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Govt clears projects worth Rs 6,350 crore
PSEB chief’s secret fund grows 5 times in 2 years
BBMB not to withdraw free services extended to public
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All 44 sitting MLAs to get ticket: Capt
6 Pakistani prisoners repatriated via Attari
Bunga Ramgarhia: Restoration work in progress, even after three years
Centre may resume relief to farmers
Mansa farmers stage dharna against land acquisition
Farmers warned against excessive urea use
Talwandi Sabo Thermal Plant tobe commissioned by December
New flight between London and Amritsar on the anvil
Sekhwan faces heat from suspended employees
Govt all set to abolish VAT on sports goods
Finally, work on Ropar bypass begins
Testing time for examinees
HC: Deposit relief money in beneficiary’s account
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Govt clears projects worth Rs 6,350 crore
Chandigarh, June 22 The Empowered Committee on mega projects, chaired by Punjab Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal gave in principle approval to these projects, a spokesperson of the Chief Minister's Office said today. Of the proposed projects, investment worth Rs 5,453 comes from manufacturing and Rs 897 crore agro-based industries. Among major companies that are investing in the state are Nectar Life Sciences, which has proposed to set up a unit for manufacturing drugs at Nimbua village in Mohali with investment worth Rs 530 crore. Textile major Trident Corporation limited has proposed to set up facilities for making terry towel and sheeting unit at Dhaula village in Barnala with outlay of Rs 2,358 crore while Trident would expand its cotton unit at Sanghera (Barnala) village with Rs 1,117 crore. Tube Investment of India has proposed to set up green-field plant to manufacture precision ERW and CDW tubes at village Tepla (Patiala) at cost of Rs 170 crore and Saber Papers would set up paper manufacturing unit at Gonsupur Hambran village in Ludhiana at cost of Rs 343.59 crore. Piccadilly Hotels would construct a hotel in Ludhiana with outlay while Soma New Towns Private would set up godowns for storing food grain at four different locations in the state with Rs 170 crore. LT Food Limited would set up a rice mill with power generation facility at Hoshiarpur at a cost of Rs 53.30 crore. The empowered committee also approved two housing mega projects, one of 125 acres with an investment of Rs 679.40 crore in Sector 94-95, Mohali, by Janta Land Promoters Ltd Mohali and another of Rs 425 crore project over 205.54 acres by Bajwa Developers Ltd. (With PTI inputs) Major investors Trident Corporation (Rs 2,358 cr): Will set up facilities for making terry towel and sheeting unit at Dhaula village in Barnala Trident Corporation will also expand its cotton unit at Sanghera (Barnala) village with investment of Rs 1,117 crore Nectar Life Sciences (Rs 530 cr): Will set up a unit for manufacturing drugs at Nimbua village in Mohali
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PSEB chief’s secret fund grows 5 times in 2 years
Chandigarh, June 22 The secret fund is used by the Chairman not only for getting the question papers, packaging of question papers and answer sheets for all examination centres, printing of detail marks-cum-result cards besides paying the telephone bills, travelling and diet allowances of supervisory staff, but also for the purchase of paper for answer sheets. Information obtained under the Right to Information Act reveals that though the board is no longer conducting the middle standard examination, the allocation for the secret fund has been rising steeply during the past two years. The explanation given by the board is that it has introduced the semester system in the matriculation and senior secondary (plus 2) examinations. The board also claimed that the number of students taking the matriculation and senior secondary examinations was about 8 lakh while in case of middle standard examination, the number of students was about 5 lakh. In 2009-10, the board had made a provision of Rs 3.3 crore for the secret fund. But the increased number of students forced it to make an additional allocation of Rs 1.15 crore. Sources reveal that maximum increase in the secret fund has taken place during the tenure of present Chairman Dalbir Singh Dhillon. Until some years ago, the secret fund used to be around Rs 50 lakh. Dalbir Singh Dhillon was appointed Chairman of the PSEB in 2007. Sources reveal that there is no auditing of the expenses under the secret fund. Only an utilisation certificate has to be submitted. Dalbir Singh Dhillon said, “The increase in the Chairman’s secret fund has been necessitated because answer sheets are being printed outside Punjab and these answer sheets have OMR and Bar Code markings.” What is a secret fund? A secret fund is used by the PSEB Chairman for getting the question papers, packaging of question papers and answer sheets for all examination centres, printing of detail marks-cum-result cards, paying the telephone bills, travelling and diet allowances of supervisory staff and purchase of paper for answer sheets.
