Category Archives: Chandigarh

Punjab Vidhan Sabha Speaker administers oath to newly elected MLA Sanjeev Arora

Chandigarh 28 June 2025:

Punjab Vidhan Sabha Speaker S. Kultar Singh Sandhwan administered oath to newly elected MLA Sanjeev Arora today at Punjab Vidhan Sabha Secretariat in the presence of  Manish Sisodia former Deputy Chief Minister of Delhi, Cabinet Minister Aman Arora, Cabinet Minister Harpal Singh Cheema and MLA Budh Ram. Speaker presented literature of Punjab Vidhan Sabha and i-pad to Sanjeev Arora.

Sanjeev Arora took the pledge that he will bear true faith and allegiance to the constitution of India as established by law. He will uphold the sovereignty and integrity of India and faithfully discharge the duties entrusted to him. Sanjeev Arora said that he will take guidance from senior leadership of Aam Aadmi Party and leave no stone unturned for the welfare of his constituency.

The Speaker highlighted that our Government has started live telecast of all the proceedings of the House so that transparency can be maintained in the House. But previous Governments kept the proceedings secret so that people could not become aware about their work. Speaker extended his best wishes to MLA Sanjeev Arora   and expressed the gratitude for all persons who came to the oath taking ceremony.

Speaker and his family members planted saplings in the background of Punjab Vidhan Sabha before the oath taking ceremony of newly elected MLA Sanjeev Arora.

Punjab Government Making Major Efforts to Bring Scheduled Caste Students into the Mainstream: Dr. Baljit Kaur

Chandigarh, June 28:

The Punjab Government, under the dynamic leadership of Chief Minister S. Bhagwant Singh Mann, is tirelessly working for the welfare and upliftment of every section of society. In particular, dedicated initiatives are being undertaken to bring students from Scheduled Castes into the mainstream by providing them better educational opportunities.

Giving further details, Social Justice, Empowerment and Minorities Minister Dr. Baljit Kaur informed that a budget provision of ₹245 crore has been made under the Post-Matric Scholarship Scheme for Scheduled Caste students in the financial year 2025-26. The government has set a target to cover 2.70 lakh Scheduled Caste students under this scheme during the year.

She said this initiative would significantly help in improving the socio-economic standard of these students and enable them to lead self-reliant lives through education.

Dr. Baljit Kaur further added that in the previous financial year, the Punjab Government had covered 2,36,575 students under the scheme, disbursing ₹266.57 crore as the state’s share.

To facilitate applications, the Dr. Ambedkar Scholarship Portal will be opened shortly for online submissions, she informed. Besides this, awareness camps will also be organized at the district level to ensure that eligible students are well-informed about the scheme and avail its benefits without difficulty.

The Cabinet Minister emphasized that the Punjab Government is committed to supporting every eligible Scheduled Caste student through this scholarship so that no talented student is deprived of education due to financial constraints. She said, “It is our sincere effort to ensure that children belonging to communities historically subjected to discrimination get fair and equal opportunities to pursue higher education.”

Dr. Baljit Kaur also highlighted that over the years, thousands of SC students have successfully completed their higher education under this scheme and today hold prestigious positions in government services, private jobs, and have even started their own businesses.

She directed the concerned officials to ensure that the benefits of the Post-Matric Scholarship Scheme reach every deserving student and stressed that the scheme should be implemented with complete transparency, efficiency, and effectiveness.

Kataruchak congratulates Jasvir Singh Sekhon on being appointed as Member, Punjab State Food Commission

Chandigarh, June 28:

The Food, Civil Supplies and Consumer Affairs Minister Mr. Lal Chand Kataruchak today congratulated Mr. Jasvir Singh Sekhon on being appointed as the Member of the Punjab State Food Commission by the State Government.

Extending his Congratulations to Jasvir Singh Sekhon, the Minister expressed gratitude to the Punjab Government led by the Chief Minister Bhagwant Singh Mann. He further expressed confidence that Mr. Sekhon would fully justify the faith reposed in his abilities and ensure that the schemes initiated by the Food, Civil Supplies and Consumer Affairs Department are percolated to all sections of the society especially those linked with the farming sector as it is the core part of the procurement operations.

Notably, Mr. Sekhon has Sekhon appointed as Member of the commission under Section 16 of the National Food Security Act (Central Act 20 of 2013), 2013.

