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More power for residential areas
40% paddy yet to be sent to central pool
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Cow slaughter: BJP chief seeks action against guilty
BSF refuses to hand over heroin to police
Punjab plans 3 more modern herd stations
Badal for ties with Pak medical fraternity
Environment Ministry slaps notice on Rayat Group
UK award for bhangra king Channi
Bathinda thermal plant runs into trouble
Weaker sections: Income limit for admission in polytechnics raised
Chandigarh AFT to get full strength
Homoeopathy dept faces staff crunch
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More power for residential areas
Patiala, June 17 Sources said with the detection of leakage in boilers of unit number 1 (110 MW) of Guru Nanak Dev Thermal Plant, Bathinda, and unit number 3 (250 MW) of the Lehra Mohabbat Thermal Plant, these had been shut down temporarily. GS Chhabra Director (Generation), PSPCL, said the Lehra Mohabbat unit would start functioning on Sunday night and the Bathinda unit would be functional by Monday evening. A PSPCL official said power demand during peak hours had witnessed a sudden spurt. On June 15, the demand was 8,273 MW, which went up to 8,778 MW on June 16, a whopping increase of 505 MW in just 24 hours. The demand in northern states has led to a heavy load on the Northern Grid. Power corporation officials said grid frequency on Sunday morning was above 50. However, later in the day, the frequency again went down to below 50, they added. Arun Verma, Director (Distribution), PSPCL, said the power scenario was much better today. "The corporation is not imposing any cuts in the domestic sector. If there is no power in any area, it must be because of some maintenance work, shifting of meters or power failure on account of technical snag". However, contrary to the claims made by the PSPCL officials, inquiries brought to light that there were unscheduled power cuts in several parts of Punjab, including Patiala, Ludhiana and Jalandhar, however, the duration of the cuts was comparative less. Meanwhile, Union Power Secretary P. Uma Shankar will be visiting Patiala on June 18. An official said Shankar would meet the top brass of the Power Corporation at the Punjab State Power Corporation Limited (PSPCL) headquarters. A senior Power Corporation officer said Shankar would mainly review the ongoing Re-structured Accelerated Power Development and Reforms Programme (R-APDRP). Notably, beside other matters, the R-APDRP is a project for the establishment of reliable and automated systems for sustained collection of accurate baseline data and adoption of Information Technology in power sector. It is learnt that on June 19, Shankar would convene a meeting with the Power Corporation officials of the northern states in Chandigarh. Speaking to The Tribune, president, Apex Chamber of Commerce and Industry (Punjab) PD Sharma said: "By imposing two weekly offs, the government has once again made it clear that it is not bothered about industry". power scenario
some relief
unit shut down
high demand
official claim
unscheduled cuts
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40% paddy yet to be sent to central pool
Moga, June 17 The orders of Justice Paramjeet Singh of the Punjab and Haryana High court on May 28, directing Harkesh Singh Sidhu Director, Food and Civil Supplies, and Managing Director, Pungrain, to conduct a verification of stocks afresh and send a detailed report within two months has shaken the official machinery. Sources in the FCI say more than 40 per cent paddy with various agencies is yet to be delivered to the central pool even as the extended deadline for the job expires on June 30. Harkesh Sidhu said he had directed the District Food and Civil Supply Controllers (DFSCs) to verify the stocks. “Hopefully, I will receive a report next week and stern action will be taken against the defaulting mills before the report is submitted to the court”, he said. Paddy stored by Pungrain, Markfed, Punjab State Warehouse Corporation, Agro Corporation and Punsup is reportedly missing from hundreds of rice mills in Moga, Faridkot, Ferozepur, Barnala, Sangrur, Bathinda, Gurdaspur and Ludhiana districts. Pungrain began verification of stocks this week. An insider said the millers had sought time to “complete the stocks” by manipulating the official machinery. The modus operandi is simple. Owners of rice mills where verification of stocks has been done help other mill owners by shifting the paddy to their mills. This is possible as officials do not verify the stocks at random. It is also learnt that in Punjab, cheaper varieties of rice worth more than Rs 500 crore have been imported from other states. A senior sales tax official said between November 2011 and May 30, 2012, more than 40 per cent of the “masoori” variety and various broken rice varieties had made their way into Punjab from other states. These, he said, may be mixed by millers with the local varieties while handing over stock to the FCI for the central pool. In Punjab, the entire stock of procured paddy is sent to private millers for cleaning, shelling and polishing of grain. Millers return the finished product to the FCI.
