IEP Chandigarh, July 6

Exposing the lie of former Chief Minister Captain Amarinder Singh and former Deputy Chief Minister Sukhjinder Singh Randhawa that they don’t know about Mukhtiar Ansari, the Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann on Monday released letter written by Randhawa to Captain about the whole issue. The Chief Minister said that the letter  written by Randhawa to Captain on April 1, 2021 clearly shows that both these leaders were well aware of the entire incident. He said that surprisingly both these leaders are now feigning ignorance about issue and are trying to mislead the people. However, Bhagwant Mann said in reality both these leaders were hand in glove with each other to save the dreaded gangster. The Chief Minister said that these ‘experienced politicians’ tried their level best to save the dreaded gangster and ensure comfortable stay for him in jail. He said that it is surprising that these leaders are claiming that they are not aware that who came in jail or not but reality is that they themselves hatched the entire conspiracy to save Ansari. Bhagwant Mann said that these shameless leaders are misleading the people with their lies but their every sin will be exposed in coming days. The Chief Minister said that the honest government formed by the people of state will not allow the nefarious designs of these politicians to succeed. He said that they will be made accountable for every sin conducted against the state and its people. Bhagwant Mann further said that this was just tip of iceberg and he will bring real face of these leaders through number of proofs he has against these leaders. 

IEP Chandigarh, July 3

Punjab Legislative Assembly Speaker Kultar Singh Sandhwan has urged farmers not to use dangerous chemical ‘Paraquat’ to ripe the moong crop.          Expressing grave concern over the trend of using hazardous chemicals by the farmers, Mr. Sandhwan said that excessive usage of various chemicals for agricultural production is causing dreadful diseases like cancer. He said that some farmers in the state are preferring to ripe the moong crop unnaturally by spraying chemical ‘Paraquat’. He said that while this chemical is harmful for crops, it is also extremely dangerous for human health.          Mr. Sandhwan further said that farmers are preferring to ripe moong by spraying this chemical on the standing crop instead of cutting and drying it. He said that ‘Paraquat’ is the chemical using for herbicides. He said that this chemical has not been recommended by the Agriculture Department or the Agriculture University but farmers are using to save the time.          Mr. Sandhwan has appealed to the farmers not to use this chemical keeping in view of the larger public interest and prefer to ripe the crop naturally.

IEP Chandigarh, July 3       

   Political parties will now be able to file their financial accounts online to the Election Commission. The measure has been enabled with the launch of a new web-portal (https://iems.eci.gov.in/) to facilitate the online filing of Contribution Report, Audited Annual Account and Election Expenditure Statement by the Political Parties. These financial statements are required to be submitted by political parties to the Election Commission/Chief Electoral Officers of States/Union Territories, as per the Representation of People’s Act, 1951 & transparency guidelines issued by the Commission, from time to time, over the last many years.          Divulging the details, CEO Punjab Sibin C informed that in a letter addressed to all political parties, ECI has said that the facility has been created with twin objectives: firstly, to facilitate political parties in overcoming the difficulties in physical filing of reports, and secondly, to ensure timely filing of financial statements in the prescribed/standardised formats. The online availability of the data is expected to enhance the level of compliance and transparency.          In the letter, the ECI pointed to the pivotal position of political parties, and stressed that it is incumbent on them to adhere to the principles of democratic functioning and transparency in electoral processes, particularly in financial disclosures.          The on-line portal also has a facility for sending reminders in the form of messages on the registered mobile number and registered emails of the authorised representatives of the political party so that the dates of compliances are not missed. A comprehensive guiding manual with graphical representations, and FAQs have also been sent to the political parties explaining the online module and the process of filing reports online.          He added that to give further guidance on the on-line filing, the ECI would also organise a hands-on training programme for the designated person(s) from various political parties. The political parties not wishing to file the financial report through online mode will have to convey the reasons for not filing on-line to the Commission in writing and may continue to file its reports in hard copy along with CDs/Pen drive in the prescribed formats. The commission will, in turn, publish all such reports online, along with a letter of justification sent by the party for not filing financial statements online. 

