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Cong men get on to desks to make their point Chandigarh, March 17 The Punjab Vidhan Sabha today witnessed new lows with Congress legislators striding on desks to make themselves heard even as the Opposition paralysed functioning demanding the Budget be amended besides the constitution of a House committee to look into allegations of sale of government property for a song. Khalsa College issue rocks Vidhan Sabha Chandigarh, March 17  The reported move to convert
Khalsa College, Amritsar, into a private university has come to haunt
the SAD-BJP alliance with the Congress levelling direct allegations of
wrongdoing against relatives of the Chief Minister. The issue was raised
during Zero Hour by Congress legislator Sukhpal Singh Khaira. After
Question Hour passed off peacefully today, Khaira got the opportunity
to bring up a newspaper report saying there was an attempt by the
father-in-law of Deputy Chief Minister Sukhbir Singh Badal and father
of legislator Bikram Majithia to use a resolution passed during the
British regime in 1921 to convert the 120-year-old college into a
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Tribune Exclusive Chandigarh, March 17 The Hoshiarpur Municipal Committee (MC) has set a record of sorts by exploiting a rule that provides for spending up to Rs 20,000 without prior sanction whenever there is an emergency. An internal inquiry has pointed out that the committee spent this amount almost every day, undetected, for the past two years.
9 jail inmates to appear in exams Amritsar, March 17 As many as nine inmates of the Amritsar Central Jail will appear for undergraduate and postgraduate examinations scheduled to be conducted by Guru Nanak Dev (GND) University, which has set up the examination centre on the jail premises itself.
Debt servicing ‘universal’
HONDH MASSACRE
Bank accounts for pensioners in villages Patiala, March 17 Taking cognisance of the problem of the non-disbursal of pension to old-age people, widows and infirm on time by panchayats of many villages, Patiala Deputy Commissioner Dipinder Singh has issued instructions to the Department of Social Security and Women and Child Development to ensure that bank accounts of all the pensioners were opened by April 15.
Prisoners’ Wages
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Cong men get on to desks to make their point Jangveer Singh Tribune News Service Chandigarh, March 17 The Congress, which had claimed yesterday that it would boycott the debate on the Budget, today changed its strategy by deciding to stay put in the Assembly and not let the Treasury benches resume the debate on the Budget. The Opposition forced a one-hour adjournment after the House reconvened after zero hour. The Opposition did not allow the House to function after it reconvened following the one-hour adjournment. Congress members trooped into the well of the House where they resorted to slogan raising for one hour besides trying to break the security line around the Speaker and giving their own speeches by climbing on to desks in the House. The SAD-BJP coalition refused to accede to the Opposition demand for a White Paper on the Budget besides the constitution of a House committee to look into the sale of government land. Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal urged the Opposition to sit down and participate in the debate. Having a dig at the Opposition, he said it was for the first time in the history of the country that the Opposition had refused to participate in the debate on the Budget. Claiming even the SAD-BJP alliance had never demanded any White Paper on the Budget and the demand as such was ridiculous, Badal said the Treasury benches were even ready to extend the debate on the Budget by one day. Later, ,while getting up when Pradesh Congress president Amarinder Singh raised the issue of sale of government land for a song, the Chief Minister said he took full responsibility for everything done by the government, adding “You (Amarinder) gave all panchayat lands to Reliance.” Amarinder Singh, on his part, retorted that the proposed committee could also inquire into the issue of giving land to Reliance as claimed by the CM. Refusing to be drawn into any debate, Amarinder Singh said the government must first accede to the demands made by the Opposition before the House could resume any other business. In between former Congress minister Lal Singh claimed that the government had kept a loan provision of Rs 11,478 crore against a total plan outlay of Rs 11,500 crore. “How will the government run?” he asked. The House after it was reconvened after the adjournment witnessed unprecedented scenes starting with Congress legislator Makhan Singh getting on top of a desk to deliver his own speech. Despite warnings from the Speaker, Ripjit Brar, Sukhpal Khaira, Surinderpal Singh Sibia, Sadhu Singh Dharmsot and Balbir Singh Sidhu followed him.
