Jalandhar, February 28
The Union Budget has disappointed agriculture experts and officials as it lack focus on promoting research, processing industry as well as infrastructure in the farm sector. “The budget has nothing to promote public investment in the farm sector, which could seriously affect food security of the country,” said a senior official of the Punjab Agriculture Department.

The Union Government had increased the allocation under the Rashtriya Krishi Yojna (RKY) from Rs 6,500 to 7,850 crore to bring an additional Rs 10 to 20 crore for the state from the Centre.

Punjab received Rs 180 crore under this scheme in the current financial year. The raising of the subvention to three per cent for farmers, who would return the short-term crop loan in time, would benefit farmers to the tune of Rs 210 crore in the state. However, the benefit of the earlier subvention of 2 per cent, which was announced last year, had only been given partially to the farmers in the state. Some banks have passed on this benefit to farmers while others have not. In Punjab, farmers avail short-term crop loan to the tune of Rs 25,000 crore per annum. Of this, Rs 10,000 crore comes from the cooperative banks and the remaining from the commercial banks. About 85 per cent farmers return their short- term crop loans in time in the state.

The announcement on the fertiliser subsidy has upset farmers as well as officials the most. The Finance Minister has announced that the subsidy on fertiliser would be given directly to BPL farmers. “That means almost all farmers from the state would be excluded from the subsidy purview,” rues Balbir Singh Rajewal, the Bharti Kisan Union leader.

Balwinder Singh Sidhu, Director, Agriculture, Punjab, said a clarification is needed in this regard. If the subsidy was to be given only to BPL farmers on the fertiliser, there would be a great setback for Punjab farmers as the state only has five per cent farmers below the poverty line, he said. In fact, the whole concept of subsidy for BPL farmers on fertiliser appears to be vague, he added.

“Farmers falling in the BPL category can not afford fertiliser. They cannot sustain themselves in the farm sector in any manner,” said Rajewal.

“It would have been better if the Centre had announced special package for Punjab for the sustainability of the Green Revolution in the state,” said Sidhu.

Rajewal, however, said nutrient-based subsidy was an anti-farmer decision of the Union Government. He said farmers would have to bear the burden of rise in the price of fertilisers. Over the past four months, the price of DAP fertilisers had gone up to Rs 140 per quintal.

Earlier, the price of fertiliser was regulated and the Centre had to bear the price burden, he said.

He said increased allocation of Rs 4, 75,000 crore for loans for the farm sector would further increase the debt burden on them. He said the Centre had done nothing to improve education, health services and human resource development in rural areas.

Ludhiana, February 28
The agricultural sector of the state has been completely “ignored” by the Centre in the Union Budget for 2011-12. Hopes of the farming community of the region have been shattered due to the “anti-farmer” budget announced by the Union Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee today.

President of Bharti Kisan Union (Rajewal) BS Rajewal said the budget presented today had upset the budget of Punjab farmers.

“Many of these announcements were made last year too but were never implemented. commercial banks are yet to apply lower rates of interest on short-term investments for framers. Secondly, the Union Finance Minister, Pranab Mukherjee, has announced that farmers will be given direct subsidies on fertilisers, an announcement made last year too. Farmers are paying four-times more for fertilisers today. This is an anti-farmer budget. We have no hopes as the Centre has always treated Punjab in a step-motherly manner,” said Rajewal.

Nek Singh Khokh, state-awardee from Patiala, who has contributed immensely in the field of agriculture, said farmers in the region did not have any hopes from the Union Budget.

“Successive governments have not framed even a single policy to benefit marginal farmers. They may have raised the limit (period) of debt for farmers but it is no solution. This will lure more farmers to avail loans,” rued Khokh. It was only when the nation’s food security came in question that the plight of the farmers was considered, he said. The Centre as well as the state governments have adopted an “opportunistic” attitude towards farmers, said Khokh.

Member of PAU Kisan Club Rajvinderpal Singh said though policy-makers stress upon diversification but there are no subsidies provided to allied sectors such as pig/goat farming, pissi culture, industry etc. other states receive many benefits in the agricultural sector but Punjab is at the bottom in the priority list of the Union Ministry, he said.

Samana (Patiala), February 28
Deputy Chief Minister Sukhbir Singh Badal has described the Budget as “directionless” and “anti-poor”. Addressing a massive rally, organised by the Chairman, District Planning Committee, Surjit Singh Rakhra, at the local Grain Market today, Sukhbir said the Budget would have a cascading effect on inflation. “The whole Budget is tilted towards the multinational companies’ lobby. The Budget has nothing for the middle-class population and the farmers’ community,” he said.

