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Govt denies extension to 5 of 32 re-employed PCS officers
Despite bail, 2 Punjabis among 10 Indians languish in Nigerian jail
Notice to 28 tax officials for not detecting fraud
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HC’s New Year resolve: Justice to kids, poor on priority
AAP mulls contesting all 13 LS seats in state
Kejriwal sought support of ‘corrupt’ Cong: Ramdev
Cong leaders oppose Bangar’s appointment
Cop in California shoots Phagwara man dead
racial
attack on punjabi youth
Seniority list: Panic grips lecturers as govt puts them on notice
Prof accuses college principal of harassment
Income Tax Sewa Kendra inaugurated in Phagwara
Finding good match uphill task for border residents
Public assets worth Rs 1,000 cr sold: RTI
Funds not spent, Jairam writes to CM
PIMS docs hold candlelight vigil
5 jawans get 3 months’ RI for being absent from duty
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Govt denies extension to 5 of 32 re-employed PCS officers
Jalandhar, December 31 Unlike one-year extension that these officers had been granted earlier, the remaining 27 have got only six-month extension with clear orders that this would be their last extension. Those who have been denied extension are Pritam Singh, ADC (G) Jalandhar; SK Singla, ADC (G), Phagwara and the Chairman of Phagwara Improvement Trust; Zora Singh Thind, ADC (G), Barnala; Bhupinder Singh, Regional Deputy Director, Local Government, Bathinda, and Sohan Lal Bhumbak, Additional Director, Health. While the cases of SK Singla and Bhupinder Singh have been rejected on the grounds that they had surpassed the age of 65 years, the other three have reportedly been denied extension in view of their “not very good” track record. The orders reached the offices concerned this evening, confirmed Secretary (Personnel) Anirudh Tewari. He said he had sent a recommendation to the Chief Minister a few days ago, which was cleared and reverted today. It was in September that after much pondering, the names of 10 retired PCS officers were cleared for only a three-month extension since they had been accused in acts of omission and commission. Most of these officers, including Ajmer Singh, JC Sabbarwal, Avtar Chand Sharma, Sukhwinder Pal Singh Marar, NS Bath, AK Sikka and OP Popli, have been given a go-ahead for another six months on their current post. Some serving officers have opposed the move of reappointing retired officers saying since the Lok Sabha elections were round the corner, the Election Commission would not allow them to discharge poll duties. Since the post of ADC (G) has the powers of Additional District Election Officers, those holding onto the post would have to be transferred on posts where there was no election work involved. They have also objected to an important role linked to their post in issuing of arms licences, certificates under Special Marriage Act, handling of transport office, besides having charges as collector and magistrate for deciding cases under Section 47-A of the Stamp Act. The bureaucrats alleged that the training of the new batch of 30 PCS officers had been deliberately delayed so that the extension cases of 27 officers could be cleared on a priority. Anirudh Tewari, however, said the training of the new batch would begin on January 4. Even tehsildars and clerical staff have opposed the move saying their promotion quota would be affected.
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Despite bail, 2 Punjabis among 10 Indians languish in Nigerian jail
Hoshiarpur, December 31 The presiding judge CE Archibong had ordered their release on the condition that the Indian consulate gives an assurance that they had entered Nigeria legally. Since then, the youths have been seeking help from the Indian High Commission but to no avail. Even the families of the victims have requested the Indian Government to intervene in the matter. As many as 10 Indians, including two Punjabi youth, were arrested by the Nigerian Navy on November 25 last year on the charge of crude oil theft. Though the Indian Government claims it has been in contact with Nigeria to secure the youths’ release, the letter
written by Sailesh Kumar Singh, Captain of the arrested Indian crew, refuted the claim. In his letter sent to the family of Gagan, one of the detainees, Capt Sailesh has alleged that they had been seeking assistance from the Indian High Commission in Nigeria since January but to no avail. A copy of the court’s bail order sent along with the letter read, “Order is hereby made that the accused persons to be released to the Nigerian Navy forthwith to be quartered on board the seized vessel - to reside there until trial is concluded, upon the written assurances of the Indian Consulate that their nationals entered Nigeria legally”. Since the youth are still languishing in a Nigerian jail, Hoshiarpur youth Gagan Kumar’s brother Gaurav of
Hoshiarpur, has sought the intervention of the Prime Minister in the matter. “If the Indian Government claims to be in contact with the Nigeria Government then why is it taking so long for the consulate to give the assurance sought. We urge Prime Minister Manmohan Singh to intervene personally and direct
the Indian High Commissioner in Nigeria to speed up the proceedings and get them released,” said
Gaurav.
