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Free power to cost govt Rs 3,100 cr
Advani rues fall in journalistic values
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Tributes paid to Dhingra
BBMB Chairman Issue Amarinder for separate SGPC for Haryana
Swine flu takes toll on pig farming
Custodial death: SHO, 3 cops suspended
Sukhbir demands Rs 300 hike in paddy MSP
Land row: Farmers get compensation
Landlords ‘open fire’ on Dalit labourers
Sale of land claims farmer’s life
SMO ‘extorts’ money from docs
Slum dwellers make it to JET
SRK Episode
High Court
Asstt station master, cop assaulted
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Free power to cost govt Rs 3,100 cr
Jalandhar, August 17 Official sources said today that the Punjab State Electricity Regulatory Authority had written to the state government that it would have to pay Rs 3,100 crore as subsidy during the current fiscal year to the Punjab State Electricity Board in case it wanted to continue free power to the farm sector, SCs and below poverty line families. Sources said the regulatory authority was ready with a new tariff order. Immediately after a response from the state government on the subsidy, it would announce the new tariff order. The increase in the tariff could be from 10 to 15 per cent in case of certain categories. The tariff order for the current year has already been delayed by a few months. Though it would be announced in a few days, it would be enforced with effect from April 1. The state government has give in writing to the regulatory authority that how much subsidy it is to pay to the PSEB. Giving the break up of the subsidy bill, an official of the authority said Rs 2,800 crore would have to be provided to give free power to farm sector and Rs 300 crore to SCs and BPL families. Last year, Rs 2,472 crore were given to provide free power to the agriculture sector and Rs 130 crore to SCs and BPL families. The sources said the subsidy file had been sent to the Finance Department. Obviously, the department would discuss the matter at the level of the Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal as it involved a huge amount. Badal is for the continuation of the subsidy to the farm sector because it was a policy decision taken at his level when the announcement for giving free power to the farm sector was made in 1997. However, Finance Minister Manpreet Singh Badal had made statements expressing his reservations on farm and other subsidies keeping in view the tight fiscal position the state had been passing for the past a few years. He has been for rationalising the subsidies for various sectors. Over all bill of subsidies and reliefs such as old age pension, etc, would go up to Rs 4,500 crore during the current year.
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Advani rues fall in journalistic values
Chandigarh, August 17 Speaking at a function held here today to release the book “Ek Prerak Charitra” on the life and times of veteran Punjab BJP leader Balramji Das Tandon, written by his son Sanjay Tandon, the Leader of Opposition said due to commercial interests, the media was not showing any discretion in the treatment of news. “During the recent elections, we had newspapers praising one candidate on one page and saying the exact opposite on the other,” Advani said, adding that candidates and political parties had to shell out substantial sums to pay for buying space in newspapers and television. Claiming that democracy was under threat due to a downfall in values in all spheres of society, he said “unfortunately people see the downfall only in politics”. He said the biography of Tandon proved that people in politics could also become role models for society. Punjab Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal, while speaking at the function, said Balramji Das Tandon was an institution and a source of inspiration for those who looked at politics as a means of service rather than a way to money and power. He credited Tandon with being responsible for laying the foundation stone for the SAD-BJP political alliance. Tandon went down the memory lane, describing how he entered politics in 1953 on the directions of the Rashtirya Swyamsewa Sangh (RSS) after a stint in jail. He also dwelled on the sacrifices he had to make during the period of Emergency in 1977 when even his business was targeted. “We are of the generation that stood by a certain ideology,” he said, adding that today people only wanted immediate gains. The BJP leader’s son, Sanjay Tandon, who is also the general secretary of the Chandigarh unit of the party, spoke about the various facets of his father’s personality. Party general secretary Balbir Punj and Hindustan Times Resident Editor Ramesh Vinayak also spoke at the function, which was attended by former Governor Kedar Nath Sahani, MP Navjot Singh Sidhu, party state President Rajinder Bhandari, Local Bodies Minister Manoranjan Kalia and Food and Supplies Minister Adesh Partap Singh Kairon besides others.
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Tributes paid to Dhingra
Amritsar, August 17 Finance Minister Manpreet Singh Badal, lauding the supreme sacrifices made by countless Punjabis, said if India was free, it was because of the freedom struggle launched by many freedom fighters from here. He said though the country had attained freedom over 60 years ago, “we were yet to liberate millions of poor and hungry Indians by providing them two square meals and quality education”. Describing the holy city as the hub for freedom fighters, Manpreet said they inspired the countrymen to liberate the nation from the shackles of the British rule. Chawla said Dhingra was the first martyr to inspire youth to fight the British and their oppressive regime to make the country free. She said the 21-year-old Dhingra made the supreme sacrifice after raising the banner of revolt, while shooting down a British officer and was hanged in London on this day 100 years ago. She urged the Prime Minister to release a commemorative stamp in the memory of Dhingra and added that year-long celebrations should be organised across the country to inspire the youth. She said the government must organise annual functions in Dhingra’s memory. A blood donation camp was also held at the venue, Guru Nanak Dev Auditorium, by volunteers.
