Mandi Ahmedgarh, July 19
Though monsoon is yet to gain strength, paddy crop on thousands of acres in this part of Malwa has been damaged by rainwater entering the fields from drains passing through the belt.

Leaders, instead of coming to the rescue of the affected farmers, have preferred to appease their masters by pretending to work to ensure the victory of their candidates in the ensuing assembly byelections.

Failing to draw attention of the authorities concerned for assessing the loss to their crops due to flooding, the affected farmers have started ploughing their submerged paddy fields and preparing them for paddy transplantation once again.

The affected farmers are finding it difficult to arrange for agricultural inputs, including paddy saplings and labour to once again cultivate the fields.

Investigations by The Tribune revealed that the overflowing of rainwater due to a reported blockage in Lasara and Mahpur drains submerged paddy fields on hundreds of acres at around 100 villages falling under the jurisdiction of Ludhiana, Sangrur and Barnala districts.

Farmers of Seehan Daud, Lasara, Malikpur, Rauni, Rabbon, Mahpur, (Ludhiana), Bhurthala, Jabbomajra, Lasoi, Dugri, Chandurayian, Mundian, Ranwan, Jhall, Banbhaura, Hydernagar, Sehke, Narike, Salar, Faridpur Khurad and Ahan Kheri (Sangrur) were the worst affected. The Lasara drain after joining with the Mahpur drain near Malerkotla caused a havoc in a large number of villages falling under Barnala district.

Submersible pumps, tubewell bores, agricultural equipment and stored wheat chaff worth lakhs of rupees have been destroyed besides losses worth crores caused due to damage to the paddy crop.

Though a shortage of migrant labour was made good by hiring local workers, paddy saplings were almost unavailable. Growers of paddy saplings were charging Rs 2,000 for one biswa of standing saplings needed for transplantation on one acre.

Accusing the authorities of being unconcerned about the sequence of events leading to a flood-like situation in those village, farmers urged Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal to direct the revenue officials to conduct a special surveys (girdawaris) to assess the losses and fix responsibility of officers whose negligence had resulted in the overflowing of drains.

Investigations by The Tribune revealed that the drains were blocked due to overgrowth of water weeds and dumping of solid waste through sewage disposal of civic bodies, including those of Khanna and Malerkotla, into the drains. Some industrial units were also reported to be discharging their wastes into these drains.

Gulabewala (Muktsar), July 19
The wizened face of 81-year-old Kashmir Singh suddenly lights up when conversation veers to the mini thermal plant set up by a private sector firm just outside this village. He, like other village residents, has reason to cheer as the plant, which runs on agricultural waste, has brought about noticeable prosperity to this district’s farmers who had been plagued by perennial waterlogging, which in turn led to many of them ending their lives after they became deeply mired in debt.

The 6-megawatt Malwa power plant, the first of its kind in Punjab, spread over 30 acres near the village on the Muktsar-Guru Harsahai road, is proving to be a boon for the villagers as it depends on agricultural waste products supplied by the farmers for which they are paid well. Earlier, the same waste products were destroyed, but now they have come in handy for residents of nearly 200 villages in this district.

The nearly 1,60,000 units of electricity produced by the plant every day is purchased by the Punjab State Electricity Board (PSEB) for transmission to other areas.

Say Kashmir: “Farmers in the area were a hapless lot due to waterlogging of vast tracts of their land and were caught in a huge debt trap till they saw a ray of hope in the thermal plant. The plant not only contributes in easing the power crisis in the state, but also provides additional income to farmers for their agricultural waste. Apart from this the plant also provides jobs to residents of the area with nearly 250 of them directly or indirectly employed by the plant itself.”

An expert on thermal plant design opined “such mini thermal plants are the order of the day as transmission losses are almost negligible in their case. Reduction in transmission supply automatically reduces losses.”

