 |
|
|
Bir turns against his own fraternity
Poor implementation of excise policy
Global children’s film fest in Ludhiana
|
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
Former Ludhiana DC booked for graft
Private players to help reduce unemployment
Farmers to be paid within a week for produce, govt tells HC
Prefer cotton, maize, avoid paddy: Govt to tell farmers
Now, arhtiyas can transport procured wheat
Foodgrains for Central Pool
Wheat Bonus
Illegal structures make Sirhind choe a danger zone
PU clears decks for PhD under college teachers
Aircraft meets minor mishap; no casualty
Sainiks’ bid to close Patiala markets fails
Illegal water connections pose health risk
Staff shortage in Agriculture Department
HC notice to Jagir Kaur
HC directs state to stop illegal mining
|
|
Bir turns against his own fraternity
Chandigarh, April 21 Bir, the secretary general Administration, said he would not attend the farewell party given by the association to officers on retirement. Bir claimed that the association, which had come out strongly in his favour on April 13 when he had put in his papers, had not done anything to get his grievances redressed by either the chief secretary or the Chief Minister as promised. Promising this, association president Sarvesh Kaushal had called for immediate removal of Bir’s grievances. Bir said though the association had backed him earlier, it had recently accused him of having business interests in trying to get buses parked illegally at a particular site in Mohali. Bir told The Tribune that Sarvesh had subsequently asked him to give his views on the matter in writing saying they would be put before the executive body, which alone would decide how they should be taken up with the authorities concerned. Bir added that efforts were on to malign his reputation by claiming that one of his close relatives owned a showroom in Mohali. Whereas, Bir said neither he nor his relatives owned any commercial property in Mohali. He further said he would not take back his resignation even though two senior cabinet ministers had conveyed to him that Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal did not want him to resign. He said he would ask to be relieved on July 12 following the completion of the required three-month notice period. “I am flying to Australia on July 13 to be with my daughter,” he said, adding that he would not join politics after retirement. However, Sarvesh Kaushal could not be contacted.
|
|
Poor implementation of excise policy
Jalandhar, April 21 With the reports of sale of liquor at exorbitant rates by owners of liquor vends, the government has been caught on the wrong foot contrary to its claims of introducing a transparent excise policy. Throwing norms to the winds, the liquor mafia allegedly in connivance with officials of the state Excise and Taxation Department has been causing huge losses to the state exchequer by selling liquor and beer much above the maximum price limit fixed in the policy. Sources in the department revealed that the liquor barons, who were active in the trade, had virtually pooled and acquired a majority of the liquor vends in the auction. They had been selling the old stock of liquor and beer at exorbitant prices with the connivance of the employees of the department. Excise and Taxation Commissioner, Punjab, Venu Prasad, ruled out the involvement of officials of the department in the nexuses. He claimed that investigations, in the case of sale of liquor beyond the maximum price fixed by the vendors, had already been initiated. “I have been asked by the subordinates to conduct an in-depth investigation in the matter and bring the violators on record,” he acclaimed. “If you get any clue regarding the involvement of any official of the department in these nexuses, please let me know so that stringent action could be taken against him,” he said. As per the new excise policy of the Punjab government, the rate of a bottle of beer (light) has been fixed Rs 45 (minimum) and Rs 52 (maximum) while the strong beer will cost Rs 55 (minimum) and Rs 62 (maximum). The vendors have been selling a bottle of bear from Rs 70 to Rs 80 at almost every liquor vend in the state. Sanjeev Kumar, president of A4C, a Dasuya-based NGO, has demanded that the liquor vendors should pay back the extra amount charged from the buyers. Deputy Excise and Taxation Commissioner, Jalandhar, PS Gill, however, claimed that five liquor vendors had been challaned for violating the norms in Jalandhar city till now. The department had also conducted raids in Nawanshahr, Jalandhar, and Kapurthala districts.
|
|
Global children’s film fest in Ludhiana
Ludhiana, April 21 The combination of environmental films and global cinema was especially designed to incline the youth towards important issues like environment. To the delight of the young viewers was the opening feature film from Holland “Frogs and Toads” directed by Simone Van Dusseldorp. The film laden with child’s emotions depicts the way they think and act. “I have watched many Bollywood flicks but today, it has been a new experience watching Max (the central character) facing and dealing with different situations. The film is a perfect package of entertainment and adventure,” Shruti, a student of Class IX of Ryan International School, said. The story of Frogs and Toads was weaved around children, their whims and fancies and their love to explore flora and fauna on the countryside. Utkarsh Marwah and Ranjan are the directors of the film festival and have selected the films to be screened. The festival will travel to Chandigarh from April 27 to 29 and actor Sanjay Suri and director Onir will be a part of the Chandigarh International Children's Film Festival.
