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Factionalism holding up BJP list |
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Congress list delayed
Bhagwant Mann to take on Bhattal in Lehra
Water their sole demand here
Delayed projects may spell trouble for SAD
EC has to make do with PPS officers
INFRASTRUCTURE A flyover at BMC Chowk in Jalandhar, a city which, along with Bathinda, was an exception in drawing the government’s attention in urban development. The difference is evident. Photo: Malkit Singh
Urban development down in potholes
PIDB, credit gave the push
A super-specialty hospital built in Mohali in the public-private partnership mode. Such hospitals are required to deposit 5 per cent of the revenue with the government, to be used for treatment of poor cancer patients. Photo: Vicky Gharu PSPCL on verge of bankruptcy
Shaheedi Jor Mela concludes with religious ceremonies
Cash limit: Traders up in arms against EC orders
Students to get ‘Aakash’ soon
Foeticide bid: Police yet to book doctor
Centre’s vegetable clusters scheme for Ludhiana
Toll-free No. for poll complaints
Poll Snippets
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Factionalism holding up BJP list
Chandigarh, December 28
BJP president Nitin Gadkari had hinted at his recent meetings with editors, both in Chandigarh and Jalandhar, that the determining factor for ticket allotment would be the party’s own assessment rather than recommendations by the state unit. This model was followed in Bihar and would be repeated in Punjab, he had said. Appreciating the brainstorming by the party’s core committee, which had to hold a “secret” meeting in a Chandigarh hotel, Gadkari is believed to have politely told senior party leaders that the decision should be left to him, Shanta Kumar and JP Nadda. The three have already done their homework well by obtaining assessment from various quarters, including an independent agency. On December 25, the state leadership short-listed constituency-wise candidates. The list has one to three names for the 23 seats that the BJP will contest as part of its pre-poll alliance with the SAD. The list is with the central BJP leaders for consideration. They have asked the state leaders to resolve the conflict on seats where attempts are being made to replace the candidates. While the party is yet to form a consensus on the candidates, it has announced a four-member campaign committee, headed by Amritsar MP Navjot Singh Sidhu. Other members on the committee are Rajya Sabha MP Avinash Rai Khanna, former Punjab minister Balramji Das Tandon and former Union Minister Vinod Khanna. Punjab BJP president Ashwani Sharma said the first meeting of the election committee would be held tomorrow to plan the election campaign.. Sharma has announced an election coordination committee which will be headed by Tandon, who will be its convener, and Kamal Sharma and Manjit Singh Rai, both Punjab BJP general secretaries, and Mohan Lal Sethi as members. This committee will be responsible for coordination between the alliance partners for the assembly elections. Other committees related to election management and coordination will be declared later this week.
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Congress list delayed
Chandigarh, December 28 The scrutiny committee, headed by senior leader CP Joshi and comprising Delhi leader JP Agarwal, Punjab party affairs incharge Gulchain Singh Charak, PPC chief Capt Amarinder Singh and state Legislature Party Leader Rajinder Kaur Bhattal, met in Delhi for over five hours today. Capt Amarinder Singh said the committee heard the views of half of its MPs. A meeting with the rest would be held tomorrow. He said the party would also hold parleys with all senior leaders who had unsuccessfully contested the last parliamentary elections. Congress Rajya Sabha members would be taken into confidence too. Sources said the Lok Sabha MPs had been extremely reluctant to give their recommendations in writing as had been demanded by the scrutiny committee earlier. Every MP was given time to make his recommendations directly to the committee. Capt Amarinder said some MPs had submitted their recommendations, but admitted that all wanted to meet the scrutiny committee. Amarinder said the recommendations would be in by tomorrow and the scrutiny committee would hold another meeting and take a decision on each constituency.The list, Amarinder said, would then be sent to the party’s central election committee. Sources said the scrutiny committee was likely to compare the recommendations of the MPs with surveys conducted by the Pradesh Congress. The individual opinion of Amarinder Singh, Bhattal and Charak would also be considered. The party is likely to announce most of its nominees in one go and deal with contentious seats later. It is already under pressure with the SAD having announced nominees for 63 of the 93 seats that it will contest.
