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PUNJAB POlls 2012
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Govt gives clean chit to Mand
Nail-biting contest between Badals in Lambi segment
Poll rivals want kite to go the jumbo way
People here want direct rail link
A Tribune series on government performance: agriculture
Options: Loan, migration
Jaitley: Will seek votes on good governance
EC: 2 women at a time inside polling booths
Ex-servicemen to boycott poll
PPP candidate gets notice over paid news
VVIPs’ visits have security agencies on their toes
Job, tech alternatives only way forward
Govt says no to insurance
scheme for wheat crop
Comedian Bhagwant serious about his new role
Sukhbir seeks time to
reply on cable business
Notice issued to Chief Secretary
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PUNJAB POlls 2012
Malerkotla (Sangrur), January 13 Canvassing in a swanky SUV Ford Endeavour in villages in the constituency, Razia wastes no time in tagging her opponent as the "one not even following the tenets of Islam". At Pharwali village, she says Farzana was a “proxy candidate” of her husband Alam. On whether or not her husband Mohammad Mustafa was managing the show behind the scene, she retorts: “I am an MLA for the past 10 years. I have my own political standing and I have worked for the betterment of Malerkotla. I am confident of a hat-trick by winning for the third consecutive term.” A few villages away, Farzana counters Razia’s accusation: “The Congress claims itself to be a secular party but in Malerkotla, Razia is appeasing the electorate by playing the communal card and spoiling their minds by spreading venom against me and my husband by concocting stories that portray our family as anti-Muslim." For her, says Farzana, the most important election issue was to maintain communal harmony in the religion-sensitive constituency. Of the around 1.26 lakh voters, 70 per cent are Muslims, therefore, signifying that the community would play a decisive role in choosing the MLA. Though Malerkotla has mosques in excess of 300, the Muslim clerics are preferring to stay away from the blame game and not ready to come openly in support of one particular candidate. When spoken to, a majority of inhabitants said the issues that mattered to them were proper roads, sewerage and drinking water. "Both Razia and Farzana are taking potshots on each other. Indulging in communal politics and exploiting the people by bringing religion into the poll arena is not good," say most of the villagers in Malerkotla.
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Govt gives clean chit to Mand
Chandigarh, January 13 Chief Secretary Subodh Chandra Agrawal told the Tribune that the allegations were not verifiable and of a very general nature. “We could not do much in 24 hours to inquire into the allegations. But Mand has claimed that he has not visited Batala for the past five years. Moreover, it is just an allegation. There is no evidence to substantiate it,” the officer said. He said the Vigilance Bureau had pointed out that Mand was part of the team probing the Rs 2000 crore Ludhiana City Centre Scam in which Capt Amarinder Singh had been named an accused alongwith other Congress leaders. Kusumjit Sidhu, CEO, said though Mand had been given a clean chit, he would remain posted at Uttrakhand as an election observer. Agrawal said the SSP: “There is no stigma attached with the officer now as he has been exonerated. He will be in Uttrakhand as an upright officer as are all the election observers.” Mand told the Tribune that he would join duty at Uttarakhand tomorrow.
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Nail-biting contest between Badals in Lambi segment
The constituency, touching the borders of Haryana and Rajasthan, witnessed a keen contest between Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal and his cousin and Congress candidate Maheshinder Singh Badal in the last two elections.This time, Badal’s younger brother Gurdas Badal is also in the fray as a People’s Party of Punjab (PPP) candidate floated by his son and former Finance Minister Manpreet Singh Badal. So it is a triangular contest among three Badal brothers this time. Projects:
The area has been provided uninterrupted power even as the rest of the state faced electricity cuts. A number of prestigious institutions, including the state nursing institute and a shooting range, have been established in Badal village and areas around it. VOX POPULI: Gurdas is well-aware of the ins and outs of the constituency as he had so far been working as the caretaker of the area for his elder brother Parkash Singh. The latter has nursed the area well and taken care to solve even the smallest problem being faced by its residents. Steps have been initiated to tackle the problem of water-logging. More than 100 pumps were installed in the area to flush out water from the fields recently. Waterlogging continues to be the main problem. The high incidence of cancer in villages due to highly contaminated groundwater is worrisome too. LOOKING BACK: Parkash Singh Badal shifted to this constituency from Gidderbaha in 1997 to make political space for his nephew Manpreet and has won all the three elections since then. He defeated Maheshinder twice, first in 2002 when the latter contested as an Independent and then in 2007, when he contested on the Congress ticket. In the last assembly elections, Parkash Singh Badal defeated Maheshinder by 9,187 votes. The six other contestants saw their security deposits being forfeited.
