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death of
black bucks
Solar power all set to light up border areas
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ACQUISITION
State wins award
MC Poll
Bajwa pleads rice millers’ case in LS
Punjab rivers to be cleaned by Dec ’13
High security for PM’s visit
Data on disabled children in govt schools sought
Moga MC is debt-free, claims its chief
PPSC results
New unit to check tax evasion
Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan’s disciple enthralls audience
MLA Singla acquitted in assault case
27 rescued from illegal de-addiction centre
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Bathinda, April 27 Badal spent half an hour at the park and enquired about the reasons behind slow pace of work on boundary wall at the park. He said strict action would be taken if any official was found guilty of negligence. The Chief Minister said deer would be brought from other parks and wildlife sanctuaries to make up for the loss incurred to their population at Bir Talab. Earlier, officials from the Police and Forest departments visited the park. They, however, failed to solve the mystery shrouding large number of blackbuck deaths. Park officials claimed a stray dog allegedly entered the enclosure spanning 250 square metres before the crack of dawn and chased the blackbucks. Twentynine of the 34 blackbucks in the park were left dead. An inquiry has been marked to three senior officials, including two IPS and an IAS officer. All-India Jeev Raksha Bishnoi Sabha chief Ramesh Bishnoi alleged that it was a planned killing, which should be probed by a high-level independent agency. "There are several unanswered questions pertaining to hurried cremation, autopsy, possibility of a dog entering the enclosure and negligence on the part of the employees," he claimed. Bishnoi alleged that a spot visit by their team and residents revealed that these animals were being driven outside the cage by some mischievous elements during night hours. "The missing mortal remains of these animals and the hurry with which they were cremated raises suspicion. As there is no security in or around the enclosure, anyone could have easily barged into the premises of the Deer Park," he said. District Forest Officer SP Anand, however, refuted the allegations leveled by the NGO. "A board of doctors conducted autopsies on the dead animals and collected samples. Everything was done in a transparent manner," he claimed. Bishnoi also alleged that the condition of other animals, including ducks, monkeys and sambhar, too was pathetic in the park. "Their cages are ill-maintained and animals and birds can easily be stolen or teased by visitors," he said. Punjab Chief Wildlife Warden Dhirender Singh, who visited the park, said they were looking into all reasons leading to the incident. When The Tribune team visited the park today, it found no workers had been deployed outside deer enclosures despite the incident. A few injured deer were seen in a cage. The officials came to know about it only after mediapersons informed them. About the deer park
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Solar power all set to light up border areas
Jalandhar, April 27 Ninety per cent of the cost of installing these systems in public buildings, including colleges, schools, hospitals and gurdwaras, would be borne by the Punjab Energy Development Authority (PEDA). The rest (10 per cent) would be taken care of by local bodies like panchayats and nagar panchayats. PEDA has also planned to install one lakh ‘gobar’ gas plants or bio-gas units in rural areas over the next one year. The agency has been providing a subsidy of 30 per cent for those switching over to bio-gas plants. As many as 48,904 such units have already been set up in Punjab villages. “The ‘gobar’ gas plants have helped rural people, especially those having milch animals, cut on LPG costs,” said PEDA chairman Manjit Singh. The agency has installed solar systems in Parliament and has been told to install an 85-KV solar plant in Rashtrapati Bhawan at a cost of Rs 3 crore. “We will install a power house in Rashtrapati Bhawan within six months,” said Manjit Singh. Besides, it would be installing a similar system in Punjab Governor’s house in Chandigarh. “It is not that the project is meant only for border areas, it will be implemented in rest of Punjab as well. But, the only difference will be that panchayats and local bodies in other areas will have to cough up more money as subsidy in other areas will only be 30 per cent and not 90 per cent, as is being offered in border areas. A subsidy of 30 per cent on renewable energy products like solar lights, inverters, cookers, lanterns and water heaters has been extended to individuals as well,” he said. He said hoteliers, factory owners and individuals in Jalandhar district were saving Rs 22.29 lakh a year after installing water heaters. Bright move
