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BJP veteran Arora is Amritsar Mayor
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Jalandhar mayoral poll deferred to Sept 25
Centre defends denial of voting right to Sehajdharis
Former Cong minister Henry loses citizenship
UPA’s fall imminent, claims Deputy CM
Mukerian plant: Centre blamed for delay
Factory Inferno
Bandh: Token protest by PPP
Audit Reports of Adarsh Schools
Labour cess worth Rs
300 cr remains unutilised Merge aided schools, demand teachers
Youth's death: Kin protest police inaction
Commerce Secy on Pak visit to discuss trade ties
Govt to encourage farmers to diversify
Three new bus stands in 3 dists
Begin door-to-door
garbage collection, Amritsar MC told
Director rapped for wasting court’s time
Bus rams into tree, 25 injured, driver booked
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BJP veteran Arora is Amritsar Mayor
Amritsar, September 19 The three-time BJP councillor’s name was proposed by SAD Chief Parliamentary Secretary Inderbir Bolaria and seconded by BJP Cabinet Minister Anil Joshi during the first meeting of the fifth Amritsar Municipal Corporation House at Town Hall. SAD councillors Avtar Singh Truckanwala and Avinash Jolly were unanimously elected Senior Deputy Mayor and Deputy Mayor, respectively. Their names were proposed by Joshi and seconded by Bolaria. The presiding officer, Jalandhar Divisional Commissioner SR Ladhar, administered the oath to the newly elected councillors. Seasoned players Born on January 26, 1947, Arora is the seventh Mayor of the city and the fourth BJP member to occupy this
seat. Arora’s political career spans five decades, associating himself with the RSS and the BJP all
along. Arora has held several important positions in the past. He has served as the district president of the BJP (urban) and the Chairperson of the Improvement Trust. He has been elected thrice as councillor (1997- 2002, 2007-2012, 2012-to date) and currently represents ward No. 50. He is also a member of the Punjab Working Committee and in-charge of the party affairs in Gurdaspur and
Batala. Newly elected Senior Deputy Mayor Avtar Singh Truckanwala has won three consecutive terms (2002-2007, 2007-2012 and 2012-till date) on SAD ticket. He is currently the vice-president of party’s local wing and represents ward No. 29. Deputy Mayor Avinash Jolly, who joined SAD just prior to the civic elections, was an Independent councillor in his previous term (2007-2012), when the BJP denied him the ticket. He had earlier won elections under the banner of the BJP (1997-2002). He is the senior vice-president of SAD’s district unit and state general council member of the party. The proceedings The House proceedings were held under the supervision of observers - Cabinet Minister Bikram
Majithia, Local Bodies Minister Chuni Lal Bhagat, BJP state general secretary Kamal Sharma and Khadoor Sahib MP Dr Rattan Singh
Ajnala, besides MP Navjot Sidhu and Cabinet Minister Anil Joshi. Cong walkout Prior to the election of the Mayor and his deputies, four Congress councillors - Gurinder
Rishi, Sarbjeet Laddi, Naresh Kumari and Rankanwalpreet Singh Lucky - staged a walkout in protest against the appointment of BJP’s Sukhminder Singh Pintoo as the ‘Leader of the House’. They said under the corporation Act, the ‘Leader of the House’ had to be elected from the party having maximum number of seats. “The Leader of the House should have been from SAD, which won 25 seats, one more than the
BJP. They may be in alliance but picking a BJP candidate as the Leader of the House violated the MC constitution,” said
Rishi. Face-to-face In spite of sharing the same dais, Navjot Sidhu and Bikram Majithia avoided eye contact. The two leaders have been engaged in an open spat, with Sidhu blaming SAD for breaking the coalition dharma by supporting independent candidates against the BJP to garner seats. In a nutshell
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Jalandhar mayoral poll deferred to Sept 25
Jalandhar, September 19 Ladhar said he had allowed the change of date and asked Municipal Corporation Commissioner Vinay Bublani to issue notices in this regard to all councillors. Bublani said he was in the process of issuing notices. The BJP leaders had yesterday claimed that the bandh call would not have any bearing on the mayoral election.
