Chandigarh, January 19
In the last two months, 148 government school principals have retired after serving as heads of the institutions for barely two months. At the same time, around 500 lecturers have also retired after 20 years of service without being promoted; some teachers have not got a single promotion from the teacher’s scale in 30 years. The sluggish promotion policy in the Education Department has not only resulted in demoralisation among the educators, but it also violates rulings by the apex court of the country in terms of reservation.

Giving out details of the working of the Education Department that is following a very slow promotion policy for general category teachers and lecturers, Shyam Lal Sharma, Chief Organiser, General Categories Welfare Federation, has claimed that the promotion policy in the department is highly tilted in favour of the SCs and OBCs.

He has pointed out that out of 1,132 school principals working in Punjab, 307 belong to the SC category, while 825 have been promoted from among general category lecturers/teachers. This is in violation of the directions of the Supreme Court to the effect that no more than 14 per cent reservation can be granted to SCs, whereas in Punjab this number is 28 per cent. This has deprived many general category teachers/ lecturers the right to be promoted even after 20 to 30 years of service.

The federation has further pointed out that the apex court rules that all categories of reservations put together, there can be no more than 50 per cent reservation. After the retirement of 148 principals out of which 114 were from the general category and only 34 from the SC category, the percentage of principals from the SC category has gone up to 28.3 per cent, Sharma has claimed.

The federation has requested Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal to intervene to protect the interests of the general category teachers and lecturers in the state. Sharma has asked the Chief Minister to set up a separate department for the welfare of the general categories of employees. Further the federation has said that till a full-fledged separate department is established, at least one Cabinet-rank minister should be deputed to listen to the grievances of the general category employees.

Sharma, while quoting a Supreme Court judgement in a case, M. Nagraj CPW No 61/2002, decided on October 19, 2006, had laid down that no promotion against reservation quota should be made till the quantifiable data regarding representation of Scheduled Castes is collected. He said besides this the Supreme Court also said that backwardness of an employee and his or her efficiency should also be kept in mind while giving the benefit of reservation. The Punjab Government, the federation said, was violating the directions.

The federation has alleged that the Punjab Government was still promoting officials belonging to the reserved category without taking into account the creamy layer among the SCs, in direct violation of the apex court’s direction.

Chandigarh, January 19
Alarmed at the precarious financial situation in the state and huge borrowings by the SAD-BJP Government, the Punjab Pradesh Congress Committee (PPCC) has sought Prime Minister Manmohan Singh’s intervention to issue suitable instructions to banks to hold a detailed scrutiny before sanctioning loan to any public sector enterprise in the state.

In a letter to the Prime Minister, PPCC president Amarinder Singh said: “Public enterprises are being used as a window to raise loans from banks and financial institutions for even meeting day-to-day expenditure of the state government, as its revenues fall short of all committed expenditure on salaries, pension and interest repayment on loans.”

He said: “In defiance of the 13th Finance Commission recommendations by bypassing the legislature and the audit jurisdiction of the Comptroller and Auditor General of India, the present government was on a borrowing spree from some public sector and other banks for funding dubious projects based on arbitrary decisions.”

Amarinder further said: “The state government guaranteed SLR (statutory liquidity ratio) bonds issued by the Punjab Infrastructure Development Board (PIDB) to the tune of Rs 1,500 crore in various tranches and the recent proposal of the state government to borrow Rs 1,100 crore from the SBI by escrowing proceeds of the proposed 20 per cent surcharge on VAT”.

The PPCC president said contrary to what it had been doing with the money now, the PIDB, while issuing the bonds, had stated that the funds were being raised primarily for the utilisation for the construction of expressway at Lalru-Baddi and Mohali-Phagwara.

“We understand while these projects have been abandoned, funds raised are being squandered on small scattered projects, including announcements made by the Chief Minister during his sangat darshan programmes”, he said, adding that, “This is in complete breach of conditions on which the bonds were issued and subscribed to subscribers.”

In another case, he said, “The government has taken another decision to create the Punjab Municipal Infrastructure Development Corporation solely with an eye on raising a loan of Rs 1,100 crore from the State Bank of India for distributing the money to various municipalities for projects of dubious nature.”