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Bains brothers to rejoin SAD
Ludhiana, April 27 “I am an Akali. I have been an Akali and will remain so,” said Simarjit Singh Bains, Independent MLA.“ The Akali Dal is my home. One does not require any special invitation to go back to one’s home,” he said. In a statement last month the MLA had said that he and his brother Balwinder Singh, also an Independent MLA, would field their candidates for all the 75 wards of the MCL. The Akali rebels who won the assembly elections with record margins, claimed they had never had any differences with the party or the high command. “Whatever the problem, it was at the local level regarding the style of functioning of a former minister and the Mayor,” said Simarjit. The brothers claimed that they had never criticised the SAD per se from any podium or during any rally. “Even at the press conference called to announce our candidatures, we had desisted from speaking against the party,” said Simarjit. The Bains brothers said it was a matter of days before they formally joined the party. Balwinder was given the Akali ticket (from Ludhiana South) but Simarjit was denied one. In protest, Balwinder returned the ticket to the party. Later, the two were expelled from the party. Simarjit, who contested as an Independent from the Atam Nagar constituency, defeated SAD candidate Hira Singh Gabria by over 28,000 votes. Balwinder, an Independent from Ludhiana South, trounced Mayor Hakam Singh Giaspura by over 32,000 votes. Former Akali minister Gabria, when asked to comment on the Bains brothers’ return to the party fold, said he would speak about it when the two “actually rejoin the SAD”. Mayor Giaspura refused to comment, saying: “It is up to the party high command to take a decision on the issue.”
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ACQUISITION
New Delhi, April 27 A Bench comprising Justices P Sathasivam and J Chelameswar issued the directive while raising the compensation amount awarded to Col Sir Harindar Singh of the erstwhile Faridkot State, and others by 45 per cent. In October 1982, the Faridkot District Collector had awarded a compensation ranging from Rs 15,000 to Rs 25,000 per acre to Harinder Singh (since dead) and others, depending on the nature of the land. The Additional District Judge, Faridkot, raised the compensation to Rs 1 lakh per acre while in January 2009 the Punjab and Haryana High Court refused to enhance it any further, upon which the petitioners approached the SC. Raising the compensation to Rs 1.45 lakh per acre, the Bench granted all other statutory benefits, including interest on solatium and additional market value, to the landowners. “When the land is being compulsorily taken away from a person, he is entitled to the highest value which similar land in the locality is shown to have fetched in a bona fide transaction...”, the Bench ruled.
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MC Poll
Chandigarh, April 27 Party spokesman Daljit Singh Cheema said that Cabinet Minister Bikram Singh Majithia and Member of Parliament and district president of Amritsar rural Rattan Singh Ajnala had been appointed observers for the Amritsar Municipal Corporation. For the Jalandhar corporation, SAD core committee member Sewa Singh Sekhwan had been deputed observer; for the Ludhiana corporation Janmeja Singh Sekhon and for the Patiala corporation Cabinet Minister Sikander Singh Maluka had been appointed observers. Likewise, organisational committees had been formed for the 29 municipal committees and nagar panchayats comprising the district president, Local MLA and SGPC member of the area.
— TNS
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Bajwa pleads rice millers’ case in LS
Chandigarh / Delhi, April 27 Bajwa said that based on the analysis made by the National Institute of Nutrition, Hyderabad, the Export Inspection Agency Lab, Kochi, and VIMTA Labs, Hyderabad, the Indian Council for Medical Research had concluded that these rice grains on scanning did not reveal any fungal presence or the presence of iron. Hence, the grains were safe for consumption. “The issue is creating a lot of problems in the milling of paddy in Punjab. So much so that a number of rice mills in my parliamentary constituency of Gurdaspur have been closed and the milling process is very slow,” Bajwa said. Further, he said that the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India had also suggested that such black-tipped grains were safe for human consumption. However, it had indicated that such grains were to be included in the category of “damaged grains”. This, the Punjab Rice Millers Association, felt was extremely confusing and erroneous as a food item safe for human consumption could not be placed in the category of “damaged” grain.
