Amritsar, July 7
The Shiromani Gurdwara Prabandhak Committee (SGPC) has inducted Tarlochan Singh, Rajya Sabha member, and Mohinder Singh, a Delhi-based Sikh scholar, into the committee, raising the number to seven, to determine the authenticity of the Kalgi of Guru Gobind Singh brought from England.

According to Dalmegh Singh, secretary, SGPC and coordinator, the first meeting of the committee would be held here on July 10.

The task before the committee will be to search the Kulgee-i-Kuch (crest of glass) in a silver case, reportedly worn by Guru Gobind Singh. The Kalgi (Kulgee-i-Kuch), which was mentioned in the urzee (petition) of Misr Meghraj in addition to other valuable relics of the 10th Guru, were in the toshakhana of Maharaja Ranjit Singh, including Dae-i-Ahinee, Neza, Chak, Dae-i-Aihne Shamsheer Tegh and Kulgee-i-Kuch in a silver case.

Sources said in 1976 the Punjab government had formed a high-level committee for research on the Kalgi of the 10th Master and other relics of the Gurus. Hardev Singh Chhinna, then Chief Secretary to the Punjab government, headed the committee and scholars Dr Ganda Singh, Prof Harbans Singh, Tarlochan Singh, Prof JS Grewal, Giani Nahar Singh and Dr Mohinder Singh were its members.

On a suggestion from Giani Nahar Singh, Dr Mohinder Singh was urged to do research on the subject in India and the UK. During his research in the National Achieves of India, New Delhi, and the Victoria and Albert Museum, London, Dr Mohinder Singh found valuable material on the Kalgi of Guru Gobind Singh and other weapons. 

He had access to an urzee of Misr Meghraj that mentioned the Guru’s relics got from the toshakhana of Maharaja Ranjit Singh, including the Kulgee-i-Kuch. He (Dr Mohinder Singh) also saw the documents in the National Achieves mentioning the dispatch of other relics, including the Kalgi of Maharaja Kurrak (Kharak) Singh. Another document mentions the list of articles presented by Maharaja Duleep Singh to the Prince of Wales. Among the 13 items mentioned in the list are three Kalgis studded with strings of pearls.

It is believed that in the Museum of Crowns and Crests in the Bath City in South Wales there are five Kalgis. So it is important to make a distinction between the Kulgee-i-Kuch, the Kalgi of Guru Gobind Singh and other Kalgis belonging to the Maharajas available in the UK.

The availability of the Kalgi of Guru Gobind Singh and weapons in the UK is confirmed from a list of jewels and arms supplied by Dr Susan Stronge of Victoria and Albert Museum, London. In the list of 22 jewels and arms received from WH Broun Esq on June 9, 1898, the Kalgi of the Guru appears at No 14.

In July 1996, late Dr CS Chan wanted to arrange an exhibition of what he described as Kalgi of Dasam Pita (10th Guru) in New Delhi, but he was not allowed to do so as there was no authenticity of what was described as the Kalgi of the 10th Guru.

Chandigarh, July 7
Punjab Finance Minister Manpreet Singh Badal has said if he had his way, he would end all subsidies in Punjab in the interest of the state’s economy. “But, in a democratic setup you have to take others along. I still stand on doing away with the subsidies and in response to the question on the issue, I have to say yes! Subsidies must go”.

Claiming to be constrained by political considerations for presenting a Budget that will leave Punjab poorer by Rs 4,233 crore at the end of the fiscal, the minister made a passionate appeal to all leaders of the political alliance to allow him to take “harsh economic decisions”, even if meant a political setback for the ruling alliance. “The sahiyog (cooperation) is worth taking even if it means political loss to the parties, because in the long run doing away with doles was the only way out of the political mess”.

The government set aside Rs 2,000 crore as the subsidy outlay for the last fiscal, which included the component of power subsidy as well as the “atta dal” scheme. However, the total subsidy bill for the year 2008-09 was Rs 2,600 crore, based on which the government has set aside Rs 2,800 crore for subsidies this year. The increase in VAT collection and taxes has been upset by subsidies.

From a debt of Rs 48,344 crore when the SAD-BJP government took over, the state’s debt at the end of 2008-09 has risen to Rs 57,369 crore and with an annual shortfall of Rs 4,233 crore the state cannot boast of much, except hope for the Finance Commission to bail it out by waiving the borrowing made by Punjab during the hey days of terrorism. Punjab’s argument is that the state fought the nation’s war on terror and so Punjab should not be made to pay for it.

