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A Tribune series on government performance:
INDUSTRY
AGENDA FOR NEXT
GOVERNMENT
Poll Snippets
Sant Ajit Singh quits SAD
Youth Congress leader Bhullar in race for Tarn Taran ticket
Hansi-Butana
An aerial view of a flood-hit area in Patiala district. A Tribune file photo
PM to visit Golden Temple on New Year
Flashback
2011 Punjab
Ludhiana police chief shifted
Constituency
Watch Dera Bassi
Constituency
Watch Attari
Postings that officials dread
Show-cause notice to former minister
3 held for throwing drugs inside jail
Robbers injure 2
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Badal begins campaign on emotive note
Badal (Muktsar), December 30 “Heartbroken, I was unwilling to contest the elections, but the party’s order is supreme. I assure you to carry out overall development of the area,” the CM said, adding that Akali activists would have to canvass for him in the constituency as being the chief ministerial candidate, he would have to campaign in other constituencies. Counting the achievements of the SAD-BJP government in the past five years, he told the gathering: “See the development in Punjab today. No party is now able to ask us any question on the issue.” Bitterly criticising the Congress, he said: “We have announced more than 50 per cent of our candidates, but the Congress is yet to announce a single candidate for the coming poll.” “Pradesh Congress chief Amarinder Singh is busy getting his ‘achkans’ stitched and CLP Leader Rajinder Kaur Bhattal purchasing silk suits. They have no other agenda except to have fun. But, I have worked like a daily-wager for the development of the state,” claimed Badal. He refrained from uttering a single word against his estranged nephew PPP chief Manpreet Singh Badal and his father. Badal appealed to the Akali workers to strictly follow the directions of the Election Commission of India (ECI). Before starting his campaign, Badal paid obeisance at the village gurdwara, temple and mosque. Canvassing in Lambi, Gurdas Singh Badal, popularly known as Dass, while addressing a gathering, uses no offensive term for his elder brother. “I have no grudge against Badal Sahab (Parkash Singh). His son Sukhbir no longer listens to him.” Gurdas appeals to the masses to vote for him, saying, “we brothers had a lot of love for each other but Sukhbir’s impatience to become Chief Minister changed everything. Sukhbir is the de facto CM ever busy implicating our (PPP) workers in fake criminal cases.” On the outcome of the elections, he says: “If I win, I have no cheer and if I lose, I have no gloom.”
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A Tribune series on government performance:
INDUSTRY The SAD-BJP government did come out with a new industrial policy, but the flight of industry to other states could not be checked. A few ‘mega projects’ were launched too, yet there was little fresh investment worth counting While the competition posed by neighbouring hill states owing to tax exemptions there remained a major disadvantage for Punjab, the state government, too, did not make a concerted political effort or provide fiscal incentives to industry. Even as the government during the past four years did “sanction” 91 mega projects worth Rs 51,049 crore, actual investment of only Rs 9,673 crore was made, according to sources in the state Industries Department. Besides these mega projects, investment of Rs 14,475 crore also came in the form of other large and small projects. One of the major dissuading factors for industry was unavailability of land, its high cost and inordinate delays in getting clearance for “change in land use (CLU)”. And it’s not just investors from outside Punjab who chose to set shop in hill states, but even industrialists from Punjab sought to expand their operations in Haryana, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra and even Gujarat. Except the Rs 19,000-crore Guru Gobind Singh Refinery in Bathinda, there has been no large industrial investment in the state. The big industrial houses of Punjab — whether Vardhman Group or Trident Industries — too looked outside the state for expansion. They set up units in the tax havens of Himachal Pradesh and Uttarakhand, besides other industrial states mentioned above, as land is much cheaper there, and power availability is better too. Land prices high, supply low There is hardly any land available to set up big industrial units in the state. The government’s New Industrial Policy had promised a land bank would be created to offer the precious commodity at concessional rates to industry, the scheme failed to take off. Wherever land is available, it is very expensive. A recent Confederation of Indian Industry report noted the estimated cost of