|
|
Former Ludhiana DC booked for graft
Chandigarh, April 21 Information to this effect was passed on to the Punjab and Haryana High Court by Punjab Superintendent of Police Mukhtiar Singh Dahiya. In an affidavit placed before Chief Justice Mukul Mudgal and Justice Jasbir Singh, Dahiya said: “On the completion of inquiries, it was prima facie found that Gujjar possessed assets disproportionate to his known sources of income”. Dahiya added as a result a First Information Report dated April 20 under the provisions of the Prevention of Corruption Act has been registered against him. He added: During the inquiries, it was found that ex-Additional Deputy Commissioner Kamalpreet Kaur Brar violated the conduct rules by not informing the department of the gifts obtained by her. Hence, departmental action was recommended against her. The inquiry gave a clean chit to ex-Sub Divisional Magistrate Surinder Mohan Sharma. “No evidence was found regarding any offence committed by him,” Dahiya concluded. He had earlier told the Bench Vigilance inquiries were initiated after a “discreet inquiry”. Elaborating, he had told the court that Arun Kumar Oraon, IPS, DIG, economic offences wing, Vigilance Bureau, conducted a discreet inquiry on disclosure made by tehsildar-cum-registrar Arvind Parkash Verma. The joint director (crime), Punjab vigilance bureau, Balkar Singh Sidhu, had earlier alleged: Verma disclosed that on every working day, he used to collect about Rs 7.5 lakh by way of illegal gratification. He further divulged that out of this ill-gotten money, 25 per cent was shared by the office staff. Out of the remaining 75 per cent, he used to give Rs 2 lakh to deputy commissioner, Ludhiana, Sumer Singh Gujjar, Rs 75,000 to ADC, Ludhiana, Kamalpreet Kaur Brar and Rs 50,000 to SDM Surinder Mohan Sharma. A non-government organisation had earlier claimed fair investigations into the alleged payment of illegal gratification to Punjab revenue minister and three other high-ups was not possible, till the minister was shifted. Seeking judicial probe into the rampant corruption in the revenue department, Amritsar-based Khalra Mission Organisation had referred to media reports on Verma being caught red-handed.
|
|
Private players to help reduce unemployment
Badal (Muktsar), April 21 Bharti Wal-Mart would impart training in retailing, logistics and supply chain management, while L&T would train youth in construction skills and Tata Motors would develop driving and automotive skills. All districts of the state would be covered under this programme in a phased manner. Reiterating the firm commitment of the SAD-BJP government to impart vocational training to unemployed youth, Badal said the state government had already established a separate department of employment generation to check the problem of unemployment in a result-oriented manner. Badal said that in an initiative to prepare rural students for admission to the prestigious IITs and the National Defence Academy, the Punjab Government in collaboration with Guru Nanak Dev University had opened a centre in Amritsar.The Maharaja Ranjit Singh preparatory institute for military training in Mohali had been established to ensure the placement of youth in the defence services. He said the Punjab Government would during the current financial year invest Rs 425 crore to upgrade the education infrastructure. This would revolutionise education at the school, college and university levels. Badal congratulated the 350 students who were awarded degrees and advised them to work hard to secure a brilliant future. He bestowed the Mata Jaswant Kaur Award on an eminent academician, Dr Gurinder Kaur Sidhu, and prominent architect PR Luthra for their outstanding contribution in the fields of education and architecture.
|
|
Farmers to be paid within a week for produce, govt tells HC
Chandigarh, April 21 As a bunch of petitions on the issue came up for hearing before the Division Bench of Chief Justice Mukul Mudgal and Justice Jasbir Singh, advocate-general Hardev Singh Mattewal said he would “ensure that in any event, the farmers in the state were paid the price for their produce, not later than seven days of the sale”. The advocate-general also told the Bench during the resumed hearing on the writ petitions by Punjab Chamber of Farmers and others that he would further talk to “the stake holders”. The development is significant as 2,990 farmers committed suicide just in two districts of Sangrur and Bathinda between 2008 and 2009 due to indebtedness. Taking on record the advocate-general’s assertion, the Bench fixed July 12 as the next date of hearing in the case. Punjab has already decided to make payments to the farmers for their produce only through cheques in sync with their demand. The cheques will be delivered through the commission agent handling the sale and purchase of farm produce. The petitioners are demanding the implementation of the recommendations by the Punjab State Farmers Commission, set up by the state for looking into suicides by the farming community. The intention was to help farmers, especially small scale and marginal, to “come out of poverty”. The recommendations include flood protection, payment through account payees cheques, health insurance for farmers, registration of moneylenders and streamlining credit provisions.