The plant requires 2,500 quintals of farm waste products daily. This waste is processed in large boilers and later used to produce steam, which is finally converted into electrical energy. Though Punjab’s average energy requirement is nearly 11,000 MW PSEB manages to produce only half this amount.

Thermal energy experts feel if more such mini plants are set up in the private sector Punjab’s power demand can be met from within the state alone.

Jalalabad, July 19
In a complaint made to the Election Commission, the Congress today claimed that the SAD was indulging in blatant violations of the model code of conduct by installing transformers and distributing free connections to below poverty line (BPL) families.

Congress candidate and former minister Hans Raj Josan, who is contesting against former Deputy Chief Minister Sukhbir Badal from this seat, claimed in his complaint that the Punjab State Electricity Board (PSEB) was installing transformers in the constituency to woo voters. He submitted photographic evidence of a new transformer being installed near the SDM office in the town.

Josan claimed the PSEB was also giving free connections to BPL families with the SAD submitting the token fee of Rs 200 per connection. He said PSEB officials should be restrained from distributing any connection be it to BPL families or any tubewell connection till the model code was in force in the constituency.

In a separate complaint, the Congress candidate claimed that the model code of conduct was being flouted with impunity in the constituency with the district administration openly dancing to the tunes of Ferozepur MP Sher Singh Ghubaiya, whose election as MP had led to the vacation of the Jalalabad assembly segment. He said with both the Deputy Commissioner and the SSP were taking orders from the MP, an atmosphere of “absolute lawlessness” had been created.

The Congress has also complained to the EC that the branch of the Ferozepur police, which was responsible for transfers and postings, was pressurising junior-level police officers to cast votes in favour of the SAD candidate or face “repercussions”. It has named Havaldar Davinder Singh, who, it claimed, was openly threatening police officers of the Kamboj caste.

The Congress candidate is from the Kamboj community. Josan has demanded that the police official be transferred out of the district immediately.

Meanwhile, Congress general secretary Parminder Singh claimed that the party high command had been apprised of the irregularities being committed by the SAD. Home Minister P Chidambaram would visit Jalalabad next week to bolster the party campaign and the Pradesh Congress would request him to immediately deploy paramilitary forces to ensure a free and fair poll in the constituency.

Passnawal (Gurdaspur), July 19
Punjab Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal said today that the country had been facing its worst in almost all spheres due to wrong policies of successive Congress governments at the Centre.

The earning of common man has been going down and the prices of everything have been spiralling. People have been reeling under an economic crisis due to anti-people policies pursued by the Congress-led UPA government at the Centre, he added.

Badal was here today to address a series of rallies in favour of party candidate Sewa Singh Sekhwan, who has been fielded from the Kahnuwan assembly segment.

Interestingly, Badal, while addressing a rally in this village, showered praise on Prime Minister Manmohan Singh by saying that Dr Manmohan Singh “is an able and wise Prime Minister”. He, however, added the anti-Punjab, anti-people and anti-farmer policies had been framed on the diktats of Sonia Gandhi, chairperson of the UPA.

Though Sekhwan, along with party MLAs and other local leaders, was present at the rallies addressed by Badal, the leadership of the BJP made its token presence as a few of its leaders attended the same and that too at selective places.

The Chief Minister said by denying more rights to states, the successive Congress governments had also rendered regional parties’ governments in states unable to take necessary steps to bring the price rise under control.

He said anti-farmer mindset of the Congress government at the Centre had been reflected from the fact that so far it had not come out with a rescue plan for farmers despite the fact that Punjab had been facing a drought-like situation due to a scanty monsoon.

Jalalabad, July 19
Chandigarhians must be heaving a sigh of relief. The Shaheed Udham Singh Chowk here is the new Matka Chowk ever since former Deputy CM and SAD President Sukhbir Singh Badal entered the election fray from this constituency.

Besides regular traffic disruptions at the Udham Singh Chowk, the tehsil complex is also the fulcrum of protesters who are descending on this town in increasing numbers every day to pitch their tents wherever they please.