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Poll rivals want kite to go the jumbo way
Ludhiana, January 13 Candidates in fray for the January 30 Assembly polls want the kites to go the elephant way. "If the statues of elephants could be ordered to be covered up in Uttar Pradesh (UP) as the pachyderm is the election symbol of Mayawati's Bahujan Samaj Party that's contesting the UP Assembly polls, why the kites, the election symbol of the PPP, cannot be banned," says Bhalinder Singh Bhandal, an Independent candidate from Khanna. The kites, allegedly emblazoned with three Ps - PPP - are particularly in the bring-down list of the candidates opposed to the PPP, as the state assembly polls draw near. "This no-kites demand seems ludicrous. 'Hand' is the Congress symbol. During the polls, we cannot do away with our hands, just as we cannot stop people from keeping a 'balance' (the election symbol of Akali Dal) in the shops during the election time," says Gurpreet Singh Bhatti, the PPP candidate from Khanna. "We have not given even a single penny to the kite makers to adorn the kites with our party name PPP. It's just a chance that we got kite as our symbol, though we had selected nine other symbols too," he adds. The PPP verdict is that even if the wind speed is not optimum, the kite will fly, while for the opponents, it's time to deflect the kite from its flight. However, as Punjab celebrates Lohri and gears up for Basant Panchmi that falls on January 28, kites continue to dot the skyline. (Inputs by Gurminder Singh
Grewal)
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People here want direct rail link
The ruling SAD has decided to bet on former DGP Paramdeep Singh Gill from this seat. The Congress nominee is Joginder Pal Jain, the sitting MLA. Projects: The Congress MLA claims to have increased the income of the local body to an average of Rs 15 crore per anum, besides initiating the sewage project and enhancing the potable water supply. VOX POPULI: The locals say despite strict measures by the EC, money and muscle power are expected to play a key role in the elections. LOOKING BACK: Sathi Roop Lal of Janta Dal had won this seat in the 1977 elections; Dr Malti Thapar (Congress) in 1997; Jathedar Tota Singh (SAD) in 2002 and Jain in the 2007 elections.
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A Tribune series on government performance: agriculture Akalis and agriculture are often said to be synonymous. Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal too refers to Punjab as a "kheti pardhan suba" — a state where agriculture is supreme — and brings up the subject of farming at almost every public speech. Given the high priority Badal seemed to have for agriculture, it is ironical that his SAD-BJP government let slip the opportunity to give farming a new direction. He started off badly by giving the portfolio to an uninspiring minister in Sucha Singh Langah, who never looked beyond conventional agricultural practices. Badal took to overseeing the department with the help of the State Farmers Commission. However, innovations suggested by the commission could not be extended to bring prosperity to small farmers. As time passed by, Badal resorted to rhetoric, making out a case that the "lack of appropriate" MSP (minimum support price) for wheat and paddy was responsible for all ills affecting agriculture in Punjab. This, despite the State Farmers Commission expressing satisfaction at the steady increase in the MSP of both wheat and paddy during UPA rule. If there was one silver lining, it was the boost given to dairy development. Training schools were opened to encourage young farmers to take up this vocation, and subsidies were given to establish modern dairies. Success in horticulture was mixed, with the government establishing three citrus estates, but failing to come up with its proposed litchee, pear, chilly, pea and cauliflower estates. Horticulture extension services also remained severely curtailed. The progress made in agro-processing under the earlier Congress government was given a quiet burial, with the present government failing to turn around the two “ultra-modern” juicing centres at Hoshiarpur and Abohar. The centres remained virtually closed for five years. The cause of diversification from wheat and paddy was given only lip service. Not only did small farmers — a major vote bank — suffer on account of their holdings being unviable, they also did not receive quality education and health services in their villages. These farmers with 1-4 acres of land, who constitute 44 per cent of the total farmers in the state, were not helped by the state's current agriculture model driven by heavy machinery. Many such farmers have moved out of agriculture, while some even resorted to suicide under the pressure of debt. Despite promising in the manifesto, the government did not draw up a rehabilitation programme for small farmers, or pay ex gratia of Rs 2 lakh to families of farmers who committed suicide. One creditable thing the government did was bring in the historic Preservation of Sub-Soil Water Act in 2008, banning paddy plantation before June 15. The Act, which put a stop on planting early paddy varieties during summer, has helped slow the fall of water table in the absence of any alternative to paddy. SAD MANIFESTO CHECK DELIVERED Continued free power for agriculture. Land acquisition policy made pro-farmer. Act brought in to ban early paddy plantation. High quality seeds, fertilisers and weedicides made available. Revenue records
computerised. Punjab Forest Preservation Act amended. Drains, canals repaired, with Central funds. Not delivered Failed to tackle 'farm indebtedness' and resultant suicide menace. Tubewell connections released to favourites, particularly in
Bathinda. Crop insurance not introduced. State did not put up 50 % share. Study loans of up to `10 lakh for kids of poor farmers not given. Failed to market agricultural projects globally. Marketing centres for vegetables, fruit and flowers not set up. Structural adjustment package of `2,500 crore from Centre for 'second push to Green Revolution' did not happen.
