The Tribune, Chandigarh, India

	IG bungalow’s construction eats up 40 trees Bipin Bhardwaj Tribune News Service Jalandhar, November 24 The Punjab Urban Development Authority (PUDA) seems to be least concerned about the depleting green cover of the city. Lacking foresightedness, officials of the PUDA, Municipal Corporation (MC), Jalandhar Development Authority (JDA) and Jalandhar Improvement Trust (JIT) have been coming up with concrete structures in the city, thus gradually declining the percentage of the green cover (only 4 percent in the municipal limits). While these authorities have been playing with the ecology in the city and vicinity, the land developers and property dealers have been playing havoc on the outskirts of the city. The PUDA has chopped off over 40 full-grown trees, including eucalyptus, poplar, kikar and certain other shady trees, to make space for the construction of a bungalow for the Inspector-General of Police, Jalandhar Zone, right behind its office. The two-storey building will come up in New Baradari at a cost of Rs 1.30 crore in the next nine months. While the PUDA is felling the cluster of old trees mercilessly, the Forest Department is unaware of the activity. The Divisional Forest Officer, Jalandhar, at Phillaur, however, claimed that the area where felling was going on fell within the PUDA’s jurisdiction. The Superintending Engineer of PUDA, Tarlochan Singh, when contacted, said the felling was done on a formal approval from the Forest Department. He claimed that the Forest Department had estimated a cost of Rs 1,25,307 for the trees that were felled as per the rules. “The PUDA will plant much more trees on the premises of the IG bungalow to compensate the ecology losses,” claimed Som Nath, an Executive Engineer of the PUDA.
	All promises, no action on grabbed property of ex-serviceman Parmod Bharti Nawanshahr, November 24 It’s an irony that Col Onkar Singh Mahal (retd), who originally hails from Garhshankar and belongs to a family which has a tradition of serving the Army, has to run from pillar to post to get back his ancestral property lost to the nefarious designs of a nexus of politicians and the land mafia. Besides, he has been shuttling from one office to another - ranging from the Principal Secretary to the Chief Minister to the subdivisional-level revenue and police officials, to clear the bureaucratic hurdles for seeking remedial measures for the fraudulent sale of a part of his ancestral property at Garhshankar - for the past about three months. Narrating his woes to The Tribune, Colonel Mahal said in 1955 the Rehabilitation Department of the Government of India had allotted agricultural land at Rawalpindi village (near Garhshankar) situated in Ward 2 of Garhshankar to his late father Lieut-Col Karam Singh. After the death of their father, he and his brother Mohinder Singh inherited the property as per the registered will executed by their father. While his brother is residing in the USA, he had settled in Chandigarh after retirement in 1994, said Col Mahal, adding that one Pakhar Singh had been staying there as the caretaker of the agricultural land. After the death of Pakhar Singh, they permitted his widow Kulwinder Kaur and son Harinder Singh to stay in the ancestral house as caretakers. “Taking advantage of their absence, Kulwinder Kaur and her son Harinder Singh, in connivance with some municipal councillors, hatched a conspiracy to grab their ancestral property and succeeded in getting executed the registration of an illegitimate sale deed of a part of their property in August this year on the basis of fake documents like valuation certificate issued by the Municipal Council in 2006, showing ownership of Pakhar Singh and a forged map duly witnessed by Pawan Kumar, MC, showing Kulwinder Kaur as owner of the property,” said Col Mahal, adding that even the purchaser of the land, Harpal Singh, is the husband of a sitting municipal councillor. “Fortunately, my US-based brother Mohinder Singh got the information about the fraudulent registration of a sale deed within two weeks and immediately sent an e-mail to me in this regard,” further said Col-Mahal, adding that then he submitted a complaint to the SSP on September 14 demanding action against the conspirators. “On the basis of the complaint, the SSP asked the DSP Garhshankar to investigate the matter and after investigations a case under sections 420, 465, 468, 471 and 120-B, IPC, was registered against Kulwinder Kaur and her son Harinder Singh on September 30. But, none of the other persons involved in the conspiracy were included in the FIR nor have the mother and son duo been arrested so far,” he lamented, adding that then he submitted a complaint to the SSP, Hoshiarpur, to include the names of other conspirators in the FIR on October 7. Besides, he also met the Principal Secretary to Chief Minister, Darbara Singh Guru, on October 16 and submitted a representation urging him to do the needful to cancel the illegitimate sale deed. Though Guru has asked the Deputy Commissioner of Hoshiarpur to investigate the matter for taking appropriate action, till now nothing concrete has been done to provide relief to the family of the defence personnel. Garhshanker Tehsildar Pritpal Singh Chadha, when contacted, said he was not aware of it as the registration of the sale deed in question was done by his predecessor. Answering a query about whether any inquiry into the alleged fraudulent registration of the sale deed is going on or not, the Tehsildar said he had not received any such communication so far. Garhshanker ASP Inderbir Singh, when contacted, said he had been investigating the complaint filed by Colonel Onkar Singh Mahal, regarding inclusion of names of the alleged conspirators in the FIR. The report would soon be filed to the SSP, Hoshiarpur.
