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No registry of plots in illegal colonies in dist
Injured videographer dies in hospital
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Municipal Corporation squanders money on consultancy jobs
Single-window system set to open in Suwidha Centre
Accused held in suicide case
KMV organises multilingual literary quiz
JPMO to hold state-level rally against neo-liberal policies
Night temp plummets to 3.2
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No registry of plots in illegal colonies in dist
Jalandhar, February 7 The DC passed the orders during the monthly meeting of revenue officials here today. She has asked the officials of the entire revenue circle to first check whether the area falls in an illegal colony and then proceed with its registry. She said the list of the authorised colonies would soon be put on the website for prior verification. The administration has been facing a challenging task of putting a noose around the illegal colonisers. There were questions being raised on the grant of power connection, water connection and the approval of building plans in illegal colonies. With no registries being done, the growing nexus of illegal colonisers can be checked right at the time of the sale of such properties. Some officials, however, argue that since 70 per cent of the registries were being done of illegal colonies, it will be a big revenue loss. There, however, is another section of officials which believes that the recovery will get affected only temporarily as colonisers will be forced to pay up licence fee, development charges, CLU and building plan fee which will ultimately equalise the collection. Opposition to order
Observers feel that even though the new order can curtail the business of illegal colonisers, there are chances of this order getting reversed under pressure from the lobby being sheltered by political leaders, councillors, bureaucrats and even police officials for their vested interests. Opposition is quite likely since an order of former DC Priyank Bharti on not doing registries on the basis of power of attorneys to check stamp duty evasion failed to get implemented. Bharti’s order, passed in April, could come effective only for three weeks, after which the government has been lingering it on and on with the lame excuse of passing similar directive uniformly across the state. On December 31, 2012, its implementation was kept pending again for three months. Faux pas and pressure
The feelers of the political pressure started coming hours after the issuing of the press release in this regard. While the first press note mentioned that the order would be implemented across the district, hours later a revised press note was issued, citing that the order would be limited only to Jalandhar Development Authority limits and not the Municipal Corporation or committee area. DC Shruti Singh is also the Chief Administrator of the
JDA. |
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Injured videographer dies in hospital
While the injured, Naresh Kumar, aka Bhutto, said that Billa opened fire at him, the accused, however, claimed that the weapon went off accidently, as he was in a jubilant mood during the "Jaago" celebrations of his niece. The incident occurred at about 9.30 last night when Naresh Bhutto, a resident of Chowk Kodeshah, was busy shooting of the "Jaago" ahead the marriage of a girl, Sonu, of Tel Wali Gali Mohalla. He was suddenly hit by a bullet in his stomach, following which he collapsed on the road, a guest of the family said. As Bhutto started bleeding profusely, panic gripped the Mohalla residents following which the injured were rushed to the local Civil Hospital. Additional Deputy Commissioner of Police, Naresh Dogra, said Billa was arrested by the police soon after reaching the crime scene on receiving the information. A case under Sections 307 of the IPC was registered against him last night. After initial investigations, the police today also booked two more persons, named Labba and Bajwa, in the shooting incident and Section 307 was converted into 302 of the IPC after Bhutto’s death today, the ADCP added, saying the duo would be nabbed soon. A case was registered on the statement of Sanjiv Kumar, brother-in-law of Bhutto. The police has also started investigations in the case to find the cause behind the incident, Dogra added. Sources in the police, however, revealed that the cassette of the video camera was found missing which, otherwise, could have given a clear picture of the incident’s occurrence. Apprehending foul play, the police is also working on different theories to crack the incident. Meanwhile, the body was handed over to the family after the postmortem examination at the local Civil Hospital. |
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Municipal Corporation squanders money on consultancy jobs