Talking about government employees, the Finance Minister said they would get their enhanced salary as per the Fifth Pay Commission report from August. This means a liability of Rs 3,000 crore for the government. But there is little hope for them in terms of getting arrears before the next fiscal.

The government is hoping that the Finance Commission may allocate higher funds to Punjab, based on the case presented by the state. If this happens, the government may consider releasing arrears earlier.

The current Budget is silent on the SAD election promise of raising the retirement age of government employees from 58 to 60. But, Manpreet said the proposal had not been abandoned and was still under active consideration.

The minister disclosed that the main thrust of the current Budget was on improving state’s power, transport and social sectors. In the Budget, he has put forth 8,625 new proposals. The state’s plan size had increased by 111 per cent during the SAD-BJP government’s two and a half years in power. The current plan was 39 per cent more than the last year, he said.

Chandigarh, July 7
In what appears to be yet another attempt to appease or please everyone, Punjab Finance Minister Manpreet Singh Badal claims his financial memorandum will stimulate the economy as the state will invest in social sectors, power, health care, roads and infrastructure besides improving the quality of education, both at the school and higher levels.

Manpreet may not have made sufficient allocations in some of the key and crucial areas because of financial constraints and mounting debt of the state as the revised estimates for the last fiscal year are expected to close revenue deficit of Rs 3,812 crore against a budgeted estimate of Rs 1,000 crore.

It could be because of lower than expected receipt of share of central taxes, rising subsidy of buying power for supply to farm sector and higher than anticipated expenditure on pensions and retirement benefits. And for the current fiscal, the revenue deficit left uncovered is Rs 4,234 crore. It is primarily because of provisions made this year for the implementation of recommendations of the Pay Commission.

The allocation of the Punjab Infrastructure Development Board has been raised from Rs 440 crore to Rs 1,500 crore. Though the state has not devised any scheme of its own to generate employment for its skilled and literate unemployed, it has decided to implement the National Rural Guarantee Employment Scheme throughout the state.

The upgrade of health education and health care infrastructure is a welcome step. The Government Medical College Hospital in Amritsar will now be upgraded under the Pradhan Mantri Swasthya Suraksha Yojana. While the union government will contribute Rs 125 crore for the project, the contribution of the state will be Rs 57 crore.

Similarly, Faridkot Medical College and Patiala Medical College will also be upgraded with an allocation of Rs 72 crore and Rs 30 crore, respectively.

Growing cost of health care in private sector has made the state government sit up and improve its health care delivery system by promising to spend Rs 25 crore on health institutions. Setting up of Super Speciality Cancer and Trauma Hospital in Mohali and Cancer and Cardiac Civil Hospital in Bathinda are two ambitious projects that have the endorsement of the Punjab Finance Minister.

The Bathinda hospital will be under the PPP mode where Max Health Care will be given the land against an upfront fee of Rs 6.31 crore with 5 per cent share in the revenue.

Similarly, four urban health centres in Jalandhar, Ludhiana and Malerkotla have been promised financial help of Rs 15 crore in the Budget.

The National Rural Health Mission will have a financial outlay of Rs 252 crore and will have 101 primary health centres upgraded to round the clock delivery centres. The government also proposes to provide Rs 1,500 each to poor families for institutional deliveries by setting aside Rs 10 crore for it.

The state has also made a provision of Rs 10 crore for the Nanhi Chhaan programme this year. Rupees 13,000 will be deposited in the name of each girl child for a life insurance policy so that she gets staggered payments and scholarships worth Rs 50,000 throughout her school years.

The government also wants to focus on education. By deciding to recruit 10,710 new teachers, it plans to upgrade 351 schools besides introducing compulsory computer education in all schools for students studying in classes VI to XII. Over 7,000 computer teachers have already been recruited for the project.

Some headway has been made in setting up 117 Adarsh Schools, one in each assembly constituency. The Finance Minister has made a provision of Rs 440 crore for school education that includes Rs 325 crore for Sarv Shiksha Abhiyan, Rs 120 crore for mid-day meal scheme.

It has also decided to implement Rs 66 crore Rashtriya Madhyamik Siksha Abhiyan for students of ninth and tenth grade. It also proposes to set up 21 model schools in educationally backward districts and spend Rs 10 crore on the Edusat programme.

