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Punjab Budget
Insurance for weaker sections
State to be revenue surplus in 4 yrs: Sukhbir
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Economic Survey gives a thumbs up to creation of infrastructure
In fiscal stress, state has little money for development: Economic Survey
Finance Minister Parminder Singh Dhindsa at a press conference after presenting the Budget on Wednesday. Tribune photo: Manoj Mahajan
State has limited options for mobilising revenue
Rs 135 cr for ‘Safe City’ project
Can’t brazen it out with false bravado
Money not where the mouth is
Punjabi varsity passes budget
10 hurt as Sangrur truck unions clash
Ropar gets Rs 5 cr for marine academy
Victim appears before SC panel
IT dept sends erroneous demand notices
2,500 govt employees go on 3-day strike
A mere Rs 5 crore for Budha Nullah
Little incentive for industry
Contempt notice to school board chief, secy
Three accused remanded to police custody
Gang of robbers busted, 9 held
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Punjab Budget
Chandigarh, March 20 With the state government not imposing any new taxes, it seems unlikely that the state government will be able to bring down its revenue deficit from Rs 4,758 crore during the current financial year to Rs 1,747 crore in the 2013-14 fiscal. As against Rs 39,269 crore in 2012-13, Punjab is looking at increasing its revenue receipts to Rs 42,666 crore. The state is hoping that its own tax revenue will show a jump and will be Rs 28,584 crore and non-tax revenue will increase to Rs 2,736 crore. But other than relying on higher VAT and excise collections, CLU (change of land use) charges, stamp duty collections and increased devolution of central government taxes, there is no other means highlighted in the Budget to generate more revenue. Like the rest of the country, Punjab, too, is witnessing economic slowdown. Thus, it seems unlikely that either the stamp duty collections or the CLU charges will show signs of going up, though Deputy Chief Minister Sukhbir Singh Badal has said that the new real estate policy (to come into effect in April) will give a boost to the real estate sector and help the state surge its collections from stamp duty and CLU charges. Interestingly, Sukhbir Badal said Punjab would be revenue surplus in the next three years. He said VAT collections in the state had been rising and would go up from Rs 18,000 crore at present to Rs 40,000 crore in next three years. The fact, however, remains that this year, Punjab will feel a further squeeze in its resources, with the Union Government reducing its borrowing limit from 3.5 per cent of the GSDP to just 3 per cent of GSDP. The net borrowing for 2013-14 is projected at Rs 9,218 crore. But, repayment of interest alone takes away Rs 7,602 crore and repayment of principal amount takes away another Rs 3,988 crore. Therefore, net availability for the next fiscal will be just Rs 1,616 crore, which can be used by the state government. Though the Finance Minister has announced a slew of welfare schemes and also promised to fulfill some of the poll promises made by his party on the eve of assembly elections last year, it remains to be seen how the state government, which spends almost Rs 500 crore a month more than what it earns, can fulfill these schemes without any additional resource mobilisation.
High on expectations Low on resources
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Insurance for weaker sections
Chandigarh, March 20 The SAD-BJP think tank is clear that the massive support from the Dalit community weighed the scale in its favour in the last assembly elections. The Scheduled Castes, which constitute nearly 30 per cent of the state population and have 34 seats in the assembly, were earlier perceived to favour the Congress. However the “atta dal” scheme changed the political equations. The government is committed to maintaining this scheme which provides subsidised flour and pulses to 15.40 lakh families. This will be done at a cost of Rs 350 crore. The SAD-BJP has now come up with the Aam Admi Bima Yojna, which, its managers say, could become a major poll plank of the party in the parliamentary and the 2017 assembly elections. The alliance is keen on effective implementation of the scheme which will be done by the Health department. The government aims to bring 7.8 lakh new beneficiaries under the scheme. It will bear the entire cost of premium amounting to Rs 400 per family. The beneficiaries will be provided a medical cover of Rs 30,000. The implementation of the scheme will ensure that all the 15.4 lakh families covered under the “atta dal” scheme be taken under the ambit of this scheme. A sum of Rs 20 crore has been earmarked for the insurance scheme for 2013-14.
