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Finally, work to clean Budha Nullah begins
Draft of Contract Farming Act ready
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Four officials indicted in garbage land scam
Haryana CM questions Punjab Police security to Chautala
VB to probe wheat embezzlement scam
Promotion for 23 Faridkot policemen raises eyebrows
Government prepares to outsource selective works
Suspected
honour killing
‘Pinni parshad’ a hit at Golden Temple
Sikh pilgrims return from Pak
Jail inmates examined at medical camp
Waraich’s appointment as NIPER registrar quashed
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Finally, work to clean Budha Nullah begins
Ludhiana, December 4
Bio-remediation is a cost-effective cleanliness process as compared to conventional methods. The system is easy to execute and it does not require highly skilled manpower or even electricity. It entails eco-technological horizontal filtration, comprising different physical and biological filters. It removes suspended and dissolved impurities. The project was inaugurated by the then Union Environment and Forests Minister Jairam Ramesh by releasing four pots of microbial culture into the nullah on April 23 last year. The drain, which flows into the Sutlej, has been a source of pollution and several diseases in Ludhiana and its vicinity. The microbial culture was released today into the drain in the presence of officials from the Central Pollution Control Board, Punjab Pollution Control Board, Ludhiana Municipal Corporation, Punjab Water Supply and Sewerage Board and the state Irrigation Department. Besides, officials from Green Technologies, the firm that is working on the project, and Shrishti Eco-Research Institute, which has developed the technology, were also present. Once completed, the project is expected to bring down the pollution level in the nullah by 50 to 80 per cent. Shrishti institute director Sandeep Joshi said five “green bridges” will be constructed at a distance of 500 metres from each other on the nullah downstream from Jainpur village. But ahead of these green bridges, a segregation point to take out solid waste manually from the water has been prepared where a four-member team will work round the clock. “Microbes will be released in the area covered by these V-shaped green bridges. As water passes through these bridges, microbes will consume all pollutants present in the water. Enclosures have been prepared and the microbes will remain there for a long time once released,” said Joshi. Green Technologies owner Probir Sinha said the bioremediation project functions like kidneys in a body, which purify blood. “Once installed, microbes keep working automatically. We will install filters at the five green bridges by March next year and these filters will reduce biochemical and chemical oxygen demand by aerobic degradation and formation of the ecological chain. Later, the project will be regularly monitored for a period of five years,” he said. Pollution Board chairman Ravinder Singh said the project got delayed due to the monsoon season. “But now that it has started, we will ensure it functions smoothly. Once the project gets going on full scale, pollution level in the nullah will certainly decline and only clean water will flow in the nullah,” he claimed.
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Draft of Contract Farming Act ready
Chandigarh, December 4 The legislation envisages a four-member Contact Farming Regulatory Commission, to be headed by a Chief Secretary-level officer, with two legal luminaries and an agricultural expert as members. It would have the authority to hear complaints with regard to violation of the Act. Sources said the Finance Department had okayed a proposal for Rs 40 lakh to create the requisite infrastructure to implement the Act this fiscal year. For next fiscal year, a sum of Rs 2 crore had been sought. The legislation would enable farmers to enter into a contract with sugar mills, rice mills and the food packaging industry to sell their produce. If a sugar mill owner signs a pact with farmers that he would purchase the entire cane stock produced by them, it would become legally binding on him to do so. In case he violated the pact, he would have to pay a penalty besides the production cost. On the other hand, the farmers would have to fulfill the commitment made by them to the mill owner. In the absence of any legislation, many companies have duped farmers in the past. Repeatedly let down by cooperative sugar mills, farmers in the state had stopped growing cane because of which many cooperative mills had to be shut down. Whereas the legislation would benefit the farmers and ensure a market for their produce, it would guarantee availability of raw material to the agro-based industry. As of now, the entire agricultural produce is sold under the Punjab Agriculture Produce Marketing Act. Private firms buying farm produce have to abide by the Act. The proposed Contract Farming Act would now provide an additional marketing channel for selling and buying agriculture produce. The Centre has been pressing various state governments to promote direct marketing and eliminate the middlemen.
