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IT Dept to crack whip on tax evaders
Ludhiana, June 29 These observations were made by Mr SJS Pall, Chief Commissioner of Income Tax (CCIT) while addressing a joint meeting of Taxation Bar Association (TBA) and District Taxation Bar Association (Direct Taxes) here last evening. He said the mega city was one of the most progressive industrial centres of the entire northern region where there were large numbers of businessmen and professionals, having good income. While people were incurring lavish expenditure on social functions and enjoying a luxurious life style, the income disclosed for the purpose of tax appeared to be on the lower side. Moreover, a sizeable number of persons were earning more than the exempted limit, but still they were not filing their returns. Mr Pall remarked that the Income Tax Department had initiated several measures to become tax payer-friendly. Efforts were being made to ensure that no harassment or inconvenience was caused to assessees who filed their returns disclosing true income. He desired that all persons who were covered within the ambit of income tax, must file their returns without any fear and with full confidence. According to the CCIT, the total tax collection in Ludhiana region had exceeded Rs 800 crore during the last financial year while a target of Rs 1000 crore (an increase of 25 percent) had been fixed for the current year. Explaining the policy formulated for the selection of cases for scrutiny, he said that such cases would be picked strictly according to the guidelines contained in the action plan of the Central Board of Direct Taxes. New statutory forms No 1, 2, 2-D and 3-A, as also fringe benefits taxes and advance tax challans would be made available at the earliest. At the same time, refunds will be issued more speedily and all day to day problems of assessees and the bar would be solved on priority basis. Responding to the points raised by Mr Ashok Juneja, president, TBA, and Mr L.C. Gupta, president DTBA, Mr Pall observed that bar and bench were two arms of the same machinery and it would be the endeavour of the department to extend its full cooperation to members of the bar.
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Sarabha’s statue faces another shifting
Ludhiana, June 29 The podium, in fact, had been waiting for the statue for the past many years. Workers of the Municipal Corporation were today busy in the process of shifting the bronze statue to a new place. While the new place for shifting the statue was being debated with some residents claiming that the place was a haven for drug addicts and beggars and shifting of statue there would amount to disrespect to the martyr, the MC authorities had been claiming that this was the right place for it. Dr Jaswant Singh, Joint Commissioner, MC, said the statue would be shifted soon. He added that it would be replaced on the podium specially constructed for the purpose before the start of work on the elevated road. He added that after completion of the bridge it might be put up at its original place under the bridge. While the authorities see nothing objectionable in shifting the statue time and again, a common feeling among freedom fighters, ex-servicemen and social workers is that the authorities have been ‘tossing around’ the statues of their heroes time and again on the plea of making way for smooth traffic flow. With the shifting of another statue, the question being asked now is that will the heroes be given a final resting place once and for all? A concerned resident, who is unhappy with the temporary shifting, argued that it could be put up at some place near the Mini Secretariat or some other place. Tracing the history of statues in city, their shifting and the shabby treatment, he said a bust of Mahatma Gandhi, the Father of the Nation, at present installed near the MC building towards Mata Rani Chowk, was earlier placed in a park in front of the MC building but then it was shifted as the place was selected for construction of a
multistory parking. Then there was the case of the statue of Flying Officer Nirmaljit Singh Sekhon, the Paramvir Chakra winner and hero of the 1971 Indo-Pak war. Initially his statue was installed at Samrala Chowk on the Jalandhar byepass road. From there it was shifted to some place in the city and then finally to its present resting place in the Mini Secretariat. The statue of Major Bhupinder Singh, Maha Vir Chakra awardee in the 1965 Indo-Pak war,was also shifted a couple of times. First, it was installed at Bharat Nagar Chowk but when traffic lights were installed there the statue was uprooted and is now ‘sidelined’ in a make-shift park near Jagraon overbridge. Even the latest statue of Kartar Singh Sarabha facing shifting was earlier in a museum. At that time a small statue was installed here. However, relatives of the martyr alleged that the statue was not accorded proper care and maintenance and thus they got it shifted first to the DC’s office and then ultimately to Sarabha’s native village where it stands today.
