IEP SAS Nagar, January 12

The 20th meeting of the Northern Zonal Council Standing Committee of the Northern States dealing with inter State issues saw the State of Punjab put forward its case in an emphatic manner pertaining to the State’s rights and inter State issues. The meeting saw officers from the Inter State Council Secretariat of the Union Ministry of Home Affairs in attendance along with Chief Secretaries of the Punjab, Haryana, Rajasthan, Himachal Pradesh, Delhi, Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh and Adviser to the UT Chandigarh besides Secretaries of the different departments of UT Chandigarh.

The view point of the State on whole gamut of sensitive issues viz. River waters of Punjab, State’s right on Chandigarh and Panjab University, Demand of tribunal to assess current situation with regard to the river waters, increasing international flights from the Mohali airport, Starting UDAN scheme from 4 airports in the State, Strengthening the international borders, Uniform policy for purchasing land, and stemming the loss to Punjab from Hansi – Butana canal and Ghaggar was presented with facts in a forthright way.

In his inaugural speech, the Chief Secretary, Punjab, Mr. Vijay Kumar Janjua batted for the Cooperative Federalism and said that such meetings are the right platform for bringing to the fore, inter state matters and debate upon their solutions. The Chief Secretary made it absolutely clear that as per the current state of river waters, Punjab itself is facing shortage of water hence it doesn’t has extra water to spare for the other States. “These are emotional issues for Punjab and being the parent state, it has full right on its Capital but which has been denied to it all along”, said the Chief Secretary adding that the Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann has also pressed State’s claims on these issues. In keeping with the principles of One Nation One Family there must be a uniform policy concerning buying and selling of land in all the States of the country. It is imperative for Punjab for these issues to be sorted out, said the Chief Secretary.

During the agenda wise discussions, the Principal Secretary Water Resources Mr. Krishan Kumar apprised that the level of water which was available with Punjab at the time of river waters agreements, has come down drastically and the State itself is face to face with the paucity of this precious resource. He further argued that a new tribunal regarding the assessment of Ravi – Beas river waters is the need of the hour besides pressing for water to Punjab from Yamuna. Likewise, the unnatural construction of the Hansi – Butana canal causes 38 villages in Punjab to be flooded. Rooting for the resolution of Lissara Nallah by Haryana, the Secretary Water Resources also highlighted the importance of Mini Hydel projects on Bhakhra Main Line apart from making a strong case for a permanent member from Punjab in the Bhakhra Beas Management Board (BBMB).

The Financial Commissioner (Revenue) Mr. K.A.P. Sinha pointed out that Chandigarh must go to Punjab for the latter being the parent State. He further made out a robust and rationale case for the resident of any state being able to purchase land in another State.

Presenting the case of Punjab for increasing the international flights from the Mohali International Airport in a logical and crystal clear manner, the Principal Secretary Civil Aviation Mr. Rahul Bhandari said that Punjab has invested in the project and moreover, it is the demand of present scenario considering a huge number of Punjabi diaspora in Canada and other countries to expand the number of international flights. The Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann too has taken up this issue with the Government of India, said the Principal Secretary adding that it is high time the domestic flights are commenced from the Ludhiana, Bathinda, Adampur and Pathankot airports.

The Additional Chief Secretary Home Mr. Anurag Verma pressed for anti drone technology to be developed in view of the Punjab being a border State sharing 550 Km long International border with Pakistan. The Secretary Environment Mr. Rahul Tiwari raised the issue of pollution of the Ghaggar river.

During the presentation on the best practices of their respective States, the Principal Secretary Governance Reforms Tejveer Singh highlighted the paddy straw management works apart from Sakhi application developed for stopping gender based violence and Mini Jungles developed for increasing the Forest cover in the State of Punjab.

IEP Jaipur/Chandigarh: January 12

Punjab Vidhan Sabha Speaker S. Kultar Singh Sandhwan participated in discussions on various issues in the 83rd two-day all India Presiding Officers (Speakers/Deputy Speakers/Chairmen) conference. This conference is being held at Jaipur under the chairmanship of Lok Sabha Speaker Shri Om Birla which was inaugurated by Vice President Shri Jagdeep Dhankhar.

Speaking on the importance of legislative/parliamentary committees during the closing ceremony of this conference, S. Sandhwan said that we should strengthen the legislative committees to pave the way for the development of the country in the interest of the people and make the executive branch of the government more accountable to the legislature. Emphasizing the importance of discussions on various issues facing by the people, he said that by making the legislative/parliamentary committees more powerful, the legislative institutions will be strengthened, which will strengthen Indian democracy.

Sh. Harivansh, Dy. Chairman Rajya Sabha also appreciated the solution recommended by S. Sandhwan for making Legislatures more accountable.