Punjab Government suspends 26 officers and employees of Jail Department for dereliction of duty

Chandigarh, June 28:

The Punjab Government led by Chief Minister Bhagwant Singh Mann has issued an order to suspend 26 officers and employees of Jail Department for dereliction of duty.

Punjab Jail Minister Laljit Singh Bhullar informed that 26 officers and employees of Jail Department have been suspended with immediate effect under Punjab Civil Services (Punishment and Appeal) Rules, 1970 for dereliction of duty/negligence.

Giving a clear message to the officers and employees on duty in the jails of Punjab, the Minister said that illegal activities, misbehavior, indiscipline, absence from duty and activities like involvement with prisoners will not be tolerated at all.

The Minister said that Iqbal Singh Brar Superintendent District Jail Mansa, Maninder Pal Cheema Deputy Superintendent Central Jail Ludhiana, Anil Bhandari Deputy Superintendent Borstal Jail Ludhiana, Sandeep Brar Deputy Superintendent Central Jail Ludhiana, Yadvinder Singh ASJ Central jail Ferozepur Apart from Warders Harbhupinder Singh and Sikander Singh Goindwal Sahib, Bikramjit Singh and Vijay Pal Singh Amritsar, Jatinder Singh, Ravi, Deepak Rai, Kiranjit Singh, Prithipal Singh and Satnam Singh Kapurthala, Satnam Singh and Mandeep Singh Hoshiarpur, Maninder Pal Singh Ludhiana, Anu Malik, Randhir Singh, Arvind Dev Singh, Balvir Singh and Sukhpreet Singh Mansa, Satnam Singh Nabha, Gagandeep Singh Bathinda and Anmol Verma Pathankot etc. have been suspended.

The Jail Minister said that the Punjab government led by Chief Minister S. Bhagwant Singh Mann is committed to providing good administration to the state and negligence in the duty of any officer or employee will not be tolerated. He warned all the officers and employees of the department and said that they should ensure that their duties are done honestly, diligently and according to the rules.

As per the guidelines of the ECI, CEO’s states and union territories conducts special campaign for voter list updation

Chandigarh, June 27 – Haryana Chief Electoral Officer, Sh. A.Sreenivas, said that as per the guidelines of the Election Commission of India(ECI), the Chief Electoral Officers of States and Union Territories regularly conduct special campaigns to prepare error-free, updated, and transparent voter lists in their respective states. In this series, the Commission has decided to start a Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of the electoral roll in the State of Bihar.

He said that under this mega campaign, Booth Level Officers (BLOs) will conduct door-to-door verification of information to ensure that all eligible citizens are included in the list, ineligible names are removed, and the entries of ineligible persons are prevented.

Need of Special Intensive Revision

He said that the Commission believes that due to various reasons such as rapid urbanization, frequent migration, young citizens becoming eligible to vote, non-reporting of deaths and inclusion of the names of foreign illegal immigrants have necessitated the conduct of an intensive revision so as to ensure integrity and preparation of error-free electoral rolls.

Encouraging active participation of political parties

He said that the ECI has appealed to all political parties to appoint their Booth Level Agents (BLAs) for each polling station so that transparency is maintained during the revision and any irregularities can be corrected at the initial stage.

Mandatory compliance with constitutional and legal provisions

During the revision process, strict compliance will be ensured with the eligibility criteria mentioned under Article 326 of the Constitution and Sections 16 and 23 of the Representation of the People Act, 1950. The documents submitted for addition of names will be verified by the ERO (Electoral Registration Officer) and uploaded on ECINET to ensure complete transparency.

Special care for privacy

To maintain the confidentiality of voter documents, arrangements have been made that these documents will remain restricted only to authorized election officers. In case of any claims or objections, the Assistant Electoral Registration Officer (AERO) will investigate, and if needed, appeals can be made to the District Magistrate or the Chief Electoral Officer.

Special facilities for vulnerable groups

The Election Commission has given clear directions that elderly, sick, and other vulnerable voters should not face any inconvenience. For this, assistance from volunteers, special camps, and mobile teams will be arranged as required.

Public cooperation essential for overall success

The Election Commission has clarified that this important democratic exercise will be successful only with the full participation of voters and political parties. The revision process will not only improve the quality of the voter list but will also strengthen the transparency and fairness of the upcoming elections.

Plant as many trees as possible for environmental protection: Rao Narbir Singh

Chandigarh, June 27 – Haryana’s Forest and Environment Minister Sh. Rao Narbir Singh today visited the nursery of the Forest Department located in Panchkula district in view of the upcoming tree plantation campaign and instructed the officials to plant as many trees as possible. During this, he also visited the Nature Camp, and went to Triphala Vatika and saw the arrangements there.