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Centre defends denial of voting right to Sehajdharis New Delhi, September 19 “The notification was issued by the competent authority after due deliberations and application of mind,” the Union Home Ministry said in an affidavit filed in the SC through Under Secretary Ranvir Singh. The Punjab and Haryana High Court, however, quashed the 2003 notification on December 20, 2011, on a petition filed by the Sehajdhari Sikh Federation (SSF) and others. The HC “erred in law in striking down the notification” without appreciating that the Centre was “well within the legislative competence” to issue the order disenfranchising the Sehajdharis, the Home Ministry said. The notification had been issued keeping in view the three SGPC resolutions (dated November 30, 2000, March 30, 2001, and March 7, 2002) and the powers conferred upon the Central Government by sub-section (1) read with sub-sections (2) and (3) of Section 72 of the Sikh Gurdwaras Act, 1925, the ministry said. The Centre rejected the SSF’s contention that separate forms for Keshdhari Sikhs (Form-1) and Sehajdharis (Form1-A) for their enrolment as voters were in violation of the 1925 Gurdwaras Act. “The contention of the respondent (SSF) is misconceived and devoid of any merit. No doubt, the term Keshdhari Sikhs has not been defined in the Act. But the fact remains that the term has been used at various places in the Act,” the ministry said, citing Sections 45(1)(vi), 46(vi), 90(1)(viii) and 90(vii). A perusal of Sections 49 and 92 of the Act “shows that only those Sikhs are now eligible to vote who do not trim or shave their beards or kesh, except in case of Keshdhari Sikhs, so the contention of the respondent that Form-1 prescribed under the Sikh Gurdwaras Board Election Rules, 1959, for Keshdhari Sikhs is in violation of the provisions of the Act is baseless and incorrect,” the Centre said. Further, Parliament enacted the Punjab Reorganisation Act, 1966, empowering the Centre under Section 72 of the Act to issue amendments under the provisions of Part III of the Sikh Gurdwaras Act, 1925, the ministry pointed out. The SSF has questioned the Centre’s competence to withdraw the Sehajdharis’ voting right conferred on them by the legislature. On this, the ministry said Section 72 of the 1966 Act “commands the Central Government not only to issue directions for smooth functioning of inter-state body corporate but also to add exceptions or modify the Central Act, state Act or provincial Act. Hence it is not a delegated legislative power, rather they speak of Parliament’s explicit direction to the Central Government to modify laws, if so required. Thus, the notification dated October 8, 2003, issued in deference to such command, is deemed to be an act of parliamentary legislation.” The authorisation given to the Centre “is unrestricted and exercisable to any extent”. Further, the provisions of a re-organisation law “are equivalent to the declarations of law made by Parliament” and these declarations “are not justiciable”, the Centre contended. The SGPC has come to the SC, challenging the HC verdict restoring the Sehajdharis’ voting right.
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Former Cong minister Henry loses citizenship
Jalandhar, September 19 In a communication to Principal Secretary (Homes) DS
Bains, Undersecretary, Union Government, SN Garg has said the Centre, while exercising powers under Sections 9(2) of the Citizenship Act-1955, had ceased Henry’s Indian citizenship from the date he acquired British citizenship and passport in 1969. Henry, however, is at liberty to acquire Indian citizenship by following the procedures laid down under the law. In the letter, Garg stated that an inquiry report forwarded by the Additional Director General of Punjab Police specified that the office of the Deputy Commissioner,
Jalandhar, was not in possession of any record that could be used to ascertain whether Henry had submitted an application to acquire Indian citizenship or not. Henry had acquired an Indian passport in 1981 and subsequently in 2004. The passport can be issued only to an Indian citizen. But the records of the Foreigners Division of the Ministry of Home Affairs confirmed that the division had not granted Indian citizenship to Avtar Henry from 1981 onwards. The letter sent by Garg to Bains stated that the fact that he had acquired a British passport conclusively proved that he had acquired British citizenship and thereby automatically ceased to be an India citizen under Sections 9(1) of the Citizenship Act-1955 from the date of the acquisition of British citizenship. Case history
Henry had landed in a trouble following allegations of dual citizenship levelled by his son Gurjit Singh
