Safai karamcharis fling water bottles across the room as they try to stall the MC House meeting in Jalandhar on Tuesday. Photo: Sarabjit Singh

Jalandhar, November 4
As Mayor Sunil Jyoti had convened the Municipal Corporation (MC) House meeting today after a gap of more than nine months, high drama prevailed with safai karamcharis barging in right at its start and Congress councillors too walking out to show their solidarity with them.

The meeting went on for about 30 minutes during which high-voltage protests continued, making all official announcements completely inaudible. The scene turned chaotic as safai karamcharis and Congress councilors, including Senior Deputy Leader of Opposition Des Raj Jassal, Gurwinder Kaur Mintu and Tarsem Lakhotra, stood up on tables to make their voices heard. Partly consumed mineral water bottles were flung across by those lodging their protests. Sloganeering against one another and use of abusive language was rampant during the course of the meeting.

The meeting had been called for 3.30 pm. Most councilors, including Mayor, Senior Deputy Mayor Kamaljit Bhatia and Deputy Mayor Arvinder Kaur Oberoi, had already settled in the meeting hall by the time. The safai karamcharis kept on trying to enter the building but were not allowed to do so by the police personnel deployed at either of the two gates. However, their union leaders were already present inside the building and had been trying to get into the meeting hall on the second floor.

How it all began

At 3:35 pm as some councillors were still coming in, about 25-30 union leaders, including Pawan Baba and Chandan Grewal, managed to enter the hall, raising slogans against Local Bodies Minister Anil Joshi, Mayor Sunil Jyoti and the SAD-BJP government. The safai karamcharis said they would not let the meeting take place till the time they were assured that the Solid Waste Management Project, which is scheduled to be launched tomorrow is put off.

Chandan Grewal told the councillors, “Please tell us who among you are with us on the issue?” at which Congress councillors led by Jassal said, “Our party stands by you”. As the Mayor kept on telling them to move back, they refused to leave. The flashpoint came as SAD councillor Balbir Bittu began an argument with safai karamcharis which did not go down well with them and they reacted by standing on tables, flinging water bottles across and even threatening him to be hit by chairs.

Khehra takes over as MC Commissioner

The situation was set to go worse as Gurpreet Singh Khehra, Chief Administrator, PUDA, who was today given the additional charge as MC Commissioner stood up, took the mike in his hand and addressed safai karamcharis, “It is my first day in the office. I want to have a discussion with you. Please come out and see me in my office.” As he left the meeting, the safai karamcharis too went out, but chose not to go to his room.

Bhatia, Ravi spring surprise

As the safai karamcharis left the hall, the councillors ensured that their high-pitch battle continued. Bhatia and BJP councillor Ravi Mahendru, who are often seen to be opposing Mayor in the meetings, today sprung a surprise and came to the Mayor’s, support provoking the Congress to either settle down or walk out. Ravi Mahendru kept on chanting, “Either take back your boycott call or move out.” The Congress councillors, who perhaps were in a mood to settle down and pose tough questions to the Mayor, were literally forced to walk out owing to the continuous sloganeering.

Congress stays back, maintains pitch

As the Congress councillors decided to walk out, the agenda branch officials started reading items and the ruling alliance councillors started passing most resolutions. The Congress councillors, however, did not go out but kept creating noise and raising slogans against the SAD-BJP government. They stood up on chairs, kept banging tables and screaming on mikes as the Mayor started making some announcements.

Monthly house meeting on every last Friday: Mayor

The Mayor made two announcements that there would be a monthly meeting of the House every last Friday of the month. He also announced that for all the proposals regarding land acquisition, an ad hoc committee would be set up to look into the matter. The three land acquisition proposals in the agenda included those for 3 acre additional land around the Wariana garbage dumping site, 25-acre alternative land for setting up a solid waste energy plant and another site for immunisation and sterilising stray dogs.

