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tribune special
No New Year cheer for border district hoteliers
punjab finances |
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7 killed in Abohar accident
news analysis
Construction inside Amritsar’s Ram Bagh irks ASI
Development projects in Ferozepur hanging fire
Acid attack case: Panel demands speedy justice
It’s a mixed bag for Power Corp
Clear stand on Jat quota: Capt to Badal
Badal’s home district has no plaints on
RTS
From a farm worker to a judge in Canada
Dancing their way to reform
Intense lobbying on for PSTCL top post
4,500 Pak delegates at Ahmadiya meet
Millers protest FCI rejection of consignments
PIMS students’ kin resent shutdown, to launch agitation from January 2
Two months on, VB yet to act
70% govt docs doing private
practice: Jyani
Nod to changes in Jalandhar road project
Kejriwal has Abohar connection
Nawanshahr DC spells out tasks in New Year
Correction
Delhi HC restrains sale of Faridkot Maharaja’s assets
SHO booked for detaining woman
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tribune special
Chandigarh, December 29 Even as the practice has been continuing for the past few years, the state government has failed to take any action. To reach their destination from Kharar, the passengers are forced to shift to Maxicabs or other means of transport. When passengers start their journey from the originating destination, the bus operators keep them in dark over the matter. They even change the board displaying the bus route midway to show the final destination as Mohali instead of Chandigarh. The Tribune had highlighted the matter many times in the past. The reporter today again witnessed heated arguments between bus conductors and passengers who were forced to take Maxicabs for their further journey to Chandigarh. The transporters either operate illegally or they do not have the permit to enter Chandigarh. Earlier, they used to halt their buses opposite the Kharar bus stand, but now they travel towards Chandigarh and stop short of Mohali where Maxicabs remain parked. Recently, The Tribune team spotted a Ludhiana-Mohali bus of Dhuri Transport that stopped about 5 km from Kharar towards Chandigarh. Some passengers alighted the bus and boarded Maxicabs. When a passenger tried to argue, he was virtually pushed into the vehicle before the conductor jumped onto his bus and sped. A little ahead, a bus of Rajdhani Travels engaged in a similar exercise which led to a fight between an elderly person and the bus conductor. By the time The Tribune team crossed the road, a bus of a private company stopped. The conductor was forcing passengers into a Maxicab when Ajaib Singh from Koomkalan near Samrala got wild at him, saying: “You had promised that the bus would go to the ISBT, Sector 43, Chandigarh. Why is the government mum on the matter?” Admitting several transport firms operating illegally, SS Channy, Principal Secretary, Transport, said: “The department had recently undertaken an exercise to check illegal bus services. The process to cancel licences of several firms has already commenced.” Anu Bansal from Morinda, who travelled on one such bus, said: “The practice amounts to harassment. When we are dropped midway, we have no choice but to board the Maxicab." The driver of a Maxicab said: “We do not charge extra from the passengers, who are safely dropped at their destinations in Chandigarh.” Karan Singh, District Transport Officer, said: “We have impounded three vehicles plying illegally in the last one week. We have initiated an exercise to streamline the system within a fortnight.” Plying illegally
The practice amounts to harassment. When we are dropped midway, we have no choice but to board the Maxicab You had promised that the bus would go to the ISBT, Sector 43, Chandigarh. Why is the government mum on the
matter?" The department had recently undertaken an exercise to check illegal bus services. The process to cancel licences of several firms has already commenced
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No New Year cheer for border district hoteliers
Gurdaspur/Pathankot, December 29 Scratch the surface and the Punjab Government’s “indifferent attitude” towards state hoteliers’ demands emerges as the cause. Earlier, tourists going from Punjab to Himachal Pradesh would stop at picturesque Pathankot. Now, they prefer to stay at Kandwal, 5 km from Pathankot. Subsidised room tariffs in luxury and semi-luxury hotels of Kandwal explain the reason. The story is different in Punjab. Hotel owners pay high value-added tax (VAT) of 14.3 per cent. Besides, electricity is charged on commercial rates instead of industrial rates in spite of the state government notifying hotels as “industrial units”. “The Punjab Government has claimed in its gazette notification that all classified hotels, motels, restaurants and tourism projects will be eligible for low power tariff on a par with other industrial units, but this is not being done,” hotelier Romesh Mahajan said. Gurdaspur Hotels’ Association president Romesh Mahajan claimed that the hoteliers were being charged luxury tax at 8 per cent. “The inflow of tourists to Gurdaspur and Pathankot districts has dropped. The occupancy has decreased to 20 per cent,” he said. The hoteliers fear that if corrective measures were not taken, many establishments may face closure. Several hoteliers have already shut shop and many others may If high VAT and luxury tax, and erroneous power bills are knotty issues, the use of domestic LPG cylinders instead of commercial ones is turning out to be a major problem. An SOS has been dispatched to the Union Government, pleading for subsidising the rates of commercial LPG cylinders, mandatory to be used by these establishments. “A domestic LPG cylinder weighing 14.5 kg costs Rs 450, while a commercial cylinder weighing 19 kg is available for Rs 1,870. A difference of Rs 1,420 per cylinder for just 5 kg of gas is unbearable. The rates of commercial cylinders should be reduced otherwise the domestic LPG cylinder will always be misused for commercial purpose,” Pathankot hotelier Kartik Wadhera said. Tax burden
Tourists going from Punjab to Himachal Pradesh used to stop at picturesque Pathankot. Now, they prefer to stay at Kandwal (Himachal Pradesh), 5 km from Pathankot. Subsidised room tariffs in luxury and semi-luxury hotels of Kandwal explain the reason.