Sh. Rao Narbir instructed the officials to plant as many trees as possible by running a campaign on a large scale during the upcoming plantation season so that the environment can be protected for the coming generations. While visiting the nursery of the Forest Department, the Minister also saw the plants planted 2 years ago and said arrangements should be made for proper care of all the plants so that there can be a substantial increase in the forest area.

He said the more trees we plant, the more we will be able to provide a safe environment to the coming generations. After visiting the nursery, the Forest Minister visited the Nature Camp at Thapli and saw the arrangements of the Naturopathy Centre established there. During this, the Minister was told that 20 lakh saplings have been prepared for plantation this year in the nurseries of the Forest Department located in Panchkula district.

The Forest Minister also inspected the Climate Change Lab established in the Nature Camp itself and learned about the projects going on there. During this, he was told that the students coming to this lab are given information and training about environmental protection as well as water conservation so that sufficient water is available for the coming generations. After visiting Nature Camp, he went to Triphala Vatika located in Mandhana village and took information about the medicinal plants planted there. He said medicinal plants should be preserved and grown in maximum numbers so that this garden can play an important role in treatment through Ayurveda. After this, the Forest Minister reached the fort located in Morni, where a demand letter was handed over to the Forest Minister on behalf of the Panchayats of Doodhgarh, Bhoj Rajpura and Baldwala, on which he assured the villagers that their reasonable demands will be considered and fulfilled soon.

Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla to inaugurate 2-day conference of ULBs on July 3

Chandigarh, June 27 – A two-day national conference will be organized at the International Centre for Automotive Technology (ICAT) located in Manesar, Gurugram. On July 3 and July 4, the heads of Urban Local Bodies (ULBs) of the states and union territories will participate in the conference on the topic ‘Role of urban local bodies in constitutional democracy and nation building’. The two-day conference will be inaugurated by Lok Sabha Speaker Sh. Om Birla.

During this, Speaker of Haryana Legislative Assembly Sh. Harvinder Kalyan, Secretary General of Lok Sabha Sh. Utpal Kumar Singh will also be present. Haryana Chief Minister Sh. Nayab Singh Saini, Union Housing and Urban Affairs Minister Sh. Manohar Lal and Haryana Urban Local Bodies Minister Sh. Vipul Goel will also attend the inaugural session.

Mayors, commissioners and other representatives of municipal corporations from across the country will participate in the conference. The objective of the conference is to make urban administration more effective, inclusive and innovation-oriented, so that the goal of ‘Viksit Bharat 2047’ can be realized.

Giving information, a government spokesperson said in the programme of the first day, presentations will be given on the best practices adopted by the major cities of the country – Bhubaneswar, Coimbatore, Indore, Lucknow, Pune, Surat and Visakhapatnam. After this, workshops will be organized on five different sub-topics, which include the role of urban local bodies as the foundation of democracy, developing ideal working procedures and code of conduct for council meetings, role of local bodies as an engine of inclusive development, making municipal governance more effective, centres of innovation, improving the quality of life of citizens and public service delivery, preparing women for leadership in society and politics, etc.

Similarly, the July 4 session will feature group presentations on sub-themes, informal interaction with the Lok Sabha Speaker, and a closing session attended by Rajya Sabha Deputy Chairman Sh. Harivansh, Governor Sh. Bandaru Dattatraya and Haryana Assembly Deputy Speaker Dr. Krishan Lal Midda. This conference will not only determine the future direction of urban governance but will also strengthen India’s democratic and developmental path.

Dr. Arvind Sharma Conducts Surprise Inspection of Rohtak Vita Milk Plant, Sets Milk Collection Target

Chandigarh, June 27 – Haryana’s Cooperative Minister Dr. Arvind Sharma said with the aim of making youth and women self-reliant, a special action plan is being run by the Dairy Federation in the state to establish Vita booths in 10 departments. Under this, 158 Vita booth locations have been marked in 7 districts falling under the scope of Rohtak Vita Plant. He instructed the officials to complete the process regarding these locations soon, so that Vita products can be delivered to every home.