Cong councillors term meeting invalid

Terming today’s House meeting as null and void, the Congress councilors, led by Jassal, said since Commissioner Khehra had left the House before any agenda items could be read and passed, the quorum was not complete and, thus, all resolutions cleared were invalid. Khehra, who had his first stint on the post today, said he was not aware of such a regulation. “I only know that had I not gone out and taken all safai employees along with me, the situation could have gone out of control,” he said.

Attendance

The MC staff had managed to take attendance of the present councillors just in time. A few who came late by 10 minutes or so, however, could not mark their presence. The attendance register had 48 signatures after the House had been called off.

After House, separate meetings begin

Soon after the House proceedings wound up in about 30 minutes, separate meetings began in the MC office. The safai karamcharis held a meeting with Mayor Sunil Jyoti, pressing him to withdraw the decision. The Mayor tried to put them on line with Local Bodies Minister Anil Joshi, but he was perhaps busy in the party’s core committee meeting in Chandigarh today. The councillors of the ruling alliance kept interacting in the Mayor’s meeting hall. The Congress councillors sat down narrating their own agenda.

Jassal said, “We are not against the implementation of the solid waste management project, but we want the authorities to implement it the right way. The site for the project is being changed at a time when the NOCs from all departments are clear for the Jamsher site. Changing the site at this stage would mean getting NOCs from all departments all over again for a new site.”

Security lapses

All those who attended the meeting today were of the opinion that there had been serious security lapses and the police did not play its role well. Even as about 100 police personnel, including ACP Dev Dutt Sharma and Rama Mandi, SHO Vimal Kant were present in the MC office, the safai karamcharis managed to reach the meeting venue and created ruckus for as long as they wanted.

The women councillors said they got much disturbed at the turn of events. Arvinder Oberoi, Kanchan Sharma, Sulekha Bhagat and other women councillors went to meet Commissioner and said that they really got scared at the turn of events today.

Jalandhar, November 4
Suspecting non-compliance of the Employees Provident Fund and Miscellaneous Provisions (EPF & MP) Act, the regional Employees Provident Fund Office (EPFO) has issued notices to the Indian Railways. Notices have been issued as the PF department was suspecting that contractors engaged by the Railways were not extending the social security benefit i.e. PF contribution to its employees which is a glare violation of the EPF & MP Act. Notices were issued to Assistant Divisional Engineer (ADEN), Civil, Jalandhar Cantonment and Health Inspector, Indian Railways, Jalandhar.

The Railways has come under the PF Department scanner as it outsources various works like catering, cleanliness, watchguard, data entry etc to private contractors. Confirming this, PF Commisisoner Dheeraj Gupta said notices were issued because as per Para 30 of the EPF benefits scheme, the Railways, being the principle employer, was also responsible for the extension of the EPF benefits to the employees engaged by its contractors. Paragraph 30(3) of the Employees Provident Funds Scheme, 1952, provides that it shall be the responsibility of the principle employer like the Railways to pay both the contribution payable by himself in respect of the employees directly employed by him and also in respect of the employees employed by or through contractors.

The PF Commissioner said the Railways had been directed to ensure that the EPF benefit was extended to employees engaged by contractors and submit a detailed reply in this regard in a specific format, including the name of the contractor, EPF code number, nature of work allotted to contractor through tender or directly, amount involved, number of employees employed by or through contractor in a specified period.

Notably, the provision of contractors in the Railways was added after the PF Department raised the issue before the railway board that employees engaged by private contractors were not being given their due benefit of the PF contribution.

Jalandhar, November 4
Punjab Roadways Joint Action Committee in meeting has decided to organise a protest in the home constituency of Punjab Transport Minister Ajit Singh Koharh at Shahkot on November 22.

It has been decided in a meeting that a series of protests will be launched to get their demands fulfilled. Gate rallies in across 18 depots of Punjab Roadways will be organised on November 13; on October 20, effigies of Punjab Government will be burnt at the bus stands and on November 22, a massive protest will be organised at Shahkot.

