Selection of 312 Docs
‘Generous’ PPSC gave almost 100 pc marks in interview
Chandigarh, April 25
The Punjab Public Service Commission (PPSC) is a very “generous” body it seems. Selection committees of the PPSC, which interviewed candidates for the 312 posts of medical officer last year, were so impressed with some of the candidates that it gave them close to cent per cent marks in the interview.

Kurali residents made to pay at local toll plaza
Kurali/Dera Bassi, April 25
The toll plaza at Kurali, put up to recover money spent on the construction of the railway overbridge on build-operate-transport (BOT) basis, has been allegedly charging toll from even local residents.




The Kurali toll tax barrier. Tribune photo: Vicky Gharu

POLITICS

Moga, April 25
At a time when 40 per cent of wheat crop procured from the farmers is lying in the grain markets awaiting to be lifted, about 3,800 metric tonnes of wheat purchased by the State Agro Foodgrain Corporation - a subsidiary of the State Agro Industries Corporation - in 2008-09 meant for the Central pool has rot in a storehouse of the agency on the outskirts of Moga.

The Food Corporation of India has refused to accept the stock after saying it was unfit for human consumption. It has initiated the process to recover the losses either in cash or kind, said DK Jain, district manager of the Central food agency.

Ranveer Singh, district manager of the agro-corporation, said proper fumigation and spray could not be done in time due to which a portion of the wheat stock was damaged rendering it unfit for human consumption.

He said payment of retirement financial benefits of the inspector responsible for the maintenance of the food stock has been stopped .

Adding that the whole stock of 3,800 metric tonnes was not damaged as projected by the FCI authorities, Ranveer Singh said only the bags lying on the sides, top and bottom rows were damaged and the corporation would check it soon after the current procurement process was over.

Meanwhile, a senior FCI official at Chandigarh said improper storage was the main reason for the crop damage. The corporation is now looking to dispose off the damaged wheat through auction to the cattle feed or fertiliser firms.

Also, it is learnt that as much as 23-lakh tonnes of wheat was kept in open during the monsoon season last year. This had also added to the woes of the procurement agencies.

Chandigarh, April 25
The Punjab Public Service Commission (PPSC) is a very “generous” body it seems. Selection committees of the PPSC, which interviewed candidates for the 312 posts of medical officer last year, were so impressed with some of the candidates that it gave them close to cent per cent marks in the interview.

The break-up of marks of candidates who made it to the combined merit list during the selection of 212 doctors available with The Tribune reveals that out of the 50 marks kept for the interview, many of the selected candidates were doled out 49.7, 49.5, 48 and 47.9 marks.

In fact, most of the selected candidates have scored above 40 marks in the interview, with a large number crowded in the 45 to 50 marks bracket. There is not a single candidate among the top 15 who scored less than 45 marks out of 50.

Information regarding details of marks has been given by the PPSC under the RTI Act to a rejected candidate Dr Poonam Rani, following stern directions from the State Information Commission, Punjab.

Since interview was the main criterion for selection, the fate of the candidate was virtually in the hands of selection committee members. Each selection committee included a medical expert and two members of the PPSC. The medical expert who was on the panel to gauge the technical knowledge of the candidates had hold over only 10 marks. The two members of the PPSC had hold over 20 marks each.

Interestingly, a PPSC member told The Tribune on condition of anonymity that during one set of selections, one of the PPSC members was absent as he had gone abroad. Instead of finding a temporary replacement, the other member on the committee chose to continue with the interviews keeping a hold on 40 marks.

The break-up of marks also reveals that 35 marks were kept aside for the basic qualification (MBBS), but the actual marking scale ranged between 17 and 26 marks. For instance, a candidate, who scored 74.29 in MBBS, got 26 marks out of 35 in the PPSC score while another candidate who got only 54.36 per cent marks in MBBS got 17 marks out of 35.

The two candidates markedly differed in their MBBS performance but the difference in their evaluation by the PPSC under this head was considerably blunted. This also ensured that the decisive factor in the selections were the marks given to the candidates in the interview.

