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Tribune impact
MUNICIPAL POLLS 2012
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MINISTERSPEAK: LOOKING AHEAD "Godowns, which can hold 43 lakh tonnes of foodgrain, have come up at a cost of Rs 2,500 crore and are being taken over by us in phases. Such capacity addition has never been done in such a short period in the history of the state"
Badal says no truth in Cong’s vendetta charge
CM Parkash Singh Badal and Cabinet Minister Surjit Singh Rakhra at Begowal in Kapurthala. Tribune photo: Malkiat Singh
3 Markfed officials booked for fraud
MUNICIPAL POLL
Bathinda’s locality faces cancer wrath Residents of Nai Basti in Bathinda. Tribune photo: Pawan Sharma
Muktsar college speaks of neglect
The collapsed boundary wall of Government College,
Muktsar. Photo by writer
Set up thermal plant under state sector: Panel
Follow the code, doctors told
Court acquits publisher in heroin smuggling case
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Tribune impact
Jagraon, June 3 Officials said many persons involved in illegal mining were arrested during the raids. Several vehicles, including tractor-trailers, trucks as well as machinery being used for excavating sand were also impounded. The operation was carried out after The Tribune published a news item "Illegal sand mining continues in Sidhwan" highlighting the practice of illegal sand mining going unchecked on a large scale in the area. Taking serious note of the situation, Ludhiana DC Rahul Tiwari led the operation. He along with Ludhiana (Rural) SSP Gurpreet Singh Toor supervised raids in areas falling under Ludhiana (Rural) police district where as many as four teams headed by senior police officials conducted raids at different places. SSP Toor said police teams conducted raids at Parjiyan Biharipur, Kaniya, Madepur and Gorsian Khan Mohammad villages and four cases were registered against illegal miners. “We have arrested 13 persons during these raids, while 12 JCB machines, 11 trucks and four tractor-trailers were also impounded. The operation will continue in the coming days also,” he added. Besides this, 25 trucks carrying sand were also issued challan at the checkpoints set up by the police on different roads coming from the riverside. The Deputy Commissioner also requested the Punjab Chief Secretary that teams of 11 police officials, including two head constables and eight constables, be placed at the disposal of the mining officer, Ludhiana, for constant checking of vulnerable areas falling in each police district, respectively. While directing the chiefs of the three police districts falling under Ludhiana district to temporarily attach police teams with mining officers, the DC also directed them to take immediate action in case of any complaint referred to the police by mining officers. In the meantime, the Ludhiana and the Khanna police also conducted raids in their respective areas to check illegal mining. Two cases each were registered at Meherban Police Station and Ladowal Police Station while two more cases were registered at Kumkalan and Machiwara Police Stations against illegal miners. The police arrested four persons and seized 13 trucks/trolleys from different places during the raids.
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MUNICIPAL POLLS 2012 Though the Patiala Municipal Corporation has witnessed a two-fold rise in revenue generation in the last five years, the mushrooming of illegal colonies —101 of them in the city’s 50 wards — continues to be an issue of concern. The Tribune Correspondent Umesh Dewan reports: Fiscal health The city has a population of 4,06,768 living within the municipal limits. For the 2012-13 financial year, the corporation has set a target of revenue generation to the tune of Rs 99.65 crore. In its budget, the municipal body has earmarked 48 per cent (Rs 48 crore) for development projects whereas Rs 49.49 crore has been kept for establishment expenditure. The earnings of the Patiala MC from account heads, including octroi/VAT share, advertisement tax, building fee and sale of property, have gone up considerably in the financial year 2011-12. The house tax collection in 2006-07 was Rs 5.81 crore, which almost doubled by 2011-12. The revenue receipts from building fee were to the tune of Rs 3.41 crore five years ago, which rose up to Rs 8.67 crore by the 2011-12 fiscal. In the current financial year, the MC is expected to generate revenue of Rs 10.66 crore from water supply and sewerage, Rs 12.64 crore from house tax and Rs 49.86 crore from other sources. As far as financial liabilities are concerned, the Patiala MC has to pay a loan of Rs 25 crore to the Patiala Improvement Trust and loans amounting to Rs 60 crore to other financial institutions. As the corporation would generate Rs 35 crore by selling some of its property given on lease/rent and the Punjab Government likely to approve the MC’s case for a loan waiver (which is to be paid to the Improvement Trust), the fiscal health of the corporation is likely to improve in the future. Brief history The first elections to the Patiala Municipal Corporation were held in June 2002 and 50 councilors were elected. Vishnu Sharma of the Congress became the first Mayor. In the 2007 elections, the Congress lost to the SAD-BJP and Ajit Pal Singh Kohli, former Punjab Minister Surjit
