Agri-marketing area neglected 
Chandigarh, March 14
The SAD-BJP government is fond of terming Punjab as a state where agriculture is king. But this was not reflected in the state Budget presented today, as it failed to address the key issues of marketing, storage and the processing of agriculture produce besides that of crop diversification and cold chains. It, however, did allocate money to encourage small farmers to go in for dairy and aqua culture.

Chandigarh, March 14
The SAD-BJP government, which has already made development its main poll agenda like that of Bihar, is now also set to woo the electorate with similar sops like free bicycles for girl students besides covering a larger number of economically weaker sections of the population under various welfare schemes.

After taking into account the farming community with continuation of the free power facility, though in a modified form, the government is keen to consolidate its base amongst the “scheduled castes” and “backward classes”. community. The budget announced on Tuesday included a number of sops for these communities, with emphasis on welfare of the girl child. The government proposes, through the Mai Bhago Vidya scheme, to provide free bicycles to all girl students studying in classes 11 and 12 in government schools at a cost of Rs 75 crore. If resources permit, the scheme may be even extended to all girl students studying in classes 9 and 10.

Education of girl students is now to be made free in the real sense of the word. Though they are not charged any fees till class 10, local contributions are taken from them at the school level. This will be stopped and a new scheme - Bebe Nanaki Ladli Beti Kalyan - has been instituted for the girl child whereby the government will invest Rs 15,000 in the child’s name with the Life Corp of India (LIC). Payments will be made to the child at various stages of her life under the scheme.

Besides instituting new schemes, the budget also proposes to extend the scope of the old welfare schemes to ensure a larger number of needy beneficiaries are covered under them, taking particular care to included the “backward castes”. The facility of free uniforms, which was available to “scheduled castes” and below poverty line elementary students, has been extended to “backward classes” as well as economically weaker families. The scheme now has a name - Bhai Jaita - to commemorate the sacrifice of a ‘dalit’ hero. Similarly an attendance scholarship at the primary level will be extended to all “backward” students as well as students from economically weaker sections.

In another major decision with an eye to the polls, the government, which has been unable to manage the ‘Shagun’ scheme involving grant of Rs 15,000 to ‘dalit’ and Christian girls upon marriage, is now set to extend this scheme to all girls from economically weaker sections.

The number of old age pensioners is also likely to increase with the qualifying age for grant of old age pension being reduced from 60 years to 58 years. Similarly, a state filled with ‘bhawans’ catering to nearly all sections of society will get some more of them with the budget proposing to construct a ‘Ravidas bhawan, 'Balmiki Bhawan’ and ‘Masih Bhawan’.

Chandigarh, March 14
Private entrepreneurship has always been the driving force behind Punjab’s economic growth. This factor appears to have somehow been so deeply engrained in the minds of the state’s policy makers, that this sector is almost dismissed in the budget proposals of successive governments.

Though Punjab Finance Minister Upinderjit Kaur has laid a lot of emphasis on education, health and infrastructure development in her budget proposals for fiscal 2011-12, the industry has been completely ignored. Of the total plan outlay of Rs 11,500 crore, the industry has received only Rs 10 crore for development of industrial focal points. Interestingly, a sum of Rs 16 crore has been allocated for upgrading NIIFT, a fashion design institute run by the state industries department in Mohali.

It may be mentioned here that the contribution of industry to the gross state domestic product (GSDP) is over 25 per cent and has recorded a growth of 11.99 per cent. However, when it came to dealing with industrial development the budget proposals only mention about the new industrial policy of 2009; the mega projects policy for attracting fresh investment; enactment of the Punjab Special Economic Zones Act; and, its efforts to set up two integrated mixed use parks at Rajpura and Kaputhala.

Interestingly, the finance minister mentioned about the flight of industry from Punjab to the neighbouring tax exempt hill states. She also said the central government should not extend these tax holidays to the neighbouring states beyond April 1 this year as it directly affected industrial development in the state. RS Sachdeva, co- chairman of the Punjab committee of the PHD Chamber of Commerce & Industry, rued while the state government was collecting hundreds of crores of rupees from industry as taxes, a meagre sum of Rs 10 crore was allocated to it.