Kurali/Dera Bassi, April 25
The toll plaza at Kurali, put up to recover money spent on the construction of the railway overbridge on build-operate-transport (BOT) basis, has been allegedly charging toll from even local residents.

The local residents even contested a case against the Ministry of Road and Surface Transport, National Highway Authority of India (NHAI), Central Public Works division, Indian Railways’ Ambala division and the construction company demanding the exemption they are entitled to, but to no avail so far.

“We have demanded that the service lane running below the bridge be opened. In its judgment, the high court delivered a binding that the local people should not be charged as per rules. Now neither of the respondents in case are ready to accept the verdict nor are they challenging it in court,” observed Surinder Sharma, who spearheads the Sangharsh Committee, an independent local committee formed to look into the people’s grievances.

Except for 8 to 10 members of the committee, none of the other residents were exempted from paying the toll, he added.

He had even sought information under the Right to Information (RTI) Act and taken up the matter with the state information commission.

He revealed that the 994-m bridge was initially supposed to be 17.5 m wide in the original tender. “I have not been provided with the original copy of tender so far,” he said adding that it was argued that 17.5 m was not a viable width.

Thereafter, it was reduced to 13.5 m, which was again found unviable, and finalised at 11.5 m. Presently, with 1.5m-wide footpaths on either sides, only 7.5 m is left for the vehicular traffic.

This is the main arterial road connecting Chandigarh with parts of Ropar, Himachal Pradesh, Jalandhar and Amritsar. “With traffic increasing on the road by more than 6 per cent every year, can we even think of this bridge meeting the future requirement,” asked Pritam Singh.

Commissioned almost three years ago, the company would collect toll over a period of eight years and six months, and is also earning from the billboards and advertisement displays at the toll plaza.

The charge for multiple trips within 24 hours from private four-wheelers is Rs 17. Toll for commercial vehicles like buses and trucks is much higher.

Meanwhile at Dera Bassi, even though according to the notification of the NHAI, local residents have been given exemption of 75 per cent in toll tax, the rule has not been implemented on ground.

The toll plaza at Dappar is being run by the GMR Company on contract basis as it had completed the construction work of the four-lane national highway.

Local residents said they were being denied any concession at the toll barrier.

Former sarpanch of Chaundheri village Harichand said they had the right to avail the concession, but this was not being provided to them.

President of Lalru industrial association Hardyal Singh Cheema claimed industrialists were entitled to get this exemption facility available at the Dappar toll plaza, as this was the only road to Chandigarh. “It has been mentioned in the notification of the NHAI that no fee will be collected from the local residents,” he added.

It was also pointed out that if a separate service lane was provided for free use by local traffic, the discount under this para should not be available.

When asked, Project director of NHA Anil Dahiya said he was unaware about the details of the concession at different places, if any. Dera Bassi SDM Puneet Goyal said he had received complaints from various villages regarding this issue and the matter was being looked into.

Chandigarh, April 25
Former Chief Minister Capt Amarinder Singh has assailed the SAD-BJP government in the state for its failure on fronts saying his “heart bleeds as I see images of warehouses full of liquor instead of wheat.”

“I see the hard working farmer of Punjab, who gives his sweat and blood to raise a decent crop to feed his family and provide food stocks to India’s food pool, look on helplessly, as his wheat is left out in the open and vulnerable so that close aides of Badal can store liquor there.”

“Power prices are raised by 7.5 per cent, while subsidy on power and water are withdrawn when crop production falls by 23 per cent,” he said in a statement today. “Punjab is staring down a Rs 75,000-crore debt trap in 2012. Badal along with his Cabinet have run Punjab dry,” he alleged.

Amarinder also rued that tubewells were running dry because of power shortage, and industry was forced to go to other states with a performing infrastructure.

“What we are witnessing today is absolute chaos, and criminal negligence on the part of the government to the needs of the people. All the Badals have achieved is victimising Congress workers and spending millions of tax payer’s money in pursuit of ghost cases against the Opposition,” the statement said. 