Jalandhar, February 7 One of the most recent works for which the MC has agreed to pay up an exorbitant consultancy fee is that for identifying new routes for the City Bus service. The agreement has been made with one ICRA Management Consultancy Services for a whopping amount of over Rs 14 lakh. The company is not expected to spend even a penny on infrastructure, but to simply do a survey of probable routes within the city and beyond 5 km of the city limit, prepare a viability plan and submit a report to the MC. The councillors from the ruling as well as the opposition parties claim that it was a job which the officials could have themselves done simply consulting the 60 elected ward representatives, MLAs, MP and other important city-based opinion leaders. The MC had recently also recently paid up a hefty amount of Rs 20 lakh to Dara Shaw and Company based in Mumbai for simply preparing feasibility study report and tender document for fish aquarium and food court project. The company also earned a hefty amount of 1 per cent of the estimated cost of Rs 30 crore of the project from the developer before signing of the project for being given a freehand in evaluating bids and even selecting the developer. The same company had also fetched a good amount for preparing a DPR for issuing debentures to meet the recurring cost for starting sports hub construction work at Burlton Park, a plan which got fizzled out even before the MC got its copy. The project has since then got mired in legal tangles. Similarly, the MC had also doled out a huge amount about four years back for consultancy works of Global Environment Facility (GEF) project which failed to get WHO funding. Another documentation that the MC got made and forgot to implement later was regarding a telemetry system for monitoring of functioning of tubewells in the city. The consultants IL&FS, which planned the solid waste management project for the city, have gone off, while this project, too, stands mired in legal trouble, with Jindal group dragging MC to court. Likewise, Haryalee, a Ludhiana-based company, had designed the renovation plan for Nehru Garden. The company representatives went off with the amount but the project stands incomplete for the past six years. The MC also squandered a huge amount for planning Global Information System (GIS) survey. The company which took over the job to implement it found several problems in its execution as the satellite maps prepared were later found to be non-super imposable over the data available with the MC. Leader of Opposition Jagdish Raja said it
was unwise on part of the political set-up to have allowed such agreements to have happened and wasteful expenditure
done for advisory works that, too, when the MC was reeling under staff crunch. “Identifying routes for city bus is sheer squandering of money. I sometimes feel that it is the super bosses of the mayors directing them to
take such decisions to benefit their acquaintances,” he said. Asked about the
same, Mayor Sunil Jyoti said that consultancy work was the need of the hour. “That is how all corporations run. Planning job actually saves money in the long run,” he said. Questionable
One of the most recent works for which the MC has agreed to pay up an exorbitant consultancy fee is that for identifying new routes for the City Bus service. The agreement has been made with one ICRA Management Consultancy Services for a whopping Rs 14 lakh. The company is not expected to spend even a penny on infrastructure, but to simply do a survey of probable routes within the city and beyond 5 km of the city limit, prepare a viability plan and submit a report to the MC. The councillors from the ruling as well as the opposition parties claim that it was a job which the officials could have themselves done simply consulting the 60 elected ward representatives, MLAs, MP and other important city-based opinion leaders |
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Single-window system set to open in Suwidha Centre
Jalandhar, February 7 The department has also started providing assistance to the applicants on a pilot basis. A database, which would be required for the purpose, is being currently uploaded to make the systems work online. There are plans to provide 19 services through the system, including six which fall under the ambit of Right to Service Act. Even the timeframe for each service would be specified in consonance with those mentioned in the RTS Act. Seven days' time has been fixed for getting clearance for water connection, 15 days for getting completion certificate, 30 days for clearing building plan of plot less than 500 sq yards, 60 days in case plot size is more than 500 sq yards, 15 days for conveyance deed, seven days for no-dues certificate, 15 days for the resale of property and seven days for getting NOC for the mortgage of property. Other services likely to be included will be payment of instalments, levying non-construction charges and instant digital photography at the time of registration. Executive Officer Jatinder Singh said that the Trust had sought the outsourcing of the project in line with the system at tehsil complex but for the time being, the system was being worked out using the existing manpower. Way behind schedule
Former chairman of the Trust Baljit Singh Neelamahal had announced that the Suwidha Centre would be started by Baisakhi last year. It has taken 10 months ever since for the centre to open up. Officials tell that it was on the insistence of the DC-cum-Chairman of the Trust Shruti Singh that the work got expedited since last week. No updation on website
The JIT lags in terms of the computerisation of the work. Very little record of the Trust has been digitised so far. Even the website of the Trust just provides information regarding the draw of Surya Enclave Extension that was conducted way back in 2011. Months after the dissolution of the Trust, the site continues to show Neelamahal as the chairman. No information such as services provided, various schemes started by JIT, their current status, new plans, contacts or names of officials, agenda of Trust or proceedings, finance and other matters which should be available on public portal have been put up. |
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Accused held in suicide case
