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Pakistan traders for MFN status to India
Amritsar, December 2
Pakistani traders at the Punjab International Trade Expo in Amritsar on Friday. Over 260 Pakistani traders participating in the five-day PITEX here favoured granting of the MFN status to India.

Pakistani traders at the Punjab International Trade Expo in Amritsar on Friday. Photo: Sameer Sehgal

Govt grants certification, forgets inspection
Mohali, December 2
Nine months ago, around 3,500 private schools across the state were given associate school certification by the PSEB on the directions of Education Minister Sewa Singh Sekhwan.

Pollution control board to issue green certificates to schools
Patiala, December 2
With a view to involve the students community in spreading awareness for controlling, preventing and abating the environmental pollution, the Punjab Pollution Control Board (PPCB) has decided to grade schools of the state as gold, silver and bronze on the basis of their efforts taken for protection of the environment.

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	Polio threat: Proximity to Pakistan puts Amritsar in high risk zone December 2, 2011
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	CM lays stone of college November 28, 2011
	3 killed, 3 hurt in road mishaps November 27, 2011
	5-yr-old boy dies after falling in manhole November 26, 2011
	Court comes to rescue of Dalit woman November 25, 2011
	Woman kills son, self November 24, 2011
	Influential persons grab land worth crores, allege residents, councillors November 23, 2011
	PPCB begins training of firemen at brick kilns November 22, 2011

