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Distribute drought relief, demand farmers
Increase in retirement age gets CM’s nod
UAE Court Verdict
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Increase in Retirement Age Finance Department clears proposal Jalandhar, April 2 The state Finance Department has approved a proposal for increasing the retirement age of government employees to 60. The proposal in this regard will come up for a discussion at a meeting of the state Cabinet tomorrow, it is learnt.
‘No differences in PPCC’
SAD Core Committee meeting could be crucial
UAE Court Verdict
UAE Court Verdict
Tribune Impact
Selection of Docs
Paddy-Wheat Cycle
Jalandhar to host pigeon show tomorrow
Police station run from dharamshala
Project to develop entrepreneurial skills among farmers
‘Freedom fighter’ struggles for pension
Residents hail education law
PSEB to shop for Rs 1,100 crore power
Bar body protests bashing of advocate
Goons kill Ferozepur lad in Manila
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Distribute drought relief, demand farmers
Jalandhar, April 2 “I have got the information that the Punjab and Haryana governments have got Rs 1,200 crore from the Centre as drought relief. Of it, Rs 800 crore has been given to Punjab,” he said. He said his organisation’s delegation had met the Union Agriculture Minister Sharad Pawar twice to seek relief for Punjab farmers who had spent an average of Rs 3,500 per acre as additional amount on diesel to save their crops from the onslaught of drought-like conditions. Rajewal said the state government provided power only for five to six hours against the promise made to provide it for eight hours every day. He said there were more than two lakh farmers, who run their tube wells with diesel pump sets as they had no power connection. Such farmers should be given double compensation because they did not avail the facility of free power to the farm sector last year. Meanwhile, Rajewal has also urged the government to get the godowns vacated from the private parties, which were given to them on rent by some government organisations. He said some of the government organisations had given the godowns on rent to some influential private parties in the Khanna, Samrala and Fatehgarh Sahib area. As godowns were required now to store rice and wheat, these should be got vacated. Rajewal said on the one had the state government was saying that it had no space to store fresh wheat and on the other hand its agencies had given godowns on rent to influential private parties to store their rice.
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Increase in retirement age gets CM’s nod Chandigarh, April 2 Sources have confirmed that the CM did not go with several ministers, who were opposed to such a move. There was a lot of pressure on the government from several quarters not to go ahead with increasing the age, as it would hamper promotional avenues for the youth besides slowing down recruitment processes. On the other hand, employees’ unions have been demanding increase in the age of superannuation as was promised in the SAD manifesto for the 2007 General Election. After the Cabinet grants its approval, all employees, who were sent home on March 31, would be able to rejoin duty without any break in service, it is learnt. The Cabinet meeting will be chaired by CM Parkash Singh Badal who has recovered from herpes. Deputy CM Sukhbir Singh Badal, who has returned from an overseas private visit, will also attend the meeting. The discussion over the retirement age came to limelight last week when the Punjab and Haryana High Court quashed a decision of the Punjab Government to grant one-year extension in service to only those who were retiring during 2010. This left the government with the only option to either increase the retirement age for everyone or let it remain 58 for all. In the event of the government failing to amend rules to increase the retirement age to 60, 8,690 employees would have retired after attaining the age of 58 during 2010-2011. Similarly, 9,472 employees, who would have retired during 2011-2012 after attaining the age of 58, would now get two additional years in service. This will also improve their post-retirement and pension benefits. By enhancing the retirement age by two years, the state government would initially save Rs 700 crore during the current fiscal and Rs 762 crore during 2011-2012, as it would defer payment to retiring employees. The move would also fulfil the pending demand of various unions and associations of state government employees across the state. Punjab has an administrative setup of nearly 5 lakh employees.
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Rana Sodhi meets PM, seeks his help
Chander Parkash/Tribune News Service
Ferozepur, April 2 Sodhi said he had urged the Prime Minister to take up the issue with the UAE Government so that the execution of all victims, who had been awarded death sentence for the alleged murder of a Pakistani national, could be stopped. Not only this, the Prime Minister has also been requested to ensure that the Punjabis, who had been given death sentence by a UAE court without holding a trial, must be given the opportunity of a fair trial in a court of law. The family members of all 17 Indians, 16 of whom belong to Punjab, have been meeting state and central leaders to save their kin from the gallows. They have also claimed that some of those who have been sentenced to death were picked up from the airports while they were coming back to India and were made accused in the murder case. Sodhi said he would be handing over a petition by parents of a section of the victims to the Prime Minister on Monday. Meanwhile, Preneet Kaur, Minister of State for External Affairs, said the UAE Government had allowed consular access to these victims and Indian officials had already met them and had got first hand information from them. She said the government would provide all kind of help to these victims.
