|
|
|
|
|
VB’s report damns PPSC members
Demand for dissolving PPSC
Arrears for college teachers |
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
Only Cong can ensure development in state, says Amarinder
 Faridkot, February 13
Accusing the SAD-BJP government of stifling Centre-sponsored schemes in Punjab, PPCC president Amarinder Singh today claimed that only the Congress could ensure development after coming to power in the state. PPCC president Amarinder Singh and Rajinder Kaur Bhattal at a rally at Faridkot on Sunday. A Tribune photograph
Krishan Kumar made to go under political pressure
Ambika Soni opens radio station at Panjab varsity
Non-payment of remuneration
Makkar seeks PM’s intervention
Work on Wadda Ghalughara Memorial begins
Badal restores exemption from fund to basmati exports
Foot and mouth disease on rise among cattle
Water samples of all districts to be tested for uranium
PSPCL suffers losses due to ‘contractor-officer nexus’
Polyhouses become profit houses for farmers
NGO demands action against IAS official
Patiala MC to impose tax on electricity poles
|
VB’s report damns PPSC members
The Commission was assigned the task of recruiting 100 doctors in 2008 and 212 doctors in 2009. The selection came under heavy criticism with candidates claiming that many meritorious candidates were rejected in favour of the kin of influential politicians, bureaucrats, senior doctors, judges and relatives of present and past members of the PSC. Complaints ranged from interview boards asking frivolous questions to interviews lasting barely two minutes to the panel questioning their sincerity for serving in rural areas. Petitions challenging the selection were filed before the High Court, which ordered an inquiry into the recruitment. The report, which is likely to come up before the Punjab & Haryana High Court on Thursday, holds the Commission guilty of acting arbitrarily and ignoring merit. A glaring case cited by the report is that of Imrinder Kaur, who had secured 74.65% marks in her final MBBS examination but was rejected by the Commission, which found her unfit. The inquiry report questions the methodology ( doing away with written test, giving secondary position to subject experts, suspiciously high weightage given to performance before the interview boards) and the procedures ( while interview panels comprised four members, many of the selected candidates were interviewed by one or two members and often in the absence of the subject experts) followed by the Commission. Where the Bureau may have gone overboard is in analysing the mobile call details and bank transactions of several selected candidates and PPSC members. While the report is filed with the caveat that these details are merely indicative and ‘suspicious’ and requires more examination, it is open to question whether the Bureau really needed to go to such lengths at this point of time. To cite just one example, the report goes to great lengths in describing the assets acquired by Dr Satwant Singh Mohi, a member of the Commission. It claims that Dr Mohi gave a sum of Rs 18 lakh in cash to Bhupinder Singh Bains for ‘benami purchase’ of a Toyota Fortuner. It also describes the plots purchased by the PPSC member, the bank loans secured by him or repaid by him etc. and in dropping hints that this may be linked to the withdrawal of huge sums of money from banks by some of the selected candidates during the same period. The Vigilance Bureau of Punjab has a record of “creating, concocting and fabricating evidence to suit a particular end” claims former Chief Minister and Punjab Pradesh Congress Committee President Captain Amarinder Singh. The credibility of the police officers in the VB is so low, he says, that in all fairness a more independent inquiry should be conducted by ‘more honest’ police officers into the recruitment of doctors by the Punjab Public Service Commission. Members of the PPSC have also threatened to drag the state government to the court and questioned the recruitment of 214 doctors made by the Health Department in January this year. In newspaper interviews some of the members have claimed that if the recruitment by the PPSC was vitiated, then the direct recruitment by the department is also vitiated.
|
|
Demand for dissolving PPSC
Chandigarh, February 13 Since PPSC members nominated by both the SAD and the Congress have been indicted by the Vigilance Bureau, they should ask the members to immediately tender their resignation, he said in a statement. The real credit for unearthing the scam goes to the media. “It was a newspaper which had last year first highlighted the scam through a series of stories following which the Chief Minister had ordered an inquiry by the Vigilance Bureau,” he asserted.He condemned the statement issued by Capt. Amarinder Singh, President Punjab Congress, in defence of the PPSC, most of the members nominated by him as Chief Minister. The statement exposes the Captain’s hidden agenda for a ‘corruption-free government’, he sarcastically added.