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punjab finances Chandigarh, December 29 Besides subsidising power to certain sectors, especially agriculture, the schemes which found favour with the SAD-BJP regime are of old age pension, shagun and atta-dal. And this has been at the cost of the Central schemes in the fields of health, education and other social sectors, besides irrigation. In several cases, money sanctioned by the Centre could not be fully utilised for want of matching grant from the state, as mandated by rules. In other instances, since the money received was diverted to non-plan schemes, the next instalment was withheld by the Centre. The Punjab Finance Minister, Parminder Singh Dhindsa, when contacted, claimed a huge improvement in revenue deficit this year, besides curtailment of expenditure. When questioned on the overall deficit, Dhindsa blamed it on the huge salary and pension bill. While he parried the issue of non-utilisation of money on Central schemes, he said the government had been true to its motto of being a welfare state. “All welfare schemes that directly impact the people are on a roll,” he said. But, independent experts insist that despite marginal improvement here and there, the state continues to be in dire financial straits. Prof Sucha Singh Gill, Director, Centre for Research in Rural and Industrial Development, said even some of the welfare schemes are going abegging for want of funds. “While there is need to revamp the State Planning Board and other financial institutions, the correction will have to come from the political bosses,” he added. But, a government functionary, who did not want to be identified, said in many cases, the state governments preferred not to spend the money released by the Centre due to certain strings and conditions attached with the grants. A scrutiny of documents shows that huge sums of money are lying unutilised. For instance, the agriculture flagship scheme Rashtriya Krishi Vikas Yojana funded by the Union Government stands partially ignored as a result of which a sum of Rs 65 crore released by the Centre last year remains unspent. And during the current fiscal, a sum of Rs 90 crore still remains unused, putting various projects meant for amelioration of the farmers in a limbo. The Central Government has released Rs 229.44 crore to the state but the state treasury only released Rs 5.56 crore from the said amount. The Centrally-sponsored Post-Matric Scholarship Scheme meant for the minorities too stands ignored as Rs 21.77 crore lied unused till November 30. This led to the stalling of further Central funds to tune of Rs 48.23 crore. In case of scheduled caste students studying in Classes 11 and 12, a sum of Rs 60.10 crore was released by the Centre, out of which the state government released only Rs 21.54 crore, leaving behind Rs 38.56 crore unused. Similarly, out of a sum of Rs 4.22 crore released under the Indira Gandhi Matritva Yojana, also known as conditional maternity benefit scheme, not a single penny has been spent this year and also the previous year. This has led to stalling of Rs 10.52-crore grant, which was to be released after the utilisation of the initial amount. Another scheme for child protection received Rs 1.91 crore and this too lies unspent, which has stalled the release of Rs 15.97 crore. In the health sector, the performance of the state government has been dismal. In the current fiscal, the Centre released Rs 418.53 crore but the state treasury released only Rs 162.90 crore. The remaining Rs 255.63 crore remains unutilised. For slum dwellers, the Centre had released Rs 62.65 crore for housing units. The entire amount lies unutilised. In the irrigation sector, as many as 11 flagship schemes could not utilise Rs 111.33 crore till March 31, 2013. As a result, the Centre stopped the release of another Rs 221.85 crore. Though Shahpur Kandi Dam project got Rs 4.77 crore, the anti-waterlogging scheme for which Rs 50 crore was sanctioned by the Centre in the last financial year could not be fully utilised. The state government could utilise only Rs 29.44 crore, which resulted in stalling of another Rs 50 crore meant of the purpose. Not only this, a sum of Rs 2.49 crore sanctioned last year has not been used and as a result, Rs 7.50 crore stands stalled. Under the Pardhan Mantri Gramin Sadak Yojana, the state received Rs 278.36 crore out of which a single paisa has not been used. In the education sector, Punjab received Rs 600 crore but the government could only spend Rs 465.47
crore. Drain on exchequer n Power subsidy (Rs 5,700 cr)to certain sectors, especially agriculture, has been a priority with the SAD-BJP regime n Its other pet projects are old age pension, shagun
(Rs 1,700 cr subsidy) and atta-dal scheme (Rs 360 cr) n But, this has been at the cost of various central schemes in the fields of health, education and irrigation n In several cases, money sanctioned by the Centre could not be fully utilised for want of matching grant from the state
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7 killed in Abohar accident
Abohar, December 29 The was probably the 11th accident on the railway over-bridge, which was provided streetlights by the Punjab Government a few days before the inauguration of the Abohar-Fazilka rail link in July last year. But, the lights are yet to get functional as these await a power connection. The victims were on their way to Bareka and Roopnagar villages. A car reportedly hit the tempo, which then collided head-on with a truck coming from the opposite direction. The truck dragged the tempo to some distance, resulting in the death of six persons on the spot. While Palwinder Singh (tempo driver), Sandeep, Shanker Lal, Sewak Singh, Balwinder Singh and Angrej (all in the age group 30 to 35 years) died on the spot, Jagdish (29) and Angad (14) sustained injuries. They were admitted to Nehru Memorial Civil Hospital here. Due to his critical condition, Jagdish was referred to a Faridkot hospital where he succumbed to his injuries in the afternoon. It is learnt that the driver of the truck initially tried to speed away but a technical snag in the vehicle prompted him to flee on foot along with the cleaner, thus leaving the vehicle behind. Jaswinder Singh of Barnala and Deepak of Srawan Bodla who were travelling in the car also sustained injuries and were shifted to the Civil Hospital here. The police have seized all the vehicles and registered a case, said Deputy Superintendent of Police Veer Chand. In another accident, Jagir Singh of Bhagu village was killed as an unidentified vehicle reportedly hit the bike he was riding on the Bhagu-Seetogunno road last night. 2 die in Ropar Ropar: Two passengers were killed while 20 others sustained injures when their tractor-trailer turned turtle on the Ropar-Anandpur Sahib highway here on Sunday. The deceased have been identified as Jatinder Singh (30) and Amarpal Singh (23), both residents of Mehmadpur village near Shambhu in Patiala district.
