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Punjab Day Special
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Automated meter readers to check power theft
Power engineers oppose Centre’s bailout terms
Service rules for Vidhan Sabha Secretariat staff quashed
Manpreet dismisses Sodhi’s charges as ‘wild rant’
Special plan for state villages
Few takers for livestock insurance
Govt to begin campus recruitment for doctors
RO plants for 52 Patiala villages
Chandigarh part of Punjab, says Sukhbir
Suspended IGP Asthana hospitalised
HC sets aside school board appointment
Passport Scam
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Punjab Day Special
Kandu Khera (Muktsar) November 1 Twentysix years after the special census conducted by the Centre, the village residents said they had made the right decision. “We get power regularly, have good roads, a high school and a 25-bed hospital. A special sewerage project is under construction,” pointed out village sarpanch Maninder Kaur. However, what is disturbing the panchayat members is that the village has become an entry point of drugs into Punjab. Despite the lure of money, the residents have kept themselves away from the drug trade. “ We extend help to the police in its effort to fight the drug menace.Though a large number of youngsters are unfortunately addicted to drugs, there have hardly been any instances of locals being involved in the drug trade,” said Lakhwinder Singh, a former panch. The village shares a a 9 km border with Rajasthan and a 1.5 km with Haryana. “Rajasthan allows licensed vends to sell poppy husk and opium. One of its vends is close to Kandu Khera. Hence, smugglers often use this village as a transit point for their activities. We have raised special checkposts on the border,” said Nirmal Singh Dhillon, Inspector-General of Police (IGP), Bathinda Zone. In 1986, at the height of militancy, there was a strong move for transferring Chandigarh to Punjab even as Haryana demanded that the Hindi-speaking areas in Malwa be transferred to it. The Centre decided to hold a special census in Kandu Khera village as a representative of 55 villages in the region. The village was chosen for the exercise as it is shares borders with both Haryana and Rajasthan. An overwhelming 91.9 per cent residents stated that Punjabi was their mother tongue. Looking back, Balihar Singh, 55, secretary of a co-operative society, said both Akali leader Parkash Singh Badal and Congress stalwart Capt Amarinder Singh had camped in the village to ensure a "fair census". The then Finance Minister Balwant Singh and the then Chief Minister Surjit Singh Barnala had played a major role in ensuring that the Malwa villages remained with Punjab, he said. He said the popular slogan then was “Kandu Khera, karu nabera (Kandu Khera will decide the issue of transfer of villages)”. He said the slogan was relevant even today, but in a different context- that of drugs. Looking back In 1986, Haryana demanded that Hindi-speaking areas in Malwa be transferred to it The Centre held a special census in Kandu Khera village as representative of 55 villages in the region The village was chosen for the exercise as it shares borders with both Haryana and Rajasthan An overwhelming 91.9% residents registered Punjabi as their mother tongue This ensured that these villages in Malwa region remained with Punjab
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Automated meter readers to check power theft
Patiala, November 1 KD Chaudhari, CMD, PSPCL, said under the AMR system, advanced technology meters would be installed at the APs. "The meter will use a frequency system. Power consumed by an AP consumer will be metered through a devise installed on the feeder supplying power to the respective AP. The system will also send the reading to the systems of the corporation". Chaudhari said besides the AMR system, shunt capacitors will be installed on the meters which will help improve the voltage. "Through the AMR, PSPCL will get to know how much power is being consumed by the AP. In case, the power used is more than the normal consumption limit, corporation officials will conduct surprise checks in the area to detect power theft," he said. Since the AP consumers get power as per a schedule prepared by PSPCL for a fixed number of hours, the AMR system will help check any misuse of power for non-agricultural purposes. It will also detect if more motors have been installed than what is sanctioned by the corporation. Earlier, a committee of Finance Minister Parminder Singh Dhindsa and Health Minister Madan Mohan Mittal was formed in August to study ways to channelise power to farmers and ensure that free power is used only for agricultural purposes. The panel was formed following objections by the BJP that the state exchequer was being burdened because of misuse of free power to the farm sector. It was also alleged that some farmers were selling water while others were building farmhouses in their fields and using free power for their residences. Notably, the free power subsidy bill of the state government has increased from Rs 2,548 crore to Rs 5,784 crore in the last five years. Going hi-tech Through the system, the corporation will get to know how much power is being consumed by each agricultural pumpset In case the power used is more than the normal consumption limit, surprise checks will be conducted to detect power theft The system will also detect if more motors have been installed than the sanctioned Bids from reputed firms invited For implementing the AMR system, the power corporation has invited expression of interest (EOI) from reputed firms. The last date for submitting bids is November 6. After opening of EOI, a meeting for discussing the proposals will be held on November 20.