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Punjab rivers to be cleaned by Dec ’13
Chandigarh, April 27 During a review meeting of the project, the Chief Minister said the state government had already spent Rs 650 crore on the work of laying water supply lines, sewerage and setting up of sewage treatment plants
(STPs) in 45 cities and towns around the banks of Sutlej, Beas and Ghaggar rivers, which were polluting these rivers. He said nearly 70 per cent work of water supply and sewerage besides 25 per cent of STPs had been completed. He further directed the Punjab Pollution Control Board to keep a regular check over the quality of treated water of already installed 15 STPs in 11 cities to ensure its proper usage for irrigation purpose. Badal also directed the Soil and Water Conservation Department to complete the work of laying underground irrigation pipes in a time-bound manner. The Chief Minister asked Local Government principal secretary Suresh Kumar to depute a team of senior officers along with Jalandhar Cantt MLA Pargat Singh to study the feasibilities of replacing old sewage treatment plants in Jalandhar with new proven technology that required less land in collaboration with foreign experts. He said later the same technology would also be adopted for Ludhaina city. Water Supply and Sewerage Board MD Satpal Angurala said work under the project was in full swing and the board was fully committed to complete the task in 18 towns around Sutlej river, 11 towns around Beas river and 16 towns around Ghaggar river by December 31, 2013.
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High security for PM’s visit Patiala, April 27 “In view of the Prime Minister’s visit on April 28, the movement of Sikh terrorists, Kashmiri militants, Muslim fundamentalists and other terrorists organisations, dangerous political suspects, the LTTE, AISSF, Anand Margis and other hostile groups active in India who may pose a threat to the VVIP may be kept under close watch and wherever necessary, action be taken to neautralise the threat,” reads a communiqué to all gazetted officers in the state police. “The field staff and the police should collect information having a bearing on the security of the VVIP”, reads excerpts from the secret communiqué. A top intelligence officer said that the security units were on their toes and were following routine procedure ahead of the Prime Minister’s visit. When contacted, Patiala IG Paramjit Singh Gill confirmed that combing operations were on in the state. “Ahead of such a visit, the state is usually put on alert and there is nothing to panic,” he added.
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Data on disabled children in govt schools sought Bathinda, April 27 Data is being collected under the Inclusive Education for Disabled at Secondary Stage (IEDSS) of the Central Government-run Rashtriya Madhyamik Shiksha Abhiyaan (RMSA) wherein children would be covered under 10 different disabilities. Children from government high schools, senior secondary schools and private-aided schools are covered under this Central Government scheme. Disabilities covered under it includes blindness, low vision, leprosy cured, hearing impairment, locomotor impairment, mental retardation, mental illness, autism, cerebral palsy and multiple disabilities. “Most of the times, we have children with locomotive impairment and spinal disorder. We also have children who are born normal and then become handicaped due to sports or agricultural injury. Such children get hugely benefitted from facilities granted under the IEDSS,” said a teacher at Government Girls’ Senior Secondary School, Mall Road here.
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Moga MC is debt-free, claims its chief
Moga, April 27 Presenting the annual budget of the local body before the 31-member elected House, president of the MC Barjinder Singh Brar claimed that Moga was the lone municipal council in the state with no liabilities whatsoever. He told the House that when he took over as president of the MC, the total revenue was Rs 21.36 crore, which had been increased to Rs 28.65 crore in 2011-2012, an increase of 35 per cent. “Now, we have fixed a revenue target of Rs 35.53 crore for 2012-2013, with a projected growth of at 66 per cent growth”, he said. The account balance of the local body in fixed deposits was Rs 14.52 crore and it had earned a revenue of more than Rs 1 crore from interest, he said. “ The Moga MC is all set for a makeover by working out new strategies for development. The agenda for this year is to launch a cleanliness drive in the town. Our major stress will be on public health and sanitation. We will complete the ongoing Rs 65-crore sewerage project and other development works in the town”, he said. The House approved an annual outlay of Rs 16.91 crore for new works, Rs 19.75 crore for salaries and Rs 1.44 crore for contingency fund. Brar said the local body had managed to get back from encroachers more than nine acres of land in the past one year. He said a three-member sub-committee had been constituted to identify unauthorised constructions on MC land. “We will look into the possibility of arranging for alternative sites for shops running business on MC land for the past more than two decades”, Brar said. The MC unanimously passed a resolution to provide masks to sweepers.