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news analysis
Chandigarh, December 29 The jumbo list of the party office-bearers has come after a wait of about nine months. The high command had held it back as it wanted to give due representation to leaders of various communities in the top structure of the party to maintain a balance. However, apparently the high command, which acted on the advice of top state party leaders, has failed in its objective. Party insiders say the reason behind the huge list was race among various top leaders to get accommodated their own loyalists. “It appears that the high command wanted to further promote the dynastic phenomenon in the party. That is why it has accommodated a good number of sons and other close relations of senior leaders in the organisational setup”, said a political observer. The party high command has made significant number of MLAs as vice-presidents and general secretaries. For instance, out of 14 vice-presidents, there are nine MLAs — Brahm Mohindra, Tarlochan Singh Soond, Om Parkash Soni, Charanjit Singh Channi, Sadhu Singh Dharmsot, Sangat Singh Gilzian, Randeep Singh Nabha, Rana Gumeet Singh Sodhi and Kewal Singh Dhillon. A senior party leader said: “What was the need to reward MLAs by giving them senior party posts when they were already rewarded with the party ticket during the last assembly elections.” There is no one from the Ramgarhia community on the list of vice-presidents and general secretaries, who matter the most in the party setup. Among the vice-presidents, the lion’s share has gone to the Jats and the Dalits. No one from the Aggarwal community, which is powerful in urban areas, especially in the Malwa belt, has been given the post of vice-president. The Ramgarhia community belongs to the Backward Class and has a control over the small-scale industry. At one stage, the late Giani Zail Singh, who was from the Ramgarhia community, remained the Chief Minister of the state from 1972 to 1977 and HS Hanspal headed the PPCC some years ago. Rajpal Singh, who remained general secretary of the PPCC for about five years, said: “It is a fact that there no one from the Ramgarhia community is given the post of either vice-president or general secretary”. On the list of 35 general secretaries, there are about 15 Jats and only two Aggarwals and one Pandit. Among general secretaries, again the names of about nine MLAs figure. In fact, the list has been prepared without following any criteria. There are some MLAs who have been made secretaries whereas those who had lost the last assembly elections figure on the list of vice-presidents and general secretaries. Already, some party leaders have raised the banner of protest in Ropar district. The party may face similar situations at other places as well.
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Construction inside Amritsar’s Ram Bagh irks ASI
Amritsar, December 29 Recently, the boundary wall adjoining Madan Mohan Malaviya Road near Novelty chowk has been demolished to open a new entrance towards Panoroma side. The civic authorities have constructed a new pavement here, badly damaging the heritage site. The Rambagh popularly known as Company Bagh was declared a national monument in 2004 after de-notifying the 40-kanal land for construction of Panorama. Earlier this year, the ASI had even written to the police to lodge an FIR on the issue. Even now after the notification was issued, the ASI does not have possession of the whole premises. It is carrying out conservation work only on the original entrance gate, four watch towers, Hamamghar, Small Baradari and Machhighar. The remaining structures, including the main summer palace, are under the possession of Punjab Cultural and Tourism Department. Earlier, the MC authorities had damaged the green belt in the area by constructing a parking area, a skating ring and pavements inside the summer palace. As per the notification, the ASI has possession of an area of 678 kanals and 12 marla of the Ram Bagh. The alleged illegal construction activity is occurring within this area. ASI Senior Conservator Charan Das Atri said the department had written a number of times to senior officials of the state government, district administration and Municipal Corporation regarding the violation, but in vain. Municipal Corporation Commissioner DPS Kharbanda said they had passed a resolution during the general assembly for de-notifying several parts of the historic structure. He said only the summer palace and its surroundings should be protected and added that the construction was done after public demand. However, the ASI officials pointed out that before de-notification, it was illegal to carry out any work in the vicinity of the monument.