industrial land was $35.42 per sqare metre in Mohali, $7.71 in Ludhiana and $11.10 in Amritsar. External development charges and licence fee would take the cost in Mohali to approximately Rs 3.50 crore per acre. Though the government has a policy to allot land off the shelf, industrialists complain of lack of transparency in this scheme. The state’s attempts to create land pools in Kapurthala (260 acres), Ropar (300 acres near IIT), Rajpura (1,400 acres) and Bathinda (1,500 acres) too failed to take off. Power, labour shortage Unscheduled power cuts and mandatory days off for industry have been the norm in Punjab rather than exception. Combine that with severe shortage of skilled manpower, and there is no way to keep the wheels turning in even the existing industrial units in Punjab. Most industry in Punjab is power and labour intensive. In peak summers, there are long power cuts for industry, as the available power is diverted to the agriculture sector, essentially paddy. This increases the cost of production, as own power generation is very expensive for industrial units. For labour shortage, the National Rural Employment Guarantee Act is blamed, as a large number of workers that earlier came from Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Jharkhand and Orissa have stopped coming as they get work back home under the Central scheme. The Akali-BJP government did realise the power problem, and worked on increasing generation, but failed to make sufficient power banking arrangements to ensure regular supply. The total generation capacity in the state today is 6,600 MW. The five years of this government’s tenure did see three new projects being sanctioned — at Talwandi Sabo (1,980MW), Rajpura (1,200 MW) and Goindwal (540 MW) — but it will be a while before these are commissioned. The state allows units to buy power under the Open-Access Policy, but industrialists say this is not really being encouraged by the government. The per unit cost of power (Rs 5.28) in the state is also among the highest in the country. Add to it the high electricity duty of 13 per cent, and the high VAT on diesel (used for captive power generation), and the industry sentiment becomes quite unfavourable. As for labour, incentives like higher wages, mobiles, and better living quarters too have failed to attract workers.
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There are certain conditions, such as the tax concessions in hill states and high land cost, about which the state government can do little. Yet, there are ways to overcome the challenge. The Tribune spoke to industry experts on what they would like to see:
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Poll Snippets
Gurdaspur: The Congress high command is likely to announce three candidates from Gurdaspur parliamentary constituency in its first list. Gurdaspur District Congress president Sukhjinder Singh Randhawa, a former CPS, may be nominated from newly carved out Dera Baba Nanak seat. Randhawa, whose father Santokh Singh Randhawa remained a Cabinet Minister and also the PPCC president, is a candidate reportedly accepted among all "factions" within the Gurdaspur Congress, something that may work in his favour. Moreover, he was the only candidate who filed papers when the PPCC had called for nominations last month. The other likely candidates are Tripit Rajinder Bajwa, a former Minister, from Fatehgarh Churian whose proximity to Capt Amarinder Singh is well known. Former MLA Aruna Chowdhury is a strong contender from Dinanagar (reserved).
— Ravi Dhaliwal Code violation: More trouble for former DGP
Sanjha Morcha list to
be announced today
Chandigarh: The Sanjha Morcha will announce its first list of candidates at Jallianwala Bagh in Amritsar on Saturday. “After paying obeisance at the Golden Temple and Durgiana Mandir, I will reach Jallianwala Bagh, where all senior leaders of the Morcha will gather”, said Morcha chief Manpreet Badal. “The candidates and leaders will take an oath at the bagh to rededicate their services to the nation and to fight corruption, poverty, drugs, unemployment and communalism”, he said. It is not known if the SAD(Longowal) representatives will reach Jallianwala Bagh or not.The CPI is likely to announce 11 candidates, the CPM seven and the PPP 30.
— Sarbjit Dhaliwal 104 booths in Ferozepur declared highly sensitive
Ferozepur: Of the total 695 polling booths set up in the district for the coming assembly elections, 294 have been identified as sensitive whereas 104 booths have been declared as highly sensitive, said District Electoral Officer S Karuna Raju while presiding over a meeting to take stock of the poll arrangements here. Raju said the district administration had also conducted a vulnerability mapping in the area.