Chandigarh, April 25
Agrarian economies, like Punjab and Haryana, need not have to look for coal or gas linkages for energising their power generation projects. Instead, they have biomass and organic waste in abundance that in the absence of captive power generation have been not only going waste but adding to the environmental pollution.

Until a few days ago, government agencies had procured 85 lakh tonnes of wheat meaning thereby that Punjab farmers have, in addition to foodgrains, produced around 20 million tonnes of biomass, a major chunk of which is preserved for feeding the milch cattle.

Even if 40 per cent of this biomass - 80 lakh tonnes - was diverted to biomass power generation plants, Punjab would have eased its power supply demand. On an average, 1 kg of biomass can produce one unit of electricity. Even if the price of wheat or rice straw or rice husk is taken at Rs 2.50 a kg or Rs 3 a kg, it works out much cheaper than thermal generation that comes to no less than Rs 8 a unit.

Unfortunately, 30 per cent of this biomass goes up in smoke as farmers, keen for a third crop - maize, fodder and vegetables - burn the leftover stubble in the fields not only to lose financially but also become liable for prosecution under various laws, including the violation of prohibitory orders under Section 144, CrPC.

Many states, including Punjab and Haryana, have authorised the district authorities to promulgate prohibitory orders under Section 144, CrPC, to prevent farmers from burning their wheat or paddy straw or other biomass waste in fields. Being agrarian states, they do not go for strict enforcement of either these prohibitory orders or laws that control causes of air pollution.

Farm experts reveal that an average plant of wheat, at the time of harvesting, has 40 to 45 per cent of its biomass as foodgrains and the rest is the husk. Further, these experts point out that a wheat plant invariably has two ears and about 98-102 grains.

Until a few years, a little attention was paid towards harnessing this biomass minus grains. Only identifiable use was using the husk as a component of cattle field. Otherwise, its utility was restricted to its mixing in cow dung cakes to add to its fuel value or mix it with special soil for reinforcing its strength as a waterproof roof tarring.

But of late, biomass generation plants that become operational in the state have been on look out for compact, reliable sources of biomass and organic waste. The Punjab government is yet to come out with a firm policy on earmarking catchments or supply zones for each approved or authorised biomass power generation plant after its environment and other clearances, promulgation of fuel conservation and protection laws as biomass is highly flammable and also putting in place to prevent vandalisation of the green cover by the biomass plant owners on the pretext of getting fuel.

Other than biomass, other major source of fuel for captive power generation units has been bagasse or the waste of sugar mills. In an endeavour to revive sick sugar mills in cooperative sector, Punjab had undertaken a major initiative a couple of years ago. Each of the upgraded and modernised sugar mill was planned to have bagasse-based power generation to add a few hundred MW of power to the state grid. The revival plan, however, got a setback with the unfortunate death of the then Cooperation Minister Capt Kanwaljit Singh in a road mishap.

Of late the Punjab Energy Development Agency (PEDA) has again revived the scheme of renewable power to the state grid from its three cogeneration power projects being set in the cooperative sugar mills at Morinda, Nakodar and Fazilka. The PEDA has already facilitated the commissioning of 232 MW biomass or bagasse based co-generation projects in the state so far and was committed to achieve a capacity addition of 400 MW by March next year.

Chandigarh, April 25
State Health Minister Laxmi Kanta Chawla has directed all civil surgeons-cum-district authorities to enforce the PC and PNDT Act in the state strictly so as to ensure that there is no report of sex selective foeticide in the state.

Chawla was addressing the district civil surgeons conference here yesterday. The minister said there were 1,363 registered facilities in the state and there was no unregistered centre in the state. Nearly 106 court cases/FIRs had been registered in the state and action had been taken against 334 centres in the form of suspension and cancellation of their registration. Ultrasound machines of these centres were also sealed, she added.

The courts had convicted 18 centres for the violation of the PC and PNDT Act. Of these, in five cases, imprisonment of up to two years or more, along with a fine of Rs 5,000 or more, had been awarded. As a result of the strict enforcement of the Act as well as social mobilisation measures undertaken, the child sex ratio had improved in the state from 798 in 2001 to 838 in 2007, she added.