Aiming to woo Dalit vote bank
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State to be revenue surplus in 4 yrs: Sukhbir
Chandigarh, March 20 This process, a brainchild of Deputy Chief Minister Sukhbir Singh Badal, is aimed at making the state revenue surplus in the next four years. Talking to TNS, the Deputy CM said that this way the only way to propel growth in Punjab. "My fundamentals are clear. Cutting expenditure will only de-celerate the economy. Suppose you decrease your intake of five chappatis to two, you will only reduce the demand for flour and also affect the farmers whose offtake will reduce. I want you to eat more but pay taxes on the increased consumption," he explained. Sources said it was this version of "Sukhbirnomics" that put the Deputy CM on a collision course with his cousin and former minister Manpreet Badal. Sukhbir claimed his style of doing things would have paid off three years ago and ensured a revenue-surplus Punjab revenue, but for the increase in salaries following the Fifth Pay Commission. "We hope to increase our revenue from the current Rs 20,000 crore to Rs 40,000 crore by the end of our tenure. And this is not just a political statement. You will see it happen." The Deputy CM claimed that revenue growth had been dramatic during the past six years of the SAD-BJP rule. Compared to a revenue increase from Rs 3,000 crore to Rs 5,000 crore during the previous Congress regime (2002 to 2007), the state revenue had jumped from Rs 5,000 crore to Rs 20,000 crore in the past six years. Thinking big was essential, said Sukhbir. He said the size of the Annual Plan had gone up during the past six years. He said during 2002-2007, the Plan size hovered around Rs 25,000 crore. However, after 2007 it had risen steadily to Rs 69,000 crore now. Sukhbir vehemently denied that revenue growth had been achieved by introducing fresh taxes. "In some cases we have reduced the taxes," he said, adding the increase had come around by simplifying norms and ensuring tax compliance. Classifying debt as good and bad, he said the state's debt would go up to Rs 1 lakh crore this financial year.This was essentially good as it was being used to raise infrastructure and meet social commitments. Sukhbir said the debt, which was 30 per cent of the GSDP this year, was less than that of the Government of India debt of 49 per cent of the GSDP. He pointed out that Gujarat and Maharashtra had a debt of Rs 1.5 lakh crore each.
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Analysis
Chandigarh, March 20 The fluid political situation prevailing at the Centre, which has led to speculations of an early Lok Sabha poll, too, must have weighed on the coalition’s mind. Economists have, in fact, dubbed the Budget as “soft” and unbecoming of a state government that last week only entered the second year of its second consecutive term in power. Except for increasing VAT (value added tax) on soft drinks and cigarettes, no other initiatives have been taken to mop up additional revenue required to bolster development in the state. There are certain measures in the Budget that substantiate the ‘eye-on-poll’ contention. An amount of Rs 66 crore has been earmarked for the families of farmers who committed suicide. Another Rs 30 crore has been earmarked for facilitating free tablets to Class XI students. An annual scholarship of Rs 30,000 each for two years at senior secondary level would be given to 2,700 government school students who secure 80 per cent or above marks in Class X. A proposal has also been announced to set up 1,000 schools on PPP (public-private partnership) model and 20 per cent students belonging to poor families would be given free education in such schools. Scholarships will also be extended to girl students of professional courses whose families are covered under the atta-dal scheme. All these sops have come despite advance estimates indicating a negative (minus 0.34 per cent) growth in the farm sector, which provides livelihood to 60 per cent of the state population. In fact, it is the fourth consecutive year that the farm sector has reported a negative growth. Another cause for concern is that the farm sector has grown at less than 2 per cent during the 11th Five Year Plan. The Budget, however, has failed to take these aspects into consideration. Dhindsa announced that Rs 200 crore had been earmarked for crop diversification (shifting from the wheat-paddy cycle to other crops) --- the Centre had earlier announced Rs 500 crore for the purpose. However, the steps towards diversification, both by the state and the Union Government, appear half-hearted. The Finance Minister has failed to announce a clear road map for diversification in the farm sector. Except for developing information technology and knowledge hubs in Mohali and Amrtisar, there are no major initiatives to attract more industry to the state. The growth in the manufacturing sector is also low (minus 3.54 per cent) during the current fiscal year. As there is need to shift surplus manpower from the farm sector to the manufacturing sector, industrialists were looking for announcements in the Budget to promote the manufacturing sector. Punjab, is far behind Bihar, Gujarat, Andhra Pradesh, Haryana, Kerala and Madhya Pradesh. For bringing the Punjab economy back on track, bold initiatives are required. And for that, political interests will have to be kept aside, at least for a while.