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Development projects in Ferozepur hanging fire
Ferozepur, December 29 What to talk of the new development works, even the projects which had been sanctioned long time back did not see the light of the day. Among the several vital projects which are hanging fire due to the lack of initiative and funds include setting up of a government college and a sports stadium; shifting of Central Jail on the outskirts; construction of a bridge over Sutlej near Kot Budha, abolition of octroi in the cantonment area; total water supply and sanitation programme; four-laning of a stretch from Ferozepur to Hussaniwala; and the opening the Hussainiwala-Lahore border for trade. Even the projects announced by the Union Government, including setting up of a 100-bed PGI Satellite Centre and an airport, seems nowhere on the horizon. Punjab Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal had announced most of these projects. Nothing moved beyond the lip service. “Probably, after being bifurcated several times on the pretext of carving out new districts, this place no longer remains politically significant for the government now,” local resident Ranjan Sharma said. Badal had earlier announced that a college would be set up in the name of Shaheed Bhagat Singh, Rajguru and Sukhdev here so that the poor students belonging to the border town could pursue their dream of attaining higher education. The panchayat of Mohkhan Khan Wala village had donated around 12 acres to set up the college, but nothing tangible was done on ground. Likewise, while the present regime went on to set up several stadiums in various parts of the state, the district that has been the breeding ground for several international players in hockey, shooting and other sports was overlooked. The apathy does not end here. Even the honour of hosting the World Cup Kabbadi matches, which the district had earlier hosted, was withdrawn in the interest of neighbouring Jalalabad which happens to be the constituency of Deputy CM Sukhbir Singh Badal. Uncertainty prevailed over the fate of a project concerning the relocation of Central Jail on the outskirts of the city. The administration had mooted the proposal so that the prime chunk of Central Jail land measuring more than 60 acres located in the heart of the town could be commercially exploited, but nothing moved beyond the planning stage this year. The work on the construction of high-level bridge over the Sutlej river between Ferozepur and Tarn Taran districts, the foundation stone of which was laid by the CM two years ago, remained far from complete. The Municipal Council continues to reel under the lack of funds, resources and manpower due to which water supply and sewerage disposal in most parts of the city remained a shambles. Residents feel that the border town is now “no one’s baby”. After the creation of Fazilka, the government is no more interested to pursue the projects vital for the development of the district, they say.
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Acid attack case: Panel demands speedy justice
Ludhiana, December 29 The seven-member delegation, including acid attack victim’s uncle Surinder Singh, demanded speedy action against the accused. The action committee also demanded that a case be registered against Honey, who was to marry Harpreet, and his family members. “Harpreet and his family members should be booked as they have duped us and kept us in the dark about the impending danger. Honey's mother had warned us about Amritpal Kaur’s (Honey’s ex-sister in-law) evil plans. Even though we asked them to intimate the police, they didn’t listen,” said Makhan Prabhakar, victim’s neighbour and member of the action committee. Dhillon said, “I have assured the members of the action committee that necessary action would be taken to ensure justice to the family of acid attack victim. Harpreet’s death is a tragic loss and our sympathies are with the victim’s family. The investigation is on.” The action committee members thanked the members of Special Investigating Team (SIT) for cracking the case in record time. “While everyone was suspecting that the acid attack would be the handiwork of the jilted lover from Barnala, police came up with another theory and arrested Honey’s former sister-in-law Amritpal Kaur alias Parri,” said Gurbaksh Singh of Barnala. Harsh Bansal, Deputy Commissioner of Police (DCP) said, “We have evidence against the accused and make sure they are punished.” Meanwhile, GS Bains, Assistant Commissioner of Police (ACP), Crime, said efforts were on to nab Makhan Singh, who had sold the acid to the attackers. He runs a battery shop at Bakhshiwala village in Patiala. KK Singla, Chief Judicial Magistrate-cum-Secretary Legal Services Authority, said the victim’s family would be provided free legal service.
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It’s a mixed bag for Power Corp
With the commissioning of the first unit of both Rajpura and Talwandi Sabo thermal power plants, the PSPCL added a proverbial feather in its cap in 2013. It, however, failed to deliver on other fronts, primarily on not providing round-the-clock power supply to the consumers. The power corporation received brickbats for the steep increase in the power tariff, levying Advance Consumption Deposit (ACD) on all categories of consumers, barring farmers, imposing long power cuts and providing weekly-offs for the industry. On the other hand, the PSPCL got accolades for the augmentation of the state’s thermal power generation capacity and reduction in the Transmission and Distribution (T&D) loses. Powerless summer
The non-augmentation of the state’s thermal power generation capacity ahead of the summer season proved dearer for the people. In spite of tall claims that there would be no power cuts during the summer, the PSPCL failed to meet the demand and supply. The power situation during June and July was so bad that four-day weekly-offs were imposed on the heavy industry, whereas long cuts were order of the day in the domestic sector. Not to forget that the PSPCL failed to provide eight-hour uninterrupted power supply to the agriculture sector during the paddy season. Shock for consumers
If the annual increase in the power tariff by almost 9.5 per cent was not enough to leave the consumers high and dry, levying the ACD on them, barring farmers, surely did. The new system of collecting money from consumers belied the PSPCL’s claims that its financial condition was in the pink of health. Apart from people, the Congress took to streets to oppose the ACD. Something to cheer about
The allocation of the dedicated coal block in Deocha-Pachami (West Bengal) for the proposed 1,320-MW thermal power plant at Mukerian in Hoshiarpur district was a relief for the PSPCL. Another feather in the PSPCL’s cap was the reduction of the T&D losses - from 17.4 per cent in 2012, the power corporation brought down the losses to 16.78 per cent. Year ends on positive note
The year ended on a good note for the PSPCL with the commissioning of the first units of the 660-MW Talwandi Sabo Thermal Plant in Mansa and the 700-MW Rajpura Thermal Power Plant. The development was a relief for the state because after commissioning the 420-MW Lehra Mohabbat Thermal Plant in 1998, Punjab managed to add just 500 MW to its power generation capacity - thanks to Lehra Mohabbat Stage-II that was commissioned in 2008.