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Second-hand car dealers doing brisk business
Ludhiana, June 29 There are about 200 dealers of second-hand cars in Ludhiana and most of them are doing a brisk business. The dealers said there was a good demand for the second-hand cars since most people preferred to buy them instead of brand new cars. “There are two main reasons. First, one can get a second-hand car, which is a couple of months old to one 10 to 12 years. All these cars are in a good condition”. According to Mr Shyam Lal, a leading dealer of the second-hand cars in the Feroze Gandhi Market, customers get full satisfaction with the second-hand cars. He pointed out that the second-hand cars cost far less than the new cars. They could be got in an equally good working condition. Moreover, a second-hand car could be sold at any time without losing much in terms of depreciation. He said, “The most common trend prevailing among the customers is that they usually bought a model that is more than a year old. This way they get a car that is as good as the new one but costs substantially less. They usually use this car for a year or more and than sell it again”. “However, in case somebody buys a brand new car, he looses substantial amount in depreciation. More costly the car, more is the depreciation. That is probably the reason why there are more customers for the luxury cars than the entry segment cars. It is always advisable to buy a second-hand luxury car than go for a new one”, remarked Mr Karan, who loves to change his car every six months. “If I were to go for the brand new cars, I could not afford it as I would loose considerable amount in depreciation. Most of the times I make profit, while at the same time I can have the taste of another car”, he said. Even the banks and financial institutions have started giving loans for the second-hand cars. However, the rate of interest on loan for the second-hand cars is slightly more. Owing to the great demand for the second-hand cars, even Maruti Udyog Limited has also started its scheme of “True Value”, where it offers the customers used Maruti cars.
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Parents seek action against school management
Ludhiana, June 29 The complaint, filed by Mr Ashok Dhanda, father of the missing child, has been titled “leke gaye thae laye nahin”. Mr Ashok has explained the manner in which the plan of the school tour was informed to them and which officials of the school were heading the tour and who had informed the family about the boy’s alleged drowning in a canal of the Sutlej. Police sources said the city police could only explore the negligence part, if proved, as the occurrence of the case was in Sundernagar. Meanwhile, the school management has also written a letter to the Sundernagar police to speed up the investigation in the case. The family and relatives of the missing boy has been left completely devastated by the incident. They do not accept the theory that the boy had drowned in the canal, “The body could have surfaced if he had fallen in the canal” said Mr Ashok Dhanda. The complaint states that they had sent the boy on the tour on the recommendation of the school principal. On the day when the students were supposed to return, the family was informed that Dikshit had slipped into the river and probably drowned. |
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Income Tax Dept to open help centres in city
Ludhiana, June 29 Announcing this here today, the Chief Commissioner of Income Tax, Mr S.J.S. Pall, informed that this centre would be operated on private-public partnership basis and would remain functional till September 30. If the experiment yielded desired results, the department would take further necessary action to adopt the model in a big way. According to Mr J.S. Minhas, Joint
Commissioner of the department, the centre, proposed to be set up all over the country in a phased manner, would guide the tax-payers and prospective assessees on filing of their income tax returns. In these help centres, one income Tax Officer, along with an Inspector, would be available for assistance and the department would also seek participation from members of tax bar, traders and industrialists and other taxation experts.
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2,120 pirated, porn CDs seized
Khanna, June 29 Mr Dilbagh Singh, SP (D), said following a tip-off that some persons were involved in preparing duplicate and porn CDs in the Ucha Vehra locality, a team of the Criminal Investigation Authority, Khanna, raided a house owned by Shiv Kumar. It seized 1,330 VCDs, 272 MP3 CDs, 258 DVDs, 10 porn CDs, and 250 blank CDs. It also seized 60,000 duplicate wrappers of CDs along with 100 original ones.
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Kidnapped boy rescued
Khanna, June 29 The boy was reunited with his parents yesterday. Addressing a press conference here, Mr Dilbagh Singh, SP (D), claimed that the police arrested the accused from Samrala when he was coming from the Macchhiwara side along with the boy. He said the accused, Jai Lal Mehto was at present living in Jawahar Nagar. He had lent Rs 10,000 to Mohan Lal, father of Anil Kumar, some time ago. Mohan Lal did not return the money. On Saturday last, Mehto kidnapped Anil Kumar. 