Singh Kohli's son, became the Mayor — the youngest in the country. Water, sewerage As far as potable water is concerned, there are 157 tubewells in all and 95 per cent of the city is being provided water. For the rest of the areas, an amount of Rs 2 crore has been sanctioned and within next few months, the entire city is likely to get access to water. The work of the underground sewerage is being done under the Urban Infrastructure Development Scheme for Small & Medium Towns (UIDSSMT) and at present, 85 per cent of the city has been provided underground sewerage. The rest of the work is likely to be completed in the next six months. Of the total project cost of Rs 22.73 crore, 80 per cent grant has been given by the Union Government whereas the rest is coming from the state government and the Patiala MC. However, the initiative to lay stormwater sewerage to ensure utilisation of rainwater for recharging the groundwater has not been taken by the civic body so far. Infrastructure The total length of metalled and ‘kutcha’ roads within the municipal limits is 482 kms and 98 kms, respectively. While most of the city areas have proper roads, the work to lay metalled roads is in progress in areas having ‘kutcha’ roads. With as many as 28,113 streetlight points in the city, 80 per cent of the areas have been provided streetlights. However, as far as non-functional streetlights are concerned, little attention is being paid by the corporation to make them operational. With a view to preventing road mishaps, the corporation has also installed high-mast lights at eight roundabouts in the city. Areas of concern The trend of commercial buildings coming up in gross violation of building bylaws is fast increasing. Civic functionaries claim that lack of requisite staff is a major hurdle in checking the mushrooming of illegal buildings. However, there have been allegations that the civic authorities are hand in glove with builders who have been violating norms. Another issue is of dairies, which the corporation has failed to shift outside the municipal limits. Cow dung from dairies often chokes the sewerage system. Illegal colonies As per reports prepared by the civic body, there are 101 illegal colonies within the 50 municipal wards of Patiala. A majority of these colonies are coming up on the Rajpura Road and Sirhind Road. As a major chunk of the illegal colonies have got water and power connections, the civic authorities are of the opinion that regularisation of these colonies after taking development charges seems to be the only way out. However, whether the proposal of the civic body to regularise the colonies would be enforced or not is uncertain because the Punjab Government has adopted a stiff stand against illegal colonies and has already ordered a survey of unauthorised colonies in the state. The civic functionaries say the officials concerned had been told to ensure that no illegal colony is allowed to establish in the future. Looking ahead For scientific disposal of solid waste, a solid waste treatment plant is being set up at Dudhan Sudan village and land has also been acquired for it. Though the project got delayed for due to certain issues, including hurdles in land acquisition, the civic functionaries now claim that within six months, Patiala city will have an “aesthetic look” with no garbage in any area. Besides, the MC has witnessed computerisation of various departments and establishment of suvidha centres for hassle-free service to the people.
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MINISTERSPEAK: LOOKING AHEAD
Quiet and unassuming Adaish Partap Singh Kairon, who is the grandson of Punjab's former legendary Chief Minister Partap Singh Kairon, is known to let his work speak for him. Into his second stint as Food and Civil Supplies Minister, he has effectively managed the ‘atta-dal’ scheme that has brought the Dalits into the Akali fold. His tenure has also seen an increase in covered storage capacity for foodgrain. Now, he has decided to streamline the public distribution system in the state. In an interview with
Jangveer Singh, he spells out his strategy.