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Bhagwant Mann to take on Bhattal in Lehra
Chandigarh, December 28 The SAD is likely to field Sukhwant Singh Sarao, a former Additional Deputy Commissioner ( ADC), from Lehra this time. Sarao had recently resigned from service to join politics. He is a confidant of senior Akali leader Sukhdev Singh Dhindsa. The PPP leadership has decided to field its frontline leaders against important Congress and Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) leaders as a part of its election strategy. The obvious objective is to keep senior leaders of main political parties confined to their respective constituencies. The PPP chief’s father Gurdas Singh Badal has been fielded against Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal in the Lambi constituency. Mann said he had been approached by the people of Sunam and Maur “but I have opted for Lehra because my party leadership wants it so.” The PPP leadership had earlier allocated Lehra to the CPI, which is a part of the Sanjha Morcha headed by Manpreet Badal. The CPI had announced Satwant Singh Khandewad as its candidate from Lehra. The PPP has decided to request the CPI leadership to leave the constituency for Mann in lieu of another constituency, say sources. Mann, known for his biting satire, has emerged as a forceful orator. He uses folk tales and the local idiom to touch the hearts of the people. PPP Strategy n The PPP leadership has decided to field its frontline leaders against important Congress and SAD leaders n
The objective is to keep senior leaders of main political parties confined to their constituencies n
The PPP leadership had earlier allocated Lehra to the CPI that had announced the candidature of Satwant Singh Khandewad
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Water their sole demand here
Drinking and irrigation water is the only demand of Balluana voters, a rural constituency in Fazilka district. No matter which party they have voted for, there has been no improvement in the water supply.
PROJECTS: Gurtej Singh, who polled 50,929 votes, defeating Congress candidate Parkash Singh Bhatti in 2007, says the SAD-BJP government cleared five water projects worth over Rs 12 crore, constructed the New Tarmala link channel, shifted the Mehrajpur head and renovated the Wazidpur-Kattianwali minor, the Aspal minor and the Khippawali minor to improve water availability in the constituency. However Pakash Singh Bhatti, former Congress MLA, says most of the projects have been on papers alone. Instead of relieving Balluana farmers of the water-logging problem, the Akalis had diverted the floodwaters in Lambi areas to Balluana this monsoon season, affecting crops in 12 villages, he says. In this political mud-slinging, once again the voters have little hope of elected leaders solving their problems. Post-delimitation, 21 villages in the Fazilka and Abohar constituencies have been attached with Balluana. The Congress and the Akalis ara in a tough contest to win this reserved constituency. The BSP is also in the reckoning with a considerable hold among SC voters. Vox Populi: The voters are cynical about the leaders doing anything for them. The poor quality of drinking water has led to many diseases in the area while shortage ofirrig ation water in the waterlogged area has been a curse for the citrus plants. Says Tej Ram: “During elections, the leaders make tall promises but deliver nothing. Nothing ever changes here.” Looking Back: In the 2002 assembly elections, Bhatti won the seat for the Congress but in the 2007 poll, with the Congress rebel,Babu Ram, contesting as an Independent, he lost the seat to Gurtej Singh of the SAD. This time, after the split in the Badal family, the going will be tough for Gurtej Singh as Gurdas S Badal is a force to reckon with in Balluana — TNS
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Delayed projects may spell trouble for SAD
Neeraj Bagga The constituency has traditionally been an Akali bastion. Of the seven assembly elections since 1977, the Akalis have won five times. However, the voters have never re-elected a candidate. Projects: For the first time ever, the laying of sewerage at a cost of Rs 21 crore has been initiated in this constituency. Many roads have been built. A grant of Rs 70 lakh has been announced for a utensil museum. Vox populi: Even as sitting Akali MLA Malkiat Singh is counting on the development works initiated during his stint, residents of the constituency complain of delay in starting the projects. They say roads and the sewerage project will take time to be functional. The condition of the local bus stand is deplorable. They are alarmed at the unhygienic conditions at the ‘chhappar’ near Gurdwara Baba Hundal. Looking back: The sitting Akali MLA won the 2007 assembly elections polling 53.43 per cent votes. He trounced former Excise Minister Sardul Singh Bandal of the Congress who garnered 41.34 per cent votes. Bandala has contested the seat four times and won twice. Bandala won the seat for the Congress after defeating Malkiat Singh in 2002, securing 52.01 votes against his opponent’s 43.19 per cent. In the 1997 assembly elections, Akali