Chandigarh, August 18
The Punjab Transport Department has reversed a populist decision under which challan books were taken away from the district transport officers (DTOs) four months ago, following complaints submitted against them to Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal.

Economics seems to have forced the Transport Department to see reason with its minister Master Mohan Lal telling The Tribune that his department could not continue to bear the loss of a few hundred crores that had resulted due to this decision.

Badal had also taken serious notice of complaints, which stated that DTOs had been given fixed targets by the department due to which they often acted in a whimsical manner. The complaints mainly emanated from owners of various bus and mini-bus companies in the state, that had also submitted instances of alleged high-handedness.

The operators had earlier got a reprieve from checking of documents as well as penalty in the form of challans from the state police and its traffic wing after they filed a similar complaint against the police force with the Chief Minister. The state transport commissioner had subsequently withdrawn powers given to the state police to challan buses and mini-buses in the state.

With no collection having taken place in the field for four months since the challan books were called in and an informal directive issued not to do challans during a nearly eight-month period when the model code of conduct was in force, the department has lost a substantial amount of revenue.

Master Mohan Lal said the department collected around Rs 500 crore on account of challans and other fee, including registration cost and driving licence fee. He said much of this amount had been lost. He said DTOs had, however, been instructed to minimise corruption. The minister said senior officials would also visit DTO offices across the state at regular intervals to ensure efficient service to the people.

Meanwhile, transport secretary DS Jaspal said the department was going in for various reforms so that the entire system became transparent. He said it was proposed to authorise all automobile dealers to issue registration certificates. Jaspal said the dealers would be asked to list the registration fee of various vehicles in their showrooms so that they did not overcharge customers.

The secretary said similarly it was proposed to authorise selected institutes to issue learners licence with the authority to issue permanent licence resting with the District Transport Office. He said rules were being framed for such institutes who would also organise training in road safety. 

Lambi (Muktsar), August 18
Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal has said the World Bank had sanctioned Rs 1,280 crore to provide safe potable water in villages across the state.

The Chief Minister made this announcement at a press conference held after sangat darshan programmes in eight villages of this assembly segment, which is represented by him in the Vidhan Sabha. The programmes were held at Kangan Khera, Khema Khera, Phullu Khera, Arniwala Wazira, Fatehpur Mania, Tapa Khera and Dabwali Malkoki.

Badal said the World Bank had sanctioned such a big amount only due to the untiring efforts of the state government. Coming down heavily on errant government officials, Badal sounded a warning to them, saying that “if these officers, who are also public servants, can not listen to the grievances of the common man, it will be better for them to leave their jobs and better sit at home”.

He doled out a grant of Rs 1 crore for the development of all eight villages where he held sangat drashan programmes today. If the Chief Minister vented his ire on “non-performing officials” at the same time he also pulled up farmers who were stealing canal water for irrigation. He also came down heavily on farmers who were in the habit of using “kundi” connections to steal power. “Farmers found using a kundi connection would not be given a tubewell connection”, he added.

Taking notice of the non-utilisation of grants disbursed by him during sangat drashan programmes held on earlier occasions, the Chief Minister pulled up officials concerned for this lapse and asked them to immediately start development works.

Badal said an amount of Rs 10 crore had already been spent on setting up reverse osmosis (RO) water purifier plants in the Lambi assembly segment and added such plants would be set up in 12 more villages in the next four months.

The Chief Minister, who was accompanied by his Special Principal Secretary KJS Cheema and Muktsar Deputy Commissioner Rajat Aggarwal, distributed Rs 15,000 each to 45 beneficiaries of the Shagun Scheme. He also gave away Rs 35,000 each to 20 downtrodden families for construction of houses.

Gurdaspur, August 18
The BSF last night seized 25 kg of heroin worth Rs 125 crore in international market at Bohar Wadala village, which falls under the Kamaljit border check post.

However, the jawans from 71 Battalion, who made the seizure, one of the biggest recovery in the past 10 years on the Indo-Pak border, could not arrest the culprits. The culprits, who pushed the consignment into the Indian side, escaped taking advantage of darkness and dense fog.

Senior BSF officials, including Himmat Singh, IG, BSF, Punjab Frontiers, Ajay Anand, DIG, BSF, Gurdaspur, Jagir Singh Sra, DIG, and BL Meena, Company Commander, reached on the spot.

