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Union Budget
Coal freight rate hike
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SIT probing Patiala death finds vital clues
Several questions unanswered
Not considering Sukhbir’s elevation as of now: Badal
Moga bypoll result today
Benchmarking must go, demand PCMS doctors
Documents missing from DSGMC office, says new president
Chaura’s arrest setback to Wadhawa
group
Diversify crops for sustainable farming: Experts
Yellow rust spreads tentacles in Ropar dist
Farmers blame unseasonal rain for crop damage
Year’s extension for board employees
HC nod to recruitment of clerks
Don’t make recoveries from salary of contractual staff: HC
Harassed by classmate, girl commits suicide
Doc’s son held for rape
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Union Budget
Chandigarh, February 27 With huge stocks of foodgrain, especially rice and wheat, the government is keen to shift to a new cropping pattern. However, without fiscal support from the Centre, this is not possible. The state government had recently sought Rs 5,300 crore from the Centre to give a new direction to the farm sector. “We expect the Centre to make an announcement in this regard tomorrow,” said a senior official. “The Centre has already given a special package to North-Eastern states to promote rice cultivation. It can announce a similar package for Punjab to move away from the paddy-wheat cycle,” he said. Punjab, that is looking to Central Government assistance to promote dairy farming, poultry and piggery, wants the Centre to amend its policy to fund centrally sponsored schemes. “The criteria for allocation of funds under the Centre's flagship schemes does not benefit developed states like Punjab. The state has hardly any non-irrigated area and, therefore, receives a meagre allocation under the Rashtriya Krishi Vikas Yojna,” said a senior official. The government has told the Centre that it be given earmarked allocations as untied grants. The government wants the rate of interest on short-term loans, for which funds are given by the National Bank for Agricultural and Rural Development be brought down to 2.5 per cent from 4.5 per cent. The state wants that interest subvention on cooperative loans be increased to 4 per cent from 2 per cent. The government is keen to have major automobile units and a national manufacturing investment zone. It wants the Delhi-Mumbai industrial corridor be extended up to Ludhiana and the freight corridor up to Amritsar, the cycle industry be given a waiver of 2 per cent in excise duty and import duty on cycles increased to 40 per cent from 30 per cent. Wish List Rs 5,300 crore for diversification in the farm sector Support to promote dairy farming, poultry & piggery Amendment in policy to fund centrally sponsored schemes Rate of interest on short-term NABARD loans be brought down to 2.5 % Major automobile units and a national manufacturing investment zone Delhi-Mumbai industrial corridor be extended up to Ludhiana and freight corridor up to
Amritsar Waiver of 2 % in excise duty to the state’s cycle industry
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Coal freight rate hike
Patiala, February 27 The development may force the PSPCL to increase power tariffs for all categories of consumers.
PSPCL Director (Finance) SC Arora said the corporation procured 13 million tonnes of coal annually through the rail network. "The freight varies from Rs 2,000 to Rs 2,200 per tonne. The recent hike will mean an additional financial burden to the tune of up to Rs 150 crore," he said. Last year, the coal freight rate was increased by 20 per cent while there is a hike of 5.7 per cent this year. But since Punjab gets a major chunk of coal from Jharkhand, the financial burden will be more due to the long distance between the two states. Badish K Jindal, president of the Federation of Punjab Small Industries Association, has flayed the increase in coal freight rate. "The hike will lead to costlier power, which will adversely affect the already crippled industry in the state," he added. Taking stock Coal freight rate has been increased by 5.7 per cent in the Railway Budget The freight hike will lead to additional burden of Rs 150 crore on PSPCLt Officials say either the fuel cost adjustment surcharge will have to be increased or a revision of the fuel cost wil be sought
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SIT probing Patiala death finds vital clues
Patiala, February 27 The police has rounded up more than five persons, including a young girl, for interrogation. The SIT has decided to involve experts to examine the video-recording of the postmortem examination. Sources said witnesses had told the police that they had seen Parampreet Kaur running after her husband in the locality on the morning she was found dead. Not ruling out murder, SIT member Deputy Inspector-General (Intelligence) RK Jaiswal said there were “some injuries” on the victim's neck. “We are waiting for the viscera report to ascertain if she was poisoned," Jaiswal said, refusing to give more details. “ Paramjeet Kaur has told us that when she saw her daughter-in-law hanging from the ceiling with a dupatta, she called up her son who was on his way to office,” an officer said, adding that the police was not informed of the crime till the victim was brought to the hospital where she was declared "brought dead". Jaspal Singh Pardhan was not available on his phone and his son, Preetinder Singh, did not take calls. While the FIR, registered on the complaint of the victim’s father, Amarjit Singh, mentions Jaspal Singh Pardhan as Harpreet Singh's father and Paramjeet Kaur's husband, the police has in the documents presented in court for remand mentioned Harpreet as Tirlochan Singh's son and his mother as Tirlochan Singh's wife.
