Jalandhar, February 24
The Planning Commission today approved the draft of the Annual Plan of Rs 11,400 crore for the next fiscal year (2011-12) for the state. A team of senior officials led by Punjab Chief Secretary SC Aggarwal discussed the outlay of the plan with Prof Abhijit Sen, a member of the Planning Commission in New Delhi for two days. The size of the plan for the current year was of Rs 9,150 crore. That means there is an increase of about 20 per cent in the plan size for the next fiscal year.

As the salient features of the plan would be part of the Budget speech to be presented in the state Assembly next month, the approval of the Planning Commission was required in this regard. Usually, the plan is cleared at a meeting between the state Chief Minister and the Deputy Chairman of the Planning Commission. However, as Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal was away to the US, he could not attend the meeting. Sources said to complete this formality, a meeting between the CM and Deputy Chairman would be held in April. However, that meeting would be only a technical formality and no significant change in the proposed plan would be made.

Satish Chandra, Principal Secretary, Planning, said in the plan, top priority had been given to the power sector. A provision of Rs 3,300 crore had been made in the plan to fund the various power projects. The second priority had been given to irrigation project for which provision of Rs 900 crore has been made. For rural development Rs 200 crore have been kept in the plan.

Meanwhile sources said that earlier the plan draft was prepared for Rs 11,000 crore. However, Sen insisted to increase the plan size further by a few hundred crore. The Haryana plan is worth Rs 20,000 crore in case the provisions for the power and irrigation sectors are also considered. Otherwise, Haryana’s core plan is worth Rs 13,000 crore. The Bihar’s plan, which was worth Rs 4,000 crore five years ago, has gone up to Rs 24,000 crore.

Compared to Haryana, Punjab has definitely lagged behind on the development front, which is clear from the difference in the plan size of both the states.

Sources said Central Government’s share in the funding of the state plan would be of Rs 1,800 crore. Besides, Rs 5,500 crore would come from the budget to fund it and about Rs 1,000 crore would come from Punjab Infrastructure Development Board (PIDB), Rural Development Fund, Punjab State Power Corporation, Punjab Urban Development and Planning Authority (PUDA). Still there would be a gap of Rs 3,100 crore to fund plan. Obviously, the state government would have to mobilise additional resources to bridge this gap.

Ferozepur, February 24
The Union Railway Minister, Mamata Banerjee is likely to announce new trains for the Ferozepur Railway Division in the railway budget to be presented by her in the Parliament tomorrow.

Though officers are tight-lipped about the same, sources claim Ferozepur-Haridwar and Ferozepur-Nanded express trains are likely to be introduced in the next financial year to fulfil a long-pending demand of the people of the Malwa region.

Sources said the local railway authorities are also expecting that few important trains might be introduced on the Ferozepur-Ludhiana and Ludhiana-Amritsar-Jammu Tawi sections. The number of trains on different rail sections under the Ferozepur Railway Division could also be increased, they add. New trains for the Fazilka-Abohar rail link, which was expected to become operational within few months, is also likely.

A senior functionary of Ferozepur Railway Division said several main towns falling in the region could be connected with Delhi with the introduction of the new trains.

The number of commuters would be considered by the Railway Ministry to increase the frequency of trains on particular rail sections.

Some of the local NGOs have also sent several representations to the Railway Ministry demanding introduction of new trains, including ‘Jan Shatabadi’ train between Delhi and Ferozepur, to be named after Shaheed-e-Azam Sardar Bhagat Singh.

The people of this area have also demanded that Ferozepur must have rail connectivity with cities like Kolkata, Chennai and Bengalore. People of the region have also been demanding setting up of a new rail link between Ferozepur and Tarn Taran.

Punjab Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal and the Minister for Food and Supply, Punjab, Adesh Partap Kairon met Prime Minister Manmohan Singh in this regard few weeks ago.

The residents have also demanded that railway over bridge (ROB) must be built over those railway level crossing, which remain close for longer durations and had greater load of traffic.

The railway divisional authorities are have also been hoping for allocation of adequate funds for the unmanned railway level crossings. Ferozepur Railway Division has the highest number of such crossings in the country. 

Phullokhari (Bathinda), February 24
Soon to be commissioned Guru Gobind Singh Refinery promises to change the socio-economic profile of the Bathinda region. The district, especially Raman Mandi area, is expected to witness a change not only on the development front but in other spheres also.

The project will also provide employment avenues to the locals and others in the form of work to be generated after the setting up of ancillary industries in the area, transportation of oil through tankers, opening of new education centres and other institutions.