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Power engineers oppose Centre’s bailout terms
Patiala, November 1 Federation leaders said the financial restructuring plan was unlikely to improve the fiscal health of the Discoms. The road map, prepared by CCEA, for the financial restructuring of the state power distribution companies, assures a grant of 25 per cent for restructured debt, provided the state Discoms manages to bring down their debt in the next five years. Chairman of the AIPEF Padamjit Singh said that the federation’s executive committee had discussed the proposed restructuring plan in detail. Singh said, “The plan neither addresses the causes behind the fiscal woes of the power supply industry nor does it seek to remedy the ailment. The restructuring is aimed at securitisation of the huge losses faced by the Discoms and transfer them into bonds, which at a later stage could be sold in the international debt market. This would only result in the transfer of huge assets to private and multinational sector for a pittance.” Singh pointed out that the reasons behind the industry’s poor fiscal health were non-payment of subsidies, high distribution losses and high cost of power purchased. The CCEA had cleared the financial restructuring scheme with an objective to enable the state governments and Discoms to turn the fortunes of their power supply industries. The scheme, which is not mandatory for the states to adopt, will remain open till December 31, 2012.
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Service rules for Vidhan Sabha Secretariat staff quashed
Chandigarh, November 1 The development is significant as service rules for the Punjab Vidhan Sabha Secretariat employees were non-existent, as these were neither framed by the state legislature or by the Speaker. In the absence of the rules, the Secretariat was following precedent and complying with the executive orders issued by the Speaker for further promotion of its employees. But, in 2007, Service Rules were framed. Rule 9 of the Service Rules said: "Appointment to the posts in the service shall be made: (a) in the case of a Secretary by Speaker in consultation with the Government; (b) In the case of other posts, by the Speaker." Challenging the rules, Shashi Mishra and 12 other employees of Punjab Vidhan Sabha, working as reporters, filed a petition against the Punjab Vidhan Sabha. Their argument was that the Service Rules, 2007, had been "framed by the Speaker whereas the competent authority is the Governor. Therefore, these rules are without jurisdiction and null and void." Taking up the petition, a Division Bench of Chief Justice Arjan Kumar Sikri and Justice Rakesh Kumar Jain ruled: "In the absence of any provisions made by the state legislature, Article 187(3) of the Constitution empowers the Governor to make such rules? "The Governor, however, has to make these rules after consultation with the Speaker of the Legislative Assembly or the Chairman of the Legislative Council, as the case may be. However, the rule-making authority is vested with the Governor. Insofar as the Speaker is concerned, the only role assigned to him is that of consultation. The Speaker cannot himself frame these rules." Before parting with the order, the Bench added: "Under what circumstances and by what provisions the legislature approve the action of the Speaker in making the rules in question is not disclosed. "On the contrary, a specific stand is taken by the Government of Punjab that no such approval was ever given. We are, therefore, of the opinion that the procedure, as laid down under Article 187(2) or Article 187(3) of the Constitution, has not been followed in framing the rules in question.
