of the building in the presence of the police. The committee has asked
the SGPC and Akali leadership to take up the issue with
the BJP high command to get justice and to instil a sense
of security among the Sikhs living in Uttar Pradesh. |
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Plan
to keep cops in top gear FATEHGARH SAHIB: An innovative scheme has been launched in Punjab to instil a greater sense of discipline, drill, exemplary behaviour and responsiveness among men in uniform in the Patiala police range comprising the districts of Fatehgarh Sahib, Patiala, Sangrur and Barnala, according to Mr P.M. Das, DIG, Patiala range. Mr Das said an inter-district "guard mounting duties" competition was organised for the first time to develop a spirit of competition and discipline among policemen. ITBP commandos were also involved in this competition. Punjab police personnel benefited a lot from an ITBP demonstration. Now such competitions would be organised every year. Mr Das, who was a commandant in the mountaineering school in Sikkim on deputation from the Punjab police, wanted to boost the morale of the police. He planned to hold small courses of one or two days to improve the quality of investigation. Until the police attained the reputation of being a good investigating agency, the people would lose faith in it. He planned to start refresher courses at the headquarters and clarified that although it was not a training institution but "training on the job" was very important. Mr Das claimed it was for the first time in the state that a range-level police welfare meeting was organised in which representatives of all ranks from constable to SP and the four SSPs participated. The grievances of policemen like higher salaries and allowances, reservation for wards of policemen in educational institutions and recruitment, construction of toilets and opening of cooperative stores in all police lines were discussed. An anti-hepatitis-B
campaign was also launched in all four police districts.
The families living in police lines were vaccinated
against hepatitis-B. Terrorist-affected families of
police personnel were honoured and their grievances
redressed at a function in Mandi Gobindgarh. Mr Das
himself attends to public grievances everyday for two
hours. |
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Scientists
want more funds PATIALA, Dec 10 — Scientists today urged state governments to fund science and technological efforts of universities as it was not possible for them to undertake this task on their own due to limited finances. This was the main outcome of a panel discussion held Punjabi University here today on "science, industry and society", which was organised by the Punjab Academy of Science and Patiala chapter of the Indian Science Congress. Speaking on the occasion, the Punjab Academy of Sciences President, Dr I J S Bansal, stressed upon the link between various aspects of scientific and industrial development with special reference to social change. The debatable question to be examined was whether scientific achievements and industrial growth had really been instrumental in inculcating materialistic approach and in changing the degree of family bounding in the society. Dr Ashok Jain, fellow, National Science Academy, compared the science and technological developments in India and Japan. He highlighted the science and technology efforts in both these countries. He also talked about the historical evaluation of science through the last 50 years in the two countries. Mr Chander Mohan, a former Managing Director of Punjab Tractors Limited, emphasised that the technological development in India would result in employment opportunities. Dr B S Bhatia, Dean, Academic Affairs, moderating the panels, discussed various science and technology efforts in motivating young scientists to think about serving society with their learning. Earlier, while welcoming
the panellists, the Vice-Chancellor, Dr J S Puar,
emphasised the need for taking science and technology
inventions to the rural areas. |
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Punjab
to amend Court Fees Act CHANDIGARH, Dec 10 — The Punjab Council of Ministers at a meeting on Wednesday decided to bring a Bill to amend the Court Fees Act, 1870, in the forthcoming session of the Punjab Vidhan Sabha. As per the proposed amendments, anyone going in for an appeal to the High Court for enhancement of land acquisition compensation awarded by a district judge will be required to pay a fixed court fee of Rs 100 as against the existing provision under which the appellants have to affix court fee of a very large sum on ad valorem basis. On the question of fixing norms for loss of grain in wheat stored in godowns, the council decided that such norms should be at the rate of 1 per cent for the covered godowns and 0.7 per cent for the open storage, during the first year of storage. All procuring agencies will fix their own norms in consultation with the employees by incorporating suitable clauses of incentive for employees. For devising a long term policy, it was decided that a professional study should be conducted at different points, across the storage stage, to fix appropriate norms. The council also approved the new rules and proforma prepared by the Social Security Services Department with a view to simplifying the present system for sanctioning and payment of old-age pension. The council decided that special road tax for local buses should be reduced by 50 per cent. In addition, it was decided to reduce fares for the local buses. The Council of Ministers
has also approved the proposal to make a provision to
charge levy sales tax on motor spirit (petrol) in the
Punjab General Sales Tax, 1948. Earlier it was being
charged as taxation of sales on motor spirit diesel under
the Punjab Motor Spirit Act, 1939. For this, the Punjab
Motor Spirit Act, 1939, will be repealed and suitable
changes will be made in Schedule 'B' and 'A' of the
Punjab General Sales Tax, 1948. The sales tax will be
levied at the rate of 12 per cent. |
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GM