The loan, he said, was proposed be serviced and repaid by levying a 20 per cent surcharge on VAT and escrowing future receivables there from.

Chandigarh, January 19
Canadian MP Sukh Dhaliwal maintains it will be a long time before Punjab can emulate Gujarat in attracting NRI investment, saying the environment is not right for investment in the state and that a lot will have to be done to make the situation change at the ground level.

Talking to TNS about the poor investment record of Punjabi NRIs vis-a-vis Gujaratis, Dhaliwal said NRIs still had to reckon with red-tapism and that the bureaucracy was not helpful unlike in other investor-friendly states.

The MP said NRIs on their part understood that due processes needed to be followed in the case of investment but asserted the government should also lay down guidelines of how long these processes would take. Once this was done these guidelines should be followed, he said, adding currently nobody knew how long a particular process would take. He said this disheartened NRIs from investing in their state.

Besides the bureaucracy Dhaliwal claimed political will was also needed to bring in investment. He said Gujarat had appointed its ambassadors overseas who approached businessmen and marketed their state aggressively. He said the one-window system in Gujarat as well as the fact that dedicated officers were deputed to NRIs to ensure easy navigation through red tape had helped the state reap the benefits of NRI investments.

The MP, who said he had interacted with both Chief Minister P S Badal and Deputy CM SS Badal besides leaders from the Congress, including Minister of State for External Affairs Preneet Kaur and Sangrur MP Vijay Inder Singla, said the state also needed to ensure adequate power and water to all those investing in the state. He said though infrastructure development in Punjab was encouraging one needed to see the sea change effected in Lahore by the infusion of major infrastructure projects.

Besides giving practical suggestions on ways and means to attract investment, Dhaliwal said he had also urged the Chief Minister to focus on education, healthcare and investment in small businesses in small towns and villages in case Punjab wanted to be part of an emerging super power. He said he had also complained about the land mafia in the state and the fact that “false” cases were still being registered against NRIs.

Claiming NRIs would invest in the state once the environment was right, Dhaliwal said he had got feedback on development models created by Congress legislator Jassi Khangura in Qila Raipur and Sangrur MP Vijay Inder Singla and that these should be emulated elsewhere also.

Barnala, January 19
In a case which speaks of how this country treats its sons of soil, the state government has neither organised any function in memory of Param Vir Chakra award winner Karam Singh Milliyaan and nor constructed any memorial at his native place for his outstanding contribution to the country.

However, the government somehow gave the warrior some respect by constructing a memorial to him at the District Administrative Complex in Sangrur.

Paramjeet Singh, son of late Capt Milliyaan, told mediapersons that like previous years even this year the death anniversary of his father would be observed on January 20 at their native place with no government officials and politicians attending the function.

Former Honorary Capt Karam Singh brought laurels to his native village of Milliyaan in Barnala and also set an example of heroism in the Army after he won the Param Vir Chakra for his exemplary courage while being alive.

He was born on September 15, 1915, in a farmer’s family, Uttam Singh of Milliyaan in Barnala. After studying in the local primary school, he joined the Army in 1941. After completing his training he was inducted into the Sikh Battalion of the Indian Army.

On October 3, 1948, he foiled the attempt of the Pakistani army to occupy the Teethwaal area of Jammu And Kashmir.

Though Karam Singh got injured in the heavy shelling from the Pakistan side, he did not left his bunker even as the presence of the Indian Army was roughly one tenth of the Pakistani forces there.

Fighting valiantly, he not only managed to foil the designs of the enemy, but also rescued two Indian jawans from their captivity. He also played a vital role in keeping this area with the country.

Taking notice of the great services of Lance Naik Karam Singh, the then President of India Rajendra Prasad on 13 October, 1948, awarded him with the highest gallantry award of Param Vir Chakra while being alive.

Before becoming the recipient of Paramvir Chakra, he had also received the military medal from the British Government.

Before retiring from services Karam Singh was elevated to Honorary Captain designation in September 1969.