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Several questions unanswered
Patiala, February 27 Though Pardhan had to resign from his post on the orders of the party high command on February 25, there is a possibility that he may be reappointed, if he gets the clean chit. It is alleged that Pardhan had connived with his paramour Paramjeet Kaur and their son Harpreet Singh to murder his "daughter-in-law." But the Mayor has denied the allegations, calling the death a suicide. He has also denied that he was "married" to Paramjeet or that Harpreet was his son. Pardhan's son Preetinder Singh, a Youth Akali Dal leader, has also rubbished the allegations. Now, the case is with a three-member Special Investigation Team (SIT) comprising Inspector-General (IG-Crime) Shahiprabha Diwedi, Deputy IG RK Jaiswal and Superintendent of Police Balbir Singh. Jaiswal solved the Reema Jain murder case in Ludhiana some years ago and was awarded by the Chief Minister. The FIR
Parampreet Kaur's father Amarjit Singh, a resident of Harinder Nagar, has said in the FIR (No 39) registered at the Kotwali police station that he met his daughter at her in-laws' house at Toba Kashmirian on February 22, a day before her death. The house is located 6 km from the Phulkian Enclave residence of the former Mayor. "My daughter told me that her father-in-law Jaspal Singh, mother-in-law Paramjeet Kaur and husband Harpreet Singh were harassing her and she feared that they would kill her. "The next day someone called up my brother Tejinder Singh at 10 am to say that Parampreet was unwell. We rushed to her house. My daughter was lying dead on the bed while her husband Harpreet and his parents stood by. We heard Jaspal Pradhan saying that Parampreet could not breathe. When we moved nearer, we saw that she was dead," reads the FIR. Amarjit has also alleged that when he and his brother tried to pick up Parampreet's body, they were manhandled by Pardhan and Harpreet. "We raised the alarm and people gathered at the spot. We then brought the body to Rajindra Hospital even as Pardhan declared that he was the Mayor and would not let a case be registered." Amarjit Singh has alleged that he and his brother had noticed strangulation marks on the neck. "Her husband Harpreet, his father Jaspal Singh, Mayor, and his wife Paramjeet had strangulated my daughter,” reads the statement. A postmortem report by a panel of three doctors has also mentioned strangulation marks on the victim's neck. Pardhan's defence
Refuting the allegations as false and a fabricated, Pardhan says he will come out clean. "I am astonished at the allegations as it was me who insisted that Parampreet be shifted to the hospital, to which all agreed. Parampreet's family members were very cooperative till they reached Government Rajindra Hospital. It was there that they started levelling baseless allegations against me," he said. Pardhan maintains that he is not married to Paramjeet Kaur, who is the wife of his business partner Tirlochan Singh who deserted her over two decades ago. "I brought up her son Harpreet as my own," he claimed. On the fact that he had two votes in the district, Pardhan claimed that it was a technical mistake and he had submitted an application for cancellation of his vote against the Toba Kashmirian address. But Amarjit Singh says that Pardhan is lying. "He was present at Harpreet’s marriage to my daughter, his name features in the voters' list as husband of Paramjeet and father of Harpreet and he was present in the house when the death occurred. These cannot be mere coincidences. The police should conduct a DNA test on the family," he says. Moot points The victim was dead at her house. As relatives quarrelled among themselves, why did anyone not inform the police The police inspected the house a couple of hours after the death came to light, giving enough time to anyone to tamper with evidence While Pardhan claims he was informed by his son Preetinder on the phone that there was "some trouble" at Harpreet's house, the victim's father alleges that the Mayor was already there when he reached the house Why didn't Harpreet inform his father-in-law about the death
