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Political conferences on Gurta Gaddi Diwas
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Mid-term review of
SAD-BJP government: Economy
Police refuse to refuel escort vehicles of VIPs
Hostel declared unsafe, even before inauguration
BSA to set up cycle plant in Rajpura
Rent Act cases are back with judiciary
Threat call to Golden Temple manager
MLA-SDM spat: Badal orders probe
After month’s wait, family to get youth’s body from Libya
Train’s halt at Abohar revoked
Power officials held captive
Jyoti Nooran’s stay at protection home extended
Yannick case: Extradited youth sent to prison
Public property cannot be sold on basis of resolutions: High Court
Sukhbir moves HC against tax notice
Khalistani militant nabbed in UP
Liquor worth Rs 1.5 cr seized
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Political conferences on Gurta Gaddi Diwas
Khadoor Sahib, September 18 Talking to mediapersons on the sidelines of a political conference to mark Gurta Gaddi Diwas of Guru Angad Dev here, Badal said the Congress had “always adopted an anti-Punjab stance” due to which the state’s development had suffered. He claimed Punjab’s economy was affected adversely due to the Partition as well as militancy, but it allegedly received a fatal blow when the Congress granted industrial packages to neighbouring hill states. He said the move led to the exodus of industry from Punjab. The Chief Minister claimed the media had “misinterpreted” the letter written by Union Finance Minister Arun Jaitley. He said Jaitley had only referred to the issue of debt waiver for the state and revision of formula for recruitment in the Army. He said, in fact, Jaitley had approved several key projects for Amritsar. Taking a jibe at former Chief Minister Capt Amarinder Singh for his “prolonged absence” from Amritsar, Badal claimed while Jaitley was doing so much for the holy city despite his defeat, the “Lok Sabha MP who had been elected by the people was nowhere to be seen”. At the Congress rally, PPCC chief Partap Bajwa said Jaitley’s refusal to extend special package had “proved” that the NDA government, and not the previous UPA regime, had extended a raw deal to Punjab. He said the Akali Dal’s tall claims about Punjab benefiting immensely with the NDA’s return to power at the Centre stood “exposed” after Jaitley’s letter. The rally was organised by Congress leader Harminder Singh Gill. Bajwa said, “The Badals used to boast that the day NDA forms government, truckloads of money will start arriving in Punjab. Though this did not happen, truckloads of ill-gotten money earned from sand and drug mafia certainly has gone out of Punjab.” The PPCC chief claimed that Jaitley had not only denied package to Punjab, but had also sought details on how the state spent hundreds of crores allocated to it by the previous UPA regime. He also targeted Prime Minister Narendra Modi saying he hadn’t yet withdrawn the plea filed in the Supreme Court against the Punjabi farmers in Gujarat. Bajwa accused Badal of squandering public money to the tune of Rs 3,000 crore every year on Sangat Darshan. He said the Congress would order a probe into it once the party “formed” the government in 2017. He alleged this money was being embezzled. He also charged the Badal Government with frittering away the allocation of Rs 850 crore made by the UPA Government to the state to deal with waterlogging and floods. He sought white paper on the utilisation of these funds. The PPCC chief also accused the Badals of deliberately pushing the people of the state into the scourge of drug addiction under a “well-planned conspiracy”.