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In fiscal stress, state has little money for development: Economic Survey
Chandigarh, March 20 The Economic Survey 2012-13, prepared by the Economic Adviser to the government and released today, states that the current level of debt, which is expected to go up to Rs 1 lakh crore this fiscal, is not sustainable. It says the government is practically borrowing the entire permitted amount of 3.5 per cent of the GSDP. Giving a breakup of finances, it points out that the state would make gross borrowings of Rs 13,204 crore during 2012-13 out of which Rs 3,606 crore would go towards payment of principal and Rs 6,662 crore towards interest, leaving a balance of only Rs 2,936 crore. The survey says the state is passing through a phase of fiscal stress on account of accumulated debt, implementation of pay commission recommendations and inadequate support from the Union Government. It maintains the 13th Finance Commission did not increase the share of states in Central taxes. Owing to a skewed criteria followed by successive Finance Commissions, the state’s share in Central taxes had gone down from 2.45 per cent, as recommended by the 5th Finance Commission, to 1.38 as recommended by the 13th Finance Commission. The survey says that the criteria for devolution of Central taxes is not favourable to states like Punjab as it does not take into consideration the fact that the state has the highest concentration of Scheduled Caste population in the country and that the state's soil and water resources have been ruined while ensuring food security to the nation. What is equally worrying is that the state is no longer considered an attractive destination for investment in spite of availability of power and good infrastructure, the survey says. It states that prolonged militancy and abolition of freight equalisation policy for iron and coal and tax concessions to neighbouring states during the past decade have contributed to the decline in industrial investment in Punjab. Stating that there has been no major investment in the state for the past many years, the survey recommends that the Centre may help set up major projects such as automobile manufacturing units which have a vast potential for ancillary development. The Economic Survey, however, gives a thumbs up to the state for creating the requisite infrastructure in terms of village roads, 100 per cent rural electrification, adequate health and education institutions and irrigation network. It has also noted that with the lifting of ban on recruitment of teachers and doctors and para- medics, the Educational Development Index (EDI) had jumped from the 14th position to the third position. It says the government has finished a project of Rs 350 crore for setting up new health institutions and creation of infrastructure in the Health Department. Two of the three medical colleges have been upgraded at a cost of Rs 258 crore and a major project for creation of urban infrastructure by providing cent per cent water supply, sewerage and sewage treatment plants has been launched.
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‘Will cut non-Plan expenditure’
Tribune News Service What was your mandate while preparing the Budget proposals for 2013-14? I was clear that I had to strike a balance between fiscal consolidation and at the same time not curtail spending on social security measures and on creating world-class infrastructure. We have managed to achieve the targets laid for reducing the fiscal deficit and keeping the debt to GSDP ratio in permissible limits. It's a very realistic Budget. How do you propose to curtail the committed liabilities of the government? The committed liabilities of the government- salaries and wages, interest payment, pension and retirement benefits and repayment of public debt, alone account for over 71 per cent of non-Plan expenditure. We hope to bring it down to 65- 67 per cent this year by curtailing revenue expenditure. How will you bring down the revenue deficit by almost Rs 3000 crore when no new taxes have been imposed? In the next fiscal, we are hopeful of bringing down the deficit to 0.6 per cent of the GSDP, mainly through plugging loopholes in tax collection and through better tax realisation. We hope that VAT collections will continue to be buoyant and will see increase of Rs 3,500-Rs 4,000 crore. The devolution from Central taxes will be up by Rs 800 crore; excise collections will rise by Rs 600 crore and stamp duty collections will go up by Rs 600-Rs 700 crore. Besides, we will also get Rs 400 crore through change in land use (CLU)and licencing fee while Rs 200 crore will come from registration of vehicles. We hope to mop up an additional Rs 6,600 crore in this manner which will help curtail deficit and give us room to implement development schemes. Which sectors have been given the maximum allocation? The social sector, Infrastructure, Health, Transport and Education have been given a major thrust. We have also increased our Annual Plan by 15 per cent this year to Rs 16,123 crore and are hopeful of better plan utilisation in the next fiscal because of better resource mobilisation.
