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Power generation drops
BKU sends SOS to CM
Recruitment of Teachers |
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Docs want check
on commissions
Chandigarh, April 20 Doctors in Punjab have raised serious concern over the ongoing practice of receiving commissions and kickback from pharmaceutical companies and diagnostic labs.
Loss in Wheat Production
NREGA fuels labour shortage in Punjab
Purchased wheat awaits lifting in Lalru mandi
Rajpura phulkari makes it big on foreign shores
Irrigation Dept starts e-tendering
3,702 panchayat circles notified
Panel to recruit 203 specialist docs
Prices fixed by govt
State seeks Rs 1,000 cr from NABARD
Treatment plant’s information sought
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Power generation drops
Anandpur Sahib, April 20 Last year’s 30 per cent lower rainfall and drought had hit generation levels at the hydropower stations. As the winter, too, did not witness appreciable rainfall, the power generation at hydropower stations has fallen drastically. The average generation at Bhakra yesterday was 286 MW against its capacity of 365 MW. Similarly, the Dehar plant produced just 366 MW and Pong registered mere 30 MW production. Punjab is entitled to withdrawing 40 to 45 per cent power form Bhakra and Dehar and mere 25 per cent from Pong. Sources pointed out that low generation by the BBMB powerhouse has affected power scenario to a larger extent. Today the water level in the Bhakra reservoir was 1,520.76 feet, which is 33 feet less than the level on the same day last year. Similarly, the water level in the Pong reservoir was 1,297 feet, whereas it was 1,321 feet last year on the same day. Director, Water Regulation, BBMB, NK Garg said with the harvesting season over, the partner states of the BBMB (Punjab, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh and Rajasthan) are drawing water only to meet their drinking usage. “Our water releases today are 8,129 cusecs from Bhakra and 1,800 cusecs from Pong, whereas inflow for Bhakra is 13,096 cusecs and 1,200 cusecs for Pong. In a way, we are retaining water for future usage,” Garg added. He pointed out that in absence of rains, major inflow was registered from melting of ice in the catchment areas of the Bhakra reservoir. Meanwhile, the state has been reeling under continuous power cuts in order to make both ends meet. On Monday, power requirement of the state was 1,144 lakh units (LU) out of which it had only 927 LU available and faced shortage of 217 LU. The sources said the thermal plants proved major components by contributing 509 LU, followed by hydropower plants at 63 LU and another 57 units were withdrawn from the northern grid. Despite withdrawing energy from the central pool, the state faced 1,224 MW shortage during the peak evening hours, wherein air conditioners are frequently used.
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BKU sends SOS to CM
Jalandhar, April 20 Talking to The Tribune, Rajewal stated that the power supply had taken a bad turn, especially after unbundling of Punjab State Electricity Board (PSEB). The situation further worsened, as no official was ready to entertain any complaint as most of the officers had switched off their mobiles, he added. Rajewal said firstly, the transformers were already overloaded that the power was occasionally supplied and secondly, officially stopped the supply to villages due to fear of fire by over-head high tension wires in the fields that might burn the standing wheat crop. The BKU further said the green fodder had already gone dry in the absence of its watering due to irregular power supply. Further, the crops of green vegetables and pulses were also badly affected for the same reason that would have adverse effect on the move of the agriculture officers for encouraging the farmers to get rid of the routine wheat-paddy cycle and sow other crops, he added. Rajewal said a mechanism should be created for the general public to lodge complaints regarding problems concerned with the
power supply.