Dal’s Ajaypal Singh Mirankot won the seat polling 56.46 per cent votes. He defeated Bandal, who got 34.74 per cent votes. Bandala won Jandiala thrashing Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) nominee Sardul Singh Nona in 1992. In the 1985 elections, SAD’s Ranjit Singh defeated Congress candidate Karnail Singh Marri. Akali Dal’s Tara Singh defeated Karnail Singh of the Congress in a close contes in 1980. The former managed 48.08 per cent of votes and the latter 47.8 per cent. In the 1977 elections, SAD’s Dalbir Singh got the better of Karnail Singh Marari of the Congress. No major initiative was taken in the past five years to generate employment for the youth of this constituency. Residents complain of rampant drug abuse. Jandiala has only one college - Shri Raghunath College
for Women. Sitting MLA Malkiat Singh is the frontrunner for the SAD ticket while the Congress is likely to depend on Bandala once again. The Punjab People’s Party has no presence in this contituency and neither does Simranjit Singh Mann-led SAD (A), the BSP and the Left parties. — TNS
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EC has to make do with PPS officers
Chandigarh, December 28 Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) SY Qureishi today ruled out posting IPS officers from other states as district heads, as was being speculated. He said he had issued a stern warning to the PPS officers posted as SSPs to ensure that the code of conduct was not violated. Qureishi said: “ The state does not have many IPS officers who can be posted as SSPs with most having been transferred out to the field. We will have to make do with the PPS officers now. But I have warned the latter to follow the Qureishi, addressing a meeting of police officials especially asked the SSPs of Muktsar, Barnala and Moga to ensure that no police official of any rank helped a specific party. Qureishi said the three districts were sensitive constituencies and efforts should be made to ensure that government machinery was not misused here. Yesterday, the SSPs of Patiala, Barnala, Moga, Mansa and Muktsar and the SP (HQ), Patiala, were transferred on the directions of Election Commission. Harsh Bansal was posted as SSP, Muktsar, Dhanpreet Kaur, SSP Barnala, Dinesh Partap Singh, SSP, Patiala, Inderbir Singh, SSP Moga, and Pradeep Kumar Yadav, SSP, Mansa. Qureishi said 22 IPS officers of the rank of IG would be appointed observers and 43 Revenue Department officers would be posted as expenditure observers.
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INFRASTRUCTURE
Chandigarh, December 28 A ground check shows the government did indeed undertake a host of big-ticket projects, but its efforts were rather short of the requirement on urban infrastructure. Even as highways turned swankier, most cities were unable to shed their shanty-town look. What was achieved, however, does deserve a look, as the super-specialty hospitals and star-rated hotels to state-of-the-art bus terminals and convention centres the present regime facilitated have given a fillip to the sagging macro-level infrastructure. Realising this was a major challenge, especially at a time when the economy was down and it was difficult to attract investment, the government ensured flow of funds for basic infrastructure. It took the public-private partnership (PPP) route, or the “design, build, finance, operate and transfer (DBFOT)” way to construct major roads, railway over-bridges (ROBs) and under-bridges (RUB), and high-level bridges. After a drought of decades, funds started flowing and contracts were awarded for water supply and sewerage; cleaning the state’s rivers of effluents; and modernising jails and hospitals. It is another matter the administration failed to take steps to curb the release of effluents into rivers or to ensure upgraded hospitals had adequate staff.
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Urban development down in potholes
While certain urban areas of Punjab such as Ludhiana, Amritsar and Mohali saw rapid growth of population owing to high migration, the government failed to provide matching infrastructure. Realising the gap, the government initially decided to set up a municipal infrastructure development fund with a corpus of Rs 1,100 crore. However, three years on, as it failed to make the cash available, it scaled the figure down to Rs 750 crore. This was further brought down to Rs 315 crore. But the irony is that even that has not been received by the cash-strapped municipal corporations, councils and committees. As a result, development of new
infrastructure in most cities, or even maintenance of the existing roads, has not
been possible. Easing city life the way ahead
Since better urban infrastructure leads to increase in land value, the government could tap the levies on that to fund even more development and better delivery of public services. The government would have to focus on services such as supplying safe drinking water, laying new and more effective storm-water drainage, solid-waste management, and wastewater treatment, besides improving public transport, public health, streetlights and the traffic support system.
