Jalandhar, December 17
The Municipal Corporation (MC) is all set to start projects worth hundreds of crores of rupees in the coming year. Projects ranges from development of slums in the city to the eco-friendly projects like global environment facility.

In the coming year, the MC will start the new project on solid waste management near Jamsher, which will include the door-to-door collection of garbage from the areas falling under the corporation limits and surrounding municipalities and recycling of the garbage to generate manure and power.

The project, cost of which is nearly 100 crore, will begin functioning in the next six months.

Other projects like Geographical Information System (GIS) and e-governance are also likely to take off next year. The e-governance will provide single-window facility to pay sewerage and water bills, house tax and get birth and death certificates. The GIS will enable the corporation to scan all properties and their attributes to closely watch any illegal use of land, illegal water connection and evasion of house tax.

In addition to this, the Company Baag project, with cost of Rs 3.28 crore, is already underway and likely to be completed in the coming six months.

Mechanised sweeping of 70 km of city roads will also be started in the coming years with imported machines. One machine will cost around Rs 1.25 crore.

To contain the pollution level, the corporation is also going to construct much-awaited sewerage treatment plant for the bio-waste generated in the 250 dairies of Jamsher Dairy Complex. A new biogas plant in Jamsher, with the capacity of 1 MW, is also expected to take off in the coming year in collaboration with the Punjab Energy Development Authority.

The Operation and Maintenance (O&M) branch of the corporation is also working on a project to develop central control panel for all 325 tubewells of the city. “Generators for tubewells in slum areas will be installed on priority,” said Engineer of O&M branch V.P. Singh.

The corporation is also going to launch development drive of 22 slums of the city under the Integrated Housing Slum Development Scheme. Streets and pathways, streetlights and renovation of houses will be included in this project. This project will be worth Rs 40 crore and completed in six months.

The B&R Department of the MC may also start railway underbridge at the Sodhal railway crossing in the coming years.

However, the project is still in the pipeline. Another project named Global Environment Facility, amounting Rs 253 crore, is also expected to be materialised in the next year. The project is aimed at enhancing the use of non-motorised vehicles. Rigorous alterations in road channels of the city will be needed for the proper implementation of the project. However, the project is still at the embryonic stage.

Much-hyped Burlton Park project, with estimated cost of Rs 200 crore, has already been halted by the Punjab And Haryana High Court. Similarly, extension and amendments in the routes of the city bus service may also take time to be materialised as the matter is pending with the state government.

Ban on diesel-run vehicles has also put the idea of expansion of city bus service on the standstill.

Jalandhar, December 17
Farmers, who have their agriculture land along the Bist Doab Canal, are all praise for the National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (NREGS) that has been instrumental in bringing irrigation to their otherwise fallow fields.

Thanks to the district administration and the Irrigation Department, who cleaned the 10.2- km-long portion of Adampur to Kangniwal village under the NREGS, spending over Rs 7.12 lakh to provide irrigation water for the tail-end farmers. This project proved helpful in brining 10,892 acres of agricultural land under irrigation.

Similarly another tributary (Chomo to Jamser) of the canal covering over 15 kms was cleaned under the scheme. The district administration has spent over Rs 13.5 lakh to bring nearly 24,364 acres of land under irrigation.

Block Development Project Officer Adampur, Sukhdev Singh said job cardholders of the area were provided employment for weeks together and the tributaries were freed from wild growth.

The tributaries were even blocked due to the collapsed pullis (small bridges) and waste material dumped by the villagers at many places. As the hurdles were removed, canal water (which failed to reach fields at the tail end of these tributaries) is being used by the farmers for irrigation, he added.

Having all praise for the NREGS officials, Gurdial Singh, a farmer of Kapoor village, said the scheme has brought irrigation water to our fields which will help us reduce electricity consumption.

Amardeep Singh Bain, Deputy Chief Executive of Zila Parishad, revealed that the district administration has completed 55 projects out of 466 projects taken up under the NREGA scheme in different blocks as yet. Work on 411 projects is still under progress, he claimed.

The Union government has sanctioned Rs 8.22 crore for these projects out of which Rs 3.16 crore has spent on these works taken under the scheme in the district. The district administration has proposed an expenditure of Rs 1.48 crore for the cleaning the drains out of which Rs 36 lakh have been spend till date.

