Bathinda, November 10
Bathinda MP Harsimrat Kaur Badal’s office today turned into a virtual battlefield with some Akali workers hitting each other with chairs and swords.

While injured from both the factions were admitted to the civil hospital for treatment, the police opted to stay away from the fracas. The SHO concerned claimed to be unaware of the issue, stating he was busy with the VIP duty as Deputy Chief Minister Sukhbir Singh Badal had to land at Kaljharani helipad in the district.

According to information, SAD’s Pakka Kalan constituency in charge Darshan Singh Kotfatta’s brother Harcharan Singh, who is employed with the National Fertilisers Limited (NFL), instead of being present for his official duty at the NFL, had been holding a ‘darbar’ at Harsimrat’s office. He had called two parties belonging to Teona village in the district, who had some land dispute, to the office to bring about a compromise between them.

However, the discussions became heated and the scene took an ugly turn when persons from both the groups flung chairs at each other. One of them even reportedly pulled out a sharp-edged weapon. Meanwhile, other workers, including Harcharan Singh who had called them there, left the office.

Speaking to mediapersons, Gurlal Singh and Jagjit Singh, who were representing the two different groups, accused each other of assault without provocation. Gurlal alleged that the Jagjit group hit him in the head with a sword-like weapon, while Jagjit accused the Gurlal group of inflicting injury on his head with a chair. Till the filing of the report, no police official had reached the hospital to record statements.

When mediapersons asked Darshan Singh Kotfatta that in which capacity his brother, Harcharan, who was an employee of a public sector undertaking (NFL) was holding a ‘darbar at the SAD office, he evaded the query saying, “In fact, the parties were called by me, but as I got stuck with some other work, he was making efforts to effect a compromise between them.”

Chandigarh, November 10
A government agency has described health infrastructure in the state as “highly inadequate” and far from satisfactory especially in terms of availability of testing facilities and medicines, people have to rely on private health institutions.

People in the state are being compelled to seek expensive private care, says findings of the report by the Punjab Governance Reforms Commission. “Knowing that it is not an sustainable alternative in the long run, given the unregulated, exploitative and substandard health care that the public sector provides on an average, the state has to do much more than its does at present,” the report has said.

The paper on ‘The Status of Health Services in Punjab and Recommendations for the Health Sector’ says: “Performance of the government in spending the allocated resources for the health sector has not been very impressive and is definitely not enough to overcome the historical neglect of the social sector and in particular of the health sector in Punjab”.

Parmod Kumar, chairman of the commission, said: “The study found that availability of health infrastructure in the state for primary care is both highly inadequate and substandard and is much below the national standards. The situation for secondary and tertiary care appears to be a bit better. However, once we move beyond numbers, the condition of secondary and tertiary health care is also very disturbing”.

The report has strongly suggested that Punjab needs to have its own health policy based on its specificities. At present, the state has 2,950 health sub-centres, 1,187 subsidiary health centres, 394 primary/mini primary health centres, 129 community health centres, 45 rural hospitals, 36 subdivisional hospitals and 19 district hospitals, but the facilities are highly inadequate. For example, availability of medicines that should meet the benchmark of at least 60 per is a mere 8.4 per cent, forcing patients to purchase drugs from the open market.

The report says: “Regarding availability of medicines it was observed in all hospitals, medicines were not available. Although there is a provision for supply from the state and district level in practice, most of these centres were told to buy medicine from user charges fund. It has become a practice with the hospitals and health centres bringing about great degree of variability in the availability of medicines often at the cost of neglecting essential and life saving drugs.”

The challenges facing state’s health services range from poor hygiene and sanitation conditions, absence of medicines and poor diagnostic facilities, poor working conditions for staff, application of privatisation principle, scarcity of specialists, non-transparency and adhocism in staff postings, inadequacy of resources for maintenance in particular for ambulance, minor repairs, petrol for generators, X ray films, water, sanitation, cleanliness, patient infrastructure and medicines.

(To be concluded)

Chandigarh, November 10
What started as intra-party conflict within the SAD has engulfed the entire gamut of Punjab politics in less than a month. What — state’s economy — started as a fight for the “restoration of honour of Punjabis” by Manpreet Badal, has become the centre stage of Punjab’s polity. Politicians are now hitting out directly at their opponents, accusing one another of landing Punjab in this financial mess.

Punjab’s Finance Minister Upinderjit Kaur has hit out hard at the Punjab Congress President, Capt Amarinder Singh, saying, “Amarinder needs elementary lessons in economics. He is resorting to blatant lies and deliberately distorting facts on the fiscal health of the state during the Congress and the SAD-BJP governments’ tenures”.

