Functioning of Excise officials under scanner
Patiala, July 24
The working of the Excise and Taxation Department is under scanner after its team allegedly tried to intercept some trucks near Samana and later without registering any case, they escaped from the spot, leaving the trucks behind for the police.

Hoshiarpur, July 24
Punjab Wildlife officials have registered an FIR against three residents, Gurdial Singh, Piara Lal, and Ashwani Kumar, of Khangwari village for the death of a leopard on Friday. Khangwari village falls in the Dholbaha forest range.

A case against the three farmers has been registered at the Gardhiwala police station. One of those named in the FIR, Piara Lal, died over five years ago. Angry villagers took up the matter with sarpanch Naresh Kumari this morning.

Talking to the Tribune on the phone, Naresh Kumari said that in their haste to register a case, the Wildlife officials had booked a dead man..

Former honorary wildlife warden Gunraj Singh, who had video-graphed the entire rescue operation on Friday, held the Wildlife officials solely responsible for the death of the big cat. “A criminal case should be registered against the erring Wildlife officers instead,” he contended.

“I plan to file a writ petition in court against the department that failed to save the leopard. The injured beast struggled for survival for almost 14 hours but the ill-equipped, unskilled officials remained busy on the phone for instructions from the bosses,” claimed Sukhdeep Singh Bajwa, former honorary wildlife warden, Gurdaspur.

Punjab Chief Wildlife Warden Gurbaz Singh was not available for comment. The Divisional Forest Officer (Wildlife), Hoshiarpur, Satnam Singh, said the FIR had been registered against the farmers on whose land the trapped leopard had died. “As the land still belongs to Piara Lal on official papers, so his name too was included in the case,” he explained.

Chandigarh, July 24
To protect the forest land from "widespread encroachment", the Punjab Government today said that it would soon rope in more security personnel.CM Parkash Singh Badal has given approval to strengthening the security network of the Forest Department, including recruitment of 250 employees-188 security guards and 20 executive assistants, state Forest and Wildlife Protection Minister Arunesh Shakir said.

Shakir said the department had already begun recruitments that would be completed by next month. The security guards and executive assistants would be recruited on a regular basis and the technical staff on contract. "The Forest Department has recently regained the possession of 85 acres in Mehtabpur village of Hoshiarpur district, that was illegally encroached by some miscreants."

Meanwhile, the Horticulture Department has set the target of planting fruit saplings on 4000 hectares. The government has decided to provide a subsidy of 75 per cent in three phases in the ratio of 60:20:20 to the farmers under a special scheme, an official spokesman said. After plantation of the fruit saplings, the total area covered under the scheme would go up to 74,000 hectares. — PTI 

Patiala, July 24
The working of the Excise and Taxation Department is under scanner after its team allegedly tried to intercept some trucks near Samana and later without registering any case, they escaped from the spot, leaving the trucks behind for the police. Till the filing of report, the district police was awaiting the excise officers to lodge a complaint.

Sources in the Excise Department confirmed that a team of Excise officials lead by ETO CL Sharma forcibly checked documents and informed the Samana police station about their action.

“However, after the Excise team took away papers of the trucks, they refused to return despite calls being made by the local SHO and other police officers for the registration of a case”, they said.

A senior official said the trucks were parked in Samana and they were stationary when their windscreen was allegedly smashed by the Excise team and their papers taken away. “When one of the truck drivers objected, he was allegedly thrashed and later sensing trouble, the excise team escaped,” he stated.

SHO Samana (city) Satnam Singh said they got a call from the ETO CL Sharma that they had caught three trucks loaded with pipes, being manufactured in Samana, evading tax and had confiscated them. “The Excise team later informed us that they were being attacked by the tax evaders, but there was no one and no trace of any attack as the Excise police was also there”, he stated.

The SHO said he informed senior officers and also tried to call the concerned ETO, who refused to take calls. “We are yet waiting for the excise officers to come and lodge a complaint for the registration of an FIR”, he stated.

The local truck union opposed the working of the Excise officials, who checked vehicles and searched the union staff without any official documents and when being questioned, they retorted to arm-twisting tactics of registering cases. SSP Patiala GS Gill said he would ask the senior Excise officers to come forward to lodge a complaint otherwise the trucks would be released. 

Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal being presented a painting of the late Surinder Kaur Badal during the Sangat Darshan in Nabha on Sunday. A Tribune photograph

Nabha, July 24
Continuing with Congress-bashing, Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal today alleged that the opposition party had been left without any issues to counter the SAD-BJP coalition in the coming assembly polls.