— TNS
|
|
Arrears for college teachers
Ludhiana, February 13 Other government employees in the state, however, will be able to receive 40 per cent of the arrears in May. The Ministry of Human Resource and Development, Government of India, on May 11, 2010, had asked the state government to send the required performa (of teachers), to avail 80 per cent of its share in the claim. Government College Teachers’ Association, Punjab, president Prof Jaipal Singh said the DPI Colleges had demanded 40 per cent arrears for the Department of Finance, Punjab. The request was turned down in January on the pretext that the major share had to come from the Centre. “The Central Government will act only when the state government sends the required documents. We have to get arrears pending from January 1, 2006, to March 31, 2010. Other government employees will get the arrears in May but we can not hope for another year or so because the Education Department has failed to meet the conditions prescribed in the performa,” rued Jaipal Singh. The teachers will have to take to the path of agitation if the government failed to do the needful, he added. Jasmeet Kaur, DPI Colleges, Punjab, said the department will send a performa as soon as the government gave its nod. “We have not received any communication in this regard from the government. Whenever we get it, the required performa will be sent,” she said. Dr Hardeep Singh, General Secretary GCTA and a senior lecturer at Government Mahindra College, Patiala, said according to a notification of the Ministry of Human Resource Development, issued on December 31, 2008, in case the state government wants to get 80 per cent share from the Central Government then retirement age of lecturers/ Principals in state should be extended to 65 years. Central government will put the share if state government takes it as a “total composite scheme”. The age-limit, too, has not been extended so far, he added. “The state government has to adhere to the norms to receive the Centre’s share,” said Dr Singh.
|
|
|
Only Cong can ensure development in state, says Amarinder
Faridkot, February 13 “Without forming a government in the state, it is not easy to carry out development works and for this you (voters) need to support the Congress in the coming Assembly poll,” he said while addressing a gathering here. He alleged that the benefits of welfare schemes were not reaching the targeted population despite the fact that adequate funds were provided by the Congress-led UPA government for roads, social welfare and other infrastructure development projects. Lashing out at Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal, Amarinder said the Badals were “responsible” for financial crisis in the state. He further said Badal was trying to “hijack the Punjab Public Service Commission to facilitate the appointment of his “favourites” to this constitutional body. Flaying Sukhbir Badal, who had earlier represented the Faridkot Lok Sabha constituency, he challenged to show development works carried out in this area while referring to his promises to turn Faridkot into Paris and Disneyland. “You remember when you elected him to Parliament, he promised you the moon,” he asked people while remarking Sukhbir never returned to fulfil his promises. Amarinder promised to set up a super-speciality cancer hospital and a research institute in the area and regretted that the people of the area had been suffering due to cancer. He said Badal was only concerned about his wife’s cancer problem for which she was getting treatment in the US “at the government expenses”. “Badal is not bothered about those who have to board trains to Rajasthan for treatment,” he said. Speaking on the occasion, Leader of Opposition Rajinder Kaur Bhattal scoffed at Badal for “running away when Punjab was burning and people were killed in the 1992 Assembly elections”. Local MLA Avtar Singh Brar also addressed the gathering. Lal Singh, Ripjit Brar, Joginder Singh Panjgraian, Ajit Singh Shant Darshan Singh Brar, Ajaib Singh Bhatti, all MLAs, Dr Malti Thapar, a former minister and Pawan Goyal, district president of the party, were also present on the occasion.
