Ludhiana, December 17
Hundreds of postgraduates and graduates having technical degrees and diplomas today appeared for an interview for 50 contractual posts of messenger and beldar, minimum qualification for which is Class VIII, at Punjab Agricultural University (PAU) here.

Reflecting on a grim unemployment scenario that has left well-educated youths desperate, several computer literates showed up on the campus to try their luck for grabbing an employment opportunity.

Jaspreet Kaur (22), a postgraduate diploma holder in computer applications and a computer science graduate from Panjab University, Chandigarh, also appeared for the interview. Disappointed with the state of affairs on the job scene, Jaspreet, whose father is a doctor, is already working on a daily-wage basis as a dispatcher in the Department of Agronomy, PAU, on a meagre salary of Rs 2,200. She is also pursuing her Bachelor’s degree in humanities, along with her present job, which requires her to perform lowly duties, including those that are not even a part of her job profile.

Unfortunately, Jaspreet is not the only one who has been forced by circumstances to take up a low-paying, class IV employee’s job when, as per her qualification, she can have a well-paying respectable occupation.

There are scores of other well-educated youth who are dealing with the similar fate. The remuneration for the post of beldar is Rs 4,100.

Jaspreet informed that there are many class IV daily-wage workers in the university itself who are graduates and postgraduates and many of her friends are also working as peons in other departments.

Talking to The Tribune, another applicant for the post of class IV employee, said she was a postgraduate in English and had been trying to get a job for the past over three years. “Disillusionment from all quarters is all I got. Recently, a friend, who is also a postgraduate and working as a daily wager in a local college, suggested that I have bright chances to get this job as my qualification is far beyond the required. Hence, I applied, ” the applicant added.

Gurdas, a graduate in science from Guru Nanak Dev University, Amritsar, also had a similar tale to narrate. “With widespread unemployment not only in the state, but the entire country, this is what our educated youth are headed towards,” said the distraught young man, giving words to the plight of thousands of unemployed youth, numerous of whom had today queued up outside the Thapar Hall of the PAU to appear for the posts of class IV worker, beldar and messenger boy.

Jalandhar, December 17
What makes the state government upbeat is the agriculture sector that is continuously doing well in spite of circumstances such as a drought-like situation in the recent past. In fact, it is because of the revenue generated from the agriculture sector that the wheel of development continues to move though at very slow pace in the state.

Thanks to the bumper paddy crop and earlier good wheat crop, the state government had earned a revenue of about Rs 3,000 crore in April 1 to November 30 this year. Besides, Rs 900 crore has gone into the pockets of arhtiyas (commission agents) during the past eight months.

The Punjab Mandi Board has earned a market fee of Rs 600 crore from the sale of foodgrains and other agriculture produce in grain markets during the past eight months. Equal amount of Rs 600 crore has gone to the Rural Development Fund and Rs 1,200 crore to the state government’s treasury as VAT. Apart from it, Rs 600 crore has gone to the Punjab Infrastructure Development Board.

“Last year the revenue generated during the corresponding period from the market fee was Rs 533 crore and this year Rs 600 crore, an increase of 12.64 per cent ”, said Ajmer Singh Lakhowal, chairman of the mandi board.

“I would say that after VAT, the agriculture sector is second major contributor to state’s net income,“ Lakhowal said.

The state charges 2 per cent market fee and equal percentage of rural development fund and infrastructure cess from the foodgrains brought into the market for sale by farmers. Besides, 4 per cent VAT is also charged. arhtiyas get 2.5 per cent as commission on sale proceeds. Buyer has to pay all these charges.

“As arhtiyas have earned a commission of Rs 900 crore during the past eight months which means each arhtiya has made about Rs 2.14 lakh from the sale of foodgrains. There are about 42,000 license holder arhtiyas in the state”, said a senior official of the board.

In fact, actual number of commission agents was about 14,000. Most of the commission agent families have two or three licensee firms. That means each commission agent’s family has earned about Rs 6.50 lakh from the foodgrains produced by farmers, said the official.

Asked about the contribution of agriculture sector in the state GDP, Balwinder Singh Sidhu, Director, Agriculture, Punjab, said this year it would be in the range of Rs 44,000 crore against the past year’s figure of Rs 42,000 crore against the total worth of the GDP pegged at 1,37,488 crore. “That means about 30 per cent contribution to the GDP is still being made by the agriculture sector,” he said.