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Mid-term review of
SAD-BJP government: Economy
Chandigarh, September 18 The state, on an average, has been spending Rs 600 crore more than it earns. This mismatch has forced the government to “sell the family silver”. To meet its committed liabilities, Punjab raised a Rs 1,000 crore loan last year by mortgaging its properties (through the Punjab Urban Development Authority) with banks. During March 2012-March 2014, the state struggled to even pay salaries and pensions to its employees. No help from Centre The SAD-BJP government had been banking on a change of guard at the Centre to revive the state’s economy. It was hoping that a BJP-led government at the Centre would be more considerate to Punjab’s needs. It was this belief that made Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal seek a special package for Punjab as soon as the BJP government took over the reins of the country. But Union Finance Minister Arun Jailtley has turned down his request. Instead, he has asked the state to rationalise power subsidy, which is more than the state’s revenue deficit. He has suggested that the state should route its Rural Development Fund and the Punjab Infrastructure Development Fund (PIDF) through the state’s consolidated fund. Jaitley’s letter in this regard has kicked up a political storm, both within the government and between the ruling alliance and the Congress. As of now, the state has little hope of getting any kind of financial assistance from the Central Government. State Finance Minister Parminder Singh Dhindsa is now depending on the 14th Finance Commission. The state has sought a revenue deficit grant, based on its performance in reducing revenue deficit, some project-specific grants and a moratorium on payment of interest on loans. Dhindsa feels that his biggest success has been bringing down the revenue deficit and curtailing administrative expenditure. “Despite the huge establishment cost and arrears paid to employees, we have been able to bring down the revenue deficit this year from Rs 5,259 crore to Rs 4,252 crore,” the minister said. Lack of political will The SAD-BJP government focus has been on consolidating its vote bank and appeasing the voters rather than consolidating the state’s economy. In the past two-and-a-half years, no new taxes have been introduced. The burden of salaries and pensions has gone up (owing to the hike in yearly dearness allowance). Succumbing to vote bank politics, the government has been dithering on rationalising the existing taxes. The ‘sin’ tax on cigarettes, introduced in the Budget proposals 2013-14, has been done away with. New industrial investors’ contribution to the Punjab State Cancer and Drug Treatment Infrastructure Fund has been slashed from 1 per cent of the fixed capital investment to 0.25 per cent of the investment. Property tax, that was introduced last year, has been diluted at least twice ( it is expected to be pruned further) to appease the urban voters. These measures have been initiated even as the growth in VAT and stamp duty collection has been far less than expected. It is clear that the state’s avenues of earning are shrinking but the expenditure remains unbridled. Vote bank politics The Punjab government has been announcing sops despite empty coffers. Old age pension and widow pension has not been paid to the beneficiaries, money for pre-matric scholarships is yet to be released and the government has not honoured its election promise to give free laptops/tablets to students. In private, political functionaries admit that there is a need to give a massive push to the state’s revenue receipts. They say the only way forward is to increase revenue by plugging loopholes in the tax net. The mismatch
What experts say The way ahead is to curtail expenditure. Populist schemes can’t be run on empty coffers. The SAD-BJP alliance will have to draw the line and rise above vote bank politics. The emphasis should be on plugging loopholes in tax collection, especially in areas like transport (road tax) and revenue (stamp duty evasion). The government should stop subsidising the
rich The Punjab government should suspend its Sangat Darshan programme that has destroyed development institutions. If the state economy is to be improved, development institutions must be restored. Most government policies are flawed. To rectify these, economists must be taken on board. There is a need to improve revenue
collection. MinisterSpeak
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Police refuse to refuel escort vehicles of VIPs
Chandigarh, September 18 The VIPs were reportedly told that no supply of fuel was received at the Police Lines due to pending bills. The police already owed lakhs as fuel bills to petrol station owners. News reports from across the state in the past have revealed that the owners of most of the petrol stations have refused to refuel police vehicles. A number of Congress MLAs said there had been no reimbursement of their fuel bills for the past over six months. Some MLAs said the government vehicles, mainly Innova cars, provided to them were in bad condition and they had to get these repaired at their own expense. BJP MLAs and MPs have also complained of delayed reimbursement of their fuel bills. "We had to spend money from our pockets a number of times," said an MP wishing not to be quoted. "The Police Lines staff did not provide fuel to the escort vehicles provided to my security staff today," said Congress MP Ravneet Singh Bittu. MLA Raja Warring said the denial of fuel belied the government claims that the financial condition of the state was good. "Our fuel reimbursement bills are pending for the past six months. We are provided 500 litres of fuel every month. The government has not hiked the fuel limit or the salaries of the MLAs and now have to spend from our own pockets," he said. IGP (Provisioning) Khubi Ram said, "Some temporary glitch may be there regarding clearance of bills." Speaker Charanjit Atwal said, "MLAs and MPs get bills cleared by the government and no one has complained to me." Ishwar Jodh Singh Cheema, a Youth Congress leader, said, "The government keeps claiming that the state finances are strong, but they don't have money for even refuelling vehicles." He sought a government reply on the correct position of the state's fiscal health. The reaction The Police Lines staff did not provide fuel to the escort vehicles provided to my security staff
today. Our fuel reimbursement bills are pending for the past six
months. The government keeps claiming that the state finances are strong, but they don't have money for even refuelling
vehicles.