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State has limited options for mobilising revenue
Chandigarh, March 20 Sources said the state government had already utilised this fund, which had now become a part of the debt burden with interest paid on it. The total debt burden includes market loans and bonds worth Rs 51,310 crore, loans from the RBI worth Rs 2,340 crore, from small savings Rs 19,948 crore, loans and advances from the Central Government worth Rs 3,658 crore, from the State Provident Fund Rs 16,908 crore and loans form various commercial banks to the tune of Rs 599 crore. The gross borrowing during the next fiscal will be Rs 13,206 crore. The money will be utilised to pay Rs 39,88 crore as principal and Rs 76,02 crore as interest on outstanding loan. And only Rs 1,616 crore will be available from gross borrowings for use for other purposes during the next fiscal year. This debt does not include the loan standing against various public sector undertakings such as Punjab State Power Corporation Limited to the tune of Rs 71,000 crore. The state government has given guarantees worth Rs 67,000 crore for the loan standing against PSUs. Explaining the debt burden, Finance Minister Parminder Singh Dhindsa said the target for the debt to the GSDP ratio for the next fiscal year had been fixed for the state by the Centre at 39.8 per cent. However, the debt burden would be only 33.13 per cent of the GSDP ratio. He claimed that the ratio of the outstanding debt to the GSDP was about 44 per cent during the Tenth Plan but it came down to 32.11 per cent of the GSDP during the Eleventh Plan. He said the state government had been pleading with the Centre for a debt waiver. The issue had been referred to the 14th Finance Commission. The state is saddled with heavy committed liabilities but has limited options for revenue mobilisation. Of the total revenue receipts of Rs 5,6012 crore during 2013-14, the revenue expenditure on salaries, pension, interest payment, power subsidy etc would be in the range of Rs 44,412 crore. This would leave only a few hundred crores in the hands of the state government to be spent on development and to meet the expenditure in other sectors. Of the committed liabilities, the state will be spending Rs 15,582 crore on salaries to its employees, Rs 5,168 crore on pension and other retirement benefits, Rs 76,02 crore as interest payment and Rs 5785 crore as power subsidy for the farm sector and weaker sections. On the sidelines...
No ‘shayari’
Empty benches at the Vidhan Sabha. A Tribune photo Calling the shots
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Rs 135 cr for ‘Safe City’ project
Chandigarh, March 20 Amritsar and Ludhiana have been selected for the 'Safe City' project which is aimed at making the cities more safe for the common man. This will involve the mapping of city areas, installation of CCTV cameras and sensors and making use of information technology to take preventive measures. For the first time, night policing is being launched on state highways and towns. A separate cadre of 4,000 police personnel will be created for night patrolling to instil a feeling of security in the people. The government proposes to deploy 1,700 vehicles at a cost of Rs 10 crore for this purpose. Tackling protests Sanjh Kendras
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Can’t brazen it out with false bravado
Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s fabulously famous fictitious detective Sherlock Holmes would often describe his trusted friend Dr Watson as a “stormy petrel of crime”, implying that the arrival of the good doctor was usually a precursor to something sinister. In that sense, the scathing CAG report released on Tuesday gave a sense of foreboding that the state’s finances would be dismal. But as has been the government’s wont, the attempt again has been to project a false image.
The young Finance Minister has been reduced to making inane VAT tinkering and shallow schemes, when in reality Punjab’s financial status is sinking faster than the Titanic. Much like the ship, Punjab’s woes stem from the blatant inability to admit its wrongs. Over the past year, the Punjab Government has faltered in paying salaries to its employees (a factor that should have necessitated financial emergency under the Indian Constitution); it was publicly chastened by the Union Finance Minister for its profligate ways; in the Central Statistical Organisation’s estimates of per capita income growth rates of states, Punjab emerged as a laggard and has been reprimanded by the country’s apex audit authority. Despite this, the Finance Minister managed to say that the
SAD-BJP government had succeeded in freeing the state from the shackles of a dark and depressing legacy!