The committee representatives, Avtar Singh Tari and Kulwant Singh, said a meeting between Transport Minister, Ajit Singh Kohar and Punjab Roadways Joint Action Committee was held on September 30 and no constructive conclusion was reached. In meeting, the transport minister had assured that their most of their demands would be fulfilled after the completion of Haryana Assembly Election. However, nothing has been done so far. Our demands seem to have been ignored by the Punjab Government.

While speaking about their long pending demands, they said: “The debt-free 571 Punjab State Bus Stand Management Company (PUNBUS) buses have not been merged to Punjab Roadways fleet. Consequently, Punjab Roadways has been left with only 333 buses in its fleet, which are too less as compared to the other state transports. As per rule, debt-free PUNBUS has to be merged with Punjab Roadways.”

They said, “Permits to private bus operators are not being issued as per the rule and regulations, despite the fact that the Punjab and Haryana High Court has directed the department on the same issue several times. The other demands include providing jobs to the kin of deceased of the Punjab Roadways employees, regularisation of PUNBUS employees, terminating the recruitment on contract basis, and promotion of the staff.

The protests Gate rallies across 18 depots of Punjab Roadways will be organised on Nov 13 A massive protest will be organised at Shahkot, the home constituency of Punjab Transport Minister Ajit Singh Koharh, on Nov 22 The demands The debt-free 571 Punjab State Bus Stand Management Company (PUNBUS) buses be merged with Punjab Roadways fleet Provide jobs to the kin of deceased of the Punjab Roadways employees, regularisation of PUNBUS employees, terminating the recruitment on contract basis, and promotion of the staff

Jalandhar, November 4
Beginning action against a total of 1,123 buildings falling within 5m distance from national highways and scheduled roads, the Municipal Corporation authorities today pulled down as many as 35 shops on Pathankot Road during its day long exercise.

The MC team started from Pathankot Chowk and proceeded demolishing the frontal portions of shops, dhabas and showrooms falling along left lane towards Bhogpur side. Even as the shopkeepers had been issued notices to withdraw their boundary walls by August 15 with a complete list put on the web, the owners failed to comply with following which they had to face action today.

As the action happened, police force had been deployed in large numbers to prevent any untoward reaction and also to control traffic along the road as the two JCB machines kept pulling down the constructions.

ATP Lakhbir Singh said that there are a total of 206 shops with illegal extensions on either side of the road, which would be removed during the ongoing drive. "About 60 shops had submitted us proof that they had come up before 1995 since the implementation of the Punjab Apartment and Property Regulation Act (PAPRA) and hence these would not be touched. More shopkeepers came to us with similar documents, which we will check", he said.

As the action began, the Pathankot Road which remains busy with a lot of heavy traffic primarily trucks and oil tankers got badly choked. The cops did not provide any alternate route for the passersby who remained caught in jam.

The MC has been doing action following the orders of the Punjab and Haryana High Court on the issue. The court in a Civil Writ Petition 4559 of 2007 has asked the MC to remove any construction at a 5-m distance from a national highway or a scheduled road which is a violation of the PAPRA Act 1995. In the notice, Senior Town Planner Tirlok Singh has said the notice had been issued following orders of the Punjab and Haryana High Court.

The Town Planning Department of the MC had already made a road-wise detail of the buildings which have encroached upon the government land illegally. The list with the details, including road, name of the owner, violation, notice number and size of violation, has been put up on the MC's official website www.mcjalandhar.in. A perusal of the list indicates that almost all commercial constructions along the Jalandhar-Nakodar road will have to remove their frontal portions. The list also partly includes 560 x 16 feet of the frontal part of TV Tower and Centre on NH-71.

Jalandhar, November 4
Hundreds of members of the Dalit samaj today held a massive protest at Jalandhar demanding resignation of the Punjab Congress president Partap Singh Bajwa for his being anti-poor and anti-Dalit under the banner of the Dr Ambedkar Mission.