Speaking to mediapersons during the Sangat Darshan programme here, Badal alleged the Congress had always betrayed the state and its people and its “silence” and “non-cooperative” attitude over the Hansi Butana canal issue articulated its “anti-Punjab” stance.

Also, Badal again urged Prime Minister Manmohan Singh for his intervention to resolve the inter-state issue on priority. He claimed earlier the construction of the Hansi Butana Canal and now a concrete wall on its left bank was a totally “illegal” and “unjustified” act of the Haryana Government.

Claiming the SAD-BJP government was the only regime in the country that had reached along with its entire administrative machinery on the doorstep of the common man to resolve various issues, he said the “Akali Dal could feel the pulse of the people as it was emotionally attached to the masses”.

In fact, said Badal, it was the popularity of the SAD, earned through various developmental schemes and reforms, that had “frustrated” the Congress.

On the occasion, Badal distributed cheques amounting to Rs 4.21 crore among 75 panchayats of the Nabha constituency. 

However, the cops stopped them forcefully from moving towards the venue. DMMCF president Harjinder Kaur told that the cooks were not given salaries and payments towards purchase of raw material for cooking. While the RHPA members alleged that they had been promised since the last five years that their jobs would be regularised, the government was planning to make fresh appointments. — OC 

Govt to allot vacant industrial plots
Measure will give a fillip to small-scale industry in the state
Tribune News Service

Amritsar, July 24
To give a boost to the small-scale industry in the state, the Punjab Government has decided to offer vacant industrial plots lying unutilised in various parts of the state to the deserving contenders under a special scheme.

Announcing it here today, vice-chairperson of the PSIEC (Punjab Small Industries and Export Corporation Ltd.) Sukhminder Singh Grewal told that foolproof transparency would be maintained while allotting these vacant plots to the aspirants.

In the first phase, the 500 sq yds, 1,000 sq yds and 1 acre plots would be offered at Mohali, Amritsar, Bhatinda, Mandi Gobindgarh, Ludhiana, Pathankot, Hoshiarpur and Raikot. It has been learnt that there are 28 industrial focal points (IFPs) in the possession of the PSIEC, while six (three in Amritsar, two in Jalandhar and one in Ludhiana) have been lying with their respective municipal corporations.

To offer further incentives, the PSIEC has allowed the bearers to utilise 10 per cent of their plot area for commercial purpose (to market and sell their product), while exempting them from CLU (change of land use) charges. Besides, the provisions would be kept for some residential plots and IT parks in these IFPs.

The PSIEC has planned to set up new IFPs at Mohali in an area of 73 acres, at least 220 acres at Kapurthala and 50 acres at Raikot for the purpose. The reserved price of the plots at Mohali has been kept as Rs 10,000 per sq yard.

“The small and medium industries have been contributing significantly to the industrial production of the state, besides providing around 70 per cent employment to a large number of unskilled, skilled and technical persons. Therefore, it was necessary to give it a fillip. We will be providing improved infrastructure in terms of better road and communication connectivity, housing facilities for workers and staff, hassle free power connections etc. The PSIEC aimed to promote export and marketing of products manufactured by small scale units too,” he said.

Meanwhile, Garewal told that the state government had been vigorously pursuing with the Government of India for sanction of cluster projects of different types of industry. A project for handloom tools cluster, Jalandhar, has already been approved by the Government of India. Similarly, the Government of India has agreed in principle for setting up of a foundry and machine tool cluster at Batala, sewing machine cluster at Ludhiana and Phulkari at Patiala. 

Patiala, July 24
Four joint teams of government school principals and teachers have been constituted to conduct frequent raids at various public places to get hold of students bunking their classes. Interestingly, the teams have caught around 70 such students last week.

Talking to The Tribune, DEO (Secondary) Parmod Kumar informed that he often used to see students standing at various places during school hours.

“Also, I got various complaints regarding students watching movies during school hours,” he added.

Tota Singh, Principal of Government Multipurpose Senior Secondary School for Boys, Passey Road, informed that they had conducted raids at Omaxe Mall, Baradari Gardens, Environment Park, opposite gurdwara Dukhnivaran Sahib, Tagore Theatre and bus stand and caught many students who were bunking their classes to either watch a movie or were just loitering around.

“There were around 150 students, out of which around 80 were from various city colleges and 70 from government schools. We contacted their parents immediately and called them on the spot to tell them about their wards. We allowed them to go home after giving warning this time, but have made it clear that strict action would be taken if they were caught again,” he added.