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Notice to 28 tax officials for not detecting fraud
Patiala, December 31 The 14 erring Excise and Taxation Inspectors and as many Excise and Taxation Officers have been issued a show-cause notice. Input tax credit is the amount paid by the dealers on purchases for which they are entitled to claim a credit. Several traders, however, show fake transactions to claim the credit by showing inflated sales. In the absence of scrutiny, they end up not paying tax at any stage. The Excise and Taxation Department is contemplating to approach the Vigilance Bureau to ascertain the bribe amount paid to officers, who “deliberately failed” to check fraud transactions in their respective areas. Sources said firms, whose registration was cancelled, minted money by showing fake entries. Instead of taking action against the firm owners, the officials connived with them to pocket money, they said. In one such case, Modgill Enterprises in Ludhiana III zone, claimed input tax credit amounting to Rs 4.2 crore on purchases of Rs 85.16 crore. The firm’s registration was cancelled before the date of purchase. Now, instead of replying to the show-cause notice, the accused officers are trying to exert political pressure and threatening to go on strike. When the fraud was detected by the department’s Economic Intelligence Unit (EIU) in October, Excise and Taxation Commissioner Anurag Verma brought the matter to the notice of the accused officials during a monthly meeting. But, they did not budge and some of them allegedly connived with the bogus firms. “Once the officials refused to follow the order, as a result of which the government lost crores of rupees, I issued them a show-cause notice,” Verma told The Tribune. As per the notice, the 28 officers have been asked to reply in writing in 15 days whether or not they agree with all or some of the allegations. “In case the officials fail to reply within the specific time frame, it would be assumed that the accused officers have nothing to say in their defence,” the notice reads. “We might refer the matter to the VB for a thorough investigation as the officials have failed to their job, which is to tighten noose around tax defaulters,” Verma said, adding that a VB investigation could unearth the kickbacks received by the officials for allowing the traders to usurp government money.
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MC’s proposal to denotify Ram Bagh sparks row
Amritsar, December 31 The MC has approached the Director of Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) for the same. The three clubs occupying around nine per cent of Ram Bagh have also joined hands with the MC. On the other hand, referring to the official
notification dated November 24, 2003, ASI officials said chances of getting the proposal approved were bleak. The Municipal Corporation and club officials argued that the ASI had in its possession just three kanals and two marlas of Ram Bagh, but the rest of the area that had been declared “protected” was with the state Department of Cultural Affairs and so, it was not justified on
the part of the ASI to put restrictions on its reuse. Ram Bagh, popularly known as Company Bagh, was declared a national monument in 2004. Even as the 40-kanal land for construction of Panorama out of a total of 718.12 kanals had already been denotified in 2003, the ASI claimed that the remaining area of 678 kanals and 12 marlas was bound to be protected under the Ancient Monuments and Archaeological Sites and Remains Act and no construction or alteration could be allowed here. At present, preservation work on the Ram Bagh’s original entrance gate, four watch towers, Hamamghar, Small Baradari and Machhighar is under progress
by the ASI. There are three British-era clubs on the premises —Amritsar Club, Services Club and Lumbsden Club. Their officials, too, have showed solidarity with the civic authorities’ move and sought denotification of 76 kanals in their control. The corporation has leased land to the clubs and the buildings were raised later by their managements. These clubs were set up in Ram Bagh over 100 years ago. The officials argued that there was hardly any heritage or historical building in possession of the clubs. The MC has already introduced some alterations at this historic site, which were objected by the ASI as it defied the Ancient Monuments and Remains Act.
