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CM, Jakhar submit
Rs 3,327.57 cr plan to tackle waterlogging
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Tarn Taran Boat Tragedy
Prisoners’ parole to be extended to 6 weeks
Harsimrat seeks grants for preserving heritage
Police clueless on Malerkotla boy’s killers
THE SEHAJDHARI ROW
Sarabjit
Sultanpuri Killings
Police files challan in court against Henry
List steps taken to remove PPSC member: HC to state
HC tells PTU to look into ‘illegal’ appointments
Traffic policeman beaten up in Sangrur
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CM, Jakhar submit
Rs 3,327.57 cr plan to tackle waterlogging
New Delhi, October 4 A high-level team of the Planning Commission, led by its Deputy Chairman Montek Singh Ahluwalia, interacted with a state committee on the issue of waterlogging in South-West Punjab at Yojana Bhawan here this evening. Badal said that the vexed issue could not be sorted out without Centre’s assistance and cooperation. “The serious problem of water-logging should be declared a national project, to be efficaciously tackled through central funding under the National Special Area Programme,” Badal said. He told the Planning Commission team that people living in the affected area were facing not only economic hardship but also several social problems, which could lead to social unrest and upheaval. Badal called for concerted efforts to address the problem in a “result-oriented” manner and rescue the area from losing its potential of being the country’s ‘food and fruit basket’. He gave an account of the unprecedented devastation caused by the week-long downpour (August 14 to August 19) in Muktsar, Fazilka, Faridkot and Ferozepur districts. He said as per the government estimate, standing crops over an area of 3.14 lakh acres had been damaged and 10,622 houses had suffered irreparable damage. Relief work estimated at Rs 233 crore had been carried out in the area. The Chief Minister said: “The natural tragedy caused by the excessive rains has caused unparalleled destruction and waterlogging, due to which the economy of the region has been ruined, thereby giving a fatal blow to the economy of the state.” The break-up *
Rs 2,053.16 crore for revamping drainage system and building new drains *
Rs 325 crore for crop diversification * Rs 295 crore for setting up of industries which will use saline water *
Rs 200 crore for improving soil * Rs 200 crore for enhancing the use of drip irrigation and sprinkler irrigation *
Rs 104.20 crore for dairy development in waterlogged areas * Rs 53.31 crore for training programmes *
Rs 28.10 crore for cross-drainage works on roads * Rs 27.60 crore for emptying ponds into nearby drains *
Rs 26.56 crore for fish farming * Rs 12.57 crore for bio-drainage project *
Rs 1.10 crore for cross-drainage works on canals * Rs 80 lakh for cross-drainage works on railway lines
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Tarn Taran Boat Tragedy
Kapurthala, October 4 This, despite the fact that the Northern India Ferries Act 1873 clearly states that each year, the Public Works Department will inform the local district administration as to how many times the boats have been inspected and whether these meet the safety standards. It says the boat operator shall check any overcrowding on the vessel. However, all safety norms seem to have been thrown to the wind. Survivors say the boat had perforations in its base and water had started seeping in as soon as it took off from the river bank. They said though the water was being constantly poured out, the boat's rotten planks gave way when it had reached the middle of the river. Nine persons, including an elderly, are feared to have been drowned while seven boys and the boat operator managed to swim to safety. The victims, belonging to Munda village in Tarn Taran, were headed to a religious fair at Dalla village in Sultanpur Lodhi across the Beas. Absolving itself of any negligence, the administration claimed it was "not possible for it to inspect such a large number of boats as almost every household owned one in the around 30 villages across the Beas". Not only inspection, but the authorities also failed to issue any safety directions to the villagers on the use of private boats. There are around 50 vantage points along the river from where these boats are operated. The boats are mostly overloaded and even motorcycles and other heavy material is ferried on these. Following directions from the Chief Minister, Kapurthala Deputy Commissioner Daljit Singh Mangat has directed Sultanpur Lodhi Sub-Divisional Magistrate Kuldeep Singh Chandi to hold a magisterial probe into the incident. Chandi has also been directed to report as to what precautionary measures can be taken so that such tragedies do not recur. NDRF team arrives A team of 20 experts from the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF), Bathinda, on Friday arrived at the tragedy spot and began a search operation to locate the victims. The team has been using two boats on either side of the river with a mesh of barbed wires fixed in-between. A similar mesh has been fixed at downstream Harike. Motorboats defunct The state government has provided two motorboats for rescue operations in case of any emergency, but both of these have been lying non-functional. Kapurthala Deputy Commissioner Daljit Singh Mangat said these vessels went out of order during recent floods. He said the villagers had been provided six boats, which they had been operating on their own. << Villagers crossing the Beas with two motorcycles on the boat in Sultanpur Lodhi on Friday. Tribune photo: Malkiat Singh
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Manpreet wants at least 2 PPP MPs in Lok Sabha
Amritsar, October 4 Manpreet said the Left parties that were into an alliance with the PPP too supported his decision. Addressing mediapersons here today, Manpreet said his objective was to send at least two MPs to Parliament in the next General Election. The PPP chief, however, refused to divulge any details of the arrangement with the Congress. On the "silence" of the SAD-BJP coalition government over Raghuram Rajan Committee report, he said Punjab's interests would be hit if the government failed to raise its voice against certain contents of the report. He said many northern states would lose out on allocation of funds from the Centre under Raghuram Rajan formula. He said as per the new formula, Punjab would get 1.07 of the total fund allocated by the Centre to the states as against its current share of 1.26 per cent. The committee was set up by the Union Government to identify backward states so as to accord these a special-category status to facilitate easy grants. The PPP chief also appointed Sandy Randhawa as the senior vice-president of the party's youth wing and Majha zone in charge.