Sources said the contraband was packed in 25 packets of 1 kg of heroin each. The packets were slipped into the Indian side with the help of a long piece of cloth.

The sources said the seizure, the second one in Gurdaspur district this year, was made when BSF personnel were patrolling a specific area on the information received by them from Jagir Singh Sra, DIG, Intelligence, BSF, and Ajay Pal, Deputy Commandant, Intelligence, BSF. The recovery was made about 15 metres inside the zero line and in the area falling between the zero line and the barbed wire fencing.

Himmat Singh, IG, said so far about 103.5 kg of heroin had been seized on the Indo-Pak border in Punjab this year. Last year, the BSF seized around 106 kg of heroin.

Ajay Anand, DIG, said the jawans, who had made this seizure, would be rewarded suitably.

Meanwhile, Ashok Kumar, DSP, Punjab police, said he, along with other police officials, reached the post in the wee hours today but the BSF authorities did not allow them to inspect the spot. He, however, said he had dispatched police teams to arrest the culprit, who were supposed to receive the consignment on the Indian side.

Sangrur, August 18
The Communist Party of India’s (CPI) convention at Dhuri, 14 km from here, today urged the Punjab government to strengthen the public distribution system (PDS) and make 20 essential commodities available to people living below poverty line (BPL) and above poverty line (APL).

The convention also demanded a special package for Punjab from the Centre for Rs 3,000 per acre relief to farmers of the state as due to deficient monsoon, paddy growers had suffered losses on account expenditure on diesel to save the crop.

The convention also discussed the danger of terrorism, rising prices, corruption and dangers to democratic institutions.

National executive committee member of the CPI Joginder Dayal said the country had been facing an economic crisis due to new economic policies of the Centre and a major share of the wealth of the country had gone into the hands of few, while 77 per cent people earned less than Rs 20 per day.

Rising prices had also made the life of common people difficult as the government had given free hand to the traders.

Former Dhuri CPI MLA Achhra Singh, district secretary of the party Satwant Singh Khandebad and secretary of Dhuri tehsil unit of the party Karnail Singh Sohi were among the speakers. 

Ludhiana, August 18
The recommendation of NEERI and the P Ram Committee to attain zero liquid discharge by local dyeing units to save the Buddha Nullah has brought the Punjab Pollution Control Board (PPCB) back in action.

Even as industrialists held protests yesterday demanding the resignation of PPCB chairman Yogesh Goel, the pollution board is adamant that it will comply with the Punjab and Haryana High Court directions.

Talking to The Tribune on the phone from New Delhi, Goel said: “We have already dispatched letters for disconnecting power to 14 factories, including five large-scale one, and now the ball is in PSEB’s court. We are already monitoring 38 factories and would continue our work as per the High Court directions”.

PPCB member secretary Babu Ram said: “Six letters were delivered by hand to a PSEB officer in Ludhiana on August 13 and the same day five letters were sent by speed-post. Apart from it, three letters were sent by speed-post on August 16”. Even copies of the letters were faxed on Monday as the PSEB officials were claiming that they had not received any communication till 2 pm, he added. PSEB deputy chief engineer HS Randhawa said: “We have not received originals. However, I have received the fax copies just now and the six connections will be disconnected ”.

Buddha Nullah has been allocated Rs 100 crore this month. While a sum of Rs 50 crore has been sanctioned by the Centre, the same amount has been given by the state.

However, no plan on how the money will be spent has been chalked out till date. With such a huge amount being sanctioned for the cleaning of the nullah, experts feel that it will be of no use till the zero liquid discharge is attained by the dyeing and electroplating units and dairies.

Bhikhiwind (Tarn Taran), August 18
Tension prevailed today in the border village of Bhaini Gurmukh Singh where landlords allegedly opened fired at farm labourers last night.

The landlords have socially boycotted the labourers and their families over a dispute regarding an increase in wages. Both factions are unwilling to buzz, leading to a confrontation among them for more than two months.

Last night, a group of landlords, led by henchmen of the sarpanch, asked the labourers to call off their strike and intimidated them, alleged Kanwaljit Kaur of the Dalit Dasta Virodhi Andolan. They were not even allowing women to enter the fields to answer nature’s call, she added.

She said the farm labourers were demanding higher wages as they were getting only Rs 100 per day. However, there was an agreement between the two parties to increase the wage, but it was not implemented, leading to the present confrontation.