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PPSC results
Patiala, April 27 As many as 514 candidates have been shortlisted for interview. The merit list of successful candidates has been put on the commission's website. Significantly, the PPSC has initiated the recruitment process for the civil services after 11 years.
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New unit to check tax evasion
Patiala, April 27 Sources said the wing had already started operating from the excise headquarters in Patiala and would gather evidence and collect valuable inputs pertaining to tax theft by big industrial houses and traders operating in the state without paying any taxes which amount in hundreds of crores. “From taking help of modern technology to IT sector, the unit will be able to track and monitor tax defaulters for better evidence in hand and follow it up with raids,” said an official. Senior excise officer KVS Sidhu has been made the first head of this unit that would check defaulters and help the government earn revenues from them. Usually trading firms resort to bogus billing and fake refund claims that actually hit the government exchequer and cause heavy losses. On the functioning of the EIU, Commissioner, Excise and Taxation Department, A Venu Prasad says the wing has been given some specific jobs with a priority to check tax defaulters, who use modern methods of evading taxes. “The unit will be given complete independence to ensure that the firms involved in tax evasion are brought to book,” Prasad stated. KVS Sidhu said officers would be inducted from within the department in the unit, which would primarily monitor VAT evasion, input tax credits, fake firms and fake billings. Earlier, the department lacked detailed probe in certain cases, but with this unit such firms would not be able to get away easily, Sidhu added.
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Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan’s disciple enthralls audience
Patiala, April 27 He sang various songs, including "Allah hoo", "Akhiyan udeekdiyan", "Nitt khair manga sohneya", "Tum ik gorakh dhanda ho", "Ni main jana jogi de naal", "Sun charkhe di mithi kook", "Tumhe dilagi bhool jani padegi", "Sanson ki mala pe simroon main pee ka naam sunaye" and department students supported him in his qawwalis. Shahid said he was glad to be in India for the first time and would soon release his solo album 'Pyaar Da Mariz,' the shooting of which was going on in Chandigarh. He is working on another album "Ik Ladki Jawan Ho Gayi Hai", which will also hit the market soon. Expressing his desire to work with AR Rehman, Shahid said he was fond of his music and felt that he was probably one of the most talented music directors in the world.
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MLA Singla acquitted in assault case
Bathinda, April
27 A co-accused in the case, Punjab Beopar Mandal president Madan Lal Kapoor was also acquitted under section 360 on a year's probation. An appeal was filed by the Central Excise Department officials against Singla and the MLA was ordered to remain present in the court for the final verdict.
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27 rescued from illegal de-addiction centre
Fatehgarh Sahib, April 27 The police has registered a case under Sections 365, 344, 420 and 120-B of the IPC at Fatehgarh Sahib police Station. Deputy Commissioner Yashveer Mahajan said they got information about alleged illegal activities of the drug de-addiction centre and Civil Surgeon was directed to raid the centre. He said during the raid, the team found that in a room 27 people were accommodated on 14 beds and toilets were also there in one of corner of the room. The inmates were made to clean utensils, floor and to cook food. The team also found bouncers keeping a close watch on the inmates. Civil Surgeon Dr Chahal said some inmates alleged that they were kept there at the behest of their relatives just to grab their property. He said when the team entered, one of the bouncers tried to block their way.
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A day after 29 blackbucks died at Bir Talab Deer Park, Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal today visited the spot and assured all possible help to rejuvenate the project.
PEDA to install solar streetlights and water heaters in public buildings in border areas of Gurdaspur, Amritsar, Tarn Taran and Ferozepur districts