Chandigarh, December 17
Punjab Speaker Nirmal Singh Kahlon today said he had received explanations from both Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) and Congress legislators regarding their behaviour in the Punjab Assembly during its last session that led to unruly scenes and even violence.

According to Kahlon, who spoke to newsmen here at the appointment of former Block Primary Education Officer Daya Singh Boparai as his officer on special duty, said Akali legislators Virsa Singh Valtoha and Jagdeep Singh Nakai and Congress legislators Darshan Singh Brar and Kewal Dhillon had submitted their explanations to him and that he would take a decision on the issue before the next Assembly session. According to sources, both the Akali and Congress legislators have blamed each other for instigating violence in the state.

The Speaker also said that the issue of behaviour of Leader of Opposition Rajinder Kaur Bhattal, who is accused of urging Congress legislators to take on the Badals (Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal and Deputy Chief Minister Sukhbir Badal), had been referred to the privileges committee that would adjudicate on it. 

Ferozepur, December 17
Sukhdev Singh, district food and supply controller, who exposed the paddy ‘scam’ recently and got a criminal case registered against unscrupulous traders, has been placed under suspension.

SP Singh, Secretary, Food and Supplies Department, confirmed the suspension of Sukhdev Singh. He, however, said that an inquiry would reveal whether Sukhdev Singh facilitated the scam or not.

When asked why Sukhdev Singh was placed under suspension despite the fact that he (Sukhdev) exposed the scam, SP Singh said, “So what?”

Officials sources said Sukhdev Singh and six other officials including Swarnjit Singh, Balwinder Kumar, Arvind Nanda, Baldeep Singh (all inspectors), Rajan and Kabul Singh (both clerks) in the Food and Supplies Department, Ferozepur, were placed under suspension with immediate effect by the higher authorities of the department without assigning any reason.

The action was taken by the higher authorities of the department after a ‘scam’ connected with the siphoning off of paddy worth about Rs 7 crore by the owner of Noor Rice Mill of the district along with his associates, a section of truck operators and labourers was detected by Sukhdev Singh on the night of December 8.

Some functionaries of the department, while pleading anonymity, claimed that the action taken against Sukhdev Singh would bring demoralisation among the staff members.

They demanded a high-level probe by an independent agency, saying it could bring out the truth in the case.

Sukhdev Singh said though he had informed the higher authorities of everything in connection with the involvement of the mill owner, his associates, truck operators and labourers, a section of officials of the department, political bigwigs and a section of policemen in the scam, he was placed under suspension without any fault of his.

He said the police did not recover the paddy that was siphoned off from Noor rice mill and was stocked at various places in this and other districts of Punjab despite the fact that he managed to trace it partly in the presence of a police team.

He added that Inderneel Singh, whose name figured in the FIR registered at Sadar police station in connection with the paddy scam and who was handed over to the police on the night of December 8, had also been freed by the police instead of asking him to recover the siphoned off paddy.

Meanwhile, SP Singh said he would take up the matter with the police as to why the paddy was not recovered when it was traced by Sukhdev Singh. 

Amritsar, December 17
The Deputy Chairman of the Planning Commission, Dr Montek Singh Ahluwalia, said here today that public investment in the agriculture sector could get a boost by diverting power and fertiliser subsidies to agriculture and rural infrastructure.He was here to inaugurate the three-day 69th Annual Conference of the Indian Society of Agricultural Economics (ISAE) being organised by the Punjab School of Economics of Guru Nanak Dev University here.

Ahluwalia said 4 per cent agriculture sector growth rate as envisaged in the 11th Five Year Plan could be achieved despite drought that had hit majority of areas in the country this year.

He said during the previous financial year, the agriculture growth was pegged at 3.2 per cent, adding that the government would do its utmost to achieve the target of 4 per cent in the next fiscal year.

He highlighted the need for land quality improvement, input management, improving access to water, watershed management, improved road connectivity and extension system in agriculture besides urging to bring out structural changes in seed industry and the growth of biotechnology and optimisation of crop-mixes.

Dr DK Marothia, the conference president, underlined the need for the decentralisation of natural resource management in India.