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Increase in Retirement Age
Jalandhar, April 2 State Finance Minister Manpreet Singh Badal said: “It was a promise made by the SAD-BJP government in its manifesto to employees. In the light of the promise, the proposal has been approved.” Earlier, some of the ministers had opposed the proposal to increase the retirement age to 60. They had argued that such a decision would adversely affect the employment prospects of youth. Keeping in view the opposition from ministers, the government had raised the retirement age only for one year- from 58 years to 59 years-and that also for one year. However, the order passed by the state government to increase the retirement age to 59 years was recently declared illegal by the Punjab and Haryana High Court. Following this, the state government had to relieve all those employees on March 31 who were given a one-year extension in service. Sources said the government had now made up its mind to increase the retirement age to 60 on the pattern on the Union Government.
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‘No differences in PPCC’
Amritsar, April 2 He was here today to take stock of the preparation for the expected visit of Congress President Sonia Gandhi to the city on April 13. However, he did not confirm her visit and said a coordination committee of the party formed to celebrate the anniversary would confirm the visit at its meeting to be held in New Delhi tomorrow. He said former CM Capt Amarinder Singh and other senior party leaders were free to visit the districts to encourage party workers. Amarinder is expected to visit the district next week.
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SAD Core Committee meeting could be crucial
Chandigarh, April 2 The committee will meet at 2 pm while a state Cabinet meeting has been summoned at 10 am. Speculation is rife that the committee meeting, held in an informal manner, will also discuss the issue of the elevation of Deputy Chief Minister Sukhbir Singh Badal as Chief Minister. Sources close to the Badal family denied the meeting had been summoned to discuss Sukhbir’s elevation, saying, “There is nothing on the agenda, but if someone brings up the issue, it is for the Chief Minister to respond”. Further, the sources said that after the Chief Minister’s recent ill-health, leaders wanted to come to wish him speedy recovery. “The Chief Minister called a Core Committee meeting so that he could meet everybody”. The Core Committee comprises important leaders of the SAD, the Chief Minister, the Deputy Chief Minister, Sukhdev Singh
Dhindsa, Balwinder Singh Bhunder, Tota Singh, Prem Singh Chandumajra, Maheshinder Singh Grewal and Sewa Singh
Sekwan. Rumours about the Core Committee having been summoned to discuss Sukhbir’s elevation could stem from the fact that Sukhdev Singh Dhindsa had made a statement yesterday saying, “No one is opposed to the idea of elevating Sukhbir as Chief Minister, but the issue should be brought before the Core Committee and implemented later”. Sources in the SAD said the Core Committee would broadly discuss the issue of the coming SGPC elections, the procurement of wheat, the de-bundling of the Punjab State Electricity Board, the power situation, the retirement age of employees and any feedback on governance and administration. The Chief Minister has referred to his failing health on the floor of the Vidhan
Sabha.
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UAE Court Verdict
Sangrur, April 2 Satgur is among 17 Indians, who have been sentenced to death by a Sharjah Sharia court for killing a Pakistani man last year. He was working as a carpenter there. “I had sold off a major part of my land to send Satgur to Sharjah. We belong to a poor family and he was our only hope. We came to know of his conviction only through news channels and newspapers,” said Gurmail Singh. “He is innocent and cannot kill anyone. He didn’t ever kill a mosquito when he was in India”, he added. He said: “I cannot work due to an injury on my leg. My other son, Amandeep Singh, works in a cloth shop and earns just Rs 1,000-1,200. We hope that the Indian and Punjab governments will take active interest in the matter and get my son released.” “Please highlight the matter so that my son is saved. We don’t know where to go whom to contact to save our son. He is innocent,” said Jaswinder Kour, mother of Satgur, with tears rolling down her cheeks. Sarpanch of the village Amreek Singh urged the government to take steps to get Satgur released.