IEP Chandigarh, January 12, 2023Today,

the first meeting to review the ongoing activities in the State Horticulture Department under the chairmanship of Chetan Singh Jauramajra, Minister of Horticulture, Freedom Soldier Services and Welfare and Food Processing, Punjab, was held at Chandigarh .Mr. Rahul Tiwari, IAS, Administrative Secretary of the Department,Gagandeep Brar, IAS Secretary Horticulture, Punjab and Ms. Shailinder Kaur, IFS, Director Horticulture, Punjab were amongst the officials who attended this meeting.          The minister discussed the ongoing farmer welfare schemes in the department.  The minister emphasized that the government is trying to raise the level of horticulture in the state and that horticulture welfare schemes should be publicized through print media so that farmers can be encouraged to adopt agricultural diversification.           In this regard, Director Horticulture, Punjab apprised the Minister about the infrastructure of the department and the unique initiatives undertaken/being undertaken.  The Minister appreciated the ongoing projects in the department and directed to take necessary action to implement the new projects as well.          Jauramajra directed the Director Horticulture, Punjab to prepare new farmer welfare schemes related to horticulture to help raise the economic level of the farmers.  Apart from this, the minister instructed the officials to conduct maximum field visits at the block and district level so that the department can have direct contact with the farmers.

IEP Chandigarh, January 12

With the commitment of Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann to resolve all the genuine grievances of Punjabi Diaspora living across the globe, Punjab NRIs Affairs Department has set the ball rolling to establish more Fast Track Courts especially for cases related to NRIs. NRIs Affairs Minister Kuldeep Singh Dhaliwal will meet Chief Justice of Punjab and Haryana High Court soon to work out the legal and other modalities in this regard.

          In a meeting with Officials of NRIs Affairs Department, ADGP NRI, Commissioner NRI Sabha and NIC here at Punjab Bhawan regarding the status of grievances brought during ‘NRI Punjabiyan Nal Milni’ held across Punjab, the Cabinet Minister Kuldeep Singh Dhaliwal said that he will meet Chief Justice shortly to work out the legal modalities to expedite the process for setting up more NRIs Fast Track Courts.

          The Cabinet Minister also instructed to depute Legal Advisors to provide requisite legal aid to NRIs. He also ordered concerned Deputy Commissioners to resolve around 50 percent grievances brought during these ‘Milni Programs’ through their Nodal Officers appointed specially for the cases of NRIs.

          Reiterating the commitment of Punjab Government to take every step for the well being of NRIs, Kuldeep Singh Dhaliwal also asked the officials of the department to issue Demi-Official (DO) letter to concerned Deputy Commissioner, Nodal Officer, Tehsildars and Station House Officers (SHOs), Patwaris and Thana Munshis to provide all requisite help and logistic support to sort out all the issues of Punjabi Diaspora. He also asked the officials to spread information district wise about the concerned NRIs Nodal Officers with their contact details.

          The Cabinet Minister further added that the panel of Legal Experts will also be constituted to extend helping hand to NRIs pertaining to resolve their issues at various levels. He also summoned the report from officials about the cases resolved during ‘NRIs Milni Programs’.

IEP Chandigarh, January 12

Forest, Food and Civil Supplies Minister Mr. Lal Chand Kataruchak said that the Punjab government has provided more than 21000 government jobs to the youths after coming to power and this recruitment has been done only in a period of nine months.Addressing on the occasion of giving appointment letters to 46 clerks at Forest Bhavan today, Mr. Kataruchak said that the recruitment campaign launched by the Punjab government under the leadership of Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann shows the strong commitment of the government. The Punjab government has recruited more than 21000 youths in such a short period of nine months.Referring to the transparent recruitment process, Mr. Kataruchak said that the job has been given to the youth only on the basis of merit because it is the right of the eligible youth to get the job. In this case, no one’s reference has been accepted and no recommendation has been allowed. Encouraging the newly recruited clerks to discharge their responsibilities with honesty, hard work and seriousness, Mr. Kataruchak said that the Punjab Government is committed to eradicate the scourge of corruption and strict action is being taken in this regard as per the law so that others can also get lessons. While wishing the newly recruited clerks for their future, he also inspired the employees to be a better example of honesty.On this occasion chairman forest corporation Mr. Rakesh Puri, Additional Chief Secretary Forest Mrs. Raji P. Srivastava, Chief conservator of Forest Mr. RK Mishra, Additional Chief conservator of Forest (Administration and Coordination) Mr. Dharminder Sarman, Additional Chief conservator of forest  (Development) Mr. Sorbh Gupta and other officials were also present.

IEP Chandigarh, January 12

To mark the festivities of Lohri, Jalandhar Development Authority (JDA) and Punjab Urban Planning & Development Authority will conduct an e-auction of residential, commercial, chunk and group housing sites from January 13 at 9AM. The e-auction would conclude on January 31 at 1PM.

Giving details, an official spokesperson of the Housing & Urban Development Department revealed that sites put on e-auction are situated in various localities of Jalandhar, Hoshiarpur, Kapurthala, Mukerian and Sultanpur Lodhi. Total of 151 sites comprising 82 residential plots, 67 commercial properties such as SCO, SCF, SCS, booths etc., a chunk and a group housing site are up for grabs in the e-auction, he added.

The minimum bidding price for residential plots has been kept at Rs. 13.89 lac and Rs. 15.43 lac would be the starting price for the commercial properties. The commercial chunk has been priced at Rs. 14.22 crore. This site measuring approx. 1115 sq. mtr. is situated on Kapurthala road, Jalandhar. The group housing site of size around 12017 sq. mtr. is located in Chotti Baradari, Part-2, Jalandhar and the reserve price of this site is Rs. 87.97 crore, informed the spokesperson.

The possession of the group housing site will be handed over on 20% payment of the final bidding price and of the rest of the sites on 25% payment. Interested bidders can get the details pertaining to the sites offered on the e-auction portal www.puda.e-auctions.in, the spokesperson said further.