Govt to impose property tax
Chandigarh, November 28
Punjab has decided to impose property tax in the state shortly. This has been done to improve state’s fiscal position and comply with the directive of the central government to introduce reforms before the end of the year. 

 

POLITICS

Red Beacons
MLA seeks Centre’s intervention
Fatehgarh Sahib, November 28
Terming the grant of red beacons to SGPC members as an act of bribery, the Punjab Pradesh Congress Committee (PPCC) has sought the Centre’s intervention in the matter.

Cong concern over fiscal mismanagement
Chandigarh, November 28
A group of Congress leaders has expressed grave concern over what they call “fiscal mismanagement” of the SAD-BJP government in Punjab. In a joint signed statement, the leaders that include former minister Jagmohan Singh Kang, Tej Parkash Singh, Avtar Henry and Ramesh Dutt have said Punjab’s fiscal position is getting worse by the day despite huge grants to the state by the UPA government.

COMMUNITY

Follow-up 
DCs told to form plan panels
Chandigarh, November 28
Realising that crores of rupees of central funds meant for rural and urban development schemes will be stopped, the ruling SAD-BJP government in Punjab has issued instructions to all deputy commissioners to immediately constitute district plan committees which are mandatory for the execution of all development schemes that are to run in partnership with the Centre.

Consumers still get hiked power tariff bills
Patiala, November 28
Despite claims made by the Punjab government to put on hold an increased power tariff proposed by the Punjab State Electricity Regulatory Commission (PSERC) a few weeks ago, residents in of the city and elsewhere in the state still have been getting bills according to the increased tariff.

Chief Khalsa Diwan
Vedanti pacifies warring factions
Amritsar, November 28
The Jathedar of Akal Takht, Giani Joginder Singh Vedanti, today intervened to bring a rapprochement between two factions of the Chief Khalsa Diwan over the election of office-bearers.

Badal cracks whip on babus
Chandigarh, November 28
Perturbed over growing instances of bureaucratic indifference and lack of responsiveness towards their political masters, Punjab Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal today took Punjab’s bureaucracy by the horns and issued a veiled threat asking them to fall in line. “If you perform your job well, there is no need for me to hold sangat darshan functions,” is what Badal told the babus without mincing words.

COURTS

Fast track court for NRIs
Chandigarh, November 28
The Punjab government proposes to set up a fast track court to deal with the problems of NRIs. A request will be made to the Chief Justice of the Punjab and Haryana High Court in this regard.

Punjab’s advocate-general Hardev Singh Mattewal, who was awarded National Law Day Award - 2007 by President Pratibha Devisingh Patil during a two-day International Conference of Jurists and Rule of Law at Vigyan Bhawan, New Delhi, on November 24 and 25.

Contempt of Court
HC orders arrest of Amritsar resident 
Chandigarh, November 28
The Punjab and Haryana High Court today directed an Amritsar resident to be taken into custody for casting aspersions on judiciary in an application.

  Harassment case against MLA: records summoned
  Status quo ordered in MC property case

4 cops convicted of torturing colleague
Patiala, November 28
The court of additional sessions judge (ad hoc)-cum-Fast Track Court Bhupinder Singh Sidhu today sentenced four policemen to three years’ rigorous imprisonment and imposed a penalty of Rs 15,000 each on them for torturing, abducting and illegally detaining special police officer Gurmeet Singh and members of his family.

Fake currency: CBI probe sought
Chandigarh, November 28
In a public interest litigation filed in the high court, advocate H.C. Arora has sought a CBI probe into fake currency case allegedly involving Punjab police officer G.S. Pherurai. Action has also been sought against government officials turning hostile in the case.

EDUCATION

GND varsity honours Dhir
Amritsar, November 28
Guru Nanak Dev (GND) University today honoured two distinguished litterateurs of Punjabi, Santokh Singh Dhir and T.R. Sharma, with life fellowships in recognition of their contributions to Punjabi literature.

Rajya Sabha MP Tarlochan Singh and GND varsity vice-chancellor Jai Rup Singh honour Punjabi writer Santokh Singh Dhir with life fellowship in Amritsar on Wednesday. — A Tribune photograph

Punjabi varsity staff to continue stir
Dean (alumni) tenders resignation
Patiala, November 28
The Joint Action Committee, comprising representatives of teachers, students and non-teaching employees of Punjabi University, which had launched an agitation against former vice-chancellor Swarn Singh Boparai, announced here today that it would continue its agitation even though the vice-chancellor had resigned.

Region’s first B-school for women
Chandigarh, November 28
In all fairness to the fair sex, the region’s first-ever stand-alone women business school is all set to come up on the Chandigarh-Patiala highway.

AGRICULTURE

New machine to prevent burning of paddy straw
Jalandhar, November 28
Despite the several known ill-effects, a large number of farmers in Punjab still continue the old practice of burning paddy straw for preparing their fields to sow wheat or other crops.

CRIME

Shingaar Blast
Another suspect held
Ludhiana, November 28
In a major fillip to the Shingaar cinema bomb blast case, the city police has nabbed an alleged terrorist Bhavdeep Singh, considered to be close to Gurpreet Singh, who is wanted in the Mullanpur RDX recovery case.