What ground has been covered by you in the last five years? All this while, we focused on foodgrain management. The shortage of covered storage had been building up since years, though it had not been quantified. The Food Corporation of India (FCI) gave us a go-ahead to pass tenders for creating an additional 50-lakh tonnes of covered storage capacity after identifying the need of 80 lakh tonnes of covered space. Godowns, which can hold 43 lakh tonnes of foodgrain, have come up at a cost of Rs 2,500 crore and are being taken over by us in phases. Such capacity addition had never been done in such a short period in the history of the state. Will this solve the problem of open storage? No, but we are working towards that goal in a logical manner. What has been achieved till now is based upon assessments made in 2008-09. A bumper crop like the present wheat crop that resulted in procurement of 130 lakh tonnes can upset all calculations. With additional space to hold 43 lakh tonnes of foodgrain, we now have covered storage capacity of 150 lakh tonnes. However, with 120 lakh tonnes of carryover stock and 130 lakh tonnes of wheat having been procured in the last two months, we have 250 lakh tonnes of foodgrain lying in the state. We are conducting another exercise to increase covered storage as we want to shift completely from open storage to covered storage. What about the damage to foodgrain? In the last five years, we have not auctioned any damaged foodgrain. Only 50,000 tonnes of foodgrain has been categorised as damaged in Punjab by the FCI during this period. What is your immediate priority? In the next six months, we will streamline the public distribution system in the state. Kerosene movement is being tracked through GPS system. In the last one month, we have compiled data of stakeholders (godowns) and delivery points (depots). In the next six months, we will collect information about each of the 60-lakh ration cardholders in the state. This information will be made available online and so will be that about various transactions. What else will be your focus areas? The Union Government has recently transferred the responsibility for ushering in food processing units to us. We had been demanding this for the last two-three years. I have already held a meeting with rice traders to understand their demands and also to find out how value can be added to rice-based products through processing. We have been asked to reduce procurement taxes to give a fillip to food processing. We are committed to give cash subsidy to modernise the existing plants. I also want to design food-processing policies as per the requirement of the industry. What changes have been brought about in the functioning of the department? In 2003 when I inherited this department, it did not even have a balance sheet. Neither did it have a finance section. Today, all payments are online; we have not cut a cheque since three years. This has reduced interest cost and resulted in creation of auditable trails. Similarly, inventory management has also been computerised and even bales of jute bags now have bar coding. I have also given directions that all relevant details about the department should be available on the internet so that wrong notions can be dispelled. The system is working in a better and more organised manner as transparency and accountability have empowered all stakeholders, including farmers, commission agents and labourers. How are you coping with a cut in kerosene quota? A 63 per cent cut has been imposed in the state quota of kerosene by the Centre after a review of cooking gas penetration in the state. We, however, have decided that BPL (below poverty line) families will not be affected by the cut and will continue to get 10 litres of kerosene per month. However, the quota for blue cardholders has been reduced to 5 litres a month. Is there any proposal to refashion the 'atta dal' scheme? No, the scheme will continue in its present form with each beneficiary getting 25 kg of wheat for his family and 2.5 kg of pulses at subsidised rates. However, we will be reissuing blue cards after verification as the validity of the cards has expired. The department has received Rs 200 crore for the scheme this year. What are the challenges that await you? Other states are fast catching up with Punjab in terms of foodgrain production. Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan have become competitive as their production has increased manifold. Surplus foodgrain means less shortage, which can affect their movement out of the state to some extent. But, I have already taken up the issue with the Union Food Minister and I am confident we can retain our top position as a custodian of half of the buffer stock of the country.
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Badal says no truth in Cong’s vendetta charge
Begowal (Kapurthala), June 3 Talking to mediapersons before participating in a function to mark the 62nd death anniversary of Baba Prem Singh Muralewale, he claimed the Congress had been misleading the people by time and again raising the vendetta issue. He claimed the alliance government did not believe in such politics. “In fact, it was the Congress that had initiated vendetta politics during its rule by framing senior SAD leaders, including me, in false cases,” he said. Badal alleged that the Congress manifesto was a bundle of lies aimed at misleading the voters in the run-up to the civic elections. On the rollback in petrol price by the Union Government, the Chief Minister said the partial rollback had once again exposed its “anti-people” face. While addressing a gathering later, Badal praised former SGPC chief Bibi Jagir Kaur for her services to the area, especially Bholath Assembly constituency. He said Bibi Jagir Kaur had nurtured the Akali Dal in Bholath. He prayed that “may she again get a chance to serve the public as the head of Baba Prem Singh Muralewale dera and as a minister too”. Bibi Jagir Kaur is currently lodged in Kapurthala Modern Jail in connection with the abduction and forcible miscarriage of her daughter Harpreet
Kaur.
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3 Markfed officials booked for fraud
Bathinda, June 3 The goods pilfered by the accused mainly included edible oils, which were stored in the Bathinda godown prior to their distribution to various depots in the adjoining districts. The illegality came to the fore when a huge difference was found in the record of goods supplied to depots and those present in the godown. Senior Markfed officials conducted a probe, following which a case of fraud and cheating was registered against the three officials. The scam was found to be to the tune of Rs 80 lakh. Investigating officer ASI Gurmeet Singh of Kotwali police station said they were yet to take into possession the Markfed record. “We have booked the three officials after conducting a preliminary inquiry. Further probe will be initiated once the Markfed record is handed over to us,” he said. Revealing the modus operandi of the accused, who were yet to be arrested, the ASI said the trio had been assigned the task of distributing edibles oil, rice and other goods to various godowns after receiving them from Markfed headquarters in Khanna. They, however, would pilfer the goods and sell them to traders in the open market, he said.