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BBMB Chairman Issue
Jalandhar, August 17 Earlier, Badal had spoken on the phone to the Union Power Minister against the appointment. However, the Union government has not undone the appointment as yet in spite of the demand made by the Punjab government in this regard. Quietly, the Union government had handed over the charge of the Chairman of the BBMB, one of the most important bodies that manage the river waters in this region, to Haryana engineer MK Gupta on July 31, following the retirement of UC Misra. Besides the Chairman, secretary of the BBMB HK Gupta, also belongs to Haryana. “It was a big blunder made by the Union government that is aware of the fact that several disputes are going on between Punjab and Haryana on the river waters,” said a senior officer. “How can Punjab give the right to manage its waters to Haryana engineers as it has been done by the Union government by appointing MK Gupta as the Chairman, who is also member (Irrigation) in the BBMB on behalf of Haryana. Confirming that Badal had spoken against the appointment to the Union Power Minister, a senior official of the Punjab government said that besides giving the slot of member (Irrigation) to the state, the Union government had gone to the extent of posting a Haryana man as the Chairman. Punjab had urged the Union government that since the constitution of the BBMB in the 1960s, its Member (Irrigation) is appointed from Haryana and Member (Power) from Punjab. This arrangement
should be changed and the slot of member (Irrigation) should be filled from Punjab. However, the Union government had not conceded this demand of the state government.
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Amarinder for separate SGPC for Haryana
Mohali, August 17 He said this while talking to mediapersons at the residence of Kharar MLA Balbir Singh
Sidhu, after appearing in the Amritsar Improvement Trust Scam Case at Mohali courts here today. He said Punjab was a big state when the SGPC was constituted. But later, Haryana and Himachal were carved out of Punjab. The Akali leaders should respect the religious feeling of the Sikhs living in the different states. The former CM alleged that the Akalis were using collection from the SGPC controlled gurdwaras in elections against the Opposition and had never spent on propagation of the religion. He also countered the statement of the SAD government that its coffers were empty. The increased revenue from VAT should be used in buying electricity from the neighbouring states. Stating that the claim of the SAD leaders that power generation in the coming years would improve had been false, he said. “It was Haryana which would increase its generation by 6,200 MW in the coming three years,” he added. Earlier appearing in the court, the former CM along with other accused alleged that the case was being dragged unnecessarily due to political vendetta. The counsel appearing on behalf of Amarinder sought documentary proof of the allegations levelled and reasons behind the charges mentioned in the FIR. It had been pointed out that the documents provided to the accused were unreadable. It may be mentioned that the judgment of a case filed by the former CM in the Supreme Court against the vigilance case had been reserved. The counsels of the former CM had demanded copies of 63 documents of the case, a readable copy of the documents supplied by the prosecution and a copy of the recorded version of the complaint forwarded by the Vidhan
Sabha.
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Swine flu takes toll on pig farming
Jalandhar, August 17 It is not the virus but the swine (pig) that has become a target for the authorities now. The approach of the authorities has forced many owners of pig farms to wind up their pig farms and switch over to other work. Worst affected are the backyard pig farmers, who have been rearing pigs in less numbers. A majority of them belong to the poor section of society and earn their livelihood by selling pigs they rear legally or illegally. According to the records of the Punjab Livestock and Development Board, there are over 250 organised pig farmers (having 25,000 pigs) in the state besides those rearing pigs in their backyards. A farmer possessing 50 and above pigs is considered an organised farmer. Talking to The Tribune, the chief executive officer (CEO) of board, Dr HS Sandha, said the swine flue scare had hit the pig farmers hard in Punjab. He, however, claimed that not even a single case had been reported when the virus had affected pigs in Asia as of now. Moreover, this is a disease of human beings not of pigs and the general public as well as the pig farmers need not worry about the transmission of virus from the pigs to the human beings, he claimed. Though the government has no account of the backyard pig farmers, according to the information, over 35,000 families, a majority of them scavengers, are earning their livelihood by rearing pigs in and around their hutments in the state. Rattan Singh, a resident of Daroli Kalan village, near Adampur, was forced to sell his 80 pigs of the White Yorkshire breed on throwaway prices when his neighbours started complaining against him fearing swine-flu spread in Jalandhar. Hari Chand of Kalewal Bhagtan village in Hoshiarpur district said he had to sell his nine pigs at a loss of Rs 2,000 per animal after the panchayat mounted pressure on him apprehending spread of swine flu from the pigs a month ago. Even the Jalandhar Municipal Corporation has issued notices to backyard pig farmers, asking them to dispose of their livestock or face the music. To lodge their protest, many backyard pig farmers from Jalandahr, Amritsar, Kapurthala, Hoshiarpur, Nawanshahr and Gurdaspur, under the banner of the Pendu Safai Mazdoor Union, Punjab, held a demonstration here today.