To give a fillip to girl’s education, it has earmarked Rs 10 crore for the construction of 21 hostels in secondary and senior secondary schools of the state. The state government has also decided for symbolic outlay of Rs 1 crore for the central university at Bathinda and a regional centre at Muktsar besides providing land for the Bathinda university.

It has also decided to extend Plan assistance of Rs 5 crore for Punjab Agricultural University, Ludhiana, and Rs 8 crore for Shri Guru Angad University, Ludhiana, and also Rs 10 crore for Rajiv Gandhi National University of Law.

The government also plans to set up 15 model colleges in the districts where the gross enrolment ratio is low. 

Ludhiana, July 7
A Budget allocation of Rs 50 crore for Buddha Nullah will usher in a ray of hope for restoring the pristine existence of this stinking nullah. For the first time, the Punjab government has made an exclusive Budget allocation for the purging of the drain, contaminated largely by polluting industries.

The development is preceded by years of government grilling by the Punjab and Haryana High Court and a series of media campaigns, particularly by The Tribune.

Earlier, budgetary allocations for the cleaning of the nallah, in the city limits, came as a part of the Municipal Corporation budget and these largely involved cleaning of weeds and desilting.

Outside the city limits, the nullah continued to dole out miseries to the hapless population, particularly those living along the banks. Polluted groundwater causes stomach aliments in the entire neighbourhood.

Jagjit Singh Lambra, a resident of Burj Lambra village where the nullah falls into the Sutlej, said: “Cleaning of the nullah has been in patch work from the past more than three decades, making no impact. During 1970s, the government had taken up a major cleaning project. The results were good. However, the nullah got polluted to earlier levels after some time.

“In routine, two machines could be seen cleaning the nullah for not more than three months in a year. The machine can be seen lying idle for most of the time. The government, after fund allocation, should pass on the responsibility of cleaning the nullah to a single authority”.

Baba Jaspal Singh Baddowal is learnt to have spent Rs 50-60 lakh on the cleaning of the drain in 2007. He was instrumental in cleaning more than 14 km stretch of the nullah.

Baddowal, however, became silent after some time “due to political reasons”. Experts also feel that any cleaning process will not mean anything till the polluting agencies continued to spill their effluents into the nullah. Even as kar sewaks, led by Baba Jaspal Singh Baddowal, struggle in the sludge, many electroplating and dyeing units, particularly in Ludhiana city, continue to release effluents.

The cleaning of the nullah has to correspond with a strict action against the guilty and ensuring a mechanism in place that will prevent industrial stench to enter the nullah, Lambra added.

Ludhiana, July 7
If the Kalgi of Guru Gobind Singh does not find place at Sri Akal Takht Sahib, its donor may think of lending it to a museum in the country. “But subjecting the Kalgi to chemical tests is not acceptable. This will amount to violating the Rehat Maryada,” says a donor.

The donor is against the chemical testing of the Kalgi as it will distort its originality.

“It will be against the Maryada as it will be dissected for chemical testing. I will like to present the Kalgi of the 10th Guru in its true form,” said Kamaljit Singh Boparai, donor at Ludhiana.

“I wanted the Kalgi displayed at Akal Takht. If the SGPC does not change its decision, I might think of lending it to a museum,” said Boparai.

Boparai added that he had handed over the Kalgi at Akal Takht on June 30, but instead of displaying it for pilgrims, it had been kept in the store with general items.

He added that some persons were saying the Kalgi was not authentic as Lord Dalhousie’s family did not know about its whereabouts while it was in the possession of Lord Dalhousie for quite some time.

Clarifying Boparai said, “Lord Dalhousie’s family had no knowledge of the Kalgi after it was taken possession by Col WH Broun from the Victoria and Albert Museum in 1898. The fact that Dalhousie’s family did not have knowledge of the Kalgi does not mean it does not exist,” he said.

Amritsar, July 7
Akal Takht has again banned the participation of Giani Iqbal Singh, Patna Sahib Jathedar, in the meetings of the Sikh clergy due to his differences with Giani Balwant Singh Nandgarh, Damdama Sahib Jathedar, for challenging the supremacy of Akal Takht.

Jathedar Iqbal Singh has been claiming that Takht Patna Sahib was the supreme temporal seat of the Sikhs.

Unhappy with the decision of Akal Takht for not inviting him to tomorrow’s meeting, Jathedar Iqbal Singh threatened to start pronouncing parallel hukamnamas (edicts) from Patna Sahib on important Panthic issues..