	Pakistan traders for MFN status to India Neeraj Bagga Tribune News Service Amritsar, December 2 Over 260 Pakistani traders participating in the five-day PITEX here favoured granting of the MFN status to India as they felt that it would catapult the current annual $2.7 billion trade between the two nations to about $5 billion. Pak World Trade and Expo Centre Chief Executive Khurshid Barlas, who is heading the 135-member traders delegation from Rawalpindi, Islamabad, Peshawar and Karachi, said on the second day of the exhibition that a majority of traders were in favour of granting MFN status to India and they would lobby for the cause in their country. Talking to the Tribune he spoke about Indo-Pak exhibition, which would be inaugurated in Islamabad. However, the exhibition would to be held in Ludhiana from February 23. Similarly, a “made in India exhibition” would be held in Lahore in March next year. He elaborated that these fair and close interactions would send across the message to the Yousuf Raza Gilani government regarding the trade prospects and views of the business community in Pakistan. Barlas said about a decade back majority of traders, exporters and importers of Pakistan were not inclined to do trade with India. However, the situation has changed. He favoured joint ventures between the industrialists of two neighbouring countries. Being a life member of the SAARC, Barlas said the share of trade within the SAARC was 22 percent, which is far behind regional trade of North America, which stands at 63 percent, and within European Union, at 51 per cent. Citing the example of bilateral trade between Pakistan and China, he said it stood at $8 billion. He credited the success to liberal visa regime between the two nations. He said businessmen of both the countries were granted working visas for a year. He is looking for similar arrangement of granting business visas to traders and industrialists of the SAARC nations. As per the arrangement under the SAARC only 100 visas, valid for a year, were allowed to businessmen of each country, he said. A businessman has to pay $5,000 to get that visa. “To curb third party trade, both India and Pakistan should come up with a policy for opening the borders for trade and commerce,” said Sheikh Irfan Qaiser, President, Lahore Chamber of Commerce and Industry (LCCI) indicating that there is a huge trade potential between the two countries. Qaiser is leading the 125-member delegation of Lahore Chamber of Commerce and Industry at PITEX. He called for opening of multiple visas to the business community. He invited the PHD Chamber to set up “Indian Pavilion” in the newly established Lahore Expo Centre. Shahida Tabassum Aziz of Karachi Chamber of Commerce and Saba from Multan Chamber of Commerce favoured granting of the MFN status to India as they felt that it would catapult the trade to new heights.
	Govt grants certification, forgets inspection Rajmeet Singh / TNS Mohali, December 2 Nine months ago, around 3,500 private schools across the state were given associate school certification by the PSEB on the directions of Education Minister Sewa Singh Sekhwan. However, the government has failed to carry out the mandatory inspection of infrastructure and staff strength since then. Around 50,000 students are studying in such schools. Even as the PSEB authorities have been writing to the government in this regard, it failed to evoke any response. While the first semester of classes X and XII for 2011-12 has already been held in September, the process is on for the conduct of the second semester in March. As per the regulations, the inspection is mandatory prior to the conduct of the exams. The school had been given the certification on the basis of certain parameters as regulations for such schools have not been framed by the PSEB so far. Since the board staff is busy conducting semester exams twice a year and carrying out inspection of schools applying for affiliation annually, it does not have requisite manpower to deal with associate schools. The PSEB had charged Rs 13,200 as the affiliation fee and Rs 5,000 as the continuation fee. The populist decision to give associate certification to the schools was taken after the government decided to ban private students, but it had ignored several parameters. Sukhwinder Kaur Saroya, controller of examination, PSEB, said the government had been again requested for the inspection. The one-time certification was granted on a set of conditions agreed to between the PSEB and representatives of the private schools’ association, she added. Dr Dalbir Singh Dhillon, chairman, PSEB, was not available for comments.
	Pollution control board to issue green certificates to schools Tribune News Service Patiala, December 2 With a view to involve the students community in spreading awareness for controlling, preventing and abating the environmental pollution, the Punjab Pollution Control Board (PPCB) has decided to grade schools of the state as gold, silver and bronze on the basis of their efforts taken for protection of the environment. Confirming this to The Tribune, PPCB chairman Kahan Singh Pannu said, "One of the major responsibilities of the board is to ensure that all possible steps should be taken for enhancing the green cover in the state and to prevent environmental degradation on account of violation of the pollution control norms." "After having lot of deliberations with board officers, academicians, general public and people from all sections of the society, it was decided to exhort the students community to expedite the process of spreading awareness regarding importance of complying with all the pollution control norms, besides plantation of maximum number of trees to increase the green cover", said Pannu, while adding that all government as well as public schools would be graded by the PPCB for the gold, silver and bronze, after assessing the contribution made by them in spreading the message of environmental protection. Pannu further said that the grading had been introduced with a view to prompt the institutions to take positive steps for environmental upgradation, as a continuous process, for which a detailed performa has been devised. He further said, "At the regional offices, PPCB officers will contact the authorities of the schools falling under their respective jurisdiction and would acquaint them with the concept of green schools. The performa would be given to all the school, which would be having a detailed programme as how to involve the students in the above-mentioned process", he said. Pannu also said that a committee of the board officers at the headquarters level would examine the cases on merit and subsequently recommend the schools for issuing grades based on their performance. "It will be a continuous process and there will be no restriction on the number of schools, aspiring to apply for the Green Schools Certificate", he concluded.
	300 flats for Army personnel Our Correspondent Pathankot, December 2 Lt Gen AK Choudhary, GOC of Rising Star Corps, inaugurated the procedure of allotment of 300 newly built residential flats to army men at Bhaskar Roy Enclave, Mamun Military Station, here today. Choudhary said Mamun Military Station is one of the largest cantonments of the country. Constructing of new flats here would solve the problem of getting an accommodation by the army men. It would also provide an opportunity to a soldier to stay with his family. The General Officer Commanding, Gurj Division, Major General G. Sankaranarayanan, was also present on the occasion. OC SAD members quit party Hoshiarpur: Gurmit Singh Phuglana, former vice president of the SAD, Hoshiarpur, Harcharan Singh Ghorewaha, circle president, Hariana, Gurmail Singh Sikri, ex circle president Kuldip Kumar of Sadar along with their hundreds of supporters resigned from the SAD in protest today. “We are being ignored by the party leadership,” they alleged. They have not joined any other political party so far and would take a decision in this connection very shortly.
	Rural development officials threaten to intensify protest Tribune News Service Mohali, December 2 Even as functioning of the head office and district-level offices of the Rural Development and Panchayat Department in the state has come to a stand still due to weeklong strike of the Rural Development Officers' Association, the agitating members today threatened to intensify their agitation if the state government did not accept their demands. After their meeting with the principal secretary to the Chief Minister on November 30, which did not yield any result, the officers expressed their anguish by wearing black badges. Narinder Singh, president, Rural Development Officers' Association, Punjab, said the administrative department had moved a draft memorandum for the approval of the council of ministers. "But even after one month, it is gathering dust in the finance department and the government has not taken any action to accept our justified demands," he said. The association, in its representation to the cabinet sub-committee, had pointed out that the junior engineers (JEs) working under the BDPO were getting higher pay than BDPO and after 10 years of service the pay of JEs would be equal to the pay of deputy director, rural development. "The pay of ETT teachers working in Block Development Panchayat Officer office have been raised almost equal to the pay of BDPO. The qualification of ETT teacher is 10+2 and for the post of JE it is diploma and Zila Parishad and Departmental Committee appoint them, respectively. In Comparison to this, the BDPO is Group "A" officer and is appointed by the Punjab Public Service Commission," he said.