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HC’s New Year resolve: Justice to kids, poor on priority
Chandigarh, December 31 For, Chief Justice Sanjay Kishan Kaul of the Punjab and Haryana High Court has made it clear that from January 8, 2014, their cases will be put on the priority track by all the Benches. Chief Justice Kaul has also made it clear that cases involving senior citizens, crime against women, persons with disability and corruption will also be taken up on priority basis, along with matters in which proceedings before the lower courts have been stayed. Hearings in cases remanded back from the Supreme Court will be prioritised. The measures are just a few of the many steps initiated by the High Court to fast track the justice delivery system once the High Court opens after the winter vacations on January 8. In an attempt to clear the backlog, Chief Justice Kaul has also directed that Wednesdays and Thursdays will be dedicated for hearing regular or long pending cases. The move is significant as the High Court still has more than 2 lakh pending cases. Some of the regular second appeals have been awaiting adjudication since 1984. After a long gap, the High Court has decided to dedicate two Division Benches for exclusively hearing criminal matters. The Division Bench of Justice Satish Kumar Mittal and Justice SP Bangarh, and the Division Bench of Justice Rajive Bhalla and Justice Jaspal Singh, will hear criminal appeals, leave to appeal and appeals against acquittals. The Benches will also hear contempt appeals, criminal contempt cases, criminal cases questioning the vires of statutory provisions, criminal cases referred to Division Benches and parole matters. The move is expected to expedite the hearing of criminal matters involving issues hovering around life and liberty of people. In the previous roster, just one Bench was dedicated to exclusively hear criminal matters while rest of the criminal cases were divided among three Division Benches hearing both civil and criminal matters. The High Court has also re-arranged the sitting plan of Judges to reduce running around by advocates and save in the process precious court time. All Division Benches will now be held in the old High Court complex from courtroom number one to eight while the Single Benches will be held from courtroom number 11 to 69. The Benches were previously scattered, forcing the lawyers to shuttle between the new and the old High Court complex.
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AAP mulls contesting all 13 LS seats in state
Jalandhar, December 31 In the past 20 days, more than 20,000 people have joined the AAP. With this, the AAP’s membership has touched the 30,000 mark. The members are a motley group of doctors, professors, policemen, shopkeepers and gardeners, who made a beeline for the AAP’s offices to get the membership. The party has already appointed office-bearers covering more than 70 per cent of blocks of the state. “I was stunned to see police officials walking to our membership enrolment desks,” party’s state unit president Harjot Singh Bains said.
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Modi’s rally in Jagraon now on Feb 23
Chandigarh, December 31 The rally, among others, would be addressed by the BJP’s prime ministerial candidate Narendra Modi. In a statement, Grewal said the rally would act as a “game-changer”. “The people of Punjab are eagerly waiting to witness this historic event as well as to teach the inefficient and corrupt UPA government a befitting lesson in the next parliamentary elections,” he said. The rally was earlier scheduled for December 21 but was postponed due to rain forecast.
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Kejriwal sought support of ‘corrupt’ Cong: Ramdev
Jalandhar, December 31 While addressing the media, he alleged Kejriwal committed three major follies: Seeking support from the Congress, sidelining his mentor Anna Hazare and ignoring the BJP. While terming Narendra Modi as the most suitable candidate for the Prime Minister’s post, Ramdev claimed the BJP was less corrupt than the Congress. Claiming that the Congress was involved in scams to the tune of over Rs 10,000 crore lakh, he said Modi could rid the BJP of corruption. Meanwhile, he said the Bharat Swabhiman Trust would organise a Yoga Mahotasvaon, the martyrdom day of Bhagat Singh, Rajguru and Sukhdev in Delhi on March 23. Ramdev further said week-long yoga programmes would also be conducted from March 17. Besides, he said a door-to-door Dharam Yudh campaign would soon begin to seek votes for Modi. The trust would organise a rally on its raising day in Delhi on January 5, which would be addressed by Raj Nath Singh, BJP chief, Arun Jaitley and Narendra Modi, he added.