However, Jathedar Nandgarh reiterated to stick to his stand of not participating in any meeting to which Jathedar Iqbal Singh was invited. “Giani Iqbal Singh has been challenging the supremacy of Akal Takht and questioning the establishment of Takht Damdama Sahib. He does not deserve to be a Jathedar,” said Jathedar Nandgarh. 

Earlier, Jathedar Nandgarh had refused to sit with Jathedar Patna Sahib on June 20 in the Sikh conclave, called by the SGPC in Teja Singh Samundri Hall here to discuss the Golden Temple lookalike at Mastuana. Nandgarh had sat as a commoner in the hall with other Sikhs.

Jathedar Iqbal Singh, describing Jathedar Nandgarh as “anpadh” (illiterate), alleged that he did not understand the history of the Takhts. “Let him (Jathedar Nandgarh) show where it is written that Akal Takht is supreme”.

He said any decision by the Sikh clergy in which Jathedars of all five Takhts did not participate could be challenged. Jathedar Patna Sahib denied his father was “excommunicated” from the Sikh Panth as alleged by Jathedar Nandgarh.

Giani Iqbal Singh alleged that the SGPC and Akal Takht had been violating the Maryada established by Bhai Mani Singh for reciting “complete Rehras”. 

Sangrur, July 7
Thousands of nambardars in the state are a disappointed lot due to the non-fulfilment of promises made by the SAD in its manifesto during the last assembly elections. They say the Badal government has done nothing for their welfare.

The main demands of the nambardars include passing on of their posts to their sons and enhancement in monthly honorarium.

Talking to The Tribune today, state president of the Punjab Nambardara Union (regd) Harminder Singh Chhajli said he had met Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal on February 3 and had requested him to enhance the monthly honorarium of the nambardars as promised by the SAD in its manifesto.

Chhajli said he had also asked the Chief Minister to get a law passed in the assembly for passing on nambardars’ posts to their sons. He claimed Badal had assured him that both demands would be fulfilled soon, but no steps had been taken in this direction so far, he added.

There were more than 33,000 nambardars in Punjab. Of them, more than 2,000 were performing duties in Sangrur district only.

The Punjab Revenue Department had issued a letter in 1982, according to which under Rule 15 of the Land Revenue Act, 1909, the son of a nambardar was to be passed on the post. But, now the officials of the Revenue Department were saying that the Constitution did not allow them to do so.

The nambardars have also decided to convene a meeting to take decision regarding their role in the ensuing three assembly byelections.

Patiala, July 7
Small-scale industries of Punjab have warned the Punjab government that the present power crisis had crippled small industries in Punjab and this sector was on the verge of collapse. A deputation of the small-scale industries association of Punjab today met Punjab State Electricity Board Chairman H S Brar here and submitted a memorandum listing the problems of the association and suggesting remedies.

The deputation pointed out that the power crisis in Punjab had aggravated the problems of the small industries and if corrective measures were not taken immediately the industrial sector would collapse which would lead to social unrest. The deputation said that electricity was being taken away from the paying sector to the non-paying sector which had resulted in a power crisis for the small industries sector.

It said the state government had admitted that one-third of the total electricity was being wasted in transmission and distribution. Power pilferage was going on unabated all over Punjab. The deputation said that if the Board paid proper attention to check this wastage the problem could be solved to a large extent.

The deputation said that Punjab needed about 1800 lakh units of power per day in July while the availability was about 1500 lakh units. The gap between the demand and supply was just 300 lakh units which worked out to about 20 per cent. If scheduled and unscheduled power cuts and two weekly off days for industry were taken into account, the power cuts which were being imposed now were not commensurate with the gap between power demand and supply. There was need for higher officials of the PSEB and the state government to work on these facts and figures.

The association said that small-scale industries was a priority sector and the thrust area as it contributed to the state exchequer. The PSEB on the directions of the state government was imposing maximum power cuts on this sector. This was contrary to the avowed policies being pursued by the union government.

The deputation alleged that there was rampant corruption at the lower level in the PSEB and the Board must address this problem on a priority basis. The association has suggested that the PSEB should set up district-level power grievances committees and have representatives of the public on these committees for speedy redressal of the problems of different categories of consumers.

Ropar, July 7
People uprooted for widening of the National Highway 21 from Kurali to Kiratpur Sahib has sought Prime Minister’s intervention demanding adequate compensation for self-employed people, whose business came to a halt during the widening procedure.