The trial run of the refinery, which is a joint venture of the Hindustan Petroleum Corporation Limited (HPCL) and the Mittal Energy Limited, is expected to be held around March 31 while it is likely to be commissioned by September.

The refinery, after its commissioning, will make polypropylene available to ancillary industries by signing memorandums of understanding (MoUs) with them. Polypropylene is used by plastic industry to manufacture woven sacks, over wraps for garments, films for print lamination, food packaging, adhesive tapes, plastic crates, buckets, mugs, plastic furniture etc.

It is learnt that two MoUs have already been signed for the setting up of polypropylene ancillary units.

There is potential for 53 such ancillary units to be set up calling for an investment of about Rs 1,300 crore. If these units are set up near the refinery or in Bathinda district, about 15,000 persons will get direct or indirect employment in the district.

The locals are of the opinion that the refinery should sign MoUs with only those who want to set up their units near the refinery or in the district.

After the commissioning of the refinery, the local transport industry will also flourish as about 400 tankers will transport oil from the refinery daily in Punjab and other states. Thus not only the truckers will get work, all kinds of businesses in the area will also flourish in a big way after the commissioning of the refinery.

The technical staff of the refinery is being trained in the refinery premises. The refinery authorities have also been running a Construction Skills Training Centre for the past more than two years in this village through the Construction Industry Development Council (CIDC) for the unemployed youth of nearby villages. About 900 youth have been trained so far in the trades of masonry, shuttering, carpentry, bar bending, electrician, driving, computer operations etc. Of them about 400 are reportedly working in the refinery nowadays. Though around 20,000 persons are working nowadays to complete the project but after the commissioning of the refinery about 3,000 persons will reportedly work in the refinery as technical, security, administrative staff etc.

Chandigarh/Sharjah, February 24
Seventeen Indian boys, 16 from Punjab and one from Haryana, facing death sentence in the Mishri Khan murder case have time till April 28 for a settlement with the family of the deceased, the Sharjah Appeal Court observed today. Mohammed Ramzan, who appeared on behalf of the family of Mishri Khan, reportedly informed the court that neither he nor the bereaved family had been approached by the defence for the settlement or “diya” so far.

At one of the previous hearings, the defence team virtually conveyed its disinclination for any settlement maintaining that it had to get instructions from the Indian Consulate. Further, the defence team was confident that its case was strong enough to get all the boys acquitted.

Dubai-based Indian businessman SP Singh Oberoi, who has been following the case, told The Tribune over the phone that this time the appeal court had given the final and the last opportunity to both parties to “try and get settlement done”, failing which the appeal against the conviction of all the 17 Indian boys would be proceeded further.

Though 17 Indian boys were convicted and awarded death sentence in January last year, an appeal filed on their behalf in April last year has witnessed several adjournments on technical grounds. Initially, it was the issue of a translator-cum-interpretor to which the appeal court refused to allow a nominee of the Indian Consulate-General insisting that the translator should be sponsored by the UAE Ministry of Justice.

Subsequently, the court also refused to accept relatives and friends of the deceased, Mishri Khan, maintaining they did not have proper authentication or power of attorney. Then when the issues relating to the translator-cum-interpretor and proper nominee of the deceased family were settled, the police officer who investigated the case could not make his appearance in the court for a couple of hearings.

While the defence team was convinced that the case was on its side and there was no scope browsing the issue of the settlement, families of Indian boys languishing in the jail for more than two years now were keen that if the “settlement could expedite their release, they should go ahead with it.”

One of them had said “they have already spent more than two years in the prison. Legal procedure is slow and long drawn. Even an acquittal after two or three more years of litigation will be meaningless as our families back home are starving and there is no one to look after them”. “Further, we being confined to the four walls of the prison, are also proving to be additional burden to our starved families,” he added, maintaining that “proving our innocence after a prolonged legal battle does not help us much.”

Ludhiana, February 24
Punjab Deputy Chief Minister Sukhbir Singh Badal today said he had risen above vendetta politics and was no longer taking digs at his rivals. He was in city to review the arrangements for Shaheed-e-Azam Punjab State Games to be held in Ludhiana.

He said ever since he took over as the Deputy CM, he had never said anything derogatory about his rivals.

Putting his hand on his chest, he said he always talked business. A seemingly introspective Sukhbir said he was all about talking about development projects and issues confronting the state.

“We have to forget about vendetta and let bygones be bygones. We need to take the state in the lane of fast development,” he said.