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Langah silences detractors
Gurdaspur, November 1 Langah organises this festival in memory of his forefathers every year. There were loud voices among his detractors that the Deputy Chief Minister would give the function a miss keeping in view Langah's alleged involvement in embezzlement of government funds. Much to the dismay of many, Sukhbir, accompanied by Revenue Minister Bikramjit Majithia and Parliamentary Secretary and Gurdaspur MLA GS Babbehali, arrived at a helipad in Bhakariwala village, 10 km from Jaura Chhattran, although nearly three hours behind the scheduled time of 12.30 pm. This delay, caused due to a communication gap between the state government and the district administration, kept civil and police officers on the tenterhooks. Gurdaspur Deputy Commissioner Dr Abhinav Trikha, Border range DIG Paramraj Singh Umranangal, Gurdaspur SSP Raj Jit Singh, Batala SSP Tulsi Ram and former legislator and Batala halqa in charge LS Lodhinangal had to wait for Sukhbir for three hours at a school complex near the helipad. Langah's political rivals like former Speaker Nirmal Singh Kahlon and former Education Minister Sewa Singh Sekhwan remained absent. "This absence does not augur well for the party. Both Kahlon and Sekhwan should have shared the same stage. It would have given a positive signal to the party rank and file," said a senior Akali leader. Later, addressing a press conference, Sukhbir said the state was facing problems on the mining front due to which prices of construction material had increased manifold. He claimed the government had sent the relevant files to the Union environment Ministry six months ago. "We are doing our best but the ministry is not helping our cause," he added.
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Manpreet dismisses Sodhi’s charges as ‘wild rant’
Chandigarh, November 1 Earlier, during the runup to the assembly elections, Manpreet had termed his officer on special duty (OSD)-turned associate Charanjit Singh Brar has an “employee” after the latter revolted against him. The PPP has tried to make little of Sodhi’s revolt and has not bothered to counter Sodhi’s claim that a large number of founder members were with him. Senior party leaders Gurpreet Singh Bhatti, Bhagwant Mann and Kuldip Singh Dhose, in a statement, said that Sodhi had been asked by the PPP president not to report to office a fortnight ago following certain complaints. The PPP leaders said that Sodhi had sent a message on his BlackBerry wherein he had stated that “few individuals are blessed to work with people like Manpreet” and that he wished to continue as the party’s media in charge. The message itself was testimony to Sodhi having been asked to stop attending work, he said. Dhose, Bhatti and Mann said it was strange that Sodhi who had issued statements against Charanjit Singh Brar two weeks ago was today riding a vehicle registered in Brar’s name. The leaders said the party stood behind Manpreet and described him as an “impeccably honest person, who had spent money from his own pocket to support the party and party candidates.” Condemning Sodhi’s betrayal, they said they were sure that “those behind Sodhi’s utterances will provide him a new job and rehabilitate him suitably.”
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Special plan for state villages
Chandigarh, November 1 A high-level meeting of the Special Core Group, which was attended by Rural Development Minister Surjit Singh Rakhra, Revenue Minister Bikram Singh Majithia, Finance Minister Parminder Singh Dhindsa and Education Minister Sikander Singh Maluka, held here today. Sukhbir said the integrated rural development plan would cover all the villages in three years in a phased manner. He said the priority would be complete concretisation of all village lanes, besides providing underground piped sewerage network. He said the focus would be on maintaining quality, completion of works within the stipulated time and completing the total development works of one village in one go. Expressing concern over the poor management of panchayat funds, Sukhbir said the Rural Development Department would transfer funds to the panchayats through the online system and seek utilisation certificate of funds withdrawn from the bank within one week, failing which criminal action would be initiated. Asking the department to tone-up its lax audit system, the Deputy Chief Minister said instead of the biannual audit, the department would ensure a complete audit of total panchayat spending. He said the financial systems had to be made foolproof. This could be ensured by professional and timely audit of the accounts. He also directed the Principal Secretary, Finance, to work out a special audit system. New look Concrete village lanes Underground piped sewerage network Works to be completed within stipulated time Development works in every village to be completed in one go
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Few takers for livestock insurance
Muktsar, November 1 Against the target of covering 3,500 head of milch cattle, only 1,658 were covered in the last year. The situation has further worsened this year as only 72 head of cattle have been insured in the district till date. The cattle owners (beneficiaries) have to pay only 50 per cent of the premium. The benefit of the scheme is restricted to two milch cattle per beneficiary having market price of Rs 20,000 to 50,000. The policy covers death due to pleuropneumonia and not in case of theft or injury. The Deputy Director, Animal Husbandry, Naresh Kumar Sachdeva, when contacted, claimed that due to some problems the implementation of the scheme was proving tough and the targets were also not being achieved.