These people have come together under banner of the Rehabilitation Struggle Committee, Ghanauli. In a representation to the PM they have stated that the Rehabilitation Act enacted by the government in 2007 remains under wraps.

“Despite repeated representations, our voice is not being taken up in the government offices and our applications are confined to the dustbins,” they stated. The affected shopkeepers approached CM, Deputy Commissioner and SDM, Ropar, and other authorities. Thereafter, SDM Ropar conducted a survey of the area on March 12 this year, but nothing materialised.

They have demanded that the oustees of the sites/ shopkeepers affected by this widening project may not be left in lurch but instead be rehabilitated suitably by providing alternative sites in the adjoining lands of the railways, village panchayat or additional minimum acquisition of land. Shopkeepers said adequate monetary help is the last resort but that should be enough to help them establish afresh.

Chandigarh, July 7
The Centre is in favour of Punjab declaring the entire Quila Mubarak in Patiala a protected monument. So far, the state has only declared “Rani Hall” a protected place, leaving the rest of the Quila out of the process.

As the matter on its preservation came up for hearing, Union of India's standing counsel OS Batalvi informed the Bench of Chief Justice Tirath Singh Thakur and Justice Kanwaljit Singh Ahluwalia that the Quila was inspected by archaeological officer of the Archaeological Survey of India.

In an affidavit, deputy superintendent archaeologist Batalvi referred to the report stating instead of just “Rani Hall”, the entire complex deserved to be brought under the protection of the Punjab Department of Cultural Affairs and Archaeology to save the heritage of regional importance.

As Batalvi sought time to place the report on record, the Bench fixed July 17 as the next date of hearing in the case. The high court had earlier asked the Govt of India to specify whether it had declared Quila, a protected monument.

The query followed a petition filed against Punjab and other respondents by Raj Kumar of Nabha and another petitioner. They were seeking directions to the respondents to quash the proceedings dated April 17, 2007, based on the state's decision to lease out Quila Mubarak in Patiala district for 66 years. This, they had claimed, was illegal and without jurisdiction.

Jalandhar, July 7
Direct payment of subsidy on fertiliser will benefit farmers, especially in Punjab and Haryana, where the consumption of fertiliser is more compared to other states.

President of the Bharti Kisan Union (Rajewal) Balbir Singh Rajewal said he was happy that the Union government had accepted a major demand of the union on subsidy.

Rajewal said he had met Union Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee and Union Agriculture Minister Sharad Pawar urging them to pay subsidy on fertiliser direct to farmers thereby abolishing the existing system of paying subsidy to fertiliser-producing units.

Rajewal said some units were showing inflated production of fertiliser to pocket a major share of subsidy. He said the fertiliser subsidy bill in 2008-09 went up to Rs 99,456 crore. It was only Rs 20,000 crore a few years ago. He said in the name of farmers, fertiliser units were making money from fertiliser production.

Rajewal said the industry was paid Rs 9,000 crore subsidy for supplying fertiliser to Punjab. Of the total subsidy bill of Rs 1,00,000 crore, 9 per cent was credited to Punjab, he said. With direct distribution of Rs 9,000 crore, every farmer was supposed to get Rs 8,000 per acre if we accept fertiliser was used to grow crops in 1,15,000 acres in Punjab. He said direct payment of subsidy on fertiliser would benefit farmers and stop exploitation by some units in the name of farmers.

Hoshiarpur, July 7
To save the environment from pollution and to provide a healthy atmosphere to our coming generations, six pregnant women, Kamaljit Kaur, Manjeet Kaur, Reshma, Jasbir Kaur, Tejinder Kaur and Kuldip Kaur, of Namolian village in Garhshankar subdivision of this district have given a call to women folk to plant saplings across the state.

Women and children of the village planted more than 100 saplings in the village.

Kamaljit, who is a college lecturer, said the ruthless felling of trees had led to climate change in the area. There was a downfall in rains and the groundwater level had declined considerably. People were facing a great shortage of water, she added.

After discussing the issue with her husband, Daljit and certain other persons, including Balwinder Kumar, Manjit Kaur, Ranjit Singh and Sukhwinder Singh, decided to plant trees, which, according to them, was the need of the hour.

It was decided that if women led a programme, men and children of their families would certainly join them. Balwinder Kumar, a principal, said environment destruction was a social evil, which should be checked.