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Four officials indicted in garbage land scam
Fatehgarh Sahib, December 4 Reliable sources say the SIT had indicted four officials, including Dharampal, former president of the Municipal Council (MC), and Charanjit Singh, former Executive Officer (EO). The former EO and MC chief were accused of pocketing Rs 2.53 crore in a deal to purchase five acres of land for dumping garbage.The land was allegedly purchased by three middlemen in connivance with the MC officials for Rs 53.10 lakh on February 14, 2011. The same was sold to the MC for Rs 3.061 crore the following day. The matter was brought to the notice of Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal who marked an inquiry to the Vigilance Bureau which submitted a report on July 31, 2012 following which three persons- Sukhdev Singh of Beer Bhamarsi, Harbans Singh of Salani and Balkar Singh of Bassi Pathana- were arrested. Later, acting on a plea by councillor Om Parkash Gupta and others, the Punjab and Haryana High Court, sought the views of Deputy Commissioner Yashvir Mahajan, who is chairman of the rate fixing committee. The Deputy Commissioner in his affidavit to the court stated that the committee members had misled him on the land deal and requested that a fresh inquiry be ordered.
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Adopt new technology for agri growth: Sukhbir
Chandigarh, December 4 In the process of making India self-sufficient, Punjab has been losing out on soil nutrients and groundwater. This was stated today by Deputy Chief Minister Sukhbir Singh Badal on the concluding day of the Agro Tech 2012, organised by the CII, here. “We must thank the CII for bringing all the stakeholders — companies, farmers and the government — on one platform,” he said. Giving a call for diversification in agriculture sector, Sukhbir said the farmers would have to come out of the vicious cycle of wheat and paddy and focus on low water-consuming cash crops. He said the Punjab Government was seeking investments from entrepreneurs in the area of diversification of agriculture sector, food processing and conservation of water. Sukhbir said farmers would have to turn smart marketers to be able to adjust their product portfolio according to the fast-changing demand and supply equation in the international food market. He said opening up of the Wagah border and giving it the status of a dry port by allowing export of 6,000 goods could be a game changer for the entire north India. While addressing the gathering, Finance Minister Parminder Singh Dhindsa called upon entrepreneurs to come out with technology for small and marginal farmers, which would help increase farm yield. During the four-day fair, 75,000 visitors, including 35,000 farmers from various states, showed up. The Agro Tech also saw farmers’ delegations from Afghanistan, Australia, Nepal and The Netherlands.
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Haryana CM questions Punjab Police security to Chautala
Maine (Patiala), December 4 Punjab Pardesh Congress Committee (PPCC) president Captain Amarinder Singh had earlier questioned the security provided by the Punjab Police to persons outside the state a few days back. Speaking on the sidelines of the Asian Shotgun Championship, where he was the chief guest, Hooda said Chautala was given maximum security by the Haryana Police. “If the Punjab Police has given him personnel, you should ask the Punjab government why it has done so. We had provided security cover according to the threat perception,” Hooda said. He claimed that there was no threat to anyone in Haryana and a proper protocol was followed before anyone was extended a security cover. Hooda said the relations between Haryana and Punjab were strong as ever. “Both the states are like brothers as were carved out of a single state,” he said. Hooda showed keen interest about the facilities given to shooters during the event. He further said his state always backed sportspersons and had done enough to ensure that the sportsmen in Haryana were rewarded.