Sukhbir said it was sad that no package had been announced for the farm sector and no incentive had been announced to boost farm production in the Budget. “The Congress-led UPA government has betrayed the farmers of Punjab by not waiving the agricultural debt. Furthermore, by not linking the MSP to the wholesale price index, the UPA government has exposed its anti-farmer attitude,” he stated.

Describing the announcement about raising the income-tax exemption limit for general tax payers to Rs 1.80 lakh per annum as a “cruel joke” with the middle class, Sukhbir said middle-class families were already striving hard to manage their household expenses because of the 20 per cent annual inflation.

Sukhbir further said that the Budget had proved that the UPA government was least concerned about the problems being faced by the masses due to an “unprecedented price rise” and has not addressed the basic issues, causing inflation.

Taking a dig at the PPCC president, Capt Amarinder Singh, Sukhbir said, “Amarinder is a short-term tourist to the state, who visits Punjab only during the election season. He was oblivious of the development in the state.”

Meanwhile, Sukhbir also laid the foundation stones of different development projects, worth Rs 38 crore.

Chandigarh, February 28
The Union Budget has been widely criticised by political parties in the state, barring the Congress. The ruling SAD and its alliance partner, the BJP, have termed the Budget as “directionless” that has done nothing to check inflation affecting the common man.

The SAD in a statement has said that no measures have been taken to ameliorate the suffering of the common man, who is unable to cope with the rising prices. Besides, the Budget, a party spokesperson said, was “anti-poor” and “anti-farmer” that would have a cascading effect on an already double-digit inflation, stunting the growth of economy. He further said the Budget had failed to address the crucial issue of low share of states in central taxes collected from the states.

Punjab’s Local Bodies Minister and BJP leader Manoranjan Kalia, while reacting to the Budget, has said that it has largely disappointed the people. Punjab, he said, was hoping that the issue of streamlining the Public Distribution System (PDS) would be tackled. He said no concrete concessions had been announced for Punjab or the common man. The entire Budget, he claimed, was tilted in the favour of Bengal and Kerala. Even in the railway budget, these states had been given preference over the others.

Former Punjab Finance Minister Manpreet Singh Badal, while reacting to the Union Budget, said, “I have been utterly disappointed by the fact that Punjab has been totally ignored in the Union Budget. There is no revenue-deficit grant, no relief to Punjab from the loan taken to fight terrorism and no incentive package for border areas”.

Amritsar, February 28
The hoteliers of Amritsar, the hub of hospitality industry in Punjab, have flayed the Union Budget for imposing service tax on rooms having tariff above Rs 1,000 a day and AC restaurants serving liquor, stating that the move would hit hard the industry which is already reeling under losses.

Widening the tax net, Union Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee announced that the hotel rooms, having a tariff of more than Rs 1,000 a day, will be charged 5 per cent service tax while the tax in case of the air-conditioned restaurants having licence to serve liquor will be 3 per cent of the bill.

APS Chatha, general secretary of the Amritsar Hotel and Restaurant Association, said the FM’s decision has come as a double whammy for the hotel industry in the holy city, as most of the hotels having deluxe or luxury rooms in above Rs 1,000 bracket also have AC restaurants serving liquor.

“Moreover, we are already being charged 4 per cent in the name of luxury tax by the Punjab government. Now, with the service tax coming into play it will be a total of 9 per cent tax, which will spell disaster for the hospitality industry. We are already running short of customers and many hotels are offering rooms at half the tariff,” he lamented. He condemned the move, stating that the hotels in almost all religious places like Haridwar and Rishikesh enjoy tax exemption. He said the authorities may be putting the number of tourists visiting the city at 1.25 lakh daily, but a majority of them either return to their home towns after visiting major tourist spots or stay in ‘sarais’ (inns) which have 3,500 rooms available at very low prices.

Hotel Association Walled City chairman Satnam Singh Kanda said, “On the one hand we are struggling to get 4 per cent luxury tax waived off and on the other the Centre has imposed new taxes, which augurs bad for our hotels.”

Surinder Singh Lali, chairman of the Hotel Restaurant Welfare Association, said the state and the Central governments have been turning a blind eye to the hospitality industry.

