IEP Chandigarh

“The Union Budget 2023-24 presented by Smt Nirmala Sitharaman, Hon’ble Finance Minister is a growth-oriented budget as it has clearly indicated the government’s vision for Amrit Kaal through a focus on the ‘7 Priorities’ of inclusive development, reaching the last mile, infrastructure and investment, unleashing the potential, green growth, youth power and financial sector,” said Mr Anshuman Magazine, Chairman, CII Northern Region. At CII, we believe that this year’s budget scores well on many fronts including its focus on developing infrastructure, meeting green goals, providing tax relief to the middle class and boosting the MSME sector. Measures such as an increased outlay for affordable housing, enhanced focus on tourism and development of unity malls in key cities would give a fillip to the real estate sector, which will be further aided by the tax relief to citizens which should boost consumption appetite, he said. Promoting Sabka Saath, Sabka Vishwas, the Union Budget focuses on promoting inclusive development of the agriculture sector, which is the major source of employment in the Northern Region, opined Mr Deepak Jain, Deputy Chairman, CII Northern Region. The initiatives such as building Digital Public Infrastructure; setting up of Agriculture Accelerator Fund; enhancing the agriculture credit target to Rs 20 lakh crore and making India a global hub of millets are the steps in the right direction, he highlighted. CII also thanks the Hon’ble Finance Minister for accepting the recommendations on enhancing the prominent Credit Guarantee Scheme and easing the cost of credit by reducing the interest rates for loans to MSMEs. CII Northern Region is happy to note that this last full Budget before the 2024 general elections has ticked all the right boxes for growth and development. We welcome the government’s announcement towards infrastructure development through building fifty additional airports, heliports, water aerodromes etc which will improve regional air connectivity, especially for the landlocked Northern Region. CII also welcomes the government’s decision for increasing capital investment outlay by 33 per cent which amounts to 3.3 per cent of GDP. This will have a positive multiplier effect on economic growth. The highest ever outlay of Rs 2.40 lakh crore has been provided for the Railways, which will further spur regional connectivity. CII is happy to note that the Union Budget 2023 has provided a boost to enhancing the ease of doing business by introducing reform measures, which are in line with CII recommendations including the reduction of 39,000 compliances, decriminalisation of more than 3,400 provisions and the introduction of Jan Vishwas Amendment Bill, 2022;  adoption of the Permanent Account Number (PAN) as a single business identifier; provision for allocation of Rs 7,000 Crore for Phase III of E-Court Project etc. “CII also welcomes the Hon’ble FM’s thrust on boosting domestic demand by augmenting personal disposable incomes through the various direct tax reforms announced in the budget”, added Mr Amit Thapar, Chairman, CII Punjab. Mr Rajiv Kaila, Chairman, CII Chandigarh expressed that the budget has given a strong impetus to skill development and education through the setting up of 157 new colleges along with a new programme to promote research and innovation in the pharmaceuticals sector along with the setting up of 30 Skill India International Centres will also be set up across different States. The Budget also brings laser-sharp focus to AI-led skill development by announcing the establishment of three centres of artificial intelligence, he added.

IEP Chandigarh, February 1

          Punjab Water Regulation & Development Authority (PWRDA) ‘s new directions for extraction and Conservation of groundwater has come into force today i.e. February 1, 2023.

These Directions exempt the following categories Agriculture Usage, Drinking and Domestic Usage, Places of Worship, Government Drinking Water Supply Schemes, Military or Central Para-Military Forces, Urban Local Bodies, Panchayati Raj Institutions, Cantonment Boards, Improvement Trusts, Area Development Authorities and all Units extracting up to 300 cubic meters per month.

          With the coming into force of the Directions all non-exempt Users who are extracting groundwater shall have to pay groundwater extraction charges w.e.f. 1st February, 2023. Even those Users who have not installed a water meter shall have to pay these charges. For details see PWRDA website https://pwrda.org

          Existing Users have been given a grace period of 3-9 months to apply for permission of the Authority and for installing water meters. The Users extracting more than 15,000 cubic meters per month shall have to apply within three months latest by 30th April, 2023. The medium size Users extracting between 1500 and 15,000 cubic meters per month have been given six months time to apply latest by 31st July, 2023. The smallest Users extracting between 300-1500 cubic meters per month can apply in nine months time, latest by 31st October, 2023.

          Users are advised to install new meters as per specifications of the Authority at the earliest and pay the monthly bill by taking the water meter reading themselves. The report of the monthly water meter reading will be sent by Users to the Authority by email to gwebilling.pwrda@punjab.gov.in . The amount of the monthly bill be paid by each User to the bank account of the Authority which is HDFC Bank Account No. 50100071567691, (IFSC: HDFC0000035)

          In case a User does not install a water meter of the required specification he shall have to pay the monthly bill for the full volume of groundwater extraction permission sought for the entire period from 1st February, 2023 up to the date of installation of water meter. Accordingly, it is in the interest of each User to install water meters of the required specifications at the earliest. The water meter specifications are given at website https://pwrda.org 

Existing users who have installed a water meter of the required specifications should note their meter reading on 1st, February, 2023 and then every month. Groundwater charges can be paid by all such users on monthly basis by self reading. The first bill for February, 2023 shall be payable by 20th March, 2023 by such users. 

IEP Chandigarh

Chief Minister Manohar Lal Manohar Lal Khattar on Tuesday instructed the officials to conduct door-to-door survey by constituting teams for data verification of the Citizen Resource Information Department (CRID). “Along with data verification, maintaining data security is our top priority,” he said.

