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BJP wants power subsidy bill capped
Ruling party tried to hush up subsidy scam: PIL
Denied care over Rs 200, infant dies in hospital
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Cong opposes move to levy professional tax
Fate of new SGPC House hangs in balance
3,500 patwaris, kanungos on 3-hr strike today
Do away with arhtiyas, Centre to Punjab
Fake FB page: Sidhu lodges complaint
Police gets vital leads in illegal arms trade
Diarrhoea claims another life in Patiala colony
Matrimonial
dispute Rs
5.42-cr fraud
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BJP wants power subsidy bill capped
Chandigarh, July 26 The BJP team, including veteran leader Balramji Das Tandon, former president Rajinder Bhandari, Health Minister Madan Mohan Mittal and legislator Som Prakash, expressed anguish at the increasing free power subsidy bill and asked how it could be capped. Sources said the BJP team was told that “courageous steps” were needed to raise resources to tackle the financial stress being faced by the state. Sources said Local Bodies Department officers told the BJP team that it was to the state’s benefit to impose property tax and water charges. The BJP team was told that the state was losing out on JNURM (Jawaharlal Nehru Urban Renewal Mission) funds for the last five years because it had not imposed user charges for facilities made available to the people under various JNURM schemes. The BJP team was told that Rs 1,200 crore had been sanctioned for the state under the JNURM and that it was hopeful of getting another Rs 2,000 crore under this head in the current year. It was proposed that besides user charges on water, self-assessed property tax be imposed in the state. This tax would be different from the house tax being collected in the state. The latter was applicable on houses and yielded a revenue of Rs 175 crore. Property tax, which would be applicable on all property, including plots, would yield an annual income of Rs 400 crore. The Excise and Taxation officers explained the nitty gritty of the proposed professional tax. The BJP team was told the tax would be applicable on all persons paying income tax and would be capped at Rs 2,500 annually. This tax has been proposed on the Bihar pattern but the slabs applicable in Punjab could be different.The proposed increase in stamp duty charges could result in an additional Rs 600 crore, the BJP team was told Sources said the BJP is principally inclined to the imposition of new taxes after a few concessions are given to those in the lower income bracket, but is equally keen on a cap on the free power subsidy bill. They said the saffron party might propose a per horse power charge on tube well motors. The power subsidy bill has gone up from Rs 2,600 crore in 2007-08 to nearly Rs 5,800 crore now.
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Ruling party tried to hush up subsidy scam: PIL
Chandigarh, July 26 In a petition filed in public interest, Shalinder Singh and other former sarpanches, panches and farmers of different villages in Abohar subdivision alleged that when the ruling party sensed that a multi-crore fraud had been committed and the committee would soon come out with a report, “the ruling party played a trick and dissolved the committee when the proceedings had almost concluded and the final report was about to be submitted.” They said this clearly showed that the government had tried to support the “real culprits”. Levelling serious allegations against the Vidhan Sabha Speaker, the petitioners said he had dissolved the committee without giving any reason or explanation. The petitioners said the subsidy scam was raised by Sunil Kumar Jakhar in the Vidhan Sabha after a “hue and cry was raised and a number of kisan unions and organisations staged dharnas”. The government then decided to form a House committee headed by Virsa Singh Valtoha with Jakhar as one of its members. The committee was constituted by the Speaker on March 26, 2011. The committee conducted its investigation on the fraud committed by Agriculture officials. Even Agriculture Development Officers admitted before the House committee that the list of beneficiaries prepared by the dealers was bogus and in some districts 100 per cent bogus.