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Officials in the Punjab Infrastructure Development Board (PIDB) say that since February 2007 (when the government assumed power), they have awarded and executed projects amounting to Rs 1,758 crore under the PPP mode.
Besides these, there also seven major projects in the pipeline, which are worth Rs 1,465 crore, also to be executed in the PPP mode — a ropeway between Anandpur Sahib and Naina Devi (to be initiated jointly with Himachal Pradesh); a bus terminal and commercial complex at Bathinda; a turf club; five-star hotels and international convention centres at Amritsar and Ludhiana; development of diagnostic centres at district hospitals; and, nine road corridors across the state — and to be constructed on a “build, operate and transfer (BOT)” basis. These projects are in advanced stages of bidding. The government took major initiatives in improving the road network and ensuring better connectivity between major cities, as well as between cities and villages. As many as 31 new ROBs and RUBs were constructed at a cost of Rs 548 crore. Another 11 ROBs are under construction at a cost of Rs 183 crore. High-level bridges worth Rs 60 crore have been built, while work on eight high-level bridges (Rs 497 crore) and the creation of a “southern bypass” to Ludhiana (Rs 400 crore) is under way. The government awarded projects worth Rs 1,200 crore for better water supply and sewerage and sewerage treatment plants; Rs 200 crore for modernisation of jails at Faridkot and Amritsar; and, executed 17 projects worth Rs 136 crore in various towns and villages. It claims “special efforts” were made to improve the state’s sports infrastructure, upgrading existing stadiums and constructing many new ones.
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PSPCL on verge of bankruptcy
Patiala, December 28 Notably, following the directives of the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) in October this year restricting loans to the state power distribution companies that are exceeding losses to the tune of Rs 5,000 crore, several financial institutions and banks had stopped disbursing short-term loans to the Punjab power corporation. The financial crisis in the PSPCL could be gauged from the fact that till December 1, 2011, the PSPCL had failed to clear the payment of the supplier of equipment/material to the tune of Rs 82.66 crore. Though, the exact amount of the loan pending against the PSPCL for 2011-12 is yet to be worked out, but it is learnt that presently, the total debt towards the PSPCL stands at approximately Rs 11,000 crore. As per the documents, between April and November this year, the PSPCL had availed Rs 2,450 crore from some financial institutions and banks, while during the same period a repayment of Rs 4,150 crore was made by the PSPCL to clear the pending loans. "The PSPCL is taking short-term loans to repay the previous pending loans. Instead of clearing the bills of the material/equipment suppliers, the funds are being diverted to meet the fund requirement for the salaries of the staff and the pension benefits", revealed a senior PSPCL official, preferring anonymity. On April 16, 2010, the state government had bifurcated the erstwhile Punjab State Electricity Board (PSEB) and two new power companies — Punjab State Power Corporation Limited (PSPCL) and Punjab State Transmission Corporation Limited (PSTCL) — came into existence. At that time, the PSEB was under debt of approximately Rs 8,000 crore and the technocrats had requested the state government to prepare a roadmap to improve the fiscal condition of the power corporation. However, till date the state government has not done anything for the financial restructuring of the power corporation. Expressing his views on the matter, senior power sector expert Padamjit Singh said that it was the duty of the state government to give financial support to the new power companies. He further said, "It is extremely unfortunate that despite assurance that the state government would provide the financial restructuring plan to the power corporation, in order to bail out the PSPCL from debt-trap, nothing has been done till date in this regard." Punjab Power Secretary Anirudh Tiwari said, "The government has hired consultants and I am holding regular meetings with them. Actually, this involves a lot of work, right from the re-evaluation of the assets to the distribution of the assets between the two power companies and preparing new balance sheets. Hopefully, I will receive the first draft of the financial restructuring plan by January end next year." Punjab Chief Secretary SC Agarwal said, "We are giving finishing touch to the financial restructuring plan."
