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Paddy estimates decline
Post-SC order, Power Corp’s deficit up by 3,000 lakh units
Capt has no positive agenda, says Sukhbir
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State govt fails to pay PSPCL for free power
ADGP for strict implementation of traffic laws
BJP to discuss readjustment of seats with
SAD
Amarinder flays Badal for defending officers Izhar Alam, Sumedh Saini
Laying stones for success
Despite scams, govt shielding PSEB top brass, says MLA
Baba Ramdev bats for organic food in cancer belt Malwa
Sharjah bootlegging-cum-murder case
Sahota is new IG Lok Pal
Delhi-Ludhiana Shatabdi to chug off from today
Petitioner takes up timings of liquor vends in HC
PUDA scheme for own staff stayed by court
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Paddy estimates decline
“At present, there is negligible arrival of paddy in the Amritsar-Gurdaspur-Tarn Taran belt,” a government official said. “Farmers will lose about Rs 700 crore owing to lesser production this year,” a farmer leader said. Notably, there was considerable damage to the paddy crop in August and September owing to inclement weather conditions. Besides, the area under paddy crop was less by 60,000 hectares this time. Director (Agriculture) Balwinder Singh Sidhu said unfavourable weather damaged five to seven per cent of the paddy crop. Even on the basmati front, farmers have reaped losses. While last year this particular variety fetched Rs 3,500 a quintal, the price this year has not crossed Rs 1,800 a quintal. Basmati is not procured by any government agency, only private millers purchase it. Meanwhile, BKU leader Balbir Singh Rajewal has urged the state government to compensate the farmers for the loss in production. He also urged the government to release pending instalment to farmers from the Centre’s special grant to the state to meet the expenditure related to the farm sector.
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Post-SC order, Power Corp’s deficit up by 3,000 lakh units
Patiala, November 3 Now, Punjab would be power deficit by at least 3,000 lakh units (LUs) a year and the cash-strapped Punjab State Power Corporation Limited (PSPCL) would have to purchase power from outside the state, which would put an additional burden of about Rs 80-90 crore. As per the new power-sharing arrangement, now Punjab would get 34 MW less power from Bhakra Nangal Project, 34 MW less power from Dehra Power House and 7.1 MW less power from Pong Power House. PSPCL Director (Distribution) Arun Verma said, “Punjab will be power deficit by 75.1 MW, but there is nothing to panic as we will meet the shortfall by purchasing power from outside agency.” Verma, however, said reduction in power share from the BBMB projects would definitely lead to additional financial burden on the Power Corporation. The statistics pertaining to the power purchase show that power availability from the BBMB projects was at a very low cost of about Rs 0.22 per unit. However, if the PSPCL purchases power from outside the state now, every unit of power would not be less than Rs 3, which would mean an additional burden of Rs 84 crore (approximately) on the exchequer.
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Capt has no positive agenda, says Sukhbir
Amritsar, November 3 Talking to mediapersons after opening the Rs 30-crore elevated road from the GT road to the Golden Temple, Sukhbir said the former CM was only focusing on vendetta politics. “His use of unparliamentary language for his rivals only reveals his frustration. He seems to have accepted defeat even before the elections. Capt Amarinder Singh has only a negative agenda and has nothing positive to offer to the public.” The Deputy CM said the auction of liquor vends by the government had been most transparent, resultind in a substantial increase in revenue. He said Capt Amarinder Singh had much to explain for allowing a particular liquor baron to monopolise the trade during the Congress regime. He claimed that the state revenue had doubled from Rs 36,000 crore to Rs 72,000 crore under the SAD-BJP rule. On the allotment of the party ticket, Sukhbir said this would be done after a feedback from each constituency. He said the ruling alliance was preparing a “Vision Document” for the next five years. Israeli minister calls on Sukhbir
Israel’s Minister of Internal Security Yitzhak Aharonovitch called on the Deputy CM and discussed issues of mutual importance. Sukhbir sought Israel’s help in the modern micro irrigation techniques and for conservation of water. He also sought Israeli knowhow to treat brackish water to make it potable for drinking purposes.