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Recruitment of Teachers
Chandigarh, April 20 The ruling by Chief Justice Mukul Mudgal and Justice Jasbir Singh came on a bunch of 27 petitions filed by Sudesh Rani and others. In all, selection of 4,000 posts of educational service provider and 9,998 posts of teaching fellow was in dispute. They had challenged the “award of five additional marks to the candidates passing eighth and tenth class examination from schools in the rural areas”. The petitioners had alleged that the weightage ran contrary to the provisions of Articles 14 and 16 of the Constitution of India and as such could not be sustained. In an attempt to justify the weightage, state advocate-general Hardev Singh Mattewal asserted on the “strength of facts and figures” that the proportion of rural students in the universities was far less as compared to the rural population, which is 66.05 per cent in the state. In fact, Mattewal placed reliance on a scientific study by the University of Patiala, through its Department of Economics and Centre for Research in Economic Change, published in September 2006, under the heading “Rural students in universities of Punjab: An exploratory Study”. The Bench asserted: “We are satisfied that the state of Punjab has been able to satisfy the mandate of the (Supreme Court) judgment of Kailash Chand Sharma’s case, which has not ruled out the weightage to the rural students provided it was backed up by scientific study and data…. “We are also satisfied that since the study finds the rural students, by deprivation of equal opportunity and infrastructure, to be unequals, to those coming from urban background, by the virtue of their location in a rural setting, this weightage far from promoting inequality, in fact, seeks to restore equality between unequals and thus fulfils the mandate of Article 14. Dismissing the petitions, the Bench asserted: The judgment, upholding the weightage to the rural students, is based upon a proper, objective and databased study by a reputable university, and hence the weightage of five additional marks is being upheld, but the judgment should not be taken as an imprimatur for indiscriminately giving weightage to segments of society”.
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Docs want check
on commissions
Chandigarh, April 20 Dr GS Grewal, chairman of the Political Affairs Committee of the Punjab Chapter of the Indian Medical Association and member of the PMC, said a majority of doctors were concerned about unethical practices and wanted an end to it. The Centre has already introduced a Bill to regulate medical clinics to ensure uniform standards of facilities and services. After Health Minister Ghulam Nabi Azad presented the Bill in the Lok Sabha, he disclosed that the objects and reasons appended to the Bill aimed at forming a national council consisting of representatives from the Medical Council of India, the Dental Council, the Nursing Council etc to determine the standards for clinics, develop the minimum standards and their periodic review, compile, maintain and update a national register of clinical establishments. Grewal said most doctors felt that the issue of doctors taking commission for rendering professional services, which actually comes from the patients’ pocket, must be checked immediately. Doctors are also questioning the appointment of PROs, who has no job than to create a contact between a quack and a qualified doctor and to distribute commission. It has further been alleged that there is a strong doctor-quack nexus and government doctors posted in villages hardly go there and make the pharmacist, nurses and sometimes peons distribute medicines of unknown pharmaceutical companies for a commission.
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Loss in Wheat Production
Chandigarh, April 20 Bathinda MP Harsimrat had, in a statement yesterday, urged Prime Minister Manmohan Singh to give a bonus of Rs 500 per quintal to offset the loss suffered by farmers. Former state Chief Minister Amarinder Singh, in a statement released on his behalf by his aide Karanpal Singh Sekhon, said wheat production had fallen due to the SAD-BJP government’s failure in giving water for tube wells as well as lack of canal water during February-March. Amarinder said though he was sure the PM would concede the demand of the Bathinda MP as he was sympathetic to the Punjab farmers, the SAD-BJP combine should compensate the farmer for the 23 per cent loss in production. Meanwhile Barnala legislator Kewal Dhillon urged that the government should institute a Vidhan Sabha committee to ensure that Rs 800 crore sanctioned by the Centre following drought-like conditions last year during the paddy season be distributed to farmers. Dhillon said the Congress had every apprehension that the funds might be diverted for other purposes due to the poor fiscal health of the state. The Barnala legislator said farmers were suffering even now as they were not getting more than one hour of power. “The government wants farmers to take up dairy farming and horticulture but is not releasing any power to maintain fodder and vegetable fields,” he added. He also demanded that the state government should admit responsibility for failing the farmers of the state by not supplying adequate power during the wheat season. Abohar legislator Sunil Jakhar said farmers in Punjab stood to lose Rs 3,700 crore due to inability of the state government to look after the wheat crop of its farmers. He said the loss was also due to the poor seed distributed by Punseed. Jakhar said out of the 4.78 lakh quintals of wheat seed distributed to farmers this season, as much as 77 per cent was of PBW 343 variety which had outlived its utility. The legislator claimed that the central subsidy on seed distribution had been misused by the government and that the state Agriculture Minister should take due responsibility for the same.