They also demanded appointment of a Dalit as the PCC president if the Congress was to be revived in Punjab.

The activists led by Vicky Sahota, Naresh Nahar and Deepak Kumar Sonu burnt the effigy of the PCC president at the Workshop Chowk here. They were shouting slogans against Bajwa and seeking his immediate removal. They said, while Bajwa had ignored all the genuine and well meaning workers of the party, he had totally ignored the Dalit samaj. He never attended any of their programmes even after making commitment.

Kumar said if the Congress was to be revived in Punjab it must remove Bajwa and appoint a Dalit leader as its state president. He warned that the Akalis and the BJP were already working among the Dalits and whatever support base among the Dalits was left for the Congress that would also soon erode in case people like Bajwa continue to lead the party in the state.

Jalandhar, November 4
As the paddy harvesting has culminated in the region, majority of the farmers are getting rid of the residue leftover after harvesting the crop by burning them.

The farmers have been indulging in such a practice from a long time but yet the Agriculture Department has failed to check the menace or provide an alternative to the farmers.

Call it lack of awareness or the ignorant attitude of the farming community, the unhealthy practice of the stubble burning continues unabated in Jalandhar. After the harvesting was over, the farmers started burning the paddy stubble. The state government as well as the Punjab Pollution Control Board (PPCB) has been asking the farmers not to burn the stubble as it not only adversely affects the soil fertility but also leads to several health ailments. Not only that people face tough time in breathing due to smoke but ban on burning of stubble is required, as this practice could lead to the elimination of a farmer-friendly insect, beetle (Zygogramma Bicolorata). However, notwithstanding the directions, the menace of the stubble burning continues.

Dr Suttantar Kumar, Chief Agriculture Officer, Jalandhar, said the practice of burning the wheat residue causes air and soil pollution apart from diminishing the fertility level of the soil. However, the messages have been conveyed to the farmers in the camps from time to time.

“Creating awareness only comes in our jurisdiction. Rotavator, paddy chopper, zero till drill machines and other farming equipment are being provided on 25 to 40 per cent subsidy by the Agriculture Department which is most suitable for the removal of stubble of sugarcane, wheat, banana, cotton and paddy. Besides, it retains soil moisture and increases soil porosity and aeration, which enhance germination and growth of crops,” he said.

A farmer from Ahamdpur village, Gurvinder Singh, said: “Rotavator has failed as an alternative. Even with subsidy it cost thousands of rupees, which cannot be afforded by all the farmers. Paddy chopper machines also costs around Rs 2 lakh. The government must come with some other alternative. Farmers don’t want to indulge in this practice but are left with no other choice. The other lapse is the farming equipments are growing very expensive these.”

Fact file As a result of stubble burning, the organic matter required for the growth of the crop gets destroyed and it also leads to deterioration of soil fertility. By ploughing the paddy straw in the fields, a farmers gets at least one quintal more yield in next crop harvest. Stubble burning generates poisonous gases, which not only pollutes the environment but can also lead to health hazards. It depletes the Red Blood Cell (RBC) count in the humans and affects the oxygen carrying capacity in the body.

Jalandhar, November 4
The CPI (ML), New Democracy, Lok Sangram Manch, Inqlabi Kendar Punjab today jointly organised a convention at Desh Bhagat Yadgar Hall against Public Private Property Damaged Bill 2014.

While addressing the gathering, the representatives of these parties said, "Such laws are being introduced to suppress the struggle of those who have been fighting the government for the righteous of the general public." The representative termed this bill equivalent to the Rowlett Act and the Public Safety Act introduced by the British in the colonial India to suppress the struggle for freedom.

They said, "By introducing such acts, the government wants to impose neo liberalised policies in India, which are basically doing nothing but augmenting the poverty."

The main speakers on the occasion were Comrade Darshan Singh Khatkarh of CPI (ML) and Sukhbinder Kaur of Lok Sangram Manch.

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.