B A T H I N D A    E D I T I O N

Direct benefit transfer for LPG 
‘Fake’ divorces to avail of double subsidy
Faridkot, August 27
Days before the start of the "game-changer" programme of transferring cooking gas (LPG) subsidy directly to the consumers’ bank accounts in Faridkot, the LPG gas agencies in the district are coming across many cases wherein some couples are set to get double subsidy from the scheme with the help of fictitious divorce papers.

Labourer dies as earth, sewage cave in
Barnala, August 27
A labourer, who was digging a septic tank today at Sekha village, about eight kms from here, was buried alive under a chunk of earth and sewage from a nearby septic tank. He was pulled out of an under construction septic tank with a JCB vehicle at about 8.30 pm and taken to the Civil Hospital, Barnala, where doctors declared him brought dead. Barnala Deputy Commissioner Dr Indu Malhotra said after receiving information about the mishap, she immediately sent the fire brigade staff, an ambulance, police force and the Barnala SDM to do the needful. However, the labourer died in the mishap, she added.

BKU, Cong oppose move to shut Powercom offices 
Moga, August 27
The Bhartiya Kisan Union (Ugrahan), while opposing the move of the Punjab State Power Corporation Limited (PSPCL) to shut down and shift many sub-divisional offices of the corporation located in the urban as well as rural areas, has announced the launch of an agitation against the decision.

Direct benefit transfer for LPG 
‘Fake’ divorces to avail of double subsidy
Balwant Garg
Tribune News Service

Faridkot, August 27
Days before the start of the "game-changer" programme of transferring cooking gas (LPG) subsidy directly to the consumers’ bank accounts in Faridkot, the LPG gas agencies in the district are coming across many cases wherein some couples are set to get double subsidy from the scheme with the help of fictitious divorce papers.

Earlier, these couples had got the fictitious divorce orders to divide their land among the spouses to increase the land ceiling limit and avoid the provisions of the Punjab Land Reforms Act, 1972. But now, these fabricated divorce orders are being further used by some of these couples to get two independent LPG connections in one family unit, thus availing double benefit of the direct benefit transfer for LPG (DBTL) scheme.

Under the Punjab Land Reforms Act, there is ceiling on land possession on every family unit. It was 17.29 acres to 50.65 acres, based on the quality of land in Punjab. The surplus land, after the implementation of the Act, is to be doled out to the landless.

However, to hoodwink the provisions of this Land Reform Act, many families owning big chunks of land, initiated fictitious divorces to divide land among the spouses, showing these as two family units, thus increasing their ceiling limit.

Now these two family units, on the basis of fictitious divorce, not only get two ration cards but started availing the benefit of two LPG connection in one family with the help of two separate ration cards in the name of the ‘split’ husband and wife.

Creating fictitious divorce is so common that many of the ‘divorced’ couples have one address to get deliveries of the LPG cylinders in the name of the separated spouses. In Rajuwal village of Faridkot, four families have double LPG connections on the basis of these fictitious divorces which they secured three decades back to avoid the land ceiling.

"Though these fictitious divorces are an open secret, no LPG agency can challenge it as these families have two ration cards," said Gurmit Singh, the owner of Geena Gas Agency in Kotkapura town.

“Some of the couples in these fake divorces cases had faced an awkward situation when they gave birth to children after their ‘legal separation,” said BD Kumar, a senior advocate in Faridkot. BD Kumar said he witnessed over a hundred fictitious divorce cases and all these divorces were planned to circumvent the Land Reforms Act to avoid land ceiling.

Preferring anonymity, a senior official in the Food and Supply Department, Faridkot, said he knew about many cases where in the husband and the wife had two separate ration cards on the basis of these fictitious divorces.

Faridkot is among the five districts in Punjab to be covered under DBTL scheme from September 1. Under the scheme, an LPG connection holder get s about Rs 435 in his bank account within 48 hours of booking an LPG cylinder. 

Labourer dies as earth, sewage cave in
Tribune News Service

Barnala, August 27
A labourer, who was digging a septic tank today at Sekha village, about eight kms from here, was buried alive under a chunk of earth and sewage from a nearby septic tank. He was pulled out of an under construction septic tank with a JCB vehicle at about 8.30 pm and taken to the Civil Hospital, Barnala, where doctors declared him brought dead.

Barnala Deputy Commissioner Dr Indu Malhotra said after receiving information about the mishap, she immediately sent the fire brigade staff, an ambulance, police force and the Barnala SDM to do the needful. However, the labourer died in the mishap, she added.

As per the available information, a house owner in Sekha village had a septic tank outside his house. As this septic tank was filled with waste material, he started digging another tank outside his house just two feet away from the old tank.

When the labourer was digging the new septic tank at a depth of about 10 feet, a chunk of earth along with silt from the old septic tank fell into the under construction septic tank, due to which the labourer was buried alive. 

BKU, Cong oppose move to shut Powercom offices 
Kulwinder Sandhu
Tribune News Service

Moga, August 27
The Bhartiya Kisan Union (Ugrahan), while opposing the move of the Punjab State Power Corporation Limited (PSPCL) to shut down and shift many sub-divisional offices of the corporation located in the urban as well as rural areas, has announced the launch of an agitation against the decision.

General secretary of the BKU, Sukhdev Singh Kokri, said the BKU would protest outside the office of the corporation at Bhinder Kalan village in Moga district on Wednesday besides submitting memorandums to the senior authorities of the PSPCL, demanding the withdrawal of the shut-down and the shifting of its sub-divisional offices.

Adding that the shut-down of the sub-divisional offices would directly affect the services of the corporation being provided to the consumers at their doorsteps, Kokri said the people would have to travel more for office work and depositing the power bills.

He revealed that the PSPCL has decided to abolish three sub-divisional offices located at Bhinder Kalan, Ajitwal and Badhni Kalan in Moga district. Besides,many other offices in Patiala, Ludhiana and Jalandhar districts have also been proposed to be abolished in the coming days, he added.

Meanwhile, the Congress has also condemned this move of the power corporation.

Gurinder Singh Guggu, general secretary of the Youth Congress, Faridkot, has announced that the party will take part in the BKU protest at Bhinder Kalan village. “We fully support the BKU in taking up the issue for the cause of the farmers,” he said.