Seconding his opinion, PD Sharma, chairman of the Apex Chamber of Commerce & Industry, called this meagre allotment of Rs 10 crore a joke. 

Chandigarh, March 14
The SAD-BJP government is fond of terming Punjab as a state where agriculture is king. But this was not reflected in the state Budget presented today, as it failed to address the key issues of marketing, storage and the processing of agriculture produce besides that of crop diversification and cold chains. It, however, did allocate money to encourage small farmers to go in for dairy and aqua culture.

State Finance Minister Upinderjit Kaur today claimed in her Budget speech that no special provision had been made to bring in the second Green Revolution in the state in the Union Budget. Apparently she too failed to address the issue, only setting aside Rs 453 crore for agriculture.

Into its fifth and the final year in the office, the government says it will encourage and facilitate crop diversification, vegetable clusters near urban areas, new storage capacity and cold chains, the areas that it should have tackled by now.

In fact, the state seems to be completely dependent on Central schemes for agriculture propagation. The low cost net house, wheat seed replacement and milk quality improvement besides others is being done under the Rashtriya Krishi Vikas Yojna. Similarly, the National Horticulture Mission is promoting green house technology, the development of high-tech nurseries, cold chain and refrigerated storage. Another Central scheme to insulate the farming community against various risks is being implemented in three districts.

The state has, however, earmarked Rs 25 crore for Punjab Agricultural University (PAU), Ludhiana, which will be spent on agriculture research and development. An allocation of Rs 70 crore has also been made for the development of allied sectors like animal husbandry, dairy, fisheries and cooperation.

The Punjab Chief Minister and leader of the Punjab Vidhan Sabha, Parkash Singh Badal, has described the Punjab Budget as a document that exhibits a new hope and vision for the state. Reacting to the Budget soon after Finance Minister Dr Upinderjit Kaur concluded her speech, the Chief Minister told The Tribune, “We have achieved something that appeared impossible a few years ago”.

Expressing joy at terming the Budget as a document of great personal satisfaction, he said, “The media is always sceptical, but look at how the revenue has dramatically increased and drastically reduced the debt ratio to GSDP. The sound financial health has significantly stepped up capital investment and enlarged the scope of social welfare policies in the state”.

Dismissing the criticism by the Congress, which has called the Budget a “no budget”, the Chief Minister said if the Congress was a little more persuasive with its high command.

* Rs 986 crore including Rs 626 crore as State Plan Budget is proposed to be spent on road infrastructure and Transport.

* Rs 3,300 crore for the Power Sector which is about 30% of the total plan outlay for 2011-12.

Chandigarh, March 14
The opposition Congress today condemned the Punjab Budget even calling it a non-Budget but there are already concerns that Deputy Chief Minister Sukhbir Singh Badal has stolen a march over his rivals by engineering a populist Budget which hits hard at the core constituency of the Congress --- the Scheduled Caste and Backward Class vote bank.

While Pradesh Congress president Amarinder Singh called it a ‘non-Budget’ and Congress Legislature Party (CLP) leader Rajinder Kaur Bhattal said the Budget was full of promises only, the Congress is apprehensive that the Deputy CM has effectively combined his development agenda with an overture to the Dalit and backward vote bank.

The Congress has always regarded the Dalit and the backward vote bank as its own. Punjab has the country’s largest population of Scheduled Castes who form around 29 per cent of its population.

Observers say the Deputy CM decided on making development his government’s main poll agenda after Nitish Kumar ensured a reelection for the Janata Dal-BJP combine in Bihar. They said Sukhbir had now followed up development with reaching out to the poorest sections of society. Nitish had done this effectively by distributing bicycles to underprivileged girl students, something that will now be emulated in Punjab.

Congressmen on condition of anonymity claimed that the sops extended to the Dalits and backward classes could not be taken lightly as they would definitely engineer a split in its vote bank. The party, however, has little in its armoury to debunk the sops offered in the Budget except to say they might not materialise, as the government did not have any money.