|
|
Prefer cotton, maize, avoid paddy: Govt to tell farmers
Jalandhar, April 21 Anticipating that there will be shortage of canal water for irrigation besides acute power shortage, which is already there, the government has prepared its strategy with regard to the kharif crops, the sowing of which will start in a few days. Owing to inadequate canal water and power, it will be difficult for farmers to grow and sustain the paddy, which is a water guzzling crop. When asked, director Agriculture, Balwinder Singh Sidhu said: “We have discussed the issue of availability of canal water with the Irrigation Department during a meeting convened by the Chief Minister.” He said: “An appeal will be issued to people to cut the area under the paddy crop as much as possible.” The government would tell the farmers to avoid paddy for the first time. “The farmers would be told to increase the area under cotton crop instead of paddy in the Malwa region. In Kandi belt, they would be advised to bring more area under maize crop and in central Punjab, they would be told to switch to other crops this year,” Sidhu added. Normally, paddy is grown in about 25-26 lakh hectare in Punjab. Cotton had fetched very high price last year and its price level is expected to remain same this year. The appeal would be released soon. The level of water in various reservoirs, which feed the canal systems in this region, is woefully low this year. At Bhakra Dam, the water level was 1,521 ft yesterday against 1,554 ft last year. However, release from the dam was 8,129 cusecs. The inflow from the hilly region in the dam was 13,100 because of the beginning of early melting of snow at higher reaches owing to scorching heat spell in the last few days. Likewise, the water level in Ranjit Sagar Dam was 497 m compared to last year’s 500.6 m. In Pong Dam, it was 1,297 ft against 1,321 ft last year. It indicates that the water level in reservoirs is far less as compared to the last year and would result into availability of less water during June when paddy would be transplanted.
|
|
Now, arhtiyas can transport procured wheat
Ferozepur, April 21 Also, the deputy commissioners have been directed to arrange vehicles for transporting the procured wheat to deal with the glut like situation. Sources said the agents had been directed to carry out lifting and transportation of wheat at high rates as they would be paid money in lieu of this. Whereas, the labour and transport contractors, who had been failing to execute contracts, were being blacklisted and being issued show-cause notices for cancellation of contracts. Fresh tenders will be floated in those places where the contracts had been cancelled, they added. “About six contractors have been blacklisted for not executing their contracts,” Deputy Commissioner KK Yadav said. The District Transport Officer has asked the Railway authorities to arrange special goods train to transport wheat to other states as per the demand and directions of the Food Corporation of India (FCI). He said four trains had already been provided of which two had been loaded with wheat bags and dispatched to other state. Meanwhile, DS Guru, Principal Secretary to Chief Minister, Punjab, who toured various grain markets, said the state had arranged about Rs 10, 500 crore from banks to make timely payments to the farmers in lieu of the procured wheat.
|
|
No dilution of taxes, says Manpreet
Sarbjit Dhaliwal Tribune News Service
Jalandhar, April 21 “Punjab has made a huge investment on producing wheat and paddy. It bears a huge burden of subsidy that is given on power to the farm sector. A lot of incidental expenditure is made on the procurement of wheat and paddy and the Centre does not reimburse that expenditure. Hundreds of crores have been spent on laying roads in rural areas to link villages to grain markets. In urban areas, several hundred crores have been spent on setting up covered pucca grain markets,” said Manpreet. “How will we maintain all this infrastructure without charging taxes on foodgrains? asked Manpreet. Besides huge investment, environmental and soil degradation was had also to be accounted for. Obviously, foodgrains were not produced free of cost, he added. “Moreover, most of the foodgrains from Punjab go to the central pool. Private traders purchase very less in Punjab. So, they are not affected by a high rate of taxes,” said Manpreet Singh. In fact, the issue of a high rate of taxes on the foodgrains in Punjab and Haryana has been raised several times at the meeting of the empowered committee set up to finalise the Goods and Services Tax (GST). Both Punjab and Haryana have been urged to subsume these taxes in the GST, likely to be implemented later this year. However, both the states have told the high empowered committee that the separate character of the taxes on foodgrains would be maintained. “Both Punjab and Haryana have been very consistent on this issue,” said Manpreet. The Finance Minister said the Centre had been pleading that it would compensate Punjab and Haryana for the loss suffered by both the states on account slashing the taxes on foodgrains. “We have declined to accept this offer because after some years, the Centre could go back on its commitment regarding compensating both the states. In such a situation, we will be left in lurch,” said Manpreet. “Until a legally backed commitment is made to compensate us on taxes on foodgrains following the enforcing of the GST, we will continue with the existing arrangement to tax the foodgrains,” he added.