Ludhiana, February 28
The Union Budget has received thumbs down from the industrial sector in the state. No concessions or allocation of funds has irked the micro-small and medium enterprises. The proposed one per cent central excise duty on 130 items, including cycle parts, sewing machines as well as proposed inclusion of hotels under the purview of service tax has only added to the woes of the industry.

Local industrialists have termed it as a “bad budget”.

“The cycle industry is already facing tough competition from China and the additional one per cent central excise duty will only prove fatal,” said Badish Jindal, senior vice-president of the Federation of Associations of Small Industries of India.

The corpus fund for SIDBI has been kept the same at 100 crore whereas Rs 300 crore have been allocated otherwise, he said. The proposed imposition of 10 per cent excise duty on branded textile products as well as excise duty on the hosiery/textile units, will also hit the local industry hard, he said.

Vindod K Thapar, president of Knitwear Club, said this will adversely affect the hosiery Industry. “I strongly condemn imposing excise duty on the small-scale industrial units,” he said. They have welcomed an increase in the export duty on iron ore to 20 per cent and a decrease in the import duty on scrap.

Ferozepur, February 28
Even as authorities have yet to recover paddy worth Rs 7 crore, belonging to Pungrain, which had allegedly been siphoned off by a section of unscrupulous traders with the active help of some officials of the Food and Civil Supplies Department in 2009, another paddy scam worth more than Rs 10 crore has again surfaced in the district.

Now, the owners of two rice mills, running in different areas of Ferozepur district, have siphoned off paddy worth more than Rs 10 crore. The owners, against whom two separate criminal cases were registered in different police stations on the complaint of district food and supply authorities, were supposed to deliver rice in lieu of the paddy stocked on their premises by Pungrain in 2009-2010 and 2010-2011.

Official sources said that Sanjeev Kumar and Nirmala Devi, who were running Ganpati Rice Mill, Mudki, in joint ownership, had allegedly appopriated paddy worth Rs 5.52 crore. The accused were supposed to deliver rice in lieu of paddy, after carrying out custom milling, to the FCI on the directions of Pungrain in 2009-2010 and 2010-2011.

On the other hand, Parkash Chand, Paramjit Ghakar, Surinder Pal and Ashok Kumar, who were running Jawala Rice Mill in joint ownership, had allegedly siphoned off paddy worth Rs 5.10 lakh as they failed to deliver rice in lieu of paddy stocked on their premises in 2010-2011.

Official sources said criminal cases against the accused had been registered under Sections 406 and 420, IPC, in Ghal Khurd and Ferozepur city police stations.

Rajinder Kaur Bhattal, Leader of Opposition, Punjab Vidhan Sabha, today said that the Congress would seek a CBI probe into the case of alleged siphoning of of paddy worth about Rs 7 crore by the owner of the local Noor Rice Mill and his associates.

Lovkesh Kumar, District Food and Supplies Controller, said efforts were on to recover rice from the accused.

Interestingly, the Food and Civil Supplies Department authorities failed to recover paddy, worth Rs 7 crore, which was siphoned off in 2009.

Patiala, February 28
A two-day national conference on “Recent advances in chemical and environmental sciences (RACES-2011)” began at Multani Mal Modi College here today. Dr Paramjit Singh Jaswal, Vice-Chancellor of the Rajiv Gandhi National University of Law, Patiala, presided over as the chief guest. Delivering his inaugural address, Dr Jaswal raised the issue of environmental degradation and expressed remorse that human beings were exploiting natural resources for materialistic comforts, thereby creating environmental imbalance.

Dr Jaswal said legal measures alone were not sufficient to check the menace. Combined efforts and sustainable development were needed to keep a check on the menace, he added. The college Principal, Dr Satish Kumar Bhardwaj, highlighted the fact that scientific research had only been confined to IITs and IIMs. He said there was a need to uplift the standard of research in other institutions as well. He also stressed on the significance of organising such research-based events like RACES-2011 at the college level. On this occasion, a souvenir-cum-abstract book was released by Principal Scientist and National Fellow, NDRI (Karnal), Dr BR Yadav, Dr Jaswal and Dr Bhardwaj.

In his keynote address, Dr Yadav spoke on the topic “Genome organisation : analysis and applications”. He said a person’s genetic-make was called genome while the total genetic make-up of all individuals in the population was called gene pool.

The term genome was a combination of gene and chromosome. He also focused on the relevance of genes for such processes as DNA fingerprinting and DNA sequencing etc. Dr Hari Om Yadav, National Institutes of Health, Maryland (USA) focused on obesity and diabetes. He pointed out how obesity and type-2 diabetes had become a major health hazard in the developed as well as developing countries.

