Jalandhar, April 23
While the Centre and the state governments are going gaga over the development works carried out by them to woo the voters, 2,711 of 3,675 beneficiaries in the city’s slum areas have been waiting for the grant to construct roofs of their houses for a year.

Forced to brave the vagaries of weather, the slum dwellers are either living in roofless houses or putting up at a neighbour’s or relative’s place. Their houses have no toilet or kitchen, making the lives of women miserable. The Municipal Corporation had demolished their houses to replace them with a concrete structure. The operation was to be carried out in phases but now they are struck midway.

The harsh reality

A visit to the house of Jai Narayan at Kot Ramdas near Ladhewali presents a picture of pity. The beneficiary, who is an old man, lies on a cot under a tarpaulin-covered room while his family is away to earn a living. The house has an open toilet and a kitchen. He said, “I got a cheque for Rs 28,000 in 2008 after completion of the foundation work. I, somehow, managed to raise the walls of the room but no money was paid for this. All my clothes, beddings and other household items get wet during rain. I purchase tarpaulin sheets after every three months. Every time I ask for the money, I was told that my case has been forwarded. We are living like this for the past six years.” “I will teach the political leaders a lesson in these polls,” he added.

Deepo, a resident of Jallowal Abadi, says, “We are a family of six. We are being forced to live in a small room for the past eight months. My son and daughter-in-law are living at our neighbour’s house. A year ago, my house was pulled down by the MC. After the first instalment of Rs 1.2 lakh, we got nothing.

Beneficiary dead, no further payment

The story of Mamta and her family in Kot Ramdass is even more tragic. Her mother Kulwinder was a beneficiary under the scheme. The family kept waiting for the second instalment for long, but it did not come. In the meantime, the beneficiary was diagnosed with cancer and remained on the bed for long. Her husband, who worked as a painter, got a temporary wooden roof constructed so that his wife could, at least, live her last days comfortably. She is no more and their case remained in the files. There is a pile of bricks outside their house, which they had purchased for the construction of the house.

Parkasho at Jallowal Abadi near Buta Mandi said, “My husband Sharda Ram was the original beneficiary. We were told to demolish our house. We laid the foundation of the house and put up our case before the authorities. In the meantime, my husband passed away. It has been over a year that we are living in a small dingy room, waiting for the grant. My daughter and I have been forced to use an open toilet, which is humiliating. We really do not know what to do,” said the elderly woman. Her daughter Sushma works at a factory.

527 denied installment

Even worse is the situation of nearly 527 beneficiaries. They completed the construction on their own by borrowing money from money lenders or friends. The Ministry of Housing and Urban Poverty Alleviation has outrightly rejected such cases as it demanded photographs of the construction work at the previous phase and a report of the staff of the B&R Department before sanctioning the instalment. Though the municipal corporation has routed their case through the House, there is no hope for such persons. The ministry argued that such families were financially able to raise their own houses.

Current status of scheme

The scheme was launched six years ago and Rs 42.2 crore was approved for it by the Centre. Concrete houses were to be constructed for 2,300 slum dwellers under an integrated housing slum development plan. The scheme envisaged the construction of concrete houses with kitchens and toilets besides extending sewerage, road and streetlight facilities to the slum dwellers. Under the scheme, a beneficiary was to bear 16 per cent of the construction cost and the rest was to be contributed by the Centre and the state governments. The state’s share in the housing project is 10 per cent. The state was to bear 30 per cent of the cost on infrastructure development. While 22 slums area were included under the scheme initially, five slums at Kot Sadiq, Togri Mohalla, Dr BR Ambedkar and Sabowal were dropped from the scheme as the land belonged to the government.

Till now, Rs 3.57 crore and Rs 9.19 crore have been given by the Centre for the first and second phases ,respectively. This amounts to 50 per cent of the estimated cost. The state has released its first share of Rs 1.14 crore and a second of Rs 44.7 lakh. The MC received Rs 3.4 crore after the implementation of the poll code. Thus, a total of Rs 14.35 crore has been spent on the scheme and only 965 beneficiaries have received the full grant while 2,711 beneficiaries have been left in the lurch.

Certificates still to be distributed

Interestingly, political leaders are playing politics over the issue. The state government had decided to distribute 53 certificates to slum dwellers at Kot Ramdas a few days ahead of the poll code but BJP councillor Sudesh Rani did not let this happen. “How can we play a cruel joke on slum dwellers by giving them wadhai patars (congratulatory certificates) for the completion of the construction work when they did not get the full payment?” The payment is yet to be made and the certificates are still to be distributed.