The Finance Minister has reacted to Capt Amarinder Singh’s statement made yesterday, saying, “The state’s debt was Rs 72,000 crore when the Congress took over in 2002, which was brought down to Rs 48,000 crore. Again by the end of the current fiscal, the SAD-BJP will push up the debt burden to Rs 71,000 crore.”

Rubbishing the former Chief Minister’s claim, Upinderjit Kaur has claimed that the debt-increase ratio during the current government’s term has slid to 19 per cent from 62 per cent during the Congress regime.

All four political groups in the state comprising the ruling SAD-BJP alliance, the breakaway Manpreet Badal factor and the opposition Congress are rallying round the issue of debt faced by the state, each trying to push the blame for the debt to the other. In the process each person involved in this fight is making attempts to confuse the common man.

One such misleading fact is that Upinderjit Kaur compares the debt-increase ratio of the SAD-BJP’s three years in office to the five-year tenure of the Congress. In fact, the Congress’ annual borrowing averages to Rs 4,000 crore (for each of the five years in office), whereas the annual borrowings of the SAD-BJP government average to Rs 6,000 crore (for every year over the past three years).“The state is firmly on the way to dramatic economic recovery, phenomenal turnaround on the key twin parameters of growth -- debt-to-GSDP ratio as well as revenue generation,” the Finance Minister has claimed.

Upinderjit Kaur has said, “The debt burden against the state went up from Rs 32,496 crore in 2002 when Amarinder assumed office to Rs 52,923 crore when he relinquished it, a shocking and phenomenal increase of over 62 per cent. During the SAD-BJP tenure since March 2007, it has increased to Rs 62,000 crore (at the start of the current fiscal) at a relatively meagre rate of just 19 per cent.”

Both Manpreet Badal and Capt Amarinder Singh have repeatedly said that with Rs 8,000 crore annually going into servicing the state’s debt and another Rs 20,000 going into the salary bill of its employees, there is hardly any money left for development or any other activity. 

Amritsar, November 10
Launching his campaign to mobilise masses in the Majha region, ahead of his November 14 Amritsar visit, former Finance Minister Manpreet Badal today said the current state leadership is “playing with the emotions” of the people.

Talking to mediapersons on the sidelines of a public meeting here, Manpreet said, “Punjab di leadership sab kuj samajhde hoye vi nahi samajhdi hai (The state’s leadership despite knowing everything feigns ignorance). If one has been elected a leader, the onus is on him that he should speak the correct things,” he said, adding that “our duty is to speak what the people ought to hear and not what people want to hear.” He was responding to a query as to how the electorate will take his agenda on subsidies. He felt that the days of personality-based politics were numbered and soon issue-based politics would take the centre stage.

When asked about his greater popularity among the educated class and intellectuals, the former Finance Minister claimed that the farmers, too, were his well-wishers as he had won the elections from Gidderbaha four times in a row.

Manpreet also hinted at the issues that would be on his agenda when he would unveil his future plans in the holy city on Sunday. He said, “Good governance, tackling corruption, drug addiction and unemployment are the key issues before the state.” Earlier in the day, he addressed public meetings at Tarn Taran, Patti, Pahuwind and Kasel. Jalandhar MLA Jagbir Brar and Beas MLA Manjinder Singh Kang accompanied him.

Chandigarh, November 10
Within a day of The Tribune reporting that the working hours of government school teachers are going to be increased, the government has come under pressure from the school teachers’ union to review the move.

The Chief Minister’s office issued a statement here this evening that the CM had asked the Principal Secretary (School Education) C Roul to “withdraw” the orders.

When contacted, Roul said he had been asked to “re-examine” the move and ascertain if there was any legal binding on the state to increase the working hours of school teachers. “Since the orders are yet to be notified, no withdrawal is required but the file would be sent for legal review,” he said.

The increase in the working hours of teachers per day is part of the conditions that every state in India has to fulfil in order to implement the Right to Education Act. In case the state government decides not to implement the condition it would be doing so in violation of the RTE Act as well as the directions of the Government of India.

Sources add that teachers led by their union leaders had met CM Parkash Singh Badal this morning and discussed the issue with him. They had requested the CM not to implement the decision regarding the increase in school timings.

At a time when the ruling SAD-BJP alliance is getting into election mode the CM, it is said, is under a lot of pressure from various employees’ unions to resolve long-pending issues.

The Right to Education Act lays down that government school teachers would teach for a minimum of 45 hours a week while school teachers in Punjab work for 36 hours a week. The RTA Act also provides that schools remain open for at least 200 days (for primary schools) and 220 days (for upper primary schools) in a year.