Observers say Sukhbir was shedding his old avatar by switching to western outfits from kurta-pyjamas and the tone and tenor of his speeches had also gone mild.

Soon after donning the mild avatar, the Deputy CM blamed the Centre for a delay in the completion of development projects in the state. “The projects are getting delayed because the departments like forests and railways keep our files pending for four months and more. If our projects are delayed by one or two months, where are we to blame?” he asked. Refusing to comment whether it was deliberate he said, “The Centre needs to be more efficient.” he added.

Kulwinder Sandhu reports fromKotkapura:Deputy Chief Minister Sukhbir Singh Badal has requested Prime Minister Manmohan Singh to make adequate efforts for the safe evacuation of thousands of Punjabis stuck in Libya due to the civil war and New Zealand due to an earthquake.

He was talking to the media after dedicating Rs 15 crore development works in nearby villages.

He also demanded a judicial inquiry to be conducted by a sitting Supreme Court Judge into the massacre of Sikhs in Chhillar village in Rewari district and the role of the then Congress government in the killings that took place during the November 1984 anti-Sikh riots.

He questioned the silence of former CM Amarinder Singh and Delhi Sikh leader Paramjit Sarna on this sensitive issue.

Jalandhar, February 24
A Jalandhar-based elderly couple, who had married off their daughter abroad four years ago, is running from pillar to post to perform her last rites.

Asha Kaur, who was married to Kultar Singh in April 2007, was allegedly killed by her England-based in-laws on February 16. The alleged uncooperative attitude of Asha’s in-laws to fly her body back home has further annoyed the couple. The deceased’s father, Gurbax Singh, said due to limited financial resources, they could not fly to foreign shores.

Narrating their tale of woes, Gurbax Singh and his wife Nirmal Kaur, who met the city police authorities today, said their daughter was married to Kultar Singh of Southampton. He was not having cordial relationship with Asha and used to demand money from her. The birth of a girl child two years ago further made her life worst, said Gurbax Singh.

Unable to ascertain the immediate cause that led to Asha’s death, he said one of their relatives informed them that her in-laws had allegedly killed her to avail themselves of Asha’s life insurance claim.

“Asha was killed on February 16. Her in-laws did not inform us about the death. We came to know about it from one of our relatives in England,” alleged grief-stricken Nirmal Kaur.

She said Asha’s in-laws offered them two air tickets to England to perform her last rites. “But they are also threatening us of dire consequences if we go abroad. Following this, we requested them to send the body to India. But our request has fallen on deaf ears,” she alleged.

Jalandhar, February 24
The Commission for Agriculture Costs and Prices (CACP) has failed to protect the interests of farmers, said Balbir Singh Rajewal, who attended a meeting convened by the commission with representatives of farmers from all over the country in Delhi.

“We have told the commission that it should wind up as its recommendations with regard to the minimum support price of various foodgrains carry no weight with the Central Government,” said Rajewal.

At the meeting, the leaders of farmers expressed their resentment against the commission, said Rajewal. The meeting was convened to discuss the MSP of paddy and other crops. The commission would announce the MSP of paddy before the starting of its transplantation in May-June.

Rajewal said farmers from Andhra Pradesh urged the commission to peg the paddy MSP at Rs 2,500 per quintal. He said on behalf of the Punjab farmers, he had demanded that the MSP should be fixed at Rs 2, 290 per quintal. “The Punjab Government has urged the commission to fix it in the range of Rs 1, 400 per quintal,” said Rajewal.

Farmers’ anger against the commission is because of the fact that it does not take many factors into account while fixing the MSP of various crops, he said.

Owing to a constant decline in the water table, farmers had to resort to re-install tube wells at deeper level with more powerful motors to operate them.

However, the commission does not take such factors into account while determining the MSP of paddy and other foodgrains, he rued. He said last time also there was no upward revision in the MSP of paddy. The commission should adopt a more realistic approach to determine the MSP of various crops, he said.

Rajewal said land rent in all parts of the state ranges between Rs 30,000 and 40,000 per acre but in the commission’s records the land rent continued to be less than Rs 15,000 per acre for the purpose of fixing the MSP of various foodgrains.

Meanwhile, the authorities concerned are likely to urge the Central Government to include maize in the public distribution system (PDS).

Ludhiana, February 24
To prevent the outbreak of dengue, the National Centre for Disease Control (NCDC), New Delhi, has devised a new cooler, which has a special mesh that will cause evaporation of water, thereby giving no breeding ground to the AEDES mosquito.