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Custodial death:
SHO, 3 cops suspended Sangrur, August 17 SSP Naunihal Singh said yesterday that all four police personnel, including SHO (City) Sanjiv Goyal, had been suspended as there were some allegations against them regarding bungling in the investigations into the alleged custodial death of Paramjit Singh, alias Kala, of Mangwal village. According to DSP Kuldip Sharma, ASI Balpuri and Head Constables Karamjit Singh and Jarnail Singh were also suspended. Paramjit had reportedly been brought to the local Civil Hospital by the police at about 6.45 pm on June 4. He died 15 minutes later. He had reportedly been brought to the local police station from his dhaba by the police at about 5 pm on that day for interrogation in a case.
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Sukhbir demands Rs 300 hike in paddy MSP
Chandigarh, August 17 Presenting the case of the Punjab farmers during the course of the “Chief Ministers meet on drought situation in the country” at Vigyan Bhawan, New Delhi, Sukhbir told the Prime Minister, “This will not be the first time that the government would be making an intervention like this to save a precious national asset. There are several precedents of such governmental support as in the case of aviation sector or some other sick industry. Agriculture deserves such a support most of all, as it is the driving engine of the entire economy.” He also demanded a hike of Rs 300 per quintal in the minimum support price (MSP) of paddy in the light of the abnormally high cost of cultivation under drought conditions. He said the Union government need not pass the burden of increased MSP to the consumer, but could bear the extra burden as a subsidy. The Deputy Chief Minister said the farmers of Punjab had to draw heavily on tube-well irrigation in these conditions “but as no additional power is available with the state, they are forced to turn to diesel, which is economically unviable. Under these circumstances, the paddy production can be very adversely affected. But if we get 300 MWs of free power and diesel as a one-time subsidy from the Centre, we can not only tide over the crisis but even ensure that there is no adverse impact of the drought on the country’s food security.” Giving details of the drought situation, the Deputy Chief Minister said the delayed monsoon had played havoc with paddy-sowing throughout the state. But the southern districts were the worst affected.
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Land row: Farmers get compensation
Amritsar, August 17 About 13.2 acres of panchayat land was given to Azure Power Punjab for setting up a solar project to provide power to this area. However, the farmers, in possession of the land, were protesting against giving their land to the company and demanded suitable compensation. Besides disbursing more than Rs 12 lakh, the power company will also give jobs to two persons of each affected family and the cases against the farmers would also be withdrawn, said Dhanwant Singh Khatrai Kalan, member of the Kirti Kisan Union and district general secretary Jatinder Singh Chhina. Managing Director of the company Vikramjit Singh was also present on the occasion. The Kirti Kisan Union and farmer bodies were protesting against the handing over the panchayat land being cultivated by poor families of Awan village near Ramdass for 30 to 35 years. This agitation continued for a few months demanding eviction of the company which had set up solar power plant to provide electricity in the region. Deputy Commissioner Kahan Singh Pannu intervened in the matter and formed a committee headed by the SDM, Ajnala, for resolving the issue.
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Landlords ‘open fire’ on Dalit labourers
Amritsar, August 17 The incident took place when the Dalits were reportedly returning home after lodging their protest with the subdivisional magistrate, Patti. Malwinder Singh Sidhu, SP(D), confirming the incident, said no casualty had been reported so far. He said police teams had reached the spot and the situation had been brought under control. He said the SHO was investigating into the matter. It is learnt that land-owning farmers of the area had boycotted the Dalits, as they had refused to work in their fields for lesser wages. The Dalits were demanding Rs 135 per day, while they were being offered Rs 100 only. They were allegedly being harrassed in other ways also.
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Sale of land claims farmer’s life
Sangrur, August 17 A resident of Khokhar Kalan village, Gurmail Singh, today said after the sale of his land, Birbal Singh had started working as a daily wager. As he had two daughters and a son, he had been passing through mental stress. Birbal had left his house on Friday, while he died at Jakhal on Saturday. He said the Jakhal police had initiated proceedings under Section 174 of the CrPC. Meanwhile, district general secretary of the BKU (Ugrahan) Darbara Singh Chhajla, who visited Birbal Singh’s house at Khokhar Kalan today, said Birbal had committed suicide as he had to sell his entire land some years ago due to financial hardship. He demanded a compensation of Rs 5 lakh and a government job for a family member of the deceased.