Chandigarh: Acting on a petition for directing the CBI or any other independent agency to conduct a “detailed and thorough” investigation into the seed subsidy scam, the High Court on Thursday set a three-month deadline for the government to take a decision on a legal notice in this regard. The Bench of Acting Chief Justice Jasbir Singh and Justice Rakesh Kumar Jain made it clear that action as per law should be taken if any bungling in funds was detected. — TNS
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Denied care over Rs 200, infant dies in hospital
Jalandhar, July 26 Anita had delivered the baby on July 20 and her daughter was shifted to the pediatrics ward two days later. She alleged that yesterday morning, the hospital staff stopped treating her child as they could not arrange Rs 200 that was needed for using a phototherapy machine. As Sanjeev ventured out to arrange the money, the girl's health deteriorated and the baby died at 4 pm. "Nurses gave an injection to my daughter at 8 am, after which they demanded Rs 200 for using the machine. As we were unable to pay the amount, they stopped her treatment. As the day passed, the names of other patients were called to bring their babies to use the warming machines whereas my baby was left out," she said. While the standard charges for phototherapy treatment are Rs 25 per day, Anita claimed they were being charged Rs 200. After being given the injection, the girl's arms started swelling and the skin around her eyes also got dark, she alleged. "Still, no treatment was provided to her." Though Sanjeev, who works as a labourer, returned after some time, the child was no more by then. The couple's miseries did not end here. When they raised a hue and cry over the incident, the authorities summoned security guards to put them out of the hospital, claimed an inconsolable Banso, Sanjeev's mother. After a few hours when the family was heading home, Anita was not even provided with an ambulance. The family had to tread 7 km on foot to their residence in Santokhpura. They reached their house at 4 am in the morning. "We asked for an ambulance, but they didn't budge. In fact, we were thrown out of the hospital in the middle of night," Banso said. The nurses at the hospital's pediatric ward, however, claimed, "The child died due to choking as her mother was feeding her in a proper manner." It was the couple's second child. The first, too, had died at the Civil Hospital a year-and-a-half ago "because she was born weak", Anita said.
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Patient moved out to make room for OSD
Patiala, July 26 Even worse, a patient was hurriedly moved out of the room late in the evening to make space for him. Officials said the OSD to the CM was taken ill while in jail and the jail doctors referred him to the government hospital for treatment. As per the norms, Bhamra should have been admitted to a general ward, as his condition was not serious, and by no means should he have been given a VIP room. A senior hospital official said a critically ill patient had to be shifted to the Intensive Care Unit (ICU) to make way for the OSD. “The police team brought the OSD to the hospital. He was shifted to a special room following phone calls from top political offices. We had no option but to oblige,” the official said. When The Tribune team visited the hospital, Bhamra was relaxing in the AC ward sharing some light moments with visitors as a policeman stood guard outside the ward. The The Tribune team was not allowed in and was told by the visitors not to click any picture inside the ward. They tried to snatch the camera. The Principal of Government Medical College and Rajindra Hospital, Dr KD Singh, said he had orders to allot the special room to Bhamra but refused to say if rules permitted it. “I will issue orders that he be shifted to the general ward,” he added. Karanjit Sandhu, Additional Jail Superintendent, Central Jail Patiala, said the OSD was brought to jail last evening. Asked as to why Bhamra was getting a VIP treatment inside the jail, he fumbled for words. “Please ask the hospital staff,” was all he said before disconnecting the phone. He refused to take any calls thereafter. The Punjab IG (Prisons), Jagjit Singh, said he would look into the matter as he was “unaware of any such development”. Later, he said Bhamra was brought to the Patiala jail at 9.20 pm and after being examined by jail doctors was referred to the government hospital. “We are not aware of any preferential treatment being given to him,” he added. The jail department has been in the news for the wrong reasons. It has drawn flak for giving VIP treatment to former Cabinet Minister Bibi Jagir Kaur. The IG (prisons) was photographed accepting a siropa from Bibi at a religious function inside the Kapurthala Jail some weeks ago.
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Cong opposes move to levy professional tax
Chandigarh, July 26 Punjab Congress general secretary Arvind Khanna said the tax was clearly aimed at targeting the urban population, whether salaried or self-employed. Moreover, the move aimed at including even those professionals who earned as little as Rs 1 lakh. He said this would mean that someone earning just Rs 8,500 per month would be required to pay the professional tax in Punjab which was unacceptable.