“Most of these students come from villages and they had either missed their bus or were late for the school due to some reason. Therefore, they were scared to enter the schools and decided to spend time outside so that they could return home on the same time like everyday to avoid their parents’ queries.”

The DEO informed that the department would continue to conduct such raids in order to ensure that the students didn’t indulge in bunking classes. 

Patiala, July 24
The Punjab Health and Family Welfare Department is in the soup again over the purchase of allegedly spurious and sub-standard raw material for the manufacturing of ayurvedic medicines at the Government Ayurvedic Pharmacy at Patiala.

In a complaint marked to Punjab Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal and Health Minister Satpal Gosain, former sarpanch of Ballan village, Sanour block, Patiala, Kulwant Singh has alleged that the department had purchased spurious and low-quality herbs and readymade medicines worth lakhs, which was affecting the credibility of the department.

In his complaint, he has levelled allegations against many senior functionaries of the department, stating that they had used their power in order to make this purchase.

Talking to The Tribune, one of the sources, on the condition of anonymity, informed that the department had issued two grants of Rs 81.5 lakh and Rs 98.7 lakh under the National Rural Health Mission for purchasing raw materials and ayurvedic medicines, but there were a lot of flaws in this purchase.

“A lot of duplicate and sub-standard medicines have been purchased under these schemes. The medicines being prepared here are being sent to all ayurvedic dispensaries throughout the state. Despite the fact that the supplier has to give in writing that he was giving these materials at a price lower than the market rate, a few items have been purchased on the higher rates. For instance, Agmark honey has been purchased at a rate of Rs 278 per kg, including tax, whereas the print rate on the bottle is Rs 250. The same is available in the market for Rs 130 per kg. The department also purchased 500 kg of Atees Meetha roots instead of Atees Kauda at a rate of Rs 3,000 per kg, whereas the actual price is only Rs 1,000 per kg. The loss in this case is Rs 10 lakh,” he added.

Interestingly, sesame oil has been bought for Rs 83 per kg, whereas the price of sesame alone is Rs 90 per kg. “The department had purchased sub-standard and spurious oil, which is certainly affecting the quality of the medicines,” he said.

Based on this complaint, Health Minister Satpal Gosain had constituted a four-member committee, including principal of the Government Ayurvedic College, Patiala, Dr Birinder Singh, scientific officer, Drug Testing Laboratory, Patiala, and Medical Superintendent and Assistant Controller (Finance) of the 
pharmacy to investigate the case and submit report within 15 days.

Medical Superintendent, Pharmacy, Dr Shiv Raj Singh confirmed that they had already taken the samples of materials purchased under the NRHM scheme worth Rs 81.5 lakh. But they could not take the samples for the second grant of Rs 98.7 lakh as the storage in charge Preetinder Kaur went on medical leave and the stores were locked, he added. He further said they had requested the department to constitute another high-level committee so that they could investigate the materials that were locked in the store.

Amritsar, July 24
Entrepreneurs of the border districts are irked with the SAD-BJP government over inordinate delay in non-disbursal of capital subsidy for border areas under the Industrial Policy 2003.

Members of various industrialists and traders organisations, including, the Punjab Trade Board and the Textile Manufacturers’ Associations said that about Rs 8 crore subsidy grant was due to be paid to the industrialists of three border districts-Amritsar, Gurdaspur and Ferozepur.

Industrialists are perturbed at the delay. Businessman Rajinder Singh Marwaha said he had constructed a cold storage at the focal point on Mehta Road, keeping in view the grant of capital subsidy. He said, “The delay in the release of subsidy is hurting my business interests.” He said small-scale industrialists from border districts already suffered from locational disadvantages. He has been waiting for the release of his Rs 10-lakh capital subsidy.

Another entrepreneur Sourav Seth said his family was in the textile trade for generations and the desire to upgrade to manufacturing and processing remained unfulfilled. Meanwhile, the Industrial policy 2003 had brought a ray of hope for those setting up of a textile unit. He said the offer of capital subsidy tempted them to risk investing in establishing a new unit in the border district.

He said the profit margin was already minimum in the textile trade due to intense competition and the delay had added to their problems.

The Textile Manufacturers’ Association president Hardit Singh Makhni said there were about 121 claimants for the capital subsidy from Amritsar and Tarn Taran and the rest belonged to Gurdaspur and Ferozepur districts. Early release of funds would help these industrialists to compete with their counterparts in Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand and Jammu and Kashmir, who are better placed due to extension of tax holiday.

When contacted, SS Channy Principal Secretary, Department of Industries and Commerce, Punjab, said that traders’ associations had submitted a representation in this regard. He added that his department would positively look into their claims. 