MC proposes 445 houses under new housing project

The Rajiv Awas Yojna (RAY), an improvised version of the previous slum development scheme, is yet to see the light of the day. The Jalandhar MC claims to have sent a proposal to the Centre to include 445 beneficiaries from nine slums in the city under the scheme. Rupees 12.45 crore are expected to be spent on the project.

What councillors say

Councillor Sudesh Rani of BJP said she was still fighting for the right of the residents of Kot Ramdass. “I had raised their issue in the MC House after which they received some relief. Some payment has recently been made to the beneficiaries,” she said.

Meanwhile, Congress councillor Surinder Kaur alleged, “The state government has played havoc with the lives of the poor by diverting the funds to other schemes. The Centre has been giving payments on time but the state government fail to make the payment in time.”

What authorities say

Project in-charge and XEN of the MC Gurcharan Singh said the case of the residents of Kot Ramdass was delayed due to the fighting between the leaders of the area. “The area JE retired and nobody replaced him. The SDO was promoted and now we have no JE or SDO to take up their case,” he said. 

Jalandhar, April 23
Though the Chief Electoral Officer, Punjab, in a conversation with The Tribune, had said that the contractual staff would not be assigned election duty, the decision has been upheld for now due to the shortage of regular employees.

According to the Election Commission of India (ECI) guidelines, contractual employees cannot be assigned poll duty. The CEO’s decision has dashed the hopes of over 300 contractual employees in the district.

The contractual staff on poll duty in the district includes over 300 SSA contractual teachers. The CEO has given some interesting reasons to keep the contractual staff on duty in a letter to various deputy commissioners.

In the letter issued on April 12, 2014, the office of the CEO had stated "In the past five years, a large number of teachers have been recruited on contractual basis. Some of these teachers will be regularised in future. The contract of the other teachers is extended every year. These teachers are working continuously as regular teachers against the sanctioned strength in their schools. They are for all practical purposes as good as regular teachers. They are in large numbers and removing them from election duty at this point of time will create huge logistic problems."

Meanwhile, members of the SSA/RMSA Teachers' Union, Jalandhar, said, “The argument that we are working as regular teachers against the sanctioned strength in our schools, is wrong. In the Education Department records, our posts are shown as vacant. I am the head teacher of my school but my post is shown as vacant in the records as I am a contractual employee. I have been given the duty of a presiding officer and have to co-ordinate over the phone. While regular teachers get telephone allowance every month but the facility has not been extended to me. Throughout the year, we face discrimination, but for the election duty, we are equated with regular teachers because the government needs us.

”VK Singh, CEO, Punjab, said, “These teachers are as good as regular teachers and they will be regularised in future.” When asked that their posts were being shown as vacant in the Education Department's records, he said, “If the Election Commission falls short of staff in a state, we can depute private staff. These teachers are needed for the electoral process. Many of the teachers deputed on poll duty in the state are para teachers. The government will regularise them in future. We will extend all allowances, we are supposed to provide. But they will be regularised only by the government.”

official stand In the past five years, a large number of teachers have been recruited on contractual basis. Some of these teachers will be regularised in future. The contract of the other teachers is extended year after year. These teachers are working continuously as regular teachers against the sanctioned strength in their schools. They are for all practical purposes as good as regular teachers. They are in large numbers and removing them from election duty at this point of time will create huge logistic problems ceo’s letter to district electoral officers what teachers say The argument that we are working as regular teachers against the sanctioned strength in our schools, is wrong. In the Education Department records, our posts are shown as vacant. I am the head teacher of my school but my post is shown as vacant in the records as I am a contractual employee. I have been given the duty of a presiding officer and have to co-ordinate over the phone. While regular teachers get phone allowances every month, the same facility has not been extended to me. Throughout the year, we suffer discrimination, but for the election duty, we are equated with regular teachers because the government needs us. Members of the SSA/RMSA Teachers' Union, Jalandhar

Jalandhar, April 23
Nowadays, the state is facing stagnation in the agriculture sector. Due to long power cuts, unexpected rain and in the absence of a special price for high-quality agriculture produce, the debt-ridden farmers in the state are being forced to sell their crop at "throwaway" minimum support price (MSP) decided by the Centre. When we visited various grain markets in the district, very few farmers were found there at the time of the auction and lifting of their produce.

"Farmers rely on us to get the minimum support price (MSP) for their produce. For this, they leave their produce with commission agents without bothering about its moisture content or auction," said Aseem Chabra, deputy general manager, Food Corporation of India.

