M A I N   N E W S

Nod to 60 cr for Ranjit Sagar dam
Tribune News Service

NEW DELHI, Jan 16 — The Centre today gave its approval for releasing Rs 60 crore during the current financial year in the irrigation component of Ranjit Sagar Dam during the current financial year, out of which the Punjab Government had already provided for its share of Rs 20 crore.

The approval was given after a meeting the state Chief Minister, Mr Parkash Singh Badal, had with Union Water Resources Minister, Mr A.C. Sethi.

A significant decision to give a major push to the Upper Bari Doab Canal (UBDC) remodelling project was also taken. This would involve a phased expenditure of Rs 154 crore till the end of the next financial year ending March 2002.

The UBDC system offtakes from Madhopur headworks on the Ravi for serving a command area of 5.43 lakh hectares falling in Gurdaspur and Amritsar districts. The system is spread over a length of 2800-km long irrigation channels.

The Punjab Chief Minister presented a case for increasing the current intensity of irrigation of 65 per cent for perennial areas and 33 per cent for non-perennial areas to a high figure of 87 per cent, along with the conversion of 2.49 lakh acres area from non-perennial to perennial so far as the availability of irrigation facilities was concerned.

Mr Badal made a forceful plea to the Centre to immediately contribute for the improvements in Sidhwan branch, Kotla branch, Abohar branch and the Eastern Canal System. He also discussed the feasibility of a project to construct a parallel canal along with the Sirhind feeder to make up for its loss of water carrying capacity over a period of time. It was decided to refer the project proposals for an early clearance to the Central Water Commission.

Meanwhile, the Punjab Government has failed to utilise funds allotted to it by the Centre for the rural development programmes, including the employment assurance schemes.

The Centre had allotted Rs 655 lakh for the year 2000-2001 under the Swarna Jayanti Gramin Swarozgar Yojana to the Punjab Government and 50 per cent of the amount was paid to the state.

However, the scheme, which was to be implemented in 17 districts of the state, including Amritsar, Bathinda and Gurdaspur, has not taken off.

Out of the 17 districts, the Centre had not even received proposals from Ropar and Patiala while those received from Moga, Faridpur, Hoshiarpur and Jalandhar were incomplete.

The Punjab Chief Minister, Mr Parkash Singh Badal was in the Capital today to approach the Centre for the release of additional

funds. He met the Rural Development Minister, Mr M. Venkaiah Naidu, and demanded that the second instalment of funds be released to the states.

It is, however, learnt that Mr Naidu expressed his inability to release the second instalment of the funds unless the state produced the utilisation certificate for the first instalment.

Mr Badal contended that the State had already utilised 80 per cent of the funds and the Centre should release the remaining amount.

Official sources said time was running out for Punjab as it had to utilise the resources within this financial year, which ends on March 31. Even if the state managed to get the second instalment of funds after producing the utilisation certificate, it was doubtful whether it would be able to make use of it in the next two months.

NDA team for Central rule in Bengal

NEW DELHI, Jan 16 (UNI) — A delegation of the National Democratic Alliance today met Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee and demanded immediate imposition of President’s rule on West Bengal “to save the life and property of the people”.

Mr Vijay Goel, BJP MP from Delhi, who led an NDA team to make an on-the-spot assessment of the situation in the alleged violence-hit areas of the state, submitted a copy of the team’s report to the Prime Minister.

Chairperson of the All-India Trinamool Congress and Railway Minister Mamata Banerjee, along with Mr Goel, West Bengal Pradesh BJP president Asheem Ghosh and TDP leader K. Yerra Naidu submitted a detailed memorandum demanding slapping of Article 356 on the state.

The administration in the state could not be conducted in accordance with the Constitution as the constitutional machinery had failed, Ms Banerjee said.