Millers, Markfed officials booked
Ferozepur: The district police has booked two rice mill owners, Amarjit Mehta and Jaswant Singh, for embezzlement of paddy worth Rs 1. 93 crore. Hardial Singh Mann, SSP, said Markfed wrote to the rice mill owner several times, asking that the required quantity of rice be deposited with it, but in vain. Thereafter, when Markfed officials conducted a verification of stocks on the mill premises, about 9,60,298 quintals of paddy worth Rs 193.12 lakh was allegedly found missing. The SSP said Markfed branch manager Iqbal Singh and another official Jaswant Singh had also been booked for allegedly conniving with the rice mill owners to siphon off the paddy. Several cases related to misappropriation of government paddy have been lodged by the Ferozepur police in the past months.
— Anirudh Gupta
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Cow slaughter: BJP chief seeks action against guilty
He said the district administration and the police should not spare anyone irrespective of their political connections. Ashwani was accompanied by local BJP leaders, Mansa SSP, and the Deputy Commissioner. He demanded that Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal should announce to set up a "gau" memorial and install a cow's statue at the factory site. The BJP chief held a meeting with villagers after visiting the factory which was demolished by the latter last week. The villagers had razed the factory after reports of cow slaughtering. They had also ransacked houses of the factory owners. Sharma said the party would not allow registration of cases against gau rakshaks who fought to save the cows. Speaking in Chandigarh, Sharma said Joga agitation was an example of Hindu-Sikh bonding. He said the BJP was committed to protecting cows. It was because of BJP's efforts
in the last government that the Gau Sewa Borad had been formed. The party had also got increased penalty for cow slaughter with imprisonment for 10 years.
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BSF refuses to hand over heroin to police
Batala, June 17 The police says it will not register a criminal case against the two till they are handed over the seized contraband. But BSF officers are averse to this. Sources say they are more keen on handing over the heroin to their nodal agency in Chandigarh. Once the agency is in possession of the contraband, security personnel involved in the operation can claim award money from the department. For each kilogram of heroin confiscated, BSF men get Rs 20,000. This means they would get Rs 3.40 lakh for the 17 kg of heroin seized yesterday. The magazine of an assault rifle, four live cartridges and 100 spent cartridges found at the encounter site were handed over to the police on the basis of which a DDR was recorded. The BSF officials spent the entire day at the police station yesterday but to no avail. The police said that without the heroin in their possession, it was not possible to register an FIR. Dera Baba Nanak MLA Sukhjinder Singh Randhawa has criticised the BSF for “leaving too many ‘loopholes’ which are being used by smugglers to bring in dope which is proving fatal for youngsters of the area”.
Eyeing Reward
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The fastest growing sector in the state, the manufacturing sector, is keenly waiting for the SAD-BJP to announce its proposals for the current fiscal. At a time when the industry is facing another wave of recession, industrialists are looking to some respite from Finance Minister Parminder Singh Dhindsa such as relief package for sick units, finds Ruchika M Khanna ‘WAIVE EXTERNAL DEVELOPMENT CHARGES’
— RS Sachdeva, co-chairman, PHD Chambers
— Gunbir Singh, member, CII
— Amarjit Goyal, MD, Modern Steels
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Punjab plans 3 more modern herd stations
Chandigarh, June 17 These mandis would be equipped with various facilities, including veterinary hospitals, cover sheds, bathtubs, loading/unloading facilities and apartments for night stay. While disclosing this here today, Rural Development and Panchayats Minister Surjit Singh Rakhra said the state government had already established eight state-of-the-art herd stations with a total cost of Rs 44 crore and with the completion of three more herd stations, Punjab would become one of the top states in the country to have 11 high-tech herd stations. He said animal fairs would also be held at these stations. The Minister said in coming days, the SAD-BJP government would inaugurate the newly constructed herd stations at Dhanaula in Barnala and Nabha in Patiala worth Rs 11.5 crore while the construction work on the two high-tech animal markets worth Rs 11.5 crore at Jagraon in Ludhiana district and Dauoonmajra in Mohali district was under progress. He said Killeanwali in Muktsar had witnessed the first high-tech herd station in Punjab with a total cost of Rs 7.5 crore followed by Navipur in Hoshiapur at a cost of Rs 7.5 crore and Valla in Amritsar with the total cost of Rs 4 crore, respectively. He said a modern herd station fully operational at Subhanpur in Kapurthala worth Rs 3 crore was witnessing massive animal fairs. Rakhra said the Rural Development and Panchayats Department had a definite plan to set-up at least one herd station in each district and big cities in the state. He also said at these markets, veterinary hospitals, cover sheds, bathtubs, loading/unloading facilities, apartments for night stay for rearers of animals besides facilities of a control room having complete information regarding various breeds would be provided.
