Jalandhar, September 20
Despite the fact that more than Rs 66 crore have been collected as cess by the State Building and Other Construction Workers’ Welfare Board, not even a single penny has gone for the benefit of the labourers and their families, till date.

As per the Building & Other Construction Workers’ Welfare Cess Act, all registered labourers, who are employed with builders, have the right to avail a financial assistance of Rs 1,800 per annum for the education of each of their two children from this fund.

The amount can go up to Rs 14,000 per annum in case their children take engineering or medicine streams after schooling. The state board also entitles labourers of all castes for a Rs 5,100 shagun scheme on the occasion of marriage of their daughters.

Further, they have an entitlement of Rs 50,000 for the treatment of any chronic disease, including cancer. The women labourers also have the right to avail maternity benefits up to two children. Workers are also entitled for group insurance and accident benefits.

Shockingly, none of the estimated 3 lakh labourers working in the state have been able to reap the benefit of the scheme despite the fact that the Act for the purpose was passed in 1996.

The major problem in the enforcement is that there are only 8,700 labourers registered with the state, those too without proper guidance and awareness on the matter. Further, many of them do not send their children to schools as their working sites and also their temporary sheds keep on shifting after an interval of few months.

As per data available with the local labour office, there are only 1,600 workers registered in Jalandhar. The local office is said to have collected Rs 7.5 crore for the purpose but none of these workers have ever applied to avail any benefit.

It is astonishing that there are quite a few labour and trade unions working actively in the city. Almost all of them are working on the failure of the MGNREGS but none of them has ever tried to help the labourers get themselves registered and avail these benefits.

All that these labourers need is to prove that they have worked for a construction company for at least 90 days a year and their age falls between 18 and 60 years. The Act stipulates that the builders too have to pay up 1 to 2 per cent of the cost of construction as cess towards the board.

Even owners of residential buildings, who spend more than Rs 10 lakh have to make the payment or else face imprisonment up to six months.

Inderjit Singh, Assistant Labour Commissioner, Jalandhar, confirmed that he had received no application for availing benefits under the scheme.

He said he was doing his bit about holding awareness programmes and sensitising labour unions. He said labourers could get registered with him by September 30 free of cost, after which they will have to pay up Rs 25 per annum.

SR Ladhar, Divisional Commissioner, said though the Act had been passed in 1996, a board for the purpose had been set up just two years back. He said since works to the tune of Rs 20,000 crore were being carried out throughout the state annually, the board should have been getting a minimum revenue of Rs 200 crore, which further pointed out at certain lapses.

A meeting to study the much needed ramifications was held at the regional training office of Mahatma Gandhi Public Administration State Training Institution two days ago. NK Arora, former Chief Secretary, Punjab, suggested that a panel be set up under the Deputy Commissioner to look into the loopholes of the self-financing scheme and to make sure that the maximum people could avail the benefit.

If registered, estimated 3 lakh labourers in the state would be entitled to:

l Rs 14,000 per annum for education if their children opt for engineering or medicine streams after school

l Rs 5,100 for the shagun scheme on the occasion of marriage of their daughters

l Rs 50,000 for the treatment of any chronic disease, including cancer 

l Maternity benefits up to two children for women labourers 

l Group insurance and acccdent benefits

Tarn Taran, September 20
An inquiry conducted by the Education Department against the local Arya Girls High School has allegedly detected irregularities in lakhs of rupees.

The educational institution, started about a century back, was being run by Arya Samaj organisation recognised by the Delhi-based parental body of the samaj. The school was an aided institution and had been receiving a grant of 95 per cent from the state government since long time ago.

Sri Kant Sood, a representative of the parallel local body of the samaj, in a complaint to the education department, had leveled some serious allegations of financial irregularities by the school administration.

The inquiry report, received through the Right to Information (RTI) Act-2005, revealed irregularities worth lakhs of rupees. The DPI (secondary education), in the report sent here, said some other complaints were also pending against the school.

The Tribune has a copy of the report with it.