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Prisoners’ parole to be extended to 6 weeks
Chandigarh, October 4 The Bill, when passed just a week before Divali, will make pregnant woman prisoners, prisoners whose wives are to deliver a child and those prisoners whose family property has been damaged because of a natural calamity eligible for a six-week parole. The scope of “family” is being expanded to include grand- parents and grandchildren. Granting parole will, however, depend on the conduct of prisoners while serving their sentence in jail. A decision to this effect was taken at a meeting of the Cabinet here yesterday. After the Cabinet has approved The Punjab Good Conduct Prisoners’ (Temporary Release) Rules, 2013 Amendment, it will be tabled before the assembly. The government is reportedly in a hurry to get the amendments in the Punjab Good Conduct Prisoners’ (Temporary Release) Act: 1962 passed. The state government, while presenting the proposed amendments before the Cabinet yesterday, maintained that the move was an attempt to bring parity in parole cases. A number of cases are pending before the Punjab Human Rights Commission where parole has been granted to some prisoners on a particular ground and denied to others on the same ground. However, the timing for bringing the amendments in the parole rules, with elections to the Lok Sabha round the corner, has raised many an eyebrow. Many convicted persons lodged in jails across the state enjoy political patronage. The number of persons released from jail on parole near the elections is always high. Those eligible *
Pregnant woman prisoners and prisoners whose wives are to deliver a child *
Those prisoners whose family property has been damaged in a natural calamity *
Parole will depend on the conduct of prisoners while serving their term in jail *
Parole to be granted by the Jail Superintendent after the case is approved by the Director-General of Police (Jails)
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Harsimrat seeks grants for preserving heritage
Patiala, October 4 Being organised by the Punjab Heritage and Tourism Promotion Board, the workshop was inaugurated by Bathinda MP Harsimrat Kaur Badal. Exhorting the participants, Harsimrat said the event's aim was to ensure artisans practising traditional art forms fetched remunerable prices for their goods. The Akali leader also used the occasion to hit out at Union Minister of State for External Affairs Preneet Kaur and former Chief Minister Capt Amarinder Singh. She alleged the royal couple had virtually ignored Patiala's heritage and culture. On the contrary, she said, the SAD-BJP Government had "done a lot" for preserving various monuments despite Punjab having limited resources. "Preneet Kaur failed to do anything for preserving historical buildings even in her home constituency… The Patiala royal family must visit Bathinda to see what development actually means," she said. Harsimrat said cutting across party lines, Punjab MPs, including those from the Congress, should demand a special package from the Centre for preserving Punjab's heritage buildings and to promote its rich culture and art. She said Rs 8 crore was being spent on the renovation of Qila Mubarak (Nabha) alone. She was accompanied by Rural Development and Panchayats Minister Surjit Singh Rakhra. Designers, entrepreneurs, institutions and various self-help groups from various parts of Punjab exhibited their products on the inaugural day of the workshop today. Among the goods were 'phulkari'-embroidered dresses and bedsheets, folk toys and dolls, wooden items such as 'peerians', decorative boxes, 'pidhis', woven items such as baskets, mats, rugs, carpets, curtains, hand fans and traditional ornaments and
jewellery.