IEP Chandigarh, July 3     

     In a dream come true, the farmers of the state got canal water after decades on the directions of Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann to provide the same to them. For the first time in their lives, the new generation of farmers saw nature’s bounty irrigating their fields in the form of canal water.          It was stated by Water Resources Minister Gurmeet Singh Meet Hayer during a press conference at Punjab Bhawan here today.          Meet Hayer lauded all the officers and employees of his department for the historic achievement and said that strengthening the canal water network is the main need of the hour to save the agriculture and groundwater of the state. He said that whereas the farmers are  getting canal water for the first time, the same was provided to cotton belt farmers during sowing season on their demand.          Meet Hayer further said that out of 15741 water courses closed in the state due to the non-availability of canal water for the last several decades, 13471 water courses were restored by the Water Resources Department during the last two and a half months. Now, out of a total of 47000 water courses in Punjab, only 2270 remain to be restored, regarding which the work is also going on a war footing. To restore the water courses, the government issued a notification and they were given government status instead of community water courses. Apart from this, the condition of repairing the water courses was abolished only after 25 years.          The Water Resources Minister said that the department has restored these closed water courses at a cost of Rs.  200 Crore through MGNREGA. Similarly, unutilized funds were also used. More than 20 percent of the canals in Punjab are running beyond their capacity due to which sufficient water is also reaching the tails.          The department also increased the capacity of BML, BDC and UBDC. He said that they are continuously getting the canals inspected by deploying Patwari to XENs of the department to ensure that canal water reaches the farmers. He said that till last year in Punjab only 21 percent of irrigation was done with canal water while the remaining 79 percent was done with underground water. The new initiative will significantly increase the area irrigated with canal water.          Meet Hayer further said that taking another big step, the revenue cases of canal water disputes which have been pending for a long time were resolved quickly. In one year, 4700 new cases of disputes came up while 5016 cases were solved by the department in which the backlog was also cleared. Now only 1563 cases are pending which will also be solved soon.          Giving details about the works being done to deal with the possible threat of floods in the rainy season, Meet Hayer said that the department has completed 318 flood prevention works at cost of Rs. 89.10 Crore before the season started. Among them, 193 drain cleaning works were completed with Rs. 39.53 Crore expenditure and 75 different flood prevention works were done with Rs. 46.43 Crore cost. Similarly, five machines were purchased by the department at the cost of Rs. 3.15 Crore which are being used for cleaning the drains. He said that with this, the department will now clean the drains throughout the year.          Principal Secretary Water Resources Krishan Kumar was also present on this occasion. 

IEP Chandigarh/Pathankot, July 3   

       With Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann directed the Punjab Police to ensure smooth and safe travel for devotees going for the Amarnath Yatra, Special Director General of Police (Special DGP) Law and Order Arpit Shukla on Monday presided over a high-level meeting of Police, Army, Civil Administration and other security agencies to take stock of the security arrangements in this regard.          The meeting, which was held in Pathankot, focused on strategic preparations for the ongoing Amarnath Yatra, encompassing diverse aspects such as police deployment, security measures, traffic management, and disaster management.          The Special DGP also deliberated on concerns including camp security, the establishment of a resilient communication network, meticulous plan for traffic regulation along the national highway and other thoroughfares. He also asked the concerned officers to make appropriate arrangements for parking, and the use strategic deployment of forces across all four yatra routes— including from Shambhu Border to Phillaur, Phillaur to Bhogpur, Bhogpur to Pathankot, and Pathankot to Lakhanpur Barrier.          Notably, the Punjab stretch spanning from Shambhu to Madhopur has been intricately divided into four sectors— Shambu to Phillaur, Phillaur to Bhogpur, Bhogpur to Mukerian, and Mukerian to Madhopur.          Emphasising the crucial role of close coordination among officers, security agencies, and the civil administration, the Special DGP stressed on the need for meticulous planning and effective mechanisms to ensure the smooth and peaceful conduct of the yatra. He exhorted officers to pay special attention to vulnerable locations and base camps, besides directing them to ensure robust security arrangements at such areas.          While underscoring the necessity of comprehensive disaster management arrangements to address any natural calamities that may arise, he stressed on the need to implement standard operating procedures (SOPs) to handle eventualities such as fire incidents or flash floods.          Later, the Special DGP Arpit Shukla also visited Facilitation Centre established by the Punjab Police at Madhopur Barrier.          Prominent officers including Commanders from different Brigades, DIG Border Range Narinder Bhargav, Deputy Commissioner Pathankot, SSP Pathankot Harkamal Preet Singh Khakh, SSP Kathua, SSP Noorpur, Shailesh Kumar from RAW and Ravinder Thakur from IB were present in the meeting. 