|
|
|
Krishan Kumar made to go under political pressure
Chandigarh, February 13 The Chief Minister has lost a good officer who transformed the working of school education during the three years he was at the helm as the DGSE bringing about real change at the grassroots level besides winning national acclaim for the state due to the qualitative improvements in school education figures. Krishan Kumar was involved in a tussle with Education Minister Sekhwan after the latter withdrew his powers to take disciplinary action against errant staff on January 19. Following this the minister became further “unhappy” when the DGSE issued appointment letters to 6,517 teachers without showing the complete list along with the addresses of the successful candidates to the minister. The state government today issued a one-line transfer order of Krishan Kumar posting him as Project Director, National Rural Health Mission (NRHM), in place of Baldeo Purusharta who takes over as the new DGSE. Though the transfer is a victory for the Education Minister, the Chief Minister by making Krishan Kumar as the head of the NRHM has again given an indication that the officer enjoys his trust and that he would like him to handle a sensitive job. Krishan Kumar is responsible for revolutionising school education, primarily by the “Parho Punjab” project. Teachers in the state for the first time got an effective programme for primary level students which when implemented jacked up the achievement figures for Punjab at the national level. The officer was also responsible for enforcing discipline in school functioning besides creating a young team of professionals, which gave a new turn to school education in the state. Krishan Kumar started facing problems immediately after Sewa Singh Sekhwan took over the Education portfolio from Dr Upinderjit Kaur in October. Though Sekhwan has denied this, there were issues on the matter of transfers as well as matters of discipline. Things came to a head in January when the minister withdrew the officer’s powers to take disciplinary action.
|
|
Ambika Soni opens radio station at Panjab varsity
Chandigarh, February 13 The minister, who is also an alumnus of PU, laid the foundation stone of the Educational Multimedia Research Centre (EMMRC) of SCS as well. She assured the students that the radius of the radio channel would be expanded from 6 km to 25 km. She said a self-regulatory system to check the contents aired on the Indian television channels was in its final stages. She said the system would not be equivalent to any censorship, but would rather be like a self-correction for channels. In an assembly of Syndicate and Senate members, Deans, faculty members and students, she said she felt proud to be at the university, which laid the foundation of her career. “I assure that my Ministry would provide all help needed by this university,” she said. Vice-Chancellor of the Panjab University, RC Sobti, while welcoming the minister, said the main objectives of setting up the radio station was to impart information and knowledge relating to education, health, environment, social, cultural and local issues and announcements specific to the university and its affiliated colleges. He said the university was not just restricted to academics, but also had responsibility towards the society. He said the university students wished to reach out through the community radio, particularly to the 22 villages around the city periphery and eight villages adopted by it. Expansion of the community radio would also be made available on the internet through the university’s official website. Sobti said the EMMRC intended to produce e-content modules, which once developed, will form an integral part of the “National Mission on Education through ICT” and will be available at Consortium for Educational Communication (CEC) and Ministry of Human Resources Development designated website/servers. The minister also released a CD of study material for the blind prepared by Kanwaljit Singh, station manager of the university radio. Council to promote self-regulation of media Union Minister for Information and Broadcasting Ambika Soni today said the Centre would form a council to encourage self-regulation of the media. Addressing the 7th State Annual Meet of the Chandigarh Punjab Union of Journalists (CPUJ) here, the minister said the Chairman of the Council would be either a retired chief justice of the high court and 12 other members. Talking about the implementation of the recommendations of the Majithia Wage Board, Soni said that it would be her endeavour to ensure that not only the recommendations of the board were accepted but the anomalies were also taken care of so that maximum possible benefit could be given to the mediapersons. Soni favoured the demand for treating Chandigarh on a par with the other metros for the purpose of allowances proposed by the Wage Board. Referring to the issue of paid news, the minister said that this had become a matter of concern, which was also impacting on the credibility of news reports being filed by journalists. She said that the government had constituted a Group of Ministers under the chairmanship of Pranab Mukherjee to take a holistic view of this issue. Suresh Akhouri, President, Indian Journalists Union, called upon Ambika Soni to ensure that all hurdles in the way of implementing the positive recommendations of the Wage Board were cleared to enable the journalists to take maximum advantage of the report.