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BBMB not to withdraw free services extended to public
Nangal, June 22
In his report to the
BBMB, the financial adviser of the Board has proposed that certain ongoing projects of
BBMB, where input is more than output, should be shutdown to save funds. This included the train runs from Nangal to Bhakra dam giving free ride to BBMB employees and dam
oustees, three schools run at Ganguwal, Kotla and Nangal, the BBMB hospital, BBMB workshop and BBMB guest houses spread over North India. It was proposed that putting an end to these services can save the Board crores of funds, which can be utilised for other purposes. However, BBMB member irrigation, MK Gupta, who chaired a meeting on decisions taken over proposals said that none of the services extended to public would be withdrawn. “The Nangal to Bhakra train is more of heritage. Similarly, why would the Board withdraw facilities in the education and health sectors, when these are lifelines of local people? The BBMB workshop, which earlier used to cater to states of Punjab, Rajasthan and
Haryana, is no longer earning the dividends it used to. Still we will not close it down at any cost,” he said. He added that similarly there was no plan to shut down any of the guesthouses of the Board being run at different places. The Nangal-Bhakra train was started in 1953-54, to cover a distance of 12 km, free of cost for BBMB employees and oustees of project. The internal audit report states that the train is also used to ferry machines required for repair and maintenance of project. In the last ten years, no heavy machinery has been ferried in this train. Similarly, it was proposed that schools be merged into one and the BBMB hospital be closed down and patients be referred to some private hospital. The BBMB’s workshop is Asia’s biggest workshop and in 2009 fiscal year its income was just Rs 1.03 crore against the expense of Rs 12.17
crore. It was also proposed that the BBMB guesthouses with less than 75 per cent occupancy in an year should be considered for closure. The decision is expected to bring relief for the BBMB employees and local residents of
Nangal.
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All 44 sitting MLAs to get ticket: Capt
Fatehgarh Sahib, June 22 And contrary to the previous elections, the names of candidates for various constituencies would be announced a little earlier this time, Amarinder Singh said while interacting with party workers of three assembly segments, including Fatehgarh Sahib, Amloh and Bassi Pathana, today. “I am touring all assembly segments not to screen prospective candidates, but to listen to the grievances of party workers. Earlier they listen to me, now it’s time to listen to them,” he said. The PPCC chief said the cases of alleged atrocities on Congress workers may cross 50,000 after the last parliamentary elections when the number stood at 30,000. This, claimed he, was only a matter of eight months and every SAD leader would have to pay for allegedly intimidating and harassing the Congress workers. Amarinder Singh said there was a misconception among Akali cadre that they were going to stay in power forever. All the alleged wrongdoings by the SAD-BJP leaders would be dealt with an iron hand once they come to power, he claimed. The PPCC chief was accompanied by former minister Harbans Lal, state vice president Lal Singh, general secretary Arvind Khanna, coordinator Balbir Singh Sidhu, district Congress committee president Harjinder Singh Bhambri and MLA Sadhu Singh Dharamsot.