|
|
Harsimrat for collective approach
Tribune News Service
Chandigarh, April 21 Harsimrat, while reacting to a statement issued by former Chief Minister Amarinder Singh, claiming that the SAD-BJP government had failed the farmers by not supplying adequate power during February-March, said he had no moral right to give sermons on free power as he had ditched the farming community for four years and introduced free power in the last year of his rule.
|
|
Illegal structures make Sirhind choe a danger zone
Fatehgarh Sahib, April 21 The district administrative complex, officer’s colony, railway line and historical Gurudwara Fatehgarh Sahib near the rivulet face the risk of being flooded even during moderate rains because of these constructions. In spite of a ban on any construction on the choe bed, three showrooms, an educational institute, eateries and a gym have been operational for the past one year, while three others are under construction. Despite repeated orders of Fatehgarh Sahib Deputy Commissioner to Municipal Council officials, no action has been initiated to stop these illegal constructions. With no respite in view, DC Yashvir Mahajan resorted to imposing Section 144 of the CrPC and also invoked Section 55 and 56 of Canal and Drainage Act to ensure a ban on constructions. The orders of ban on the constructions were released today. It has also been made clear to the various department heads to get illegal constructions removed so that passage of water from choe should not get disturbed. Letters have been shot off to senior government functionaries, wherein XEN and SDO of Drainage Department and MC authorities have been held responsible for dereliction of duty. Disciplinary action has been sought against those involved in helping private builders to raise these structures. It has been learnt that directions are being passed to the municipal committee to cancel the building plan illegally sanctioned by it without taking any NOC from the departments concerned or approval of any colony or a town-planning scheme. In communiqués to SDM Fatehgarh Sahib and executive officer of MC, objections have been raised over private builders using a land where no construction has been allowed in revenue records for over a century. Constructions have been repeatedly questioned. The map-passing procedure is also under the scanner because there is no NOC or any other clearance issued by the drainage department and district town planner.
Sirhind choe originates from this district and is a major channel of drainage of storm water. The government letters (a copy of which is with
TNS) also apprehend involvement of certain officials of MC in raising these illegal structures. The letter also stated that the district administration issued Rs 5 lakh to clean seasonal drains, Chambowali drain and Sirhind choe as pre-emptive flood control measures. However, the drainage department returned this amount on frivolous technical reasons. Deputy Commissioner, Yashvir Mahajan said that the matter brought into his notice few months ago and ADC has submitted him a detailed report. “Instructions have been passed that water passage is not encroached and must be cleared immediately”, he said.
|
|
|
PU clears decks for PhD under college teachers
Chandigarh, April 21 Also, it was decided to resume the pending admission cases of PhD students in Panjab University who got enrolled directly through prescribed scholarships but could not go beyond submitting their synopsis due to the new guidelines issued by the University Grants Commission last year. “The students who had submitted the fee, form and synopsis can now continue their PhD in the university,” informed GK Chathrath, a member of the committee. The Tribune was the first to highlight that PU had lifted a curb on the affiliated colleges on March 4. Apprehensive of the quality of research work being guided by the college teachers in past, the university authorities imposed this curb. “The affiliated colleges, which are confident of their infrastructure and faculty and can host PhD students, can bid for converting into research centres that will be done by PU,” Prof AS Ahluwalia, dean Faculty of Sciences, said. However, the practical implementation of these decisions remains to be seen. “A college in Chandigarh had applied for the status of research centre in 2008 but the committee that was constituted by the Vice-Chancellor never visited the college for inspection till date,” a teacher of a local college said. While the members claim that further details are yet to be chalked out, certain university functionaries anticipate that the teachers with over five-year experience in teaching postgraduate classes will be eligible to guide PhD students.
|
|
Aircraft meets minor mishap; no casualty
Patiala, April 21 Since it was a minor mishap, none of the two pilots on board the aircraft -Chief Flying Instructor of the Academy Capt. Malkit Singh and a trainee pilot- suffered any injury. The incident occurred around 2:45 pm when the noose wheel of the aircraft retracted during the landing. Capt. Malkit Singh said: “We were having routine practice, but the noose wheel developed a snag during the landing around 2.45 pm.”