The Chief Minister was chairing a review meeting held here today, regarding the use of data of the CRID. He directed the officers of the Women and Child Development Department, School Education Department, Higher Education Department and Youth Empowerment and Entrepreneurship Department; to start the work for the survey by ensuring that the teams verify the data properly and the work is completed by all the departments together.

Khattar said that the state government is working constantly to ensure that the people have a comfortable life and get opportunities to progress and increase their family income. He said that there is a need to lay emphasis on promoting such welfare services and schemes so that awareness about them can be created among the common people at the grassroot level.

The Chief Minister said that the verification of this data has been given to various departments according to the age group; so that complete verification information is available. He said that through Parivar Pehchan Patra, the government is reaching the doorstep of every beneficiary who wants to get the benefits of welfare services and schemes of the government.

IEP Chandigarh, January 30

On the directions of Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann, the Mining Department is all set to introduce public mining sites in the state to ensure that sand and gravel are available at reasonable rates to the general public.

          Terming this decision as a historic and pathbreaking initiative of the Bhagwant Mann led state government, Mining and Geology Minister Gurmeet Singh Meet Hayer said that these sites will help in checking any malpractice to jack up the prices of sand and truly give the freedom of choice to the common man to buy sand from the source of his choice and at the price of his choice.

          The Minister added that the Chief Minister would shortly announce details of all such sites in various Districts in the State. The first Public Mining Site would be inaugurated soon itself, he said.

          He said that The mining department will leave no stone unturned to fulfill the commitment made by Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann to provide affordable and easy sand to the people of the state.

          While divulging the details, the minister said that the public mining site would be a mine where any person, requiring sand for his personal use, can purchase it by paying only Rs. 5.50 per sq ft. Such a person would be required to get his own transport vehicle along with labour to extract the required quantity of sand from the site. No JCBs or any other similar form of mechanical mining would be allowed in any Public Mining Site nor would any contractors be allowed to mine in it. Government officials would be present on the site to collect the sale price and issue a proper receipt against it.

          Elaborating on the availability of sand and gravel in the state, the Minister said that mining operations had resumed in Ropar and Pathankot districts and would soon commence in other districts too. He said that the department was making all out efforts to ensure that sand and gravel were available at reasonable rates to the public and the rates have already started seeing a downward trend. Transporters, crusher owners and miners have been cautioned against overcharging and Deputy Commissioners have been asked to depute teams to randomly call up the consumers to inquire about the rate paid by them for sand or gravel, he disclosed.

          Sending out a clear warning to mischief mongers, he cautioned Crushers, Transporters and Miners against overcharging the customers, failing which they would be denied commercial access to minor minerals in the state. Meet Hayer exuded confidence that the supply line would be completely streamlined in a few days.

IEP Chandigarh, January 30

Releasing another financial assistance of Rs 85 crore to bailout the Punjab State Cooperative Agriculture Development Bank Limited, Punjab Finance, Planning, Excise and Taxation Minister Advocate Harpal Singh Cheema on Monday said that the Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann led Punjab Government has so far extended aid of Rs 798 crore rupees to save this bank of farmers.          Disclosing this in a press statement issued here, Finance Minister Harpal Singh Cheema said that the Punjab State Cooperative Agriculture Development Bank was stuck in the quagmire of financial crisis due to the neglect of this bank by the previous state governments. He said that financial assistance of Rs 85 crore has been now provided to this cooperative bank so that it could pay the due installment to NABARD. He said that in case of non-payment of the due installment of Rs 120.91 crore to NABARD by January 31, 2023, the bank would have become a defaulter of NABARD and it would fail to get refinance from NABARD in future.          Giving details about the assistance provided by the Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann led Punjab government to this cooperative bank so far, the Finance Minister said that the government had provided Rs 425 crore on May 26, 2022, to repay bullet loan of NABARD, Rs 100 crore to repay loan installment due on July 31, 2022, besides providing Rs 62.67 crore on April 28 and Rs 125.33 crore on September 21, 2022, to pay pension and pension arrears. He said that the Cooperative Agriculture Development Bank has been facing this crisis only because the previous governments did not make sufficient efforts to recover the loans provided by this bank.          Finance Minister Harpal Singh Cheema said that the Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann led Punjab Government is committed to reviving this bank for the welfare of farmers and agriculturists. He said that this bank has been playing an important role in providing easy loans to farmers to ensure the development of the agriculture sector. He also appealed to the borrowers to make honest efforts to repay their loans as soon as possible because the existence of this bank is very important to provide easy loans to people like them.

IEP Chandigarh, January 30

Aiming to curb the menace of corruption in the state on the directions of Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann, the Punjab Vigilance Bureau (VB) on Monday nabbed a Block Development and Panchayats Officer (BDPO) Ashok Kumar, posted at Sudhar, in Ludhiana district red handed for accepting a bribe of Rs. 25,000.

Disclosing this here today, a spokesperson of VB said the above said BDPO has been arrested on the complaint of Sarpanch Lakhvir Singh, resident of village Boparai Kalan, Ludhiana.

Giving more details he informed that the complainant has approached the VB and alleged that the above said officer has been demanding a bribe of Rs. 50,000 for issuing utilisation certificate and payment of grants for executing development works in the gram panchayat. The complainant further alleged that he didn’t want to give bribe to the above said officer but on his repeated requests, the deal was struck at Rs 25,000 with the BDPO.

After verifying his complaint, a VB team from Ludhiana range laid a trap and the accused BDPO was arrested from his office while accepting a bribe of Rs. 25,000 as a bribe from the complainant and the tainted money was recovered from him in the presence of two official witnesses, he added.

The spokesperson informed that a case under prevention of corruption act has been registered against the accused officer at VB police station Ludhiana range and further investigation was under progress.