denies fraud PATIALA, Dec 10 — The Patiala circle Telecom General Manager, Mr G.R. Tuteja, said today outstanding bills could not be called a fraud by any measure. In a statement here, Mr Tuteja said he was at a loss to understand how cumulative bills over a period of 15 years, which included court cases, those outstanding against civil authorities, law and order enforcing agencies, excess metering cases and defaulter cases could be called a fraud. The General Manager said
there was a specific cell in the telephone district which
was pursuing the recovery of outstanding amounts. He said
in a lone case action was taken on the day it came to the
notice of the department, which also happened to be the
date of issue of bills for December, 1998. |
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Meeting
on SYL tomorrow: Mann ROPAR, Dec 10 — The Shiromani Akali Dal (Amritsar) led by Mr Simranjit Singh Mann has convened a meeting of district jathedars of the Dal at Fatehgarh Sahib on December 12 to decide the date and course of action for filling up the Sutlej-Yamuna link (SYL) canal. Addressing a press conference here today, Mr Mann said his party would seek the opinion and consent of Jathedar Kuldeep Singh Wadala before a final announcement on the issue. He announced a three-member committee headed by Mr Jagmohan Singh, general secretary of the party, for collecting details on the number of Sikhs languishing in jails for the past several years without trial. He said the other members
of the committee would be Mr Ravinder Pal Singh Bagli and
Mr Jaswinder Singh Khalsa, both members of the working
committee of the party. The committee would submit its
report in a month. |
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AIR,
DD staff hold dharna JALANDHAR, Dec 10 — The administrative staff of All India Radio and Doordarshan held a joint dharna at the local radio station today while the all India strike entered the fourth day. The striking staff is demanding the implementation of the accepted demands without further delay. The vice chairman, zonal council, (Punjab zone), Mr Anil Soni, spoke of the injustice done to this cadre by the Fourth Pay Commission and the Fifth Pay Commission. The Station Director, Mr
L.K. Chopra, said the transmission work was going on
smoothly, though it was becoming difficult to manage. |
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"Bole
So Nihal" at Jalandhar CHANDIGARH, Dec 10 — The Department of Cultural Affairs, Punjab, will hold the first show of "Bole So Nihal" on December 12 at Nehru Garden, Jalandhar. According to Mr Jasbir Singh Bir, Director of Cultural Affairs, and Executive Officer, Anandpur Sahib Foundation, the multi-media panorama ( fusion of drama, film, light and sound) depicting the 500 years history of Punjab has been produced as part of the tercentary of birth of the Khalsa with the help of electronic devices to recapture sacrifices made by the Punjabis. Produced by Dr Harcharan Singh, with the help of film personalities like Hansraj Hans, Mohinder Kapoor, Bhupinder Singh, Surinder Shinda, Kuldeep Manak and Vinod Sehgal of "Machis" fame, the show will highlight the spirit of universal brotherhood. It will also highlight the rich heritage of Punjab and the rule of Maharaja Ranjit Singh. The Tourism and Cultural
Affairs Minister, Bibi Jagir Kaur, will preside over the
function. |
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Bar
protest against police inaction KAPURTHALA, Dec 10 — The District Bar Association today staged a dharna in the district courts complex against the manhandling of the widow of a lawyer by an industrialist, and the police inaction against the land mafia. The president of the district Bar Association, Mr N.S. Noor, said the association condemned the attack on Mrs Manpreet Kaur, widow of Manjit Singh Ghuman, by Mr Purshottam Singh Sidhu, an indusrialist. The Bar Association condemned the police for not registering a case under Section of 182 of the Cr PC against the Purshottam Singh and for lodging a false report against Mrs Manpreet Kaur. The association demanded
that the SSP should initiate action against the land
mafia who are harassing the widow and her two daughters. |
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GURDASPUR, Dec 10 (UNI) — A victim of flesh trade herself, she is being charged with kidnapping as many as 30 girls for trafficking. Shefali, a Bengali woman who got trapped in flesh trade about 14 years ago, became a trafficker to meet the exigencies of time. Sheffali was arrested at Ranaghat in 24 Paraganas district on November 25 on kidnapping charges. She was brought here on a warrant from a Calcutta court. She confessed to having trapped and sold about 30 girls in the past 12 years, SSP Gaurav Yadav said here yesterday. He said Shefali now in her early 30s had been booked under Sections 363, 366 and 120-B of the IPC by the Kahnuwan police. The accused told the police she enticed young girls from her native place, promising them good job prospects, and sold them in Punjab. Shefali's activities came
to light when the police busted one of her deals early
this year rescued two girls, Paneema and Limca Rai, Mr
Yadav said. |
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Amritsar
gets Internet AMRITSAR, Dec 10 — Amritsar became the first district in Punjab having the Internet through the National Informatics Centre when Mr Narinderjit Singh, Deputy Commissioner, inaugurated the facility here today. The Deputy Commissioner said this facility would provide high-speed communication. The Internet would be available to senior officers within the building. Punjab web page, tourism and SGPC web pages will be available on the Internet. He further said the NIC had high-speed international gateways for Internet access at more than 5 MBPS speed. It could provide information in all fields which would help in decision making for government departments. It was very useful in research purposes also, he said. Mr Navneet Kukreja,
Technical Director, NIC, Punjab, Mrs Baljinder Luthra,
District Informatics Officer, NIC, Amritsar and other NIC
officers were also present. |
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