The aim is to embarrass the SAD leadership, particularly Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal and Sukhbir, into accepting their demands.

Chief among those who have shifted their fast-unto-death to this town is the union of trained veterinary pharmacists. The 430-strong members of this union have been struggling to get absorbed in the Animal Husbandry Department which had given them training six years back. The union, whose case for regular jobs was also included in the SAD-BJP government’s election manifesto, claims nothing is being done to give them “justice”.

Pensioners, who are still to get pension according to the revised scales recommended by the Pay Commission, are also sitting in dharna here for the past four days. They are demanding immediate notification of their revised pay scales.

Then there are around 400 men who want to be absorbed in the Punjab Police on the basis of training received at the Jahan Kalan training school in 2007. They claim that though they were promised regular jobs as security guards in government and pubic sector undertakings, they were later asked to take up jobs in the private sector.

Those who have agitated in the town in the past one week include students who have taken Elementary Teacher Training from Jammu. Earlier, during the Congress rule, candidates who had taken training from outside the state were absorbed in jobs, but now the government is giving preference to students who have studied from state institutes. Dharnas were also held by the unemployed pharmacists union, Asha workers who want to be absorbed as anganwadi workers and even the BKU (Krantikari).

The protesters claim they are getting a mixed response. While most of them have been able to get an audience with the Chief Minister or Sukhbir, they are not sure whether the assurances given will hold true after the polls. General predictions of a walkover for Sukhbir have also spoilt the case of the protesters who feel the government may not cave in under pressure.

However, there have been some successes. Computer teachers recruited under the Sarv Shiksha Abhiyan came here to protest against the Education Department for finalising the date for a written test about which they had been informed before recruitment. The Chief Minister agreed to look into the matter, but when an advertisement stating the date for the test appeared in the newspapers the next day, the teachers were back demanding justice. The test was subsequently scrapped. 

Sangrur , July 19
Chairman of the All- India Anti-Terrorist Front M S Bitta today asked the Union government to set up special anti-terrorist courts in the country to decide cases of terrorists in six months. He also sought life term or death for terrorists .

He was was here the residence of Congress MLA Surinder Pal Singh Sibia, asked the government to take strong action against Pakistan. He said India should involve the United Nations (UN), England, America and other nations for getting assurance from Pakistan on not supporting terrorism.

Bitta also urged the Union government to enact law for unseating member of Parliament (MP), if he or she made statement on breaking the country. Lashing out at Uttar Pradesh (UP) Chief Minister Mayawati, Bitta said in her regime new political terrorism had begun. He said Rita Bahuguna’s statement might be wrong, but her thinking was not.

Jalandhar, July 19
Punjab Congress leader Iqbal Singh has been appointed Lieutenant Governor of Puducherry. Iqbal Singh (64) said he was likely to take charge on July 23. Congress Working Committee (CWC) member and in charge, Bihar Congress Affairs Iqbal Singh thanked Congress chief Sonia Gandhi and Prime Minister Manmohan Singh for his appointment.

He boarded the Shatabdi today evening to thank Dr Manmohan Singh and Sonia Gandhi before taking charge.

Congress leaders and workers gathered at his house in Model Town and congratulated him on his appointment.

Born on July 4, 1945, at Okara Mandi (now in Pakistan), Iqbal Singh started political career in 1970 from the Youth Congress. He held many positions in the state Youth Congress and the Punjab Congress.

Iqbal Singh remained Rajya Sabha member from 1992 to 1998 and AICC secretary since 1996. CWC member Iqbal Singh also remained in charge of Assam, Andhra Pradesh, Jharkhand, Delhi, Himachal , Haryana and Rajasthan Congress units.

Nabha, July 19
Minister of state for External Affairs Maharani Preneet Kaur said the ongoing visit of US Foreign Secretary of State Hillary Clinton would bring a new era of bilateral ties between the two countries.

