Chandigarh, March 29
It is raining inquiries in Punjab. Today, a probe-happy state government asked the Chief Secretary to look into the agricultural diversification scam.

Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal wants the inquiry into the scam to be completed within a month by looking into all aspects involving gross mismanagement and misuse of public money without any accountability to the government in the four special purpose vehicles - Councils for Citrus and Agri Juicing, Value Added Horticulture, Organic Farming Council and Viticulture Council. Chief Secretary SC Aggarwal has also been asked to fix responsibility of the officials involved in the alleged scam.

The diversification project was billed to break the wheat-paddy growing cycle. It also aimed to shift about 20,000 acres to horticulture and organic farming and help the farmers grow high-value produce.

Interestingly, while the Assembly wanted to take up a letter written by Deputy Speaker Satpal Gosain to Speaker Nirmal Singh Kahlon for withdrawal of cases of corruption smacking of political vendetta, demand for inquiries into corruption, nepotism and malfunctioning of various departments and some PSUs has witnessed an unprecedented increase.

The issue had to be deferred as the Speaker could not go through the opinion given by Advocate-General Hardev Singh Mattewal.

Inquiry into diversification of agriculture follows a similar inquiry ordered into wheat seed scam at the instance of Congress MLA Sunil Kumar Jakhar during the Budget session. Other inquiries ordered in Vidhan Sabha include a thorough probe into the functioning of the anganwaris in the state after The Tribune highlighted their plight and poor upkeep.

Congress legislators had also demanded a probe into the supply of flour against wheat supplies it had received from the Centre under the Below Poverty Line and Above Poverty Line schemes. The Chief Minister also made some impromptu announcements in Vidhan Sabha regarding complaints of high-handedness of the police and other agencies.

Intriguingly, workings of the Punjab Agro Industries Corporation, which overlooks the functioning of the four special purpose vehicles, had remained mired in controversies even during the previous Congress regime. Fingers had been raised even at that time over the frequent and lavish jaunts abroad of some of the top officials of the corporation.

Meanwhile, the Congress has demanded a CBI probe into the scam. In a statement issued on behalf of his party, Congress MLA Sukhpal Khaira said: “Punjab’s diversification scam is a fit case for a CBI inquiry (since the Vigilance Department has no credibility and is politicised) pending which all those officials heading the special purpose vehicles of four councils formed for diversification of agriculture be suspended without any further delay”.

Chandigarh, March 29
The Punjab and Haryana High Court has held Punjab blameworthy for exhibiting lethargy. Justice Ranjit Singh has ruled that the state’s “lethargic” attitude gave an “undue advantage and benefit” to an employee in a resignation acceptance matter. He also ruled that a resignation could not be accepted if its withdrawal was legal.

The ruling came on an appeal filed by the state against Sukhdev Singh. Justice Ranjit Singh observed: “According to the state, the substantial question of law in regard to the right of employer to accept resignation after its withdrawal, that too with much delay will arise in this case.”

“Even the counsel appearing for respondent Sukhdev Singh will urge that substantial question of law relating to the right of employer to accept resignation once it stood withdrawn, and grant of continuity of service and back wages, and applicability of the principle of no-work-no-pay, will arise,” the Justice maintained.

Sukhdev Singh’s resignation from the post of section officer due to family circumstances on June 20, 1972, was accepted on February 16, 1982. This was “despite the fact that he had issued letters dated July 26, 1975, and August 3, 1978, to withdraw the resignation”. He also filed a suit praying for direction to allow him to join the services, once he had withdrawn his resignation prior to its acceptance.

“It is then the impugned order dated February 16, 1982, was passed,” Justice Ranjit Singh observed. In his detailed order, he asserted: “It will be rather strange to notice that request for resignation was kept pending for so long for which there is no reason coming on record to justify the same. It appears to be just a lethargic attitude of the appellant that had given an undue advantage and benefit to respondent-Sukhdev Singh.”