The scheme is being implemented in six blocks- Adampur, Nakodar, Nurmahal, Jalandhar-East, Jalandhar-West and Rurka. The scheme has proved a boon for the residents of three blocks including Phillaur, Adampur and Jalandhar East where al lot of projects have been undertaken and beneficiaries have been provided jobs as per the guidelines of the NREGS, he revealed.

Deputy Commissioner Ajit Singh Pannu warned the administration has been keeping a close watch on the defaulters. Action would be taken against the violators of the NREGS scheme if found guilty, the DC warned.

Jalandhar, December 17
Taking a serious note of the news item “SDM ‘threatens’ workers after NREGA complaints pop up” published in these columns today, the Deputy Commissioner (DC), Ajit Singh Pannu, called an emergency meeting of officials to review works being undertaken under the National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (NREGA) scheme in the district.

Sources disclosed that officials, including ADC (D) and other officers involved in the works being taken up under the NREGA scheme, were called in the meeting. The DC asked the officers to keep a close watch on every project taken up under the scheme so that the scheme could be implemented strictly.

The DC, however, claimed that this was a routine meeting. Talking to The Tribune, Pannu claimed that the women workers at projects undertaken under the scheme in Bath village were creating problems as certain members of a labourer union were instigating them.

He claimed that the payment to the workers was being made on their performance basis and according to the NREGA guidelines.

He also denied the allegation of threats to the workers in Bath village on Monday. The administration had been keeping a close watch on the defaulters and black sheep, who are misleading the innocent workers.

The DC warned that strict action would be taken against the violators and those instigating the NREGA workers against the administration.

Jalandhar, December 17
Reflecting on the issue of migrant labourers in Punjab and the recent Ludhiana episode, Janata Dal United (JDU), Punjab, sent letters to Punjab Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal and Bihar CM Nitish Kumar, proposing remedial measures to be taken in order to avoid such incidents. JDU state secretary general B.S. Gill said the core group of the party comprising state president Inderjeet Singh Saini, senior vice-president V.K. Kaushal, B.S. Gill, chairman of labour cell Ramesh Mishra, among others, discussed the issue. They said the episode was a misadventure and emotional outburst of some proactive, anti-social elements. The meet also said the outburst should not be taken lightly.

It said the problems and grievances of the migrants had been simmering and lingering for quite some time and needed to be sorted out and plugged. They demanded opening of zero balance savings bank accounts, compensations for loss of property during turmoil and issuance of ration cards to the labourers.

The JDU leaders said the labourers should have ESI facility and implementation of labour laws should be ensured. They demanded skill-wise census of migrant labourers. The organisation proposed that a community hall named “Bihar Sadbhawana Bhavan” should be established at Ludhiana for the migrants’ cultural get-togethers.

Jalandhar, December 17
The 1st Martyrs Memorial Hockey tournament would begin tomorrow at the Olympian Surjit Hockey Stadium, Burlton Park. The seven-day tournament would saw as many as 12 teams, including hosts Punjab Police and Sind Bank Academy, EME, CRPF, Gopal Hockey A, Punjab National Bank, Rail Coach Factory, Kapurthala, BSF, CISF, Corps of Signals, Jammu and Kashmir and Punjab and Sind Bank.

Tournament organising secretary Surinder Singh Sodhi said the winning team would be awarded with a cash prize of Rs 51,000 while the second runners-up would get Rs 31,000.

Phagwara, December 17
Though the government has been taking several steps to attract non-resident Indians to come back to their motherland and has been facilitating them by making different laws in their favour, some NRIs were taking undue advantage of these laws and had started to act to vacate their rental properties from their respective tenants under the cover of these laws.

More than 100 tenants of NRI shopkeepers of Phagwara have formed NRI victims Punjabi Kirayadar Welfare Association in support of their long-pending demand to abolish 13-B Act meant for supporting NRIs.

A state-level meeting of the association was held under the presidentship of TS Pahwa here today.

More than 200 representatives of shopkeepers, who have been NRI victims, from different parts of the state attended the meeting.

Giving details of the meeting, executive member Vijay Kumar told newsmen here this evening that the meeting expressed its concern about the indifferent attitude of the government and alleged that despite assurances made by Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal in the presence of former Lok Sabha Deputy Speaker Charanjit Singh Atwal, Technical Education Minister Swarana Ram, Transport Minister Master Mohan Lal and Markfed Chairman Jarnail Singh Wahid Advocate, to initiate some constructive steps to help the NRI victim shopkeepers, nothing could be done even after two years of the assurances given by Badal.