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From 38 per cent in 1980-81, the number of small farmers in the state has risen to 44 per cent. Due to small land holdings, the cost of cultivation is going up and profit margins are reducing. Pargat Singh of Memsa village in Dhuri block is just one of thousands of such farmers who claim they have often contemplated suicide. The 31-year-old Pargat has just an acre of land and has to support his wife and a son. Whatever he earns goes towards paying interest on a Rs 4.5-lakh loan he once took from the State Bank of Patiala (Dhuri). He has also taken Rs 1.60 lakh as agriculture loan. He is able to get by because his wife earns from tuitions, but their main hope is pinned on a brother who the family helped migrate to Singapore earlier. "If not for my brother's help, I would be on the road," Pargat says.
Even those with relatively more acreage are finding the going difficult. Gurmeet Singh of Thuhi village in Nabha, who tills 7 acres, claims his debt is increasing every six months. He has now given his land on lease, and is toying with the idea of migrating to Georgia, where he has been told cheap land is available for the asking. Subsidies for big farmers Young Farmers Association head Bhagwan Das Gupta says viable models have not been created for small farmers. He says subsidies were given to rich farmers to purchase laser levellers, rotavators, straw reapers and even paddy transplanters, but there was no subsidy on the use of this machinery by the small farmer, who could only take it on rent. He says Punjab Agricultural University (PAU), Ludhiana, too failed to update its Krishi Vigyan Kendras in keeping with the needs of small farmers. Limited diversification that took place after the success of Pusa 1121 basmati was also not supported by the government. Gupta says the area under basmati, which is planted late and thus helps save water, increased to 6 lakh hectares from 1.5 lakh hectares a few years back. Despite this, the government did not intervene through Markfed or any other agency when middlemen colluded to bring down its price. He says potatoes were also allowed to rot due to lack of effective marketing. Grain train Punjab's geographical expanse: 1.53% of the country Under cultivation: 42 lakh hectares (wheat 35 lakh hectares; paddy 29 lakh hectares) Wheat contribution to Central pool: 60-70% Rice contribution to Central pool: 45-50% Punjab's agri productivity: 82% (national 52%) Suicides continue Caught in the debt trap, small farmers continued to commit suicide, yet the government failed to acknowledge the issue. The SAD had promised to give Rs 2 lakh to the family of any debt-ridden farmer who ended his life, but then put this on the backburner. PAU, which was asked to study suicide cases in Sangrur and Mansa districts earlier, came up with a figure of 2,900 for such cases in the two districts. Following this, three universities, including Punjabi and Guru Nanak Dev, were asked to compile reports on suicide cases in their areas. This could not be completed as the government did not provide funds for the job. Those involved in the exercise claim the government does not want suicide figures to be released close to election time.
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Jaitley: Will seek votes on good governance
Chandigarh, January
13 Jaitley said Punjab had witnessed unprecedented development during the past five years. The SAD had taken good care of is support base in the rural areas and the BJP had done the same in the cities. “This, coupled with the unprecedented corruption in the Congress and inflation in the country, has put the
SAD-BJP alliance in a comfortable position. The chaos in the Congress had set the tone for the “creation of history in the
state.” Jaitley has been meeting senior members and talking to those incharge of the party campaign. Ignoring hiccups within the alliance, he said the BJP looked at the past five years as a “ smoothness run that saw urban renewal”.
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EC: 2 women at a time inside polling booths
Chandigarh, January 13 “The decision has been taken keeping in mind that women voters coming to the polling stations have to attend several household chores. Hence, to save their time two women voters may be allowed inside the polling station,” said Usha Sharma, Special Chief Electoral Officer. For helping the women in burqa, the EC has assigned at least one polling officer to identify them.There are burqa-clad voters are in Malerkotla, Ahmedgarh, Sirhind and Qadian. At places where there are two polling stations in the same building, the EC has no objection in allotting one of these for men and the other for women. “The ECI has already issued guidelines to take special care of the aged, pregnant women, the physically challenged and mothers with young children,” said Usha. Maluka exonerated In response to a complaint on distribution of money by Gurpreet Singh Maluka, the CEO has received a report that says there is no substance in the complaint. But two FIRs have been registered on the altercation among SAD and Congress workers with the Dayalpura police station at Rampura Phul. OBSERVERS As many as 125 observers have arrived in Punjab- 55 general observers, 43 expenditure observers and 27 police observers.