The NCDC has called upon the Department of Health and Family Welfare, Punjab, to promote the cooler in the state.

State epidemiologist, Dr Gagandeep Singh, and Joint director, National Vector-Borne Disease Control Program (NVBDCP), New Delhi, Dr KS Gill were in the city recently to do a review of the areas prone to vector-borne diseases.

Dr Gagandeep Singh said there were 4,012 cases of dengue followed by 476 cases of malaria reported in Punjab in 2010. “We plan to curtail vector-borne diseases at all costs, thus the special cooler devised by NCDC will be promoted in every district of the state,” Dr Singh said.

The district health authorities will be asked to contact the dealers and the companies manufacturing these coolers and improvise the coolers as per the design made by the NCDC.

Referring to the implementation of the “urban bylaws” in Punjab, Dr Singh said the state government will strictly execute the urban bylaws wherein the local bodies will be asked to challan people in residential areas. “The houses having coolers with water collecting in them would invite a fine,” the state epidemiologist said.

Keeping in view, the increasing incidence of the vector-borne diseases in the state, the number of six sentinel surveillance centres has been increased to 10 from this year. Previously, the tests for vector-borne diseases were carried out in Ludhiana, Jalandhar, Amritsar, Patiala, Bathinda and Mohali. From this year Faridkot, Gurdaspur, Hoshiarpur and Sangrur too have been upgraded with the requisite lab equipment and staff.

Despite the cyclic pattern that has surfaced in dengue outbreaks in Punjab in the last four years, the year 2011 should not have many cases but the department of health and family welfare does not want to take any chances, the state epidemiologist went on to add.

Abohar, February 24
The telecast of World Cup matches through the free-to-air PTV home channel of Pakistan was stopped by the local police today.

A section of the cable network operators had managed to get access to the frequency of the channel by using self-made dishes. The police today visited the offices of various operators and took set-top boxes being used for downloading the link of the channel for telecasting the matches into custody.

Confirming this, Abohar SP Varinder Brar said all the operators had been asked to stop the telecast of the cricket matches by using the Pakistan-based channel. He said an inquiry had also been launched into the fact that how the operators started it and with whose permission they continued with the telecast of the matches.

He said as of now, no legal action had been taken against the operators in this regard.

Sources said intelligence agencies were also trying to find out whether the method used by the cable network operators could be used against the security of the country or not. Deputy Commissioner KK Yadav said legal opinion was being taken on the action done by the cable network operators in the past few days and further action would be taken according to it.

Anandpur Sahib, February 24
CCTV cameras will be installed in nine sectors of Hola Mohalla celebrations to be held at Anandpur Sahib from March 18 to March 20. The celebrations will be held from March 15 to March 21 in Kiratpur Sahib as well.

The toll plaza at Nakkian will be closed during the celebrations to ensure smooth traffic. Lakhs of pilgrims are expected to visit the holy city.

Deputy Commissioner, AS Miglani, presided over a meeting yesterday to oversee arrangements for the same.

The SDM of Anandpur Sahib, APS Sandhu, has been appointed the mela officer and a civil control room has been established under him.

The mela site at Anandpur Sahib has been divided into nine sectors and Kiratpur Sahib has been divided into three sectors. All these sectors will have CCTV cameras. The cameras will enable the police to keep a vigil on the traffic movement and the gathering at the occasion. The police has also decided to install 12 watchtowers at the mela from where the proceedings would be viewed.

Bus services will be made available for pilgrims from March 17 to March 20. 13 temporary dispensaries have been set up to provide medical services.

Ropar, February 24
Jan Aushadhi centres, generic drug stores opened by the government in each district, are on the verge of closure. The reason: With low collections per day, the centres have failed to live up to the claims of government due to stiff competition.

While the Jan Aushadhi centre at Mohali has already closed down, the centre, outside the Ropar Civil Hospital will soon be shut down. Sources said the centre at Mohali was closed down due to number of irregularities.

“According to rules, the generic drug stores are supposed to sell only those medicines, manufactured by public sector undertakings. The Mohali centre used to sell reasonably-priced medicines at high prices,” said sources.

Similarly, these centres did not have adequate eye drops, ointments or syrups. Doctors at the Ropar civil hospital rued that the centre could not even look after the needs of 10 per cent requirements of indoor and outdoor patients.

During a recently convened meeting, the Ropar civil surgeon expressed his inability to run the centre. He apprised the District Administration that the centre had a sale of Rs 1500 per day, which was unequal to the number of prescriptions given everyday.