Terming Hillary’s visit of great importance, Preneet said as a matter of solidarity with India, the former was visiting the country and would not go to Pakistan.

Talking to mediapersons at the residence of Nabha MLA Randeep Singh, the minister said there was no pressure from the US to initiate the dialogue process with Pakistan. The purpose of Hillary’s visit was to build greater friendship and to take the Indo-US bilateral relations to newer heights.

She said in a first positive step, Pakistan, which used to talk more than taking action against militants, had accepted Kasab as its citizen.

Answering a question regarding attacks on Indian students in Australia, Preneet said the matter had been taken up with the Australian government at the highest level and India had been assured that Australia would set up a special task to check such attacks.

Claiming that differences among Congress leaders over allocation of ticket from Banur had been resolved, she said they had agreed to work for the party candidate. Former Nabha MLA Romesh Singla had been appointed in charge for Banur. Capt Amarinder Singh would join the campaign from July 29 by addressing a rally in the Banur assembly segment.

Preneet, who was on her maiden visit to the town after becoming the MP, was given a rousing welcome by Congress workers led by Amloh MLA Sadhu Singh Dharamsot, former MLA Romesh Singla and Nabha MLA Randeep Singh. She also addressed a gathering of workers here.

Makhu (Ferozepur), July 19
Homeless Dalit families of the Makhu area of Ferozepur district have been for years seeking possession of five- marla plots from the village common land for building houses promised to them by the state government eight years ago.

A survey revealed that land in most cases had been grabbed by landowners or leased for farming though Rule 10 of the Punjab Villages Common Lands (Regulation) Act, 1961, has provision to give plots to Dalit families on the panchayat land in villages.

Land allotment certificates were handed over to families on August 15, 2001, on Independence Day at Ferozepur, but thereafter the government never ensured that the beneficiaries had got possession of the promised land.

Fifteen families of Ameewala village, six of Jhamke,13 of Asafwala, 11 of Kamalwala, 27 of Basti Chhamb, 12 of Mithe and many families of Jogewala, Mallanwala, Sarhali, Killi Bodla and other villages were trying to get possession of the land, but no one listens to them.

Dayal Singh of Mithe village and Veer Singh of Kaamalwala had lost all hope. “I have spent hundreds on visiting the offices of the District Magistrate and officials of the Rural Development and Panchayat Department, but none came forward to give me possession of land,” rued Basant Singh of Killi Bodla village.

The land has not been allotted as it is village common land and encroached on by landlords and politicians, and the government has failed to get it freed from encroachment, due to considerations of village-level politics.

Due to village-level politics, Dalit families had also not been given job cards under the National Rural Employment Guarantee Act in this area.

Chandigarh, July 19
Union Minister for Parliamentary Affairs Pawan Bansal has got a Bathinda boy as his Officer on Special Duty (OSD). Jagdeep Goyal, who belongs to the 1989 batch of the Indian Revenue Service (Income Tax), has joined the Ministry of Parliamentary Affairs.

Incidentally, he happens to be the elder brother of Vitul Kumar, Regional Passport Officer, Chandigarh. Vitul is an IPS officer of the UP cadre.

Meanwhile, the Appointment Committee of the Cabinet has decided to send Arun Mishra as country’s representative in the Montreal-based International Civil Aviation Organisation. Arun, who belongs to the West Bengal cadre, is of the 1986 batch of IAS. His posting in Montreal is for three years and he is in the rank of Joint Secretary to the government of India.

Incidentally, the present Governor of Goa, Dr SS Sidhu, who remained Union Secretary, Civil Aviation, had also served the ICAO as its Secretary-General (1988-1991). Dr Sidhu belonged to the 1952 batch of IAS of Uttar Pradesh cadre and had remained Governor of Manipur also.

Another West Bengal officer to be cleared by the Appointment Committee of the Cabinet is S Kishore of the 1989 batch. He has been made Development Commissioner of the Andhra Pradesh Industrial Infrastructure Corporation.

