Amritsar, February 21
With the state government extending the deadline for depositing the property tax time and again and various statement by political leaders making rounds, the residents have now become lax in making payment of their dues.

Local Body Minister Joshi issued a statement during a rally at Anandpur Sahib that property tax has been put on hold as of now and a review committee would be constituted to discuss its implementation.

This has resulted into a lax lax approach by the residents. There has been a sharp fall in the collection of property tax.

Even as the MC had identified 3 lakh units (40,000 commercial) in Amritsar urban area which shared the liability to pay the property tax, but still there are around 2 lakh residents (both residential and commercial) who are yet to pay their dues. The MC had expected Rs 40-50 crore-collection till March 2014.

Besides, introducing the facility of online acceptance through debit or credit card, the MC had initiated number steps to sensitise residents about paying the property tax. This exercise included awareness-cum-realisation camps in different parts of the city, erecting hoardings and billboards on the roadsides and in the inner localities to apprise the residents about the procedure and benefits of paying property tax.

The online facility had attracted huge number of applicants at one point of time as it had relieved them from the hassle of standing in long queues at the counters, but it too could not yield desired results.

On the other hand, the manual queues too got curtailed after the government's announcement to extend the deadline and the announcements to put a hold on property tax.

Officials pointed out that the government's repeated move to extend the deadline of depositing the property tax with rebate (December 15, December 31 and now March 31) had actually backfired in its mission to achieve its targeted amount.

Since September, when the process of collecting property tax actually started, a grace period of around 100 days was given to the residents.

MC Commissioner DPS Kharbanda said, "Taxes have to be paid as the MC's financial condition solely depends on the taxes which are its only source of revenue generation." "There has been no official communication about holding the property tax till date. But the announcement of extension of last date had definitely made people lethargic. We fear that with the last date of depositing tax approaching, we might be facing difficulty in coping up with the rush of applicants, as has happened in the past," he said.

Superintendent Shushant Bhatia said, "It is true that the collection went on deteriorating with each passing day. From crores, it has declined to just thousands. The irony is that most of the collections are in small denomination between Rs 50 and Rs 150," he said.

Amritsar, February 21
In around 1.25 lakh families, about 5.50 lakh beneficiaries, in Amritsar district would benefit from the revised Atta-Dal Scheme launched by Adesh Partap Singh Kairon, Food and Civil Supply Minister, here today. The minister launched the scheme from three constituencies, North, East and South.

Under the scheme, the government would provide wheat at Rs 1 per kg and pulses at Rs 20 per kg to the BPL families and the Blue Card holders. Earlier, the government used to provide wheat at Rs 4 per kg.

Talwinder Singh, District Food and Civil Supply Controller, said the department has enlisted around 1.25 lakh families having 5.57 lakh beneficiaries.

"Though there are some problems as the government has decided to provide the ration directly to the recipients albeit in the presence of departmental staff while concerned depot holders would also present," he said.

He said, "The department will not have any problem once the system is in place as it has sufficient time for the disbursal."

Kairon said the District food and Civil Supply Department would provide six months quota, including four months in advance (i.e. from December 2013 to May 2014) to the beneficiaries. Wheat and pulses would be provided in sealed bags which could be opened by the beneficiaries only and not by the ration depot holders.

He said the government would also provide fresh stock of wheat and pulses to the people. For this the state government would procure the requisite quota in advance from the Central Government.

He said making an amendment in the earlier Atta-Dal scheme, now all the family members have been entitled to purchase ration from the department. Earlier, only five persons of a family were allowed. He said, "The government is expanding the area by including more people under the scheme."

Amritsar, February 21
Price of sand is expected to fall by over Rs 500 in the retail market as the district administration is all set to open its sites for sale of sand on control rate at selected grain markets in the district.

The real estate market in the city in general and normal end users in particular have been facing difficulties in finding sand and that too on high rates for past sometime.

The rate of 100 cubic feet sand, which is currently available at around Rs 3,000 in the open market, would come down to about Rs 2,500.

District Mining Officer Surjit Singh, who also holds the charge of General Manager Punjab Industry department here, said, as per the new directives of the state government, Amritsar was allowed to procure sand from quarries of Hoshiarpur only. At quarries of Hoshiarpur, cost of 100 cubic feet sand is about Rs 1,500.

The District Transport Office (DTO) allotted the tender to a private firm to transport sand from quarries of Hoshiarpur to five selected grain markets in the district after evaluating tender bids on February 17.

DTO Rajat Oberoi said Rs 970 was the transport charges for 100 cubic feet of sand. It means that 100 cubic feet of sand would cost Rs 2,470 in the local grain markets.

With the objective of providing sand at control rate, the district administration has identified five spots where sand would be sold to public.