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Khalsa College issue rocks Vidhan Sabha Naveen S Garewal/TNS Chandigarh, March 17 After Question Hour passed off peacefully today, Khaira got the opportunity to bring up a newspaper report saying there was an attempt by the father-in-law of Deputy Chief Minister Sukhbir Singh Badal and father of legislator Bikram Majithia to use a resolution passed during the British regime in 1921 to convert the 120-year-old college into a private university. Khaira said this was a blatant attempt to use backdoor methods to usurp the institution that was built with grants from the Kapurthala, Patiala, Nabha and other prominent families. Besides, he added, that a BJP leader had been appointed to an important position in this Sikh institution to erode the institution. This infuriated Majithia, who sprung to his feet and tried to counter the allegations. After an initial slanging match between the two legislators, several SAD legislators rose to their feet to come to the aid of Majithia. Much of what transpired between them was, however, lost in the din and the Speaker ordered expunging of all unparliamentary language. Attempts made by Speaker Nirmal Singh Kahlon to bring order failed. Meanwhile, Rana Sodhi got up and brought up the issue of Khalsa Collage. This led the House to commotion yet again, forcing the Speaker to issue a warning to all legislators. Leader of the Opposition Rajinder Kaur Bhattal told the House that it was sad that attempts were made to cover up every issue that was raised. She said the Khalsa College issue and the three other issues raised by Capt Amarinder Singh in his speech yesterday were important. The Speaker in the meantime ended Zero Hour eight minutes before the scheduled time to put an end to the issue. The Congress legislators marched to the well of the House, shouting anti-government slogans and demanding a White Paper on Punjab’s fiscal health. This forced the Speaker to adjourn the House for 30 minutes. When the House reassembled, Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal made a statement saying the upgradation of the college into a university would benefit all. Majithia also told reporters outside the House that the fears of the employees were unfounded as there would be no retrenchment and up-gradation of the college would lead to introducing more courses.
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Chancellor says he was not taken into confidence Perneet Singh and GS Paul Tribune News Service Amritsar, March 17 In a statement issued here today, Majitha said, “Today I am deeply anguished by the media reports that the very existence of Khalsa College is at stake and it is being turned into a private university. Khalsa College is an institution of the entire Sikh community besides being the first and the biggest centre of Sikhism. Its governing council is elected by the voters across India.” He said he had time and again asked the managing committee to provide him the details of the university project submitted to the government, but till date these had not reached him. “Moreover, the annual grant of around Rs 8 crore will also stop.” He appealed to the council to bring in transparency in the project to address people’s doubts. On the other hand, college governing council’s honorary secretary Rajinder Mohan Singh Chhina said they had passed a resolution in this regard in the governing council and the managing committee and they had kept Majitha in the loop regarding the agenda and proceedings of their meetings. He also allayed the teachers’ apprehensions over discontinuation of the annual grant-in-aid worth Rs 5 crore, stating that grants had totally stopped since 2005. “Earlier, we had 140 posts of aided teachers, but as the teachers are getting retired, no fresh recruitment is taking place. As a result of this, we are now left with 87 aided teachers.” Gunbir Singh, Finance Secretary of the governing council, said, “The college has an annual budget of Rs 70 crore and it is not surviving just on Rs 5 crore grant-in-aid from the government. We still have various grants available to assist and develop the institution.” Meanwhile, the Punjab and Chandigarh College Teachers Union led by its general secretary, Prof HS Walia, joined the college faculty in their protest. Though the college was shut today, the teachers held a rally on its premises and tried unsuccessfully to force their entry into the residence of Principal Daljit Singh.