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Not considering Sukhbir’s elevation as of now: Badal
Muktsar, February 27 Badal held a sangat darshan programme in Lambi today. Addressing a gathering, he said the Centre should immediately release funds to tackle the problem of waterlogging in the state. "A high-level expert group constituted by Union Rural Development Minister Jai Ram Ramesh has submitted its detailed project report on the issue to the Cabinet after visiting the state. But the report is lying with the Planning Commission. Its early clearance is required for issuing funds to solve this crucial problem," said Badal, while replying to a query during his sangat darshan programme in Lambi. "The Central Government must realise that waterlogging is not just an economic problem. It has far reaching social and administrative implications on the lives of people," Badal said. "Of the total waterlogged area in the state, its three-fourth part is in Muktsar district. Out of this, 50 per cent is located in the Lambi assembly segment," he said. On the Railway Budget, the Chief Minister said it was an "anti-people and directionless budget". On criminal case against former Patiala Mayor Jaspal Pardhan, he said the law would take its own course. "I have already constituted a SIT to probe the matter," he added.
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Moga bypoll result today Moga, February 27 At least 50 officials will be involved and CCTV cameras will be set up to monitor the process. The entire proceedings will be videographed, a spokesman for the district administration said.
Meanwhile, the Election commission has asked the counting officials not to allow polling agents of political parties to handle EVM machines and only keep them informed about the progress in counting. It has also directed the officials to be cautious during the counting of postal ballot papers. The polling for the Moga byelection was held on February 23. As many as 10 candidates are in the fray, but the contest is likely between the two main candidates, Joginder Pal Jain of the ruling SAD and Vijay Sathi of the Congress. PPP candidate Ravinder Singh Dhaliwal might upset the political calculations of any of the two main contenders. The seat fell vacant after Joginder Pal Jain, who was elected to the state assembly on Congress ticket in the 2012 assembly elections, resigned from his position in December last year to joined the SAD. Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal not only nominated him as Chairman of the Punjab State Warehousing Corporation but also gave him with the party ticket to contest this byelection. Political pundits say Jain has the edge in the rural areas while Sathi got good response in the city. One cannot guess who will win this election but it seems that the winning margin will not be very high, they said. Out of the total 1,79,752 electorates, as many as 1,30,296 (71.18 per cent) votes were polled.
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Bathinda MC declares handpump water unsafe
Bathinda, February 27 A government survey recently had revealed 1,546 people suffering from cancer-like symptoms in the city. Uranium traces have also been found in the Gurdaspur belt. The city handpumps draw water from merely 40 to 50 feet while uranium traces in the region have been found at a depth of 500 feet. With poor quality of underground water cited as one of the reasons for the spread of cancer in the region, the local government has declared all handpumps unsafe for drinking purposes. Mayor Baljit Singh Bir Behman said the warning signs had become necessary as water samples from all the pumps had failed. " We have already painted 200 handpumps with the warning sign," he said. He said there were reports that the water was contaminated with uranium and sulphur. However, those who can't read are still using the handpumps. As of now, the MC does not have any plan to seal the pumps.