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State govt fails to pay PSPCL for free power
Chandigarh, November 3 Since the subsidy is to be paid in advance at the start of the month as per the order of the State Electricity Regulatory Commission, the government is now due to pay the subsidy for the month of November also. Non-payment of subsidy has created a financial crisis in the PSPCL and could also result in curtailing of the electricity supply from central sector companies to Punjab. The state owes central companies around Rs 140 crore in unpaid bills for power purchase and the 60-day payment deadline ends tomorrow. According to the tripartite agreement signed between the Punjab government, Reserve Bank of India (RBI) and the Union Govenrment, in case the central sector power bills remain unpaid for more than 60 days, the central power companies can curtail or regulate power supply to Punjab. Also, the RBI will be empowered to make deductions from central plan allocation funds to Punjab and utilise this deducted amount to make the payment of energy bills directly to the central sector power companies, including NTPC, NHPC, Powergrid Corporation, Nuclear Power Corporation, Sutlej Jal Vidyut Nigam and Tehri Hydro Development Corporation. If Punjab defaults on making the payment tomorrow, it will also be charged late payment surcharge at the rate of 15 per cent per annum. PSPCL officials said the matter was being taken up with the government and efforts were on to get the subsidy for the month of October released at the earliest.
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ADGP for strict implementation of traffic laws
Patiala, November 3 In a communiqué sent to all SSPs and commissioners, RP Singh, ADGP (Traffic), has said the matter pertaining to accidents was recently discussed in the Vidhan Sabha. “There are ample steps that are required to be taken. Eight to 10 per cent accidents take place due to wrong parking of vehicles,” he said. Over 2,000 deaths have already been reported in road accidents till October this year and according to the Police Department, in 3,042 road accidents that took place in the state from January 1 to June 30 this year, as many as 2,561 people were injured. The maximum number of accidents took place on the roads located in the Amritsar police range. Topping the death chart, Patiala has reported the maximum of 171 deaths in road mishaps, followed by 132 in Ludhiana and 103 in Roopnagar in the same period. The recent communiqué further asked for special drives against drunken driving, over-speeding, identification of killer stretches and efforts to make them safe. “Further, lists of divers should be prepared which is available with the SHOs who can help fish out people who fall in water bodies after a mishap.” Sources confirmed that the state Vidhan Sabha had recently submitted a report to look into the lapses and reasons that led to such high number of accidents. However, the absence of requisite infrastructure, including shortage of speed governors, staff, and alcometers, had hampered the working of the traffic police.
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BJP to discuss readjustment of seats with
SAD
Ludhiana, November 3 Addressing a news conference here today, the general secretary of state unit of the party, Kamal Sharma said that perhaps this would be the last meeting of the state working committee before the coming assembly elections. "In the wake of its strategic importance, the meeting will be attended by the national president of the party Nitin Gadkari, national vice-president of the BJP and in charge of Punjab affairs Shanta Kumar and other senior party leaders." He said the party would dwell on the readjustment of certain assembly seats on the basis of the winning potential of the two alliance partners - the BJP and the SAD. "We might concede a couple or more seats to the SAD and lay claim on as many others where our party is confident about victory," he stated, while also not ruling out the possibility of replacing some of the sitting legislators with new faces.
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Amarinder flays Badal for defending officers Izhar Alam, Sumedh Saini
Jalandhar, November 3 “Badal suggested to me that I should change my vocabulary. How can I stop myself from calling a spade a spade? They (Badals) are ‘dakus’ and ‘mahachors’ who have looted Punjab. Badal has claimed that he is like my father. My father was a man of high character and was a class apart from Badal. There is nothing wrong in equating Badal with Gaddafi,” asserted Amarinder. Amarinder took a dig at Badal and other Akalis for defending the police officers like Izhar Alam and Sumedh Singh Saini, whom they once described as killers and murderers of Sikhs. “It is surprising that they have not only now forgotten all their allegations against them, but are now defending them so strongly and fielding one of them from Malerkotla”. “They have withdrawn facilities extended by our government to the poor. All Badal is interested is in is getting his own and his son’s pictures pasted on bicycles and even on utensils distributed amongst poor people,” said Amarinder. Amarinder alleged that the Jalandhar-based Rs 2,000-crore worth Punjab Institute of Medical Sciences (PIMS) was handed over by Parkash Singh Badal to his close confidant and Patiala-based Akali leader Surjit Singh Rakhra and company for just Rs 130 crore. “We will cancel the PIMS deal upon coming to power in the state,” said Amarinder. The PPCC chief was accompanied by senior Congress leaders, including Jagmeet Brar, the PPCC in-charge Gulchain Singh Charak, Mohinder Singh Kaypee, Avtar Henry, Chaudhary Jagjit Singh and Ashwani Sekhri, among others. The PCC president criticised the decision of the Jalandhar Improvement Trust to give prime land worth Rs 19 crore to the BJP for just Rs 55 lakh. On the other hand, Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal advised Amarinder to mind his “abusive” and “unparliamentary” language at his rallies. “Amarinder should rather focus on his party agenda,”, he said.