While the number of hours that a teacher would have to spend in school would be increased, for the students, the school timings would remain the same.

While the state has already notified the minimum number of working days in an academic year in government schools, the notification regarding the increase in working hours is yet to be issued.

Jalandhar, November 10
As part of its nationwide demonstration, the district RSS workers, supported by the local BJP leaders, took out a massive rally here today.

The supporters got together at Partap Bagh this morning and took out a peaceful march carrying placards. They gave a memorandum to the Deputy Commissioner, addressed in the name of President of India around noon and later assembled in front of the district administrative complex.

The memorandum mentioned that some leaders and political parties related with the Union Government were specifically targeting the RSS workers. “Recent incidents of wrongly implicating the Sangh and its workers in some of the bomb blast cases are only a few steps of this anti-Hindu political agenda,” said general secretary, RSS Punjab, Munishwar.

Speaking during the rally, state pracharak Kishor Kant said charge sheet filed by the ATS Rajasthan a few days back in the Ajmer blasts case and subsequent statements by the investigators and the politicians completely belied the expectations about an impartial investigation.

Chandigarh, November 10
Punjab Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal today announced to pay the arrears to state government employees on account of the recommendations of the 5th Punjab Pay Commission in three equal instalments during three financial years.

A decision to this effect was taken by Badal at a meeting with a delegation of the Mulazam Dal, Punjab, led by its president Hari Singh Tohra and patron Nachhatar Singh Jahangir here at the CM's residence. Conceding a major demand of the Mulazam Dal regarding the payment of arrears of the employees, Badal announced that the first instalment of the pay arrears would be paid in cash along with the salary of the month of February paid in March 2011, 50 per cent of which would be deposited in the respective GPF accounts of the employees. The remaining two instalments would be paid similarly in the next two financial years.

He also directed the Chief Secretary to coordinate with the Finance and Personnel Departments to examine the long-pending demand of the employees’ association relating to the regularisation of ad hoc and work-charged employees within the parameters of the laid-down guidelines of the Supreme Court.

The CM also asked the Chief Secretary to have a re-look at the issue of the Assured Career Progression scheme of 4-9-14 in consultation with the Mulazam Dal before bringing it at the next Cabinet meeting. — TNS

Kalewal (Kharar), November 10
Children in the areas in and around Kalewal village are all set to get free quality education at the government model school here.

Education Minister Sewa Singh Sekhwan laid foundation stone of the school, which will come up in collaboration with the Edustar Company. The CBSE-affiliated Government Edustar Adarsh Senior Secondary School will impart education to 2,000 students from financially weak background in the area with. Villagers have donated 12 acres for setting up the school building.

Coming up under the Punjab Government’s model school scheme, an innovative approach to the public private partnership (PPP) in the area of education, the school will cater to educational needs of this rural pocket. From next academic year onwards, the school will start nursery classes. Sekhwan said the school would provide free education focusing on English language and computer-based learning.

Soumya Kanti, president, Edureach, the Educomp Solutions Limited, said students would be imparted vocational skills in future to make them employable.

It would be equipped with ultra-modern facilities, including computers, well-equipped science and computer labs, well-stocked library, innovative teaching aids, extensive sports facilities and ongoing teacher-training facilities.

Under the scheme, the state government has provided 9.7 acres of land to Educomp on a 99-year lease. The Punjab Education Development Board and Educomp will jointly bear the capital and operational costs involved in setting up and running the school.

Prominent among others present at the occasion included ADC (D) Iqbal Singh Brar, SDM Rajiv Gupta, tehsildar Rajesh Dhiman, BDPO Malwinder Singh and others.

Rajpura, November 10
Farmers sitting on hunger strike for the past four days against setting up of the IT and Knowledge Park on 1,369 acres of agricultural land today ended the strike after assurance by SAD (B) general secretary Prem Singh Chandumajra and other senior political leaders.

Farmers had been opposing setting up of the IT Park on the agricultural land of panchayat, which was being cultivated by farmers of the area on contract for past many decades.

The farmers alleged that they would loose the entire land, which was being purchased by the government at a throwaway price.

Chandumajra, Patiala ADC APS Virk, Rajpura MLA Raj Khurana, and other political leaders pacified the farmers and assured to give them compensation in lieu of their land. The farmers said it was decided during the meeting that now 50 per cent of the money would be given to the panchayat and 50 per cent to the farmers.

Baghapurana , November 10
Deputy Chief Minister Sukhbir Singh Badal, who was to attend a series of programmes in Moga district on Wednesday, got late by more than three hours after the state government’s chopper developed a technical snag at Chandigarh this morning.