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Benchmarking must go, demand PCMS doctors
Patiala, February 27 Their demands also included convenience allowance on the Central pattern, enhanced incentives for doctors working in rural areas and 100 per cent selection of senior residents and assistant professors in medical colleges through PCMS cadre. They also demanded abolition of benchmarks for doctors. The Health Department has fixed the number of patients that should be checked and treated by each doctor every month in the state. The first benchmark for OPD states that every doctor has to see a particular number of patients. There is another benchmark for procedures and diagnosis which includes a particular number of patients to be treated for minor surgeries and diagnosis of a particular disease in a month. Though the benchmark for every disease differs, the doctors have to meet a certain fixed target every month. There are fixed number of patients that have to be admitted to health centres and surgeries to be carried out. Dr Jagpal Inder Singh, president of the association, said, “Non-practicing allowance should be named as special medical pay and it must be considered for all interns. Fifteen per cent postgraduate allowance should be given to all specialist doctors without any discrimination.” Dr Vikas Goyal, spokesperson of the association, said a majority of doctors working in government hospital were specialists and the government must pay attention to their grievances to boost their morale. A delegation of specialist doctors will soon meet Punjab Health and Family Welfare Minister and Principal Secretary, Health, in this regard. Their demands Convenience allowance on the Central Government pattern, enhanced incentives for doctors working in rural areas 100 per cent selection of senior residents and assistant professors in medical colleges through PCMS cadre About Benchmarking The Health Department has fixed the number of patients that should be checked and treated by each doctor every month in the state Another benchmark is for procedures and diagnosis which defines the number of patients to be treated for minor surgeries and diagnosis of a particular disease every month
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Documents missing from DSGMC office, says new president
New Delhi, February 27 The previous gurdwara committee led by Paramjeet Singh Sarna had given the hospital on a lease to BL Kapoor Hospital. But the same was challenged by SAD leader Kuldeep Singh Bhogal in court. "We wanted to know the agreement details as we want to scrap the lease and run the hospital on our own," said GK. The SAD had said in its election manifesto that if voted to power, it would scrap the lease deed and run the hospital on charity. Sarna said that “all the documents were handed over to DSGMC general manager, Ram Singh, after my party's defeat. “As far as money donated for the construction of the parking is concerned, I have not taken a single paise. A sum of Rs 13 crore has been deposited as FD. The details are available with Guru Harikrishan Medical Trust."
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Chaura’s arrest setback to Wadhawa
group
Chandigarh, February 27 Chaura carried a reward of Rs 10 lakh. He became the face of the militant movement after playing a major role in the Burail jailbreak and helped the late Beant Singh's assassins, Jagtar Singh Hawara, Jagtar Singh Tara and Paramjit Singh Bheora, escape. Chaura had caused a short-circuit by throwing an iron chain on the high-tension wires outside the jail to facilitate the escape. Police sources said after Tara escaped to Pakistan, there was a spurt of terrorist cases in Punjab, including explosions in two Delhi cinemas in 2005, a blast in a theatre in Ludhiana in 2007 and the assassination of Rashtriya Sikh Sangat head Rulda Singh in Patiala in 2009. The police suspects that Chaura may have had a role in the spurt in terrorist activities. Most importantly, Chaura was the main operative of various militant groups and NGOs who routed money through him to families of former militants. The National Investigation Agency (NIA) had registered a case in this regard last year. Chaura last came to the limelight in May 2010 when the Amritsar police recovered a Maruti car carrying explosives. Investigations revealed that Chaura had got the delivery of explosives and arms from Pakistan and that he had divided these into three parts and handed these to three terror modules. One part of this consignment was delivered to French national Pal Singh and the rest to modules headed by Sukha Cheera. While the module members were arrested, Chaura had absconded. Police sources said Chaura had first gone to Pakistan in 1984 during the course of which he ran a radio station, voicing radical propaganda and delivering speeches, inciting the youth to take to violence. During this period, Chaura wrote a book on guerrilla warfare. He returned to Punjab in 1986 but went back soonafter. He returned to Punjab in 1989 under the assumed names of Chamkaur Singh and Kapoor Singh Jamraudh. He founded the Akal Federation and later the Khalistan Liberation Army. In 1991, he surrendered to the Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP), Gurdaspur, but again returned to militancy. The Punjab Police holds him responsible for over two dozen cases of terrorist activity. The police believes that Chaura was not only involved in creating terrorist modules but also in coordinating with outfits abroad for raising funds. He is said to have been coordinating for specific operations with Wadhawa Singh of the Babbar Khalsa International (BKI) and Jagtar Singh Tara of the Khalistan Tiger Force. Both the militants are based in Pakistan.