Sanghera. The Union Home Ministry had summoned him to Delhi to clear his stand. Henry was asked to appear before the ministry on July 10, 2012. Henry had appeared before SM Garg and recorded his statement. In November 2009, Sanghera had accused his father of possessing two passports. In his complaint, Sanghera had alleged that Avtar Singh ‘Sanghera’ had been to England on an Indian passport, which he had procured from the passport office in Delhi by posing as Lakhbir Singh Sanghera’s son. Lakhbir Singh Sanghera is, in fact, Henry’s elder brother and his father’s name is Joginder Singh. The complainant had further alleged that Henry had made a false averment in the British passport that his “father”, Lakhbir Singh
Sanghera, had died in 1905. Lakhbir Singh had actually died in November 2006. The complaint further read that Avtar Henry (‘son’ of Lakhbir Singh) took British citizenship on the old passport issued by the Indian Government. He later managed to get a passport from the British government and returned to India in September 1969. He yet again got a passport prepared from the Jalandhar passport officer, showing himself as the son of Joginder Singh (the real father) and born in Pakistan. The complainant had sought charges under Sections 420, 465, 467, 468, 471 and 494 of the IPC against Henry. The Jalandhar police acted on the complaint, but the files were gathering dust at the SSP’s office. The case was later reopened by the city police after
Sanghera, through his friend Ajay Sehgal, an RTI activist, moved the Punjab and Haryana High Court. The court had directed the Union Home Ministry, Punjab Chief Secretary and the DGP to complete an ongoing probe into a complaint against Henry in four months. Son
relieved
Gurjit Singh Sanghera has expressed satisfaction at the union government’s decision to cease Henry’s Indian citizenship. Talking to The Tribune, Sanghera claimed that he would move an application before the city police Commissioner seeking his arrest.
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Delay in Mansa thermal project upsets Sukhbir
Banawali (Mansa), September 19 Sukhbir flew to the upcoming Goindwal thermal project with top officers to take stock of the progress made in the construction work. The first unit of the Rs11,000 crore project here that was to be commissioned within three years of the stone laying ceremony in 2008 has already been delayed by about a year. Sukhbir held a meeting with officers of Punjab State Power Corporation Ltd and the Vedanta Group and asked them to speed up work so that all the three units of the super-critical project were commissioned in 2014. Power Secretary Anirudh Tiwari and PowerCom chief KD Chaudhri were among those present at the meeting. It is learnt that annoyed at the delay in the construction work, Sukhbir told the company officials that he would visit the project again on December 15 and review the progress made. “The first unit to generate 660 MW of power will be commissioned on Baisakhi,” he said. He asked the Power Secretary and the PowerCom chief to monitor the progress of the project every week. The Chinese SEPCO Electric Power Construction Corporation has been assigned the construction of the project on a turn-key basis. Sukhbir reiterated that Punjab would become power surplus once the thermal plants became operational. The 540 MW Sri Goindwal Sahib Thermal Plant being constructed at a cost of Rs 3,000 crore would be operational in May next and the 1,400 MW Rajpura Thermal Plant, being constructed by Larsen &Toubro at a cost of Rs 8,000 crore, would start producing power by the end of 2013. Later, Sukhbir told mediapersons that the latest anti-pollution technology was being installed at the project. He said PowerCom would construct the 1320 MW thermal power project at
Mukerian.
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UPA’s fall imminent, claims Deputy CM
Goindwal Sahib, September 19 Talking to mediapersons after monitoring the progress of Sri Goindwal Sahib Thermal Plant, he said: “The UPA Government has no right to continue in power as it has lost majority. Now, early elections are inevitable.” Charging the Congress-led UPA Government of discrimination against Punjab, he said Punjab had been denied its due share in the border area schemes. He alleged that the Union Government had forced the Punjab Government to levy fresh taxes on the people by withholding a sum of Rs 1,100 crore which was to be released to the state under the Jawaharlal Nehru National Urban Renewal Mission (JNNURM) scheme. On three Punjab ministers resigning in the last three months, he said the ministers had chosen to quit on moral grounds. “In contrast, the UPA ministers haven’t budged even after the coal scam.” Earlier, Sukhbir said the first unit of the 540 MW Goindwal thermal plant being constructed by the GVK Group would become operational in March and the second one in May next year. Rail Link
Official sources said that work on the rail link to the plant has hit a roadblock with a section of farmers demanding a higher price for their acquired land. Farmers of Hothian and Biharipur villages are seeking compensation on the pattern of the Rajpura plant. Some of them met Sukhbir today.