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Badal writes to Manmohan Singh
Tribune News Service
Chandigarh, April 2 In a letter to the PM, Badal urged him to intervene immediately by using his good offices with the UAE Government to ensure justice for the young boys. Badal pointed that 17 persons had been convicted for a single murder and “we shall, therefore, have to be more cautious to see that there was no miscarriage of justice”. Badal also requested the PM to advise the Ministry of External Affairs to provide necessary legal aid for defending their appeals. Neeraj Bagga adds from Amritsar: SGPC president Avtar Singh today urged Prime Minister Manmohan Singh to impress upon the Government of the UAE to pardon 17 Punjabi youths facing death sentence for killing a Pakistani. He made this plea on behalf of the families of 17 youths through a communiqué here today. He said the PM must use his diplomatic channels to liberate these youths from the punishment.
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Suicides by farmers & agri workers
Rs 89 lakh sanctioned for survey KS Chawla
Ludhiana, April 2 The decision to undertake the survey was taken in September last year. Chief Secretary SC Aggarwal had held a meeting with experts of the three universities. The state government did not send the money as required by the universities to start the survey. It was on March 11 that The Tribune had highlighted the indifference of the state government in sanctioning the required funds. After the publication of the report, officials of the state Revenue Department informed the PAU experts on phone on March 12 that the necessary funds had been sanctioned and survey work should be started. Now, the state government has sanctioned Rs 5 lakh each to the universities to start the survey. Punjab Agricultural University had undertaken the survey of suicides by farmers and farm labourers in Sangrur and Bathinda districts during 2008 and the report was submitted to the state government in April 2009. According to the survey as many as 1,757 farmers and 1,133 agricultural labourers had committed suicide in the two districts. In the case of farmers 1,288 suicides were committed due to indebtedness while 469 were committed due to other reasons. In the case of agricultural labourers, 671 suicides were committed due to indebtedness and the remaining 462 were committed due to other reasons. Punjab Agricultural University will coordinate with the other two universities. Punjab Agricultural University will survey four districts, namely Mansa, Barnala, Moga and Ludhiana. Punjabi University will undertake the survey in the districts of Patiala, Ropar, Fatehgarh Sahib, Muktsar, Faridkot, Mohali and Nawanshahr and Guru Nanak Dev University will cover Amritsar, Tarn Tarn, Jalandhar, Kapurthala, Hoshiarpur, Ferozepur, and Gurdaspur districts. The three universities are expected to complete the survey within a year.
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Selection of Docs
Chandigarh, April 2 Dr Poonam Rani, in her application to the PPSC, asked for the detailed marks obtained by 212 candidates, who were selected for the posts of Medical Officer, PCMS (1), in accordance with the fixed criteria. The respondent gave this information to the complainant in so far as she herself was concerned but not of the selected candidates. No reason was given by the PPSC for not giving the precise information for which the complainant had applied. During the course of arguments, the public information officer of the PPSC said the information pertaining to the selected candidates was not given to the complainant because it was considered to be third party information. “I find, however, that this reasoning is not justified and is not in accordance with the provisions of the RTI Act, because the information is not personal and is very much a part of the official records of the commission. Besides, it needs to be disclosed in the interest of transparency of an important selection made by the commission, and its disclosure is, therefore, in the public interest. I, therefore, direct the respondent to give the information for which the complainant had applied in respect of 212 selected candidates for the posts of Medical Officer, PCMS (1), within 15 days,” ordered Verma. Dr Poonam Rani informed the commissioner that she required similar information in respect of 100 candidates selected prior to the selection of 212 candidates mentioned in her application. She was asked to make a separate application for this information, which will be dealt with by the PPSC in the light of the decision taken in the case. The matter will come up for hearing on April 15 for confirmation of compliance. In another appeal filed by Dr Parvinder Kaur, a resident of Jalandhar, regarding information related to these selections, the PPSC informed the commission that the information had been provided to the applicant.
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Paddy-Wheat Cycle
Ludhiana, April 2 With the spiralling prices of sugar and shying away of farmers from crop production, the sugarcane industry is in doldrums. The cost of sugar production is way beyond the present market price of sugar, which is giving the jitters to the sugar industry. While farmers are demanding price hike for their produce, mills are not able to pay the rate at which sugar is being sold at present. “The state sugar industry is facing a tremendous pressure and it has become difficult to survive. The main reason is exorbitant sugar production cost, which is comparatively more than the prevailing market price. At present, it has become difficult to run this industry profitably. Major component in sugar production is the cost of raw material, which constitutes over 70 per cent of the expenses,” said an official from the Budhewal Sugar Mill. Besides, farmers prefer growing wheat and paddy due to their comparative high rates and easy marketing as compared to sugarcane. The area under sugarcane production is also decreasing every year.