|
|
|
Non-payment of remuneration
Amritsar, February 13 There are around 2,500 midday meal cooks in the district, who prepare food for 1 lakh students of 865 primary and 55,000 students of 414 upper primary (upto Class VIII) schools. Each cook is paid only Rs 1,000 per month, with no entitlement for Provident Fund or subsidised medical aid. Babli, who prepares midday meals at Government Primary School, Mahna Singh road, was injured while performing her duties and the school management terminated her services. “Against Rs 1,000, I was being paid just Rs 700 per month. My arm was injured while I was on duty. The management, instead of arranging medical aid for me, discontinued my services,” claimed Babli. Gayatri Devi, state president of the union, said with no regular supply of LPG cylinders, the cooks prepare the mass meals using stoves. District midday meal manager Santokh Singh Sewak admitted that less ration was received this time in some rural schools, but denied any miss in the midday meal schedule. “Some schools under the zila parishad can not send their students’ attendance on time. Consequently, the food stock falls short. Against the required 295 MT of food stock, only 132 MT was received. We have instructed the school heads to make arrangements at their own through other schools which have excess stock,” he said. About the remuneration, we transfer the payments through banks and school heads are supposed to pay the cooks through cheques only. If this norm is not being followed, I will look into the matter,” he said.
|
|
Turban Frisking
Amritsar, February 13 The letter states, “Sikhs are facing unexpected incidents of humiliation at global level which needs to be addressed immediately.” Following the ban on kirpan at Quebec Assembly and frisking of turbans at the US airports, a group of Sikhs was recently reported to have been forced to remove their turbans for security purpose at an Italian airport.” He said these security restrictions were a blatant infringement of the religious rights of Sikhs as turban was an inseparable part of their social and religious attire. Referring to Quebec’s move, he said it was an apparent attempt to discriminate and disrepute the Sikhs on the pretext of security reasons. The letter states, “This being a very sensitive issue, concrete steps need to be taken to stop the constant targeting of turbans and kirpans at European airports. Your leadership is urgently called for to hold a dialogue with the government of Italy.”
— TNS
|
|
|
Work on Wadda Ghalughara Memorial begins
Wadda Ghalughara/Mandi Ahmedgarh, February 13 This is being seen as the state government’s seriousness to keep its promises in the election year. This is in contrast to the several incomplete projects announced by several Akali leaders. Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal failed to keep his promise of getting a memorial in the memory of Sikhs who had sacrificed their lives fighting the troops of Afghan intruder Ahmed Shah Abdali at Kutba village near here, completed within a year after laying its foundation stone in February 2009. The memorial was to be built at a cost of Rs 10 crore. Before Badal, SGPC heads Gurcharan Singh Tohra, Bibi Jagir Kaur
and Avtar Singh Makkar, had also laid the foundation stones for martyrs memorials at Kutba village near here. They, however, failed to get them constructed. While laying the foundation of the Wada Ghalughara Memorial, Sukhbir Singh Badal had announced that memorials will be built at Kup
Rahira another at Chappar Chiri and the third at Kahnuwan. The memorials were to be built by multinational company L&T at a cost of Rs 100 crore, he had said. A SAD activist claimed that the state government has fulfilled the promises made by it by getting work on the memorial at Kup Rahira started.
|
|
Badal restores exemption from fund to basmati exports
Chandigarh, February 13 A decision to this effect was taken by the CM at a meeting with a delegation of the Punjab Rice Millers Exporters Association led by its president, Rajeev Setia, here. Thanking the Chief Minister on behalf of the rice- exporting industry, Setia expressed gratitude to him for conceding their long-pending demand, which he said would boost rice export from the state. At another meeting with the delegation of the Punjab Agricultural University Students Association, the Chief Minister said that nearly 300 posts of Agriculture Development Officer and Horticulture Development Officers would be filled soon in a phased manner. He also directed the Agriculture Department to immediately initiate the process of recruitment for these posts in a fair and transparent manner. Prominent among others who were present at the meeting included Agriculture Minister Sucha Singh Langah, Principal Secretary to the Chief Minister DS Guru, Financial Commissioner Revenue NS Kang, Additional Principal Secretary to the Chief Minister Gaggandip Singh Brar and Director, Agriculture, BS Sidhu.