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Fate of new SGPC House hangs in balance
Amritsar, July 26 For the first time in its history, the SGPC could not pass its annual budget in March this year as this is required to be done by the SGPC House. As there is no House, the SGPC executive passed the vote-on-account for managing the affairs till July 26. However, with the SC not issuing any further orders today, the SGPC executive will have to meet again to give its nod to expenditure for the coming days. Also, there are various key issues which are hanging fire. These can only be resolved once the new House comes into being. SGPC secretary Dalmegh Singh admitted that work was suffering in the absence of the SGPC House and the SC order authorising the SGPC executive to run its day-to-day affairs was merely a stopgap arrangement. The SGPC president, Avtar Singh Makkar today called an emergency meeting of the SGPC executive for August 6 to discuss the budget for the remaining part of the year as well as other key issues. The crisis in which the SGPC finds itself today has its roots in the Punjab and Haryana High Court order dated December 20, 2011, by which the court quashed the October 2003 Central notification denying Sehajdhari Sikhs the right to vote in the SGPC elections. The HC verdict came three days after the new SGPC House was notified by the Union Government on December 17, 2011. Prior to this, the Centre took everyone by surprise by withdrawing the notification, claiming that it had been issued on September 1, 2011, “without application of mind”. A day later, the Centre backtracked, stating that it had no intention to withdraw the contentious notification that barred Sehajdhari Sikhs from participating in the SGPC poll. Later, the Sehajdhari Sikhs moved the Supreme Court, seeking voting rights in the SGPC elections. Consequently, on September 16, a Supreme Court Bench asked the Punjab and Haryana High Court to resolve the controversy within a month, if possible, and clarified that the outcome of the September 18 elections would be subject to the HC verdict. The notification dated October 8, 2003, was issued by the then NDA Government at the Centre.The SAD, an alliance partner in the then Union Government, had pursued the case for the notification. Before the notification, the Sehajdhari Sikhs had been enjoying the voting right in the SGPC elections since the inception of the institution in 1920. The Sehajdharis have voted in the 12 of the total 14 SGPC elections held till date. The SGPC elections were held on September 18 last year and 15 members co-opted on December 5. Subsequently, the Centre issued a notification constituting the new SGPC House on December 17. However, the Punjab and Haryana High Court's December 20 verdict, quashing the 2003 notification barring the Sehajdharis from voting in the SGPC elections, pushed the new House into a crisis. The SGPC later challenged the HC verdict in the Supreme Court which allowed the new SGPC House to function on February 17. Following the SC verdict, the SGPC urged the Centre to call the SGPC session to elect its new office-bearers and the executive. After waiting for a month, CM Parkash Singh Badal met the Prime Minister on March 20. The Centre attributed the delay in electing the executive to the Sehajdhari row. It also said the SC ruling of February 17 was ambiguous. The SGPC moved the SC again to seek clear directions to the Centre on the office-bearers’ poll. Hearing the SGPC petition on March 30, the SC allowed the old SGPC executive (elected in November 2010) to manage the gurdwaras and institutions under the SGPC till further orders. It stated that the House elected in September 2011 without Sehajdhari Sikhs’ participation could not be allowed to hold its first meeting and elect office-bearers in the light of the Punjab and Haryana High Court verdict restoring the voting rights of the
Sehajdharis.