Rajiv Aggarwal (Maharashtra, 1975 batch) becomes the new Secretary of the Department of Consumer Affairs, Food and Supplies, in place of Yashwant S Bhave, also of Maharashtra cadre (1972 batch).

Leela K Ponappa has been given extension of three months as Deputy National Security Adviser and Secretary, National Security Council.

Another significant appointment cleared by the Appointment Committee of the Cabinet has been of Ram S Sharma as Director-General and Mission Director of the Unique Identification Authority of India. The Union Finance Minister has made a special provision for starting the national unique identity mission from the current financial year.

He made it clear that the followers will be at liberty to decide in favour of any candidate locally as per their conscience but the Dera has nothing to do with politics. However, he will not debar any political leader from visiting the Dera or attending satsang. 

Interestingly, an officer of the Rajasthan police Shobha Kamra too joined over 24 bhajan singers. Lok Sabha member Bharat Ram Meghwal, Rajasthan minister Amin Khan, legislators Vinod Chaudhary, Gangajal Meel, Santosh Saharan, Zila Parishad chief Rajinder Makkasar, District Congress president Prithvi Pal Singh Sandhu, chairpersons of the Panchayat Samitis namely Jaswant Singh Dhillon, Daya Ram Jakhar and Raj Kumar Peelibanga and scores of district officials were present. 

Over 1,000 police cops had been deployed to ensure peace at the event. The Ruhani satsang was held under the high profile three layer security cover. CCTV cameras and mobile video recorders had been fixed on the wooden pipes within a 200 meter radius of the main stage. 

Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh said neither he nor his predecessors had ever uttered a single disgraceful word against any religion or Guru. He regretted that the governments had given a free hand to liquor traders and pub masters but the saints had to seek permission for organising satsang. 

Patiala, July 19
Already facing tyrannical and prolonged power cuts, Punjab residents should remain fully prepared to see their household budget getting upset in near future by the Punjab State Electricity Board (PSEB), which is mulling a huge and straight 10 to 15 per cent hike in power tariff of its consumers to cover its Rs 10,000 crore deficit.

In its Annual Revenue Report (ARR) for the year 2008-09, which has been submitted to the Punjab State Power Regulatory Commission, the board has shown its accumulative losses, including the ones borne on account of transmission loss, to be around Rs. 10,000 crore.

In its plea to the commission, the PSEB has urged commission to grant a permission to it to enhance power tarrif of consumers by a whopping 10 to 15 per cent. The ARR, sources revealed, had been submitted to the commission during last month.

As its first step towards implementation of its hike plans, the board has already enhanced the load extension rates for tube well motors across the state from Rs 1,200 to Rs 3,800 per horsepower. The farmers, led by the BKU-Ekta, were already opposing this hike tooth and nail and had even organised a two-day dharna in Patiala this week against the hike.

If the board gets permission to increase tariff by 10 to 15 per cent, the board could rake up an amount of Rs 1,000 crore to Rs 1500 crore, which the board authorities presume would go a long way towards recovery of some of its losses. 

The proposed hike, if implemented, would prove to be nothing short than a bolt from the blue for Punjab residents as they are already paying a strikingly higher price for power than residents of neighbouring Himachal Pradesh.

Anandpur Sahib, July 19
Around seven low lying villages of Anandpur Sahib got flooded as the Swan rivulet overflowed during night hours. Villages of Burj, Ballowal, Hariwal, Nikkuwal, Chandpur Bela, Amarpur Bela and a few others were flooded in waist-deep water.

A road under construction in Burj village got swept away with water. Around 100-m stretch of this road got damaged completely. Similarly, link road to Hariwal village got damaged. Water flooded fields, besides damaging furniture and other movable goods lying in houses.