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6 Pakistani prisoners repatriated via Attari
Amritsar, June 22 Mohammad Iqbal, hailing from Gujranwala, told that he was caught on December 4, 2004, by the Border Security Force (BSF) for crossing the border in an illegal manner. “My sentence had lapsed on February 2005 but I am going back to my home today only because the official formalities took six years to get completed. Yet, I am happy,” he said. Nasirullah (Jhangar Sangal) was caught by the BSF in Khemkaran sector on June 27, 2007 for the same offence. His sentence too got expired on January 13, 2008, but his papers too could not be furnished from the Pakistani side. Amjad Ali, a resident of Khanowal, said he was caught by the BSF from Guru Harsahai area for inadvertently crossing the prohibited line on May 5, 2008. “I was imprisoned till April 20, 2009, but I am being released today because I have been told that formalities from Pakistan side were yet to be completed.” Sources told that as per directions of the high court, many more Pakistani jail inmates lodged in different jails of India, too, would be released shortly. Others let off included Iqbal Siddiqui (Gujjarwala), Azgar Ali and Mohamad Arshad (both from Lahore). Homeward bound Mohammad Iqbal Native place: Gujranwala Arrest: December 4, 2004, by the BSF Crime: Crossing into the Indian territory illegally Term over: February 2005 Reason for delay: Papers not available from Pakistan Nasirullah Native place: Khemkaran Arrest: June 27, 2007, by the BSF Crime: Crossing the border Term over: January 2008 Reason for delay: Papers not available from Pakistan Amjad Ali Native place: Khanowal Arrest: May 5, 2008, by the BSF Crime: Crossing the border Term over: April 2009 Reason for delay: Papers not available from Pakistan
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Bunga Ramgarhia: Restoration work in progress, even after three years
Amritsar, June 22 Talking about the restoration work, Onkar Singh Sandhu and Rajinder Singh Bhullar, who are looking after the project, said they have managed to retain the original structure to a large extent in the walls and the roof of the building. The building has flour floors. Out of these, three floors are below the ground. The work on the walls and the roof of the ground floor is 60 per cent complete. The upper basement is about 80 per cent complete. However, the work on the flooring is yet to start. Once the flooring and electrification work is done in the upper basement, a museum will be set up there which will showcase ancient weapons, coins and photographs and other material related to Sikh history from 1708 AD to 1800 AD. The basement has a hall where the maharaja used to hold court in “Diwan-e-Khas,” the royal seat of the Maharaja at “Diwan-e-Khas” has been kept much lower than the Harmandar Sahib which testifies the faith and respect he had in the Guru. The basement also has a prison and a treasury room, besides a well. The middle basement and the lower basement have only a room each. The effort is to ensure the restoration work remains as close to the original as far as possible. The left wing of the building has already suffered on this count as during kar sewa a few years back the roof was built afresh by ‘karsewawale babas’. They had also built walls under the arches on the ground floor and fixed doors to convert verandahs into rooms. The brickwork (Nanakshahi bricks) was plastered and painted at many places. However, now the restoration work is being carried out in consultation with conservation experts. On the delay in the project, which started on April 18, 2008, Sandhu admitted that it was supposed to be completed in a year, but it got delayed as it involves intricate work and utmost care has to be taken while restoring the structure. He said the work would be completed within the next one year. On the museum, he said they are contemplating provide access to it from the ‘parikarma’ of the Golden Temple as well as from the galiara side. About Bunga Ramgarhia
It is structurally supported on parabolic arches decorated with cornices and the projections are supported by architraves and brackets. Two minarets of 156 feet each, which were constructed for surveillance in and around the Golden Temple, are also a part of it. Royal Prisoner
A joint Sikh army known as Dal Khalsa, comprising forces of Sardar Jassa Singh Ahluwalia, Sardar Jassa Singh Ramgarhia and Sardar Baghel Singh, attacked the Mughal ruler in Delhi and occupied the Red Fort in 1783 During the brief occupation by the Khalsa army, Sardar Ramgarhia removed the royal throne Sardar Ramgarhia fettered it with chains and ropes and brought it to Amritsar to present it before the Almighty as a prisoner of war At present, the seat of the throne measuring six feet in length, four feet in breadth and nine inches in thickness is placed in a tilted position, symbolising its surrender before the Golden Temple, on the ground floor of the Bunga Ramgarhia The roof of the ground floor is supported by 44 red stone pillars brought by the Maharaja Ramgarhia from the Red Fort
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Centre may resume relief to farmers
Chander Parkash Tribune News Service
Ferozepur, June 22 Compensation at the rate of Rs 2,500 per acre was paid to the farmers concerned for about two years by the central government, but it was stopped in 1997. Ever since, the affected farmers, whose thousands of acres are situated across the fence, have given a number of representations to successive state and central governments, but to no avail. Rana Gurmit Singh Sodhi, chief whip of Congress Legislative Party in Punjab Vidhan Sabha and MLA from Guru Harsahai, said that an indication for payment of compensation to affected farmers was given by none else than Prime Minister Manmohan Singh when he met him today at Delhi with a charter of demands. He said that he had also urged the PM to enhance the amount of compensation to Rs 5,000 per acre from Rs 2,500 per acre. “The PM also gave a positive response to the other demand on the charter which is connected with the opening of the Hussainiwala border for Indo-Pak trade to revive the economy of Punjab, particularly the Malwa region,” Sodhi pointed out.