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MUNICIPAL POLL
Chandigarh, June 3 BJP state president Ashwani Sharma has warned the party workers of strict action if found campaigning against official contestants.
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Bathinda’s locality faces cancer wrath
Bathinda, June 3 In its street No. 2, out of 10 families in a row, eight have been hit by the dreaded disease. Each of these houses has either had a cancer death or a patient undergoing treatment for the disease. "We are living under the constant fear of the life-threatening disease. Since 2001, we have lost more than six persons in a row of 10 houses while two are undergoing treatment for cancer at present. A family living nearby lost its two children to cancer a few years ago," says Manu Gupta, a resident. The first cancer death in the area was reported in 2001 when Ramji Dass died of stomach cancer after undergoing treatment at Mohan Dai Cancer Hospital, Ludhiana, and Maharaj Ganga Singh Hospital, Bikaner. "After that we lost Suman Rani who too had suffered from stomach cancer and lived near the house of Dass," said Manu. Cancer here is so rampant that it has now started targeting even children and people in their productive age, said area municipal councillor Krishan Kumar Garg. Another resident Rakesh Singla lost his 38-year-old elder brother Krishan Singla to throat cancer in 2006. "Within four months of being diagnosed with cancer, he died,” said his widow, who is now bringing up her two children with the help of relatives. Later in 2006, excise inspector Ashok Kumar Bansal lost his 17-year-old son to bone marrow cancer. "The parents are shattered. The pain of losing one's child is unbearable," said Garg, who is Bansal's brother-in-law. Another resident Gopi Ram Garg lost his 30-year-old son Sachin Gargi to cancer of stomach in October last year. Sachin was survived by his wife and a nine-year-old son. Similarly, Pradeep Kumar lost his father Shivji Ram Garg to stomach cancer in 2009. Another resident, Roshan Lal Bansal (72) has been undergoing treatment for throat cancer since 2007. Underground water the culprit?
Residents of the area feel that contaminated underground water might be cause of the high incidence of cancer cases in the locality. "Since most of our people have died of stomach cancer, we feel that the water supplied here may be the cause," said Manu. Will take up matter, says ADC
ADC Mohammad Taiyyab, who is in-charge of the district, said district the administration would direct the civil surgeon to look into the cause of rising cancer cases in this area.
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Muktsar college speaks of neglect
Muktsar, June 3 Besides, there has been no permanent principal since December 2008. At present, there are only 25 professors for nearly 2,000 students (1:80). But there is not even a single professor for physics, botany, zoology, computers and Sanskrit subjects. In subjects like political science, history and music, professors have been appointed on a temporary basis, who withdraw their salaries from the Parent-Teacher Association (PTA) funds. The sad saga of this college, which started in 1951, does not end here. It has a library but no librarian despite two sanctioned posts. A multipurpose gymnasium hall, which was built at a cost of nearly Rs 1 crore, has become a safe haven for drug addicts and other anti-social elements due poor upkeep and security arrangements. The college, which is spread over 40 acres on the Kotkapura road, has just two sweepers for 30 rooms. There is no common room for girls and the canteen is in a shambles. Classrooms equipped with decades old fans are in pitiable condition. Most of the windowpanes are broken and rainwater often enters classrooms. The college, which offers BA, BCom, MA in political science and economics and BSc in medical and non-medical and caters to students from across the district, does not have proper infrastructure, which puts a question mark on the functioning of the state’s Education Department. The college staff put the blame on the successive state governments for the poor state of affairs. They say whenever the Chief Minister or any other VVIP comes to the city, his/her chopper lands on the college campus, but hardly anyone ever bothered about its poor condition or at least taking stock of the situation. When contacted, officiating principal Gopal Singh Makkar said: “I have been raising the issue of poor infrastructure of the college the higher-ups in almost every meeting. I had even spoken to the Chief Minister about the poor state of affairs of this college, but so far nothing has been done.” He added: “Students here have talent but inadequate infrastructure and staff shortage are acting as a deterrent in honing their skills. One of our students remained topper of Panjab University in all the three years in BSc from 2008-11. It shows that we can give good results, but the government must provide us basic facilities.” The college staff urged the Chief Minister to provide sanctioned staff so that the college could function smoothly in the next academic session scheduled to start from July 8. The college’s alumni list is impressive. It includes CWC member Jagmeet Singh Brar, former Jalandhar Cantt MLA Jagbir Brar, former Malout MLA Baldev Singh Ballamgarh, besides a number of judges and senior bureaucrats.