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Mukerian plant: Centre blamed for delay
Rajpura, September 19 Blaming the Centre for the delay in the commissioning of the proposed 1320 MW thermal power plant at Mukerian (Hoshiarpur) Sukhbir said the Union Government was yet to give various clearances. To a query on the non-initiation of work at the 2640 MW coal-based thermal power project in Gidderbaha by the National Thermal Power Corporation (NTPC), he said: "That project is held up because of coal linkage, which has to be provided by the Centre." Contrary to Sukhbir’s claim some months back that the first unit of the 660 MW Talwandi Sabo plant would become operational in November this year, he said the unit would now be functional on April 13 next year.
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Factory Inferno
Ludhiana, September 19 The matter came to light after Khanna Sub-Divisional Magistrate (SDM) PS Sodhi visited the Post-Graduate Institute of Medical Education and Research (PGIMER) in Chandigarh to record the statements of injured labourers. Rajinder and Chaman Lal and truck driver Gurnaib Singh undergoing treatment there claimed there were two blasts. “Earlier, we were probing if the fire was caused by a gas leak. Now the course of investigation has changed. I have recorded the statement of three workers who claimed that first there was a low- intensity blast, which spread the dangerous hexane gas, and a few minutes later, there was a massive explosion that ravaged the factory,” the SDM said. He said it was suspected that three workers standing near the gas chamber were killed in the first explosion and the others died after the second explosion. Many of the workers were asphyxiated to death. The Tribune in its report published in these columns on September 13 had stated that two explosions had occurred in the factory.
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Bandh: Token protest by PPP
Chandigarh, September 19 “The participation of PPP activists will be just symbolic,” said party president Manpreet Singh Badal. “The protest by the Left parties will be separate from the one for which a call has been given by the BJP and its allies,” said Joginder Dayal, a member of the CPI national executive. Dayal said there was no difference between the policies followed by the Congress at the Centre and the SAD-BJP combine in Punjab. As of now, there appeared to be no possibility of cooperation between the Left parties and the Congress in Punjab, he said.
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Work on plant to begin soon: MC chief
Amritsar, September 19 The much-awaited plant at Bhaktanwala continues has been hanging fire for the past over three years. Consequently, the dump pond has been filled up to its limit and heaps of garbage have been mounting with each passing day and have even spread to the adjoining grain market. Traders are thus forced to stock foodgrain under unhygienic conditions. The project
The Rs 80-crore project was launched as per the Municipal Solid Waste (Management and Handling) Rules 2000, by Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal in 2009. The plant was meant to process city’s garbage into eco bricks and green fuel. Bidders ‘favoured’
The project ran into trouble after questions were raised over the process of tender and its allotment to “ineligible” bidders. Officials of Local Bodies alleged the specifications of work were altered to make certain bidders eligible. Probe ordered
The government asked the Central Vigilance Office (CVO) to investigate the allegations. The role of various officials in financial irregularities and administrative discrepancies emerged in the preliminary investigations. In its detailed probe report, submitted on October 3, 2009, the CVO stated that the tenders and the bids were not evaluated properly. The report was first buried. But it was later reviewed in October, 2010. Present scenario
The work of garbage lifting and dumping at the designated place started in 2009. Mumbai-based Antony Waste Handing Pvt Ltd was engaged for the job. The company has stopped working due to non-payment of dues amounting to over Rs 1.5 crore. Now, the MC, with its scant resources, is finding it difficult to lift garbage from the city.
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Audit Reports of Adarsh Schools
Chandigarh, September 19 The decision was taken at the seventh meeting of the Punjab Education Development Board this morning. An official press note said that DGSE Kahan Singh Pannu had been asked to issue notices to the erring managements seeking an explanation for the alleged irregularities in their audit reports within 15 days. Among those present at the meeting were Education Minister Sikandar Singh Maluka, Principal Secretary to the Chief Minister SK Sandhu and Secretary, School Education, Hussan
Lal.