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Flouting rules, Hoshiarpur MC dips into
exigency funds Naveen S Garewal Tribune News service
Chandigarh, March 17 The Hoshiarpur Municipal Committee has literally exploited a notification issued on August 24, 2008, to facilitate quick redressal of public grievances by allowing municipal committees and nagar panchayats, based on their gradation, to withdraw and spend between Rs 7,000 and Rs 20,000 in case of emergencies like repairs. An internal departmental inquiry conducted by the office of the Chief Vigilance Officer, Local Government, has revealed that an emergency was created almost daily to bypass procedure and make fraudulent withdrawals. During the fiscal year 2009-2010, the Hoshiarpur MC got 344 works done, which means that barring 21 days, the committee had an emergency every day. Similarly, in the next fiscal between April 1, 2010, and February 15, 2011, another 260 works have been executed on an emergency basis. The internal inquiry report of the department has not only passed very severe strictures against the executive officer of the committee but has also stated that the auditors and other officials in the pre-audit branch have failed to perform their duty, possibly deliberately. And to top it all, the list of works for which the money has been claimed pertain to street repair, drain repair, general repair and in many cases the money has been withdrawn citing “official work” as the reason. None of these fall under emergency category. The report, a copy of which is available with The Tribune, shows that in most emergencies the amount of money withdrawn is the same. For example, the purchase of Bajaj street light and single rod tubes (which don’t fall in the emergency category) have on separate days cost the committee Rs 19,992. This suggests that the committee was not only bypassing procedures of tendering, but also withdrawing nearly the upper limit of the permissible amount of Rs 20,000. The works that have been included in the emergency category include construction of inspection chambers, laying of water pipes, white washing and painting, painting of roads, supplying of tree guards with paint and fitting, construction of bathrooms, purchase of interlocking tiles, etc. Whether it is the construction of a wall or buying of drain covers or repair of a roof, many of the bills were of the same amount --- Rs 19,300. The report further points out that an inspection of the claimed repair works was conducted on February 16, 2011, and the investigations found more than gross misuse of public funds. The report says that the works were found to have been done, but none of these works fell in the emergency category and the process adopted for them should have involved tendering. The report also says that the government directions had clearly been violated.
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Stone-laying ceremony by Harsimrat Rajay Deep/TNS
Bathinda, March 17 Besides the policemen, a number of senior leaders of the SAD, including a member of the political affairs committee, thrashed them in the presence of Harsimrat Kaur and the SGPC chief, Avtar Singh Makkar. The situation turned explosive as a result of which the security staff advised Harsimrat Kaur to leave the spot immediately. Harsimrat Kaur was here to lay the foundation stone of two schools run by the SGPC, Dashmesh Khalsa School and Dashmesh School for Differently Able children, in the gurdwara complex. As soon as she laid the first stone, a number of activists of the Unemployed PTI Teachers’ Union started raising slogans to press for the acceptance of their demands. Harsimrat Kaur advised them to take up the issue with the state government. Irked over her reply, the agitators became more aggressive in their protest. The SAD leaders did not even spare the agitating girls and dragged them away by their dupattas in the presence of Harsimrat Kaur, the patron of the ‘Nanhi Chhaan’ campaign. Sikander Singh Maluka said, “We had persuaded the agitators to opt for a meeting with the MP in a peaceful manner but when they turned aggressive, we all had to come forward to ensure the safety of Harsimrat Kaur. Refuting the allegations of thrashing girls, Maluka said he had just pushed the protesters away from the MP.
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9 jail inmates to appear in exams GS Paul/TNS Amritsar, March 17 Deputy Commissioner KS Pannu said though they had been lodged in jails for committing serious offences, keeping in view their right to education, special arrangements had been made on the jail premises. “Four inmates have been issued roll numbers for appearing in MA and five for BA examinations”, he added. According to information, four inmates, Bachhitar Singh, Harkirat Singh, Kuldeep Singh and Hira Lal, are undergoing life imprisonment. They will appear in their examination tomorrow, whereas Hardip Singh, also undergoing life imprisonment, will appear for BA (II) exam on March 19. Similarly, Inderjit Singh and Bikramjit Singh will appear for MA- I (political science) and MA-I (Punjabi), respectively. Simranjit Singh will take MA- I (political science). Yet another inmate who has been awarded three-year imprisonment under Section 307 of the IPC will appear for MA-I (History). These examinations will be held in April.