Figures don’t lie While the revenue growth appears illusory, the increase in borrowings is stark. An additional borrowing of Rs 9,261 crore would ensure that Punjab’s total debt would cross the alarming level of Rs 1 lakh crore. These are hard numbers you cannot ignore. For all the claims on increasing revenue and curtailing expenditures, the fact remains that ever since the Akali government came to power the outstanding debt has increased by more than 85 per cent. It stood at Rs 55,982 crore in 2007-08 and has swelled to Rs 1,02,282 crore today. The government response post budget was that these borrowings were “productive debt”, necessary for capital expenditure. The absurdity is self-evident. Moreover, if the government is so concerned about developmental expenditure that it isn’t averse to borrowing, then why has it fallen short of meeting last year’s budget compliance? Another red herring is the scheme meant for welfare of World War II soldiers, which was over 68 years ago. How many soldiers and their widows survive today? While an excess consumption of aerated drinks is definitely unhealthy and a VAT hike is an ostensible deterrent, it is not a priority in a state where ingestion of far lethal varieties of liquids is crippling the youth. Usual suspects No one denies that Punjab needs assistance from the Centre in the form of loan waivers and special packages. But for that to happen, the state needs to show financial discipline and growth on its own. This weekend, the Chief Minister of Bihar made a thundering appeal in New Delhi, seeking special status for Bihar. His demand jolted the government and everyone in Delhi was forced to take notice, because people of Bihar as well as the top brass in Delhi knows that the demand is not made to hide Bihar’s own inadequacies. This comes in the backdrop of the state registering a stupendous GDP growth, curbing its expenditure and registering phenomenal improvement in per capita income. In another corner of the world, the tiny nation of Cyprus finds itself in troubled debt waters. German Chancellor Angela Merkel has offered it a lifeline, but only after imposing severe penalties over its banks, conveying once more that you cannot be reckless at someone else’s expense. An indebted state such as Punjab can’t expect leeway from the
Centre. It needs to set its own house in order first. The Finance Minister needs to be reminded of the famous words of Kaifi
Azmi, “Kaise baazar ka dastoor tumhe samjhaun/ Bik gaya jo woh kharid-daar nahin ho
sakta.”
Get real *
VAT collections expected to increase by almost 33 per cent. This would be unprecedented in the history of Punjab and in a tepid economic year, almost impossible. *
An additional borrowing of `9,261 crore would ensure that Punjab’s total debt would cross the alarming level of `1 lakh crore.
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Money not where the mouth is
AGRICULTURE Missed out Missed out POWER Missed out INDUSTRY Missed out EDUCATION The total outlay for higher education is Rs 152 crore for 2013-2014, including Rs 50 crore for upgrade of infrastructure, Rs 41 crore for establishment of new postgraduate degree colleges; and Rs 28 crore for the establishment of National Law University, Punjab; and Rs 22 crore for setting up new government colleges in the state. Missed out SPORTS AND YOUTH Missed out HEALTH Missed out RURAL DEVELOPMENT Missed out WATER SUPPLY AND SANITATION
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Punjabi varsity passes budget
Patiala, March 20 The syndicate approved granting life fellowship to noted social scientist, Prof Randhir Singh. While expressing its gratitude towards the philanthropist, SP Oberai, it gave a green signal to use Rs 1.41 crore extended by him for the renovation of the University Arts Auditorium. The syndicate also gave its approval for the re-employment of university teachers for a period of three years after their retirement on contractual basis under the ‘voluntary re-employment scheme’. The making of documentaries on the life and contribution of noted Punjabi litterateurs was also approved by the syndicate. The project will be undertaken by the Punjabi Literary Studies Department. Funds allocated to finance the diet of sportspersons were also increased. Appointments of extensions of Dr HS Pannu (Dean, Research), Dr SS Khehra (Dean, Academic Affairs), Dr Ranbir Singh Sarao (Senior Fellow), BS Tiwana (Director, Academic Staff College), Dr Nishan Singh (Provost), Dr SK Bawa (Additional Provost, Girls) were also approved.