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Police clueless on Malerkotla boy’s killers
Sangrur, October 4 The teenager was burnt alive on September 30 by unidentified persons. This had led to tension in the town with residents pouring onto the streets to protest against the murder. The police has formed five teams to investigate the case. Though at least 12 suspects have been interrogated so far, there has been no breakthrough in the case. The police has announced a reward of Rs 5 lakh for anybody providing information about the killers. Top police officers, including Inspector-General of Police (IGP) Ishwar Singh, Deputy IG Kanwar Vijay Partap Singh, Sangrur Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) Mandeep Singh Sidhu, Barnala SSP Upinderjit Singh Ghuman and Patiala SSP Hardayal Singh Mann remained stationed in the town today. When contacted, SSP Sidhu said the police teams were working on various theories. The police seems reluctant to share any information with the media, lest it hampers investigation.
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THE SEHAJDHARI ROW
Amritsar, October 4 The move also means that the legal battle will in all likelihood consume the third year of the new House that has a tenure of five years. Talking to The Tribune, SGPC president Avtar Singh Makkar said it was a matter of relief that their special leave petition (SLP) had been admitted in the Supreme Court. He, however, refused comment on the possibility of the new SGPC House not being able to function for at least another year. but former SGPC general secretary Bibi Kiranjot Kaur said another year was a long period and the SGPC should try explore the possibility of a political solution to the issue. Sehajdhari Sikh Party president PS Ranu said: “We request the SGPC to honour the verdict of the Punjab and Haryana High Court, withdraw its SLP in the Supreme Court and hold fresh elections. There is no other way out of the crisis as of now. Otherwise, we will wait for the Supreme Court verdict.” He said the SGPC should honour the sentiments of Sehajdhari Sikhs, who only wanted voting rights. “We will be voting for amritdhari (baptised) Sikhs as we don’t want to contest.” He said they had made a similar request earlier, but the SAD could not take a decision because of “some internal issues”. It may be recalled that Makkar had flayed Ranu’s move, arguing that there was no concept of a Sehajdhari in Sikhism. The SGPC elections were held on September 18, 2011. These were followed by co-option of 15 members on December 5, 2011. Subsequently, the Centre issued a notification constituting the new SGPC House on December 17, 2011. However, the Punjab and Haryana High Court’s December 20, 2011 verdict, quashing the 2003 notification barring the Sehajdharis from voting in the SGPC elections, plunged the new House into a crisis. The SGPC later challenged the verdict in the Supreme Court. * Sept 1, 2011: Centre withdraws 2003 notification barring Sehajdharis from voting in SGPC poll *
Sept 2, 2011: Centre backtracks, says it has no intention to withdraw the notification *
Sept 16, 2011: SC says the outcome of the SGPC poll will be subject to HC verdict *
Sept 18, 2011: SGPC elections held, SAD sweeps the poll * Dec 5, 2011: 15 members co-opted *
Dec 17, 2011: Centre issues notification to set up new House * Dec 20, 2011: HC quashes 2003 notification barring Sehajdharis from voting in SGPC elections; SGPC moves SC *
March 30, 2012: SC asks 2010 SGPC executive to
manage daily affairs
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Sarabjit’s family to get petrol station or gas agency
New Delhi, October 4 The proposal moved by Petroleum Minister Veerappa Moily was cleared during the Cabinet meeting yesterday. Home Minister Sushilkumar Shinde had earlier recommended that Sarabjit’s family be allotted a petrol station. Indian Oil Corporation (IOC) has been tasked with allotting a petrol station or an LPG agency in the name of Sarabjit’s wife and an unemployed daughter at a suitable place in Punjab after ascertaining its business viability. The Prime Minister had earlier sanctioned an ex-gratia payment of Rs 25 lakh to Sarabjit’s family. Last month, Petroleum Minister Veerappa Moily had presented a cheque for Rs 5 lakh to the wife of the late Arjuna Awardee Makhan Singh as a token of support to the family.
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Sultanpuri Killings
New Delhi, October 4 This will, however, not affect the proceedings of the trial court as “we are not staying the trial,” a Bench comprising Justices AK Patnaik and JS Khehar clarified. It made the clarification on senior counsel HS Phoolka’s plea that Sajjan Kumar should not be allowed to stall the trial citing his petition in the SC. Sajjan Kumar’s senior counsel Mukul Rohatgi said his client was not seeking a stay on this count, though he had made the prayer in the petition. The SC Bench wanted to defer the hearing till October 7 as it had not yet gone through Sajjan Kumar’s petition. But Rohatgi said he would not be available for three weeks, following which the Bench posted the hearing for October 28. Sajjan Kumar has contended that as he had been acquitted of inciting mobs in respect of about 60 killings, he could not be tried for the same offence again in connection with the Sultanpuri incidents.