The members at the meeting threatened to launch a statewide agitation, if the state government does not initiate any solid steps to save the NRI victim shopkeepers. The next general body meeting of the association would be held on December 19, at Phagwara.

Jalandhar, December 17
Two students of Police DAV Public School brought laurels to the institution by getting selected in the National Competition for Students Ideas and Innovation, IGNITE-2009, and winning prizes.

The competition was organised by the National Innovation Foundation (NIF), run by the Union Department of Science and Innovation. Anurag, a student of Class IX, bagged the second prize, while Pallavi, also a student of Class IX, got the consolation prize.

The students were given certificates and a trophy by Dr A.P.J. Abdul Kalam, former President of India, during a function held at the Indian Institute of Management (IIM), Ahmedabad, on November 30.

Anurag maintained that he wanted to work on the idea of integrating the gait of a person with a mobile phone. “As walking style differs from person to person, the software inducted would be able to identify and store the signals based on the body movements while walking. If the mobile phone will sense a different movement once activated, it will lock itself and send a message about its location to a predefined number,” he added.

He added that the system would also have a password option, which would enable the original user to unlock the mobile in case of emergency.

Another selected student, Pallavi, said she wish to work on the idea of a high-tech school bus, which can give alert signals as it approaches the bus stop. “This would help me in knowing my bus stop in advance. Moreover, I would not miss my bus this way,” she quipped.

As many as 1,344 entries were sent from across the country, out of which 18 students were selected and two students were from of Police DAV. They were the only students selected from Punjab for the competition. The students competed in three categories. The first category was below Class VII, while the second category included the students from class VII to X and the third category had students from Class XI and XII.

Principal of the school, Rashmi Vij, maintained that the Department of Science and Innovation funds Rs 25 lakh to the students who wish to start the production on their own irrespective of the success or the failure of the endeavour.

Apart from this, the department also hands over the selected ideas of the students to different companies in the private sector. “If the ideas are found feasible, then the production work starts and the child gets a percentage out of the profit thus made in the venture,” she maintained.

Jalandhar, December 17
Jalandhar, which is known for its sports goods industry, saw an eventful sporting year 2009. Many national championships were held in the district which provided opportunity both to budding players as well as the administrators to handle such significant events without any hitch.

The Tribune takes a look at the mega events and important development work being carried out to improve sports infrastructure, especially hockey, in the district:

55th National School Games: Organised in November, the games saw participation of students of government schools from across the country. Competitions were held in hockey, handball and athletics in which the students of Punjab registered an impressive win.

Surjit hockey tournament: The 26th edition of the Indian Oil Servo Surjit Hockey Tournament was held at Olympian Surjit Hockey Stadium from October 23 to 30. Many national and international stars made their presence felt in the tournament. The Surjit Hockey Society increased the prize money for the winning teams.

53rd national shooting championship: The 11-day-long 53rd national shooting championship was held at Punjab Armed Police (PAP) Headquarters here in November. As many as 1,400 shooters belonging to 38 teams from different states, police, paramilitary forces and Army participated in the championship.

Sansarpur gets new mini-turf: Sansarpur, the Mecca of Indian hockey, finally got a world-class mini-turf on the Sansarpur-Jandiala road for providing training to budding hockey players. The Sports Department released a grant of Rs 3 crore for the ambitious project.

Surjit Hockey Stadium renovated: Olympian Surjit Hockey Stadium was completely overhauled with a new astroturf laid by a German-based company. A world-class players room, umpire room, physiotherapist room, conference room, media room and electronic scoreboard were also constructed. Even the Bodhi hostel situated inside the stadium was also expanded with 26 rooms, spacious dining hall, recreation hall and study hall.

All-India Nehru Junior Hockey Cup (u-17): The hockey team of the local Government Senior Secondary School bagged the third position in the All-India Nehru Junior Hockey Cup (u-17), which was held at Chandigarh. The team received a cash award of Rs 32,000.

Shaheed Bhagat Singh international wrestling championship: The Shaheed Bhagat Singh international wrestling tournament held in the memory of the freedom fighter was held at PAP Indoor Stadium. Wrestlers from Korea, Japan, Germany and India participated in the championship. It was for the first time that the tournament was held under the FILA rules and regulations in the country.