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solid waste management
project
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Education Dept stuck with 52 schools
Despite HC order, illegal marriage palaces thrive
Specialist doctors to protest on Nov 17, 29
BSP leader seeks police security
Dismiss notification or face black badge protest, teacher union tells govt
Police conduct raids at maternity homes
Trader not disclosing cash looted Feedback
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solid waste management
project Rachna Khaira Tribune News Service
Jalandhar, November 9 A need has been felt for the last few years to urgently set up a waste processing plant that could dispose of the litter scattered across the city due to the shortage of garbage dumps. The Wariana garbage dump has also been exhausted to its maximum capacity after continuously absorbing the litter of the entire city for the last 35 to 40 years. The Municipal Corporation had allocated around 29 acres of land in 2011, which the neighbouring villages opposed raising serious health concerns. Also, the site was discarded by the opposition due to the site being inaccessible to some villages through road. Although the MC had taken all the necessary clearance for setting up the plant in the village, due to the stiff opposition by the various groups, it could not be materialise till date. Satish Sharma, AGM, Jindal Infrastructure, said: "There is a need to make people aware about their ignorance about the hazards of setting up the plant at Jamsher. "Most of the waste management plants across the world have been set up in the centre of prominent cities like Toronto in Canada. Also, in Delhi, we have a fully operational 16 mega watt electricity plant at Okhla that is generating around 50 per cent of the total electricity requirement by the city after the processing of 4,000 metric tonnes of garbage every month," said Sharma. "Since the process is completly scientific and involves high-tech equipments, there are no health hazards or foul smell involved in it," he said. However, disapproving of the site, Pargat Singh, MLA from Jalandhar Cantt, said: "The site is not viable as there is no approach road from some villages. Also, due to the location of the site just next to the Dairy Complex, it has raised serious apprehensions in the minds of the people living nearby." "The Panchayat Samiti is ready to give 20 acres of land near Khun Khun village on lease to the MC. They should set up the plant there and utilise the site at Jamsher to extend the dairy complex," said the MLA. He said presently, the cost of the present site is around Rs 6 crore that could be put in fixed deposit after selling it to the farmers and the money could be utilised to pay the lease amount to the panchayat samiti." Meanwhile, the Municipal Corporation has recently identified around 80 new sites to be converted into secondary garbage dumps from where the solid waste management company would install bins and lift the garbage. But due to the absence of the processing plant, they seem clueless about the proper utilization of garbage and the residents may have to wait more to get rid of the litter stinking around them. What Satish Sharma, AGM, Jindal Infrastructure, said...
What Pargat Singh, MLA, Jalandhar Cantonment, said...
Officialspeak
We are well aware of the urgent need to set up the processing plant soon in the city. Necessary planning is being done to implement the project on a priority basis. The controversy involving the site for setting up of the plant will be resolved
soon. — Gurpreet Singh Khehra, Municipal Commissioner |
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Education Dept stuck with 52 schools
Aparna Banerji Tribune News Service
Jalandhar, November 9 While after a delay of over seven months, the department finally succeeded in getting the SMCs of a majority of government schools made in the district, unfortunately the remaining few schools are acting as a major obstacle in the completion of this vital work. As many as 52 schools in the district — mostly senior secondary — are reportedly not co-operating with the education department in the constitution of their SMCs. Notably, both from the point of view of the approaching deadline of the Right to Education Act and that of the various tasks required to be done at schools, the compilation of the SMCs is an important task. Of the 1,491 schools in the district (government, primary, middle, senior secondary, high and aided) where SMCs need to be constituted, the task has been completed in as many as 1,438 so far. Various disputes, village politics and in some cases, basic disobedience among the schools, is being termed as the reason why the formation of remaining SMCs are being delayed. Interestingly, the inclusion of Panchayat members as SMC members — following instructions by the DGSE to schools — had also caused confusion about the formulation process among many schools. Initially, the squabbling factions in various villages (in some of which panches perceived they had to be compulsorily made the SMC members) also approached the education department with their complaints. The delay in the formation of SMCs also means none of the vital decisions regarding infrastructure and fund allocation at these schools can be taken because such projects can officially be given a go ahead only by the SMCs. While the original deadline for the constitution of SMCs was March 31, 2014 - according to the instructions of the DGSE - it still took the department seven months to get them formulated - the excuses being the model code of conduct etc.. Sources in the department said despite repeated instructions and despite sending officials to some of these schools repeatedly, they have refused to clear the way for making of the SMCs. SMCs are yet to be constituted in schools like the Government Senior Secondary School Mand, Government High School Rahimpur (Nakodar), Government primary School Mithapur, Government Senior Secondary School (boys) Jamsher, Government Senior Secondary School Kotli Than Singh, Government Primary School Puranpur among others. As per the RTE Act, new school management committees have to be made after the lapse of every two year period of the existing SMCs. The formulation process has t include the nod of all students, parents and existing SMC members. It is also alleged that in many of the SMCs hitherto constituted, the judicious process of formulation hasn't been followed. Harinder Pal, DEO (Secondary), said the department was working on the constitution of remaining SMCs and presently the number of remaining schools had come down to 28. He said he would check into the process of formulation of SMCs of the remaining senior secondary schools soon. Fact file