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Unauthorised colonies won’t be allowed to come up: Minister
Sangrur, June 17 Addressing a rally organised by the local unit of the BJP here today, the Minister said the policy would ensure that no unauthorised colony comes up in future. He said the state government had taken a very serious view of mushrooming of unauthorised colonies in several districts of the state. “The unauthorised colonies lead to haphazard development and also spoil the aesthetic look of cities. The state government has also initiated steps to make people aware as how to ensure that the proposed colony is authorised or not,” said the Minister. “Instructions have been issued to the district administrations to initiate necessary steps to make people aware, so that no one gets into the trap of developers of unauthorised colonies”, he said. After taking over the reigns of the state for the second consecutive time, the SAD-BJP government had made it clear that stringent measures would be taken against unauthorised colonies in the state. In May, Deputy Chief Minister Sukhbir Singh Badal had announced a survey of the entire state to ascertain the total number of illegal colonies. Elaborating upon the steps being taken to spread awareness among the masses about unauthorised colonies, the Minister said, “Hoardings are being put up alongside authorised colonies in the state, whereas the developers/owners of the unauthorised colonies are being issued notices and necessary action will be taken against the erring developers, who dupe people.” To a media query whether the state government was contemplating to regularise unauthorised colonies, the Minister said only the Punjab Cabinet could take a decision in this regard.
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Badal for ties with Pak medical fraternity
Talking to a high-level delegation of doctors from Pakistan led by SAARC Surgical Care Society president Dr A Majeed Chaudhary, who called on the Chief Minister at his official residence here yesterday, Badal said mutual cooperation and support of medical fraternity in the region was the need of the hour, as it would not only improve the prospects of providing excellent healthcare facilities to the people but would also provide the required fillip to boost people to people contact in the region. He said eminent people from both the countries including doctors, engineers, lawyers, artists and others should come forward for the promotion of love, peace, brotherhood, co-operation and above all communal harmony and friendship through people to people contact between the two countries so that a new chapter of mutual trust and goodwill could be scripted in the sub-continent. Dr Chaudhary along with other members of the delegation including Prof Aamer Zaman Khan, Dr PS Bakshi and Dr Abrar Ashraf Ali respectively the vice-president, general secretary and assistant secretary of the society requested Badal to inaugurate their annual conference schedule to be held at Jalandhar from September 7 to 9. Accepting the invitation, the Chief Minister urged them to ensure that the focus of the conference should be to provide access of modern and quality surgical care and facility to rural areas of the SAARC countries, particularly that of India and Pakistan.
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Environment Ministry slaps notice on Rayat Group
Jalandhar, June 17 Senior Environmental Engineer SP Garg said the Rayat and Bahra Group started construction post-2006, raising a building on 55,000 sq metres without the “consent to operate” which is a must for any building with more than 20,000 sq metres of
covered area. “The Rayat and Bahra Group neither complied with the notices issued by the pollution board, nor sought the consent to operate from the MoEF,” Garg said, pointing out that there had also been violations at the group’s Ropar complex. Dr DS Bawa, Director, Hoshiarpur campus, said they had approached the ministry for environmental clearance and the issue would be resolved shortly. The group had also violated norms while setting up its university complex (Phase-II) in Waknaghat near Shimla in Himachal Pradesh, flattening a hillock.
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UK award for bhangra king Channi
He has become the first bhangra artist to be honoured with OBE. The Queen’s Birthday Honors List was released on Saturday midnight. Channi, founder and the Alaap band, has been the ‘Godfather of bhangra’ for over 30 years now. He is responsible for getting the Punjabi folk music recognition all over the world. Channi is actively involved in charity and community work, helping raise funds for cancer research, children from Third World countries, eye camps in India and care for the elderly. Talking to the Tribune, Channi Singh said: “To be honoured by the Queen is a great honour. The fact that it is the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee year makes it even more special. I am from a small village near Malerkotla. When I arrived in England in 1976, I did not expect to become a household name. As the Punjabi youth was in danger of getting alienated from the Punjabi culture, I decided to form Alaap. I have worked extremely hard and am humbly proud of my achievements.” Channi may be visiting India next month to launch his video album.