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Mansa farmers stage dharna against land acquisition
Mansa, June 22 Though the district police authorities had deployed a large number of policemen at various entry points to the district administrative complex, the farmers including activists of BKU (Ugrahan), Punjab Kisan Union, and BKU (Dakonda) and residents of Sirsiwala, Chak Ali Sher, Bhadurpur, Gobindpura and others managed to reach in large numbers to join the dharna. While the state presidents of the three farmers unions who addressed the dharna declared that they would wage a do-or-die battle to save the landholdings of farmers of the Bareta area, about seven farmers’ bodies have called a meeting at Ludhiana on June 25 to decide their future course of action. Joginder Singh Ugrahan, President, BKU (Ugrahan), said that on the one hand, the state government had been making tall claims that no land would be acquired without the free consent of their owners, but on the other hand, farmers were being dispossessed of their land by using police force.
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Farmers warned against excessive urea use
Fatehgarh Sahib, June 22 A demonstration on use of urea with leaf colour chart (LCC) was held today at Badoshi Kalan village wherein 50 farmers were informed about the ill-effects of excessive urea use. Assistant professor (soil science) Tarinder Kaur said besides using excessive urea farmers are unaware of the right time and method to use it. She said the PAU has recommended seven strips of LCC, which help in identifying disease in a field. Farmers should match the colour of the leaf with ten healthy plants of a field to apply urea randomly within a gap of seven to ten days. The matching should begin after two weeks of transplantation. If the colour of the strip does not match healthy leaves (which usually lose colour), then 25 kg urea should be used per acre. She said at present farmers of Fatehgarh Sahib use NPK (Nitrogen, phosphorous and potassium) with 23:9:1 ratio which should be 4:2:1. The leaf colour chart, along with the strips, costs just Rs 35 and is available with the KVK and the PAU. Dr Harinder Singh said the use of excessive urea not only affects per acre yield but also invites more insects and pests, besides polluting ground water. At present, the nitrate content of ground water in Punjab is 5 to 6 mgm per litre as nitrates trickle down the earth with use of excessive urea. If it reaches 10 milligram or more in per litre water then water becomes unfit for human consumption. He said farmers are not aware about LCC and efforts are on to educate them.
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Talwandi Sabo Thermal Plant tobe commissioned by December
Jalandhar, June 22 And all other three units of 600 MW each (of 2400 MW capacity) were likely to be commissioned by 2013, Bachi said. Bachi said all three units of 660 MW each of the 1,980 MW Rajpura Thermal Plant would also be started by the end of 2013. The PSPCL director also said that appointments against the 1,700 vacant posts of SDOs, JEs, SSAs, UDCs and accountants would be done soon.
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New flight between London and Amritsar on the anvil
Amritsar, June 22 The new flight has raised the hopes for revival of perishable cargo at Sri Guru Ramdas Ji (SGRJ) International Airport. Operating thrice a week, the flight will commence on October 13. These flights will arrive here from Heathrow, via Almaty in Kazakhstan on Monday, Thursday and Saturday. The return flights from Amritsar will again be via Almaty on Tuesday, Friday and Sunday. The BMI has initiated the sale of tickets. Flights will be operated on a wide-bodied Airbus A330 aircraft, which returns into service for BMI this week after its lease to Turkish Airlines. The refurbished aircraft will offer 36 business class and 196 economy class seats. The aircraft has 44 tonnes cargo capacity which can easily accommodate export consignments of fresh vegetables. Perishable cargo has been lying defunct since Air India discontinued its direct Amritsar-London-Toronto flight in October last. The discontinuation of Air India’s direct flight from Amritsar to London had created a hue and cry among the NRIs of Punjabi origin settled in England. They reasoned that the convenient and financially lucrative link between Amritsar and London had been snapped without a valid reason. A sizeable number of Punjabis are settled in the UK. The BMI is the second largest airline at London Heathrow, with flights over 40 destinations worldwide. It would be its maiden commercial venture in north western India.