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Clear stand on Jat quota: Capt to Badal
Patiala, December 29 In a letter to Badal today, Amarinder asked the Chief Minister to take up the issue with the Union Government. The former Chief Minister, who is also All India Jat Maha Sabha president, alleged that Badal had done nothing at his end to facilitate the reservation. “Instead of politicising the issue and unnecessarily blaming the Centre, you as the Chief Minister need to make an official presentation before the Government of India on the issue,” the letter read. “Your ambiguous stand has been quite confusing so far. I will like you to come out unambiguously on the issue.”
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Badal’s home district has no plaints on
RTS
An RTI query revealed that a maximum of 20 complaints were filed against officials of Amritsar district, 16 of Ludhiana district, 11 of Mohali district, 10 of Patiala district, six each of
Bathinda, Faridkot and Hoshiarpur districts, five each of Jalandhar, Gurdaspur and Moga districts, four each of Fatehgarh Sahib,
Ferozepur, Kapurthala, SBS Nagar and Sangrur districts, three each of Pathankot and Mansa districts, two each of
Fazilka, Tarn Taran and Ropar districts and one of Barnala district. As per information received between November 1, 2011 and December 18 this year, the commission has disposed of 111 complaints, while 12 are pending. The commission has penalised 13 officers for failing to dispose of applications in time. A senior official of the commission said the first and second appellate authorities concerned were directed to dispose of the pending complaints on a priority basis.
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From a farm worker to a judge in Canada
Jalandhar, December 29 His journey started soon after he graduated from PAU. “My joy knew no bounds when I had got the job of a soil conservationist in Rajasthan soon after passing out from PAU. But, soon discontent set in. So, I left the job and headed to Canada, in 1980,” recalls Dhaliwal. It was not easy for Dhaliwal, an educated from a wealthy family of Sherpur Kalan village, to make the shift from being a white collar worker in India, to a farm worker in Canada. Today Dhaliwal is working as one of 23 federal judges for citizenship and immigration department of Canada, his brother Dr Amarjit Dhaliwal is an oncologist in the USA and one of the owners of the Mentica Valley Cancer Hospital in California. “After picking berries at a farm in Calgary for a few months, I moved to Toronto and undertook a course to become an optician. From 1983 to 2006, when I worked as an optician, I started helping immigrants solve their problems. “I soon got associated with the Conservative party. On March 12, I was nominated to the Prime Minister’s office,” said
Dhaliwal. Harry Dhaliwal’s success story
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Dancing their way to reform
Patiala, December 29 The jail authorities had, in 2012, introduced bhangra sessions for inmates to reform them. Inmates in the 14 barracks practice one after the other and, for many, bhangra has become a passion. “The aim is to keep the inmates mentally and physically fit. There is nothing more relaxing in the morning than to start your day on foot-tapping bhangra beats,” Deputy Jail Superintendent Rajan Kapoor said. Inmates wake up to Punjabi dhol beats. “There are two sessions in a day - one in the morning and the other in the afternoon before the outdoor activity starts,” he said. The hard work is manifested in a trained team of nine bhangra artistes. And one among them is trained on
dhol. The novel idea to introduce bhangra sessions may spruce up the jail’s battered image that has been in the news for the increasing drug menace and death of inmates recently. With this initiative, the authorities are aiming for an image makeover. Other jails in Punjab have taken a cue from them and, soon, the jail department plans to hold an inter-jail bhangra competition.
Patiala jail officials claimed that none of the bhangra team members was on drugs. Inmates exercised for two hours daily, officials said. An inmate told The Tribune that he had never danced before in his life. “Dancing relaxes me and helps me forget the drudgery of jail life,” he said. “The bhangra team’s performance can leave anyone spellbound,” the Deputy Jail Superintendent Kapoor said, adding that “it performs during all jail functions and cultural get-togethers on jail premises.”
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Intense lobbying on for PSTCL top post
Patiala, December 29 In all, six candidates are in the race for the post of Director (Technical). It has been lying vacant since November 6. As per a government advertisement, three-year experience as the Superintending Engineer (SE) or Chief Engineer (CE) was mandatory for anyone to apply for the post. A couple of candidates who do not meet the criterion have, however, applied. A senior official said the post became all the more important because the transmission work to be undertaken on the account of Punjab becoming power surplus would be under the command of the Director (Technical). Sources said the file regarding the appointment had been pending in the Chief Secretary’s office from quite some time in spite of the importance attached to the post, as most of PSTCL decisions are taken by the Director (Technical). “The appointment has been delayed after the Punjab Government asked the selection committee to review its recommendations for the post of Director (Technical), for which certain candidates have been shortlisted,” sources said. The three-member selection committee, comprising Chief Secretary Rakesh Singh, Secretary (Power) Annirudh Tewari and Rural Electrification Corporation Chairperson Rajeev Sharma, recommended two names for the post to the government. The scrutiny committee had earlier recommended the names of CEs RK Sharma, Shahi Prabha Kansal, Virender Gupta and Chander Shekhar Maan. Gupta retired as the CE from the PSTCL and has experience in transmission work, while Sharma is a well-connected person with vast experience. Maan has experience in protection and maintenance works. Kansal is number 24 on the seniority list of the PSPCL and junior most among the six applicants. Sources say that her name has been shortlisted. The Chief Secretary could not be contacted in spite of repeated attempts. PSPCL to recruit 1,000 linemen Punjab State Power Corporation Limited (PSPCL) Chairman-cum-Managing Director KD Chaudhri today said that following a Punjab and Haryana High Court order, the corporation had advertised 1,000 posts of lineman. On December 20, the PSPCL advertised a notice. Chaudhri said 700 more linemen would be recruited soon. He said the PSPCL had earlier recruited only 1,000 Linemen on contract basis after the High Court allowed the corporation to do so. “The Unemployed Linemen Union should accept that training enhances skills of a person and cannot become a guarantor for a job,” he said, adding that they should not protest unnecessarily.