|
|
Sainiks’ bid to close Patiala markets fails
Patiala, April 21 They took out a protest march in the city and tried to close the markets, but tight police security ensured that law and order was not disturbed in the city. Though some shopkeepers closed their shops earlier in the day, they opened them after getting assurance from the police. There was no loss to life and property. It may be mentioned here the Shiv Sainiks had entered into a clash with Fastway channel workers yesterday for allegedly showing an objectionable video of a girl early morning with Hanuman Chalisa being played in the background. When the case was not registered, they gathered at Anar Dana Chowk yesterday and forcefully tried to shut the shops there. After the cops brought the situation under control yesterday, the Shiv Sena called for a bandh today, which was not accepted by the city shopkeepers. The channel has issued a statement that it was a technical glitch and such incidents would not be repeated.
|
|
|
Illegal water connections pose health risk
Moga, April 21 During the past one year, the district health authorities have taken 373 samples of potable water in the district, out of which, 177 samples have failed the quality tests. On the other hand, 50 per cent panchayats have not paid electricity bills of water pumps due to which the water supply systems are facing closure. Worried over this situation, authorities of the water supply department have decided to go tough on the illegal connections.
|
|
Staff shortage in Agriculture Department
Dera Bassi, April 21 Some of its employees posted here told TNS, “We have been unable to provide the benefits of agricultural schemes to farmers in a proper manner, as key officers have not been appointed for long.” These vacant posts include that of block agriculture officer (1), agriculture development officers at Samgouli and Tasimbli (1 each), sub-inspectors at Amlala, Samgouli and Tasimbli (1 each), laboratory soil testing officer (1), laboratory in charge (1), senior laboratory assistants (2), laboratory assistants (2), computer operator (1) and securityman (1).
|
|
HC notice to Jagir Kaur
Chandigarh, April 21 In her petition placed before Justice Nirmaljit Kaur, the victim from Akala village under Bholath police station in Kapurthala district alleged that accused Jarnail Singh enjoyed Bibi Jagir Kaur’s support. “The accused is being shielded by Bibi Jagir Kaur, which is the reason that the respondents are not keen to take any action against him,” she alleged. The others to be issued notices are the state of Punjab, the Director-General of Police, Jalandhar zone DIG, Kapurthala SSP, Bholath DSP and a station house officer. The petition seeks directions for handing over the investigation “to some senior police official outside Kapurthala police district. Directions have been sought to hand over the investigation to the crime branch. She claimed that her husband, posted in Jammu and Kashmir, was fighting the militants, while she “has been a victim of sexual harassment and attempt to rape by fellow villager Jarnail Singh”. She alleged on January 5 that the accused hugged her from behind, tried to kiss her and took her inside the room after barging into the house. She was rescued after her mother-in-law heard her cries. Despite a complaint to the SHO, action was not initiated. Bholath DSP was, too, under political pressure, and he did not take any action. They, in fact, asked her to beg before the bibi. The police was pressured to register a case by village elders, after the media carried the news. The FIR was registered after eight days, but only under Section 354 of the IPC. From bare reading of the FIR, Sections 376, 511, 452, and 506 are made out against Jarnail Singh. But due to the bibi’s political pressure, “the FIR was not registered under the relevant sections and only Section 354 IPC was added, which is bailable”. Her counsel Gurinder Singh Gill and Lisa Gill asserted: The petitioner has been running from pillar to post to get justice, but no justice has been given to her till date. Hence, she is approaching the high court for justice.
|
|
HC directs state to stop illegal mining
Chandigarh, April 21 The Bench of Chief Justice Mukul Mudgal and Justice Jasbir Singh added: In case any sort of mining is going on, that should be stopped forthwith. If the department of drainage finds that the banks of the drain need repair, the same may be repaired before the ensuing rainy season”. The Bench also fixed August 11 as the next date of hearing on the petition filed through counsel KS Sandhu. In the petition, Moga resident Virsa Singh had also sought directions to the respondents “to ensure proper maintenance and repair of Kishanpura drain passing through Indergarh village and surrounding areas near the banks of Kishanpura drain.
|
|
| HOME PAGE | |
Punjab | Haryana | Jammu & Kashmir |
Himachal Pradesh | Regional Briefs |
Nation | Opinions | | Business | Sports | World | Letters | Chandigarh | Ludhiana | Delhi | | Calendar | Weather | Archive | Subscribe | Suggestion | E-mail | |
Watching a movie was not new for school going children but watching a movie, especially meant for their age group, was an entirely different experience.
Badal (Muktsar), April 21
Fatehgarh Sahib, April 21