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Shaheedi Jor Mela concludes with religious ceremonies
Fatehgarh Sahib, December 28 To mark the concluding ceremony, a Nagar Kirtan was taken out from Gurdwara Fatehgarh Sahib to Gurdwara Jyoti Swarup Sahib after performing the "ardas" by Tarlochan Singh, head priest, Gurdwara Keshgarh Sahib. Lakhs of devotees accompanied the Nagar Kirtan led by Panj Piaras. School bands, Gatka teams, Nihangs, Kirtani Jathas, Sukhmani Sahib Sewa Societies and various other social, religious and political leaders accompanied the Nagar Kirtan. The main attraction during the Nagar Kirtan was martial arts displaced by Nihangs and Gatka teams. The palanquin carrying Guru Granth Sahib was placed on a well decorated four-wheeler. Akal Takhat Jathedar Gurbachan Singh performed the duty of "Chor Sahib", whereas Tarlochan Singh, Balwant Singh Nandgarh, Jathedar Damdama Sahib, Jaswinder Singh, head priest, Darbar Sahib and Harnam Singh Dhuma, head, Damdami Taksal accompanied the Guru Granth Sahib. The palanquin was escorted by Avtar Singh Makkar, president, SGPC, Prem Singh Chandumajra general secretary, SAD, Dr Harbans Lal, former minister, MLA Didar Singh Bhatti and other political leaders. 'Mein Tera Banda' staged The main attraction during the mela was the "Mein Tera Banda", a light and sound programme, organised by the district administration and the SGPC. The programme, which was based on the life Baba Banda Singh Bahadur, was directed by Harpal
Tiwana.
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Cash limit: Traders up in arms against EC orders
Chandigarh, December 28 Claiming that most business transactions in the state, especially in the real estate sector, transport, general trade and jewellery businesses, are done using cash, the traders say in case the direction is not withdrawn, they will be forced to close down their operations till elections to the state assembly are held. This is for the first time that the Election Commission of India has come up with this direction with a view to curbing the use of black money during electioneering. While addressing mediapersons here today, Chief Election Commissioner SY Qureshi said in order to curb the use of unaccounted money by various political parties and candidates, they had decided to form mobile surveillance teams to check this menace. Justifying the move, he said, “All such seizures are being videographed. We have specially formed a central control room with the help of the Income Tax Department at Ludhiana to investigate all such cases where the money is seized,” he said. This special cell is being headed by HS Sohi, director (investigations), Income Tax. However, the traders are not amused at the move and they say that rather than troubling the general public, the authorities should check only the vehicles used by the politicians and their workers. Ravinder Dhir, president of the Vyapar Sena (Punjab), questioned the rationale behind the directives of the Election Commission, and said the traders having heavy cash turnover would have to transfer it from their office to home or bank. “We cannot run the risk of the police taking away our cash because of the EC’s directive. Most businesses need heavy cash daily for paying wages, buying material to run their operations. Some people also have to go out of the city to collect cash and at times, it is not possible to immediately deposit it in the bank,” he said. Supporting his views, Kulwant Singh, president of Punjab Colonisers and Builders Association, rued that the businessmen were being unduly harassed. “For making property purchases, one needs to make some payment in cash. With this practice, we fear that the real estate business in the state will come to a complete halt till the elections are held,” he said.
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Students to get ‘Aakash’ soon
Patiala, December 28 The market price of Aakash is otherwise Rs 2,276. Aakash is the world's lowest priced touch-screen device, which will help students to use Internet for higher studies. Satinder Kaur, Principal of Government Bikram College of Commerce, said they had already started preparing a list of students who were willing to buy the tablet. "It is a very sophisticated and yet very affordable device. Students will now no longer have to pool in thousands of rupees for buying desktops or laptops," she added. Appreciating the scheme, students say that it would make studies easier for them. "Internet has become a necessity these days. It is easier to search various topics on Internet rather than going through various books. I often have to visit cyber cafes to study various course related topics, as I could not afford to buy a laptop. I am glad that now I will be able to possess Aakash and use it as per my requirements," said Geeta, a BCom student from Khalsa College.