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NREGA fuels labour shortage in Punjab
Patiala, April 20 But this has proved to be a boon for migrant
labourers, as the farmers are trying their level best to guard their workforce that mainly come from UP and Bihar. Besides offering more money, they are ready to cater to all their basic needs, including rooms to stay. Farmers feel that the main reason behind such paucity is the National Rural Employment Guarantee Act
(NREGA) that has helped many labourers find work closer to their villages. The government’s policy to postpone rice sowing in order to make it overlap with the monsoon is yet another factor for this shortage. The abridged transplantation period led to a run for migrant
labourers. Also the use of latest machinery has distracted labourers because of the short span of work they are offered. “The NREGA wage rates are higher than what we offer them. Most
labourers, including those who have been working for us for years, have registered themselves under the scheme, and stopped working in our fields. We have offered them almost double the wages but are still short of them,” said Kahn Singh from Mandor village. Farmer Jagdish Singh said earlier when most of the work was done manually, the time span of their work was long. “So they turned up in large numbers on daily basis also, but with the use of latest machinery, half of the work is done by machines and that too in a short time. So they are hardly left with few days of work.” “Earlier, these labourers used to take care of our animals and did other household work as well but with time, we are short of domestic help even,” he
added. Bachhan Singh from Balad village said, “With our local youths staying off farms and adopting an easy attitude or shifting abroad to fulfill their aspirations of making it rich fast, we have to either depend on the labourers or give the land on lease. Even the labourers have started realising that we are dependent on them, as a result they have become too demanding. The Agriculture Department has invented a method to mechanise paddy transplantation, which is currently labour intensive. I hope once this proposal is adopted by everyone, things would be a little better.”
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Purchased wheat awaits lifting in Lalru mandi
Dera Bassi, April 20 A large portion of the grain market is covered with this purchased wheat. Arhtiyas told TNS that it took about four to five days to get the
wheat lifted. Jagtar Singh, a farmer of Dappar village, said lifting problem had affected wheat arrival. Market committee officials said Markfed and warehouse procuring agencies were purchasing wheat from this grain market. They added about 5,000 quintals of wheat arrive in the market daily, however, only 2,000 quintals get lifted in a day. District mandi officer Gurcharan Singh admitted the problem and assured that necessary action would be initiated soon. He visited the grain market yesterday to ensure timely lifting of wheat. He informed TNS that the lifting problem was primarily because of
Markfed, as it had less space in its godowns at Rajpura. The slow process of unloading in the godowns was delaying the lifting of purchased wheat from the grain market.
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Rajpura phulkari makes it big on foreign shores
Rajpura, April 20 They export hand-embroidered phulkari works to China, France, England and even Arab countries. Chairperson of the Indian Council for Research on International Economic Relations Ishar Judge Ahluwalia today inaugurated a common facility centre for the artisans working under this project. Ahluwalia was told about the computerised phulkari designs which were now being adopted by these rural women. The Rs 88.50-lakh project involves 880 women from villages adjoining Rajpura. “Eighteen months ago, we used to get only 50 paise for embroidering a flower. Now we get Rs 3.50 for each flower on the phulkari work,” said Komal Raj Kaur, a teacher at the phulkari centre. Komal had learnt the art of phulkari embroidering at the centre and then got a job here few months ago. “We have got three desktops and a laptop on which new designs are created. Now we can show a variety of designs to our customers”, Jasbeer Kaur, another teacher at the centre, said. Some of these women have also attended various khadi exhibitions in China, France, the UK and Arab countries, wherein they sold off their works. “People love our designs and vibrant colours,” artisans said. Rural women, who earlier had no work at all, today earn Rs 4,000 to 5,000 a month. “A woman only needs to spare just few hours daily to make phulkari. With this, they remain in touch with their tradition and also earn,” said Rekha Mann, chairperson of Patiala Handicraft Workshop Cooperative Society Industry Limited.