“The legal principle by now is fully settled that resignation before his acceptance could be withdrawn…. There is no doubt that there was inordinate, unexplained delay on the part of the respondent-Sukhdev Singh to withdraw this resignation, but the appellants are not seen in any good light in this regard….”

“Accordingly, the view taken by the trial court and upheld by the first appellate court that the resignation could not have been accepted since it was withdrawn is legal, just and appropriate and is accordingly upheld. The appeal filed by the state, thus would deserve to be dismissed,” the Justice added.

Patiala, March 29
The Patiala Zila Parishad authorities have received lukewarm response to the advertised posts of Rural Medical Officer (RMO). For a total of 17 posts under reserved categories, the Zila Parishad has received only eight applications so far. Interview is scheduled for March 31.

As per the information available, many dispensaries in the rural areas are lying defunct on account of unavailability of the RMOs. Though the Zila Parishad had directed the RMOs of functional dispensaries to take additional charge of the nearby defunct dispensary, people were facing difficulties on account of non-availability of permanent RMOs. In Patiala district there are four vacant posts in Ghannour block, three in Rajpura, three in Patran, two in Bhunrehri and another two posts in Nabha.

In order to fill the vacant posts, the Patiala Zila Parishad authorities had advertised 18 posts of RMO and started the process of receiving the applications from March 13. Out of the 18 posts, 17 were under reserved categories, whereas one post was under the general category.

According to Zila Parishad officials, 29 applications have been received so far. Out of these, 21 are from the general category candidates while only eight applications have been received against the 17 reserved posts. The officials said they had already appraised the Department of Rural Development about the situation and had also written to the department to de-reserve some of the posts.

Meanwhile, state president of the Rural Medical Services Association Aslam Parvez said main reason behind the poor response is the meager salary being offered by the department. “The salary of an RMO in the state is Rs 27,500, whereas Haryana gives Rs 35,000,” he argued. 

Dasuya, March 29
A Sikh boy found abandoned outside a clinic in London’s Southall area in 2008 has been finally re-united with his paternal family here after a long-drawn legal process.

Gurinderjit Singh (13) said he was “quite happy” to be re-united with his uncle (father’s elder brother) and would be living with him in their village near this town. The court of senior judge Rakesh Kumar gave Gurinderjit’s interim custody to his uncle, Kuldeep Singh, after a hearing on Monday. The boy was brought to New Delhi from London on Sunday.

As authorities in London and India along with social activists tried to help the boy, family trouble brewed in India. A London court had last year decreed that Gurinderjit be sent back to his paternal family after his DNA samples matched with his uncle’s. His maternal family has now staked claim to the boy’s custody.

“We want Gurinderjit’s custody. We had spent money to send his father abroad. Our daughter is also missing. His (Gurinderjit’s) sister also lives with us. We will take legal help to get his custody,” Mohinder Singh and Gurbachan Kaur, the boy’s maternal grandparents, said.

Gurinderjit’s sister Navjit Kaur, who had come to the court here on Monday specially to meet him, was a little disappointed after he decided to go with his paternal uncle instead of his maternal grandparents with whom she lives.

“I was happy to meet my sister here but I have told her that I will be staying with my uncle,” Gurinderjit said. About 400 Pounds in cash and other belongings of the boy were also handed over to his uncle, Kuldeep by the court.

Chandigarh, March 29
Punjab has finally broken the glass ceiling and given what it has freely got abroad to the migrant community in the state by way of appointment of Ram Charan Yadav as chairman of the Parvasi Bhalae Board.

Yadav, a first-generation migrant to the state, assumed the office of the newly established board here today in the presence of former minister Bikram Singh Majithia.

The appointment, which is a first for any state in the country, could do a lot to smoothen the integration of migrants in Punjabi society besides working to solve the problems being faced by migrants.

Yadav, while talking about his experiences with TNS here, said he, too, faced problems when he migrated to Amritsar from Basti in Uttar Pradesh in 1979. Yadav came up the hard way working as a supervisor in a steel plant and also selling insurance in his free time. He graduated to owning a health and fitness club and now has a finance company besides operating a learning centre of Punjab Technical University (PTU).