— Anirudh Gupta
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Sant Ajit Singh quits SAD
Chandigarh, December 30 Sant’s resignation a few weeks before the assembly poll is a setback for the SAD in the Ropar belt where he commands a considerable hold among the electorate. He is a popular leader of the Saini community as well. Sant Ajit Singh said he was feeling “suffocated in the party as senior leaders were being humiliated and sidelined”. He said he had even brought the matter to the notice of Badal “but to no avail”. Having come to limelight after the death of Sant Harchand Singh Longowal in the mid 1980s, Sant Ajit Singh said he would not join any political organisation but would campaign in support of “like-minded”candidates. Last year, he had rebelled against the party leadership when he along with three other SAD MLAs extended support to Manpreet Badal after his expulsion from the party. However, he was lured back to the party fold by Sukhbir. About Sant’s resignation, Manpreet said he was a simple man who had been treated shabbily by the SAD leadership More Akali rebels in fray Patiala: Two Akali dissidents in Patiala have announced to contest the assembly elections as Independent. Balwinder Singh Saifdipur, vice-president of the Akali Dal, has revolted against the party's decision to field Harpreet Kaur Mukhmailpur, wife of SAD Patiala president Ajaib Singh Mukhmailpur, from the Ghanaur Assembly segment. Saifdipur said he was left with no other option but to contest the election as an Independent candidate. Satbir Singh Khatra, son of Fatehgarh Sahib SSP Ranbir Singh Khatra, has announced to contest as an Independent from Patiala (Rural), from where SAD announced the candidature of Kuldeep Kaur Tohra, foster daughter of former SGPC president GS Tohra.
— TNS
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Youth Congress leader Bhullar in race for Tarn Taran ticket
Gurdaspur, December 30 Elected recently as the Punjab Youth Congress vice-president, Bhullar along with his supporters is camping in New Delhi where hectic parleys are going on between senior AICC and Punjab Pradesh Congress Committee (PPCC) leaders over the distribution of ticket to prospective candidates. Bhullar is staking claim from a predominantly Akali seat. In the seven assembly elections held since 1977, the Congress has won the seat only once in 1992 — Dilbagh Singh triumphed — when the Akalis boycotted the polls. A senior Congress leader revealed that Sukhpal was banking on the fact that if the Congress decided to field a young and fresh face from a seat where the Congress had always been on a weak wicket, Bhullar may get the nod because he had been working among the masses for the last several years. “Moreover, there is a 32 per cent Jat Sikh vote bank in Tarn Taran, which will work in Sukhpal’s favour,” he claimed. “Sukhpal is being backed by a powerful lobby in the Congress, which wants to counter the growing influence of SAD Youth wing president Bikramjit Singh Majithia. Even if he does not get the party nomination this time, the Congress will use him to counter Majithia, particularly in Tarn Taran, Khadoor Sahib, Valtoha, Khem Karan and Patti,” claimed a former Minister. Sukhpal’s father Gurchet Singh Bhullar has remained an MLA from Khem Karan, which also falls in Majha region.