Dark past He was responsible for reviving militant cells in the state in 2010 nHe played a major role in the Burail jailbreak He was the main operative of various militant groups and NGOs who routed money through him to families of former militants The National Investigation Agency (NIA) had registered a case in this regard last year He was the founder of Akal Federation and later the Khalistan Liberation Army
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Diversify crops for sustainable farming: Experts
Fatehgarh Sahib, Februray 27 These views were expressed by Dr HS Dhaliwal, Additional Director Extension Education, Punjab Agriculture University while addressing the meeting of Scientific Advisory Committee of District Krishi Vigyan Kendra (KVK) here. Dhaliwal said horticulture could play a vital role in agriculture diversification. The PAU had developed new varieties of fruit plants and the farmers would benefit from these technologies, he added. Dr JS Bains, Chief Agriculture Officer, said they had identified farmers from each village in the district to spread agricultural technology to the grassroots level. Dr SS Grewal, Horticulture Development Officer, talked about policies and subsidies for the benefit of farmers. Dr Harinder Singh, Deputy Director (Training), KVK, also spoke on the occasion.
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Yellow rust spreads tentacles in Ropar dist
Ropar, February 27 District Agriculture Officer Lakhwinder Singh Hundal said the situation would deteriorate further once the rain was over which would lead to an increase in temperature. The crop hit by the disease develops yellow stripes on its leaves, which stunts the plant’s growth thus lowering the yield up to 30 per cent. This is the third consecutive year when the disease known as pili khungi has affected the wheat crop in Ropar district. The state government has failed to procure the required pesticide on subsidised price for farmers. “After paying a high price for DAP (diammonium phosphate) we are forced to shell out thousands of rupees to protect our crops from the yellow rust,” Gurdial Singh, a farmer of Dhanauri in Morinda, said. Joint Director, Agriculture Department, Gurdial Singh said, “We had asked for pesticide worth Rs 5 crore to control the yellow rust in Punjab. However, no such supply has been made by the Controller of Stores which is the nodal agency in Punjab for the purpose.” Worse ahead Experts say the situation will deteriorate further once the rain is over which would lead to an increase in temperature The state government has failed to procure the required pesticide on subsidised prices for farmers so far
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Farmers blame unseasonal rain for crop damage
Dera Bassi, February 27 Reports from different villages suggest that these crops suffered a significant damage where rainwater got blocked in the fields. Local farmers blamed the “unseasonal heavy rain” for the problem. The farmers had to bear heavy losses as rainwater could not be discharged properly, they added. The wheat crop was also damaged to some extent where rainwater was blocked. The farmers demanded that the government should conduct survey of damage to crops and provide adequate compensation to them. Farmers from Dharmgarh, Chengera, Mohi, Butta Singh Wala, Khalour and Motemjara villages said a continuous rain had forced them to delay the sowing of sunflower crop as well, they added. District Agriculture Officer Parminder Singh said though the rain caused significant damage to potato and vegetable crops, no such damage was done to wheat crop.
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Year’s extension for board employees Chandigarh, February 27 The management of the boards and corporations concerned will have discretion to give or deny extension to their employees. There is a provision in the rules to give further extension of one year on the completion of the first year. “As the CM has cleared the file, we will issue a notification in this regard tonight,” said Satish Chandra, Principal Secretary, Finance. He said the notification would be operative with an immediate effect. Those who were to retire tomorrow can be retained for another year depending on the management of the boards and corporations in which they have been serving. The state government had issued a notification to give post-retirement extension a few months ago which was applicable for the employees of government departments only.