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Sekhwan faces heat from suspended employees
Chandigarh, June 22 The suspended employees, including Avtar Singh, Assistant Director Jagtar Singh and Patiala mandal circle education officer Roshan Lal Sood today claimed they had been suspended following a “false” claim of a leak. They claimed the paper leak, which had not been verified till now, was raked up to regularise the illegal admission of 5,000 students of 51 private institutions that had wrongly admitted students for the Elementary Teacher Training (ETT) course. Avtar Singh told TNS that he refused to withdraw an affidavit from High Court which annoyed the Education Minister who wanted to regularise the admission of students in private institutions. Roshan Lal Sood said there was no truth in the paper leakage story as confirmed by all the controllers/superintendents of the DIET institutes in the state. He said no case was registered anywhere and no candidate was found to have benefited from the leakage as the paper was conducted at all the centres. Meanwhile, perusal of the inquiry report revealed that it was silent on the issue of leakage of question paper. The heads of various employees and social organizations meanwhile urged the government to end the victimisation of honest officers.
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Govt all set to abolish VAT on sports goods
Jalandhar, June 22 Punjab Chief Parliamentary Secretary (Excise and Taxation) KD Bhandari assured the sports industrialists that a notification in this regard would be issued in a few days. The convener of the Khel Udyog Sangh Vijay Dhir, president of Sports Forum Sanjay Kohli and chief of Sports Front Gurinder Singh told The Tribune that finally their long-pending demand of withdrawing VAT from sports goods had been accepted by the Badal government - which the BJP had also included in its manifesto for the previous Assembly elections. Sports goods are manufactured mainly in two cities in the country - Jalandhar in Punjab and Meerut in UP. Till the past few years ago, 90 per cent of sports goods were manufactured in Jalandhar and only 10 per cent were manufactured in Meerut. However, sports goods manufacturing in Jalandhar suffered a major setback due to the imposition of VAT a few years ago. Sports industrialists of Punjab had to pay 5.5 per cent VAT, 2 per cent CST with form C and 5.5 per cent CST without form C whereas those of UP had been given full relaxation from VAT and CST. As a result, sports units in Meerut got a boost and their share went up to 55 to 60 per cent.
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Finally, work on Ropar bypass begins
Ropar, June 22 Deputy Commissioner GK Singh formally inaugurated the project. Speaking on the occasion, he said that the Chief Minister had laid the foundation stone of the project long ago, but the work could not begin. Now, in accordance with the Ropar municipal council, the work has been handed over to the Panchayati Raj Department and the agency has been directed to complete work expeditiously using the best material available. The mini bypass is around a kilometre long and is being laid at a cost of Rs 30.36 lakh. MC president Amarjit Satyal said that the council has released the payment of Rs 8 lakh to the Department and there would be no paucity of funds while completing the project. Commuters would get relief from the long queues and traffic jams at the railway crossing. The mini bypass would reduce the distance from 6 km to 1 km. Earlier, the municipal council had thrice floated e-tenders for the project on April 1, May 20 and June 3, but none of the contractors expressed interest in project. The issue has been pending since 1996. The then Deputy Commissioner Vinny Mahajan had conceived the idea of this project. After 15 years, the quantum of traffic on this road has increased, while the project is still to get off to a start.