Meanwhile, the police intervened to resolve the issue but the representatives of the labourers union insisted that the case of attempt to murder be registered against the alleged men of the landlords who fired at the labourers and confiscate landlords’ weapons.

However, police sources said they were trying to workout an amicable solution to maintain peace in the village. The village has almost equal number of people from both groups.

A representative of the landlords, Gurdev Singh, who is the husband of Sarpanch Jagir Kaur, said they admitted that they were facing a problem in fixing higher wages for the labourers and they were going to continue their social boycott. They have decided to charge Rs 5,000 as fine from the farmers giving labourers work on higher wages or allowing them to enter their fields.

Lakhwinder Singh, member of the panchayat, alleged that the labourers had illegally detained their two boys while they were coming back after attending a village fair. That forced them to open fire in the air.

On the other hand, the labourers have also announced to charge Rs 10,000 as fine from anybody working on lesser wages in the fields.

Deputy Commissioner Khushi Ram admitted that the labourers had met him about one month ago to lodge a complaint of social boycott by the landlords. He had appointed BDPO, Bhikhiwind, to look into the matter. As the labourers did not meet him again, he thought the matter had been resolved. He said he would take action against the culprits after a probe. 

Ludhiana, August 18
The SGPC has decided to reconsider the issue of getting world heritage status for Harmandar Sahib (Golden Temple), Amritsar, from Unesco. The exercise has been started on the directions of the Sikh Gurdwara Judicial Committee, which received a petition seeking direction to the SGPC to consider the issue of getting world heritage status for Harmandar Sahib so that steps could be taken for the preservation and upkeep of the buildings as well as surroundings of the complex.

The SGPC has set up a high-powered committee headed by Dr Jaspal Singh, Vice-Chancellor, Punjabi University, to re-examine the dossier which was got prepared four years ago and also study the implications of the world heritage status for the holiest of the Sikh shrines. The other members of the committee are Prof Prithipal Singh Kapoor, a renowned Sikh scholar and pro-VC, Guru Nanak Dev University, Jasbir Singh Sabar, former Prof, GND University, and now working with the SGPC as in charge of Gurmat classes, Dr Gurnek Singh, Punjabi University, Waryam Singh, joint secretary, SGPC Dharam Prachar Committee, and Dr Jodh Singh, Punjabi University.

It is learnt that before appointing the committee, the SGPC had sought legal opinion from legal experts, mainly drawn from the High Court Bar, Chandigarh. The committee has further decided to seek the advice of legal luminaries in this regard.

During the tenure of Bibi Jagir Kaur as president of the SGPC, a decision was taken to close this case on the plea that there was no need for getting world heritage status for Harmandar Sahib. Professor Kapoor, who was also a member of the earlier committee, gave a dissenting note that no decision should be taken in a hurry.

Avtar Singh Makkar, president, SGPC, said he was getting done a study of the dossier and the issue. “If there is some constructive outcome, only then we will seek the world heritage status from Unesco,” he added.

‘Mann’s remarks on Darshani Deori sans facts’

Amritsar :The SGPC has appealed to people not to be misled by statements of Simranjit Singh Mann, president, SAD (Amritsar), on the reconstruction of the Darshani Deori.

Avtar Singh, president, SGPC, in a press note here today said Mann’s statements lacked facts and were misleading. Doors of the Darshani Deori were an important part of the Golden Temple complex and legacy of the Sikhs.

He said the interim committee of the SGPC had suggested immediate repairs of damaged doors of the Darshani Deori and the committee had resolved to this effect in 2003. — TNS

Samrala, August 18
Lt Gen Ajit Singh (retd), whose shrewd tactics led to the bloodless capture of Junagarh, a former princely state and now part of the Saurashtra region in the southwestern end of Gujarat, is a sad man today as the country has chosen not to acknowledge his heroic exploits.

The then Nawab of Junagarh, Muhammad Mahabat Khanji III, opted to accede the state to Pakistan on September 15, 1947 ignoring Earl Mountbatten's views, arguing Junagadh adjoined Pakistan by sea. The state was surrounded by the Indian territory on three sides with a coast on the Arabian Sea. The Indian government was strongly opposed to the accession and soon dispatched its armed forces to Rajkot under the command of Brig Gur Dayal Singh.