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Patiala, January 13 Col Kuldip Singh Grewal (retd), president, State Ex-servicemen Welfare Association, said both the UPA Government at the Centre and the SAD-BJP alliance government in Punjab were not paying heed to their genuine demands. — TNS
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PPP candidate gets notice over paid news
Fatehgarh Sahib, January 13 The SDM has sought clarification from Sahota within two days regarding the paid news published in a newspaper and said if he did not reply, the amount would be debited from his account as per the rates fixed by the Election Commission of India.
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VVIPs’ visits have security agencies on their toes
Chandigarh, January 13 While the Prime Minister would be addressing rallies at Amritsar and Ludhiana on January 21, Sonia would be present there at Moga and
Kapurthala. The date of her visit, however, was yet to be announced. Similarly, Rahul Gandhi would address six rallies in two days. Top officials of central security units, including Intelligence Bureau Special Director Yashovardhan Azad and Special Protection Group IG Dr Thomson, yesterday visited the state and held a meeting with the police and intelligence officials. Sources said the state officials had been advised to step up security arrangements. Earlier, Union Home Minister P
Chidambaram, citing intelligence inputs, had stated that trained militants from across the border could create trouble to hamper the smooth conducting of assembly polls. “VVIPs are always on the target of militants, especially during election rallies where hundreds of people come to listen to their leaders. We have been asked to be vigilant and alert,” said a senior police official. The meeting was attended by
ADGPs, IGs, DIGs and commissioners of police and intelligence.
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Campaign against drugs, liquor PPS officers allege code violation SAD dismisses two rebels Rs 41 lakh seized in Mansa
Rs 41 lakh seized in Mansa
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Job, tech alternatives only way forward
Dr S. S. Gill, director of the Centre for Research in Rural and Industrial Development (CRRID), Chandigarh, says the resolve to tackle the agrarian crisis has been missing in successive governments. He says there are two ways to tackle this crisis. One is the technical solution, which increases productivity and is dependent on PAU and the Agriculture Department. This could not come about as PAU, which is starved of funds, has failed to come up with any technological break since years. The second alternative is to make small holdings viable through groupings, or taking people out of agriculture by giving them industrial jobs. Dr Gill says the government has failed in this too.
Hope from Andhra model Agricultural activist Dr Devinder Sharma claims Punjab is passing through a crisis. “The soil is no longer fertile, water levels have plummeted and pesticides have played havoc with the environment.” The tragedy is the scientific community and policy-makers are not accepting this fact. Dr Sharma advocates an overhaul that involves refurbishing soil health, introducing water harvesting and a change in cropping patterns. He says Andhra Pradesh has done this, and Punjab could follow the example. In Andhra, 21 districts, involving around 40 lakh acres of farmland, have been brought under non-pesticide pest management. He says farmers there have also stopped using chemical fertilisers in 20 lakh acres. Borlaug centre In 1960, paddy occupied around 4.8 per cent of the gross cropped area. It increased to 31.3 per cent in 2001-02, and has remained constant since, indicating no government has achieved success in crop diversification. Wheat-rice rotation covers 73 per cent of the net sown area in the state. Punjab has failed to develop crops that may be more remunerative for farmers. The government has tried its hand at increasing the area under maize, relying on hybrid subsidised seeds, but there has been only a slight increase in the area under this crop to 1.5 lakh hectares. Paddy continues to be planted in around 29 lakh hectares. However, there is some hope now with the government ensuring a centre of the Borlaug Institute of South Asia would be set up in Ludhiana. The institute for improvement in wheat and maize varieties could eventually reduce dependence on paddy.
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Govt says no to insurance
scheme for wheat crop
Chandigarh, January 13 However, the state government now says that it has no objection to the AIC offering its insurance product for wheat crop on its own in Punjab. Maintaining that the scheme would not be of much benefit to farmers, officials in the Agriculture Department said that they did not want to force farmers to pay premium for an insurance cover that was not required in the state. They said that had the same scheme been offered for vegetable crops or fruits, they would have supported it. It may be noted that the scheme was propounded by the Union Government last year and the Punjab government had agreed to implement it. A budgetary provision of Rs 5 crore was also made for the implementation of the scheme before the last kharif marketing season. But a pilot conducted for implementation of this scheme in last last kharif season at a few places, including Kalanaur in Gurdaspur, did not get the desired results. This forced the state government to have a re-think on the viability of this scheme for farmers in Punjab. Meanwhile, AIC officials here said that the scheme should be implemented in at least five districts- Ferozepur, Faridkot, Sangrur, Muktsar and Mansa. They maintain that the modified NAIS has been formulated, incorporating the necessary changes and modifications in the National Agriculture Insurance Scheme (NAIS) in consultation with states, to make it more comprehensive and farmer friendly. These changes include reducing the notified area for insurance scheme to the panchayat-level for major crops like wheat. Also, the yield of insured crop would be furnished by the state government by conducting the required number of crop cutting experiments at the village-level. Incidence of hail damage on insured crop would be treated as localised calamity and accordingly individual assessment at the farm-level would be done for claim settlement.