IEP Chandigarh, July 2

In a bid to create alternative measures to curb the stubble burning in the state as committed by the Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann, Punjab Agriculture and Farmers Welfare Department has drafted an action plan worth Rs 350 crore for providing straw management machinery at heavy subsidised rates. Wherein, co-operative societies & other groups can avail subsidy of 80 per cent, on the other side, individual farmers will get 50 per cent subsidy.Disclosing this here today, Punjab Agriculture and Farmers Welfare Minister Mr. Gurmeet Singh Khuddian informed that the department has submitted the action plan of Rs.350 crore to Centre Government to provide funds for the current year and over 20,000 machines would be made available on subsidy to individuals for crop residue management and 1000 Custom Hiring Centers would also be established.He said that the department has invited applications from farmers, cooperative societies, FPOs and Panchayats interested in availing subsidy on various Crop Residues Management (CRM) machinery during Kharif season 2023. Under the scheme, Super SMS, Super Seeder, Smart Seeder, Happy Seeder, Paddy Straw Chopper/Shredder/Mulcher, Hydraulic Reversible Mould Board Plough and Zero Till Drill for in-situ management and Baler and Rake in ex-situ machines are being made available on subsidy. The rate of subsidy on the above-mentioned machines for the individual farmers is 50% of the cost of equipment and 80% for cooperative societies, FPOs, Panchayats limited to a maximum as per the guidelines of the Scheme.Appealing the farmers to make the most of this scheme to bring down the crop residue burning cases to zero in the state, Mr. Gurmeet Singh Khuddian said that the last date for applying to avail the subsidy on the department’s portal agrimachinerypb.com is July 20, 2023.Apart from this, the department would also launch an Information Education and Communication campaign to educate and train farmers about the available technologies for management of crop residues as the Punjab Government is proactively taking steps to address the problem of stubble burning in the State.The Agriculture Minister also asked the department office to ensure transparency in the whole process and strict action will be taken against violation of rule & regulations.

IEP Khatkar Kalan (SBS Nagar)/Chandigarh, July 2    

      Punjab Chief Secretary Mr Anurag Verma on Sunday said that under the visionary leadership of Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann, all out efforts will be made for realising the dreams of Shaheed-e-Azam Bhagat Singh.          The Chief Secretary, who was here to pay floral tributes to great martyr at his native village, said that his every action will be guided by the ideals of Shaheed-e-Aazam Bhagat Singh. He said that blessed is this land which has given birth to a great leader like Shaheed-e-Azam Sardar Bhagat Singh.Mr Anurag  Verma said that he is fortunate to have got a chance to visit this sacred land for paying tributes to the iconic martyr who laid down his life at the altar of the national freedom struggle.          The Chief Secretary said that he will leave stone unturned for realising dream of Shaheed-e-Aazam Bhagat Singh by ensuring meticulous implementation of pro-people and development oriented policies of state government. He said that though most of dreams of the great martyr have been fulfilled but still a number of them are remaining which will be realised soon. Mr Anurag Verma said that the entire nation will always be indebted to this martyr who sacrificed his life at a young age of 23 years for emancipating the country from the clutches of British imperialism.          The Chief Secretary said that martyrdom of Shaheed Bhagat Singh at a young age had motivated the youth to join national freedom struggle thereby leading to independence of the country.  He said that Shaheed-e-Aazam will ever remain a source of inspiration for the millions of youth to render selfless service to the nation. Mr Verma also said that the youth of the state should follow the footsteps of Shaheed Bhagat Singh to make India a progressive and prosperous country.          The Chief Secretary categorically said that though there are numerous challenges before the state but under the leadership of Chief Minister all these will be overcome to make Punjab a front ranking state in the country. He asserted that Punjab was having a decisive government which is providing clean, transparent and responsive governance to the people. He also said that a detailed plan will also be chalked out for further giving a facelift to this memorial.          Earlier, Chief Secretary paid tributes at the samadhi of Shaheed-e-Aazam Bhagat Singh and his father Late S.Kishan Singh. 

IEP Chandigarh, July 2

 Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann on Sunday unequivocally said that the state government will not pay Rs 55 lakh spent on cozy stay of dreaded criminal Mukhtar Ansari in Jails of state and will recover this money from former Chief Minister Captain Amarinder Singh and Former Deputy Chief Minister Sukhjinder Singh Randhawa. In a statement issued here today, the Chief Minister said that this was a serious crime against the state and its people adding that those involved in it will have to pay for it. He said that for reasons best known to them both Captain and Randhawa extended largesse to notorious gangster for his comfortable stay in jails of Punjab. Bhagwant Mann said that why should the state waste taxpayer’s money in this way just because those in power at that time had strong bond with Ansari. The Chief Minister said that this is brazen loot of the public money which cannot be tolerated. He said that for reasons best known to the previous regimes this notorious criminal was kept in Ropar Jail with full comforts. Bhagwant Mann said that apart from ensuring comfortable stay the state government ensured that this hardcore criminal does not face any sort of difficulty within the jail and escapes the legal action against him. The Chief Minister said that surprisingly the then government spent Rs 55 lakh of tax payers money to safeguard the interests of this criminal lodged in Ropar Jail. Bhagwant Mann said that this atrocious loot of the public money is totally unwarranted and undesirable adding that this open plundering of the common man’s money cannot be tolerated at any cost. He said that Captain and Randhawa will have to pay this money from their own pocket else their pensions and other benefits will be stopped to recover this money adding that everyone involved in this heinous crime will be made accountable for their sin.