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Testing time for examinees
Patiala, June 22 Talking to The Tribune, a school principal said that once the students get a compartment in their first semester, they have to take the exam during their second semester. “But the problem is that the Board takes the compartment exam on the very day when they have their second semester exam for the same subject, which means that students have to take two papers on the same day for same subject. As it is, these students are already weak in the subject. They get a compartment and two exams means covering the syllabus for both semesters, simultaneously. How can we expect good results from them?” she added. Another teacher said this puts unnecessary pressure on the student. “Once one semester is over, we don’t teach that syllabus again, as a result the students have to prepare for the compartment exam on their own. Moreover, they have to study for the second semester as well. I had a student who scored 15 marks out of 70 and failed in first semester. After taking his compartment paper, he just got 5 marks, because he was studying for the second semester. I don’t understand why the Board officials were not paying any heed to such commonly faced problems,” she added. Rajwinder Kaur failed in chemistry in the first semester and could not clear it even in her second chance because she had to prepare the syllabus for both semesters on the same day. “If I would get a couple of days in between to study for compartment exams, I might manage to clear the paper but I could not clear the paper. Moreover, I scored very less even in the second semester because of divided attention,” she rued. The Chairman of the Board, Dr Dalbir Singh Dhillon, when contacted in this regard said these were lame excuses. “We have two semesters and have to complete exams in a minimum period. If we start giving gaps in all papers, our exams will stretch to over a month and we will have no time to complete the syllabus. Therefore, we have properly planned this schedule as it is easy to study for one subject on the same day as things are fresh in the memory. Only weak students give such excuses,” he further added
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HC: Deposit relief money in beneficiary’s account
Chandigarh, June 22 Justice Rajesh Bindal has directed all the subordinate courts in the two states and Chandigarh to order direct deposition of money in bank accounts. The directions — now a precedent to be followed in the cases to come — came in a matrimonial dispute case where an August 2010 order on interim maintenance passed by Ropar additional district judge was challenged by a wife on the ground that it was fixed on the lower side and deserved enhancement. The name of the parties to the litigation is deliberately being held back, as it is a matrimonial dispute case. The wife’s counsel argued that the husband was “only seeking to prolong the petitioner’s agony” by depositing the amount in the court, instead of paying it to her. Elaborating, he said it was quite cumbersome to withdraw the money from the court. Justice Bindal asserted: “This court would like to direct the courts below to ensure that… the person, who is to pay the amount, transfers the amount directly in the account of the person, who is entitled to receive the same in terms of the order passed by the court.” Bringing out the order’s significance, Justice Bindal asserted that it was experienced that in cases pertaining to the grant of maintenance and Domestic Violence Act, the amount of maintenance fixed by the courts below in many cases was only a few hundred rupees per month. “Sometimes, with a view to harass the wife or children, the other party deposits small amount of a few hundred rupees regularly in the court, which not only results in creation of extra work in the courts, but also causes harassment to the person entitled to receive the money. In the process, sometimes they may have to spend more than the amount they are to get.” Justice Bindal also directed the sending of the copies of the order to all district and sessions judges in Punjab, Haryana and Chandigarh for circulation among judicial officers for strict compliance.
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abolishing ongoing public utility services at
Nangal, the Bhakra Beas Management Board (BBMB) has decided to run the train, schools, hospitals and Asia’s biggest workshop.
Fatehgarh Sahib, June 22
As many as six Pakistani prisoners who were lodged in various jails here were repatriated to their native place through Attari-Wagah joint checkpost today. Three of them were lodged at Amritsar Central Jail even after the lapse of their jail sentence because it took the Pakistan Government at least six years to certify their antecedents. Nevertheless, the trio — Mohammad Iqbal Siddiqqui, Nasirullah and Amjad Ali — were happy to go back home today.
Officials of Krishi Vigyan Kendra (KVK), Fatehgarh Sahib today said the farmers of the district are using 45 per cent more urea than required in paddy fields, which adversely affects crops and ground water.
Punjab Education minister Sewa Singh Sekhwan is set to face the heat from three officers suspended by him, including the SCERT Director Avtar Singh, with more than 20 organisations coming out in their support today and deciding to launch an agitation in case the suspension was not withdrawn.
Built by eminent Sikh warrior Maharaja Jassa Singh Ramgarhia in 1794, Ramgarhia Bunga is a fine piece of architectural marvel and civil engineering expertise. 