	Two killed, 7 hurt in mishaps Our Correspondent Phagwara, November 24 Two persons were killed, while seven other sustained serious injuries in two different road mishaps in and around the town today. In the first mishap, a Ludhiana resident, Pawan Malhotra, was killed, while his four family members, including a kid, sustained serious injuries when his car rammed into a truck near Lovely Professional University, Chiherru, on the national Highways in the wee hours today. The occupants of the car were returning from Amritsar to Ludhiana . It was learnt that the car driver fell asleep and the speeding car crossed the road divider and rammed into the truck. The injured, Satish Bedi, his son Neeraj, daughter-in-law Divya, grandson Bansh Bedi of Ludhiana, were admitted to the Civil Hospital. A case has been registered. In the second accident, a motorcyclist, Satinderjit Singh, a teacher of nearby Birr-Puad village, was killed while his pillion rider Jasbir Singh Bhularai sustained injuries when a private bus hit their bike on the highway after hitting a car near the sugar mill chowk today. Police has impounded the bus and arrested the bus driver.
	Strengthen security arrangements, DC tells banks Our Correspondent Nawanshahr, November 24 With a view to ensuring better security at the branches and ATM cabins of various banks as well as to ensure immediate tracing of miscreants in cases of any attempts of burglary at banks or ATM cabins, Deputy Commissioner Gurkirat Kirpal Singh issued orders to the banks to strengthen their security arrangements by installing CCTV cameras, advance alarm systems and appointment of security guards. He also asked police officials to ensure compliance of orders. In the wake of these orders by the DC as well as the recent incident of burglary of Rs 14.50 lakh at the Multipurpose Cooperative Society of Karnana village and some complaints regarding alleged fraudulent withdrawals from ATMs, DSP Satpal Singh Bhangu, accompanied by City SHO Raj Kumar, Sadar SHO Kewal Krishan and Rahon SHO Hardip Singh, today organised a meeting of bank managers of Nawanshahr, Rahon, Aur and Jadla areas to take stock of the security measures on their bank premises. As many as 60 bank managers participated in the meeting. Bhangu, while stressing the need to strengthen security arrangements, asked the bank managers to ensure compliance of the DC’s orders at the earliest. The issue of shortage of armed security guards and alternative arrangements in case the security guard is on leave was also discussed. He said trained security personnel could be made available to the banks as per requirement. Though the district administration is concerned about the strengthening of security arrangements at the banks, the authorities of some banks have been adopting dilly-dallying attitude towards sanctioning installation of CCTV cameras and advance alarm systems and providing armed security guards. Balwant Singh Daroch, manager of the local branch of Bank of Baroda, said he had already written to the higher authorities to sanction installation of CCTV cameras. District lead bank manager H.L. Bains said as many as 160 banks in public, private and cooperative sectors had been functioning in the district and he had been issuing circulars to all the bank managers for ensuring proper compliance of the orders issued by the Deputy Commissioner under section 144 of the CrPC as well as the directions issued by the DC from time to time at the meetings. A report regarding compliance of the directions regarding strengthening of security arrangements from bank managers would also be sought to prepare data about the banks lacking in proper security arrangements.
	2 lakh small farmers pushed away from farming: Experts G.S. Paul/TNS Amritsar, November 24 “The viability of farming as a profession and source of livelihood, particularly among small and marginal farmers, has become doubtful in the countryside. About 2 lakh small and marginal farmers have been pushed away from farming in Punjab, especially for the last decade or so,” opined Dr. T.S. Chahal, Director, Institute of Development and Planning (IDP), Amritsar, during the two-day national seminar on “farming and farmers’ suicides in Punjab”, at the Khalsa College for Education, here. The seminar was sponsored by the Indian Society of Agricultural Economics (ISAE), Mumbai, Chahal, Director, IDP and inaugurated by Dr. Rajvir Singh, member, Commission for Agricultural Costs and Prices, Government of India, New Delhi. Several scholars from different universities and institutions, such as CACP, New Delhi; IHD, New Delhi; Panjab University, Chandigarh; Punjabi University, Patiala; PAU, Ludhiana; HAU, Hisar; GND University, IDP, Khalsa College & Trai Shatabdi College, Amritsar; HPAU, Palampur; NDRI, Karnal; SGI, Gurdaspur; Citrus Estate, Hoshiarpur etc. presented about 30 research papers. They analysed different aspects of the problem which included genesis of the problem in detail, how such a situation developed, what were the specific causes, extent and scope of the problem and its impact on social and political life of people, the impact of WTO on the condition of farmers, their livelihood and their future in this profession, the effect of the loan waiver of 71,000 crore by the central government, solutions of the problem for short as well long periods and the role of the governments, bankers, agriculture departments, farm varsities, rural institutes, NGOs, religious and welfare societies. Dr. Sucha Singh Gill forcefully stressed that the corporate sector was out to grab the land of poor farmers and the state government should intervene and play its role to stop this trend. Dr. Karam Singh said the agrarian crisis of Punjab is the economic crisis which has caused farmers’ suicides to shoot up to dangerous proportions. Punjab, once the most prosperous of states, now has the most number of indebted farmers. Dr. R.S. Ghumman, Chairman, MSP Committee, Government of Punjab, recommended that the alternative cropping system must be given to farmers with an assured per hectare net return more or equal to the existing cropping pattern.