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3,500 patwaris, kanungos on 3-hr strike today
Chandigarh, July 26 Statewide dharnas would be held outside the Revenue Department offices in 22 district headquarters across the state. The Vigilance officers, including Joint Director Surinderpal Singh, SSPs Shiv Kumar Sharma (now retired), Jaspal Singh and Surjit Singh Grewal, suspended SP Banarsi Das and inspector Isher Singh, were indicted in a probe conducted by Kahan Singh Pannu, former Special Principal Secretary to the Chief Minister. The probe found the officers guilty of misusing their powers to humiliate Mohan Singh, a patwari who is also vice-president of the Punjab Revenue Patwar Union. Mohan Singh was "implicated" in a corruption case pertaining to a paddy scam in Punsup (Punjab State Civil Supplies Corporation). While Mohan Singh later got a clean chit from Pannu, the probe report recommended registration of an FIR against the Vigilance officers. The report was submitted on April 30 to the Punjab Chief Secretary. "The state government is not taking action against the Vigilance officials as they are considered close to a senior functionary in the police. This indeed reminds one of a pick and choose policy," said Mohan Singh. The inquiry report mentions that Mohan Singh had sought Rs 20 as government fee from SSP Shiv Kumar Sharma in November 2009 for mutation of land at Rurki village in Fatehgarh Sahib in his son's name, which offended the police officer. "While Jaspal Singh and Banarsi Das humiliated and implicated Mohan Singh at Sharma's behest, Surjit Singh Grewal threatened Mohan Singh when he sought information pertaining to the case he was implicated in under the RTI Act," the report mentioned.
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Do away with arhtiyas, Centre to Punjab
Chandigarh, July 26 Pointing out that the 2.5 per cent commission given to the ahrtiyas on grain procurement had become a financial burden on the Centre, Union Minister of State for Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution KV Thomas, in a letter to Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal, has given the instance of states that are procuring foodgrain without ahrtiyas. The Centre has suggested that procurement centres be set up to enable farmers to sell their produce directly to the agencies. “The Government of Punjab should have a relook into this system and do away with the system of arhtiyas. Instead, cooperative societies should be encouraged to help in the procurement process as is being done by other states”, Thomas has suggested in his letter to Badal. The minister has drawn Badal’s attention to the taxes levied by the state on the procurement of foodgrain. “the taxes in Punjab, which add up to 14.5 per cent, are the highest in the country”, reads the minister’s letter to the CM. The levies include 5 per cent VAT, 2 per cent market fee, 2.5 per cent arhtiyas’ commission, 2 per cent rural development cess and 3 per cent infrastructure development
cess.
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Fake FB page: Sidhu lodges complaint
Amritsar, July 26 In his complaint to the commissioner, Sidhu alleged that someone had opened a page on the Facebook, projecting it as his official page, having a web address www.facebook.com/NSSidhuofficial. “The page not only carries photographs of me and my politician-wife Dr Navjot Kaur Sidhu, but is also being updated by uploading my news and visuals that appear in the media. The page has got over 11,000 likes,” he said. Sidhu, however, said nothing objectionable had been uploaded on the page so far. He urged the Commissioner to lodge an FIR and investigate the matter. — TNS
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Police gets vital leads in illegal arms trade
Patiala, July 26 Probe agencies, including the Punjab Police and the Intelligence Bureau, are tightlipped about the operation, but sources confirmed that the probe could highlight how some terror groups were able to sneak in these weapons. The sources said the police had zeroed in on two suspects from Srinagar, one of whom had already been arrested and was on remand with the Patiala police. A Punjab Police team arrested Muzaffar Rehman from Srinagar who was involved in supplying arms to Ghaziabad-based dealers. "The Ghaziabad kingpin is also in the police net and his arrest is now a matter of time," said Patiala DIG LK Yadav. Rehman, who has connections in the police and bureaucratic circles at the national level, will now be interrogated by the Patiala police. The sources said a relative of Rehman, identified as "T", who had been instrumental in the arrest of several terrorists in the Valley, was under the police radar. "His arrest is crucial in the case. His family and work station have been identified," said a source, adding a police team from Punjab had been camping in Srinagar to nab him. "Many more weapon recoveries are expected after his arrest," said policemen probing the case. Yadav said whether the weapons were used for anti-national activities or were sold to petty criminals was not known yet. "We cannot reveal much as investigations are at a crucial stage," he added.