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Laying stones for success
Chandigarh, November 3 Since the Punjab Vidhan Sabha passed the Right to Services Act-2011 on October 7, Deputy CM Sukhbir Badal has inaugurated 115 Saanjh Kendras across the state in less than a month. He has also opened over 100 farad kendras during this period. To complete the projects before the model code of conduct comes into force, Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal has decided to inaugurate the Khalsa Heritage Centre at Anandpur Sahib without further waiting for the PM. The Chief Minister today announced several development projects worth Rs 214 crore for Kapurthala. He inaugurated a modern jail there as well as a college at Mithra. He laid the foundation stone for an ITI at Khirawali, a food craft institute at Mithra, the GNDU Regional Centre and a multi-specialty hospital at Fattu Dhinga, the Talwandi Chaudhrian sub- tehsil and the widening of the Sultanpur Lodhi-Kapurthala Bibi Nanaki Marg. At Sultanpur Lodhi, Badal gave a grant of Rs1.45 crore for various on-going works. At Amritsar, Deputy Chief Minister Sukhbir Badal today inaugurated the elevated road to the Golden Temple. The Punjab Cabinet, in an obvious bid to woo government employees, announced a 7 per cent hike in dearness allowance last week. Again at a meeting yesterday it announced a Rs 800 crore bonanza for the state employees. It decided to regularise the services of daily-wage workers in different departments, boards and corporations. The government also introduced a special child care leave for the women employees. The government gave a special permanent grade pay and a special increment to police personnel, besides a manifold increase in conveyance allowance to all ranks.Keen to make their presence felt in every nook and corner of the state, the CM and the Deputy CM have landed up with an aviation bill of Rs 3.20 crore for hiring aircraft from Gobal Vectra, DLF and India FlySafe Aviation between December 20, 2010 and May 3, 2011.
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Despite scams, govt shielding PSEB top brass, says MLA
Mohali, November 3 Addressing a press conference, Sidhu claimed that in the annual purchase of 10,000 tonne of printing paper, the board was suffering a loss of Rs 6 to Rs 8 crore due to connivance of board officials with the supplier. "Besides, the Education Minister and the board management are recruiting their near and dear ones. Despite such grave anomalies, the board chairman was given one-year extension," said the MLA. Basing his statement on figures, Sidhu said the PSEB authorities were purchasing the paper at a rate of Rs 44,000 per tonne from a private firm whereas the same firm was supplying it for Rs 38,000 per tonne to other boards, including the NCERT, Gujarat board and Indira Gandhi Open University. In the process, certain officials were pocketing the excess Rs 6,000 per tonne, causing a loss of Rs 6 crore annually to the board, he added. He also said the paper was being checked by a non-certified agency instead of a national-level certified body. The chairman of the board had increased the secrecy fund to Rs 11 crore whereas it was just Rs 1.15 crore in 2004-2005. He further said Chariman's daughter Navneet Kaur was regularised within a day of being appointed as Director (Computer) on a salary of Rs 80,000 per month. A nephew of the Education Minister was also being adjusted in a similar manner, he added. Regarding the appointment of secretary of the board, he said a PCS officer and some other eligible candidates were ignored to select Dr Balwinder Singh. "Going against the rules, the board authorities advertised the post and then did not call other candidates and arbitrarily selected a particular candidate who has come from a private college and is close to the Education Minister," the MLA alleged.