Chandigarh, February 28
Punjab Local Bodies Minister Manoranjan Kalia today announced exemption from corporation taxes for various categories of people, including freedom fighters, war widows, handicapped and senior citizens.

Announcing this at a press conference here today, Kalia said the exemptions would be available to all these categories in case they leased their houses on rent. He said the annual income of the beneficiaries should not exceed Rs 60,000. He said the various categories would get a relief of Rs 10 crore.

The minister also announced that the department had decided to allow everyone to clear all pending arrears of house tax, water and sewerage charges without attracting any penalty. He said these charges should, however, be cleared before March 31. He said it had been decided that 30 per cent of the money collected through this drive would be used in the city concerned only and 20 per cent on giving retirement benefits to market committee employees.

Kalia, who was accompanied by Secretary, Local Bodies, RS Rajput, and Director, Local Bodies, SK Sharma, said pending bills worth Rs 67 crore had piled up with various corporations and committees in the state. Later when asked by TNS, the minister said the government’s move to create an Rs 1,100-crore fund to ensure quick infrastructure development in municipal corporations and committees was still in the pipeline.

He said the State Bank of India, which was financing the fund, was still processing it and that the same was likely to be available to the government this next month.

Barnala, February 28
Responding to the overwhelming ‘demand’ from the speakers and people at a rally organised here today, the PPCC president, Capt Amarinder Singh, told the Deputy Chief Minister, Sukhbir Badal, that bringing the guilty to book was not vendetta but a law of nature.

Addressing a rally organised by the local MLA, Kewal Dhillon, Amarinder reiterated his charges against the SAD-BJP government that over 30,000 Congress men had been implicated in false cases.

The PPCC president had a dig at the Majitha MLA and brother-in-law of the Deputy Chief Minister, Bikram Majithia, for his threats to “behead” him (Amarinder). Amarinder claimed he and his family had always been ready to sacrifice anything for the interest of Punjab. The former CM also referred to the repealing of water-sharing treaties in the Assembly during his tenure. “Had Badal wanted to do it, even he could do it as there is always a lawful way to do things,” Amarinder said, adding that Badal had always tried to exploit the sentiments of the people that led to violence.”

The PCC president emphasised the need to pay special attention to agriculture, industry, primary education and healthcare. He said there were 44 lakh unemployed youth in Punjab. “It is because we have not been able to create job avenues for them,” he pointed out. He said the agriculture sector was in the doldrums, while the industry was moving out of the state. Addressing the rally, Leader of the Opposition in the Punjab Vidhan Sabha,

Rajinder Kaur Bhattal said this government had been restricted to the father, son, son-in-law, son’s brother-in-law and no one else.

Sangrur, February 28
No action has been taken against those raising illegal structures allegedly due to a nexus between some councillors and builders. The Municipal Council, Sangrur, had issued notices to five builders, to four builders in January-February, 2010, and to a councillor in June and October, 2010, for raising illegal commercial and domestic structures in violation of the Municipal Act.

Sources said notices were issued to Happy Colonisers in January-February last year for violating the Municipal Act by raising two four- storey commercial structures as against the map passed by the MC for raising only three and two storey buildings in the Patiala Gate area.

Notice of violation of the Municipal Act was also issued to Jagraj Singh for getting two maps passed for separate structures near Banasar Bagh area of Patiala Gate and then combining them into one structure.

Sources said the MC had also issued notice to Councillor Jaswinder Singh of Gurunanak Pura in January-February last year for having constructed the basement of his house without getting the map passed from the MC.

Two separate notices (one in June and the other in October, 2010) were issued to Surinderpal of Mittal traders of Nabha Gate) for constructing five storey commercial structures against the maps for two storey structures passed by the MC and also constructing a basement without getting a map passed for the same from the MC.

Sources said whereas senior employees of the MC had recommended legal action against the builders but some of the councillors had pressurised the MC not to pass the resolution.

Though the same was included as part of the agenda in a recent MC meeting, but some of the councillors managed to prevent the resolution from getting passed. They took the plea that the requisite six month period for action in such cases had lapsed.

Executive Officer of Sangrur MC Surjeet Singh said the MC had recommended action against the illegal structures but added that “MC had to pass a resolution in such cases for legal action”.

He said though the six month deadline in majority of these cases had lapsed but still the MC can pass a resolution to act against the violators. 