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Diarrhoea claims another life in Patiala colony
Patiala, July 26 The victim’s father Sukhwinder Singh said his son was suddenly taken ill yesterday. He complained of vomiting and loose motions. "We took him to a medical camp at a gurdwara in the colony but his condition deteriorated. We again took him to the medical camp’s emergency ambulance service. We wanted to take him to Government Rsajindra Hospital, but the driver was nowhere in sight. In the meantime, my son collapsed and was declared brought dead by doctors," he said. Patiala Civil Surgeon Virinder Singh Mohi refuted the allegations that the patient died due to negligence. "Under a routine survey, our team had visited the house of the deceased on July 24 and found an aged woman suffering from mild gastroenteritis. She was given medicines," he said. "The claims of the family that their son died due to gastroenteritis are baseless, but we have placed the ambulance driver under suspension since he was absent from duty when the patient required medical aid,” he added. Earlier, VG Naraiyan Singh (62), Gurdev Kaur (80) and Gurdyal Singh (65) had died of diarrhoea on July 18.
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Matrimonial dispute
Chandigarh, July 26 The directions came on a petition filed by Hemant Gupta of Ludhiana. In his petition, Gupta asserted there was a discrepancy in the report and “one line with blue pen had been added to the carbon copy in a very thin, small alphabets”. Gupta contended his "runaway love marriage" with Shaina Gupta was solemnised in July 2011 at Chandigarh. But the bride's father managed to get a "frivolous criminal case" registered against him on March 29, for attempt to murder and other offences under Sections 307, 309, 323, 498-A, 506, and 34 of the IPC. The same day at about 4:10 pm, the complainant in the case Shaina was medico-legally examined at the Ludhiana Civil Hospital by Dr Jasvir Kaur. After some days, Gupta said he applied for the medico-legal report of Shaina under the RTI Act and was “shocked to see that tampering had been done with the report generated from the manual record maintained by the doctors". He said a line "clothes smelling of kerosene oil" was added just to cause prejudice to him and to indulge them in a serious criminal case. Available information suggests the allegations against Gupta were that he had tried to douse his wife with kerosene in an attempt to set her afire. Taking up the matter, Justice Paramjeet Singh directed the police authorities to "inquire into the matter and then pass appropriate orders, if any tampering or addition/alteration has been made and if so, as to who and at which stage these alterations have been made".
Capt moves HC
PCC president Capt Amarinder Singh on Thursday moved the Punjab and Haryana High Court seeking permission to go abroad. Acting on his petition, Justice MMS Bedi issued a notice to the State of Punjab for Friday. Capt has asserted that he wanted to go abroad for 20 days from July 27 to August 15 and required permission for the same in FIR dated September 11, 2008, registered in Mohali for cheating, forgery and other offences.
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Rs 5.42-cr
fraud
Chandigarh, July 26 Suresh Arora, DGP-cum-Chief Director, Vigilance, said a case under the Prevention of Corruption Act had been registered. The accused are Punsup regional manager Sheri Singh, PDS clerk Hari Ram and owner of Baba Khajjan Dass Agro Industries Ranjit Singh. Arora said as many as 1,54,615 bags of paddy were stored at the rice mill in 2011-12, but during a surprise checking by the Punsup MD, around 1,39,465 bags were found short.
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The Proposals
September 1, 2011: Centre withdraws 2003 notification barring Sehajdharis from voting in the SGPC poll
The Patiala police recently claimed to have busted an illegal arms gang operated by a Ferozepur-based arms dealer. The accused sold illegal arms by preparing fake documents. The police had recovered some weapons and money in crores. The dealer had a clout in the Ferozepur DC office as he had sold 20 weapons using fake certificates procured from the aforesaid office. Investigations revealed that the dealer was already under the CBI scanner in a case of procuring Chinese weapons and selling these to various persons.