In a shambles
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Chief Parliamentary
Secretary Sahi dead
Chandigarh, June 3 Having defeated senior Congress leader Ramesh Chander Dogra twice in a row,
Sahi, during his short tenure as Chief Parliamentary Secretary attached with the Revenue Minister, was known for his pro-people leanings. Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal and Deputy Chief Minister Sukhbir Badal expressed grief over the untimely demise of
Sahi. They said the BJP had lost a balanced and an experienced leader who believed in clean politics. BJP state president Ashwani Sharma and other senior leaders of the party also expressed condolence with the bereaved family.
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Set up thermal plant under state sector: Panel
Patiala, June 3 Association office bearers said despite repeated assurances, no tangible steps had been initiated by the state government to prepare the blueprint for the proposed plant. After several protests by technocrats working with the power corporation, the government had given its nod for setting up a thermal plant of 1320-MW capacity in the state sector at Mukeria last year. Association’s newly elected general secretary Sanjeev Sood stated that the construction of upcoming thermal plants in the private sector was running behind schedule. “Serious issues, particularly related to availability of coal, are bound to escalate the cost of power from these plants,” he said. “On the other hand, sufficient coal is available with the PSPCL from its own captive mines to set up and run new thermal plants with cheap domestic coal of good quality. But, the government is least concerned to provide cheap power,” claimed
Sood.
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36 injured as bus skids off flyover
Khanna, June 3 After the accident, the passengers who escaped unhurt informed nearby villagers who launched a rescue operation. The injured were rushed to the Civil Hospital in Khanna. Khanna (Sadar) Station House Officer Waryam Singh said 15 persons were under-treatment while the rest, who sustained minor injuries, were discharged after being given first aid. It’s the second accident in four days as 24 persons were injured in a similar accident on June 1 when a bus carrying pilgrims from Jharkhand overturned at Daheru village near Khanna.
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Follow the code, doctors told
Patiala, June 3 Patiala IMA secretary Dr DS Bhullar said it had come to their notice that some medical practioners (allopathic) were violating the code of medical ethics framed by the Medical Council of India (MCI). He said some hospitals were regularly giving promotional advertisements through various mediums, particularly by putting up hoardings in the city and through the radio. “As per the code of medical ethics, solicitation of patients directly or indirectly, by a physician, by group of physicians or by institution or organiasations is unethical”, he said.
— TNS
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Court acquits publisher in heroin smuggling case
Ludhiana, June 3 After a legal battle that lasted three-and-a-half years, he was acquitted by the Court of Additional Sessions Judge, Ludhiana, Sarabjit Singh Panesar. Rabjit Singh could not get bail during the trial and was released late last evening. The court also acquitted Gurpal Singh of Raj Music Centre, Ludhiana, whereas prime accused Jaswinder Singh alias Jaity has already been declared a proclaimed offender. Jaity had reportedly sent some packets of DVDs to Chattar Singh-Jeewan Singh for sending them to Canada along with his devotional material. While delivering the verdict, the court held that the prosecution could not prove the charges levelled against the accused. Therefore, they were given the benefit of doubt and acquitted by the court. Heroin weighing 4.8 kg concealed in packets of CDs/DVDs of Gurbani was seized by sleuths of the Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI) near Phagwara on September 10, 2008. The DRI officials stated that out of the total 48 packets, heroin was found concealed in three packets. The packets were booked through a private courier. The next day, in a joint raid, the DRI and Customs officials swooped on the premises of the publishing house at Amritsar, its CJ Hotel near the Golden Temple and the house of the owner simultaneously. However, they failed to recover any contraband despite six-hour search.
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The district administration today launched a massive operation against the sand mafia engaged in illegal mining of sand from the Sutlej riverbeds in the district.
Several officials from the district mining department and the Ludhiana (Rural) police led by Deputy Commissioner Rahul Tiwari conducted raids at many villages where illegal sand mining was going on.
Quiet and unassuming Adaish Partap Singh Kairon, who is the grandson of Punjab's former legendary Chief Minister Partap Singh Kairon, is known to let his work speak for him. Into his second stint as Food and Civil Supplies Minister, he has effectively managed the ‘atta-dal’ scheme that has brought the Dalits into the Akali fold. His tenure has also seen an increase in covered storage capacity for foodgrain. Now, he has decided to streamline the public distribution system in the state. In an interview with
Jangveer Singh, he spells out his strategy.
Begowal (Kapurthala), June 3
Bathinda, June 3
Muktsar, June 3
The Patiala Municipal Corporation (MC) has the required funds for carrying out developmental projects. The civic body’s income in the 2006-07 fiscal was Rs 35.72 crore, which doubled to Rs 74.33 crore by 2011-12. 