Dr SS Johl, renowned agricultural economist and president of the society, emphasised the need to create a separate corpus fund of Rs 25,000 crore in case of agricultural universities, dedicated to the Government of India for undertaking research particularly in respect of cutting-edge policies to reduce uncertainty in agriculture.

Chandigarh, December 17
Punjab IAS officer Harjit Singh is in the dock. The Punjab and Haryana High Court has asserted that the officer has apparently tried to mislead the court by making a false averment. Harjit Singh has now been given one opportunity to explain his conduct after appearing before the court.

The matter pertains to a contempt of court petition filed by Moga-based district programme officer with the Department of Social Security, Women and Child Development Ashok Kumar Sharma in a service matter.

Posted as Commissioner for Persons with Disabilities, Harjit Singh had asserted that an order pertaining to Sharma’s service condition was sent to the Director, Women and Child Development; and was received according to the office record. Appearing before Justice Rakesh Kumar Garg, the IAS officer had also placed on record a photocopy of a letter “showing receipt number 3897”.

On the other hand, senior assistant, Directorate of Social Security, Women and Child Development, said the letter dated September 11, 2008, was not received in the directorate office.

Taking a note of the assertions, Justice Garg on December 7 had asked for the “receipt register”; and had directed “the entire record of the directorate be also kept ready” before adjourning the hearing. Justice Garg had also directed the filing of an affidavit on behalf of the directorate.

As the case was taken up again, Director, Social Security, Women and Child Department, Dharam Dutt, said he had verified from the office record that the directorate never received the letter.

Taking on record the assertions, Justice Garg observed in his order: “It seems that the respondent has unintentionally tried to mislead the court by making false averments that the orders have been received in the Directorate Social Security, Women and Child Department. However, I deem it appropriate to give him one opportunity to explain his conduct in this regard”.

Fixing tomorrow (December 18) as the next date of hearing in the matter, Justice Garg also asked the IAS officer to remain present in the courtroom.

New Delhi, December 17
The Supreme Court today stayed a Punjab and Haryana High Court order that had directed the Punjab government to determine the seniority of Punjab Police Service (PPS) officials in the ratio of four-to-one by applying the quota on a rotational basis with effect from 1959.

A Bench comprising Justices Tarun Chatterjee and SS Nijjar issued a notice to the state government and ordered “status quo,” restraining the government from going ahead with implementing the April 10, 2008 HC order, which was confirmed a year later while disposing of a review petition.

The apex court passed the order after counsel Puneet Bali, appearing for DSP Iqbal Singh whose seniority had slipped from number one position to 58 on the revised seniority list, said the HC had relied on a 1979 SC judgment which stood overruled by a 1990 Constitution Bench verdict. According to the 1990 judgment delivered by a five-Judge Bench, the rotation in quota principle could not be applied once the rotational rule had broken down.

Bali also said the Punjab government had posted the revised seniority list on the official website late last night despite the fact that the case was slated for hearing in the apex court today.

Over 400 officers are reportedly affected by the impugned HC order. The apex court has fixed January 6, 2010, for the next hearing.

Moga, December 17
A sexually abused minor Dalit girl, who gave birth to a baby girl on April 19, and her parents have gone missing from their residence at Ramuwala Kalan village in Moga district.

This came to light when Dalip Singh Pandhi, member of the SC commission, came here on Thursday evening to investigate the matter. The tehsil welfare officer who was asked to bring the minor girl, her baby and family at Moga for investigation brought into the notice of the commission that their house was locked from outside and none of their neighbours knew about their whereabouts. Pandhi asked the district administration through the tehsil welfare officer to trace the family and provide security to them.

“The government should also take adequate steps as per the constitutional provisions to rehabilitate this family”, he said.

He also summoned the DSP (rural) to produce the original case file of this case before him for perusal at Ferozepur on Friday, besides, asking the civil surgeon to produce the record related to the date of birth of the victim.

It was brought into his notice that contrary to the facts mentioned in the FIR, the police while closing the case had accepted her affidavit in which it was written that she was adult and did not wish to legally proceed further in the case.

Raising doubts on the role of the police, Pandhi said: “The commission will find out the exact date of birth of the girl from the official records available in the village panchayat school and the health authorities”. “If not, we will constitute a medical board to examine her age so that the case can be taken to a logical conclusion”, he added.