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Revised food licensing orders create confusion
Ludhiana, June 29 As this work was earlier handled by the civic bodies all over the state, the revised policy has not only led to confusion but could result in harassment of those liable to get licenses under the relevant rules, which were recently notified. In a state-level meeting convened at Chandigarh last month, the Civil Surgeons and health officers were apprised with the detailed mechanism for issuing licences under the said rules. However, the government, while formulating the new policy on food licensing, overlooked the fact that under the provisions of municipal laws and rules framed thereunder, the Municipal Corporation in the big cities and municipal councils in smaller towns were already issuing licences to vendors of eatables, restaurants, cafeterias and other joints serving food and drinks. The dual food licensing has put the manufacturers, traders and vendors of food items in a quandary as most of them held valid licences from the civic bodies since such licenses had to be renewed by end of March every year. At the same time, the constant threat of penal action by health officials also hangs on the heads of the licensees because the department could rightly invoke the penal provisions of Punjab Food Adulteration Rules 2004 against them at any time for failure to obtain licences under the revised policy. Talking to Ludhiana Tribune on this issue, the Civil Surgeon, Dr Rajinder Kaur, informed that the process for issuing licences for manufacture and sale of food items and other eating joints in the district had been set in motion and quite a few applications in this respect had been received in the office of District Health Officer (DHO), who was the licensing authority under the rules. Maintaining that the department was bound to give effect to the revised policy on food licences under the relevant law, she declined to comment on the fate of the license holders, who were subjected to dual control for the time being. “This is a policy matter and has been decided at the government level.” She, however, observed that no additional staff had been made available to the department for this work and modalities to cope with the additional load of food licensing were being evolved. The DHO, Dr V.K. Kakkar, added that it would not be the intention of the department to harass those holding valid licences from the civic bodies, at least for the time being. He expressed hope that the ambiguity might be rectified in due course to put an end to confusion, if any, about food licenses.
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BJP demands CM’s dismissal
Ludhiana, June 29 In a statement issued here yesterday, Mr Khanna said his party would continue to raise the issue as long as any action was not taken against the Chief Minister. He alleged that the Chief Minister was giving flimsy excuses for his visit to the controversial Dixie Gurdwara in Canada on May 20. He also disputed the CM’s claims that his visit to the gurdwara was not on schedule. Mr Khanna pointed out that had that been the case (that the visit to the gurdwara was not on his schedule) how did some newspapers in Chandigarh report on May 17 that he would be visiting the gurdwara. Moreover, Mr Khanna said, the CM should explain as to how the local radio stations announced in Canada that the CM was visiting the Dixie gurdwara. “This only means that everything was according to plan”, he observed. The BJP leader said, his party would not let the issue be forgotten and it would keep on raising it to ensure that the people remember as it.
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The multiple dimensions of life
Nearing three score and ten, Dr Harbhajan Singh Deol has emerged as a person with varied viewpoints. He started his career as a college lecturer way back in 1961 at Banga. He taught political science to students of GHG Khalsa College, Gurusar Sadhar (Ludhiana) from 1971 to 1980.
His father, Mr Iqbal Singh, was the founder-Principal of this institution which had been established in 1948. He was happy to be following in the footsteps of his illustrious father. He had perhaps envisaged this career as the end-all and be-all of his life. But the streak in his personality to spearhead a protest movement in the college cast his mind in a peculiar mould of thinking and action. At times he found himself at the crossroads but such periods revealed the multiple dimensions of his life. He was appointed member, Punjab Public Service Commission, from 1980 to 84. He served Punjab State Electricity Board from 1985 to 1987 in the capacity of its administrative member. Later he joined Punjabi University, Patiala, and retired as Professor and Head, National Integration Chair in 1996. Immediately after that, he was appointed Commissioner, Linguistic Minorities in India from 1996 to 1999. Ever since he has been deeply involved in social and cultural activities. It was a pleasant surprise for me to meet him at Rashtrapati Nivas, Shimla in 1997. He had gone there to present a paper on Firaq Gorakhpuri in the seminar organised by Indian Institute of Advanced Study. There I discovered that he was an ardent lover of Urdu poetry. Having been deeply associated with Ludhiana, Dr Deol is also an admirer of Sahir Ludhianvi. He is of the view that — “Sahir’s poetic consciousness, his passion for social justice, his advocacy of selfless human longings, his appreciation of the nimbus of divine beauty, his symphonic romantic tunes, his deep sensitivity to personal and social turbulence, his literary simplicity, his faith in the future of man and his solidarity with the struggling masses made him a poet of all times.” Paradoxical as it may appear, Dr H.S. Deol is a trade unionist to the core of his heart. The topic of his Ph.D. thesis has been - “Trade Unionism in Public Sector : A Case Study of Punjab State Electricity Board.” Earlier, during his stay in England from 1965 to 1971, he had studied in the University of Birmingham as a full time student towards Ph.D. at the Centre for Russian