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Hostel declared unsafe, even before inauguration
Rupana (Muktsar), September 18 The building was constructed in 2011 and has been lying unused since. However, huge cracks have developed on its walls. The floor is also damaged. Some walls are even collapsing. Moreover, as it has not been occupied, it is proving to be a safe haven for unscrupulous elements. A visit to the hostel revealed that the building was in a poor shape, raising questions over the efficiency of the Public Works Department (B&R). Officials of the Education Department have reportedly declined to take over the possession of this building after terming it unsafe. At present, the school has a hostel for girl students of Classes VI to VIII. The new hostel was built for students of Classes IX and X so that they didn’t have to shift to other schools or look for private accommodation. However, even after spending such a huge amount, the purpose has not been achieved. Rajeev Chhabra, Principal, Government Girls’ Senior Secondary School, Rupana, said, “The Deputy Commissioner, Sub-Divisional Magistrate, officials from the DGSE office and the District Education Office have made a number of visits to the hostel building, yet nothing has been done. The building is crumbling further.” He added, “This hostel was built to provide accommodation to needy students, but the purpose has not been achieved. In such a scenario, students are taking admission at the school in Badal village as the lone government hostel for girl students of classes IX, X in the district is located there.” When contacted, Jaspreet Singh, Sub-Divisional Engineer, PWD (B&R), Muktsar, said, “The construction work had started in 2010 and it stopped in 2011 due to paucity of funds. Now, we are planning to repair the building with an aim of handing it over to the school authorities within this year.” He claimed, “The building is repairable as there is no major fault in the structure. It needs re-flooring and plastering and nothing else. The rise in water table had caused massive losses to the building post-2013 monsoon season.”
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BSA to set up cycle plant in Rajpura
Chandigarh, September 18 The Deputy CM held a meeting with investors in Chennai where the Muruguppa Group, which owns the BSA brand, committed to establish a manufacturing plant in Rajpura. Apollo will establish a state-of-the-art hospital at Amritsar. A government spokesperson said that Muruguppa Group Chairman L Ramkumar told the Deputy CM that the group had a tube-manufacturing facility in Mohali and wanted to set up a world-class bicycle and tube-manufacturing plant at Rajpura. Sukhbir said the new industrial policy, which allowed investors to retain 80 per cent VAT, would ensure competitiveness in the region and internationally. The spokesperson said a team from Apollo Hospitals would visit Punjab in a fortnight and that the Deputy CM had expressed willingness to allow the group to establish its own university in the state.
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Rent Act cases are back with judiciary
Chandigarh, September 18 The decision to withdraw the amended provisions came less than a year after the High Court stayed the process, about three days before these provisions were to be implemented. At that time, the High Court had made it clear that executive officers could not take over judicial functions which were to be performed by judicial officers. The order made it clear that the state at the highest level of Chief Minister should reconsider the policy from the standpoint of jurisdiction of rent authorities and the pendency of the writ petition should not be an impediment for the state to re-evaluate its notification. The court was today told that a notification had already been issued by the government, clarifying that subordinate judicial magistrates would be the first authority while the district judge would be the appellate authority. The amended provisions were to come into force from November 30 last year. The lawyers had staged protests against the move. The amendments were challenged by the Bar Council of Punjab and Haryana that filed a public interest litigation in the matter. Argued by Anmol Rattan Sidhu, the counsel had submitted that it was an “unconstitutional exercise of the state in overriding its powers vested by the Constitution in an attempt to alter the entire rent jurisprudence of Punjab primarily from the standpoint of jurisdiction”. Throwing a challenge to the amendment, the Bar Council had contended: “The government by an enactment and notification has appointed executive officers as rent authorities/rent controllers and also materially altered the structure of appellate courts by setting up appellate tribunals in Punjab”.
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Threat call to Golden Temple manager
Amritsar, September 18 Police Commissioner Jatinder Singh Aulakh said they were very close to tracing the miscreant. It was definitely not the handiwork of any terror outfit, he added. The police had been trying to trace the phone call made to the SGPC official. The accused would be arrested in the next couple of days, he added. The police yesterday carried out search operations in hotels and guest houses around the Golden Temple. Policemen in civvies were also deputed inside the shrine. The SGPC has banned handbags on the Golden Temple complex and heightened the vigil inside and around the shrine. The SGPC task force has been asked to be more cautious. SGPC hails FIBA move The SGPC on Thursday hailed the decision of the International Basketball Federation's (FIBA) to allow Sikh players sporting 'patkas' to play matches. In a statement released here today, SGPC chief Avtar Singh Makkar said they had taken up the matter with FIBA. He said FIBA's decision had been widely welcomed in Sikh circles. Aid for flood-hit The SGPC on Thursday dispatched yet another consignment of relief material for the flood-affected people of Jammu and Kashmir. The consignment comprised 40 quintals of ration and four truckloads of other relief material. SGPC secretary Manjeet Singh said the relief material for Kashmir was airlifted from the Amritsar airport.