As per data of deliveries in government institutions in 2009, the sex ratio at birth improved to 896. A cash prize of Rs 1.5 lakh had already been awarded to 82 panchayats each for improving sex ratio to over 1,000 in the past two years. There was a provision of payment of Rs 50,000 each for undertaking sting operations to unearth centres indulging in sex determination, she said, adding anyone who would help the government in curbing the evil would be suitably rewarded. 

Rajpura, April 25
Setting an example of its own, 14 members of the same family here have pledged their eyes for donation after death. From the eldest 67-year-old family head to the youngest five-year-old - all have pledged their eyes for this noble cause.

Family head Major (retd) ML Ghai said it was his parents’ death in 1990 that shook his inner self and motivated him to take this initiative. “While carrying my parents’ ashes to Haridwar, it struck me that our body can be of use to someone even after death. My parents’ eyes could have helped four people see this world. The feeling of continuation of life after death grew stronger in me and I decided to pledge my eyes and body,” he said.

It took six years for Ghai to convince his wife who opposed pledging his body after death for research work.

In the meantime, Ghai constituted an NGO Sahaarra Trust that spreads awareness on eye and organ donation. He has so far roped in 670 persons who have pledged their eyes.

“There are certain stigmas attached to cremation of a body with all organs intact. Religious beliefs and myths interfere in donating bodies for research. Medical colleges lack cadavers. Adequate cadavers for research can go long way in finding answer to various ailments and develop better medical system,” he said.

“Grandpa says my eyes will help at least two persons to see the world after my death. I will be happy to make somebody’s life colourful,” said five-year-old Kartika. She pledged to donate her eyes a year ago.

Besides Ghai and Kartika, his wife Pratibha Ghai, a government school principal; sons Bhupaesh Ghai and Nirdosh Ghai; their wives Pratibha, a banker, and Alka, a government school teacher; his daughter Rashmi Sandal, doctor at Jalandhar; granddaughters Twinkle Ghai (5), Nisshtha Ghai (14), Himangi Sandal (6) and Bhavishya Sandal (12); and son-in-law Lalit Sandal ,too, have donated their eyes. 

Fatehgarh Sahib, April 25
A 95-year-old freedom fighter, Bachan Das, hailing from Nandpur Kalaur village, has been running from pillar to post to retrieve his land from his nephew’s wife.

In a complaint submitted to the Deputy Commissioner of Fatehgarh Sahib district, Das alleged that his 26 kanal and 6 marla agricultural land was being usurped by his nephew’s wife.

He said the accused got his signatures on registration papers of the land on January 19 over the pretext of helping him with getting pension from bank.

He stated that the accused got his thumb impression over the land registration papers instead of the pension papers. He said he could not hear or see properly due to old age, and the accused took advantage of it.

Relatives of Bachan Das said he was recruited in Single Core in Jabalpur in the British Army in 1941, and also fought war against Japan and returned to India in 1946.

The relatives said the elderly got Rs 2,000 as pension from the Indian Government after every six months and Rs 300 from the British Government per month. But the chief source of income was his agricultural land, which is now in the name of his nephew’s wife.

Bachan Das did not marry nor did he construct his own house. He is putting up with his nephews and their children. He wanted to distribute the entire land equally to close relatives. “I will fight till the end and not allow any single family member to usurp my land,” he said.

Deputy Commissioner Yashvir Mahajan said he had directed the SDM to look into the matter and ensure that justice was delivered.

Nangal, April 25
Fourteen pilgrims coming from Baba Balak Nath temple got injured when a tempo they were travelling in overturned near the Bhakra Dam yesterday.

The injured are 11 men, a woman and two children. Pilgrims said they were returning from the temple after paying obeisance and were standing at the Bhakra Dam waiting for a bus. “As the bus was overloaded, we decided to hire a tempo,” said patients undergoing treatment at the BBMB hospital.

The tempo driver failed to negotiate a sharp turn near Rose Garden and overturned. The driver, however, fled the spot.