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4,500 Pak delegates at Ahmadiya meet
Qadian (Gurdaspur), December 29 For the last three days, Qadian town that is 28 km from Gurdaspur has been buzzing with over 20,000 Ahmadiyas from 26 countries attending the convention. Today, the proceedings began with a recitation of holy verses from the Quran - the holy book of the Muslims. Maulana Mohammad Inayat Uhlah, in charge of the annual convention, said, “Even though the community in Pakistan faces several restrictions, it is flourishing. With the community having roots in 204 countries across the world, it runs several educational institutions.” One of the 4,500 Ahmadiyas, who came from Pakistan, said, “In our country, we are neither allowed to call ourselves Muslims, nor are we permitted to perform ‘Aazan’ — a call to the people of the community to assemble in the mosque for prayers. We have been targeted with several of our preachers killed. It is an altogether different story here in India.” Former Union Minister and Bollywood star Vinod Khanna and his wife Kavita Khanna, a former member of the BJP’s national executive, paid a surprise visit to the convention. “Being a former MP of Gurdaspur, it was my duty to be a part of the congregation and listen to the pro blems being faced by the members of the community,” said Khanna. Qadian Vidhan Sabha seat falls in the Gurdaspur parliamentary constituency.
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Millers protest FCI rejection of consignments
Fatehgarh Sahib, December 29 Punjab Rice Millers Association (PRMA) press secretary Nakesh Jindal demanded that the FCI and the Union Government resolve the issue at the earliest and save them from exploitation at the hands of the officials. Jindal said the total shelling capacity of rice mills in the state was about 10,000 metric tonnes and that the capacity utilisation of these mills had decreased to below 40 per cent. He said the rice millers were finding it difficult to meet the deadlines for supply of rice i.e. March 31, 2014, as per the agreement of rice shellers with the procurement agencies. Jindal said in the interest of food security and to prevent any further damage to the rice, it was necessary that immediate action was taken by the government.
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PIMS students’ kin resent shutdown, to launch agitation from January 2
Jalandhar, December 29 Many of them today assembled outside the PIMS and decided to meet on January 1 to chalk out a plan to launch the protest from January 2. They lamented that their children had worked so hard to get admission in the institute, but the recent developments had jeopardised their future. They alleged that the state government had been trying to wash its hands off the issue bugging the institute, mainly the power tussle among three groups of directors of the PIMS Medical and Educational Charitable Society. "Mismanagement of institute affairs and tussle among the directors have started affecting our children. We will leave no stone unturned to save their future," the parents said. "The lectures of our children will fall short due to the ongoing strike of teachers. Neither the Medical Council of India nor Baba Farid University of Health Sciences would overlook this, thus affecting students' career adversely," the father of a student said. The parents have demanded that instead of handing over the PIMS to a private party, the government should run it on its own or seek Centre's assistance for the same. Meanwhile, Dr SS Sidhu, who is leading the striking doctors, said the doctors would resume the work only after the management released their salaries.
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Two months on, VB yet to act
Patiala, December 29 The board had even submitted its probe report seeking the registration of a criminal case against the officials. Official sources confirmed that the probe was on and all related documents had been scrutinised. An AIG-level officer has been entrusted with the probe. The report is ready and an FIR could follow within few days, they said, adding that the recruitment of some officials was also under the scanner. A letter earlier shot off by Punjab Mandi Board Chairman Ajmer Singh Lakhowal to the Vigilance Bureau reads: "An SDO, who was posted as XEN at Chandigarh in 2011, was allegedly involved in financial irregularities following which a departmental probe was initiated against him to which he did not reply". The SDO had allegedly committed financial irregularities in electricity works carried out in mandis. "To ascertain the extent of loss, we have asked the Vigilance Bureau to initiate a probe and register a case in the matter," Dipinder Singh, board secretary, had told TNS. "We have taken all necessary documents into possession. A case could be registered any time," said a senior VB official, hinting that gross irregularities have come to their notice during the probe. The findings
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70% govt docs doing private
practice: Jyani
Phagwara, December 29 Talking to The Tribune here today, Jyani said a five-member committee headed by Chief Parliamentary Secretary Navjot Kaur Sidhu had been constituted to check the violation. Principal Secretary, Health, Vini Mahajan and three civil surgeons of Ludhiana, Nawanshahr and Patiala have been included in the committee. The minister, however, denied initiating strict action against the violators, saying the government hospitals were already facing a shortage of doctors. On time spent by government doctors in court evidences, he said video conferencing would soon be introduced at the district and tehsil headquarters so that the doctors could give evidence before the respective courts from hospitals on a fixed date after 2 pm. He said Rs 5 crore would be spent on providing infrastructure for this facility which had been approved by the Chief Minister. Jyani said efforts were being made to equip government hospitals on a par with private hospitals. The minister said toll free number 104 would soon be available to all residents for a free medical consultation. Special medical booths would be set up across the state. Jyani said "dawai te safai" would be the slogan for the New Year in government hospitals. He said 325 specialist doctors were being appointed while sanction for 200 more doctors had been sought from the Chief Minister. He advised the government doctors to prescribe only original name (salt) of the medicine instead of their brand names. He exhorted the doctors to provide medicines to patients from the hospitals.