|
|
Foot and mouth disease on rise among cattle
Ludhiana, February 13 According to reports, cattle at cow shelter homes, dairies at Haibowal and even in the dairy farm of Guru Angad Dev Veterinary and Animal Sciences University (GADVASU) here are in the grip of FMD. According to sources, cattle at the dairy farm of GADVASU have caught the viral infection. Ludhiana Tribune visited the farm but gatekeeper stopped the entry inside the farm. An attendant at the gate said, “Some of our cattle have caught the foot and mouth disease. We are not allowing anyone to go inside else other animals may catch the infection.” The attendant also said infected cattle were kept away from the healthy cattle. One of progressive dairy farmers of Guddhe village near here, Sukhraj Singh, however, said the disease was common in this mild weather. This was a viral disease and vaccination was the only precautionary measure to save cattle. He said, “Though GADVASU experts suggest to vaccinate animals twice a year, but to be on safer side we provide them three doses of vaccination, which is reasonable.” Surinder Kumar, a farmer from Ahmedgarh, who went to Jagraon to attend the fair today, said, “In the outbreak of the disease, these fairs must not be organised, lest others may catch the infection. The organisers should have given it a thought. Though dairy farmers, who are well organised, are not bothered about the spread of the disease, as they provide all hygiene and timely vaccines to the animals and their cattle are healthy, but small time farmers are definitely facing this problem,” he said. Dr ML Mehra, head of dairy farming at GADVASU, when asked about infected cattle, however, said, “No animal is infected at the farm. The precautions are being taken for safety of our cattle so that animals do not catch the viral infection. But we have information that in dairies at Haibowal, the animals are in the grip of FMD.”
|
|
Water samples of all districts to be tested for uranium
Chandigarh, February 13 The CM took a decision to this effect at a high-level meeting with senior officers of the Water Supply and Sanitation Department here. The Chief Minister was apprised by the Secretary, Water Supply and Sanitation, PS Aujla, that the department had already got 199 water samples from the districts of Bathinda, Mansa, Ludhiana, Moga, Ferozepur, Faridkot and Muktsar analysed from the BARC. Aujla said these samples revealed a higher level of uranium in drinking water in 38 tube well-based schemes. He said reverse osmosis plants had been installed on these sites. He also cleared the proposal for installation of RO Plants in the remaining adversely affected villages at an approximate cost of Rs 30 crore. He also asked the Principal Secretary, Health and Family Welfare, to coordinate with the Director, PGI, to get a research study conducted from the experts of the institute to ascertain the causes and the corrective measures to check the effects on human health due to concentration of uranium-based findings in the reports of the BARC.
|
|
PSPCL suffers losses due to ‘contractor-officer nexus’
Ropar, February 13 In alleged connivance with officer, contractor Rajinder Singh Sodhi from Sodhi Erectors, Ropar, has been fleecing the thermal plant. Sodhi Erectors has been maintaining and overhauling different units at the thermal plant for the past five years. The contractor had allegedly fudged records and shown himself as the owner and an employee of his own firm. As per the attendance register and the master roll, finalised attendance of workers of contractors given to thermal plant authorities, available with TNS, Rajinder Singh’s name appears as a superintendent. Records show that Rajinder Singh, son of Mohinder Singh (father name same for both contractor and superintendent), has been shown on duty till January 27, after which he has been marked absent. Sources in thermal plant said members of the Ropar Thermal Project Contractor Workers Union raised this issue with the plant management. It was pointed out that scrutiny of master rolls and workers attendance rolls of revealed that the names of Rajinder Singh and Manoj Kumar were appearing as a supervisor and an un-skilled worker respectively. Union members said supervisor Rajinder Singh was never seen at the plant and an inquiry was ordered into it. “When on January 27, officer in-charge of inquiry demanded that Rajinder Singh come in person, he went on leave and till date has not returned. This is a nexus of contractor and officer that has been going on at plant for past couple of years,” pointed out a member. By this arrangement, the contractor saved a minimum of Rs 6,000 per month for more than five years. The total loss to corporation on account of this wrongdoing comes out to be in region of Rs 4 lakh. Union members pointed out that issue was not only of losses incurred to the corporation, but also breach of trust on the part of officer in-charge who never reported the anomaly in attendance records. Also salaries of two other workers of the contractor, Ramesh Kumar and Ranjit Singh, were cut due to absents recorded in the register and full payment was claimed by the contractor in the master rolls prepared and submitted to the officer in-charge. When contacted, the contractor, Rajinder Sodhi said he had not fudged any records. “The officer in-charge checks our records regularly. Had there been any anomaly, the officer in-charge would have reported it. One can cross check the attendance with gate passes issued in name of that person. This is an exercise to malign my image,” he said. Meanwhile, PSPCL authorities said they would look into the matter.