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Debt servicing ‘universal’
Chandigarh, March 17 Speaking after the PPCC chief, whom he
accused of lying on the floor of the House, Majithia said all statistics
presented by the SAD-BJP combine were taken from those given by the
Central Statistics Organisation. Majithia said a lot was being made
about debt servicing but it should be remembered that this was a global
phenomenon and that economies focusing on the people would not mind
servicing debt as long as long as the right persons were managing it. He said similarly growth rate was of no use unless it did not give an
opportunity to provide better health care and education. Claiming that
the Budget had focused on these issues, he said it had also fulfilled
its social obligations by covering the entire economically weaker
sections. — TNS
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Power demand up, cuts imposed on consumers Umesh Dewan/TNS Patiala,
March 17 Yesterday, the average power cut imposed on domestic and mixed category consumers in the state was two hours. Power regulatory measures have also been imposed on industrial consumers throughout the state from March 16. Figures provided by the PSPCL shows that the demand of 1,240 Lakh Unit (LU) was recorded on March 16, whereas the availability of power was 1,164 LU. The gap in the demand and supply touched the figure of 76 LU. On account of a sudden increase in the demand of power, the PSPLC has also decided to impose one weekly off day on general industrial consumers fed from Category-II feeders. “Arc, induction furnaces and rolling mill consumers fed from Category-II and III feeders will observe two weekly off days,” reads the latest circular issued by the power corporation.
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Whistleblower loses job Mohit Khanna/TNS
Ludhiana, March 17 Confirming the resignation, Manwinder said, “Yes, I was asked to resign (by the export company). I did discuss the issue with my lawyer and after much deliberation I decided to quit the job." Manwinder, in his first telephonic conversation hours after his resignation from VNS International Pvt Ltd, said the resignation order could be a coincidence or a deliberate conspiracy against him. “I cannot comment on the development. But life has not been the same since I revealed the truth,” said Manvinder, a whistleblower in the Hondh Chhillar village massacre wherein several Sikhs were killed in 1984. Manwinder was asked to look for another job on March 11. “I was also told that the company did not want to be involved in any controversy. I was told that I should look for a job at some other station for the sake of my career,” he added. OP Yadav, head of the HR section of VNS International Pvt Ltd, confirmed that Manwinder, head of the knitting department, had resigned from the job. When asked the reason behind the resignation, Yadav said, “Ask Manwinder, I have nothing to say.” Earlier on March 4, some miscreants had ransacked the parental house of the whistleblower. The incident took place when Manwinder’s father Gurmail Singh, who resides in Giaspura village, was on a visit to Gurgaon along with his wife to meet their son. The miscreants ransacked the house and damaged household items. Investigations are on in the case. Meanwhile, members of various organisations have submitted a memorandum to the deputy commissioner, demanding that the whistleblower should get his job back.
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Govt ‘coerces’ farmers into buying zinc Gurdeep Singh Mann Tribune News Service Rajpura/Sirhind, March 17 Patiala got 800-tonne zinc this time and the officials are not sure about the pending quantity in the district. While zinc is used for paddy crop, which will be planted three months later in July, the Agriculture Department officials have been directed to force farmers to buy the micronutrient this month itself. Department officials said that it cost the government Rs 6,000 to store 100 quintals of zinc for a month. “We will bear the burden of Rs 18,000 to be paid as storing charges for the next three months. On top of it, the stock will deteriorate within this period,” the officials said. President of BKU (Rajewal) Balbir Singh Rajewal said this was not for the first time that such a product was getting damaged. He demanded a CBI probe into the damage of all such products due to negligence or corruption. Moreover the PAU recommends that 25 kg zinc is sufficient for an acre for at least three years though farmers use this amount in an acre in a year. The maximum retail price of zinc for every 20-kg bag is Rs 490. However, the government sells it to farmers on 50 per cent subsidy at a price of Rs 245. Highly places sources in department did not rule out the possibility of negligence or officials being hand in glove with manufacturers in the sale of zinc in bulk at present. Punjab Agriculture Minister Sucha Singh Langah said that zinc had been purchased in bulk as subsidy on it would lapse by March 31. “Even then I would look into the matter,” he said.