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Comedian Bhagwant serious about his new role
Lehra, January 13 Both Bhagwant and Sarao are greenhorns in politics. “As a stage artiste, I am well-experienced in gauging the public mood and swinging it my way”, he says exuding confidence. “Punjab is down in the dumps financially and socially. This constituency has seen the maximum number of farmers ending their lives during the past two decades. Deaths in this belt made headlines in the national media about a decade ago yet the problem persists. Understandably, laughter has vanished from the lives of the locals,” he says. “In my speeches, I tell the people how the wrong policies of the Congress and the SAD have turned their lives barren in the past 60 years. Punjab is now more known for cancer and female foeticide and less for its Green Revolution”, he observes. Bhagwant uses witty jokes to drive home his point while attacking politicians and bureaucrats, invariably provoking a chuckle from the audience. On the degeneration of values, he says: "People use the car of one party, put the flag of another party, campaign for a third party and finally vote for a candidate from a fourth party". This earns him a thunderous applause. As he moves from one gathering to another, the people never seem to have enough of him.
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Sukhbir seeks time to
reply on cable business
Chandigarh, January 13 As the case came up for resumed hearing, Justice Ranjit Singh of the Punjab and Haryana High Court observed: "The State counsel is ready with reply in response to the query by the court and prays for time to place the same on record.” The case has been adjourned for January 20. Justice Ranjit Singh also directed the continuation of the interim orders against the arrest of the petitioner in the case, Rakesh Arora. The HC had earlier directed that in the event of his arrest in the FIR mentioned in the petition "he is ordered to be released on bail to the satisfaction of the investigating officer." In paragraph four of his petition, Arora had asserted that co-accused in the case Gurdev Singh Bhullar of Godfather Communication, his employees and subscribers were being victimised by the local police at the instance of cable operator Sarabjit Singh alias Raju. Arora had added the complainant in the case against them was Sarabjit Singh's employee Sandeep Kumar. Sarabjit Singh was also a partner in the Fastway Transmission Private Limited and the DIGI Cable. "It is an open secret that SS Badal, Deputy CM, is the real owner of the DIGI Cable", Arora had further added. Taking up the case, Justice Ranjit Singh had, on the previous date of hearing, asserted the counsel for the petitioner has drawn his attention to the averments made in paragraph four of the petition, "making an allegation against the Deputy CM, Punjab, who is stated to be the real owner of DIGI Cable and has taken over 95 per cent of the cable business in Punjab by misusing his official position and political power." "The complainant and Sarabjit Singh alias Raju, at whose behest all these complaints are being filed, are stated to be the henchmen of the political master." "Let response be filed to the averments made in paragraph four of the petition by a competent officer, if need be after going through the material".
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Notice issued to Chief Secretary
Chandigarh, January 13 According to information available, the High Court had recommended the premature retirement of two judicial officers; and the recommendations were forwarded to the State of Punjab for necessary action. But even after a lapse of more than three months, the state government did not take a decision on the matter. Before parting with the case, the Bench of Justice SK Mittal and Justice TPS Mann fixed January 23 as the next date of hearing in the case.
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Akalis and agriculture are often said to be synonymous. Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal too refers to Punjab as a "kheti pardhan suba" — a state where agriculture is supreme — and brings up the subject of farming at almost every public speech.
BJP leader Arun Jaitley here today applauded the SAD for good governance, saying the “SAD-BJP alliance saw one of the smoothest runs during the past five years”. On a 10-day visit to Punjab to oversee campaign arrangements and to “push lazy leaders into action,” he said the January 30 elections would be fought on a positive note on the agenda of
development.
Lehra, January 13
This constituency in Malwa is set to witness a nail-biting contest among three close relatives of the Badal clan.
Having remained at the centre stage of Punjab politics for decades, the Moga assembly segment has always been unpredictable as no major political party can claim to have an edge due to a sizable section of urban vote bank blended with religion and caste factors.