The great Debt debate
Empty treasury, but liberal in subsidies
Nirmal Sandhu

Chandigarh, October 9
If the Centre has linked a drastic cut in the Punjab power subsidy from Rs 3,100 to Rs 1,000 crore in five years to avail the Rs 35,000-crore debt-waiver offer, the reason is the state’s dismal performance on the power front. Power, it is widely recognised, is key to industrial and agricultural growth and its mismanagement cripples economic growth.

The Planning Commission, the World Bank and experts have warned the Punjab government that free power leads to over exploitation of groundwater, misuse by farmers, poor supply to customers, bankruptcy of the power utility and no fresh investment in additional generation. The state is within its right to provide subsidy to the needy but its failure to compensate the power utility creates problems.

Delayed payments for free power, political interference and non-professional appointments drove the power board to the edge as a weak and populist political leadership dithered on power reforms, fearing opposition from the board employees and farmers, the two key vote banks.

After 13 extensions in the deadline for implementing the Electricity Act of 2003 and a firm no by the Centre for any more extension, the state leadership was forced to split the Punjab State Electricity Board into two entities: Powercom and Punjab State Power Corporation Ltd (PSPCL).

The 2003 Act separates generation from transmission and distribution and provides for competition. In Punjab, there is no competition to the state utilities. Customers have no alternative provider if they are dissatisfied with the quality of power or service or the rate charged. The two corporations have not been right-sized. The old work culture continues and they function like government departments.

The state can retrieve the situation if it follows the Centre’s advice, scraps the power subsidy and curbs power pilferage firmly. It can draw lessons from Andhra Pradesh, which has made power theft a cognisable offence and set up special courts and appellate tribunals for fast-track disposal of cases. Twenty lakh high-accuracy meters were installed and old meters handed over to low-value customers. As a result, 98 per cent consumers have started paying bills against 42 per cent in 1999.

For long the Punjab government, driven by the politics of populism and wasting its resources on ministerial whims and luxury, had no money to set up new power plants. Now private companies are doing the job.

Demand, meanwhile, has grown sharply keeping pace with the rise in urban incomes. The state buys power at exorbitant rates during the peak season to fill the demand-supply gap.

As power cuts made Punjabis’ life miserable every summer, farmers did not complain since they did not pay the bills. However, their productivity fell and input costs went up. Since a cash-strapped government could not repair or clean up canals and rivers, which increasingly got polluted, raising their health budget, farmers depended more on ground water and went in for costly submersible and diesel pumps, thus raising their input costs and landing themselves in debt. Paddy growers, encouraged by free power, contributed to a sharp fall in the water table. Because of low returns from agriculture and high dependence on chemicals and farm machinery plus an ostentatious lifestyle, farmers do not want to let go the freebies they have got used to.

Erratic power supply, however, has hit the industry hard. Red tape, corruption, high land prices and Central tax incentives in Himachal have added to the industry’s woes. While some have shifted their expansion projects to other states, some survive by resorting to power and tax theft, others have sold their units to set up marriage palaces or dabble in realty.

A near empty treasury forced the government to set up the Sukhbir-Kalia committee to mobilise resources. Though it hoped to generate Rs 4,000 crore, the actual accrual has been only Rs 1,100. On paper free power has been discontinued. Every tube well owner pays Rs 50 per bhp per month, which is paid back as productivity bonus.

Media reports say only 50 per cent of the tube well owners pay the bills. The Bhartiya Kisan Union (Rajewal) has asked farmers not to deposit their water and power bills. They know the elections are just a year and a half away.

The Punjab State Power Corporation Ltd urgently needs Rs 2,000 crore for carrying on the existing projects.

Since it has not started with a clean slate like power utilities in other states, the PSPCL has Rs 9,700-crore losses and is saddled with a loan of Rs 18,000 crore.

Four power projects are at different stages of completion. All are coal-based. Projects are not being allotted through competitive bidding. Besides, thermal plants tend to pollute air and water, while power generated is quite costly. The private firms setting up these projects will have to make profits also. This will further push up the state’s power subsidy bill.

The state could have collaborated with Himachal and J&K for cheap power from hydroelectric projects. A nuclear power option has not been explored. Biomass is a cheap source of power. Farmers will not have to burn farm residues and pollute the air if biomass is put to judicious use. The state drifts due to lack of cash, vision and good governance.