Being a brigade major at the time, Ajit handled the entire military operation and occupied the nawab’s palace in three hours in the second week of November 1947. “It was a clean, bloodless operation though some forces of the nawab were present in the palace,” said Ajit, who also saw action in World War II and spent some months in a prisoner of war camp in Italy along with Yahya Khan, Tikka Khan and Yakub Khan, who later became leaders of Pakistan’s military and civilian establishments.

“Without informing government officials we had engaged some ex-servicemen, who were told to resort to firing every day during late evening near the nawab’s palace to create a scare inside. We were also backed by a few air force planes that were instructed to fly low over the palace. The objective was to create an intolerable situation for the nawab,” said Ajit.

The Nawab, along with his family, fled to Pakistan in the last week of October 1947 in his Dakota plane. When he realised one of his wives had been left behind, the aircraft returned to pick her up.

“We had asked higher authorities to occupy the palace at the earliest, but they kept delaying a decision saying it was to be taken at the political level. Unfortunately, the country’s political leadership kept dithering and remained indecisive on the issue for quite a long time”, recalled Ajit.

However, when Vallabhbhai Patel, then India’s Home Minister, came to Rajkot, he asked: “Why is action being delayed?” As soon we got the message we sent the forces to occupy the palace, said Ajit. “Later, I drove Patel to the Somnath temple in a military jeep,” he added.

Ajit, who hails from Mal Majra village near Samrala, was commissioned in the Indian Army in 1939 and got two quick out-of-turn promotions to become major in 1942. “I graduated in 1933 and joined the Sikh regiment in 1935, later entering the Indian Military Academy at Dehradun following my selection under a special quota for Indians,” he added.

Following his escape from the POW camp in Italy, Ajit lost contact with the Indian Army as well as his family, which had lost all hope he would come back. But return he did - to Bombay in1945 - and was given a salary with all overseas allowances and later posted at Jullundur. A regular at Delhi’s golf course, he has been a member of the Delhi Golf Club since 1953 and presently lives in the Capital’s Greater Kailash locality.

Chandigarh, August 18
Awais Sheikh, a peace ambassador from Pakistan and counsel for Sarbjeet, who is lodged in Pakistan’s jail, was in city today.

While talking to mediapersons here, Awais said on his earlier visit to India three months back, he had met Sarbjeet’s sister and his daughter, who urged him to take up Sarbjeet’s case in Pakistan.

He revealed that after completing the legal formalities, he took over the case and also met Sarbjeet, who had been lodged in Kot Lakhpat jail in Pakistan. He informed that he handed over a letter to Pakistan President written by Sarbjeet’s sister seeking mercy. “The letter bore signatures of one lakh Indians,” he claimed.

Chandigarh, August 18
The Punjab and Haryana High Court has held that a municipal commissioner can institute legal proceedings, even without backing of a resolution by the Municipal Committee.

The ruling came on a petition filed by the Amritsar Municipal Corporation (MC) through a commissioner in a workmen-related dispute.

Taking up the petition against the presiding officer of the industrial tribunal and other respondents, Justice K. Kannan asserted: “The writ petition has been filed at the instance of the corporation and the petition has been verified by the Joint Commissioner, Amritsar MC.”

“It is indeed doubtful, as argued by the senior counsel appearing for the workmen, if there is any authority given to the commissioner to file the writ petition,” he added.

“But, I find that Section 394 of the Punjab Municipal Act empowers the commissioner to institute legal proceedings and legal advise. The provision does not require any resolution of the Municipal Committee to enable the commissioner to take appropriate legal proceedings,” he said. “The power of the commissioner itself may not be in doubt for the validity of the prosecution of the case in the name of the corporation,” he asserted.

The counsel for the workmen had earlier argued before the court that the commissioner had no authority to file the writ petition. He had claimed that the petition was not maintainable in the absence of a valid resolution authorising the MC to file the case.

He had gone ahead to argue that the members of the MC were actually supporting the cause of the workmen, and there had even been recommendations by the senior executive officers of the corporation for the regularisation of their services.

But the MC had been speaking in two voices - the chief functionaries of the corporation were recommending regularisation of the workman at one level, on other hand, the writ petition had been filed before the court to challenge the direction of the labour court on regularisation of the workmen. The unauthorised writ petition had been, in the eyes of the law, “non-est”, the counsel had asserted.