After consumers complained for being charged high rates of sand in the open market, the government devised a method of selling the same after auction. It has also been decided that which district would get sand from the quarries of another district.

Amritsar would receive sand from the quarries of Hoshiarpur. This district has got environment clearance for only one quarry situated at Wazir Bhullar village in Beas area. However, no longer the quarry can be mined as its permissible limit has already been realized. Mining limit of each quarry has been fixed and mining beyond it would attract strict action.

Revenue from the auction of quarries has been increasing steadily after the real estate boom in the state. It attracted the attention of sand mafia to pocket quick bucks.

The annual revenue from sand mining was Rs 54 crore during 2002-07 under the Congress rule when 527 quarries were being exploited. It jumped to Rs 154 crore during 2007-12 under the SAD-BJP rule when only half of the total quarries were being excavated.

Majority of the quarries in the district are located in the river bed of Ravi close to the India-Pakistan border. Since the rules to seek environment clearance for the quarries in the river bed have been changed the district mining office is currently engaged in identifying these quarries and preparing documents accordingly.

Amritsar, February 21
The much sought after Finance and Contract Committee (F&CC) meeting was conducted today to deliberate over various projects and seeking nod for releasing the development funds. However, the issue of maintenance and installation of streetlights were put on hold for a day.

The meeting chaired by Mayor Bakshi Ram Arora gave a green signal to various works , as recommended by the MLAs in their respective constituencies. The MC has already received funds to the tune of Rs 9 crore, out of total of Rs 15 crore as sanctioned by the government under this head. Similarly, the pending works worth Rs 30 lakhs in several wards through the respective councillors' commendation too were passed in the meeting. The funds for the same would be allocated shortly. Besides this, Rs 2 crore have been passed for refurbishing the public utility facilities at Company Bagh. Mayor Bakshi Ram Arora told that works pending on the Vidhan Sabha level and at the councillors'' level were lying pending for want of F&CC nod, as the meeting could not be held due to lack of requisite quorum.

"We have approved the fund allocation instantly for works, the tendering process of which was found to be in order. Eight wards were allocated Rs 5 lakh each instantly for local civil works like repairing of internal roads or mending water drainage passage etc. The 30-lakh development package too on the councillor's level too got the nod of F&CC and the funds would be allocated in a phased manner, as there remained some lacunae in the official formalities", he said. "Similarly, the garabge lifting trolley logistics were also finalised. At present, we were facing problem due to non-uniformity in the rates quoted by the private players.,” he said. — TNS

Amritsar, February 21
Reiterating their demand of relief package of Rs 781 crore, the All-India Terrorist Victims Association met the AICC General Secretary, Dr Shakeel Ahmad, and apprised him about the problems being faced by the victim families.

Shakeel Ahmad has forwarded their memorandum to Congress Vice-President Rahul Gandhi for the necessary action.

Dr B R Hastir, president of association, who was leading the five-member delegation, said they had earlier met the UPA Chairperson, Sonia Gandhi, in June 2006 and later Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh in September 2006 urging them to release a relief package for the families on lines of package provided to 1984 anti-Sikh riot victims.

They pointed out that Punjab government had recommended and proposed for a package of Rs 781 crore for the aggrieved families which were hit hard during heydays of the militancy as the bread earners were shot dead by the terrorists.

The association said same was pending with the Ministry of Home Affairs and nothing has been done in this connection so far.

They said in 2008, the Government of India formulated a policy "Central Scheme for Assistance to victims of Terrorist and Communal violence" but it was affected from March 1, 2008 while Punjab faced terrorism during 1982-1995.

The delegation urged Dr Ahmad to intervene in the matter and expedite the release of package.

The delegation also met Partap Singh Bajwa, president, PPCC, and Sunil Jakhar, leader Congress Legislative Party, who also supported the cause and extended their support in releasing the relief package and other benefits to terrorist victim families.

Happy faces: Students await their turn to get degrees during the convocation at Hindu College in Amritsar on Friday. Photo: Vishal Kumar

Dr Inderjit Singh, speaking about the harsh competition in today’s world, exhorted the students to do their best in their lives while relying on values such as honesty and integrity. The function ended with a vote of thanks.

Mother Tongue Day observed

DAV Public School observed ‘Maa Boli Diwas’ (Mother Tongue Day) today. Principal Dr Neera Sharma said the students participated in it with full zeal and enthusiasm. The Punjabi faculty of the school presented a special morning assembly on this occasion.

Head of the Department of Punjabi, DAV College, Dr Darshan Deep, was the chief guest on the occasion. He informed the students about the history of the Punjabi language and traced its ancient roots. He also spoke about the contribution of the Sikh Gurus who enriched the language with their hymns (Bani).

He discussed the importance of the mother tongue and advised the students to be proud of it. He sang a melodious song paying tributes to the Punjabi language.