Highlights
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10 hurt as Sangrur truck unions clash
Sangrur, March 20 The clash took place over getting tender forms from the food supply office here to load-unload wheat from grain markets during the ensuing wheat season. In the clash, both sides allegedly pelted bricks at each other, injuring several persons of both the groups. A car was also badly damaged. However, the police reached the spot and controlled the situation. Both sides accused each other of starting the fight. Four injured, belonging to truck-trailer union, including Karminder Pal Singh Toni, president of the union, Parvinder Singh and Pritam Singh, were admitted to the Sangrur Civil Hospital. Dr Sanjiv Jindal, medical officer on duty in the emergency ward, said Karminder Pal Singh and Parvinder Singh had sustained head injuries. Harinder Singh, Station House Officer (SHO) said the police had registered a cross case against both the sides under Sections 341, 323, 160, 148 and 149 of the IPC. He said Toni had filed a case against six persons while Manjit Singh Kaka, president of the Guru Nanak Truck Union, had filed a case against eight persons. The police said six persons, belonging to the Truck Union, were admitted to a private hospital in Sunam. They are Bir Singh, Jeet Singh, Kanwaljit Singh, Bhola Singh, Charanjit Singh and Mohinder Singh. No arrest has been made in the case so far.
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Ropar gets Rs 5 cr for marine academy
Ropar, March 20 While an NCC academy was already set up on 9 acres in the town last year, the proposed National Service Selection Centre (NSSC) will be soon be set up in the area on 200 acres earmarked by the state government. The marine academy is to be set up on 18 acres situated near the upcoming IIT building at a cost of Rs 10 crore. Those training at the academy will be employed by the Indian Navy and merchant navy. The district’s road network has also got a shot in the arm as Rs 900 crore will be spent on the four-laning of Ropar-Nawanshahr-Phagwara road during the Twelvth Five-Year Plan. Monetary provisions have also been made for the completion of the Ropar bypass. Ropar MLA Daljit Singh Cheema said the marine academy would help in reducing unemployment in the region and better road network would attract more investors to this area.
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Assault on Watch & Ward staff
Chandigarh, March 20 The staff member, who is a head constable in the Intelligence wing of the Punjab Police, told Commission Chairman Rajesh Bagha that he had been beaten up by the Congress legislators who even made casteist remarks against him. Rajesh Bagha, Chairman Commission for Scheduled Castes said the victim Jai Pal appeared before the commission and recorded the whole sequence of events leading to his assault and deliberate attempt of MLAs to denigrate him before whole media. The chairman said that in his detailed statement given to the Commission, the victim had disclosed he was deployed on duty on the premises of Vidhan Sabha on March 13, 2013. There he was informed that a girl had entered the Vidhan Sabha in an unauthorised manner. While he was tending to the matter in front of the Congress Legislature Party Office, some MLAs came charging towards him and manhandled him in full public view. aThe victim said they released him on the intervention of former Congress Chief Minister, Rajinder Kaur
Bhattal. vital confession
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IT dept sends erroneous demand notices
Ludhiana, March 20 Officials in the intelligence units under the Revenue Department, Central Economic Intelligence Bureau, Directorate General of Central Excise Intelligence and the Directorate General of Revenue Intelligence among others are on a fast-track mode to sniff out people evading service tax, customs and excise duty evaders, sources said. Weekly meetings are being held to discuss the progress of the cases and filling up of the tax gap before March 31. Meanwhile, in a rush to meet the targets, the Income Tax Department has been erroneously sending demand notices to people who have cleared their dues. While some of them have been sent notices manually, others have been asked to clear their dues through e-mails. Sources said the department had not updated its data due to which the errors were being made. Taxation lawyer Jatinder Khurana said, "Some of my clients have no dues towards the department but have still received demand notices." Sources in the department said the officials concerned had sent their data to the central processing centre in Bangalore, from where people were receiving e-mails regarding arrears. "It is quite possible that some officials might not have updated their data due to which there is so much confusion," he said.