“I too felt discrimination when I came to Punjab”, Yadav says adding, “Police behaviour continued to be insulting.” He said he would request the government to sensitise police force at the police station level. The new chairman said recent incidents of violence in Ludhiana were also a result of “police apathy”. “Migrants who were looted of their pay and valuables were not given a hearing at the police station which resulted in a chain reaction”, he added.

Yadav also wants justice for migrants at the hands of the industrial lobby. “As much as 60 per cent of all problems can be solved if the labour gets the minimum wage, provident fund and other dues”, he said adding labour inspectors usually sided with factory owners only.

Migrants are apparently on the increase in Punjab. According to Yadav migrants from Bihar and Uttar Pradesh alone constitute a 25 lakh population. He said there were around 15 lakh migrants from other states also. Ludhiana has a major chunk of these migrants with the city alone accounting for around 20 lakh migrants from different states in the country.

Sadarpura (Jagraon), March 29
Treat your dairy animals like human beings and it will yield more, say progressive dairy farmers.

Keeping this fact in mind, a new scheme has been launched for modern dairy sheds, in which these farms are equipped with a number of animal “friendly” indigenous implements.

Satluj Dairy Farms, run by president of Progressive Dairy Farmers Association (PDSA), Punjab, houses one such shed wherein the cattle is free to have food and water at its own will.

“During my visit to Israel alongwith Punjab State Farmers’ Commission chairperson GS Kalkat, I found that the framers there cared for their cattle as they cared for fellow beings,” Daljeet Singh said.

Influenced by the Israeli model, modern dairy farms have been set up at training centres in Khanna and Tarn Taran.

These centres have been given indigenous touch to suit with the requirements of Punjabi farmers.

The basic aim of these modern sheds is to provide enough kuccha place or muddy place for animals.

Surinder Kaur from village Malakpur, a woman dairy farmer who owns 53 cattle, pointed out that kuccha place gives relief to the udders of the animal, thereby increasing their productivity.

“My highest yielding animal gives 52 litres a day, which can decline if the animal is left to sit on pucca floors,” Daljeet said, who has a magnificent milk parlour that can milk eight cows at a stretch.

Surinder, Daljeet and around 3000 dairy farmers in the state are adopting modern sheds for commercial dairy farming.

These farmers have indigenous coolers that help keep the animal cool even in sweltering hot temperatures. When the animal reaches the fodder eating section, water is sprayed on it using special nozzle. Usage of mechanised milking system assures no manual handling of milk and minimises the scope of infection from one animal to another.

Sadhugarh (Fatehgarh Sahib), March 29
A revolutionary agriculture implement can result in a new method to sow wheat utilising paddy stubble, thereby giving a unique solution to the menace of stubble burning.

At a technical session with agri-scientists today, farmers here were educated about Happy Seeder - a machine that enables them to sow wheat directly in paddy stubble.

For a demonstration, they were also taken to farmer Surjit Singh’s plot, where wheat was sown using this machine lat year.

Additional director extension, PAU, Dhaliwal gave more information about the implement that prevents stubble burning.

Paddy stubble burning results in annual loss of over Rs 200-crore nitrogenous fertilisers.

Deputy director, KVK, Harinder Singh said Happy Seeder technology was capable of directly drilling wheat into heavy rice residue loads, without burning straw, in a single operation. The machine deals with only that part of straw which comes in touch with its furrow openers.

He told farmers that this machine could be operated with 45 hp tractor and covers 0.3-0.4 hectares per hour. The machine costs approximately Rs 1 lakh and is primarily being made available to farmers through agriculture service centres owned privately and on co-operative basis.

The team of PAU scientists that attended the session included Surjit Singh, JS Kular and Manpreet Singh.

Member of Parliament Sukhdev Singh Libra was also present on the occasion.