Departmental sources allege that some of the schools aren't responding to repeated requests for formulation of SMCs while others are not able to reach a consensus owing to school/village disputes |
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Better jalandhar: Regularisation of marriage palaces—I Deepkamal Kaur Tribune News Service
Jalandhar, November 9 While the court had asked the government to consider the cases of the marriage palaces within a period of three months, it has been more than seven months since the time period has lapsed and the pending cases are yet to be dealt with. Resultantly, the residents of the areas and commuters around it continue to suffer the nuisance primarily because of haphazard parking owing to the departmental delays. Exercise began in September 2012
The Punjab and Haryana High Court on August 17, 2012 had directed Punjab Deputy Commissioners to furnish a list of all the unauthorised marriage palaces in the state. The directions came during the hearing of a petition for action on unauthorised marriage palaces that have mushroomed in the area under the Greater Mohali Area Development Authority (GMADA). When the compliance of norms by the palaces was checked in September 2012 in Jalandhar, Kapurthala and Hoshiarpur by the former Additional Chief Administrator Sarojini Gautam Sharda for Jalandhar Development Authority and Municipal Town Planner Tejpreet Singh for Municipal Corporation, Jalandhar, it was found that there was not even a single palace owner who was fully complying with the orders. Patwaris were sent out to visit all palaces and check their records. Notices were issued. Meetings had been held. Documentation of each palace owner appearing for fresh regularisation was then checked. 10 palaces sealed in June 2013, no progress made
The JDA had started the process of sealing of palaces in June last year. About 10 palaces had been sealed in Jalandhar and Kapurthala when the owners had moved the court against the policy seeking certain relaxations but not to any relief. Initially, closure notices had been issued to 97 palaces by the JDA. Status in JDA
Of the 156 palaces falling in the purview of the JDA, it had been found that barely three out of these possessed change of land use (CLU) certificates and only 23 of these had sought permission or approvals of their building plan. Hardly 15 of these palaces were found to be complying with the much important parking norms which state that 60 per cent of total area has to be left for the purpose. Overall, there was none which fulfilled all requirements as per the policy. Status in MC
Municipal Corporation has 55 palaces falling within its limit with just 15 having sought due approval. Thirty palaces did not get their building plans approved, who are now also liable to pay up CLU and development charges as per the new policy. Only 20 palaces complied with parking norms with the rest having earmarked space less than 60 per cent. But the MC dumped its plan to take action against any owner and has so far not pursued any exercise since 2012. Demand to roll in
hotels too
Demanding that even hoteliers be taken in the ambit of the new policy framed by the government for marriage palaces, the palace owners of Jalandhar today said that action should come against hotels as well as they too in line with marriage palaces were holding big marriage functions and were devoid of proper parking facility. The members of Jalandhar Marriage Palace Owners Association led by president Ranbir Tut had said that even as there were a few palaces which had adequate parking space and complied to the policy but there was not even a single hotel which fulfilled the parking norms. Versions
Ranbir Tutt, who represents the association for marriage palaces, said, “We are still in the process of taking a legal recourse.” Principal Secretary Housing and Urban Development A Venu Prasad said, “We had begun action but could not follow up owing to some glitches. I will have to recall everything and do not remember off hand”. New bylaws for palaces
31 palaces have not applied since two years
What court orders say
What policy entails
The Punjab government issued a new policy for regularisation of marriage palaces in November 2013 wherein high charges of CLU and development charges had been fixed. It had been decided to levy an amount of Rs 40 lakh per acre from an owner having a palace on national, state or scheduled roads and Rs 28 lakh per acre from those owning a palace on other roads. |
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Specialist doctors to protest on Nov 17, 29