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Irrigation Dept starts e-tendering
Chandigarh, April 20 The department is also in the process of starting online monitoring of all works, including measurement. Stating this here today, Irrigation Minister Janmeja Singh Sekhon said the entire process of awarding department contracts was now being done online. He said the system would bring in transparency as shortcomings like influence of local contractors, non- issuance of tender forms, not allowing open participation and manipulation of rates would come to an end. The minister said the new system would allow bidders to see all relevant documents, including drawings, at the click of a button. He said there would be no human element involved in the tabulation of technical bids. He said similarly the computer would generate the lowest bidder. Sekhon said the system was encrypted according to international standards and that secrecy in bidding would be ensured. Irrigation Secretary Arun Goyal said an agreement for providing a web-based support system and its execution had been signed with ITI Limited and that initially tenders amounting to Rs 5 lakh and above would be received through e-tendering. He said contractors would be providing training to enable them to take advantage of the scheme. Meanwhile, in a separate development, the Irrigation Secretary said the department proposed to implement a Public Works Information Management System (PWIMS) to monitor all department works within a few months. He said this would involve creating a data of work going on in all divisions and detailing all steps from estimation to execution as well as the officials involved.
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3,702 panchayat circles notified
Ferozepur, April 20 Before the issue of notification in this regard by the Punjab Governor, the field officials of the Department of Rural Development and Panchayat, Punjab, at their whims, were shifting the panchayat secretaries from one circle to another circle. Not only this, but also the officials concerned were giving the charge of villages belonging to a particular circle to the panchayat secretary working in another particular circle and thus, have been breaching the sanctity attached to the panchayat circle system for the reasons best known to them. Principal Secretary, Department of Rural Development and Panchayat, Punjab, Jagpal Singh Sandhu, while confirming the fact that panchayat circles in the state had been notified, said henceforth one pancahayat secretary would work in a particular panchayat circle and he would not be given additional charge of village panchayats falling in another circle. He added that 3,702 panchayat circles had been notified in the state.
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Panel to recruit 203 specialist docs
Chandigarh, April 20 Chawla was attending a review meeting of her department with the Chief Minister. She pointed out that specialist doctors at present did not find postings in the Health Department attractive. She suggested that the department should have a separate cadre for such doctors with faster promotion and different pay scales. She also raised the issue of enhancing the retirement age of specialist doctors from 58 to 60 years. During the meeting the Chief Minister gave in principle sanction for Rs 220 crore from the Punjab Infrastructure Development Board and the Rural Development Board for the upgradation of infrastructure to strengthen the network of government hospitals in the state. Later at another meeting the Chief Minister cleared the setting up of a nursing college and a modern physiotherapy workshop at the Medical College, Patiala, at an estimated cost of Rs 6.50 crore. The Chief Minister also agreed in principle to the creation of 49 new posts of associate/assistant professor as per the norms of the Medical Council of India. —
TNS
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Prices fixed by govt
Chandigarh, April 20 “Yes, we have received some complaints that some licensees are selling beer over and above the maximum retail sale price,” says Venu Prasad, Excise and Taxation Commissioner of Punjab. “Necessary action is being taken against the erring vendors,” he adds. A quick survey by The Tribune reveals that light and strong beer is being sold in Punjab at prices varying between Rs 70 and Rs 80 a bottle against the maximum retail price of Rs 55 and Rs 62 a bottle for light and strong beer, respectively. “In Jalandhar city alone, 1.5 lakh bottles of beer are sold every day at Rs 70 a bottle. In Ludhiana city, the consumption of beer is almost double than that of Jalandhar where again the consumers are charged on an average Rs 70 a bottle. In Hoshiarpur, the