Patiala, March 29
Emmy Grewal, consultant (endocrinology), Columbia Asia Hospital, Patiala, has been conferred with AV Gandhi Award for “Excellence in Endocrinology”.

The award is given annually to scientists in the field of medicine in memory of late Arvind Gandhi, founder of pharmaceutical company USV Ltd.

This year’s award ceremony was held recently in Mumbai.

Grewal received the award for her research paper entitled “Correlation between first trimester glucose screening and serum insulin levels with development of gestational diabetes mellitus in pregnancy”.

The five-member jury consisted of Shashank Joshi, Lilavati Hospital, Mumbai; R Muralidharan, Fortis Hospital, Mohali; Sarita Bajaj, consultant endocrinologist, Allahabad; Padma S Menon, KEM Hospital, Mumbai; and Kannan, consultant endocrinologist, Madurai.

The award was given for her research work done in the field of endocrinology in 2009 at the All-India Institute of Medical Sciences, New Delhi. This is for the first time that this prestigious award has been presented to a candidate from this region.

Ludhiana, March 29
Local hero and wrestling legend Tiger Jeet Singh’s philanthropy and humanitarian works have brought rare laurels not only to the city but to the entire nation.

In a unique honour for the wrestler, a new elementary school has been named after him. Tiger Jeet Singh Public School in Milton, Canada, is set to open this September.

The school, which is almost completed at 640 Yates Drive, will host junior kindergarten to Grade 8 and was given two thumbs up by the Halton District School Board last week. The board said Tiger Jeet Singh’s philanthropic and humanitarian work made the choice an easy one. The semi-retired, Indo-Canadian wrestler, has lived in the Toronto area since immigrating to Canada in 1960s from his hometown of Sujapur, Ludhiana.

Milton author and historian John Challinor II made a presentation to the board and stressed that the honour was bestowed upon him based on Tiger Jeet Singh’s philanthropy and humanitarian works.

“It is big news and a big honour for our family and the Indian community. I feel great and I’m so excited because we are so much involved with children through other activities like toy drives etc. It’s a good opportunity to get involved directly with children; my message to the children will be stay in school, stay away from drugs and alcohol and stay fit,” said Jagjit Singh Hans aka Tiger Jeet Singh on hearing the news.

Earlier, the legendary wrestler along with his World Wrestling Entertainment wrestler son Tiger Jeet Singh Junior were honoured with their induction in the “Walk of Fame” at the 150th anniversary legacy programme during October 2009. The honour was bestowed upon them for their accomplishments in the field of wrestling and international recognition vis-à-vis social work and charity.

With this honour, the Tigers generated a lot of news in Canada and worldwide, wherein for the first time ever in the world of wrestling, a father-son duo was inducted together in the “Walk of Fame”. Since then, they have been using this tribute to promote the hospital and local charities.

Tiger has donated $100,000 towards the expansion of the Milton hospital, $25,000 to Milton’s Historical Society as well as helped with local toy drives. He also does a lot of philanthropic work throughout the world along with his son.

Chandigarh, March 29
Just over two months after the SAD-BJP alliance issued instructions for granting one-year extension in service to employees retiring between January 22 and December 31, the Punjab and Haryana High Court today quashed the directives.

Dubbing the orders unsustainable, a Division Bench made it clear “that this order will operate prospectively and will not affect the benefits already given under the instructions. It is also made clear that the state will be at liberty to pass fresh order in accordance with law”.

The judgment by Justices Adarsh Kumar Goel and Alok Singh came on employee Kuldip Singh’s petition. Seeking the quashing of instructions dated January 27, the petitioner had claimed the instructions were “in conflict with the rules”.

Elaborating, he had asserted that under the service rules “applicable to category of the petitioner”, the retirement age was 58. After it, employee could not be retained in service “except in exceptional circumstances with the sanction of competent authority on public grounds, which must be recorded in writing”. The petitioner had added his promotion chances had been affected, as an impending vacancy would “remained occupied”.

The state, on the other hand, had contended the impugned order as consistent with Punjab Civil Services Rules.