A senior official of the state government, while confirming this to The Tribune, revealed that an alternative chopper was called from New Delhi, which was further delayed as restrictions were imposed on the air control due to movement of Prime Minister Manmohan Singh’s aircraft at that time.

Sukhbir reached at Baghapurana at about 5.45 pm and again had to struggle for landing due to heavy smog in the area. After taking four rounds in air over this township, the chopper finally landed, but Badal had to shift his mode of transportation from air to road to reach Moga and Dharamkot due to poor visibility. He appeared to be upset over this unwanted problem and finally decided to go home at his parental house in Badal village by road. — TNS

Chandigarh, November 10
Dr Bhushan Chander Gupta, a Punjab cadre IAS officer belonging to the 1975 batch, will be the new Union Secretary for Food and Public Distribution.

An alumnus of Punjab Agricultural University from where he did his doctorate in chemistry, Gupta is currently the second 1975 batch Punjab officer after Mukul Joshi to become a Secretary in the Union Government.

Incidentally, Punjab Chief Secretary Subodh Aggarwal is also from the 1975 batch.

The other Punjab officers on central deputation and holding senior positions in the Union Government include A.Didar Singh of the 1976 batch, Sundram Krishna of the 1977 batch, Rakesh Singh and Sudhir Mittal, both of the 1978 batch.

While Mukul Joshi is in the Ministry of Chemicals and Fertilisers, A.Didar Singh is with the Department of Overseas Indians.

Bhushan Chander Gupta, who has been the Financial Commissioner, Cooperation, since October 30, 2008, is expected to assume charge of the new assignment shortly. An officer with a background in agriculture, he has held various important field positions, including those of the District Magistrate of Patiala and the Commissioner of Ferozepur division. Incidentally, he is also the founder president of the Punjab Agricultural University Alumni Association.

At present, the seniormost officer in the Punjab cadre is Financial Commissioner Romila Dubey, who belongs to the 1973 batch. Traditionally, the seniormost Financial Commissioner is given charge of Revenue.

While Mukul Joshi and A. Didar Singh will be retiring next year on attaining superannuation, Dr Gupta will have a longer stay in the union capital as a Secretary of a department that is of tremendous importance and significance to the Punjab Government. Food and Public Distribution are the areas to which Punjab contributes significantly.

Chitleen Sethi adds: Talking to The Tribune Dr Gupta said he would be tackling some of the long-pending issues of Punjab regarding food and public distribution at the Centre. “The biggest issue is the issue of the Government of India owing several crores to Punjab. Then there are concerns regarding procurement, storage of grain, movement of grain, etc, which also need to be handled,” he said.

Patiala, November 10
A national integration camp being organised by the Union Government’s Northern Regional Language Center (NRLC) and the Punjabi University's Sri Guru Tegh Bahadur (SGTB) National Integration Chair got underway at the NRLC Campus, here today. Delegates from Karnataka, Rajasthan, Himachal Pardesh and Punjab are participating in the camp.

Inaugurating the camp, Registrar of Punjabi University Dr Manjit Singh said, “The vast diversity of India is its strength as well as the reason for its unity. Though we got freedom from foreign yoke after a long struggle, after independence, the energy of our people has been wasted on subversive, disruptive and divisive activities, generated by narrow and parochial passions aroused by petty politicians hungry for power, in the name of religion and region, language and culture.”

SGTB National Integration Chair Professor and Head Dr Baltej Singh Mann emphasised the need for inculcating feeling of unity, solidarity and cohesion in the hearts of the people, a sense of common citizenship and a feeling of loyalty to the nation.

Ferozepur, November 10
Sukhwinder Singh, alias Chinda, a resident of this district, who was acting as a supplier of arms and ammunition to terrorists belonging to the Khalistan Zindabad Force (KZF), Neeta group, and other outfits, was sentenced to 10 years’ rigorous imprisonment (RI) by Additional Session Judge JS Bhinder today.

Chinda was arrested by the district police in November 2008 with 4 kg of heroin, one AK-56 assault rifle with 300 live cartridges and one magazine, four Chinese made pistols (.30 bore) with 60 live cartridges and four magazines and fake Indian currency notes (FICN) of Rs 10 lakh while he was going to deliver the consignment to his ‘customers’.

The Makhu police of this district had also arrested one of the KZF (Neeta group) terrorists identified as Gursagar Singh, who was purchasing weapons from Sukhwinder a few years ago. Sukhwinder would take supply of arms, ammunition, narcotics and fake currency from Pakistan-based smugglers.

Interestingly, these smugglers, who were four in number, were arrested by the police, put on trial and sentenced to 10-year RI by Additional Session Judge a few days back.