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Baba Ramdev bats for organic food in cancer belt Malwa
Bathinda, November 3 While interacting with the yoga guru, the villagers apprised him of the rampant problem of drug addiction in the village and how the menace was taking a toll on the residents’ health. Exhorting the youth to take an oath of quitting drugs, Ramdev distributed boxes of ‘chyawanprash’ (health product) to the addicts. He has also decided to adopt nearby Jajjal village. Talking about the unusually high incidence of cancer cases in Malwa belt, Baba Ramdev said pesticides alone could not be blamed for the catastrophe. He said the need of the hour was to give up chemical-intensive farming and adopt organic farming. Encouraging the farmers to grow food without using chemicals, he said the practice would also help replenish soil nutrients and, thereby, boost agricultural economy. Demanding setting up of Rashtriya Kisan Aayog (National Farmers’ Commission), he said at present the cost of input in agriculture was more than the output. “A small farmer earns little more than Rs 3,400 a month, which is even less than what house maids earn. Agriculture is no more a profit-making venture,” he added.
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Sharjah bootlegging-cum-murder case
Chandigarh/Dubai,November 3 The remaining four boys, also from Punjab, will have to wait for clearance from the Dubai police for cases pending against them before they can be released. Kuldip Singh of Moga, Sachin Kumar Sharma of Goraya, Rakesh Kumar of Maqsudan, Sukhpal Singh of Mansa, Hardev Singh of Kotkapura, Charanjeet of Nawanshahr, Amarjeet Singh of Goraya, Rashwinder Pal Singh of Moga, and Mohammed Ansar Chaudhary and Shahid Hussain Ifthreen Rana of Pakistan, were convicted for the murder of a Pakistani boy, Mohammed Mumtaz Yousuf, in 2009. Those returning home tomorrow are Rakesh Kumar, Sukhpal Singh, Charanjeet and Rashwinder Pal. It was late last year that SP Singh Oberoi, a Dubai-based Indian businessman, accompanied Mohammed Yousuf, victim’s father, to the Sharjah Appeal Court and made a joint submission that the victim’s family was ready for a compromise. On February 1 this year, Mohammed Yousuf accepted the blood money in the court. In all, Rs 62 lakh (Pakistani) was paid. Subsequently, on March 27, the Appeal Court waived the death sentence of all 10 convicts. The revised sentence was three-year imprisonment for each. Since all convicts completed their sentence on November 1, they have been ordered to be released and deported from the UAE, subject to clearance from various authorities. The Indian Consulate issued temporary passports (Out pass) within one day to four of the boys to facilitate their immediate return to India. Interestingly, the two Pakistani boys have already been deported to their country. Amarjeet has an absconding case pending against him in Dubai. Sachin is also an absconder in another case while details of cases against Kuldip and Hardev were still being worked out. Oberoi was hopeful that they would also be cleared in the next 10 days.
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Sahota is new IG Lok Pal
Chandigarh, November 3 The posting was necessitated following the transfer of former IG Lok Pal, Sham Lal Gakhar, as IG Patiala Zone last week. Sahota will now take off from where Gakhar left off. The office of the IG Lok Pal has been entrusted with the job of inquiring into allegations of illegal plying of air-conditioned buses belonging to the Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal and Deputy Chief Minister Sukhbir Singh Badal from various points in Punjab to Chandigarh. Lok Pal Justice (retired) DS Dhaliwal had given the former IG Gakhar one month to complete the investigation into the case. However, Gakhar was transferred out of the Lok Pal office three days before the expiry of this deadline.
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Delhi-Ludhiana Shatabdi to chug off from today Chandigarh, November 3 Manish Tewari said the Shatabdi would be a boon for commuters of Ludhiana who wished to reach Delhi late in the evening to catch international flights. He said the reverse was also true for Punjabis coming from abroad as the train restarted on its journey back to Ludhiana early in the morning from Delhi. Tewari claimed that the train had been temporarily routed through Rohtak-Sangrur because of congestion on the main Ambala trunk line. The Railways authorities, however, claim that the Shatabdi is likely to continue plying on the Rohtak-Sangrur track. The Northern Railway General Manager SK Budhalakoti, when contacted, said the present route was a permanent arrangement. He said the route via Ambala was saturated and moreover it was the endeavour of the Railways to provide superior Shatabdi services to new places. “The present train is serving new points of Rohtak and Sangrur”, he added. The Rohtak-Sangrur route is likely to increase the journey time because the Shatabdi cannot travel on high speed on it. There is only a marginal increase of 11 km as far as distance is concerned. The Railways GM said the train, which was presently scheduled to run for four days a week on Monday, Tuesday, Friday and Saturday, would start running for six days a week once the Railways got a new rake for the train. Meanwhile, the Sangrur MP Vijay Inder Singla claimed he had submitted a written letter to the former Railway Minister Mamata Banerjee on the day she announced the train in the Railway Budget urging the train run through Sangrur. He said he had made a similar request to the Prime Minister who had acknowledged the same and assured him that he would look into the matter. He thanked both of them for providing this service to the Malwa region in Punjab.