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Jalandhar to host pigeon show tomorrow
Jalandhar, April 2 Racing season for pigeons starts in the second week of April and ends in June before the onset of the monsoon in this region. Pigeon racing and show involve a huge cash prize besides motorcycles for winners. One has to pay an entry fee to participate in it. “I am certain that the cash prize for the bird declared first at the show will be of Rs 1 lakh,” said Sarwan Singh. The same would be the level of cash prize for racing competition. “We feed almonds and other vitamin-rich diet to our birds to prepare them to take part in competitions,” says Santokh Singh of Gharangana village, near Mansa. He is a famed figure in pigeon racing competitions. Even Punjabi NRIs come from Canada, the US and UK to take part in such competitions. The biggest pigeon racing and show is held in Leelan village. Besides it, Alamgir, Quila Raipur, Gammiwala, Rajgarh, Gharangana, Parasrampur, Jattewali, Khiala, Jandam, Sangowal, Phuttan, Sahnewal, Badowal, Kandon, Sharih and Rania are among hundreds of other villages where these competitions are held. Though racing competitions are also held in Haryana, Delhi and other states, Punjab is a leader state in this sport. Tamil Nadu is another state known for breeding best quality racing pigeons. “In India, especially in Punjab, a bird is declared winner on basis of maximum flying hours it clocks, whereas in Europe, a bird that reaches first to the given destination from the place it is released is declared first. Thousands of birds are released together”, says Sarwan Singh. “ I have sold some birds for Rs 30,000 each and for one, I have demanded Rs 40,000,” says Santokh Singh.
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Police station run from dharamshala
Sangrur, April 2 Local sources said the Sadar police station in Sangrur is running from a dharamshala built in 1952 by Kaushalya Devi near Sangrur railway station. Sources further said in July 2003, the police authorities in Sangrur had to shift some police stations, including the Sadar police station and city police station for some months after their buildings were declared unsafe. They added that the Sadar police station was shifted to this building with an assurance to the owners that they will shift the police station after they get some suitable place, but that assurance was not fulfilled.
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Project to develop entrepreneurial skills among farmers
Ludhiana, April 2 The project has been given to the university by NABARD under the Rural Innovation Fund. Its total cost is Rs 10.42 crore, wherein 100 wards of farmers from villages of Ludhiana, Jalandhar, Nawanshahr and Fatehgarh Sahib will be trained. The minimum qualification is matriculation. Dr CS Arneja of Department of Extension Education, PAU, said the need of the hour was to retain the interest of Punjabi youth in agriculture. “We have engaged 25 wards of farmers between the age of 21 and 35 in Ludhiana under the first phase of the project, said,” said Dr Arneja. Project in charge Dr Rajinder Singh in association with co-project in charge, Dr Geeta Bassi will complete the project in four phases within 18 months.
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‘Freedom fighter’ struggles for pension Chandigarh, April 2 Taking up his petition, visibly uptight Punjab and Haryana High Court has made it clear that the freedom fighter’s pension is not largesse, but well deserved right. Holding that slackness cannot be shown in its disbursement, Justice K. Kannan ruled Santokh Singh was not required to apply afresh and Punjab government’s communication on his freedom fighter’s status would be considered within four weeks. In his petition, Santokh Singh had earlier sought directions for the grant of freedom fighter's pension under the provisions of Swatantrata Sainik Samman Pension Scheme-1980. Justice Kannan observed: “The entitlement of the claim under the scheme avails to a freedom fighter who has undergone imprisonment of period not less than six months. The petitioner's case is that he had participated in the Satyagrah Movement, which was one of the notified freedom struggles; the participation of which entitles a person to claim pension under the scheme. The petitioner claims that he had been imprisoned at the Central Jail, Lahore from February 21, 1941 to August 13, 1942.” The petitioner also refers to the fact that the Government of Punjab, Department of General Administration (Political III Branch) has recommended his case for grant of pension along with the requisite documents, which are necessary to be accompanied with the state recommendations. “In the communication sent by the state government by way of recommendation, dated October 28, 1993, it has also been stated that the imprisonment records are not available and the government is, after local enquiries, satisfied that the petitioner has undergone the sufferings genuinely. But the petitioner comes to court after all these years complaining that in spite of the recommendation from the state government, he has not been paid the freedom fighter's pension under the scheme.” Allowing the petition, Justice Kannan concluded: “The fact that the petitioner has been stated to have been granted freedom fighter's pension is a further proof of the fact that he is a genuine freedom fighter. The petitioner claims that he has made representation, but it had not been attended to. In the matter relating to payment of freedom fighter's pension, delay cannot forfeit his rights.”