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Cong leaders oppose Bangar’s appointment
Nawanshahr, December 31 Both the leaders have accused the Congress MLA from Banga, Tarlochan Singh Soondh, and Congress MP from Anandpur Sahib, Ravneet Singh Bittu, of “ignoring” old workers. — OC
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Cop in California shoots Phagwara man dead
Sacramento (California), December 31 Jaspal belonged to Bharo Majra village near Phagwara. He was a truck driver, who had migrated to California 10 years ago. He was under depression and is survived by his wife and two children. The Police Department said one of the officers fired from his duty weapon when Jaspal pointed his gun at them. Hit numerous times, Jaspal was taken to a local hospital where he was pronounced dead. It is unclear whether the deceased had fired or not. The police are investigating the case even as the officer who fired has been suspended.
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racial
attack on punjabi youth
Bathinda, December 31 A student from Punjab, Manrajwinder Singh, suffered serious injuries in an attack in Melbourne on December 29. In an e-mail sent to the Tribune, Jayanta alleged the Australian government was to blame for prevalence of hate crimes as it had different rules for Indian and Australian criminals. Jayanta has been taking up the plight of such victims with both the Indian and Australian Governments. Citing several cases, he claimed that the Australian police, with active help of the Indian police, left no stone unturned to nab an Indian involved in a crime in Australia. "Last year, the Indian police nabbed a youth, Satwinderpal Singh, in Ludhiana at the insistence of the Australian Police, who had accused him of raping a woman in that country. However, those who attack Indians rarely get punished easily," he claimed. He said Indians were treated as second class citizens in that country due to which the attacks continued to take place. "I have urged even the Australian Prime Minister to check the attacks, but in the absence of exemplary punishment for these attackers, such incidents continue, he said. Jayant claimed he had suffered neck injuries when his employer at a five-star hotel threw a 10-kg packet of frozen chicken at him in the late 1990s but hasn't got justice yet. "Racial attacks will continue till the Indian Government starts supporting the victims and pursues their case," he said.
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Seniority list: Panic grips lecturers as govt puts them on notice
Nawanshahr, December 31 Besides, Bhupinder Singh Warraich, state president, Democratic Teachers Front (DTF) and Prem Rakker, state president, Government Teachers Union (GTU) have warned the government that a massive stir would be launched if the government did not roll back its decision to revert the promoted lecturers. Instead, the government should fill up the vacant posts of lecturers by promoting the "eligible" left out cases from the master cadre, they said. "As at the time of promoting masters as lecturers, there was no seniority list and the cases for promotions were not demanded as per the seniority but by giving a cut-off date, it is illogical to review the cases after preparing the seniority lists now," said Balvir Kumar, district DTF president. He said if there were some left out cases due to the negligence of individuals in submitting their cases timely or due to any other reason, the government should consider their cases on merit for promotion to fill up the large number of posts lying vacant in the schools instead of punishing the promoted lecturers. "In fact, the government was at fault as the promotion cases were cleared by the DPC without following any principles, yardsticks, seniority list and criterion, as maintained by the review committee." "Moreover, the state government should not apply the criteria of seniority list retroactively," said the DTF leader.