Mohali, October 9
On the issue of Central debt waiver, the former Punjab Chief Minister, Capt Amarinder Singh, today came out in the support of state’s Finance Minister Manpreet Badal.

After appearing in the Mohali court in connection with the hearing of the Amritsar Improvement Trust case, registered by the Punjab Vigilance Bureau, he said, “It is in the interest of Punjab to accept the loan-waiver offer and I support Manpreet on the issue.” The differences between the Junior Badal and Manpreet are only exposing the party leadership.

On the issue of Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal withdrawing defamation cases, the former Chief Minister said it did not matter as the defamation cases had been going on for seven years. The Vigilance cases at Ludhiana and Mohali were still going on.

Earlier, the public prosecutor, while appearing before the court, moved an application seeking that since there was no stay by the high court, hearing of the case should be resumed. The defence counsel said the resolution passed by the Vidhan Sabha to register the Vigilance case had been rendered unconstitutional by the Supreme Court.

After hearing both the parties, the court fixed the next date of hearing for October 23.

A former minister, Chaudhri Jagjit Singh, who is also named in the case, was not present in the court as he was appearing at Ludhiana in connection with another Vigilance case there. A total of 16 persons, including former Chief Minister Amarinder Singh and former Minister for Local Government Chaudhri Jagjit Singh, had been named in the charge sheet filed by the Vigilance in the Amritsar Improvement Trust land exemption scam.

The bureau had registered the case in September 2008, following a report of the committee of the Vidhan Sabha that had indicted several persons, including the former CM and the Minister for Local Government, for having caused a loss of about Rs 130 crore to the state.

Chandigarh, October 9
In a continued show of strength that consolidates the image of the SAD as a unified party, senior party leaders have sought disciplinary action against Manpreet Badal.

The move has the unanimous support of all 26 district presidents of the party that include three Cabinet ministers, an equal number of former ministers and an MP.

Announcing this after an emergency meeting of all SAD district heads (read jathedars), the SAD leaders rallied behind the leadership of party President Sukhbir Singh Badal and sought “penal action against anyone who violates the party discipline”.

Reiterating their faith in the leadership of Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal and Deputy Chief Minister Sukhbir Singh Badal, the district presidents said, “No individual is above the party and does not have the right to raise any issue without first taking the party into confidence”.

Initially the media briefing was started by former minister Sikandar Singh Maluka, who said the district jathedars felt the need to take stock of the situation that had developed within the party during the past two days. He said it was unanimously decided to ask the newly constituted disciplinary action committee of the party to take action against anyone (read Manpreet Badal) violating party discipline.

Revenue Minister Ajit Singh Kohar said, “We welcome the formation of the disciplinary action committee and we will recommend that the committee takes action against anyone, irrespective of who he is, for violating party discipline.” Incidentally, the district jathedars meet about once in two months, but this is the first time since 2007 that they addressed the media on any issue.

At the same time, Irrigation Minister Janmeja Singh Sekhon, who is known to be quite close to Manpreet Badal, was equally vocal about the “act of indiscipline”. When asked if Manpreet had no right to talk about his own department, he said, “Anything that he or I do is the joint responsibility of the government and no individual can take decision outside the party forum.”

He was joined by Punjab’s Jails Minister Hira Singh Gabria, who said, “A minister can surely talk about the achievements of his own department, but not on policy matters and that, too, before they are taken and discussed by the party.

Former minister Gurdev Singh Badal confirmed that he had recommended action against Manpreet and would press for the same when the disciplinary action committee met. The MP, Dr Rattan Singh Ajnala, too, supported disciplinary action against Manpreet.

Muktsar, October 9
A major discrepancy in the wheat stock lying on plinths of PUNSUP has come to light, raising a question mark over the functioning of state procurement agencies.

If allegations of a leader of the PUNSUP Employees Union are to be relied upon, some of the PUNSUP officials, who are allegedly hand in glove, had recently pilfered a huge quantity of the stock from the stack.

Specifying the names of two open plinths---Satwant Singh Jagat Pal Kaur open plinth and Giani open plinth--- the complainant accused a PUNSUP inspector, Swaranjeet Singh, of selling thousands of quintals of wheat from there.