Meanwhile, Congress legislator Kewal Dhillon said even though the Budget had enlarged the scope of various social welfare schemes, including the shagun scheme, it would not benefit the SAD-BJP combine. People are already livid with the combine for letting ‘jathedars’ manipulate the scheme by giving away money to unmarried girls. He said similarly the old-age pension scheme had also not been properly implemented and that lowering the age limit from 60 years to 58 years during the fag end of its tenure would not help the SAD-BJP coalition electorally.

Sangrur MP Vijay Inder Singla said the coalition would also have to answer the people why various welfare schemes were implemented selectively in the state and why benefits of this scheme had mainly percolated to SAD supporters. Congress legislator from Nabha Randeep Singh said the government was trying to misguide the people by resorting to lies and that the Congress would lay bare the truth behind the “tax free”

Chandigarh, March 14
The Budget is not merely a pre-election exercise, but it can be viewed as a positive step to enlarge the scope to attract voters. Almost every section of society has been benefited in one way or the other.

To counter the growing feeling that Manpreet Badal is getting a lot of response from the youth and women, there are major announcements for both. Education of girls has been made free till Class XII, they would also be provided with free bicycles, etc. The age of women for getting old age pension has been reduced from 60 to 58.

The SAD-BJP government schemes in the social sector were so far confined to the SC population only, which is about 29 per cent of the state’s population. By extending social welfare schemes to all the Backward Classes and economically weaker sections of society, the SAD-BJP government hopes to benefit about 55 per cent of the state’s population.

Similarly, to set the past record straight, the government has announced that in future all Shagun under the Shagun Scheme will be given on the day of the girl’s marriage. The arrears can wait, but from April 1 all payments (Rs 15,000) to the girls would be made on the day of the wedding.

Again for most other social sector schemes, the scope of the scheme has been enhanced from BPL families (which are just about 4 lakh in Punjab) to all those with incomes up to Rs 30,000 per annum. This will extend benefits like free health care, etc to about 20 lakh families in the state, giving the SAD-BJP tremendous advantage over the Congress.

Another very clear indication that emerges out of the Budget presented today is that the SAD-BJP is going to adopt a very aggressive posture from now onwards to curb the anti-incumbency factor. The main target of the ruling alliance will be the central government and the Congress that will be projected as anti-Punjab, as it has failed to help Punjab financially, highlighting the fact that Punjab has managed to come out of the fiscal mess on its own.

The Budget has also taken care of the BJP vote bank by providing adequate funds for infrastructure development that mainly pertains to improving the cities with corporations and municipalities. Many other target groups have benefited from the Budget; these include the freedom fighters, whose pensions have been raised to Rs 5000. Even retired teachers of government-aided schools have been promised pension.

Chandigarh, March 14
Though no new welfare schemes have been announced, a three-fold increase in the planned expenditure by the Department of Defence Services Welfare has been proposed in the state Budget for 2011-12, while the department’s non-planned Budget is earmarked to rise by about 11 per cent.

The non-planned Budget, which relates to establishment-oriented expenditure and recurring expenses, has been pegged at Rs 23.5 crore for the coming fiscal as compared to Rs 21.1 crore for 2010-11.

Similarly, the planned expenditure, which relates to various welfare schemes and other projects introduced or approved by the state government from time to time, is set to rise to Rs 13 crore from Rs 4.1 crore.

The combined expenditure for this department for 2011-12 is pegged at Rs 36.5 crore vis-à-vis Rs 25.2 crore for 2010-11, representing an overall increase of over Rs 11 crore or close to 45 per cent. Punjab has 2.87 lakh ex-servicemen and 53,000 widows.

For the next fiscal, Rs 2 crore has been proposed to meet the expenditure relating to grant of Rs 5 lakh to next of kin of battle casualties in lieu of a plot. Last year the Budget on this account was Rs 4 crore. Departmental sources said that as of now there were no pending cases in the state on this account and payments would be made as and when fresh cases came in. However, the cases for grant of land to 28 war widows of the 1971 Indo-Pak war have still not been resolved.

The planned segment proposed today also includes Rs 6 crore for the construction of Sainik Rest House and Maharaja Ranjit Singh War Museum at Ludhiana. Coaching classes for entry into service academies, training of wards of ex-servicemen, grant to Paraplegic Rehabilitation Centre and ex-gratia to families of martyrs are among schemes falling in this segment.