and East European Studies. He was on the editorial staff of a London weekly ‘Awaz’. He has also served the cause of college teachers, first as the President of Punjab and Chandigarh College Teachers Union in 1978-79 and then as member, University Senate and Syndicate both of Punjabi as well as Guru Nanak Dev Universities during the period of 1986-87. Teaching has always been dear to his heart. He has been associated one way or another with the administration of colleges. From 1985 to 87, he served Guru Teg Bahadur College at Anandpur Sahib as president of its managing council. Perhaps the most trying job during his career of about four decades had been that of Commissioner, Linguistic Minorities in India, with headquarters at Allahabad. He joined this august office in 1996 with high hopes but was disillusioned before long with the functional poverty of this constitutional office. The intentions behind the objectives of this office at the time of its inception were pure and excellent. It was created to tackle the linguistic problems and cultural sensitivities for the development of a democratic polity. But the office is terribly marginalised, ignored and isolated, as he puts it. The need of the hour is that the provisions in the constitution concerning this office be implemented in actual practice. Still Dr Deol is moving with the times with gusto. In his vacant hours, he composes poems in Punjabi. The tenderness of his feelings touches the inner chords of the reader’s heart. He craves for a society where the human beings eliminate the distance between appearance and reality. He says — “Our mutual concerns are endeavours to keep alive the aesthetics in ourselves. There are no pretensions as we keep ourselves busy creating unique visions, poised at the confluence of reality and truth. Our enduring kinship is transformed into a bond and our mutual concerns become more intense. Ultimately we become links in the unbreakable chain of the culture.” N.S. Tasneem
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YC flays hike in prices of LIT flats
Ludhiana, June 29 Addressing a party workers’ meeting here yesterday, Mr Kuldeep Kumar Teswar, district president, said the state government ought to take serious notice of the dissenting remarks made by Ms Malkiat Kaur at a recent meeting of the trust against remission of non-construction fine in a couple of cases and causing massive financial loss to the LIT. He said hike in the sale price of MIG flats from Rs 7.65 lakh to Rs 8.87 lakh was unwarranted and an avoidable burden on prospective buyers. The SC cell president of the party further asserted that Ms Malkiat Kaur, a sitting councillor, was nominated to the LIT to safeguard the interests of the weaker sections and scheduled castes and it was imperative for the authorities to give due consideration to her opinion in matters related to public interest. The party urged Punjab Minister for Local Bodies Choudhry Jagjit Singh to intervene and order a review of the “anti-people” decisions taken by the trust. It further called for evolving a mechanism that could ensure that due weightage was given to the elected representatives of the people in the decision-making process.
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Housefed to build flats for weaker sections
Ludhiana, June 29 Stating this in an interview with Ludhiana Tribune here on Tuesday, newly appointed chairman of Housefed Krishan Kumar Bawa said under another ambitious project being undertaken by the establishment, Housefed would take up the construction of super deluxe flats in Jalandhar and Ludhiana for non-resident Indians (NRIs) in the wake of a large number of NRIs evincing interest in such properties in these two cities. “With NRIs setting up their bases in their respective hometowns, they will be able to maintain continuing relations with their roots and also facilitate the process of foreign investment in Punjab.” Mr Bawa said the proposed housing complexes for the NRIs would have all modern facilities and community services like libraries, playgrounds and community halls, which would be named after eminent Punjabis, who had made their mark in different fields like literature, sports, freedom struggle and defence forces. Expressing his satisfaction at the overall functioning and financial performance of Housefed, Mr Bawa stated that several housing projects were in different stages of execution and the cooperative housing body had earned a profit of Rs 23 crore during the last financial year. Earlier, Mr Bawa was felicitated for his appointment as chairman of Housefed at a function organised by Congress workers in Simlapuri. Speakers at the function, including Ram Saroop, Mukhtiar Singh, Sukhdev Singh Malra, Harchand Singh Dhir and Kharatiti Lal, expressed their gratitude to Chief Minister Amarinder Singh for giving due recognition to the Backward Classes by nominating Mr Bawa as chairman of Housefed. |
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Budgerigars gifted to city zoo
Ludhiana, June 29 The NRI, who had the birds in his Goraya home, decided to gift them to the zoo to ensure proper care for them. For the time being, the cage housing these colourful birds of the parrot family has been housed in an enclosure meant for the pair of Himalayan bears. They would soon be housed in a separate enclosure, added Mr Joshi.
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A rare passion
Ludhiana, June 29 I started collecting notes, like with the number 155821 followed by two and other numbers, then number beginning with three followed by four and five. “I have collected till 200 and aim to take my collection to 500”, she said. Parampreet Kaur said, “My father is a cashier in the Electricity Department. As he knew of my passion, he gets notes that I am looking for in my collection”. After she collects some more notes, she is going to approach the Limca Book of Records and get her name entered in the book for this laborious feat. When asked of her future plans, she said, “People make suits out of sarees. I will try to reverse the order and make saree from suits”.