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Nod to changes in Jalandhar road project
Jalandhar, December 29 The work on the 2.9-km-long elevated road is likely to start by March as the National Highway Authority of India (NHAI) has given its nod for a major change in the project design. On completion, the road will segregate Amritsar-bound commuters from traffic going towards Jalandhar and Hoshiarpur and will land them near Chaugitti on the outskirts of Jalandhar. This will help ease traffic snarls near Rama Mandi and PAP T-points. Earlier, the NHAI was not agreeing to the pleas of Jalandhar residents to extend the exit and entry points to PAP T-point. Mohinder Singh Kaypee, MP, who was also member of the Consultative Committee of Highways and Road Transport, said: “The NHAI has approved the entry and exit points for Jalandhar-bound traffic and people going out towards Phagwara at PAP T-point. We had taken up the case with Union Minister for Highways and Road Transport Oscar Fernandes.” He said the work was likely to take off by March. “Tenders for the elevated road will be floated soon,” he added. The NHAI is also in the process to begin work on the much-awaited six-laning of the 20-km-long Bidhipur-Dhilwan stretch of the NH-1. The district administration, it is learnt, has received Rs 70 crore for acquisition of land at various places in
Kartarpur.
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Kejriwal has Abohar connection
Abohar, December 29 Kejriwal’s aunty (his father’s sister) Savitri Devi was married here. She died recently. Her husband Duli Chand Bindal is an ayurvedic medical practitioner, who does not charge money from patients. He had met Kejriwal to congratulate him at his Kaushambi house Delhi last week. Of Kejriwal’s father’s five sisters, two were married in Rajasthan’s Sriganganagar city. “While pursuing studies Kejriwal was always concerned about the dismal state of the largest democratic nation. None could guess that he would be the Chief Minister one day and convert his dreams into reality to serve people,” Bindal said.
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Nawanshahr DC spells out tasks in New Year
Nawanshahr, December 29 “The camps will be held in each ward of Nawanshahr, Banga, Balachaur and Rahon municipal areas for ensuring on-the-spot redressal of grievances,” she said. The DC said the healthcare service would improve with the opening of 100-bed Civil Hospital, constructed for Rs 15 crore. “The problem of the wide access road to the hospital has been solved by acquiring land.” Punjab Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal will soon inaugurate the Civil Hospital. Besides, land for the proposed 25-bed hospital at Kaathgarh has been selected and construction will commence soon. “The district is the first in the state to have introduced the Universal Health Care scheme that provides health cover to people for treatment in government health centres,” she said. “After laying sewerage lines and constructing sewerage treatment plants in Banga and Nawanshahr for Rs 12.61 crore and 17.95 crore, respectively, the district administration will start work on sewerage projects in Balachaur and Rahon for Rs 21.42 crore and 32.1 crore, respectively,” Mitra said. The computerisation and setting up of ‘work stations’ for patwaris at the sub-division level would be completed by January, the DC said. “The district will achieve the target of providing 100% potable drinking water to villages,” she added. In pipeline
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Ringside View
Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal and his deputy Sukhbir Badal these days are disregarding Moga. A rally to mark the Badal Senior’s birthday on December 8 was initially planned for Moga. The Akalis later shifted the venue to Jagraon. But the rally, which was to be addressed by BJP’s PM nominee Narendra Modi, was eventually called off. The February 16 (2014) Progressive Agriculture Summit too was shifted from Moga to Chappar Chiri.