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MLA-SDM spat: Badal orders probe
Chandigarh, September 18 A spokesperson said the inquiry was ordered after a delegation of the Punjab Civil Services Officers’ Association called on the CM. Earlier in the day, Paramjeet Kaur Landran, Chairperson, State Women’s Commission, said Nagra should apologise to the SDM. She said no one had the right to abuse an officer. Paramjeet said the incident was condemnable and added that she had also met the SDM, who had narrated the whole incident to her. She urged Deputy Commissioner Arun Sekhri to resolve the issue amicably. She said if the matter was not resolved, the commission would summon both the parties.
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After month’s wait, family to get youth’s body from Libya
Hoshiarpur, September 18 Gagandeep, a cousin of Ranjit, said, “An official of the Ministry of External Affairs called his parents and said the Libyan authorities and the Indian Embassy had informed them that Ranjit’s corpse was being sent.” His body will reach India on September 21. His parents have been asked to reach Delhi to receive the body.” Ranjit had gone to Libya about 18 months ago to earn a living. Ranjit, a youth from Talwandi Araian village of Hoshiarpur district, was the son of a former Army Subedar. His parents have been waiting for his body for over one and a half months. Earlier, they had called his company’s officials and the Indian Embassy several times but they were told that since the Tripoli airport had been blown off by anarchists, it would take some time to send the body. MP Avinash Rai Khanna had taken up the matter with the Ministry of External Affairs and assured the family that Ranjit’s body would be brought to India soon.
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Train’s halt at Abohar revoked
Abohar, September 18 Reacting strongly to the move, Consumer Movement chairman Satpal Khariwal, Railway Passengers Association (North Zone) secretary Hanuman Dass Goyal, Pal Sabha secretary Devinder Pal, Arhtia Association president Pramil Kalani, former member of Divisional Railway Users Consultative Committee Madan Lal Bhalotia, Sanatan Dharam Yuvak Sabha secretary Ankur Garg, Ram Natak Club press secretary Deepak Mehta and Aam Aadmi Party regional secretary Ashok Garg warned that the Railways had invited strong protests by discontinuing with the Sarai Rohilla train’s halt here. Leader of the Opposition Sunil Jakhar termed the decision as “unfortunate”, saying it would give a severe blow to the Railways since Abohar’s contribution to the rail revenue was Rs 6 crore annually. He said he would meet the Railway Minister in this regard. The train was launched in the national capital on January 5, 2011. It was flagged off the next day in Sriganganagar. Hundreds of commuters had earlier stopped trains in protest, questioning railway officials’ wisdom in not allowing the train’s halt here. After three months, the Railways converted the tri-weekly fully air-conditioned train into an ordinary passenger train, arguing that its occupancy was only 18 per cent. The occupancy improved to 48 per cent when the Railways allowed its halt at
Abohar.
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Power officials held captive
MOGA, September 18 The officials had gone there to check electricity meters. During a probe, it had come to light that power meters were being tampered with in the village.
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Jyoti Nooran’s stay at protection home extended
Chandigarh, September 18 The stay was extended till October 30 after her parents sought time to study the report. Before parting with the order, Justice Mann asked the couple whether they were facing any hardship during their stay, while making it clear that their status there was that of guests. The ossification test report indicated that Jyoti's age was around 17 years.
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Yannick case: Extradited youth sent to prison
Jalandhar, September 18 After his extradition from Australia on September 15, the court had remanded Jassa in two-day police custody to inquire about the whereabouts of the remaining two accused, Rommy Uppal and Rantaj Singh, said a police official. Sources said that Jassa did not appear to have any information about the two. They said during interrogation, Jassa had pleaded that he was innocent and that he had no role in the crime. He had told the police that he had reached the crime site only after the fight had ended.