Villagers Gurmail Singh and Ala Singh said these villages were forever battling with floods. “Even when BBMB releases extra water, our villages get inundated. Besides affecting the daily life activities, deluge also pushes us back economically. Time and again we have requested various governments to take up our cause but nothing has happened,” they said.

The Swan rivulet suddenly swells due to rains in the hilly areas. From 1 am till 7 am yesterday, the Swan rivulet was flowing just at 127 cusecs and this suddenly swelled to 6783 cusecs by 12 noon and 13,780 cusecs by 1 pm on the same day. Today, water receded to 1,484 cusecs from 1 am to 9 am.

Villagers said had they been informed about excess water in rivulet, they would have been at least prepared for the flooding. “A little information could have saved many things,” said Tarlochan Singh.

Patiala, July 19
The prestigious project of the Patiala Municipal Corporation of shifting of dairies from the walled city limits to outside the city has been put on the back burner. No wonder then that the dairies continue to play havoc with the sanitation system of the city and cattle continue to be traffic hazard.

The project of shifting of dairies outside the city had been mooted and given shape during the previous Congress rule. A chunk of land was earmarked at Ablowal, on the Patiala-Bhadson road and the project was inaugurated by the then Chief Minister Capt Amarinder Singh with great fanfare.

The corporation had at that time taken initiative to shift all the dairies that are in the walled city to a faraway place.

The reasons for shifting given were that the dairies were a blot on the face of the city. A survey was conducted at that time under the Mayorship of Vishnu Sharma and as many as 743 dairies were identified which were operating from the city.

A total of 242 plots have been kept vacant in the 16-acre land at Ablowal village where these dairies will be established. The shifting process will be completed in two phases. In the first phase, dairies which are located within the walled city will be shifted while in the second phase dairies which are being operated from various colonies in the outskirts of the city will be shifted.

The move to shift the dairies earlier during the Congress regime fell flat because the sarpanch and panches of Ablowal village had vehemently protested. Their allegation was that the 16-acre land was not owned by the Municipal Corporation at all and on the contrary it was the land of the village panchayat.

Manjit Singh Narang, Commissioner of the Municipal Corporation, said there was no immediate proposal to shift out the dairies as the corporation was looking for a chunk of 45 acres of land required for shifting out all the dairies from the city limits.

Ludhiana, July 19
Panjab University’s failure to declare the compartment result of a BA III student even after nine years has forced him on the verge of penury. Trouble for Ludhiana resident Jatinder Singh began when the result of his BA III annual examination held in April 1999 by the university was declared.

Jatinder, who had appeared for the examination as a regular student of SD Government Evening College, Ludhiana, under roll number 78604, had a compartment in English.

In April 2000, Jatinder appeared for his compartment examination under roll number 51850 and registration number 93-GL-356. The result was declared which showed Jatinder’s result as RLA (result late announced).

Since then, Jatinder has been running from pillar to post requesting the PU authorities to declare his result. “I visited the Panjab University thrice to enquire about my result from the concerned department but every time I was turned back,” he said.

“I had also sent a representation to the Vice-Chancellor and registrar of PU and also to the Governor of Punjab, but in vain. In the absence of a bachelors’ degree, I am unable to get a job. My private practice as a financier has also failed miserably and now I am on the verge of penury,” he rued.

Disillusioned with the lackadaisical attitude of the authorities, Jatinder (34) recently applied for the post of a class IV employee at Punjab Agriculture University, Ludhiana.

“If the university fails to declare my result even now, I will be forced to take legal action against the authorities concerned,” Jatinder said.

Despite repeated attempts, the university authorities could not 
be contacted.

Jalandhar, July 19
The All-India Council of Technical Education (AICTE) and the state government have perhaps become too liberal over the past two years in granting approval to new colleges under Punjab Technical University (PTU).

While 14 new engineering colleges and three new pharmacy colleges have been granted sanction this time, more colleges are lined up for similar approval. This has swelled up the existing number of engineering colleges from 71 to 85 and pharmacy colleges from 33 to 36 in just one year. Last year too, 18 new engineering colleges and five pharmacy colleges had been granted approval for affiliation with PTU.