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Foeticide bid: Police yet to book doctor
Patiala, December 28 A team of health officials had raided Mission Hospital, run by Dr Meena Garg at Model Town on December 21, and caught a pregnant woman, who had been administered Nesoprost drug to inducing artificial pains. She admitted that she had come to the hospital for abortion and when the team of gynaecologists examined the woman, they confirmed that she was more than 12 weeks pregnant. A doctor had issued her a certificate that she could terminate her pregnancy till 20 weeks only in consultation with another gynaecologist, but she did not consult any other doctor. Patiala Civil Surgeon Dr Varinder Singh Mohi said that he had written a letter to the district police chief demanding immediate action against the erring doctor, but no case has been registered yet. "In the consent form, which is in our custody, Dr Meena Garg has marked the period of pregnancy 'up to 12 weeks', whereas the pregnancy was of more than 12 weeks duration. This fact has been proved by the ultrasonographic scan on December 19 wherein the duration of pregnancy was told as 13 weeks 6 days. Here again, Dr Garg had willfully violated the spirit of MTP Act 1971, by concealing the period of pregnancy of the patient because under the MTP Act, a single medical practitioner cannot independently conduct MTP on a patient carrying pregnancy which is more than 12 weeks, without the opinion of a second medical practitioner," he added. "We have done our job. Now, the police has to play its part. I have requested them to take immediate legal measures," he added. Inspector Kuldeep Singh, SHO, Civil Lines, said that they were still investigating the incident.
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Centre’s vegetable clusters scheme for Ludhiana
Chandigarh, December 28 In Punjab, Sangrur, Jalandhar, Fatehgarh Sahib and Patiala to ensure regular supply of vegetables to Ludhiana city and this would also increase production in these districts. The state government has already received 50 per cent of the grant (Rs 6 crore), and is now in the process of forming farmer groups in the peripheral districts of Ludhiana. Dr Lajwinder Singh Brar, Director, Horticulture, said that the scheme had been initiated under the aegis of Rashtriya Krishi Vikas Yojana. "The scheme covers all aspects relating to vegetable production, from production and supply of planting material to marketing up to the retail level, formation of farmer groups, their linkage to aggregators/markets besides training and capacity building of vegetable growers in the identified clusters," Brar said. "As a part of this scheme, we will be first forming self-help groups of farmers, named the Farmer Interest Groups and each group will grow vegetables on 20 hectares of land. These groups in one geographical location will be clustered as Farmer Producers' Organisation, which will be registered under the Societies Act. These organisations will directly market their produce to retailers with the help of a marketing aggregator, who will ensure that the farmers get a good price for their produce, and the role of middlemen will be minimised," he added. Brar said that the department was in the final stage of identifying an NGO that would act as the market aggregator for vegetable producers’ organisations. The total production of vegetables in Punjab is 36.45 lakh tonnes, with average yield of 19,344 kgs per hectare. So far, the total area on which vegetable crops are grown in the stare is estimated at 1.88 lakh hectares. Brar said that the scheme would not only help in increasing the total vegetable production in the areas surrounding Ludhiana, but also help the farmers to set up state-of-art storage facilities in vegetable producing areas and buy refrigerated vans for transporting their produce.
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Toll-free No. for poll complaints
Fatehgarh Sahib, December 28 He said that the district administration had identified 765 people having involvement in criminal cases or known enmities, vocal and provocative to favour particular political parties and their weapons had been deposited. "Rest of the licence holders have told not to carry their weapons till the elections are over," he said.— OC
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Poll Snippets
Bathinda: Animal lovers have demanded stringent action against those inflicting cruelty on animals during campaigning. Dr Sandeep
Jain, Animal Welfare Board of India, Ministry of Environment and Forests, has written to the Chief Election Commissioner in this regard. He has demanded a ban on the use of animals by candidates and punishment for those causing injury to them.