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SMO ‘extorts’ money from docs
Nabha, August 17 Now civil hospital doctors have alleged that the SMO is extorting money from them in the name of higher Health officials of Patiala district. A doctor said the SMO was demanding Rs 5,000 to Rs 6,000 from doctors depending upon his/her popularity. He said if the demand was not met, the doctor got odd duties. Another doctor said he refused to provide Rs 3,000 monthly to the SMO and he got outside duties. When it became difficult for him to cope, he contacted a mediator and settled for Rs 2,500. He claimed that almost 90 per cent doctors had started giving him monthly payment to “work peacefully”. The SMO denied the allegations as baseless. He said the doctors who did not do duties properly were making these groundless charges. Civil Surgeon Kuldeep Sahni denied her involvement in the matter. She said she had not got complaint against him.
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Slum dwellers make it to JET
Patiala, August 17 Both of them recall with pride how they got immense help from the Malwa Arts, Sports Cultural and Educational Trust (MASCUT) when they needed it the most. They confided that they had qualified the JET without any tuition. While Gurjant Singh secured a seat in a diploma course in computers in the Thapar Engineering College, Sarabjit Kaur got admission in diploma course in information technology at the local Government Polytechnic for Girls. Encouraged by their achievement, the two students now plan to work for better prospects for their fellow children in the Sikligar Basti. Gurjant Singh plans to provide free coaching for children of his Basti, as he feels that while the children aspire to study, their parents want them to work so that they could keep the hearth burning. The two students said they thanked the trust for its support and help. The MASCUT had been helping among 94 slum kids with their studies, of these 38 had been studying in classes up to VIII and remaining in class IX and X. Ujagar Singh, a functionary of the MASCUT, said initially it was difficult to make the slum kids take up evening classes, but slowly we convinced their parents. Ravi Bhushan, incharge of the slum development project of the MASCUT, said the trust started this project in 2001 and it took so many years to bear fruit. Many people have come forward to help the trust in the mission, with some offering cash and kind, while others have offered free coaching.
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SRK Episode
Chandigarh, August 17 “It does not behove a senior minister to speak in such a casual manner while commenting upon an incident that occurred on the foreign land,”
he said. “I do concede her legitimate right as Information and Broadcasting Minister to give her reaction on the treatment meted out to the Bollywood star but calling for a tit for tat reaction sounds unwise,” he said in a statement.
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High Court
Chandigarh, August 17 Justice K. Kannan of the Punjab and Haryana High Court has not only passed strictures against the civic body but also dismissed the petition with Rs 25,000 costs after terming it as “utterly frivolous”. Civic body employees, including 37 workmen, tube well operators and chowkidars, were demanding regularisation of service and parity of wages on principle of “equal work, equal pay”. After a reference from the government on the dispute, the labour court had concluded that the workmen were entitled to regularisation and payment of wages “at minimum of the applicable scale of pay to the tube well operators and chowkidars with all attendant benefits”. It had, in fact, directed the benefits would accrue with effect from January 1, 1996. Aggrieved by the directions, the corporation challenged the same. After hearing rival contentions, Justice Kannan asserted: “The claim for regularisation had originated from the municipal corporation itself and was pending for consideration with the government.” “I find the attempt of the corporation to scuttle the legal process, which they themselves have started by recommending for regularisation before the government and arguing before the court that the workmen were not entitled to obtain any relief. In my view, the prosecution of the writ petition is a clear abuse of process of court.” Justice Kannan asserted: “Senior counsel brings to fore a poignant fact that several workers have also died over a period of time with the corporation still dragging its feet and the government not responding to the needs of the workmen.” Justice Kannan concluded: “The corporation has been able to peg down the rates of wages to the workmen unrealistically low, with no regard to the wages that are payable to the regular workmen on approved scales of pay. The principle of equal pay for equal work is a constitutional norm and deserves every attempt to ensure that in appropriate circumstances the court lends its supportive hand to realise this goal.” “The writ petition is dismissed with costs assessed at Rs 25,000 for the utterly frivolous litigation that the municipal corporation has been fighting all these years,” he added.
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Asstt station master, cop assaulted
Anandpur Sahib, August 17 The incident took place around 11:30 pm yesterday when the woman along with her family was returning after paying obeisance at Naina Devi shrine. The accused were reportedly in an inebriated state and started teasing the woman. Sensing trouble, the woman’s husband told them to move towards the railway station but
the accused started chasing them. However, when Assistant Station Master Krishan Kumar and GRP jawan Kuldip Kumar tried to
stop the accused, they allegedly pelted stones on them in which they received injuries. The police has arrested two of the accused while other four fled the spot. The arrested have been identified as Jang Bahadur from Anandpur Sahib and Jitender Singh from Mukerian. The police also impounded their vehicle. All six have been booked under Sections 294 353 332 159 186 of the IPC and various sections of the Railway Act.
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