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Public property cannot be sold on basis of resolutions: High Court
Chandigarh, September 18 The ruling by the Bench of Justice Hemant Gupta and Justice Mahavir S Chauhan came on the petition filed by Vijay Kumar against the State of Punjab and other respondents. He had challenged an order passed by the Punjab Director, Local Government, in December 2012, whereby allotment in pursuance of a resolution in his favour was found to be bad in law and cancelled. During the course of hearing, the court was also informed of another order issued in May this year for initiating proceedings to reject sale deeds vide which the plots were sold further. An employee of the Bareta Municipal Council, the petitioner was allotted a residential plot in the Municipal Council Employees Colony. Another resolution was later passed for allotting plots to Karam Singh and Kala Singh. In terms of the resolution, letter of allotment was not issued to the petitioner. However, the petitioner executed a sale deed, selling the plot even in the absence of an allotment letter. Some councillors filed a writ petition in the court alleging malpractices on behalf of the then council president and then executive officer. The court directed the Director, Local Government, to act as per law. The director later passed the impugned order. Refusing to interfere, the Bench asserted: "Mere fact that a resolution was passed by the municipal council, which was not set aside for a period of three years or so, will not confer any enforceable right in favour of the petitioner…. "We find that the petitioner, as an employee with the municipal council, could not draw illegitimate benefits from the council by misusing his status. Any public property could be disposed of only by adopting norms for sale of public property i.e. by auction or by allotment after inviting applications from general public…. "The council has not framed any scheme in consonance with the law to dispose of its land. The property of a public body can be sold only by inviting applications from a pre-defined class and not merely on the basis of resolutions.”
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Sukhbir moves HC against tax notice
Chandigarh, September 18 Sukhbir told the court that the assessing officer noticed that he too was a member of the Punjab Co-operative House Building Society with 95 members. The society was formed way back in 2000-01 by pooling in Rs 5 lakh each. The members were each entitled to a 500 sq yard plot. As per the agreement with Tata, each MLA was to get Rs 82.5 lakh and a flat each in lieu of their plot. Sukhbir added that the assessing officer, for the assessment year 2007-08, noticed that he had received Rs 15 lakh in view of the transfer of 3.08 acres. The capital gain was, thus, commuted on the proportionate amount of consideration received; and an assessment order was passed.
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Khalistani militant nabbed in UP
Chandigarh, September 18 An expert in making explosives, Rattandeep was wanted in several bomb blasts in Chandigarh and Punjab. Trained by Pakistan’s Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI), he was close to top Pakistani officials, said sources. A 19-member team of the State Special Operations Cell (SSOC), Amritsar, nabbed Rattandeep yesterday from Gorakhpur in Uttar Pradesh. He was remanded in police custody for 10 days. He planned to target a Hindu leader. The IG, Counter- Intelligence, Gaurav Yadav, said Rattandeep was a prize catch. “Arrested in 1996, he escaped from custody and moved to Pakistan. He was planning to strike during the festive season. We are trying to ascertain if any consignment of arms was smuggled into the state for the purpose.” Rattandeep belongs to Rohar village in Jind, Haryana. A police spokesperson said a police party headed by Inspectors Harvinderpal Singh and Balbir Singh worked in coordination with the UP Police and a central agency to nab Rattandeep. The latter had sneaked into India via Nepal on a Pakistani passport and an identity card in the name of Hussain Sheikh Zahid, son of Sheikh Nasiruddin. He was carrying both Pakistani currency (Rs 300) and Indian currency (Rs11,000). The police claimed that Rattandeep had attended meetings between Col Sahbaz Minhas of the ISI and Wadhawa Singh of the Babbar Khalsa International. He had planted explosives on a vehicle near the Amritsar Circuit House in May 2010. Rattandeep was wanted in connection with a scooter bomb blast at the Passport Office, Sector 34, Chandigarh (1999) in which four persons were injured. He also had a hand in the blast at the Railway Bridge, Panipat (1999). In 2011, the police announced a reward of Rs 10 lakh for anyone providing information about Rattandeep. The police said in March 1992, Rattandeep went to Thailand. From there, he shifted to Germany and then to Belgium. He arrived in Pakistan in March 1993 on a forged passport.
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Abohar, September 18 The police said 2,129 cartons of liquor had been concealed in specially designed chambers. Investigating Officers Narinder Poonia and Islam Khan said Sahib Singh and Dalbir Singh of Tarn Taran; Malkiat Singh Lobana and Gurvinder Singh of Kurukshetra; Hanuman Bishnoi and Raghunath Bishnoi of Barmer; had been arrested. They said the work had been given to them at a hotel in Abohar sub-division. — OC
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Rupana (Muktsar), September 18
Chandigarh, September 18
My biggest success has been bringing down the revenue deficit and curtailing administrative expenditure. Despite the huge establishment cost and arrears paid to the employees, we have been able to bring down the revenue deficit from ~5,259 crore to Rs 4,252
crore
The debt is becoming unsustainable. The SAD-BJP government is wrong in projecting that the debt is a legacy of the days of terrorism. The debt in March 1997 was Rs 15,000 crore. By then terrorism was over. The debt has increased to Rs 1,13,000 crore. The Centre is not willing to bail out the state. The Akalis should sacrifice a berth at the Centre and demand a fiscal
package.