After retiring from his service, he got Rs 1.10 lakh from the Punjab Government for buying a piece of land for his exemplary services to the nation, besides he was also given Rs 500 as special pension till alive. On December 22, 1992, he suddenly fell ill and later died on January 20, 1993.

His family members alleged that no ministers or government officers visit them on his death anniversary and they were even not invited to the Republic Day or Independence Day functions, adding that only thing the government did was to install a memorial at the District Administrative Complex in Sangrur.

Thikriwala (Barnala), January 19
Instead of paying homage to freedom fighter Sewa Singh Thikriwala, ruling SAD leaders, led by Deputy Chief Minister Sukhbir Singh Badal, today used the occasion to attack the Congress and also listed out the government’s achievements.

The ruling party virtually turned the function organised to observe the death anniversary of Thikriwala, a proponent of the Praja Mandal movement who allegedly died while demanding democratic rights for citizens, into a political function.

Besides lashing out at PPCC chief Amarinder Singh by alleging that the great freedom fighter died due to excesses committed on him in jail of the Maharaja of Patiala (grandfather of Amarinder), Sukhbir used the stage to list out the achievements of the Punjab Government.

“Amarinder Singh’s grandfather, Maharaja Bhupinder Singh, had put Thikriwala behind bars by levelling false charge of ‘garvi chor’. The Patiala Royalty is responsible for committing atrocities on Thikriwala,” said Sukhbir Badal.

“My father started his political career from village sarpanch and rose on to become the Punjab CM and took care of the poor. We have a ‘wide range’ of achievements,” he added. The Deputy Chief Minister also urged people that before voting anyone to power, they must evaluate which party did what for the betterment of the state and the common man.

Lashing out at the Congress, Sukhbir alleged that the party attacked their religious places and killed thousands of innocent Sikhs in 1984. He also held it responsible for the current increasing prices of essential commodities and said the Central Government was “hand in glove with big industrialists, traders and wanted to reap benefits”.

Announcing various projects for Thikriwala village, Sukhbir said a cheque for Rs 1 crore announced by the Chief Minister would reach the Deputy Commissioner within 10 days for the development of the village. Sukhbir also announced the setting up of a degree college in the village and said the government would try that the college started functioning from this academic year.

State PWD minister Parminder Singh Dhindsa alleged that earlier, Britishers used to loot and now the Congress was looting people, especially farmers.

Bathinda, January 19
The Punjab Government seems to be in a financial crisis as it has “verbally ordered” the treasuries not to make some types of payments to the retirees and advances (loans) to government employees for the past some weeks. The order will stay till the Finance Department gives clearance to the treasuries in this regard.

According to sources, the state government had ordered the stoppage of payments of gratuity, leave encashment and the final payment of the GPF to the retirees of the Punjab Government in the last week of December. State government employees will also be facing problems in getting loans from their own GPF accounts as the government had verbally ordered the treasuries not to make payments of such advances to employees in the second week of December last year.

The payments of arrears were also not being made to employees from the last week of December, they added.

According to information, no written orders are issued by the Finance Department to the treasuries with regard to not making such payments to the retirees or employees as treasury officers get such orders telephonically. Even employees feel that it is a matter of concern that they cannot even get loans from their own GPF.

A representative of the Punjab State Ministerial Services Union today told TNS that financial crisis in the state was obvious from the fact that the government was not making payments of arrears of 43 months of the revised pay scales of Fifth Pay Commission though the Centre and the Haryana Government had already made payments of the arrears of the Sixth Pay Commission to their employees.

Jalandhar, January 19
Non-inclusion of any Dalit Congress MP in the Union Council of Ministers from the state has disappointed Scheduled Castes (SC).

There was optimism among the Congress-supporting SCs that either Mohinder Singh Kaypee, former president of the Punjab Pradesh Congress Committee, or Santosh Chaudhary would be inducted in the council, which was expanded today.

However, both were not considered for the job. In fact, three Scheduled Caste MPs were elected to the Lok Sabha on the Congress ticket from the state. They are: Mohinder Singh Kaypee, Sukhdev Singh Libra and Santosh Chaudhary. None of these have been inducted in the council. Punjab, having about 29 per cent SCs, figures among the states having highest percentage of such population.