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Govt to begin campus recruitment for doctors
Chandigarh, November 1 The department has also started the process of walk-in interviews for doctors wishing to join the Punjab Civil and Medical Service (PCMS). It has already selected 48 doctors following an interview held two months back. It will be releasing the results of the second walk-in interview conducted by it in October shortly. State Health Minister Madan Mohan Mittal said both steps were being taken to address the shortage of 500 doctors in State service quickly. He said the department had taken the permission of Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal to conduct campus recruitment as well as walk-in interviews. He said the walk-in interviews would now be held on the 16th of each month till the 500 vacancies were filled. Mittal said both steps had become necessary after the department found that a number of doctors who had been selected six months ago did not join. He said many doctors had taken an extension to join the service. He said the situation was worse when it came to specialists with the State finding it very difficult to recruit the few specialists graduating from state medical colleges. He said efforts were also on to fill vacancies for scheduled caste doctors, which were on the rise. He said since these seats could not be converted into general category, a fresh drive would be launched to attract talent from the reserved sections.
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Baradari to regain its lost glory
Sangrur, November 1 The Baradari was built by the rulers of erstwhile Jind State. Due to the indifferent attitude of the authorities, this historical monument had been crumbling away for the past few decades. Despite the fact that it is a protected monument under the Punjab Ancient and Historical Monuments and Archaeological Sites and Remains Act-1964, it was not maintained. The two domes of the building and several marble lattices had fallen apart. The picturesque Baradari is situated on a high platform in the Banasar Bagh here. It has a spacious hall with several doors on its sides. There are four marble domes and a small bathing tank in the complex. The main hall of the Baradari will also be repaired as the wood fixed around the girders is in a dilapidated condition. The wooden gate of the building is yet to be repaired and painted. It has to be white washed; the lighting needs to be done and the cemented lattices in the entire Baradari complex are yet to be fitted. Labour has been brought in from Jaipur to refurbish the marble. All the four domes have been restored to their past glory after being renovated over the last few weeks. An official of the Punjab Heritage and Tourism Promotion Board, who has been supervising the renovation work, said one-meter-wide plinth was being laid around the platform of the Baradari. Further a five-meter-wide trench was dug near the building’s walls to prevent them from getting damp, he added. HERITAGE facts The renovation will be completed by end of December at a cost of Rs 50 lakh The monument is protected under Punjab Ancient and Historical Monuments and Archaeological Sites and Remains Act-1964 The two domes of the building and several marble lattices had fallen apart due to decades of neglect Labour brought in from Jaipur to refurbish the marble All four domes have been restored
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RO plants for 52 Patiala villages
Patiala, November 1 Local residents of the village would now have access to clean drinking water at a nominal charge. After the laboratory tests of the water samples collected by the Department of Water Supply and Sanitation showed high content of total dissolved solids, the government decided to install the RO units in the affected villages. Rural Development and Panchayat Minister Punjab Surjit Singh Rakhra said RO water plants were being installed in 52 villages by an Ahmedabad-based company at a cost of Rs 6 crore. The company would be responsible for the upkeep of the units for a period of seven years from the date of installation. “With the installation of RO plants, people would be able to get 20 litres of clean drinking water on a daily basis at a cost of 10 paisa per litre instead of Rs 15 per litre available in the market,” he added.
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Chandigarh part of Punjab, says Sukhbir
Ludhiana, November 1 Sukhbir, who was in Ludhiana for the inauguration of the CII fair, said industry was a priority sector for the state government. The government's approach on industrial development was proactive and many industry-friendly policies were on the anvil, he added.
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Suspended IGP Asthana hospitalised Mohali, November 1 He has been admitted to a private hospital where he has been put in the Intensive Care Unit. Sources said Asthana complained of chest pain in the evening after which he was immediately shifted to the hospital. The doctors at the hospital have confirmed that Asthana suffered from a heart attack but his condition is said to be stable.