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2,500 govt employees go on 3-day strike
Ludhiana, March 20 The state exchequer is expected to bear huge losses due to the ongoing strike. Sukhraj Singh Sandhu, president of the Punjab State District (DC) Offices Employees Union said despite the fact that their workload had increased tremendously, no new staff was being recruited. “The Right to Services Act has provided huge relief to the public in the state. The political leaders are getting accolades for introducing the act but the staff that is providing all the information was being neglected,” rued Sandhu. A top-level official in the Revenue Department at Chandigarh, requesting anonymity, said since it was end of the fiscal year, the government needed the services of the employees badly. They were exploiting the situation to their favour, he said. “Many of their demands, which have already been met by the Financial Commissioner, Revenue, will be implemented soon. The strike will cause huge losses to the Revenue Department as no land deals will be registered during this time. The districts have already failed to meet their targets due to the slump in the real estate business and the strike will add to their woes,” he said. The union maintains if the government fails to meet their demands then they will go on a pen-down strike, take mass casual leave and hold protest rallies from March 25-31. — TNS
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Punjab Budget 2013-2014
Chandigarh, March 20 In 2009-2010, an amount of Rs 50 crore was sanctioned for cleaning the nullah and restoration of ecology of the Holy Bein. At least 30 per cent of the grant component worth Rs 15 crore was to be given by the Centre and the remaining Rs 35 crore was to be provided by the Punjab Government. The GLADA has contributed Rs 5.96 crore and the Punjab Government Rs 8 crore towards a sum of Rs 5.80 crore given by the Centre for a sewage treatment plant (STP) at Macchiwara. Yet no funds have been released to the Punjab Water Supply and Sewerage Board for cleaning the Budha Nullah. A senior official said the nullah would not require to be cleaned once a treatment plant was set up. He, however, conceded that the existing muck needed to be cleaned. Sunil Dutt, a businessman from Ludhiana, said: “We have not had any relief. There are compliants against installed plants not working. We should first get a status report on the works carried out”. A project for prevention of pollution of the Ghaggar, worth Rs 536 crore, which has been submitted to the Centre is yet to be given approval. A token amount of Rs 10,000 has been provided for it in the Budget.
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Relief meagre, say border farmers
Amritsar, March 20 Jagir Singh, a farmer from Khemkaran, said it was clearly a move to allure the farming community ahead of the General Election. “While the border farmers are reeling under huge losses, the compensation announced is too meagre,” he said. Makhan Singh, another farmer from the border village of Rajatal, who owns 13 acres of land across the fence, said the farmers had expected at least Rs 5,000 per acre compensation. He said Rs 3,000 per acre was nothing in the present times. But Baaj Singh was all praise for the government move, saying Rs 3,000 per acre was better than nothing at all. Jamhuri Kisan Sabha leader Rattan Singh Randhawa hailed the move. But he said the amount was too small and that the SAD-BJP Government should pay compensation for the past six years as well. He dubbed it as an electoral move recalling how the farmers had voted en bloc for the SAD-BJP alliance when the NDA had announced a compensation of Rs 2,500 per acre for the border farmers in the late 1990s. Flaying the Budget, he said it was ironical that there was nothing for the farmers in a state that thrived on agrarian economy. Border Area Sangharsh Committee state vice president Rasal Singh said Rs 3,000 per acre was far below their expectations. “The then NDA Government had given Rs 2,500 per acre to the border farmers way back in 1998-99 and today the Punjab Government has increased it by a mere Rs 500 after a gap of 15 years. It is a cruel joke on the farming community. The cost of agricultural inputs has gone up manifold since then and the government should pay the farmers at least Rs 15,000 per acre as inconvenience allowance.” He claimed there was 20,000 acres of land belonging to the farmers on the other side of the fence along the 553-km Indo-Pak border in six districts of Punjab. “There are 274 gates on the border fence, out of which 33 per cent gates remain closed, forcing the farmers to walk long distances to reach their fields.” Kirti Kisan Union vice-president Datar Singh said the relief was too less. “Going by the existing lease rate of prime agricultural land (Rs 30,000 to 35,000 per acre), the government should have paid at least Rs 20,000 per acre to the border farmers.” He said the border area farmers were neck deep in trouble. “They are not allowed to cultivate crops more than 42 inches high for security reasons. This limits their choice of crops. Then there are timing restrictions. If the timing to cultivate land across the fence is from 8 am to 5 pm, the farmers are allowed to cross over only at 10 am and called back at 3.30 pm,” he added. *