Amritsar, July 24
The Punjab and Haryana High Court has directed Principal Secretary, Department of Medical Education and Research, Punjab Government, to convene departmental promotion committee (DPC) in order to fill the vacant posts of teachers in Government Medical College, Amritsar.

The court gave its direction while disposing of the petition filed by Punjab State Medical and Dental Teachers Association against the reappointment of Dr RPS Boparai, Professor of Orthopaedic, who retired earlier this year and was reappointed by the government.

The association filed a petition in the high court while appealing to quash the reappointment as there were other teachers in the department who were eligible and waiting for their promotion.

While disposing of the petition, the high court said, “The Principal Secretary is directed to convene the meeting of the DPC and make necessary recommendations for promotion before September 30, 2011.” It also said that if the department required any approval from the Punjab Public Service Commission, Finance Department or any other authority it should obtain the same on or before October 31.

The high court also directed to fill the vacant posts by November 30. “The posts for which the promotion process has been initiated, including that of professor/professors in Orthopaedics shall be filled up before November 30,” said the high court in its order dated July 12. On the reappointment of Dr Boparai, it said he was re-employed in public interest for a period of one year only, which will expire on January 2012.

Notably, the state government, in its reply, had pointed out that the reappointment of Dr Boparai was only for a tenure of one year subject to the condition that his appointment would be up to the time till the regular appointment was made or appointment by way of promotion took place. 

Makhu (Ferozepur), July 24
The district police prevented the situation from taking an ugly turn in the town by averting a clash between the disciples of Dera Sacha Sauda and activists of various Sikh organisations.

Tension gripped the town after followers of Dera Sacha Sauda and activists of various Sikh organisations came face to face and were ready to attack each other near the local police station today.

While the Dera followers alleged that the Sikh organisations held out a threat to them while they were holding their Naam Charcha at a local religious place under police protection, the Sikh activists alleged that the Dera followers threatened them and levelled false allegations when they lodged their protest.

Police sources said the situation turned serious when Dera followers came to the local police station to lodge their complaint against the Sikh activists. The latter also arrived there at the same time.

Policemen who were deployed in large numbers managed to maintain a safe distance between the two groups and ultimately averted the clash after persuading them to leave the area one by one.

Information gathered by TNS revealed that the police had intensified patrolling so that mischievous elements could be stopped from taking advantage of the situation.

No case was registered against anyone despite the fact that both the parties had lodged complaints against each other with the police. 

Policemen on patrolling duty in the Gobindpura village of Mansa on Sunday to prevent any untoward incident. A Tribune photograph

DC Ravinder Singh and DIG PS Grewal, who addressed a joint press conference here, said 38 residents of Gobindpura village were released today. He claimed that no resident of Mansa district was harassed by the police.

New Delhi, July 24
The Planning Commission’s review of the Integrated Child Development Services (ICDS) implementation in India is not all black. While analysing the scheme for weaknesses, the review profiles select anganwari centres that are doing a good job and have the potential to lead.

The top among them is the Dadumajra anganwari centre in Chandigarh, which the Planning Commission report describes as “very good due to a dedicated anganwari worker and her excellent performance in delivering nutrition, health and pre-school education goals.” The centre steals the show among 1,500 anganwaris across the country that investigators surveyed between 2008 and 2009.

So what makes Dadumajra anganwari centre so special? The review points out that the distribution of supplementary nutrition in the form of food to children aged seven months to six years is the most critical objective of the ICDS and the anganwari centre in question is doing the job very well. On food distribution, in fact, investigators have hailed the Chandigarh administration’s move to centralise the process of cooked food supply to all 370 anganwaris in the city in 2007. Since then, the supply is being managed by Sri Shakti Kitchen, a non-profit organisation. As a result, the anganwari worker is spared the burden of cooking and can devote time to other objective.

Also, the process ensures accountability in food supply and has yielded good results. Out of 83 children enrolled at the centre, 20 suffering from grade 1 and two from Grade II malnutrition, are showing signs of recovery. Much of the credit for the centre’s success has been given to the anganwari worker. “Regular health checks are done; registered children and pregnant women are immunised. Last year, 80 children, 21 pregnant women and five lactating mothers were referred by the anganwari worker for further treatment to various hospitals. The anganwari centre has sufficient medicine stock and the anganwari worker never lets the medicines expire. Hence everyone around the area collects medicines from the centre.”

The report concludes: “Out of the 200 surveyed beneficiaries in the area, 50 per cent were registered. Most beneficiaries have appreciated regular immunisation and home visits made by the anganwari worker.”