“At Ropar Civil Hospital, 400 prescription slips are passed everyday. If we translate a sale of even Rs 100 per prescription, the centre should have had collections of at least Rs 40, 000 per day,” said officials.

Health officials said the doctors-chemists nexus of the commission system was also responsible for the failure in the system and these centres. While the private chemists and drug manufacturers allegedly paid commission to doctors for prescribing certain set of medicines.

With the centres being run on no profit basis, there was no margin to pay commission for prescribing medicines.

Earlier, the Health Minister, Laxmi Kanta Chawla, had termed these issues as teething problems for the centres. Chawla had claimed that these centres would have 310 types of medicines, listed by prominent hospitals like the Apollo Group and the AIIMS, by March 31.

Patiala, February 24
The Indian Medical Association (IMA) has condemned the registration of a criminal case, in the incubator deaths case at the Government Rajindra Hospital in 2009, against the head of the paediatrics department, Dr KK Locham.

In a joint statement issued here, president of the IMA ( Patiala chapter) Dr Jatinder K Kansal, former Punjab president IMA OPS Kande, and chairman of the state branch of the In-Service Doctors Wing IMA, DS Bhullar, stated that the incident of the death of six infants, due to alleged negligence of Dr Locham and other staff on duty in the nursery of the hospital, could not be considered to have occurred due to deliberate intention of Dr Locham.

The Association leaders demanded cancellation of the case against Dr Locham.

Ludhiana, February 24
The state government may not be “inclined” towards promoting pig farming but educated youngsters, belonging to well-off families, find this industry lucrative. Graduates from New Delhi and Jammu have come to Guru Angad Dev Veterinary and Animal Sciences University (GADVASU) here to learn about pig farming.

Jasveen Bajaj (23) and his younger brother, Manjyot Bajaj (21) from Delhi, feel that pig farming was a lucrative business with almost 200 per cent returns within span of 3-5 years in North India, South India and North-East.

A student of Delhi University, Jasveen said the cost of livestock (pig) was Rs 65-70 per kg in the market but after butchering, pig meat of exotic breeds was available for Rs 400. “When pig meat is exported, we can get up to Rs 800 per kg. China is the biggest market for pig meat. Besides, it is exported to US, Europe and Japan. Dimapur (Assam) has the biggest pig market in India. I am not interested in my family business, this is the best option for diversification for youngsters,” he said.

Another graduate from Jammu, Varun Chaudhry, said he had 48 pigs and several piglets at his farm near Jammu.

“The business is giving me good returns. We need to get proper awareness on this subject if we want to start pig farming as a commercial venture,” said Chaudhry.

An expert on pig farming from GADVASU, Dr AK Sohi, said in 1997, Punjab had 76,000 pigs but the number came down to 25,000 in 2007. “The political leaders, policy-makers stress on adopting dairy farming but no push is given to goat/pig farming. The state government needs to provide good slaughter-houses and better transport facilities for giving a boost to the industry,” said Dr Sohi.

Amritsar, February 24
The uranium content in the drinking water has increased alarmingly in the Malwa region and has crossed earlier levels detected during various findings.

This has come to light during a recent survey conducted in the parts of Malwa region by the team of research students led by Dr Jaspal Singh, Reader, Department of Physics, Guru Nanak Dev University here. “The recent surveys have pegged the uranium concentration level at 1000 parts per billion (ppb), which was recorded at 644 ppb during earlier surveys,” he said. He said, “Out of the 11 water samples collected in a single village, eight showed more than 500ppb that crosses the limit of 60ppb set by the Atomic Energy Regulatory Board of India.” He said his research team is now trying to locate areas with maximum contamination in water in the region. 

Nawanshahr, February 24
Though the police has booked four persons, including Banga MLA Chaudhary Mohan Lal, under Section 302 and 34 of the IPC in the death case of Jagdish Mehmi, sarpanch of Behram village, members of the family of the deceased have demanded a CBI inquiry into the case.

They have expressed apprehension that the investigation would be not be conducted in an impartial manner under “political pressure”.

“The way the investigation is being conducted, it seems that the murder of Jagdish would be proved as a suicide case to save the accused, who are influential persons,” alleged Prem Lal, alias Lally, the deceased’s younger brother, lamenting that the accused had not been arrested yet.

Prem Lal said he would go on an indefinite fast if the accused were not arrested and the investigation was not handed over to the CBI.