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Bathinda thermal plant runs into trouble
Patiala, June 17 The MoU was signed on February 9 last year, but the developer has not approached the PSPCL for seeking its extension. The deadline for commissioning the first unit of 660 MW was mid-2015. GS Chhabra, Director (generation), PSPCL, confirmed that the one-year validity of the MoU has expired. He said: "After inking the MoU, the developer did not respond and has not even applied for an extension". An official of Lanco Infratech Ltd said in an e-mail: "Lanco had communicated to the PSPCL in August 2011, indicating that it is essential to have a firm fuel arrangement for the project and requested for support of the government authorities in this regard. It was conveyed that the plant's technical parameters and detailed project report (DPR) can be finalised after clarity on fuel security".
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Weaker sections: Income limit for admission in polytechnics raised
Chandigarh, June 17 Disclosing this here, Technical Education Minister Anil Joshi said the state government had taken the decision to facilitate thousands of students from the rural belts of Punjab in order to ensure their admissions in polytechnic
colleges under the fee waiver scheme. He also said the Punjab Government had also extended the date of submission of applications
in polytechnic colleges from June 15 to June 25, so that rural students could drive the utmost benefit from this scheme. The Minister said, "The students, who have cleared their Joint Entrance Test, can get direct admissions in polytechnic colleges availing this facility of fee waiving as 2,500 seats in the polytechnic colleges have been reserved across the state." He said these seats would be filled under the fee-waiving scheme of the All India Council for Technical Education. Extending appeal to the rural students to get maximum admissions through this scheme of the government, Joshi said under the scheme, the students would have to pay only Rs 5,625 annually while the total fee is Rs 27,625. He exhorted the students to avail this scheme to make them self-employed and to start their own occupations. He said the SAD-BJP government was committed to promote technical education in the state. Joshi said students belong to the Scheduled Castes having annual income less than Rs 2.5 lakh would have to pay only Rs 1,100 as tuition fee for three years course, under this fee-waiving scheme.
more to benefit
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Chandigarh AFT to get full strength
Chandigarh, June 17 Sources said the third judicial member at Chandigarh would be appointed shortly. The Chandigarh bench has three designated courts, but at present only one court is functional. Earlier, there were two judicial members, but after one retired a few months ago, a single judicial member is holding the fort. Appointment of new judicial members in other benches across the country, several of which have been rendered as non-functional due to retirement of earlier incumbents, is also on the cards, sources said. The appointments come in the wake of a petition filed before the Punjab and Haryana High Court that had sought judicial redressal to various administrative and functional issues affecting the AFT, including delay by the Defence Ministry in the appointment of judicial members as well as excessive and unwarranted control over the AFT by the Ministry. The High Court had issued notice on the petition last month and it is scheduled to come up for hearing on July 12. Though a judicial body, the Defence Ministry exercises administrative control over the AFT, including appointments, budgetary support and infrastructure. The petition averred that all orders by the AFT were to be passed against the MoD and the same ministry was the parent ministry controlling the AFT thus making it seem more of an extension of the state rather than an independent judicial body.
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Homoeopathy dept faces staff crunch
Muktsar, June 17 The norms stipulate that 805 dispensaries are required at the PHC level, but there are only 302 dispensaries (111 regular and 191 under the NRHM) across the state. It means as many as 503 dispensaries are required to be opened at the PHC level. A perusal of the statistics procured from the department revealed that presently each dispensary was covering approximate 80,000 people. Norms states that each dispensary should cover 30,000 people. Further, the department is facing staff crunch. Nearly 31 homeopathic medical officers and 16 dispensers are required to fill the gap.
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Despite the fact that two thermal units with combined capacity of 360 MW have to be shut down on account of boiler leakage, the power scenario in the domestic sector has improved slightly on account of two-day week off imposed on the industry by the Punjab State Power Corporation Limited
(PSPCL).
Paddy worth crores of rupees stored by state procurement agencies is reportedly missing from Punjab’s rice mills, thanks to lack of an effective policy, lacklustre attitude of officials and political patronage enjoyed by the rice millers.
Chandigarh, June 17
Bathinda, June 17
The Budget proposals should send across an investor-friendly message. We would like the government to announce a waiver of external development charges for any new industry that comes up in the state. Also, change in land use charges should be done away with. The social tax imposed on mega industrial projects should be abolished. We hoping the state goes about mobilising more resources by plugging tax evasion and by raising certain service charges
The most important issue is to invite more investment in the state. More investment means more employment opportunities and more tax revenue for the state. In order to attract more investment, government spending on infrastructure has to go up 
The government should look at ways the cross subsidy on power, being borne by the industry, is removed. The thrust should be on improving the transmission and distribution network and making enough power available to the industry. The power tariff needs to be rationalised. Also, there is a need for a package for the sick industry"
Chandigarh, June 17
Chandigarh, June 17