Since each engineering college added up this time has been allowed to fill in four streams (each with 60 seats), this has enhanced the total number of seats for B Tech by 3,360 and B Pharmacy by 180. The number of new seats being filled through online counselling for Punjab students, however, will be lower with 1,750 seats for engineering and 101 for pharmacy. There were already 16,344 seats available for B Tech and 1,247 seats for B Pharmacy.

The new pharmacy colleges include the Khalsa College of Pharmacy, Amritsar, Surya School of Pharmacy, Rajpura, and Barkat Ullah College of Pharmacy, Malerkotla.

The list of engineering colleges includes Doaba Khalsa Institute, Amloh, Ferozepur College of Engineering and Technology, Ferozepur, Gulzar College of Engineering and Technology, Khanna, Aryabhatta College of Engineering and Technology, Barnala, Surya School of Engineering and Technology, Rajpura, Shree Ganesh Group of Institute, Patiala, Bharat Institute of Engineering and Technology, Mansa, Guru Nanak Institute of Engineering and Management, Hoshiarpur, Quest Foundation Group of Institutes, Kharar, Swami Sarwanand Institute of Engineering and Technology, Gurdaspur, GCG Faculty of Engineering, Mohali, Ram Devi Jindal Educational Charitable Society Group of Institute, Dera Bassi, and Ram Dass Institute, Bathinda.

Chandigarh, July 19
All schools in Punjab will have adequate toilets and clean drinking water by August 15 under the Total Sanitation Campaign (TSC).

Presently, Punjab has 1,099 schools, out of 1,200 schools, which are without toilets. But now toilets have been provided to those schools. The remaining 101 schools will have toilets by the Independence Day, according to an official statement.

Similarly, drinking water facility has been provided to 567 schools out of 582 schools which were reported to be without drinking water facility and the remaining will get this facility by August 15. He said modern toilet facilities and potable drinking water facilities had been provided to schools in rural areas under the TSC of the government.

A government spokesperson said under this programme toilets and urinal facilities were being provided in schools at a cost of Rs 20,000 per toilet for boys and girls each. He said the Water Supply and Sanitation Department had already provided toilet facility in 16 districts in rural schools of Punjab and a few of the toilets which were yet to be constructed in four districts, namely Tarn Taran, Amritsar, Ludhiana and Moga, would also be covered by August 15, 2009. 

Amritsar, July 19
India should become member of the Hague Convention in order to bring to justice those NRIs who abandon Indian girls after marrying them or commit various crimes and return to their immigrant countries.

Stating this here today, Justice AR Lakshmanan, Chairman, Law Commission of India, said they had submitted a comprehensive report in this regard to the Centre. It was the only option through which legal proceedings could be initiated against accused NRIs in their respective countries, he added.

Justice Lakshmanan, who was here on a special invitation from Advocate-General of Punjab HS Mattewal, said the commission had submitted a report for constituting constitutional courts in Kolkata, Mumbai, Chennai and New Delhi to settle inter-state disputes, inter-state water disputes and presidential references. There are around 80 cases pending with the Supreme Court regarding the inter-state disputes, he said.

They have also suggested that instead of stamp papers, the government should accept demand drafts, bankers’ cheque or Indian postal orders to check scams like the Telgi stamp paper scam. Besides, it would also save on the money spent on the printing of stamp papers besides overhead expenses like commission to the agents.

Commenting on the working of the Lok Adalats, Justice Lakshmanan said the concept was a hit with the people as those helped in early disposal of their cases. There was a need for streamlining the judicial system besides setting up fast-track courts for a speedy disposal of the pending cases.

Present laws were more than sufficient and the only need was to strictly enforce the laws. He was of the opinion that the primacy of the Chief Justices should be restored. It had been withdrawn by the central government in 1993.