Jain, who is also chief coordinator of CAPE (India for Care of Animals and Protection of Environment) , has said that noise of political rallies intimidated the animals and was tantamount to cruelty to them. "It is seen that many political parties or supporters of parties use dogs or donkeys to portray their adversaries in poor light..." Jain has demanded a ban on the use of bulls, horses and elephants, by candidates while on their way to file nomination papers. — Balwant Garg Candidates shun plastic, opt for eco-friendly material
Ludhiana: Several candidates are going eco-friendly in the choice of their electioneering material. Instead of plastic, they have started using cloth, paper or jute-based materials. The candidates are opting for stickers and banners made of paper or cloth. "I have resolved not to use plastic during the elections. Even the big banners will be made of jute material used for making carry bags. This is the best way I can contribute towards checking pollution in our city," says Manpreet Singh Ayali, SAD candidate from Dakha. The Election Commission has also urged political parties to avoid the use of plastic or polythene for posters and banners. Environmentalist Baba Balbir Singh Seechewal says environment should top the agenda of political parties and the people should pressurise the parties to find a solution to the Budha Nullah." Some candidates are buying cloth in bulk from neighbouring states such as Rajasthan. "We have purchased 6,000 metres of cloth from Rajasthan, which cost us around Rs 5 per metre. The same cloth is available in Ludhiana at Rs 8 per metre," said the son of an Akali candidate. Chautalas to campaign for SAD
Lambi (Muktsar) : Indian National Lok Dal (INLD) president Om Prakash Chautala and his sons Ajay Singh and Abhay Singh will soon join the SAD election campaign. There was speculation that the wily Chautala, having failed to bring the Badal brothers together, could choose to keep away from canvassing. Ajay Singh, talking over the phone, said his family would be in Punjab soon to campaign for the SAD. Asked about their association with Gurdas
Badal, younger brother of Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal, he said: "We have good ties with him too. But we will lend support to the elder brother." The Chautalas have influence in Punjab constituencies bordering
Haryana. — Archit Watts
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Confusion and factionalism in the BJP is likely to cause unnecessary delay in the announcement of its candidates for the assembly poll. It is learnt that the party has devised a mechanism to assess the winnability of candidates and decide on the nominees rather than rely on the recommendations of the state leadership.
Chandigarh, December 28
Officials in the Punjab Infrastructure Development Board (PIDB) say that since February 2007 (when the government assumed power), they have awarded and executed projects amounting to Rs 1,758 crore under the PPP mode.
The complete list of 23 names is expected to be released in the first week
of January. 
Also, most of the 72 villages in Balluana situated at the tail-end face water-logging. So whenever a politician reaches out to them for votes, they demand drinking and irrigation water and solution to the water-logging problem. Both Gurtej Singh, sitting SAD MLA and Parkash Singh Bhatti, former Congress MLA live in Abohar. 
But the electorate of this assembly constituency also wants basic civic amenities to match develpoment. 
While a lot of efforts were made to launch projects with high visibility, precious little was done to improve urban infrastructure. With the exception of Jalandhar and Bathinda, which got a fresh lease of life with new flyovers, roads, streetlights, drainage and sewerage systems, most other cities and major towns are struggling with woefully inadequate civic amenities. In August this year, it just took two days of continuous rain to reveal how urban infrastructure was in a shambles across the state.
Whichever party comes to power, the immediate job for the next government on infrastructure front would be to actively facilitate urbanisation. This would mean not just improving the civic amenities, but also looking ahead to promoting organised densification by planning urban growth vertically, especially in cities such as Ludhiana, Jalandhar and Mohali.
While a majority of these projects, such as the super-specialty hospitals at Mohali and Bathinda, have become operational, a few projects — including the Mohali bus terminal, five-star and three star-hotels at Amritsar, a hotel and international convention centre at Mohali, and a polytechnic at Nanowal — are expected to be operational early next year.
Documents procured by The Tribune reveal that at present, the corporation is on the verge of bankruptcy.
Businessmen across Punjab are up in arms against the directives of the Election Commission of India regarding seizure of over Rs 1 lakh in cash, which is not accounted for. With the Punjab Police having seized cash worth Rs 3.5 crore in the past three days, the trading community rues that business transactions have come to a near halt in the state.
The scheme, which envisages the development of vegetable clusters for ensuring supply of good quality vegetables to any city having a population of one million and above, will also help in increasing vegetable production in peripheral areas.