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Police files challan in court against Henry
Jalandhar, October 4 The court issued a notice for October 14 to Henry. The complaint reads: “During investigations, sufficient evidence in the shape of documents and statements of witnesses has been brought on record from which it has been established that the accused has committed the offence. It is requested that the accused be tried as per the law for the offence under Section 125-A of the Act”. Henry had acquired a British passport in 1969 and had consequently ceased to be an Indian citizen. He returned to India on September 6, 1969, on the British passport. While in India, he contested the assembly elections in 1986, 1992, 1997, 2002, 2007 and 2012. It was found during the course of the inquiry that Henry, while filing his nomination papers in 2007 and 2012, had stated in Section D of form 2-B that he was eligible for the elections, whereas he was not.
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List steps taken to remove PPSC member: HC to state
Chandigarh, October 4 An assistant advocate-general appearing for the state was asked to seek the requisite information from the government before October 30, during the hearing of a contempt petition filed by advocate HC Arora against Punjab Chief Secretary. Sandhu was facing the allegations of not resigning from job before taking up the new assignment. Arora, in his petition filed in public interest, alleged Dr Sandhu was appointed as a member, vide notification dated December 2, 2011, and was administered the oath of office on December 12, the same year. But, he did not resign as Director of Extension Education, Guru Angad Dev Veterinary Science University, Ludhiana. He, rather, got extraordinary leave sanctioned without pay for six years from December 12, 2011, to December 11, 2017. Arora submitted that by continuing to be an employee of the university, Dr Sandhu had violated the provisions of Article 317 (3) (b) of the Constitution of India, which categorically declared that a member of the Punjab Public Service Commission or its chairman shall not engage during his term of office in any paid employment outside the duty of the office. Taking up the matter, the High Court had also directed the state government to take legal opinion, if necessary, from the Attorney-General of India or Punjab Advocate-General. The Bench had added the High Court had its limitation in the matter of issuance of directions to the State Government for initiating proceedings under Article 317(3) (b) of the Constitution of India. Such proceedings could be initiated only at the instance of the President or the Supreme Court.
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HC tells PTU to look into ‘illegal’ appointments
Chandigarh, October 4 The directions by a Division Bench came on a petition filed by Jalandhar-based Anti-Corruption Society. In its petition against the State of Punjab and other respondents, the society had alleged that appointments were made in the university without following a transparent procedure and "huge amounts have been paid as emoluments to such illegally appointed employees." The petitioner had claimed: "In the case of PTU, not only the requisite experience has been dropped, indiscriminate appointments have been made to adjust favourites." As many as 400 appointments were made within a span of one year. "The endeavour is only to provide political benefit to the powers that be by making more appointments in the university and burden the university in such a manner that it cannot survive the burden," it had alleged. Taking up the matter, the Bench of Chief Justice Sanjay Kishan Kaul and Justice Augustine George Masih asserted that a new Board of Governors had taken over and directions had already been issued to it to re-examine the extension in service granted to the Vice-Chancellor by the previous Board of Governors. Setting a three-month deadline, the Bench said: "In the given factual situation, we are of the view that the aspects arising from these allegations and denials be also examined by the new Board of Governors and if any infirmity is found, the new Board of Governors may suggest an appropriate course of action". The society had also sought the setting aside of all decisions taken by the previous Board of Governors," including the decision to recommend extension to Dr Rajneesh Arora for appointment as PTU Vice-Chancellor." The society had sought directions to the State of Punjab and the university to nominate members on the Board of Governors in accordance with the provisions of the Punjab Technical University Act, 1996. It had asserted: "The PTU is the only university in the country which has more that 27 Assistant Registrars. No other university in the country has employed more than seven Assistant Registrars?."
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Traffic policeman beaten up in Sangrur
Sangrur, October 4 As per his medical report, Vikramjit Singh suffered from abdominal pain but didn’t suffer from any external injury. The policeman said when he intercepted a private bus to clear traffic, three persons, including driver and conductor, alighted from the bus and beat him up. The Mercedes-Benz bus was on its way to Bathinda from Chandigarh via Sangrur. Station House Officer Harinder Singh said a case had been registered against bus driver Gurmeet Singh, conductor Ravideep Singh and helper Vakeel Singh. However, the accused were yet to be nabbed, he added.—TNS
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Aimed at conserving the dying art forms of Punjab and to promote the already-flourishing art and craft, a two-day seminar-cum-workshop kicked off at Neemrana Hotel here today.
Being organised by the Punjab Heritage and Tourism Promotion Board, the workshop was inaugurated by Bathinda MP Harsimrat Kaur
Badal.