However, farmers have a different story to tell. "Assi ethe khalo ke ki karna e? Assi tan ethe kanak suttan aaye haan. Sarkaaran ne saanu es joga chadiya hi kitthe eh tan jo aapan ehnu vechiye. (What will we do by standing here? We have come here to throw the crop.The government has done nothing that we could sell it)," said Gurmukh Singh of Salamepur village. He said as farmers do not get more than the MSP, they were not interested in the auction of their produce. Many farmers arrived at a grain market much later after the commission agents auctioned their crops after checking moisture in them.

The farmers are in a state of disarray in Punjab for the past decade. Although the state government contends that the state has surplus power, the ground reality is different. "Mostly, free electricity is available from 8 pm to 8 am. Does the government want us to remain awake the whole night after having a tiresome day in the fields? We use generators to irrigate our fields." said Balwinder Singh, a farmer from Samrama village.

The MSP system has made the farmers' condition precarious. Now, they grow wheat and rice only. Presently, they have very little access to the market due to their financial condition and lack of awareness. On the other hand, due to rising subsidy bill and inadequate investment, natural resources such as water are depleting. The rising input cost has made farming unsustainable. According to a survey carried out by the International Food Policy and Research Institute, New Delhi, last year, the consistent production of paddy in the state has lowered water table and it goes down by15 centimetres every year. 

Jalandhar, April 23
Suspecting its use in the forthcoming polls, the Basti Bawa Khel police seized 506 cases of liquor this morning.

The police have arrested the canter driver and his interrogation is still on.

ACP Harjit Singh and SHO Sukhjit Singh said the police had spotted the canter (PB-10-DS-1892) at a turnaround near Wariana village. They said the driver tried to run away. The police managed to stop the vehicle, after which the driver said he was transporting liquor from Pathankot to Kapurthala.

Sour over the stiff action by the police and the excise officials for the past few weeks owing to the polls, some contractors in the city have decided to go on a strike. Vends registering high sales outside the bus stand in day, were today found shut owing to the protest. — TNS

Jalandhar, April 23
In politics since his student days, BSP candidate from Jalandhar parliamentary constituency Sukhwinder Singh Kotli (56) joined student politics at the age of 28. Now a state general secretary and chief spokesman of the party, he claims to enjoy support not only among the Dalits but also in many areas that have primarily a Jatt population. Having taken away 25,500 votes (more than double the votes that the previous BSP candidate took) during the 2012 Vidhan Sabha polls, Kotli has a substantial base in the constituency.

He rubbishes and is upset at the criticism that he is there to divide the votes of certain parties and says his ultimate goal is to serve the people who are tired of the failure of the government to deliver. In between his strict 7 am to 10 pm routine tour of his constituency and conversation with the electorate, he lays bare his plans for his constituency if he wins.

Jalandhar lags behind most other neighbouring cities in the field of development. Which are the areas where lack of development bothers you?

The primary step which acts as a foundation for all things else is education. In Punjab, schools are being closed and education is either not affordable or too basic where it is affordable. Problems like bad development, bad roads, poor water supply, lack of industries and a number of other problems will be solved only if the right minded educated people handle things.

What is your plan to resolve the problems of the local industry, including the sports goods manufacturing, pipe fitting, hand tool and leather industry?

Be it leather, sports goods manufacturing or hand tool industry, the small-scale industry is buried under the pressure of various taxes and undue pressures. Unreasonable VAT is being levied on industrialists. In summers, there are long power cuts which people are not prepared to cope with. Banks do not provide loans and as far as workers are concerned, they don't even get insurance or allowances if they are hurt or sick. Leave alone profits, the industry can't survive in such an environment. I will make sure that the first thing I do is to relieve industrialists as well as workers of these little pressures which weigh them down.

Unemployment is also directly or indirectly linked with industry. So many unemployed youth roam the streets earning nothing. If all these are absorbed into the industries, it will be two-fold growth. I will also make sure that my district makes good use of Central projects to facilitate industrial growth in Jalandhar.

What are your plans for providing quality education to the students?

The present government is closing down so many schools. If the student strength is less than 20, the school closes. What about those 20 students? Students can't be failed till class VIII. On top of it, the money for the post-matric scholarship is not reaching many colleges. I have personally sat on a dharna outside many educational institutes to ensure that students are provided their due. We never got the details of where the money went. I have made many students sit in exams and even took the matter to the court.