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Hansi-Butana
Dharmheri (Patiala),
December 30 When asked about the most important election issue, the villagers, most of them middle-aged, said in unison, "Hansi-Butana canal and the under-construction wall. We have suffered a lot on account of floods and this time, we would not cast our votes to the ruling SAD-BJP combine on account of their utter failure to find any solution to the problem." Notably, the matter pertaining to the construction work of the 3.75-km toe-wall, alongside the Hansi-Butana canal embankment, is a burning issue among inhabitants of hundreds of villages, falling in the jurisdiction of the Shutrana, Samana and Ghanaur assembly segments of the Patiala district. Opposing the construction of the wall, SAD-BJP government had approached the Supreme Court but couldn't get stay on the construction work. Mohinder Kaur and Shimla Devi, both residents of Sassi Gujaran village, while narrating the tale of woes of the affected villages, said that the SAD ministers and senior leaders had promised to get the matter resolved and hogged media limelight, but nothing had been done to end the woes of the aggrieved villagers. Because of the floods, villagers not only suffered financial losses on account of crop damage, but their houses developed cracks, cattle died, humans suffered from various health ailments and finding good match for youth became extremely difficult, the duo said. A visit to nearby villages, including Hassanpur, Sassi Thay, Mangata, Ramnagar, Nawagaon and Sassi Brahmana, brought to light that it was the same story for everyone residing alongside the river Ghaggar. "Before taking any final decision, we will call a meeting of all the flood-prone villages and make a consensus to vote against the present government", said Avtar Singh, a septuagenarian from Dharmheri village. Expressing his views, Sukhchain Singh of Haripur village said, "When former Chief Minister Capt Amarinder Singh kept insisting that the state government should approach the Punjab and Haryana High Court to get a stay on construction of the toe-wall, then why the SAD-BJP government failed to explore that option." Officials blame Haryana Though the Ghaggar, known as the river of sorrow, has been bringing misfortune to several areas in Patiala district in the form of floods from the past more than a decade, but experts in the Punjab Drainage Department are of the view that construction of the Hansi-Butana canal had aggravated the problem. According to the Punjab Irrigation Department reports after 2010 floods, Haryana started the work to strengthen embankment of the Hansi-Butana canal by constructing a toe-wall. The wall would ensure that there is no breach in the canal, in case Ghaggar river overflows and water from Punjab side hits Hansi-Butana canal. This would though save Haryana, but would leave hundreds of villages of Patiala and Sangrur flooded.
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PM to visit Golden Temple on New Year
Amritsar, December 30 Security has been tightened in view of the proposed visit of the Prime Minister with more police force being requisitioned from neighbouring districts, including Gurdaspur, Batala, Amritsar (Rural) and Tarn Taran. More that 1,500 police personnel have been deputed to guard various religious places where he is likely to visit. Sources said that Gurdaspur police has been entrusted with the security arrangements near the Golden Temple, while Tarn Taran police would guard the Durgiana temple. The whole route and circuit house would be guarded by the Batala and Amritsar (Rural) police. Moreover, the SPG teams today conducted mock exercise on the proposed route to be taken by the Prime Minister during his visit to the Golden Temple and the Durgiana temple.
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Flashback
2011 Punjab
Chandigarh, December 30 At the same time, the department faced criticism for not being able to provide scholarships, as the Central government had refused to release the funds after the state government could not utilise the last year's grants under the centrally funded schemes. As many as 17 important welfare schemes, out of 62 were covered under the online system. These schemes included pre-matric scholarships for students belonging to parents engaged in unclean occupation, OBCs and minority communities, post-matric scholarships for students belonging to the SCs, OBCs and minority communities, attendance scholarships for SC girls in primary classes and shaguns and houses for homeless SCs. With introduction of online system, the grants started crediting directly into the bank accounts of the beneficiaries. The step was taken despite opposition from leaders in cities and villages. With introduction of the system, the leaders could not hog the limelight, as earlier they used to carry the cheques to the beneficiaries that used to take as long as six months to reach them. The department was also in news for the wrong reasons too. During last fiscal year, the department had identified 72,000 beneficiaries under the Shagun scheme. During this year, when they were digitising records of the beneficiaries, it was found that nearly half of the beneficiaries were fake and did not exist. An inquiry was ordered, which has not been completed so far. Moreover, the department could not pay any money to the beneficiaries under the Shagun scheme this year, as the Central government did not release the grant after the department failed to utilise last year's grant.
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Ludhiana police chief shifted
Chandigarh, December 30
The CEO, Kusumjit Sidhu, has asked the state government to withdraw the additional charge of Local Bodies Department, Patiala, given to the Superintending Engineer of Mohali recently. It is likely that the Senior Superintendent of Police, Fatehgarh Sahib, RS Khattra, may be transferred too. Khattra has stated that his son Satbir Singh will be contesting as an Independent. The Additional CEO said the EC had asked the Ministry of Broadcasting and Information whether PTC should be allowed to be aired or not. Meanwhile, the ECI has deferred the auction of property and draw of lots for plots. Public servants warned Wife of former Principal Secretary and a candidate from Bhadaur in Barnala, Dr Ranjit Kaur, posted at the Sector 16 General Hospital here, has been forewarned against canvassing for her husband. Similarly, ADGP Mohammad Mustafa has been asked to stay away from the poll campaign of his wife Razia Sultana, sitting MLA from Malerkotla. The poll code does not allow public servants to canvass for a candidate. Harsimrat case closed The EC will not take action against Bathinda MP Harsimrat Badal for asking schoolchildren to vote for the SAD. “She spoke much before the poll code,” said Additional CEO Usha Sharma.