|
|
Polyhouses become profit houses for farmers
Fatehgarh Sahib, February 13 “This new technique is gaining popularity in areas close to Chandigarh in Fatehgarh Sahib. Educated farmers from Chandigarh have set up maximum polyhouses and have their landholdings in Bassi Pathana and Khera blocks,” said horticulture development officer, Kulwinder Singh. Central Government gives 50 per cent subsidy to setup a polyhouse in Punjab. In nearby areas of Himachal Pradesh, farmers get 75 per cent (including 25 per cent of the state’s share). Around two years ago the expenditure to setup a polyhouse in two canals area (1,000 sq m or one-fourth of an acre) was Rs 6.5 lakh, which has now swollen to Rs 9.35 lakh. The sheets of polyhouse should be changed after every three years, which costs around Rs 1.5 lakhs. Horticulture officials said though farmers never divulged their exact yearly income, it was found that they earned a profit of Rs 3 lakh out of their small agriculture land holding. Besides enabling cultivation of flowers, which give maximum yield during festive season, farmers also grow exotic crops like coloured capsicums and mushrooms. Farmers grow off-season vegetables, in controlled temperature, which cannot be grown outside polyhouses, including chilly, tomatoes, cauliflower and others. In polyhouse, usage of insecticides or pesticides on edibles and flowers is nil as insects fail to crawl or fly into the polyhouse. Kehar Singh, a farmer from Marwah village said unlike paddy and wheat crop, the vegetables gave daily dividends. His neighbour, Amarjit Singh, who also plans to set up polyhouse this season, felt that cost of project was the biggest factor. “Since subsidy is given in form of reimbursement of 50 per cent of cost incurred on project, a farmer needs to have at least Rs 9 lakh before starting the project.
|
|
Slapping Case
Fatehgarh Sahib, February 13 The incident, of thegirl, slapped by 1967 batch IAS officer Sujata Das over a minor scratch on her car, is astonishing. It is high time that the officials be given lessons on morality.
— TNS
|
|
Patiala MC to impose tax on electricity poles
Patiala, February 13 “Instructions have been issued to the MC, Land Branch, officials to submit a report regarding the number of electricity poles and transformers. Two Inspectors of the branch have been assigned the duty to submit the report within a week’s time. The tax to be imposed on the poles and transformers will be fixed once, the report is submitted,” informed Narang. “Presently, 20,000 shopkeepers and commercial establishments are paying commercial category bills to the PSPCL. Hence, there is nothing wrong in claiming tax for the poles and transformers, installed in the municipal wards by the Power Corporation,” argued Narang. Demands
subsidised power for street lights
Perturbed over the fact that Punjab State Power Corporation Limited (PSPCL) is charging commercial rates of power being supplied to 27,000 street lights installed by the Patiala Municipal Corporation in 50 municipal wards, the civic authorities have demanded that the PSPCL should provide power to street lights on subsidised rates. Municipal Commissioner Manjit Singh Narang has written a letter to the PSPCL chairman-cum-managing director, KD Chaudhri in this regard. At present, there are 27,000 street lights in various areas that fall under the MC jurisdiction. Since the PSPCL is charging commercial rates, the cash-strapped MC has to bear the brunt of power bills that amounts to Rs 35 lakh per month. After deliberations on the issue, the Municipal Commissioner has written a letter to Chaudhri urging him to stop levying commercial charges on power consumed by street lights.
|
|
| HOME PAGE | |
Punjab | Haryana | Jammu & Kashmir |
Himachal Pradesh | Regional Briefs |
Nation | Opinions | | Business | Sports | World | Letters | Chandigarh | Ludhiana | Delhi | | Calendar | Weather | Archive | Subscribe | Suggestion | E-mail | |
Chandigarh, February 13
To protest against the laxity of the government, several midday meal cooks assembled at the Company
Bagh, and formed a district-level body under the banner of the Midday Meal Workers Union, Punjab, today. There are scores of government and aided schools in Punjab where the midday meal cooks have not been paid remunerations for the past several months.
Fatehgarh Sahib, February 13
Chandigarh, February 13