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HC nod to recruitment of clerks
Chandigarh, February 27 The directions came on a bunch of three petitions filed by Akash Deep and other petitioners. They had applied for appointment as clerks in response to an advertisement dated July 27, 2011, issued by the Board, for recruitment of clerks. The petitioners added after the declaration of written examination results on October 8, 2011, the impugned public notice dated October 13, 2011, was published, calling upon the candidates to appear in a Punjabi typing test commencing from October 19, 2011. But the process of holding the test was kept in abeyance, following an interim order passed by the High Court on October 18, 2011. Their counsel argued that the decision to hold Punjabi typing test clearly amounted to change in the criteria mid-way through the selection process. Justice Tejinder Singh Dhindsa asserted: "No infirmity can be found in the action of the Board in calling upon all the candidates, including the petitioners upon having qualified the written test, to even appear in a Punjabi typing test…" "It shall be open for the Board to conduct the Punjabi typing test that had been held in abeyance during the pendency of the writ petitions”.
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Don’t make recoveries from salary of contractual staff: HC
Chandigarh, February 27 The notice by Justice Augustine George Masih came on a petition filed by Surinder Singh and 80 other contractual employees of the CPYTE. They were seeking regularlisation of their services along with directions to quash Finance Department’s decision to withdraw ACP benefit. The petitioners said in the writ petition that they had completed 14 to 22 years of service on contract basis and were eligible for regularlisation in terms of the government’s circular dated October 28, 2011. The circular says that contractual employees with a continuous service of three years are eligible for regularlisation provided it does not involve additional financial burden on the organisation concerned. The petitioners had added the Finance Department had, vide its decision dated November 21, 2012, arbitrarily rejected their case for regularlisation on the ground that it involved extra financial burden on the CPYTE. This was despite the fact that they were getting salary in the pay scales of the Punjab Government. The CPYTE Director General had repeatedly written to the government that their regularlisation did not involve extra financial burden on the organisation. The petitioners further stated they were granted ACP benefit on the basis of a decision taken in a meeting presided over by the Chief Secretary, Punjab. It was attended by the Principal Secretaries of the administrative and the Finance Department. The Finance Department, vide letter dated October 8, 2012, had directed the CPYTE to recover the amount of ACP benefit from the employees’ salary.
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Harassed by classmate, girl commits suicide
Tarn Taran , February 27 The Sadar police has registered a case under Section of the 306 against the boy, a resident of Manochahal Kalan village, 12 km from here. He has been arrested. Manpreet Kaur's family had brought the matter to the notice of the school principal, Balwinder Kaur but the accused failed to mend his ways. Yesterday, before leaving for school, a disturbed Manpreet consumed celphose tablets . She was rushed to a private hospital at Chhehtra, where she died. The post-mortem was performed at an Amritsar hospital today said Kulbir Singh, Assistant sub-Inspector (ASI ). — OC
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Doc’s son held for rape
Abohar, February 27 DSP Hari Ram Chaudhary said her statement had been recorded yesterday in the presence of a sub-divisional magistrate. She alleged that Sandeep Kumar (27), son of the owner of the nursing home had ferried her in a jeep on the pretext of visiting another hospital for some work. He allegedly raped her at an isolated place and later threatened her with dire consequences if she dared to reveal the incident to anyone. Sandeep runs a medicine shop in the same nursing home.
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Patiala, February 27
Chandigarh, February 27
PSPCL officials maintain either the fuel cost adjustment surcharge will have to be increased on per unit of power or the corporation will have to submit a supplementary application for a revision of the fuel cost and the net revenue gap for 2013-14 in the annual revenue requirement (ARR) filed with the Punjab State Electricity Regulatory Commission (PSERC). Earlier, the PSPCL has shown Rs 2,839 crore revenue deficit for 2013-14. 
“The call details of the accused, Harpreet Singh, victim's husband, points to his close proximity with a girl because of which his wife (now dead) was probably upset. Harpreet might be pressing her for a divorce, " said a police officer. "The girl was grilled for more than three hours on her relationship with Harpreet Singh. Some shocking facts have come to light," said another officer. 
District Magistrate Arshdeep Singh Thind today reviewed the security and counting arrangements. He asked the polling officials to ensure that they were told about the counting procedure so that they did not face any inconvenience. He told them to reach the counting centre at 6.30 am tomorrow so that the counting could begin at 8 am. The movement of traffic will be restricted on the road outside the counting
centre.