Sources said Swaranjeet Singh had been dismissed, but due to his “high connections”, he was reinstated.

“Earlier, both plinths had recorded a surplus stock, but during a recent special loading, a shortage of about 800 quintals of wheat was found,” the complaint states.

It is alleged that some of the tainted officials used to pilfer the good quality of stock and to cover up this gap, replaced it with rotten grains purchased from market.

The complaint further states that in a recent special loading, which was for the stock of 2008-09, PUNSUP officials allegedly loaded about 60,000 bags of the 2009-10 stock in it to cover up a huge discrepancy in the stock of 2008-09.

The complainant alleged that 1,450 bags of old wheat were placed in the fresh stock of 2010-11, while the same number of bags from the stack was illegally sold in the market.

The complainant urged the PUNSUP district manager to examine the case. However, till today, the authorities concerned took no action.

Refuting the allegations, Swaranjeet Singh said: “The whole process is being run smoothly. Despite this, if officials feel it necessary, they can investigate the matter,” he added.

However, quality controller of the FCI Sudhir Saxena confirmed that during the previous inspection, he had found some of the stock lying in one of the above mentioned plinths of PUNSUP in a bad condition.

“We did not purchase that stock. Later, the PUNSUP authorities were allowed to upgrade the stock. But still before purchasing, we will thoroughly check the quality of foodgrains and only then it will be sent to the Central pool,” said Saxena.

On his part, district manager (PUNSUP) Yash Pal feigned ignorance about the matter saying that he had recently taken charge.

Yash Pal added that he had sought a detailed report of the whole stock, which would expose the reality.

Chappar Chiri (Mohali), October 9
To mark 300 years of the inception of Sikh rule, Punjab Deputy Chief Minister Sukhbir Singh Badal today laid the foundation stone of Rs 48-crore memorial to be built at the historic battleground that had been witness to Sikh warrior Baba Banda Singh Bahadur defeating Mughal Governor Wazir Khan in a fierce battle.

The purpose behind setting up the memorial is to perpetuate the unparalleled bravery of Baba Banda Singh Bahadur and his five trusted generals, including Fateh Singh.

The memorial would have 300-foot-tall “Burj Baba Banda Singh Bahadur”. The memorial would be set up on a 21-acre chunk of land.

In a message read out in the function, Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal, who is recuperating in the PGI after an injury on the eye, apologised for not being able to attend the historic event.

A number of senior Akali leaders and heads of religious sects were present on the occasion.

Amritsar, October 9
Thousands of devotees thronged the Golden Temple here today to take a dip in the sarovar and pay obeisance on the 476th birth anniversary of Guru Ramdas. They also participating in a series of religious functions held to mark the occasion.

The Golden Temple was decorated with rare artifacts made of gold and silver and devotees seemed eager to catch a glimpse of them. Pilgrims led by Panj Piaras from Gurdwara Pipli Sahib, Gurdwara Attari Sahib and Bhai Veer Singh Hall reached the Golden Temple complex in the morning where “amrit sanchar” was organised at Akal Takht. The entire Golden Temple wore an illuminated look. An exhibition of religious books was also put up on the occasion. The celebrations culminated with splendid fireworks in the evening, which enthralled the devotees.

Amritsar, October 9
In a step towards acquainting NRI Sikhs with the religion’s glorious past, a multimedia touch-screen museum, the first of its kind outside India, will open its door to the public at Canada’s Ontario Khalsa Darbar in Mississauga tomorrow.

A brainchild of noted Sikh scholar Raghbir Bains, the museum has 60,000 pages of text and a huge number of audio, video, animation and graphics, making it a “religious tour” of over 
400 hours.

Talking to The Tribune on the phone from Canada, Bains said, “The museum will cover the Sikh religion, its history, culture and heritage.” Spread over 1,600 sq ft, the museum is equipped with four touch screens, five big TV screens and an auditorium that costs around 2 lakh US dollars. “The museum has been raised in the shape of a pentagon and has four LCD screens. Visitors simply need to walk in and touch one of these screens,” he added. The museum will have 1,500 pictures from Sikh history apart from 15 paintings of Sikh Gurus. It also features ardas in an animated form. The museum will showcase the lives, teachings and sacrifices of the Sikh gurus, “rahat maryada” (code of conduct) and historic Sikh shrines in the form of audio, video and text. The museum will also feature 50 hours of Gurbani. Interestingly, the gurdwara committee of the Ontario Khalsa Darbar has chosen October 10, 2010 (10th day of the 10th month of 2010) to inaugurate the museum apparently referring to the 10 Sikh Gurus. The time of inauguration has also been fixed as 1.10 pm tomorrow. As an additional feature, the museum will also have mathematics and English learning lessons for children aged between 6 and 10 years.