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Prof accuses college principal of harassment
Jalandhar, December 31 In her complaint to the Commissioner of Jalandhar Police, the Assistant Professor has stated that the principal, AL Sangal, had been harassing her for the past couple of months by using objectionable language with a mala fide intension. She alleged that her complaints to the college grievance redressal cell and the women cell had served no purpose due to Sangal’s influence on them. Sangal refuted the allegations saying that she had been trying to tarnish his image by way of false accusations. “In fact, her husband along with another person barged into my office and threatened of dire consequences after she was denied leave as per
the institute’s rules,” he claimed. Additional Deputy Commissioner of Police, Headquarters, LPS Khaira said the police had called two colleagues of the complainant apart from her husband to question them. “Both the parties have been summoned in the first week of January for further questioning,” he claimed.
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Income Tax Sewa Kendra inaugurated in Phagwara
Phagwara, December 31 Ludhiana Chief IT Commissioner Nishi Singh along with Ludhiana, Jalandhar and Phagwara IT Commissioners GS Nanawati, Rakesh Suri and Sanjay Mishra, respectively, inaugurated the IT Sewa Kendra. The office has been set up at a cost of Rs 20 lakh to provide various facilities to taxpayers under one roof. Nishi Singh said one such kendra was operational in Ludhiana while two more would be opened in Hoshiarpur and Jalandhar next month. She said only seven lakh taxpayers in Ludhiana Zone were registered, which was a negligible number when compared to the total population and industries and trade in the region.
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Finding good match uphill task for border residents
Ferozepur, December 31 “People think twice before marrying their daughters here due to the lack of basic amenities available in these parts,” says Kikar Singh, who is looking for a good match for his son, well past marriageable age now. “Though I am now ready to compromise on
various aspects such as landholding etc, not many proposals are coming our way,” he said. Even the girls from this area find it difficult to find a suitable groom. “People feel that living so close to the India-Pakistan border has inherent risks. When the relations between the two neighbouring nations worsen, it becomes difficult to travel here,” said Balkar Singh. Local resident Munsha said, “We have lived here for ages, but now we want our next generation to move out of here.” Moreover, the situation becomes grim during the monsoons, when the Sutlej floods the region. “During such times, boats are the only means of transportation as the region becomes cut-off from the rest of the state,” said Munsha, adding the politicians had done little to improve the scenario. Working in the fields under the close watch of gun-totting BSF personnel, these border folks do not have enough resources or skills to go and settle elsewhere. Moreover, the lure of becoming the proprietor of land that they have been tilling for ages urges them to stay here. “Badal sahib had promised to make us land owners but nothing has been done yet,” says Maggar, a poor farmer, who has two daughters. “Koi changa ghar vekh ke isda viah kar diyan bas (I am hoping to marry my elder daughter in a good household as soon as possible),” he said softly. However, affluent farmers do not have any problem in finding good matches for their children. Davinder, who runs a marriage bureau in the town, said affluent farmers had no problem in getting their children married as they could afford a handsome dowry. “It is the small and marginal farmers who struggle to marry off their offspring,” he added.
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Focus on people-to-people contact, say Pak pilgrims
Fatehgarh Sahib, December 31 Led by Prof Prem Singh Chandumajra, leaders of SAD (B) and SGPC, honoured Nusrat Ula Muzadid Cheema, the leader of the delegation and announced a grant of Rs 5 lakh for Urs on behalf of the Chief Minister. Cheema stressed on the need to strengthen people-to-people contact between India and Pakistan to maintain harmony. Impressed with
the hospitality extended to them by the administration, he further said
the visa norms should be relaxed. Peer Mohamad Hassnain Farooq Shah from Chula Sharif Dargah, Pakistan, said with Nawaz Sharif as the Prime Minister of Pakistan, the relationship between the two countries could mature.