He said it was unfortunate that a minor Dalit girl was not only sexually abused by the spoiled sons of some influential families but also she gave birth to a baby girl and the police had closed the case while the district administration remained a mute spectator to the tragic incident.

Bathinda, December 17
Former Chief Minister and Congress leader Capt Amarinder Singh today accused Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal of arming SAD activists to rig the coming Assembly poll.Talking to mediapersons here, he alleged that licenses for weapons were being issued by the district administration to SAD activists in a large number.

He aleged that: “Having lost badly in the Malwa region in the last Assembly poll, Badal is trying to regain seats through muscle power.” He said an official survey indicated that over 10,000 unlicensed weapons were there in Ludhiana. The Congress leader alleged that the CM always indulged in communal polarisation to muster the support of the Sikhs.

Referring to the government’s plan to clean the Sutlej and the Beas, he said while doing so, the thrust should be on bigger cities instead of distributing central grants in small patches.

He said the leather and metal industries were the main sources of polluting the river waters that had become a cause of a high incidence of cancer in Bathinda and other parts of Malwa.

The Captain claimed that during his regime, steps were taken to check chemical pollution of underground water by introducing Bt Cotton that required a less number of sprays of insecticides and pesticides. He demanded that the Badal government should make public the details of renegotiation with Laxmikant Mittal for setting up a refinery here.

He also demanded a high-level probe into valuable infrastructure of the Jalandhar-based Punjab Institute of Medical Sciences (PIMS) being given to certain “unprofessional” persons reportedly considered close to the Badals.

He alleged that a sum of Rs 150 crore had already been spent on constructing the building of the PIMS and the approximate market value of 50 acres of land attached to it was about Rs 2,000 crore, whereas the entire infrastructure was proposed to be given to a private party for a sum of Rs 139 crore.

Chandigarh, December 17
Baljinder Singh - the just-out-of-job judicial officer - won’t be caught by surprise in the dowry harassment case registered against him.

Taking up his plea, Justice HS Bhalla of the Punjab and Haryana High Court today directed: “In the event of the arrest of the petitioner in criminal case bearing FIR number 233, dated October 4, 2009, registered at the police station division number 7, Ludhiana, he shall be released on interim anticipatory bail till the next date of hearing.” The case has been registered under Sections 307, 498-A, 406, 323, 506 and 120-B of the IPC.

Justice Bhalla asserted Baljinder Singh should be released “subject to the satisfaction of the investigating officer/arresting officer”; and directed the petitioner “to join the investigation as and when called upon to do so”. The case will now come up for further hearing on January 7.

Baljinder Singh was posted as the Civil Judge-cum-Judicial Magistrate at Amritsar. The high court, vide its decision dated December 7, 2009, had withdrawn work from the petitioner and recommended to the state government to dispense with his services.

As his petition for release on bail in the event of arrest in an attempt to murder and dowry harassment case came up, counsel submitted that the complainant was medico-legally examined on October 4, 2009. According to the report, there were five injuries, three of which were found to be “simple in nature”.

One of the remaining injuries was “diffused swelling”, the other was abrasion on different parts of the body. But “there was no report issued by the civil hospital with regard to any injury which was found to be dangerous to life”.

Baljinder Singh added in his petition that he tied the knot with Karandeep Kaur on October 5, 2008, but there was no demand for dowry.

After hearing the counsel for the petitioner and going through the documents, Justice Bhalla observed: “Having gone through the medico-legal report available on file, I find it to be a fit case for the issuance of notice.” Justice Bhalla also directed the issuance of a notice to the Punjab Advocate-General. 

Chandigarh, December 17
The Punjab and Haryana High Court today allowed a revision petition filed by Punjabi University’s former Vice-Chancellor Jasbir Singh Ahluwalia in the Saru Rana case. He was seeking the quashing of charges framed against him by a Patiala court.

In his revision petition before Justice Jora Singh, Ahluwalia’s counsel Pavit Singh Mattewal had earlier contended the charges were liable to be quashed, as no offence was made out under Section 376, even if the allegations were taken to be true. Otherwise also, there was no intention; preparation or attempt, even if the allegations were taken to be correct for the sake of arguments.