“All the four ministers in the council from the state belonged to non-SC communities. They are Ambika Soni, Manohar Singh Gill, Preneet Kaur and Ashwani Kumar, who were inducted today,” said a Congress leader expressing anguish against the party high command.

“In fact three of the ministers - Ambika, Gill and Ashwani - are from the Rajya Sabha. Only Preneet is from the Lok Sabha,” he said, adding that not giving representation to direct elected representatives of the people would ultimately harm the party in rural areas.

Both Kaypee and Chaudhary hold a considerable political clout, especially in the Doaba area. “Had the Congress high command inducted any of them in the council, it would have benefited a lot in the state Assembly elections due to be held in February next year,” said the Congress leader.

“The Dalit community has a clear domination in the Doaba region. Because of this community, it has remained a stronghold of the Congress for the past many decades. However, during the last Assembly elections, the Congress had performed poor in the Doaba region. All its senior leaders were defeated,”he said.

“In case, the Congress is keen to do well in the Doaba region this time, it would have to win back the support of Dalits. The induction of one of the Dalit MPs in the council would have been a step in the right direction,” he added.

Jalandhar, January 19
Rebel Akali MLA Jagbir Singh Brar said today that a poor turnout at the NRI conference here yesterday had proved the point that they (NRIs) had no confidence in the state government.

He said the number of NRIs at the conference was less than 100.

“Though a large number of NRIs have come from various countries such as Canada, the US, and the UK, they preferred to stay away from the conference,” said Brar, who is a close associate of former Finance Minister Manpreet Singh Badal.

Brar said the reason for the staying away of NRIs from the conference was that the state government had been making false promises to them during the past four years.

He said: “The government did nothing to protect their properties from land mafias.” Even a large number of NRIs were killed in the state in the past years.

Brar said in Gujarat, NRIs had promised to make an investment of $150 million, but no such promises had been made by state NRIs. “Its clear meaning was that NRIs had no trust in the ruling dispensation in the state.”

He further said Manpreet had a clear agenda with regard to protecting the properties and interests of NRIs.

“NRIs could play a significant role in the development of the state, especially the rural areas. But to achieve this objective, NRIs should be provided with conducive atmosphere at all the levels,” he added.

Patiala: Accusing the Punjab Government of losing faith among NRIs, former Deputy Speaker of Punjab Bir Devinder Singh alleged that empty chairs at the NRI Sammelan in Jalandhar indicated the disillusionment of the NRI community.

Claiming that the state government was responsible for failure to address the issues confronting the NRIs, Bir Devinder Singh alleged that this spoke of apathy towards the NRIs to the extent that the authorities concerned failed to ensure the presence of global Punjabi parliamentarians such as Ruby Dhalla, Sukh Dhaliwal and Peter Sandhu, who were at present in Punjab. “The Punjab Government should have invited all Punjabi NRI delegates who attended the NRI conclave held in Delhi under the aegis of the Government of India,” he said.

An infallible mechanism and methodology should be introduced by bringing fresh legislation making property belonging to the NRIs inalienable unless desired by the NRIs themselves, Bir Devinder Singh said.

Bathinda, January 19
The New York-based Harlem Children Society (HCS) will launch science and technology programmes in Punjab for students from under-resourced and under-served areas.

Satyajit Bhattacharya, president and CEO of the HCS, has visited various rural parts of the state to identify the areas where such programmes could be launched.

Bhattacharya, who is a molecular geneticist and cancer research scientist, in particular visited Bathinda and Muktsar districts last week on the invitation of Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal, who was reportedly impressed with the functioning of the HCS in New York. The CM had come in contact with Bhattacharya during his recent visits to New York.

Bhattacharya founded the HCS in 2000 with the aim of providing access to science education and careers to under-resourced and under-served high school and undergraduate students.

He told TNS that initially a pilot project would be launched during the summer vacation and later it would become a year- round activity. The HCS might take over some schools in the state.