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VB to probe wheat embezzlement scam
Moga, December 4 Valued at Rs 2 crore, 28,000 bags of wheat belonging to Punsup, a state-owned procurement agency, had gone missing from two storehouses located on Mudki road and Jai Singh Wala road at Baghapurana. After getting a departmental probe conducted, senior Punsup officials had written to the Punjab Vigilance Bureau for an inquiry and recovery of the losses incurred by the agency. The probe had held Ludhiana regional manager and former Moga district manager Sher Singh accountable for the missing wheat. Punsup inspector Daljit Singh and clerk Amarjit Singh too were found guilty. While Daljit Singh was recently suspended from service, the retirement benefits of Amarjit Singh have been held back, a senior official of the procurement agency said. A senior Vigilance Bureau official confirmed that they had received instructions to inquire into the scam. “We have summoned the official record from Punsup and are looking into the facts and figures to find out the exact quantity of wheat missing from these storehouses,” the official said. It has also been learnt that the accused officials, during the first physical verification held last year, had also tried to mislead the verification team by bringing in poor quality wheat from another storehouse to escape from the detection of the fraud. But the information about it got leaked from internal sources, which led to the detection of the scam.
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Promotion for 23 Faridkot policemen raises eyebrows
Faridkot, December 4 The promotions have shocked members of the Joint Action Committee (JAC), which has been fighting for justice for Shruti. It has also created bad blood among members of the police force as for some it is the second promotion in a year while others have not been elevated for more than a decade. Among the promoted police officials are those who had allegedly pressured the abducted girl to give a statement in favour of the key accused. “A Sub-Inspector (SI), who has been granted the local rank of Inspector for his ‘commendable’ job in the abduction case, put a lot of pressure on the girl to obtain her statement favouring the accused. He even held out the bait of transferring some land owned by the accused to the victim girl’s name as a part of this deal,” reads a complaint submitted to the Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP), Faridkot, GS Toor, by the JAC. Three Sub-Inspectors (SIs) have been awarded the local rank of Inspector, one Assistant SI has been promoted SI, five Head Constables have been made Assistant SIs and 14 constables made Head Constables.
Shruti
Case The Elevated
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Government prepares to outsource selective works
Chandigarh, December 4 To chisel the manpower flab, the government has decided not to give a year's extension in service to those aged above 58 years in departments where there is little work. For instance, a number of those appointed for the SYL project are now without work. The government has commenced the process of outsourcing appointments after a comparative market study. A detailed analysis of works in sectors like sanitation and data entry is being undertaken. The cost factor coupled with the expected quality within a specific time-frame is being studied to decide on allotting projects to “deserving” private parties. As a first step, the government has sought information from department heads, the Registrar of the Punjab and Haryana High Court and Deputy Commissioners on the pay scales of employees, the annual increments, educational and professional qualifications for various posts and the nature of job being handled. In an attempt to downsize its staff and to do away with needless posts, the state government will not give extension in service to employees aged above 58 in departments not involved in any project. The government had recently decided on a year's extension to its employees aged above 58. It has now modified the policy. In a communication to department heads, the office of the Financial Secretary has stated that in "an amendment to the Punjab Civil Services rules (Part I, Rule 3.26), officials working in departments where they are sitting idle without any work being underway, will not be given any extension in service, even by a year’. It has also been stated that certain service cadres which had been declared "diminishing cadres" will not get any extension in case of any vacancy that arises because of retirement, voluntary retirement, resignation or death. A senior clerk said: “I am not aware about any such orders.The government can’t retire one employee and allow another to continue if they have joined the services on the same date.”
Cutting the flab
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Suspected
honour killing
Samana, December 4 Sources said the girl was allegedly killed by her family members after she refused to sever ties with a boy. The police said a case under Sections 302, 120-B and 201 IPC had been registered against the girl’s parents Amrik Singh and Paramjit Kaur and relatives Malkit Singh and Chinder Kaur. The FIR states all the four accused allegedly conspired to kill Manpreet and later cremated her in Gujran village without informing anyone. The sources said the breakthrough in the case came after questioning of the victim’s brother Sukhwinder Singh. Sangrur SSP HS Bhullar said the police was conducting raids to nab the accused.