After hearing the rival contentions, the Bench observed: “The question for consideration is whether impugned instructions are consistent with relevant rule.” Quoting the instructions, the Bench added: Except as otherwise provided in other clauses of this rule, the date of retirement of a government employee other than a Class IV government employee, is the date on which he attains the age of 58 years. He must not be retained in service after the age of retirement, except in exceptional circumstances with the sanction of competent authority on public grounds, which must be recorded in writing…”

The Bench concluded: A perusal of the instructions shows no exceptional circumstances are mentioned and instructions instead of being exceptional are general and operate to modify or annual the rule. The instructions cannot be allowed to be issued contrary to a rule…. In view of the undisputed position, impugned instructions cannot be sustained and are quashed”.

Chandigarh, March 29
After 14 years, one of the accused in former Punjab CM Beant Singh’s assassination case, Paramjit Singh Bheora was held guilty by a local court in connection with the case today.

The special trial court, which was held at Burail Jail where the accused was lodged, will pronounce the quantum of sentence tomorrow.

Bheora is one of the accused in the Beant Singh assassination case alongwith Jagtar Singh Hawara and Jagtar Singh Tara.

The Jammu and Kashmir Police had arrested him, after two years since the assassination, in 1997 from Jammu and he was sent to Chandigarh.

The police had recovered a pistol and explosives from him. In January 2004, he, alongwith some other accused, had tunnelled their way out of the Burail Jail during the pendency of the trial. He was later on arrested from New Delhi on March 20, 2006.

Former Punjab CM Beant Singh was killed on August 31, 1995, by human bomb Dilawar Singh, on the premises of the Punjab Secretariat. The blast left 17 other persons dead and 18 others hurt.

The CBI had claimed Bheora had helped another suspect, Jagtar Singh Tara, in bringing the car used in the blast inside the secretariat premises. Last year, the Punjab and Haryana High Court has given its nod to the three-month extension sought by the trial court for deciding the case and has set March as the deadline this year.

The trial court headed by Additional District and Sessions Judge RK Sondhi had sought permission from the High Court to hear the arguments for about four times last year. In separate letters written to the High Court, the trial court had cited hundreds of witnesses and documents as reason that made the case very lengthy.

In an earlier communication, the High Court had directed the special trial court, in April 2009 to dispose of the case within six months. However, the period was extended up to December 2009 when an extension was sought.

A capital punishment has already been awarded to Jagtar Singh Hawara in the case, while Jagtar Singh Tara is still at large.

Mohali, March 29
Within days of unearthing a large Babbar Khalsa International (BKI) module, the Mohali Police today seized 3.5 kg RDX from a Ferozepore-based drug trafficker working for the terror outfit.

Pyara Singh had hidden the consignment and was to pass it on to BKI module members.

He spilled the beans after he was arrested following the questioning of undertrials Gurpreet Singh and Balbir Singh Bhootna currently in Nabha Jail in connection with the Ludhiana Shingar Cinema blast case.

Mohali SSP GPS Bhullar said the two undertrials were in constant contact with Pyara Singh and knew about the RDX.

The involvement of jail staff was also being looked in to, Bhullar said, denying that there was any concrete information about the involvement of jail staff with BKI activists.

The police has recovered five Pakistan-made hand grenades, Rs 1 lakh, a pistol and live cartridges from the six persons arrested so far.

The police is also on the lookout for Harminder Singh, a key BKI activist, who is in possession of another consignment of 5 kg RDX and has been evading the police. Pyara Singh had handed over the RDX to Harminder.

Harminder is also suspected to be involved in the Ludhiana Shingar Cinema blast case. Sources said the terror outfit was using his network to smuggle in ammunition and RDX.

Some days ago, the police had arrested Dharminder Singh, a resident of Churpur village in Nawanshahr, from Solan after the arrest Parshotam Singh, Daljit Kumar and Tarwinder Singh on March 22. Dharminder had provided SIM cards to Harminder.