And this is despite Moga having been politically lucky for the Badals. Sukhbir started his career by contesting the Lok Sabha poll from Faridkot constituency, a major portion of which falls in the Moga district. The 1997 historic rally of the Akalis at Moga steered Badal back to power after a gap of 20 years. In the 2007 and 2012 assembly poll, the Akalis started their campaigns from here. The won with an absolute majority in the 2013 Moga state assembly bypoll. But surprisingly, the Badals are now turning away from
Moga. Remembering Kalepani
While praising the family of martyr Dewan Singh Kalepani during the inauguration of a museum in his memory at Siswan, near PGI, Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal said that on behalf of the government, “I feel ashamed that the family had to build the memorial even though it was the job of the government”. Badal acknowledged the role played by Kalapani’s grandchildren, Sonia Dhillon Sandhu and Capt Gurpratap Singh Dhillon, in shaping up an appreciable museum. Kalepani was tortured by the Japanese in a cellular jail in Andaman and Nicobar Islands. Preserving glorious past
In an attempt towards preserving the state’s glorious past, the Punjab Digital Library (PDL) has succeeded in preserving approximately nine million pages from different manuscripts. Out of these, at least three million are available on www.panjabdigilib.org. A co-founder and executive director, Davinder Pal Singh, says, “Over 90 per cent of Punjab’s heritage is lying unpreserved at several locations in the form of rare manuscripts, books, paintings, photographs, letters, diaries and other formats waiting to be taken care of and preserved.” Seeking donations for preserving the glorious past of the ‘Land of Five Rivers’, the co-founder says, “It is dwindling and dying fast due to the combined onslaught of insects, pilferers, cultural sharks and auctioneers. This criminal neglect on our part will surely render us culturally rootless, morally bankrupt, emotionally and spiritually dried and fossilised.” Rajya Sabha MP Ashwani Kumar’s pet project — the Multi Facility Old People’s Home — in itself remains a non-starter as not even a single inmate has been housed there. This is despite the fact that more than two months have elapsed since it was inaugurated by the Chief Minister on October 5. The home, once completed, will be run by an NGO (Help Age India) in collaboration with the district Red Cross Society. The MP had released funds to the tune of Rs 2.71 crore from his MPLAD fund for the venture. According to rules, MPLAD funds can be spent only on the construction of a building, and not on the purchase of moveable assets. This meant the home, which can accommodate 66 inmates, could not start functioning in the absence of furniture, beds, mattresses and other sundry items as all these items fall in the category of moveable assets. Double standards
Politicians don’t leave any opportunity to stand for the “rights” of Aam Aadmi and that too by adopting double standards. When Ludhiana MC officials went to clear encroachments from Haibowal area of Ludhiana, residents pelted them with stones, which led to damage of several vehicles and policemen getting injured. Soon there was a rush of both Congress as well as BJP leaders, who headed in the area to show “concern” for the common man. BJP leader Rajinder Bhandari even held a protest against the MC. Politicians maintained they were against the MC drive as it concerned the poor, and that they would have never obstructed it if it concerned the rich. But ironically, the same leaders were a week back seen obstructing MC officials from demolishing illegal constructions of the rich in the city. Aren’t these double standards? Magic wand
Politicians usually claim of not having a magic wand to solve public issues. But Sukhbir Badal recently proved the community wrong. On his orders, potholed roads in Bathinda city were laid overnight before the inauguration of World Kabaddi Cup. The roads had become a nightmare for motorists but were not repaired despite numerous requests. Similarly, iron grills installed at roadside dividers on the city roads, missing for the last one-and-a-half year, were recovered within a month on Sukhbir’s orders. Owner of a robbed SUV was running from pillar to post to get his vehicle recovered for the last one year. A phone call by the Deputy CM to a top policeman restored the lost vehicle to its owner within a week. The vehicle, though, had lost its sheen. Killing two birds with one stone
It will not be wrong to say some politicians and officers are expert in killing two birds with one stone. It has been observed that some officers who go out of the city for inspections simultaneously finish their own pending household chores. A few days ago, a political leader visited Ludhiana to attend a departmental meeting. As the meeting ended, the politician, while making full use of the occasion, handed over invitation cards of one of the functions of his ward's wedding to all the officers present there and invited them for the function, thus making the most of his visit. —Contributed by Kulwinder Sandhu, Sanjeev Bariana, Ravi Dhaliwal, Puneet Pal Singh Gill, Gurdeep Singh Mann and Anupam Bhagria
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Delhi HC restrains sale of Faridkot Maharaja’s assets
Faridkot, December 29 The erstwhile Maharaja Harinder Singh Brar’s assets include Faridkot House in Delhi’s posh Central Vista, two forts, vintage cars, jewellery, and properties in Punjab, Haryana and Himachal Pradesh. The High Court order came on December 27 after nine people filed a writ petition, claiming that the daughters of late Maharaja had on February 14, 1996 entered into an agreement with them, selling their rights in the disputed property for Rs 65 lakh. On July 25, 2013, after over two-decade legal fight, a court in Chandigarh ruled in favour of the daughters, declaring them as owners of their father’s Rs 20,000-crore property. On August 23, the Additional District and Sessions Judge, Chandigarh, had stayed the July 25 order of the lower court and granted relief to the Trust, which claimed that it owned the properties as per a propounded will of the late Maharaja on June 1, 1982. In October 1992, one of the daughters Amrit Kaur filed a civil suit in the Chandigarh court, challenging the will of her father produced by the Trust after Maharaja’s death in 1989. But, after nine people filed the writ petition in the Delhi High Court, claiming rights on the properties, the legal fight took a turn for the worse. In their petition, Gurpreet Singh and his eight associates claimed that during the pendency of the case between Amrit Kaur and the Trust in Chandigarh, Amrit had on February 14, 1996, entered into a deed with them for a total consideration of Rs 65 lakh selling off the properties. After money (Rs 65 lakh) was paid to Amrit, she also executed a registered general power of attorney in the favour of Gurpreet and his associates, petitioners claimed. Ranjit Singh Wehniwal, senior advocate and executive member of the Trust, said that as Amrit had already sold her rights in the properties during the pendency of the decision on the authenticity of the will, she had no right to pursue the case after February 14, 1996. The order
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SHO booked for detaining woman
Kotfatta (Bathinda), Dec 29 The police detained Accredited Social Health Activist (ASHA) Amarjit Kaur of Phoos Mandi village on Saturday and allegedly beat her up at the police station. In a complaint to the police, Surjit Singh of the same village alleged that Amarjit had stolen Rs 10,000 cash and gold worth Rs 4 lakh from his house. Opposing Amarjit’s detention, villagers told a different tale to SSP Gurpreet Bhullar. Former panchayat member Naib Singh said Amarjit was due for promotion, but the complainant’s wife, also an ASHA worker, implicated her colleague in the theft case to get promoted.
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Patiala, December 29
Jalandhar, December 29
Muktsar, December 29