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Public assets worth Rs 1,000 cr sold: RTI
Chandigarh, December 31 As per information sought under the Right To Information (RTI) Act, the Punjab Infrastructure Development Board (PIDB) auctioned old Amritsar Jail for Rs 152 crore, 25 per cent of which was paid by the bidders, of which 10 per cent was forfeited as the buyers refused to honour their commitment. Similarly, the Amritsar Development Authority sold government assets for Rs 348 crore from 2007 to 2013. A government guest house land at Kohara in Ludhiana was sold for around Rs 15.99 crore, of which the government received Rs 4.63 crore. The Canal Colony land in Bathinda, too, was auctioned for Rs 16.81 crore, of which the government received Rs 14.98 crore. Gurdaspur Jail land was sold for Rs 12.32 crore. The Patiala Development Authority transferred eight sites, including famous Rajpura Colony, 62 acres of PWD (B&R) near the Municipal Corporation, 90 acres of PWD’s department store and sub-divisional office, to the Punjab Urban Development Authority (PUDA) for sale under the OUVGL scheme. Other government properties that have been identified under the OUVGL scheme and transferred to PUDA include Old Tehsil Complex in Barnala, ‘kabari’ (junk) market in Patiala, Panch Ghar in Sangrur, Old Chief Engineer’s Office (PH) in Patiala and Shaheed Bhagat Singh Dhadowal Enclave in Amargarh.
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Funds not spent, Jairam writes to CM
Abohar, December 31 In his letter addressed to Punjab CM Parkash Singh Badal, Ramesh expressed concern over the state’s “poor response” on implementing the Centre’s Integrated Watershed Management Programme (IWMP), which amalgamates the earlier programmes relating to the development of drought-prone, desert and wasteland areas. The letter sent on December 30, the Minister sought to explain to Badal that the IWMP was launched in 2009-10 to restore the ecological balance by harnessing, conserving and developing degraded natural resources such as soil, vegetative cover and water. “The outcome is prevention of soil run-off, regeneration of natural vegetation, rainwater harvesting and recharging of groundwater. This enables multi-cropping and introduction of agro-based activities that help to provide sustainable livelihood to people living in the watershed area,” the letter stated. The Minister said barring Karnataka, the pace of implementing the IWMP in almost every state left much to be desired. Punjab’s allocation under the IWMP was ~243 crore between 2009-10 and 2013-14, but the state did not avail its share, the minister said in the letter, adding that in 2013-14, the Centre released ~29 crore, of which about ~12 crore lies unutilised. “Had Punjab honoured it commitment to implement IWMP, it could have got another Rs 41 crore more from the Centre over the past four years,” the minister said.
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PIMS docs hold candlelight vigil
Jalandhar, December 31 With the PSPCL snapping electricity supply to PIMS, the entire complex, including the girls’ hostel was engulfed in darkness, said Dr SS Sidhu, a doctor leading the agitation.
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5 jawans get 3 months’ RI for being absent from duty
Patiala, December 31 The Summary Court has ordered them “to be dismissed from service and to be reduced to rank”. The fate of other five jawans hangs in balance, as their court proceedings are pending. According to official documents, the convicted jawans are Asabe Ballal Babaso, Sandeep Kumar, Rathod Santosh, Ramendra Singh and Jagabandhu Das. The Summary Court Martial held them guilty under Sections 39 (a) (absenting himself without leave), 39 (d) (without sufficient cause failing to appear at the time fixed at the place appointed for duty) and 63 (an act prejudicial to good order and military discipline) of the Army Act. The Summary Court ordered them to undergo their sentence in a civil jail. Their sentence started on December 30. Sources in the Army said the soldiers of the 56 Armoured Regiment, stationed in Patiala as part of the Elite 1 Armoured Division, had left the unit without permission in October 2012, alleging that the Commanding Officer had ordered that they be punished for protesting against being forced to carry out certain “menial tasks” by some officers. The jawans had said that they left the unit and returned to their regimental centre in Ahmednagar. “Their (jawans) allegation could not be proved in the Summary Court,” a senior army officer monitoring the case said. Another officer said the jawans failed to prove their allegation and could not substantiate their absence from duty without leave. “The jawans were never ordered to perform menial tasks. Instead, they were asked to carry out basic duties of an armyman such as cleaning their personal weapons and undergoing battle physical efficiency test, which is required of all combatants,” he said.
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