Sunam, February 28As many as 2.40 lakh cases are pending with the High Court, Justice KC Puri of Punjab and Haryana High Court said this while talking to mediapersons on the sidelines of the convocation function of Guru Nanak Dev Dental College and Research Institute, Sunam.

“When I joined the High Court as a judge in 2007, the number of cases was around 2.63 lakh. However, with the efforts of the Chief Justice and judges of the High Court, we managed to squeeze the number of pending cases to 2.40 lakh. There are lesser number of cases being filed now. We have been able to dispose of a large number of cases narrowing down the number of pending cases,” he said. He said a majority of the cases pending before the High Court are civil and motor accident claim cases.

Earlier, Justice KC Puri inaugurated the new block of Guru Nanak Dev Institute of Nursing Education and Research in the college premises. A prize distribution function was also organised on the occasion. College students also presented a cultural programme.

Ashok Bansal, chairman of the college, Dr Vikram Sharma, managing director, Dr RL Jain, director-principal, Kamal Arora, Aman Arora, directors of the college and Rajinder Panag, Principal of the nursing college were also present.

Amritsar, February 28
Hundreds of farmers under the banner of the Punjab Kisan Sabha, from different pockets of Punjab, today gheraoed the office of the Deputy Commissioner, Amritsar, to demand their genuine democratic rights, here today.

The farmers expressed their resentment over the alleged faulty policy matters, increase in the incidents of suicides by debt-ridden farmers, inflation, non-implementation of the recommendations of Swami Nathan Committee reports and corruption in government departments, etc.

While criticising the unreasonable benefits extended to affluent farmers, they demanded the minimum support price for their crop, comprehensive insurance of the crop at government rates, relief to the tune of Rs 1 lakh each to the loanees and subsidies for purchasing seeds.

The farmers also gave a call to all their affected brethren to assemble at Parliament House on March 11 for a protest march.

Chandigarh, February 28
By June-end, the problem of waterlogging in Mansa town will be a thing of the past. For, approximately Rs 41 crore are flowing out of the state coffers to plug in the gaps, resulting in the problem.

As a petition filed in public interest by Mansa resident Vikram Singla came up for hearing before the Punjab and Haryana High Court, Deputy Secretary in the Punjab Department of Local Government informed the Bench that a water supply and sewerage disposal scheme for Mansa town had been sanctioned.

In a status report placed before the Bench, he said the scheme was a part of the Punjab Infrastructure Development Board Scheme and entailed an expenditure of Rs 40.60 crore.

Taking up the report, the Bench of Chief Justice Ranjan Gogoi and Justice Augustine George Masih added: It has also been stated that out of a total 45 km of pipelines for water supply, 41 km of pipelines have already been laid as on the date of filing of the status report.

“Similarly, 59 km of lateral sewer, that is branch sewer, and 3.30 km of main sewer were proposed to be laid out of which 31 km of lateral sewer and 2.63 km of main sewer have been laid up to September 30, 2010. The main pumping station has also been constructed to the extent of 65 per cent and the completion of the said work was expected in June 2011.”

The Bench added: It has also been mentioned in the status report that once the project is completed, the grievances highlighted in the writ petition would be adequately taken care of”.

Disposing of the petition, the Bench concluded: “Taking into account the fact that remedial measures have been introduced and are being executed and the same are expected to be completed by the end of June 2011, we are of the view that no useful purpose will be served by keeping this PIL pending any longer.

“Accordingly, we dispose of the PIL by directing the respondents to complete the unfinished works within the targeted date, that is end of June 2011.

“We also grant leave to the petitioner to approach this Court either by seeking revival of this PIL or by means of a fresh PIL in the event he continues to entertain any further grievance in the present matter”.

Chandigarh, February 28
The Punjab and Haryana High Court has come to the rescue of Patiala-based part-time lecturers of physical education. Justice Permod Kohli not only issued notice of motion to the State of Punjab, DPI (Colleges) and the Principal of Prof Gursewak Singh College of Physical Education, but also directed the maintenance of status quo till the next date of hearing.

The direction came after the petitioners expressed an apprehension that they were likely to be relieved by this evening.

Taking up a petition filed by Sarjinder Singh and four other part-time lecturers, Justice Permod Kohli also fixed April 1 as the next date of hearing.

In the joint petition, they had sought directions to the respondent college to pay to them the salary at the rate of starting basic pay in regular scale of lecturers.

The petitioners claimed they were being paid a humiliating amount of salary. In fact, they were getting Rs7,000 per month against their entitlement of Rs 21,600.