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Constituency
Watch Dera Bassi
The voters of this constituency elected Shiromani Akali Dal leader Capt Kanwaljit Singh for three terms before his demise and then his son Jasjit Singh Bunny in the subsequent byelection. With the Banur area merged with Rajpura after delimitation, it will not be a cakewalk for the Akalis this time. The Shiromani Akali Dal is almost decided on fielding NK Sharma from the constituency. Sharma will have to counter the anti-incumbency factor. Also, there is discontent among supporters of Capt Kanwaljit Singh’s family. The local Congress unit is riddled with factionalism. There are several ticket aspirants opposing Deepinder Singh Dhillon, who has been working in the area for the past few years. NK Sharma claims to have carried out a number of development works in Dera Bassi area prior to his shifting base to Mohali. Ahead of the elections, Sharma has shifted his base back to Mohali after he faced rebellion from Shiromani Akali Dal leaders. It is a known fact that to neutralise the influence of Shiromani Akali Dal stalwart Capt Kanwlajit Singh in the area, Sharma was brought in by the Shiromani Akali Dal leadership. The Congress has been changing its candidate each election. A large part of Banur included in the Rapura and Bhabaht areas of Zirakpur now form part of the Dera Bassi Vidhan Sabha seat. PROJECTS:
No effort has been made to repair damaged village link roads and provide a flyover at Dera Bassi. The residents of Dera Bassi and Lalru are unhappy with the Shiromani Akali Dal for not doing anything to contain industrial pollution. The work on laying of sewerage in Zirakpur has been going on for the past almost two years. No effort has been made to upgrade amenities in the illegal Zirakpur colonies. VOX POPULI:
Congress leaders say that most of the development projects in the area have been carried out with Central funds. Infrastructure development has not been a priority with the government though a large part of Zirakpur is located along the Chandigarh-Ambala section of the national highway. A majority of residents in urban areas want better civic amenities. Looking Back:
In the last four assembly elections, the erstwhile Banur seat (now Dera Bassi ) has mostly seen the Shiromani Akali Dal candidate being voted to power with the exception of the 1992 elections when Congress candidate MS Gill was voted to power.
— TNS
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Constituency
Watch Attari
PROJECTS:
Ranike claims to have spent more than Rs 400 crore on various development works in the constituency besides giving due attention to the newly included areas. Yet, he has totally failed to impress the voters that voted him to power for three terms in a row. Ranike says he got five power stations in the constituency upgraded besides laying link roads measuring 140 km. However, a majority of works that the sitting MLA claims credit for have been done under various Central Government schemes. VOX POPULI:
Being close to the Indo-Pak border, most areas in this constituency are yet to see development.The sitting MLA has failed to initiate any major project for the development of the border areas, say residents. A sole dilapidated bridge in Rattan village connects a dozen villages with the city. In a state of utter neglect, the bridge has become accident-prone. The residents allege that the MLA gave grants only to sarpanches close to him who further used the grants for their own works. “The grants issued to various villages in the constituency were embezzled and never put to use for developments works,” says Gurdev Singh, a former government employee who was instrumental in getting a fraud case registered in this connection. Drug addiction is rampant in the constituency and no efforts have been made to wean away the youth from this menace. No initiative has been taken to bring a major project to the constituency to generate employment. No new government school or hospital has come up in the region. Looking Back:
Ranike won the last three elections comfortably. However, the percentage of voting in his favour dwindled each successive elections. In 1997, he secured about 78 per cent of votes. In 2002 and 2007, this percentage went down to 63 per cent and 59 per cent, respectively. One of the major reasons for his electoral victories has been the absence of a strong Opposition candidate.The contest in this constituency has always been between the SAD and the Congress. Former minister Sukhdev Singh Shehbazpuri, former Income Tax Commissioner Tarsem Singh, Rattan Singh Sohal, Narinder Singh Tung and Sukhwinder Singh Danny, son of former Cabinet Minister Sardul Singh Bandala, are among those vying for the Congress ticket from his constituency.