Jalandhar, November 9 In a meeting of the State Senate of PCMS Specialist Doctors' Association Punjab, held at Jalandhar today under the chairmanship of its state president Dr Kashmir Singh Sohal, the association decided that after wearing black badges, doing gate rallies and pen-down strikes, the PCMS specialist doctors will now stop specialist work in phased manner to protest against the government's lack of consideration for giving them salary and other facilities. State president Dr Sohal, organising secretary Dr Raman Gupta and president of Jalandhar district Dr Ashok Kumar said: "Specialist doctors are particularly sore over denial of Higher Qualification Allowance (HQA) to them. Higher Qualification Allowance has been widely appreciated by various pay commissions. Work targets have been fixed for specialist doctors by the PHSC." They said to their utmost disappointment, the doctors who have acquired post graduation before May 23, 2001 - they are denied the benefit of higher qualification by the government in which 15 per cent of the basic pay has been granted as higher education allowance to doctors, from June 2012, to doctors who have acquired post graduation after May 23, 2001. The doctors, who did post graduation before this date, were given six increments which have been merged either on placement or on revision of pay scales on Jan 1, 1996 and Jan 1,2006. They said due to the aforesaid moves, they were getting pays equal to non specialist doctors. They said even the economical benefit, equal to five annual increments (15 per cent) granted to doctors, who have completed their PG course after May 23, 2001, is not sufficient to attract and retain specialist doctors in government job. The association demanded Higher Qualification Allowance given to only few Specialist Doctors should be given to all the PCMS doctors with post-graduation qualification irrespective of the date of acquiring PG Degree. They also demanded naming of Non Practicing Allowance (NPA) as Special Medical Pay, minimum Grade pay for new recruited graduates to be Rs 6,600, for new
recruited specialists Rs 7,600 and Rs 10,000 for specialist and graduate doctors, they also demanded that PCMS officers to be provided with vehicles for government duty and 5 per cent basic pay as conveyance allowance and increase in academic allowance and allowance in rural areas to 15 per cent. Demanding fulfillment of these demands, the association will stop specialist work on November 17 and 23. The union also threatened if the government fails to act on this immediately, then specialist doctors will stop specialist work completely in entire Punjab in near future, for which government will be responsible. |
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BSP leader seeks police security
Jalandhar, November 9 Nathpal along with the BSP leader Kamaldev Jandusingha had also recently met the Police Commissioner and requested him to nab the remaining accused. It is to recall here that after on October 9 brutal attack was engineered on a Dhiwan-based man Nathpal, he had alleged that the Akali councillor Balvir Singh Bittu had orchestrated the attack due to an old enmity. However, the police had then denied the role of councillor Balvir Singh Bittu in the attack. Seven persons, who were charged with attempt to murder and other Sections of the Indian Penal Code, were identified as Narinder Kumar Kala, Sunny, Sabhi, Rakesh Kumar, Kishna, and two women. A case under Sections 307, 323, 341, 354, 148 149 of the IPC was registered at the Rama Mandi
police station. Only one accused Rakesh was arrested by police so far, states BSP leaders in a statement. |
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Category change row Tribune News Service
Jalandhar, November 9 Declaring this at a state level meeting at the local Ambedkar Bhawan here today, the union activists from 22 districts present on the occasion said the government had meted out step motherly treatment with the master cadre by relegating it to category C from its category A. Condemning the anti-employee stance of the government activists demanded the dismissal of the government notification which had okayed the aforesaid change in the category. They said until the dismissal of the notification by the government they won't give up their struggle. Activists had also held a dharna reharding the same demand in the district on October 31 wherein they had also submitted a demand letter addressed to CM Parkash Singh Badal through the DEO (s) and Deputy Commissioner. Notably, the protest by the Master Cadre, which is the strongest cadre among the teachers unions in the state has political implications as well. The 50,000 strong cadre wields considerable influence in terms of electoral strength as well. While formerly, as well, the master cadre used to be in category C, the cadre activists protest they have been brought to a worse point this time because their status and category standing has been made almost equal to those of clerks by the state government. While state chief Gurpreet Singh Riar headed today's meet, activists Harbans Lal president of the Jalandhar unit of the union, general secretary Washington Singh, baldev Singh Buttar, Jagjit Singh, Sunita Singh, Harbhajan Singh Mand, Manjinder Singh, Baljinder Dhaliwal, Raman Kumar among others were present on the occasion.
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Death of newborn baby girl
Jalandhar, November 9 Initially, the police had registered a case under Section 377 of the IPC against unidentified persons but after the girl's death, the police have now registered a case of culpable homicide. To trace the accused, the police have started conducting raids at maternity homes. The purpose behind these raids is to inquire about recent deliveries that took place at various maternity homes in the city. If any case that is suspect comes to light, the police will inquire about the parents to further ascertain the present condition of the newborn. The baby girl was recovered in the wee hours on Friday, when some passersby listened to her cries. Wrapped in a polythene, new born was lying in a pile of garbage. Doctor SS Nangal, who treated the newborn girl, had also suspected that stray dogs could have inflicted serious wounds on baby's body.
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Farming, dairy festival concludes