He said the programmes would be tailored according to the local requirements.

Bhattacharya intends to launch the programmes also in rural areas of other states of the country.

He said the HCS selected the best, brightest and motivated young high school students for the highly selective summer and year- round “hands-on research programme”. The students were associated with advanced research with nationally and internationally acclaimed scientists, doctors and engineers in leading institutions and organisations of higher learning.

For over 12 years Bhattacharya’s research has focused on molecular and genetic detection and characterisation of circulating cells from cancer patients from a variety of cancers such as breast, prostate, lung, colorectal, skin and thyroid at the internationally acclaimed Memorial Sloan Kettering Center in New York. His research helped devise new protocols and in clinical studies on various procedures in the early detection and cure of cancer as well as training of medical and research personnel in molecular and genetic research.

Chandigarh, January 19
HPCL-Mittal Energy Limited (HMEL), which is setting up the multi-crore Guru Gobind Singh Oil Refinery in Bathinda, Punjab, paid Rs 2.64 crore to the Central Excise and Service Tax Department (North-West region) on account of service tax.

Confirming the move, the Chief Commissioner of the Central Excise and Service Tax Department of the North-West region, PK Sirohi, said they had deposited Rs 2.64 crore service tax, including interest, to the department.

He, however, said investigation was still on and two teams, under the supervision of Additional Commissioners, had been formed to scrutinise the documents as huge amounts of revenue transactions had taken place.

Sirohi said the HMEL had paid an amount of Rs 34.93 lakh as service tax and Rs 14.03 lakh as interest on recruitment and professional service pertaining to the period November 2007. They had also paid service tax of Rs 1.91 lakh, along with interest of Rs 20.94 lakh, as they had paid an upfront fee to banks abroad but had not discharged service tax on the banking and financial service under the reverse-charge scheme. This tax was pertaining to the period February 2010.

They had also paid an amount of Rs 2.55 lakh as service tax and interest amount of Rs 30,000 on data retrieval through Internet for the period October 2009 and March 2010.

Meanwhile, Sirohi did not rule out possibilities of more outstanding dues.

The project is a joint venture between the HPCL and Mittal Energy Ltd and it is likely to be completed by this year. The refinery will produce petroleum products complying with Euro IV emission norms with Captive Power Plant for 165 MW and crude oil pipeline from Mundra (Gujarat) to Bathinda with Single Point Mooring (SPM) and crude oil terminal at Mundra.

Taking cognizance of the complaints received by the administration, Deputy Commissioner Harkesh Singh Sidhu had ordered the MC to get it repaired immediately using Rs 5.31 lakh as per the estimate of the Punjab Water Supply and Sewerage Board, Sangrur, under Section 233 of the Punjab Municipal Act. — TNS

Amritsar, January 19
In a significant development, Amritsar MP Navjot Singh Sidhu today claimed that the Amritsar-London-Toronto Air India flight, which was discontinued on October 31 last year, would resume its services from the holy city from February 20.

Talking to The Tribune on phone from New Delhi, Sidhu said Air India had submitted the schedule to the Union Ministry of Civil Aviation and, therefore, it was sure that the flight was very much on the way to revival. He said the frequency and timings of the flight would remain the same. Amritsar Airport Director Sunil Dutt also confirmed that the Air India had sought permission for the schedule from the Ministry of Civil Aviation. “The flight is likely to resume its services from February 20,” he added.

Air India’s move to withdraw the flight had evoked sharp reactions from various quarters particularly Punjabis and NRIs as the flight was serving as a crucial link to the holy city for the Indian diaspora. After the withdrawal of the flight, Air India had introduced the Hub and Spoke Scheme under which passengers were being taken first to the International Airport in New Delhi in a smaller 321 aircraft and from there they were being flown to London and Toronto in different flights.

Chandigarh January 19
The Canadian High Commissioner in India, Stewart G Beck, and Manoranjan Kalia, Local Government, Industry and Commerce Minister, Punjab, today worked out possibilities of transfer of technology from Canada to agro-based industries in Punjab.