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Bibi Jagir Kaur gets bail 7 months after she was jailed
Chandigarh, November 1 Pronouncing the orders in an open court this morning after hearing Bibi's counsel RS Cheema, a Division Bench of Justice Ajay Kumar Mittal and Justice GS Sandhawalia at the same time made it clear that Bibi would not leave the country without the court's prior permission. The Bench indicated that it was in favour of expeditious hearing of the appeals filed by Bibi against the sentence and by the CBI for enhancement of sentence. Sentenced to five years' rigorous imprisonment, Bibi Jagir Kaur was lodged in the Kapurthala jail. The trial court had earlier held: “ The prosecution has been able to prove that accused Dalwinder Kaur Dhesi, Paramjit Singh Raipur and Nishan Singh abducted Harpreet Kaur, who was a major, by deceitful means.” Dhesi was Bibi's “trusted friend” and related to Paramjit Singh Raipur, Bibi's confidant. The trial court had also held: "A conspiracy was hatched with accused Bibi Jagir Kaur for terminating Harpreet's pregnancy. However, because the status, political and social, of Bibi was to be safeguarded at all costs, the latter distanced herself from the process of executing the conspiracy and accused Dalwinder Kaur Deshi, Paramjit Singh Raipur and Nishan Singh, along with approver Dr Balwinder Singh Sohal, took upon themselves to accomplish the object of conspiracy by keeping Bibi Jagir Kaur informed of the developments from time to time." The CBI has all along been claiming that the former SGPC chief conspired to kill her daughter. It claims that Harpreet's death was caused due to an “excessive dose” of phenobarbitone as Bibi could not dissuade her from marrying Kamaljeet Singh. In an appeal through CBI's special public prosecutor RK Handa, the CBI claimed that the Judge had failed to appreciate that Harpreet's death was homicidal and had "committed a grave error in law in not giving a finding that the death was under mysterious circumstances." Kapurthala: Bibi Jagir Kaur is likely to be released from the Modern Kapurthala Jail at Theh Kanjla in Kapurthala on Friday. Jail Superintendent SP Khanna said: “Bibi will be released as and when her release orders reach us and after her counsel has submitted the bail bond in the Chief Judicial Magistrate’s court in Patiala.” Bhupinder Singh, Bibi's son-in-law and senior vice-president of the Youth Akali Dal, said the release orders were expected to reach the Kapurthala jail by Friday afternoon. “We have received congratulatory messages from Bholath residents. Now Bibi will restart development works in her constituency (Bholath).”— TNS
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HC sets aside school board appointment
Chandigarh, November 1 The directions came on a bunch of two petitions filed by Janak Raj Mehrok and Sukhvinder Kaur Saroya against the State of Punjab, the school board and other respondents. As the case came up for hearing, a Division Bench of Chief Justice Arjan Kumar Sikri and Justice Rakesh Kumar Jain was told that Pavitar Pal Kaur’s earlier appointment as board secretary was set aside by a Single Judge on March 10, 2009, holding it to be undesirable and unwarranted. The order was upheld by the Division Bench. The petitioner added even though the Single Judge and the Division Bench had passed strictures against her and quashed the appointment as Secretary, “she has been rewarded with promotion to the post of Joint Secretary ”. — TNS
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Passport Scam Moga, November 1 A senior police official said both had been dismissed from the service after a court framed charges against them. They had been at least three criminal cases in the scam and were suspension three years ago, he added. The services of one of their other associates, head constable Jaswinder Pal Singh, were terminated in May when he was again arrested on the charges of trying to get a US visa on forged documents. The Faridkot police had registered a separate FIR against Jaswinder along with ASI Gurmeet Singh and Constable Gurmukh Singh, who allegedly helped him forge the documents to get another passport.
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Punjabi was its mother tongue during a special census in 1986, thereby ensuring that 55 villages in the Malwa belt remained with Punjab, celebrated Punjab Day today on a rather sombre note. The reason, it is waging a war against drugs.
To check the misuse of free power being supplied to 11.7 lakh agricultural pumpsets
(APs) across the state, Punjab State Power Corporation Limited (PSPCL) has decided to install automated meter reading (AMR) systems on APs in a phased manner. The scheme is in line with the Electricity Act, 2003. In the first phase, 10 per cent of the AP consumers will be covered.
KD Chaudhari, CMD, PSPCL, said under the AMR system, advanced technology meters would be installed at the
APs.