The increase in the Budget also caters to 40 per cent hike in the allowances of gallantry award winners introduced in December 2010 and grant of Rs 1 lakh announced last year to every candidate who enters a service academy for training as an officer.

Ferozepur, March 14
The Punjab Budget presented by state Finance Minister Upinderjit Kaur in the Punjab Vidhan Sabha today evoked a mixed response from the people belonging to different walks of life.

Ravi Kant Gupta, president of the Rice Mill Machinery Manufacturers of India and the Chairman of the Ferozepur Industrial Chamber of Commerce, Ferozepur, said the Punjab Government had “blatantly ignored” Ferozepur district in giving concessions to industrial projects already running in the area.

Amritsar, March 14
Sikhs across the globe led by the Akal Takht Jathedar, Giani Gurbachan Singh, today celebrated Sikh Environment Day to mark the Gurta Gaddi Diwas of the seventh Sikh guru, Guru Har Rai.

The Jathedar launched a green drive to mark the occasion at the Golden Temple Complex in the morning. He distributed saplings to the devotees who thronged the shrine on the Sikh New Year (March 14) in large numbers. Interacting with the media, the Jathedar said, “The advent of science and technology coupled with fast-paced development has taken a heavy toll on our natural resources. In such a scenario, it is imperative to preserve the environment and augment the green cover.

Also the Gurbani says — Pawan guru paani pita mata dharat mahat, which makes it the prime duty of a human being to keep air, water and environment clean.”

The SGPC too distributed saplings to the pilgrims at the Golden Temple’s main entrance and outside its inns.

Chandigarh/Dubai, March 14
After three adjournments, a Dubai court today sentenced 12 Indians in a double murder case, giving death sentence to one and life term to the remaining 11. The only Pakistani convicted in the case also gets life term.

Two unidentified Indian workers from Kerala were murdered on the night of December 31, 2009, in a case of bootlegging, leading to a clash between two groups of South Asian workers.

Though the court had closed the case on December 6 last year, the sentence to the convicts could not be pronounced either on January 3 or February 7.

Major Singh of Gurdaspur has been given death sentence.

He is already undergoing life term in another murder case. Intriguingly, eight of the Indian boys convicted today are like Major Singh, serving 15 years’ imprisonment in the earlier case in which an Indian worker, also from Kerala, was murdered on January 10, 2009. The sentence in the earlier case was pronounced on January 4 this year.

Those convicted and sentenced in both the cases are Sukhjit Singh (Amritsar), Rakesh Kumar (Phagwara), Sukhwinder Singh (Ludhiana), Manjit Singh (Pathankot), Rashpal Singh (Jalandhar), Amarjit Singh (Batala), Balwinder Singh (Nawanshahr) and Sarabhjit Singh (Gurdaspur) besides the prime convict, Major Singh of Gurdaspur.

The court did not specify whether the sentences awarded to these Indian boys on January 4 and today would run concurrently or they would have to serve them separately.

In the first case, in which Major Singh got life imprisonment and the remaining nine Indian boys were awarded 15 years each in prison, the victim was also a youth from Kerala, says Dubai-based Indian hotelier SP Singh Oberoi, who has been pursuing both the cases.

“No decision has been taken about filing an appeal against the January 4 and today’s sentences. We will hold discussions with the families of the Indian boys before deciding the future line of action,” he adds.

Other than nine convicts common in both the cases, other Indian workers to get life term are Surjit Singh (Raikot), Balwinder Singh (Tanda) and Surinder Singh (Samrala).

The lone Pakistani sentenced to life imprisonment today is Mohammed Rafat. In the first case, also convicted was a Pakistani boy, Fara Ahmed, who got away with 10-year imprisonment.

It is for the first time that any Dubai court has sentenced so many persons to undergo life imprisonment besides ordering the death sentence for the prime suspect.

In the adjoining Sharjah state, an appeal filed against the death sentence awarded to 17 Indians in a bootlegging-cum-murder case is in the final stages of adjudication.