But the biggest of all ills in the present day education system is commercialisation. It creates a huge gap between the haves and have-nots. The education system can't be revived unless all the students study in a similar atmosphere. So, the foremost need would be to bring all students to one level. Government education should be on par with commercial education. My priority would be to reduce this gap and work to lower the fees.

Government hospitals and infrastructure is largely in a shambles. What will you do about the revival of the healthcare system?

From medicines to health infrastructure, patients have largely been denied all facilities. Patients do not get medicines. Treatment is costly. Schemes are not implemented. I have a list of cancer patients from various villages who applied for relief from the CM's Cancer Relief Fund but never got it. I myself pursued their cases, later on finding upon enquiry that their files were not found. My top priority would be to ensure that patients get medicines and services under all the schemes declared by the government and that they do not have to run from pillar to post for simple or specialised treatment and medicines.

The issue of health and erratic water supply is closely related. While water supply is faulty at many places, it has also caused an outbreak of water -borne diseases at some places. How do you plan to fix that?

Water is the lifeline for we humans. Water supply is poor at many places and is closely linked with poor sanitation, causing outbreak of diseases in both villages and cities. I have been a sarpanch of my village Kotli Than Singh and while on the surface, the World Bank funds made its way to the state government through the Centre, the panchayats got nothing. We had to wait for ages for simple repairs. My thrust would be on completion of long -pending sewerage treatment plants in the district, ensuring the proper flow of funds right till the panchayat and locality levels. All efforts will be made to ensure that cities inundated during the rains and outbreaks of hideous water-borne diseases are history.

The long-pending proposal for a sports hub is yet a dream. What are your plans about reviving the sports boom in schools and infrastructure in general?

I have a stadium in my village and money is pooled in through the NRIs to ensure that tournaments are held. Quality sports has to start right at the school level. They are part of a healthy educational experience. Sports would be made compulsory under me and various tournaments and games will be encouraged in the village and city schools. Taxes will be reduced in the sports industry as well to ensure the proper growth of the industrial aspect of sports as well.

Pollution is a big problem for the residents here. Punjab Pollution Control Board (PPCB) has not been able to check the problem. How will you deal with this problem?

The government said it is making strict laws against pollution. Till date, not a single case has been registered against any of the polluting units in the district even as ground, water and air pollution continue to ruin the environment. Strict implementation of laws to counter pollution will be my first priority in this field. There will be no compromise with any party which pollute the environment. I will also find means to counter the indiscriminate use of fertilisers which are polluting the soil and the groundwater.

Your plans to counter the drug problem in your constituency?

There are a number of villages where a serious drug problem has been encountered. The sad plight of the youth of a village near Puranpur, Shekhe village, the border belt of Shahkot, needs to be paid attention. I have reviewed the condition of many of these villages and will be discovering others during my visits. The government has destroyed the fabric of the youth of the land of Gurus. We shall be providing them with employment and will work to rehabilitate all those affected by the drug menace.

Are you planning any project or educational, industrial hub for Jalandhar?

I do plan a Government College which will provide education in technical, art and science disciplines at cheaper rates. It will be a place where poor students will be able to get specialised education without worrying about the costs. My larger plans for the city also include rendering the city green. Grey and concrete heavy patches will be beautified and lots of greens will be planted across the city. A person entering the city will be greeted by greens, not concrete.

Jalandhar, April 23
Students, teachers and other faculty of Maharaja Ranjit Singh Regional Campus of Guru Nanak Dev University in Jalandhar have been facing hardships to reach the university campus on time due to non-availability of public transport.

Teachers of the regional campus said there was a drop of nearly 15 per cent in admissions in the university due to the non- availability of proper mode of conveyance.

Dr Namrta Joshi, Professor in the Department of Journalism and Mass Communication, said, “When students find the location away from the main city and there is no public transport in the area, they just step back from considering this a university. However, the university already has two buses of its own, but the timings of these buses do not suit a majority of the students and staff.”

Gaurav Kaul, an LLB student, said he belonged to Goraya. He said he spent less time while travelling from Goraya to PAP Chowk than from PAP Chowk to the university, which was at a distance of less than 10 km.

“I wake up at 6 am in order to attend the morning lecture, which starts at 9:30 am,” said Gaurav.

Neesha Puri, an LLB student, who lives in the centre of the city, said she had to change more than four means of transport to get to the university on time due to lack of a proper conveyance from the city centre to the university. “There are no fixed charges of autos. They charge as per their whims. Lack of conveyance leads to acute wastage of time and money,” said Neesha.