One of the most shocking points of the inquiry report was the alleged irregularity of Rs 4,41, 403, monthly salary drawn by a lady teacher Tamanna from February, 2003 to December, 2006.

Kans Raj, the local Deputy District Education Officer (secondary), in the report, said the teacher Tamanna received this amount as monthly salary from the Arya Girls High School, whereas, at the same time, she received Rs 2,37,175 for the same period from the local Saint Francis School, where her PGF/PPF account No. - PB/7896/95 having her bank account No. 12091 (Bank of Baroda) - was also present.

How can an employee work at two places at one time and draw double salary, was one of the points in the complaint.

Another such irregularity has come to the in the case of another employee Neera. It was alleged that she also got double salary from the school.

Circle Education Officer (CEO), Jalandhar, Sudesh Kumari, in her report of August, 11, 2010, has said the head of the school, in her statement, recorded to her office, said Neera served the school from November 1, 1976 to December 31, 2006.

Talking about the same time, Neera, in her statement recorded with the CEO office, said she worked in the Arya Girls School only up to 1983, as after her marriage she came to the Jalandhar district. She presently works as the Principal of SVA National Model School, Bhogpur.

It was alleged that the monthly salary of Neera - from 1983 to December 31, 2006 - has been embezzled. The education department has confirmed this allegation in its report clearly.

The DPI office, in the forwarded letter, said two reports were being sent to the complainant when six other complaints were still pending at different stages in the department.

Naresh Aggarwal, president of the school managing committee, when contacted, requested this correspondent not to release this news item but at the same time said that the matter was still pending with the DPI office. 

Jalandhar, September 20
Even as the number of patients, who report with rapidly decreasing platelet count but are negative for dengue, is continuously rising in the region, Health Minister Laxmi Kanta Chawla said conducting research over the causes behind such cases 
was not under the purview of her department.

She was here to attend the inaugural ceremony of School of Nursing, SBLS Civil Hospital. “Such research cases fall under the purview of the Department of Medical Education and Research,” she added.

However, the Principal Secretary, Health, Satish Chandra, said the department would look into the matter and send a suggestion to the Medical Education and Research Department in this regard.

Expressing her satisfaction over the arrangements made in the local civil hospital to deal with dengue outbreak, Chawla said the hospital services were much better and cheaper than the private hospitals.

The minister said Rs 2.5 crore would be spent to develop infrastructure in the school of nursing during the next session. The school would provide three year course in general nursing and midwifery (GNM), which had been discontinued in 2003.

The Principal Secretary said the department would write to the Social Welfare Department to waive off academic fee for students belonging to SC, BC or minority communities. The Health Minister also laid the stone for the 50-bedded community health centre in PAP complex here and said the centre would start functioning from next August.

Pathankot, September 20
Two students of MGN College, Jakholari, were killed in a road accident on the Pathankot-Amritsar Road today.

According to the police, the students of computer science --- Amit Kumar and Satish Kumar --- were going to their residence at Darshopur village on a motorcycle (PB-35-K-3572). When they reached near the railway crossing of Jakholari village, a bus (PB-02-AD-9911) of Rohtak bus service coming from the opposite side hit the bike leaving Amit dead and Satish injured. He was rushed to the Pathankot Civil Hospital where he succumbed to his injuries.

Bus driver fled from the scene leaving the bus behind. The police has registered a case against him under sections 304-A, 279 and 427 of the IPC.

The bodies of the students were handed over to the relatives after the post-mortem examination.

In another accident, five persons sustained injuries when HRTC bus (HP-73-1081) overturned near Chakki Paran, 10 km from here, on the Pathankot-Chamba Road today. The bus was going to Chamba. On reaching near the Chakki Paran, the bus driver in order to negotiate a sharp curve near Chakki Paran lost the control over the vehicle. The injured were identified as Samriti Mahajan, Ajay Mahajan both residents of Dalhousie, were admitted in a private hospital whereas other three were discharged after treatment.