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‘Pinni parshad’ a hit at Golden Temple
Amritsar, December 4 Darbar Sahib manager HS Malhi said: “Pilgrims from far-off places used to complain that they could not take ‘parshad’ from the holy shrine for their near and dear ones which prompted us to launch the facility on the birth anniversary of Guru Ram Das on October 8”. The SGPC has opened separate counters for “pinni parshad”. Now, the devotees have two options. They can either take home “pinni parshad” and a “siropa” for Rs 151 or they can get a packet of 80 gm of “pinni parshad” for Rs 20. There is a sale of around Rs 2 lakh daily at the “pinni parshad” counter. The manager said the practice of giving a “siropa” along with “patasha parshad” to the devotees offering Rs 100 and above inside the sanctum sanctorum was also on. “But, at times some devotees fail to receive ‘siropa’ and ‘parshad’ due to the rush inside the shrine and the ‘pinni parshad’ counter gives them an option to collect the same from the ‘parikarma’”, he said. Malhi said they used “desi ghee” in preparing “pinni parshad” which was made as per the Sikh traditions and packed after performing the “ardaas”. The manager said the new facility didn’t take any toll on the offerings made inside the sanctum sanctorum, which had rather increased. The offerings made at the shrine in the last month were a whopping Rs 1.5 crore, he added.
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Sikh pilgrims return from Pak
Amritsar, December 4 Talking to mediapersons at Attari railway station, SGPC jatha head Jang Bahadur Singh said the Pakistan government had made elaborate security arrangements for the smooth movement of the pilgrims in view of the Taliban threat. The pilgrims paid obeisance at Gurdwara Nankana Sahib, Gurdwara Sacha Sauda, Gurdwara Panja Sahib, Gurdwara Rori Sahib, Gurdwara Dehra Sahib, Gurdwara Kartarpur Sahib and other historic Sikh shrines in Pakistan. However, the pilgrims lamented that they were at the receiving end of several theft incidents during their visit. Apart from an Amritsar resident whose passport was stolen on December 2, another pilgrim lost cash worth Rs 17,000 in a theft incident and he was later extended an aid of Rs 7,000 by Pakistan Sikh Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee. Besides, they rued that they could not get proper accommodation in Lahore and they had to stay at a school, 11 km from Gurdwara Dehra Sahib.
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Jail inmates examined at medical camp
Patiala, December 4 A team of doctors from the Government Rajindra Hospital examined the patients and urged them to pledge their organs for donation after death. Some of the inmates who were diagnosed with ailments were assured of free of
cost surgery. “We will ensure that health remains the primary focus in all jails of the state,” Meena said.
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Waraich’s appointment as NIPER registrar quashed
Chandigarh, December 4 The High Court Bench comprising Justice Rajesh Bindal said it emerged after studying the documents that the appointing authority was misled while considering the “23 years of service career” of the respondent as relevant experience and awarded the marks accordingly. Justice Bindal observed that it was stated in the written statement that the respondent was having only 16 years of experience at a gazetted post. The record prepared at the time of scrutiny of the application shows that it was mentioned that the experience of the respondent was not okay as his experience certificate was not attached, he added. “There was no experience certificate produced on record by the respondent till the date of interview. The selection was made to a post of accountability and hence no casualness was expected as is evident from the case,” the Bench said. “There is no material placed even before this court except the bio-data submitted by the respondent himself. It cannot be considered that whatever claimed by the respondent in his application is true in absence of a certificate from the employer,” Justice Bindal said. The ruling came on a petition filed by Dr Parikshit Bansal and another petitioner against the Union of India and other respondents through their counsel Kapil Kakkar. Arguing on the petitioner’s behalf, Kakkar contended that the selected candidate did not fulfill the criteria since it was a case of favourtism. “There were other better qualified, meritorious candidates fulfilling the requisite qualifications but were ignored,” Kakkar argued. The counsel further argued that there was nothing on record to show that a conscious decision was taken to relax the qualification in favour of the selected candidate and the reason behind it.
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Amritsar, December 4
Amritsar, December 4
Decoding the proposed
legislation
Raising a
stink