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Residents hail education law Patiala, April 2 DEO (secondary) Surinder Kaur Verma feels that this would certainly attract more students towards the government schools because passing of the act would mean more facilities for these students. She said, “Over the years, the Education Department has framed policies to attract more students to the schools. Free education and mid-day meal scheme has been a big factor in the increasing number of students in schools. This law will further attract more students as more money will be pouring in for these schools that will enable them to provide better facilities to school kids.” Retired government teacher Narinder Singh feels that government schoolteachers are better educated as compared to various private schools and more facilities in these schools would definitely increase the strength of the schools. “As no child can be held back, expelled or required to pass a board exam till Class VIII, the students who flunk in lower classes and leave the schools will get another chance to continue their studies. Also, the reservation of seats in private schools will act as motivation for kids, who are good at studies and aim to study in top institutes of the country,” he added. “Infrastructure has been the biggest issue for the government schools and the passing of the act will also bring more money to the schools for the improvement in basic facilities. Due to lack of these facilities, many students went to small private schools, despite the fact that they charged more and their teachers were not even properly qualified. This act will bring back these kids to the government schools and also put the mushrooming of small schools on hold,” said another teacher.
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PSEB to shop for Rs 1,100 crore power Ropar, April 2 Brar said besides buying the power, the state has also banked with several other states of the country, including Uttaranchal, Jammu and Kashmir, Rajasthan, Himachal Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Kerala, Tamil Nadu and 100 MW from Mumbai. “PSEB is making sure that no sector suffers due to power shortage. The power pool will fulfil our demand that has far exceeded the supply,” Brar added. He revealed that 12 per cent rise in demand has been noted from last year. The demand for power in state has increased by 1,200 to 1,300 MW per day, which exceeds the generation. Scanty rains, leading to drought like situation in the country, have shot down hydropower generation units in the state. As of today the Bhakra Power Plant is producing 20 lakh units (LU) less than last year. Similarly, the Pong reservoir has registered generation of mere 0.86 LU as compared to 2.67 LU last year and Mukerian hydel project has registered just 1.10 LU generation as compared to 9.59 LU last year. Today, the demand of power was 1114 LU, while supply was only 985 LU. “In order to meet with the requirement for paddy transplantation in the month of June, we are trying our best to regulate power and cut down on the losses incurred during transmission and distribution as well as pilferage,” Brar said. The board also claims to have imposed additional cuts on the industry to meet with sudden increased demand from agriculture sector. Talking about the upcoming power plants at Goindwal Sahib and Talwandi Sabo, Brar said for both the plants, financial closure has been done. This means that the companies executing its work are through with loan process and floating tenders. “The zero period of both plants has started and these would be likely commissioned within next 36 months,” he asserted.
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Bar body protests bashing of advocate
Patiala, April 2 DBA President Rakesh Gupta stated that all advocates went on pen-down strike to lodge their protest against the incident. A group of lawyers also staged a demonstration at the district court complex and demanded immediate action against the Ajnala MLA. “A case should be registered against Bonny and he should be arrested without any delay,” demanded the protesting lawyers. The lawyers also threatened that in case the state government and the police fail to take necessary action against Bonny within two days, they would intensify their agitation and would stage demonstrations at state level. —
TNS
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Goons kill Ferozepur lad in Manila
Ferozepur, April 2 Almost all residents of village went to Sandeep Singh’s house to console his parents, who were trying to get visas to Philippines to be with Sandeep in the hospital, where he was admitted after the goons attacked him with firearms. There was no one whose eyes were not moist. Sandeep Singh’s house was filled with the cries of his wailing mother, father, kin and friends. Sandeep, 23, suffered bullet injuries in his chest and one of the arms when the goons fired at him, to loot him, from a close range. Sandeep, who migrated to Manila about three years ago, was running his finance business successfully. On Wednesday morning, he was going to collect instalments of the loans advanced by his company to various individuals and business establishments when he was attacked by the goons. Sandeep’s wife and kin were in the hospital in Manila, where he succumbed to his injuries. He was cremated by his kin.
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Ferozepur, April 2
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