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Petitioner takes up timings of liquor vends in HC
Chandigarh, November 3 Arora is seeking directions for quashing of clause 32.00 of the Punjab Excise Policy for 2011-12, permitting liquor vends in Punjab to remain open from 7am to midnight. Appearing before the Division Bench of Acting Chief Justice M.M. Kumar and Justice Rajiv Narain Raina, the petitioner contended he was not satisfied with the decision of the Punjab Cabinet to reduce the working hours from April 1, 2012 , and to fix the operating time of liquor vends from 9 am to 11 pm. He submitted before the Bench that schools in Punjab open at 9 am from October 1 onwards, and the liquor vends should not be allowed to open before 10 am, as the proposed timings would clash with the opening time of the government schools in Punjab from October 1 onwards. To a query posed by the Bench regarding the liquor contractors whose interest would be prejudicially affected if the timings of liquor vends were changed immediately, the petitioner offered to implead some of the liquor contractors as party-respondents to his PIL. The Bench accepted the request of the petitioner, and allowed him to implead some of the liquor contractors as respondents.
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PUDA scheme for own staff stayed by court
Chandigarh, November 3 A Division Bench of Acting Chief Justice MM Kumar and Justice Rajiv Narain Raina stayed the operation of the PUDA circular dated September 24, 2010, inviting applications from its regular staff (with five years of service) for allotment of a plot each. As per the scheme, Class-1 officers were entitled to plots of 14
marlas, Class-II officers to 10 marlas and Class-III to eight marlas. Class-IV staff were entitled to five marla plots. Challenging the move, advocate-cum-petitioner HC Arora contended that instead of acting as a custodian of public interest, PUDA was acting illegally at the cost of tax payers’ money. The petitioner also brought to the notice of the Bench that PUDA had recently regularised a large number of daily-wage workers with retrospective effect from January 6, 2001, and had declared on June 7 that they too could seek allotment of residential plots. The petitioner argued that PUDA was misusing the trust reposed in it by the public by unduly enriching its employees through the impugned scheme and also misusing the land acquired by it for public purposes.
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Amritsar, November 3
With over 2,000 deaths reported in the state following road accidents, the Punjab police top brass has asked its district chiefs to pull up their socks to ensure foolproof measures to avoid road mishaps. The ADGP (Traffic) has asked them to take effective steps as many such accidents are avoidable.
In a communiqué sent to all SSPs and commissioners, RP Singh, ADGP (Traffic), has said the matter pertaining to accidents was recently discussed in the Vidhan Sabha. “There are ample steps that are required to be taken.
The verbal duel between the PCC chief Capt Amarinder Singh and the CM Parkash Singh Badal intensified today as Amarinder turned down Badal’s suggestion that the former should not use “unparliamentary” language against him. He was addressing the “Punjab Bachao” rally of the Congress at Jalandhar and Nakodar here today.
Adopting the first-ever village in Punjab, yoga guru Baba Ramdev today launched a drug de-addiction campaign at Laleana in Talwandi Sabo block of
Bathinda. He also encouraged the villagers to take to organic food.
The Delhi-Ludhiana Shatabdi train, which will traverse via Rohtak and Sangrur, will be flagged off by Minister of State for Railways KH Muniyappa from Ludhiana tomorrow. The Shatabdi, which has come about following an initiative of Ludhiana MP Manish Tewari, is in fact the restarting of an earlier service which ran for only three months in 2008.
Manish Tewari said the Shatabdi would be a boon for commuters of Ludhiana who wished to reach Delhi late in the evening to catch international flights.
Chandigarh, November 3