— TNS
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Postings that officials dread
Chandigarh, December 30 “We are keeping our fingers crossed. It is a tight-rope walk for us,” said an official here. Another official posted in Sangrur district said: “Knowing that the Election Commission is keeping an eagle’s eye on these constituencies, we feel rather uneasy. If an official is transferred on EC orders, it shakes his confidence. Fellow colleagues start looking at him with suspicion,” he explained. The EC recently transferred the Muktsar SSP and DC. In the past two days, two officials posted as Returning Officers (ROs) at Lambi were transferred one after the other. The Moga SSP was transferred two days ago and 20 SHOs were moved out of Moga yesterday. Meanwhile, Usha Sharma, Additional CEO, has warned that strict action would be taken against ROs who have not yet joined their places of posting. On former Gidderbaha RO’s plea for medical leave, CEO Kusumjit Sidhu has asked for a medical board report. Knowing that the Election Commission is keeping an eagle's eye on these constituencies, we feel rather uneasy. If an official is transferred on EC orders, it shakes his confidence. Fellow colleagues start looking at him with suspicion. — An official from Sangrur
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Show-cause notice to former minister
Faridkot, December 30 To check the use of unaccounted money and liquor by various political parties and their supporters, the police has tightened the noose by erecting nakas on all entry and exit points of various towns. In Faridkot, the police has put over 20
nakas.
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3 held for throwing drugs inside jail
Patiala, December 30 Additional jail superintendent Rajan Kapoor said that security had been stepped up following intense fog and today morning, a sentry posted near a gate raised an alarm when some miscreants tried to throw a packet over the jail wall. "We have arrested Lahori Gate residents
Soni, Mintu and Monu, while two of their accomplices managed to escape from the spot", Kapoor added. A case under the NDPS Act has been registered against the accused persons at Tripuri police station. Meanwhile, jail officials further carried a search inside the barracks.
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Robbers injure 2
Raikot, December 30 Dilbag Singh, SHO, said the robbers decamped with Rs 1,000 in cash. Later, the robbers tried to snatch cash from a trader in Ludhiana.The trader was shot at too.
— OC
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The famed Punjabi entrepreneur seems to be losing his magic touch. The spirit, however, was not lost for any want of will, but the business environment that could not provide sufficient reason for big investment to flow into the state.
No wonder, the contribution of industry in the state’s gross domestic product (GSDP) has been falling. The government claims that the contribution of the manufacturing sector grew 11.99 per cent in 2009-10, but the “growth” was seen largely because of very low contribution in 2008-09 due to the global recession.
Moga: Former DGP PS Gill, SAD candidate from Moga, opened two election offices on Friday. At Duneke, near here, Gill came in an Innova car bearing a red beacon atop (in pic below). A religious ceremony was performed by a priest in the presence of Guru Granth Sahib in the election office , which violates the model code of conduct. District Electoral Officer (primary) Baldev Singh, under whose supervision the videos were prepared, confirmed the violations and said he would submit the videos to the district election officer for his perusal and further action.
— Kulwinder Sandhu
The changed geographical boundaries of the newly carved out Dera Bassi constituency (which earlier formed part of the Banur constituency), is expected to have an impact on the poll arithmatic of various parties.
Post-delimitation, about 30 villages in the Verka constituency, 32 villages in Jandiala Guru and 11 in Amritsar West (these constituencies are considered Congress strongholds) have been attached with the Attari (reserve) constituency. The people are highly critical of Gulzar Singh Ranike’s performance. This, coupled with allegations of nepotism in the release of development funds, the three-time Akali MLA is bound to have a tough time retaining his seat.