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Power demand dips, 9 thermal units shut down
Patiala, September 19 The power demand, which varied between 1700-1750 Lakh Unit (LU) last week has gone down drastically because of the rainfall and the drop in temperatures. The power demand recorded in Punjab was about 1200 LU. After the power demand went down by almost 500 LU, PSPCL decided to shut down the thermal plants. Confirming the same, PSPCL Director (Generation) GS Chhabra said out of six units at the Ropar Thermal Plant, four units, each of capacity of 210-MW had been shut down. Apart from this, out of four units at Lehra Mohabbat Thermal Plant, two units each of capacity 210-MW and one unit of capacity 250-MW have been closed temporarily. Two units of 110-MW each at Bathinda Thermal Plant have also been closed. Punjab is drawing 40 LU less against the scheduled power from the northern grid. PSPCL Director (Distribution) Arun Verma said because of the sudden crash in the load, there was no other option but to curtail own thermal generation. Verma further said, "As per rules, PSPCL can surrender 10 per cent of the short-term power. We have already surrendered it for the current month. We have also surrendered more power, for which we will be penalised as per the laid down guidelines."
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Labour cess worth
Rs 300 cr remains unutilised
Chandigarh, September 19 Punjab had in October 2008 levied the Labour Cess(1996) to be used for various labour welfare schemes such as the shagun scheme. Talking to the Tribune, Labour Commissioner Prabhjot Singh Mand said the utilisation of cess was to be monitored by the Punjab Building and Other Construction Workers Welfare Board which had finished its term. “We have formulated specific labour welfare programmes which need to be cleared by the government and the board separately,” he said. The cess is levied on all construction activity, private and public, on alterations, repair, maintenance and demolition. It is also imposed on the installation of electric and telephone lines.The Act does not apply to construction covered under the Factories Act, 1948. No building plan is approved without charging 1 per cent cess on the cost of construction. Residences with a cost of Rs 10 lakh are exempted from the same. The tax is applicable to group housing societies too. “The fund is meant to be utilised for ex gratia, LTC or health insurance. But we are working at long-term benefit programmes like hospitals in labour-specific areas.The matter only needs the approval of the new board,” said Mand. A major impediment, he said, was finalising a list of beneficiaries as that a sizeable section of the labour class did not have a permanent address. The number of beneficiaries have gone up from 1,041 in 2011-12 to 2,065 in 2012-13 (till date). While a total of 390 immigrants availed Leave Travel Allowance (LTC) facility in 2011-2012, their number this year is already 1,705. As many as 25 families have been given ex-gratia grant worth Rs 1
lakh. Growing list The number of beneficiaries have gone up from 1,041 in 2011-12 to 2,065 in 2012-13 (till date). While a total of 390 immigrants availed Leave Travel Allowance (LTC) facility in 2011-2012, their number this year is already 1,705. As many as 25 families have been given ex-gratia grant worth Rs 1 lakh.
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Merge aided schools, demand teachers
Patiala, September 19 An urgent meeting of Punjab Aided School Teachers and other Employees Union took place at Nehru Park, Patiala. It was presided over by district president of the union, Jagmohan Lal Bansal. He said the staff strength had halved in the last couple of years in government aided schools. "At present there are 5,000 employees in 484 schools across the state. Before Captain Amarinder Singh banned recruitment in these schools the figure stood at 10,000. As most senior teachers have retired, many aided schools do not have able leadership. "Moreover, the system of Grant in Aid is very time consuming and staff doesn't get its salaries for months together. The problem has become so persistent that the employees are unable to meet their basic needs," added Bansal. Throwing light on the advantages of merging such aided schools with government schools, Ripudaman Singh, the member of state executive, said with this merger the state government will save
several crore rupees. "The government is already paying 95 per cent under the Grand in Aids scheme to its employees and is also bearing 10 per cent extra on the management of these schools. If the merger takes place, the government will save 5 per cent of its share by not having to pay for its management," he said. The union members urged the government to accept their demand in the larger interest of teachers and students. Other neighboring states, including Rajasthan, Himachal Pradesh and Haryana, had already merged the staff of government aided schools.