Dr Kamlesh Singh Duggal, Associate Dean Academic Affairs and Student Welfare, said he had been receiving complaints of non-availability of means of transport.

Earlier, there was only one bus, but now the university had two buses, said Dr Duggal. “It is difficult for students, girls in particular, to travel. Students have to spend a huge sum on their transportation. I am planning to take up the matter with the Jalandhar Municipal Corporation (JMC),” said Dr Duggal.

Jalandhar, April 23
Dairy farming in the region is on the decline due to lack of maintenance of foreign breed cows. Many farmers in the region have left dairy farming because they find the venture no more lucrative. The reason behind giving up the profession is that the mortality rate of foreign bred cows has gone up considerably due to difference in the weather conditions.

As per the information provided by the Dairy Farming Department, nearly 50 dairy farmers have quit the profession. There are as many as 20 farmers in the district, who have 50 to 100 cattle heads. The number of such farmers was 35 last year. Apart from this, there are less than 50 farmers, who have five to 10 cattle. The number of such farmer was more than 70 last year.

A dairy farmer from Sahariwal village in Nakodar tehsil, who has given up this profession, said he started dairy farming around five years ago with more than 45 cows of foreign breed. All was well at that time. But later, the cows started dying. “I called a doctor from the local veterinary hospital. He could not save the cows. However, he tried his best. I gave up this profession one year ago. I think we cannot afford the kind of diet such cows need,” he added.

Speaking to The Tribune, Surinder Singh, Dairy Director, Jalandhar, said dairy farming in the region was on the decline. The reason was that the farmers did not get remunerative price for the milk. The government had so many schemes to promote dairy farming in the city. “I think the problem in Doaba region is that they want to migrate to foreign countries by hook or by crook rather than work here,” added Surinder.

Jalandhar, April 23
On the occasion of World Earth Day celebrations at Pushpa Gujral Science City yesterday, a special lecture was organised on ‘Unmanned autonomous system for snow-geo- intelligence, earth observations and situation awareness’.

Next generation unmanned air vehicle (UAV) technology developed by the Snow and Avalanche Study Establishment (SASE) has made possible the mapping and metrological data analyses of high altitude snow-capped Himalayan mountains. Earlier, it was difficult to map mountainous areas as the task was undertaken manually in treacherous inhospitable terrains. Despite the use of satellites, it was difficult to get accurate data due to multi-facade terrain and complexities involved in pinpointing the area.

Speaking on the occasion, Jimmy Kansal, Deputy Director, SASE, said these UAVs provided geo-intelligence in the higher reaches of the Himalayas with better spatial, spectral and temporal resolution.

On the occasion, Dr RS Khandpur, Director General, Pushpa Gujral Science City, said, “Every year, April 22 is celebrated as ‘Earth Day’ to increase public awareness about the environment. Earth Day should be used as a powerful catalyst to involve people in making a difference towards a healthy, prosperous and sustainable future. The celebration reminds us of protecting the Mother Earth in every possible way.”

“If we all put our best foot forward to stop the rampant global warming, we can certainly have a better future. To create awareness among the masses about climate change, which is widely recognised as a major environmental challenge faced by our planet Earth, PGSC has set up a unique Climate Change Theatre in the Science City. The theatre provides a unique experience by showing videos on two screens — flat and dome shaped — and illuminates the static and moving objects along with special light and sound effects, as the video displays storyline of the film. The 25 minute film explores what a worst-case future might look like if humans do not take action on current or impending problems that can threaten civilization,” added Dr Khandpur.

He said, “In a country like India, we not only need development but sustainable development. Natural resources, including water and energy, should be used in a way that our next generation can get benefit out of it. In order to get optimum results, general awareness should be created.” “Apart from this, we have developed a Mobile Science Exhibition to create awareness about prevalent environmental issues among masses at the village level,” added Dr Khandpur.

Various competitions like painting, photography and science play were also organised on the occasion by Science City in which more than 300 students from different schools and colleges participated. Prizes were also distributed among the winners of different competitions.

Jalandhar Tribune invites feedback from its readers on issues of public concern relating to Jalandhar, Phagwara, Kapurthala and the nearby areas. Readers can email their views to jalandhar.feedback@gmail.com

They can also send their views to: Feedback, Jalandhar Tribune, Sector 29, Chandigarh - 160029. Letters sent by post must mention 'Feedback for Jalandhar Tribune' on the envelope and it should be signed and must contain the address and telephone number of the sender. It should not be more than 150 words.