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Girls get tips on beauty
Ludhiana, June 29 The first day of workshop included pedicure and manicure wherein information on care and upkeep was given. On the second and third day, tips were given on skin care, different facials to suit different skin eyes, problems related to skin i.e. acne, pigmentation, freckles, discoloration, dehydration, ageing, under eye dark circles, etc. Tips to maintain glow on skin and rejuvenate the skin were also given. Mr Rajiv Ghai, hair expert, advised on hair care, remedies for anti-dandruff, hair fall and strengthening of hair. Seminar: Over 100 participants from the city and nearby areas attended a one-day seminar on hair-care at a local beauty parlour here yesterday. The seminar focussed on latest hair styles, colouring and straightening of hair and haircuts. Organiser Abhey said fashion kept changing frequently and beauticians or hair-stylists needed to upgrade their knowledge. He said global and streaking hair-colour remained favourites with young girls. “People should not neglect their hair if they wanted to look beautiful and elegant,” he stressed.
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Jagraon bus stand awaits completion
Jagraon, June 29 The foundation stone of the bus stand was laid by Mr Parkash Singh Badal, the then Chief Minister of Punjab, Mr Badal claimed to provide a beautiful bus stand with full amenities to the employees as well as the public . But the bus stand is in a state of neglect and being used by gamblers to play cards and the public to use it as an open toilet. The change in the state government has delayed its completion. Rs 8,000 are collected from the buses which pass through Jagraon as Adda Fees daily, but the buses are not allowd to enter the bus stand. The amount is deposited in the account of the state government. The buses are parked on the roadside and this leads to traffic chaos. The General Manager, Mr Harnek Singh, disclosed that the matter was discussed in various meetings to allow the buses to use the open floor area but no attention was paid to the proposal. He disclosed that at least 500 buses pass through the area daily.
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ALOHA holds workshop
Ludhiana, June 29 In fact, arithmetic is used as a tool for complete brain development of the child to enable him to overcome the problems faced by him in today’s competitive world. The course helps child to improve his concentration, quick grasp of knowledge, retention, memory, listening and logical ability. The child masters the arithmetic to such an extent that he gets the ability to mentally calculate faster than the calculator . The improvement in mental faculties of the child and in his concentration level shows result in his academics. To demonstrate this, a workshop was organised at Satluj Club here yesterday.
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Gang of power cable thieves busted; three arrested
Mandi Ahmedgarh, June 29 According to Mr Rajiv Ahir, Senior Superintendent of Police, Jagraon, the Sudhar police had
received information that a gang had been stealing power cables from the poles for around six
months. The police was informed that a junior engineer used to help the gang remove the cables when the power was off. The police succeeded in nabbing two members of the gang who were caught red-handed at a naka headed by the Sudhar SHO. The duo was identified as Rashwinder Singh and Jagtar Singh Bhola, residents of Halwara village. The police later arrested another accomplice, Darshan Singh, a scrap dealer, of the same village. A huge quantity of stolen cables was seized from their possession. Harpreet Singh of Buraj Littan, another accused who posed himself as a junior engineer used to remove cables from the poles, was still absconding. Interestingly, the police had received no such complaint from the PSEB office.
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Two held with
opium
Jagraon, June 29 Illicit liquor seized: The Sidhwan police has arrested Amrik Singh of Baloki, Mehatpur, from Khurshidpur and seized 11.25 litres of illicit liquor from his possession. A case under the Excise Act has been registered. 5 booked for assault: Ramesh Mandal, Jonta Puri, Dinesh Mandal, Maheshwar Mandal and Vidhan Mandal, all five migrant labourers, had assaulted Hardev Singh of Walipur Khurd after entering his house. The Humbran police has registered a case. Hardev Singh had been admitted to Sobti Hospital at Ludhiana. Some money transaction is said to be the reason behind the incident. No arrest has been made so far.
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Rs 1.2 cr loan for farmers
Ludhiana, June 29 A similar get together-cum-loan distribution function was organised at Kum Kalan where more than 200 farmers from different villages participated. Speaking on the occasion, Mr R.K. Sharma, Senior Regional Manager, said the bank had formulated loan schemes to fulfil their requirements for farming activities. Mr Sharma said loans amounting to Rs 1.20 crore were given to 45 farmers. Mr Waryam Singh, Senior Manager, Agriculture Hi-tech Branch, Ludhiana, Mr P.S. Shilla, Senior Manager, Lead Bank, Mr Randhir Kamal, Branch Manager, BO: Chaunta, and Mr G.K. Negi, Branch Manager, BO: Kum Kalan, also addressed the gathering.
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