They discussed issues of mutual interest especially agriculture, dairy farming, industry, biotechnology, education, health, food processing, water purification and solid-waste management.

Kalia laid stress on agro-based industry being the need of Punjab, while the Canadian High Commissioner showed interest in agro-based technology exchange. — TNS

Kharar, January 19
Villagers of Khuni Majra and Sante Majra today blocked the Kharar-Banur road demanding immediate opening of the path leading to their agriculture fields through the JTPL, a private township.

Villagers blocked traffic on this busy road from 3.15 pm to 4 pm. They said the JTPL township developers had promised that the pathway laid through township would be made a thoroughfare.

Instead of making it a thoroughfare, the township management closed the way to these villagers’ fields. Villagers then moved to the court demanding that they be given way to reach their fields, as promised earlier. The court then ordered the JTPL developers to abide by the rules.

In his complaint to the Kharar police, villager Gopal Krishan from Sante Majra stated that instead of following court orders, the developers continued to install barricades on the path.

He added that the township developers dumped construction material in his fields on the standing crop as well were trying to forcibly encroach upon his fields.

On his complaint the police booked JTPL director Dr VP Gupta, general manager Col NJS Chandhok, civil supervisor Shashipal, manager Ankit Markit, Mandeep Singh and five others. Villagers also alleged that the town developers had been threatening them of dire consequences if they demand lifting of barricades. The police booked the JTPL employees under Section 447, 427 and 506 of the IPC.

Villagers today sat on dharna. Police officials reached the spot and got the barricades removed making way for villagers to go towards their agriculture fields. Gopal Krishan, Ramesh Dutt, Banti Devi and Harvinder Singh Aujla were amongst protesters.

Ropar, January 19
Only one village in Ropar district, out of 73, has been given one-third of the auction amount of mining under the Punjab Miner Minerals Concession Rules, 1964.

In reply, to a query filed under the RTI Act, the panchayat office of Ropar has stated that only village, Mughal Majri, was paid Rs 86,000 as the auction amount.

Dinesh Chadha from the Youth Congress, who had sought information under the Act, said out of the 73 villages, covered under mining, the department had produced the records of only 23 villages.

“Notably, only one village has been paid this amount, which is not a full settlement. The total outstanding amount to be given to village is Rs 3, 30, 720,” Dinesh said.

The department’s reply sates that a total of 1,153 acres of land was under mining in these 23 villages, the largest being that of 180 acres of Kiratpur Sahib. Panchayat of Kiratpur Sahib was to be paid Rs 12, 40, 200 as the one-third auction amount, which has not been paid so far.

Total amount pending for these 23 villages was Rs 79, 44, 170, out of which not even a single penny has been paid.

Rajpura, January 19
A three-member team of police officials, including SP (d), Rajpura DSP and SHO, has been formed to look into the alleged murder of the Thapar student, Gagandeep Singh, who was killed in an accident 
last year.

The police will record fresh statements to establish the truth. Gurbax Singh, Gagandeep’s father, has lodged complaints with the senior functionaries, including the DGP, wherein he alleged that his son’s friends murdered him by camouflaging the accident.

Gagandeep and Gaurav, students of the Thapar University, were killed in the accident while the other two survived with minor injuries. They were travelling in a car bearing a red beacon atop.

The police, who had reached the spot, said the car was being driven at a breakneck speed and the boys were in an inebriated condition.

“The boys, who survived the accident, have given different statements about the route taken and the place where they had dinner on the night of accident. Moreover, the picture of the accident, as projected in papers, is entirely different,” Gurbax said.

He said comments on the social networking site, Facebook, before and after the accident revealed that son of Patiala SDM, Zorawar Singh, had formed a gang to kill someone.

He posted disturbing comments even after the accident, which should be probed by the police, he said. Gurbax said though the police called him, none of the accused had reached the police station.

Demanding immediate suspension of Patiala SDM Gurmit Singh and arrest of his son, he said the SDM was trying to disturb the police investigation by using his influence.

Gurbax said the police were taking the Facebook posts lightly. He said a class XII boy in J&K had supported a separatist cause on Facebook and was interrogated by the police.