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Youth's death: Kin protest police inaction Moga, September 19 While the family claimed that the police was trying to hush up the case and put pressure on them to reach a compromise, the police, on the other hand, said investigations were on and action would be taken only after they received the viscera reports. The youth was allegedly involved in an attack on a local businessman, Vinod Goel, two years ago. The youth yesterday died under mysterious circumstances at a commercial complex owned by Goel, who had survived the attack, pointing towards the possibility of a murder. On Wednesday morning, when the post-mortem examination was being conducted by a panel of three doctors, the family, relatives and area residents gathered on the hospital premises and protested against the police for failing to register a case of murder. Senior Superintendent of Police Surjit Singh Grewal reached the spot and tried to pacify the agitators.
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Commerce Secy on Pak visit to discuss trade ties
Amritsar, September 19 Rao will hold talks on normalising and boosting trade ties through the land route with his counterpart Munir Qureshi during the two-day meet at Islamabad (Pakistan). In a brief interaction with the media before crossing over to Pakistan, he said the focus of the talks would be on normalising and boosting the trade ties. During the visit, officials of both the countries are likely to sign three agreements regarding mutual cooperation between the custom authorities, developing a mechanism for addressing trade grievances and recognitions required for improving bilateral relations. On MFN status, the union commerce secretary said he would take up the issue his Pakistani counterpart. “The talks will also focus of expanding the list of goods to be exported or imported through the Attari-wagah land route. The Indian government has constructed an integrated check post at the border fence for facilitating the trade and we sincerely hope that the Pakistani authorities will enhance the number of goods traded from this route,” he said.
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Govt to encourage farmers to diversify
Chandigarh, September 19 Badal said this long term agricultural plan should focus on the strategic approach and meticulous planning needed to achieve diversification in agriculture. Presiding over a preliminary meeting here regarding the two-day agriculture summit to be held in the first week of October, he said diversification was the need of the hour. He asked officers to sensitise the state's peasantry towards the importance of breaking away from the wheat-paddy cycle at the summit. Growing other crops like maize, cotton, sugarcane and kharif fodder was the way to help the struggling peasantry. The non-remunerative prices coupled with constant increase in the agricultural inputs were decreasing profit margins of farmers, he said. Badal asked the Agriculture Department to motivate farmers to shift from paddy to other crops. This would only be possible if state gave some remunerative benefits like enhanced MSP, provision of subsidy for the farmers to ensure equivalent margins of profitability from other crops at par with paddy, he added.
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Three new bus stands in 3 dists
Patiala, September 19 He said the new bus stands will have a loading-unloading platform, ticket counters, parking lots, restaurant blocks, snacks bars, air conditioned waiting halls and a public announcement system. After Maharashtra, Punjab is the second state in India to come up with such bus stands. — TNS
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Begin door-to-door
garbage collection, Amritsar MC told
Chandigarh, September 19 The directions by the Bench of Acting Chief Justice Jasbir
Singh and Justice Rakesh Kumar Jain came soon after the former
cricketer-turned-politician moved an application for bringing to the
High Court’s notice the issue of garbage buildup. Taking up the
plea in Sidhu’s presence, the Bench also directed the corporation to
initiate the process of allotment of work for setting up a garbage
disposal plant in the city within six weeks. The Municipal Commissioner, present in person, was also asked to take steps for preventing the outbreak of diseases due to garbage problem. The direction came after he informed the Bench that the corporation has deployed 47 trolleys for collecting garbage. Arguing
on Sidhu’s behalf, advocate Satya Pal Jain informed the Bench that
Amritsar was one of the first cities in the country to introduce the
process of door-to-door garbage collection. But in the absence of a
processing unit, the efforts practically went down the drain. Jain
also sought the court’s indulgence for the issuance of directions to
the corporation for making alternative arrangements for the collection
of garbage in the city till the treatment plant was in place. The matter had reached the High Court after garbage disposal and processing unit contract, awarded to a company in 2006, was cancelled. The company had moved the High Court, following which orders for maintaining status quo were issued. Subsequently, a non-government organisation also moved the High Court, and both the petitions were clubbed. Sidhu
had earlier claimed Amritsar was the “Vatican City” of the Sikhs,
their “Mecca” and the showcase of “Punjabiyat”. But, the
threat of epidemic was looming large with heaps of garbage, as high as
25 ft, lying right next to the houses. The holy city had a
population of six to seven lakh; and another 1.5 lakh were visiting
Amritsar. They all were exposed to the perils of ill-health. Sidhu had
added he was answerable to his constituency and could not see the city
turn into an open air garbage bin. Sidhu’s nuggets!