Border farmers to get compensation after 15 yrs
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Chandigarh, March 20 The government has expressed its commitment to facilitating the construction of fair grounds in public, private partnership in Amritsar and Ludhiana and an expo and convention centre for 4,000 persons at Mohali. The state has decided to collaborate with leading corporate houses for developing skills. Announcements on developing Mohali and Amritsar as IT and knowledge hubs were also made in the Budget last year. The industry is now waiting for the industrial policy to be announced on March 31, hoping to get some incentives. DL Sharma, Chairman of the CII, Punjab State Council, said the Budget was focused more on developing social infrastructure. The outlay for industry for upgradation of Focal Points would help augment facilities at industrial centres, if utilised judiciously. This amount, however, should have been higher. The PHD Chamber has welcomed the Budget. Rajiv Bali, chairman, Punjab Committee of PHD Chamber, said the increase in the Annual Plan would help develop infrastructure for such sectors as Power, Rural Water Supply and Sanitation, Health and Education. The upcoming mega projects in Punjab would help generate employment. — TNS
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Contempt notice to school board chief, secy
Chandigarh, March 20 Notices were issued this afternoon by the High Court on a petition filed by school board teachers through their counsel Gurminder Singh. Appearing before the High Court, Gurminder Singh contended that the board decided to regularise the teachers in 2011, but the decision was yet to be approved by the Punjab government. Gurminder Singh also told the court that since 2011, affidavits seeking adjournments and giving false assurances have been filed in the court. Taking serious note of the delay, the court today issued notice to the Principal Secretary and the chairman.
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Rs
130-crore heroin haul
Fatehgarh Sahib, March 20 The three were held in a drug peddling case, wherein Rs 130-crore heroin
was recovered from a Zirakpur flat. Canada-based drug dealer Anoop Singh Kahlon is the key accused and was arrested in the case earlier.
Harpreet was a conduit between the drug suppliers and distributors while former DSP Kirpal ran a pharmaceutical factory at
Meerut. Kirpal was one of the main suppliers of the raw materials such as
amphatamine, etc, used for the production of a drug called Ice that is used at rave parties in metro cities. Sources said the police was trying to ascertain Kulwant Singh’s role in the international racket. Sources said that raids were on to nab Jagdish Singh
Bhola, former DSP of the Punjab Police. He has been evading arrest since Anoop Kahlon’s arrest. Meanwhile, the police has failed to move the district court to summon international boxer Vijender Singh so as to get his blood and hair samples. A senior police officer, requesting anonymity, said they were yet to move court as they had been busy arresting the three accused from different parts of the country.
Vijender’s name had cropped up following the seizure of a vehicle that was in his wife’s name from the residence of Kahlon in
Zirakpur.
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Gang of robbers busted, 9 held
Barnala, March 20 The police has also reportedly seized three cars, a Bolero jeep, three rifles of 12 bore, three .32 bore pistols, two .315 bore pistols. Some cartridges of different bores were also recovered from their possession. Paramjit Singh Gill, Inspector-General (IG) of Police (Patiala zone) said the district police had raided a secluded place in the jurisdiction of Badra village on a tip-off the previous day and arrested the nine accused. The arrested were identified as Gurdip Singh Mehal Kalan, Buta Khan, Surinder Singh, Parvinder Singh, Jagjiwan Singh, Gulab Singh, Mohanjit Singh and Manpreet Singh. Gill said the inter-state gang had been involved in crimes in Barnala, Sangrur, Patiala and Ludhiana districts. A case was registered against them on March 19 under Sections 399, 402, 411, 412, 473 of the Indian Penal Code and Sections 25/54/59 of the Arms Act at Rurreke Kalan police station. cracking whip
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Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s fabulously famous fictitious detective Sherlock Holmes would often describe his trusted friend Dr Watson as a “stormy petrel of crime”, implying that the arrival of the good doctor was usually a precursor to something sinister. In that sense, the scathing CAG report released on Tuesday gave a sense of foreboding that the state’s finances would be dismal. But as has been the government’s wont, the attempt again has been to project a false image.
‘It is directionless’ 
‘Hopeless exercise’
Promises not kept
Growth-oriented
Colourful start
Empty benches
SOIL AND WATER CONSERVATION