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Bank accounts for pensioners in villages Tribune News Service Patiala, March 17 The DC said: “It has come to my notice that pensioners living within the city limits get pension on time, but those in villages often face difficulty in getting the same. A majority of the pensioners in villages do not have bank accounts and they have been facing problems as the panchayats of many villages are not disbursing pensions on time,” the DC said. He said to end this problem, it had been decided to disburse pensions to beneficiaries in villages through banks. He said in Patiala district, there were a total of 1,29,444 pensioners under different categories.
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Prisoners’ Wages Saurabh Malik/TNS
Chandigarh, March 17 The Bench of Chief Justice Ranjan Gogoi and Justice Augustine George Masih asserted: “Punjab Additional Advocate-General has submitted that against the demand of Rs 84 lakh raised by the different superintendents of the jails, a sum of Rs 79 lakh has been sanctioned and the same is likely to be released shortly. “As the amount sanctioned has not yet been released and the financial year is coming to an end, we direct the authorities of the State of Punjab to ensure that the amount in question is released forthwith and in any case well before March 31 so as to ensure that it can be withdrawn and paid within the financial year. “While doing so, the authorities of the State of Punjab will also examine whether the balance amount of Rs 5 lakh is necessary to be released to ensure that all the jail inmates receive their payments up to March 31. Thereafter, the balance amount of Rs 5 lakh will also be released within the present financial year. The Bench added: Insofar as the State of Haryana is concerned, it is stated that a total amount of Rs 2,50,83,000 has been disbursed/released to the superintendents of different jails for payment to the inmates as per their entitlement. “According to the Additional Advocate-General, Haryana, the dues will cover all the payments due to the jail inmates of the State up to the ending of the present financial year --- March 31. In the circumstances, we direct the amounts be withdrawn and paid to the inmates before March 31. The high court had earlier taken suo motu cognizance of a news item alleging the non-payment of wages to prisoners lodged in different jails in Punjab and Haryana.
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Four convicted in Bawa murder case
Four other accused — Bhutai’s son Sachin
Yadav, Ram Kumar, Manoj Yadav and jeweller Ganesh (all from Bihar) —
have already been declared proclaimed offenders. The arguments on the
quantum of sentence will be heard on March 21. Rita along with her cook
Kishore Mandal and two security guards Tarsem Lal and Shamsheedin was
brutally murdered around midnight on January 5, 2008. According to the
prosecution, loot was the prime motive behind the high-profile murder
case. In a chargesheet filed on October 4, 2008, the prosecution agency
had stated that Raman, Sachin and Ram worked as class IV employees in
the college. Bawa’s cook Kishore Mandal had disclosed to Raman and
Sachin that Bawa had a huge amount of cash and jewellery. Upon
learning this, Raman and Sachin hatched a plot to loot Bawa. Raman
continued to work as chowkidar whereas Sachin left his job and went to
his village Mirchewali in Purnia. On June 4, Sachin along with Kaddus,
Rehman, Ramu and Manoj Yadav reached Jalandhar with weapons to execute
their plan. The prosecution further stated that Raman ensured their
entry into the college and hid them at a place behind Bawa’s house.
After completing his duty, he joined the others and called Bawa’s
security guard Tarsem Lal and killed him. Following this, Raman called
Bawa’s other security guard Shamsheedin and murdered him as well. After
this, Raman called Bawa’s cook Kishore Mandal from his room and he, too,
was murdered. The accused then took the key to the lock in the house
from Kishore’s pocket. When the accused reached Bawa’s bedroom, they
found it bolted from inside. Raman asked her to open the room. Probably
thinking that Raman was an employee, Bawa unbolted the door. Subsequently, they killed Bawa and decamped with a huge amount of
cash, jewellery and costly watches. After the crime, Raman continued
to come on duty whereas the other accused went to Bihar. Kaddus and
Rehman remained away from their village for some weeks. The then
Ludhiana SSP, RK Jaiswal, got some clues in the case and on his request,
the DGP handed him over the task of investigating the case.
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Jalandhar, March 17