Jalandhar, February 7 Assistant Commissioner of Police (ACP), West, RPS Sandhu said Bhupinder Singh, a resident of Ser Singh Colony, was arrested by the police, while raids to arrest their accomplices - Sukhdev Singh Khalsa, a property dealer, Balkar Singh and Nirmal Singh, bother residents of Bal Saran in Baba Bakala tehsil - were being carried on. Unable to repay heavy loans that he had taken from a city-based property dealer, Kulwant Singh, a retired inspector of the Punjab Police, had committed suicide by consuming some poisonous substance at his residence in Sher Shing Colony on January 30. The deceased Kulwant Singh (62) who, along with his son, was facing criminal charges and was out on bail in a forgery case, allegedly took the step after a tiff with the money lender and the property dealer. He also left behind a suicide note, accusing four persons, the police said. Kulwant Singh had taken loan from Sukhdev Singh Khalsa, a city-based property dealer, some time ago and was unable to return it. The depressed Kulwant Singh, after a tiff with the property dealer, returned home and took the drastic step, the police said. A case of abetment to suicide (under Sections 306 of the IPC) was registered against the property dealer Sukhdev Singh Khalsa, and his three associates named Bhupinder Singh, Balkar Singh and Nirmal Singh, on the complaint of Harbans Kaur, wife of the deceased, at the Basti Bawa Khel police station. |
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Youth falsely implicated, claim kin
Jalandhar, February 7 Accompanied by her mother-in-law Sangeeta, Neha Arora, wife of the accused Ashu Arora, alleged that her husband was an employee of Rahul Goyal and was looking after his distribution centre of a telecommunication company. Goyal also owns the chemist store, where the police conducted the raid and seized unauthorised narcotics in bulk. She alleged that the police, instead of arresting the actual culprit, arrested her husband who had nothing to do with the chemist store. His fault was that he was an employee of Goyal, owner of the distribution centre, she lamented. Showing the CD, containing photo clippings of her husband, his employer and an ASI Kripal Singh, Arora further alleged that the police detained Ashu from Patara while his arrest was shown at a naka near Rama Mandi. She also alleged that the ASI demanded a bribe of Rs 50,000 from the chemist shop owner for dropping Ashu’s name from the case. Seeking the re-investigation of the case, newly wed Neha, who had moved applications before the police authorities, is waiting for justice. |
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KMV organises multilingual literary quiz
Jalandhar, February 7 The four teams comprising students of BA Hons School of English, BA Hons (Punjabi), MA Hindi were named as Elizabethans, Victorians, Romanticist and Modernists after different literary periods. The participants were quizzed on different aspects of these languages and literature in six rounds. During the audiovisual round, teams were asked questions on poetry, folklore, film adaptations, famous writers and poets by playing audio pieces and showing stills as well as video clips. The first prize was bagged by the Romanticist. In this highly interactive activity, prizes are distributed among the audience also. Lauding this initiative, the college principal Dr Atima Sharma congratulated the winners. She also thanked the organiser Prof Vanila (PG Department of English) for the thumping success of the event which gave an apt opportunity to students and teachers to familiarise themselves with the finer aspects of other languages. She spoke at length about the importance of audiovisual aids like multimedia in academic programmes. |
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JPMO to hold state-level rally against neo-liberal policies
Jalandhar, February 7 JPMO is a conglomerate of over 20 groups of workers, peasants, agricultural labourers, Central and state government employees, youth, students and women. It said a state-level rally against these policies would be held at the Dussehra Ground near the PIMS Medical College and Hospital, Garha road on February 12. Alleging that these policies were being adopted under the dictates of “imperialist agencies” such as the World Bank, International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the World Trade Organisation (WTO), JPMO representatives Kulwant Singh Sandhu, Mangat Ram Pasla, Darshan Nahar and Jaswidner Singh Deshi said the JPMO was waging a relentless struggle against the neo-liberal policies. Rallies and demonstrations have already been held throughout the state at sub-division and district headquarters in a phased manner, it informed. To further intensify the mass mobilisaton, the state-level rally would be held on Tuesday where thousands of protesters across the state would participate, they added. “Health and education services, railways, electricity supply, banks and other financial institutions have been privatised in a hurry and the core industries in the public sector are being sold to the domestic and foreign corporate houses,” they said. |
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Jalandhar, February 7 The maximum temperature was recorded as 19.6 degree Celsius in Adampur. The Meteorological Department made a forecast of fine weather during the next 24 hours. The lowest temperature was recorded in Halwara at 6.7 degree Celsius whereas the maximum was recorded as 19.3 degree Celsius in Pathankot. In Bathinda, the minimum temperature was recorded at 5.5 degree Celsius and the maximum as 19 degree Celsius. — TNS
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Jalandhar, February 7