— MP Navjot Sidhu on HC ruling
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Director rapped for wasting court’s time
Chandigarh, September 19 In his petition, Jit Ram had claimed he was re-elected as member of Kadiana village gram panchayat in 2008. But Hoshiarpur Block Development and Panchayat Officer, in connivance with some other panchayat members, allegedly served a legal notice to the petitioner and his brother Joga Singh for ejectment, alleging they had encroached on a part of a street. The petitioner contended his father's house was constructed 50 years ago; and Joga Singh was in possession of the disputed part of the house. Since the petitioner was also put on notice, he appeared before the Director on March 29, 2007. His counsel SS Hira contended the petitioner's services as the panch was placed under suspension "without giving a proper opportunity of hearing and without verifying the facts". His appeal too was dismissed. Thereafter, an inquiry was conducted leading to his removal from the post. He was also disqualified from contesting the election for five years. The petitioner, in the meantime, was elected sarpanch. Taking up the matter, Justice Ranjit Singh ruled: "The Director was specifically directed to keep in view an order passed by the Additional Deputy Commissioner holding that the panchayat has no concern with the land occupied by the brother of the petitioner. The matter was remitted by this Court with this specific direction to the Director, but he again has not considered the order's effect…. "It seems that the Director has failed to comply with the directions issued by this Court….The Director is saddled with costs of Rs 5,000, which he would deposit in the accounts of Legal Services Authority, Punjab, as because of his act, the petitioner was forced to approach this Court again for which this Court had to spend time, which could have been utilised better in disposing of some other cases."
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Bus rams into tree, 25 injured, driver booked
Barnala, September 19 Four persons were admitted to Government Hospital, Dhanaula and 12 to Civil Hospital, Barnala. Several passengers who had minor injuries were let go after being administered first aid by the hospital staff. Dhanaula SHO, Harwinder Singh Khehra said the driver of the bus had fractured his legs while an assistant sub inspector (ASI) of Punjab Police, Puran Chand also got injured in the accident. Giving details of the mishap, the Assistant Sub Inspector (ASI), Gurjant Singh said out of 12 persons who were admitted to Civil Hospital, Barnala, five persons, namely Harjinder Singh (driver), Jagdish Singh (conductor), Gora Bhatti, Jagjit Singh and Baldev Singh, had been referred to bigger hospitals. Others who got injured were Arun Kumar, Nishu, Roop Kanwal, Nikita, Ajaib Singh, Puran Chand (ASI) and Sarbjit Singh. Out of these four had been discharged after treatment. All four persons admitted to Government Hospital, Dhanaula, had been discharged, Gurjant Singh said. The ASI further said the police had registered a case against the driver of the bus under Sections 279 (rash driving), 337 and 338 of the IPC at Dhanaula police station.
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The BJP high command today appointed veteran leader Bakshi Ram Arora as the city Mayor, putting to rest the tussle between two factions of the local unit.
New Delhi, September 19
Jalandhar, September 19
Following the Punjab and Haryana High Court directions to the Amritsar Municipal Corporation
(AMC) to initiate the process of allotment of work for setting up a solid waste management plant in the city within six weeks, AMC Commissioner Dharampal Gupta has said a proposal in this regard will be tabled soon.
The BJP high command today appointed veteran leader Bakshi Ram Arora as the city Mayor, putting to rest the tussle between two factions of the local unit lobbying hard for respective candidates.
Even as the Punjab Government has imposed fresh taxes to muster an additional revenue of Rs 900 crore, the Labour Department is sitting on a cash reserve of Rs 300 crore collected as cess.
“Rahi hogi sarkaar ki bhi kuch majbooriyaan, warna
chaah k bhi koi laparwaah nahi hota” (The government too
must have been facing some compulsions. Otherwise, no one
chooses to be negligent).