Bains said entry to the museum will be free of cost and guides will also be available to visitors. The museum will be inaugurated by Baba Sewa Singhji Khadur Sahibwale.

Patiala, October 9
Protests being organised by medical teachers and other unions at Rajindra Hospital have started bothering patients. The tussle between the authorities and employees has now started reflecting on the patients now, sources say.

A few days ago, medical and dental teachers protested at OPDs of Rajindra Hospital, Patiala, and closed the OPDs for almost one-and-a-half hour. All faculty members of government medical and dental colleges participated in the protest.

They demanded that the vacant posts be filled through promotion and medical teachers on ad hoc be regularised.

Now, lab technicians have raised their voice against the authorities. Though a lot of things were being done for doctors, the authorities were not paying attention to their basic needs, they said.

On the other hand, patients said no doubt there might be problems in the system, but the authorities and employees should consider take care of their (patients') problems, too.

Patiala, October 9
Five armed robbers escaped on Saturday morning with gold jewellery worth Rs 1.5 crore from Shree Ganpati Jewellers with its showroom in the main market of Samana on the outskirts of Patiala.

One of them, according to the police, posed as a prospective buyer and entered the showroom alone and a little after 10 am in the morning. He evinced interest in buying a gold bracelet. While a salesman was attending to him, four of his accomplices barged into the showroom with firearms and smashed the CCTV camera in a bid to prevent the police from identifying them.

They took away 8.5 Kilograms of gold jewellery besides other jewellery items at gun-point. They seemed to be professionals as they packed their bags with the jewellery, leaving behind the jewellery boxes. They escaped in a white Esteem, which was later recovered near the Bhakra canal, barely one kilometre from the showroom. They had apparently switched into another vehicle and escaped. The police recovered three fake number plates and photographs of two children from the car.

Later on Saturday the police traced the owner of the car in Ludhiana and found that the Esteem had been stolen the previous night. Pritam Singh, a resident of Model Town, had reported the theft in the morning after he found his ten-year-old car missing. The police believe that the robbers are from Ludhiana itself and could well be hiding in the city.

While most of the jewellers have started displaying new stocks and new designs for the festive season, they expressed their shock over the daring robbery. The police hope they can recover some footage from the camera. 

Ludhiana, October 9
In a clash that took place inside the jail premises, the turban of a DSP was tossed and a constable thrashed by an inmate at the Borstal jail located at the Tajpur road late last night.

The incident took place, when three inmates identified as Pawan Kumar, Krishan Kumar and Vijay Kumar, who were reportedly under the influence of drugs, refused to enter their barrack.

This led to an argument between constable Balwinder Singh and the three inmates. The constable further reported the matter to DSP Kawalpreet Singh Cheema. Sensing trouble, Cheema reached the spot and told the trio to go inside, but the inmates turned violent and attacked the duo.

Balwinder’s uniform was torn and Cheema’s turban was tossed. At least 20 jail guards reached the spot and overpowered the inmates.

The inmates were also thrashed for taking the law in their hands. The trio is stated to be the chronic drug addicts, while Krishan Kumar is facing murder charges, Vijay and Pawan Kumar were undergoing the jail term in connection with an attempt to murder case.

The jail officials have further lodged a complaint against the trio at the Division No. 7 police station.

The latest incident has again highlighted the fact that how drugs are making way inside the jail premises. Sources told The Tribune that the trio got hold of the drugs from the jail hospital.

The manhandling of cops is becoming a routine affair inside the jail premises. Earlier, Paramjit Singh, brother of the personal assistant to jail minister Hira Singh Gabria, had also manhandled the jail guards after he was caught using a mobile phone.

No inmate above the age of 21 years could be lodged inside the Borstal jail. But the rules were bent for Paramjit, who is facing rape chares, despite he being 32-year-old. He is enjoying the luxuries of the jail.