Regional director, Amritsar Zone, Principal, BBK DAV College, Dr Neelam Kamra and manager of the school Dr KN Kaul, extended their best wishes to the students.

Cultural programme

A colourful cultural programme at Khalsa College of Education (KCE) marked the International Mother Tongue Day here today. The students presented a cultural show of dance, singing and a power-point presentation on the evolution and challenges before the Punjabi language and attracted huge applauds from the gathering.

Apart from the traditional folk songs and dance, the presentation, choreographed by Marcas Paul and Gurmel Shamnagar, particularly attracted the appreciation as the story and the songs brought forth the development of Punjabi since the times of Gurus and its present critical status.

Former Vice Chancellor, Guru Nanak Dev University, Dr SP Singh, who was the chief guest on the occasion, quoted a UNESCO report that if immediate steps were not taken then Punjabi language might eclipse from the globe.

Dr Singh, however, said we need not to be disappointed over the report as Punjabi language was progressing, which was evident from the fact that it is the second official language in some provinces in Canada and Singapore. He said the saviours of the Punjabi language were alert and it would continue to grow.

The dignitaries also released two new books ‘Goongi Cheekh’ and ‘Oathe’ written by young women writers Simranjot Mann and Raaz Kaur respectively. Dr Dhillon said the new books were a proof that substantial work on the language was being done and it had a great future.

Amritsar, February 21
The Punjab Social Welfare Department today held a state-level seminar at Guru Nanak Bhawan on the protection of civil rights and welfare of the Scheduled Caste and Backward Class people here today.

Cabinet Minister, Gulzar Singh Ranike presided over the seminar and informed the gathering about the various schemes launched by the Punjab government for the welfare of the people.

During the meeting he also distributed cheques worth Rs 4.50 lakh to the beneficiaries of the Shagun Scheme and to end the casteism, the Cabinet Minister also gave Rs 50,000 to the inter-caste couples, one of which belonged to the SC/BC category.

Ranike said the government was very serious for the upliftment of the SC/BC people and those belonging to the minority community. He said the government had launched a number of schemes for their social and economical welfare.

Prithi Chand, Director, Social Welfare Department, while addressing the gathering informed about various schemes initiated by the government for the welfare of the people belonging to economical weaker section of society. Prof Satnam Singh Deol of Guru Nanak Dev University detailed about the Civil Rights Safety Act.

Amritsar, February 21
A two-day national seminar on ‘Genes and Genomics’ was inaugurated here at Guru Nanak Bhawan Auditorium of Guru Nanak Dev University.

The seminar is being organised by the Department of Human Genetics of the university under the sponsorship of UGC and DST-PURSE.

As many as 50 delegates from various parts of the country are participating in it.

Dean, Research, All India Institute of Medical Science (AIIMS), New Delhi, Prof NK Mehra, delivered the keynote address on ‘Gains of Genomic Research: Opportunities and Challenges’.

Dean, Academic Affairs, Prof MS Hundal, presided over the inaugural session. Dr Vanita Kumar welcomed the chief guest and other delegates. Director of Research, Dr TS Banipal, along with other faculty members and a large number of students were also present on the occasion.

Dr Mehra threw light on the role of advancement of science on increasing the average life expectancy of humans. He said it had also been reported in a survey that females have an increased average life expectancy (63.9-69.6) as compared to males (62.3-67.3).

Prof Mehra said, however, with the advancement of science and technology, the infectious diseases have decreased as compared to the previous years, but at the same time the contemporary life style had also welcomed many diseases.

While talking about diabetes, Prof Mehra mentioned about the Raika community residing in Bikaner, Rajasthan, who, despite of having susceptible genotype towards developing diabetes, had no or negligible incidence of this disease. He said this could be attributed to their active lifestyle and staple diet including bajra and camel milk.

Prof Hundal said inspite of tremendous progress in the field of science and technology in our country, the western world was still leading due to society-based quality research.

Dr Banipal emphasised the practical applicability of synthesising and characterising molecules that is feasible after merging with human genetics to study their functionality.

In the technical session, Dr Dhavendra Kumar, University of Wales, Cardiff, United Kingdom, talked about the molecular perspectives of heart failure-implications in management. Dr RNK Bamezai from Jawahar Lal Nehru University, New Delhi, discussed the role of variations in human genome. He also detailed about the delineating genes and pathways in complex diseases like leprosy, breast cancer and type-2 diabetes. Dr Reena Das from the PGIMER, Chandigarh, delivered a lecture on haemoglobinopathies and explained how abnormal haemoglobin could lead to abnormalities in humans. Dr Saroj Kant Porichha, application scientist, Leica, New Delhi, talked about automation in the cytogenetics field.

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