consumers are charged Rs 80 a bottle. “An extra average charge of Rs 10 a bottle means that liquor vendors are overcharging Punjab consumers a minimum of Rs 1 crore a day. Unfortunately, the department has yet to initiate action in enforcing its own excise policy to safeguard the interests of the consumer,” says a consumer from Hoshiarpur. Punjab has been witnessing a phenomenal 10 to 15 per cent growth in the sale of beer for the past few years. Last time beer prices skyrocketed was during the previous Congress regime when the entire liquor trade in the state was monopolised by a powerful cartel. The Excise Commissioner admits that though liquor vends have been allotted on individual basis, reports of “cartels” being operational in some parts of the state had been received. The excise policy for the current year clearly stipulates the minimum and maximum retail sale price of both light and strong beer. This ceiling is, however, not applicable on beer imported from either abroad or from other states. There is a special duty on imported beer because of which there is no maximum retail sale price for it, adds Venu Prasad. But the beer being sold at a premium - more than Rs 10 a bottle over and above the maximum retail sale price - is brewed in the state. There are several popular brands of beer brewed in Punjab. They include Thunderbolt and Kingfisher besides Strohs. To encourage people to take to lighter drinks than stronger alcoholic drinks, the Punjab government made some special concessions for beer and wine in the state. Though the government made a provision for allowing Micro Brewery or Brewery Pubs in the state, no applications have been received so far. These new units, designed on the lines of Beer gardens of Germany, will be allowed to serve the beer to its customers in the lounges of their own brewer premises. The beer so produced at such microbreweries cannot be sold in retail elsewhere in the market. Besides its own within the state production, Punjab has a fairly large clientele of both imported and beer from other states.
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State seeks Rs 1,000 cr from NABARD
Chandigarh, April 20 Disclosing this here today, Finance Minister Manpreet Singh Badal said a project worth Rs 124.50 crore has been recommended for setting up low-cost sanitary lavatories in the rural areas. With a view to increase the efficiency of the Bhakra Main Canal System, lining of watercourses measuring 1,824 km, with an outlay of Rs 180.20 crore has also been proposed. In order to augment the road connectivity, the state government has recommended an ambitious project with proposed investment of Rs 251.19 crore for strengthening and construction of new roads and bridges in the state. This is apart from the projects being undertaken by the Punjab Infrastructure Development Board (PIDB) out of its own funds, he said. The central piece of the Punjab NABARD project envisages an integrated development in the Kandi areas of the state, with a proposed outlay of Rs 364.75 crore. —
TNS
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Treatment plant’s information sought
Chandigarh, April 20 As the case came up, the Bench of Chief Justice Mukul Mudgal and Justice Jasbir Singh was informed 32 acres for setting up a 100 million liter per day
(MLD) capacity CETP at Tajpur road in Ludhiana, had been transferred to a special committee constituted for handling the issue of discharge of polluted water in the
nullah Representing one of the petitioners, advocate Gurdev Singh Lally filed a report stating the Budha Nullah of Ludhiana was polluted and stinking as before and there was improvement.
Lally submitted a report before the Bench, stating he visited Ludhiana and according to him, the Punjab Pollution Control Board
(PPCB) had wrongly claimed pollution level had decreased since 2006. The report further stated the effluent treatment plants at Tajpur and Baloke were working less than the capacity and industrial waste was also discharged in these plants, which were not capable of handling industrial waste. Additional Secretary, Department of Science, Technology, Environment and Conventional Energy, Harjit Singh
Kandhola, also filed a status report on behalf of Punjab chief secretary. The report stated the chief secretary had held a meeting on the issue on April 1. Replying to a query by the Bench on the date of completion of the Sewerage Treatment Plant
(STP) for domestic sewerage, the report stated 50 per cent work on increasing the combined capacity of the STP from existing 311 million liter per day
(MLD) to 466 MLD had been completed and the remaining work would be completed by September 30, 2011.
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Rajpura, April 20