Dr. Arvind Sharma today conducted a surprise inspection of the Vita Milk Plant located in Rohtak. During the inspection, the Cabinet Minister directed plant CEO Jaiveer Yadav to work towards the target of collecting 2 lakh liters of milk from the districts under the purview of the Vita Milk Plant, so that quality Vita products can be prepared. Along with reviewing the functioning of the plant, he also directed to increase the monitoring of 155 Vita booths operating in Rohtak, Sonipat, Jhajjar, Bhiwani, Rewari, Mahendragarh and Charkhi Dadri. The Cabinet Minister said special attention should be paid to cleanliness at the Vita booths and product sales should be ensured as per the rules of the Dairy Federation. Not only this, he directed to take strict action against Vita booth operators who sell milk products of other companies in addition to the milk products of the Vita plant.

Dr. Arvind Sharma appreciated the doubling of lassi and curd sales from the Rohtak Vita plant. He instructed the officers and employees to fulfill their responsibilities with full honesty, so that Vita products get continuous promotion through the Dairy Federation. He said the jalebi and samosas made of desi ghee are selling well in the Vita Milk Plant, Rohtak. He also instructed to make ghevar during the monsoon season.

Meeting of HPPC and HPWPC held under the chairmanship of Chief Minister

Chandigarh, June 27 -In the meeting of the High Powered Purchase Committee (HPPC), and High Powered Works Purchase Committee (HPWPC) held here today under the chairmanship of Haryana Chief Minister Sh. Nayab Singh Saini, approval was granted for contracts and procurement of various goods worth over Rs 718 crores . Following negotiations with various bidders, the committees succeeded in saving over Rs 26 crores by finalizing reduced rates during the meeting.

Cabinet Ministers Sh Mahipal Dhanda, Sh Vipul Goyal, Sh Shyam Singh Rana, Sh Ranbir Gangwa and Smt Shruti Choudhry were present in the meeting.

During the meeting, contracts worth approximately Rs 132 crore were approved for the manufacturing and supply of transmission line towers, sub-station structures, HT underground cables, and related components by Haryana Vidyut Prasaran Nigam Limited and Dakshin Haryana Bijli Vitran Nigam for the financial year 2024–25. In addition , approval was also granted for strengthening the distribution infrastructure to reduce Aggregate Technical and Commercial (AT&C) losses under the Revamped Distribution Sector Scheme (RDSS) in the Naraingarh Division of Ambala District. The project is estimated to cost approximately Rs 53.86 crore.

During the meeting, approval was granted for the purchase of approximately 220 lakh doses of the FMD+HS dual vaccine by the Animal Husbandry and Dairy Department, aimed at preventing foot-and-mouth and hemorrhagic septicemia diseases in cattle. The total cost of the procurement is estimated at Rs 73.45 crore. It was informed in the meeting that Haryana is currently free from both diseases, and regular vaccination campaigns are conducted to maintain this status. The vaccination is administered twice a year, at six-month intervals.

Projects worth over Rs 127 crore of GMDA approves

During the meeting, the project to further improve the quality of purified water by upgrading the existing 120 MLD STP at Berhampur was also approved. This project is expected to cost approximately Rs 33.88 crore. Additionally, the meeting approved the upgradation of the existing 100 MLD STP in Gurugram city and the establishment of a 75 MLD tertiary treatment plant, with a  estimated cost of Rs 51.34 crore.

Chief Minister Sh Nayab Singh Saini directed that greater efforts be made to increase the utilization of treated water. He emphasized that treated water should be supplied to industries according to their requirements to reduce the consumption of clean water and curb groundwater extraction.

The meeting also approved the purchase and maintenance of non-medical equipment worth Rs 26.95 crore for Shri Sheetla Mata Devi Medical College, located in Sector 102A, Kherki Majra, Gurugram. Additionally, the relocation of recycled water pipelines at various locations along the Dwarka Expressway was also approved at an estimated cost of Rs 14.90 crore.

The projects of the Faridabad Metropolitan Development Authority were also approved in the meeting. Pipelines will be laid to improve the water supply in Faridabad, which will significantly benefit the NIT and Ballabhgarh areas. This project is estimated to cost approximately 13.85 crore rupees. Additionally, approval was granted for the cleaning and maintenance of the master sewerage and drain lines in Faridabad city, with a project cost of Rs 21.35 crore. Furthermore, a bus depot will be constructed in Sector-61 of Faridabad to support electric buses under the city bus service, including a provision for a charging station. This project received approval for Rs 18.48 crore.

Additionally, the construction of a Girls’ Hostel at Pandit Bhagwat Dayal Sharma University of Health Sciences in Rohtak at a cost of Rs 23.64 crore, a 100-bed Mother and Child Hospital (MCH) block at the Civil Hospital campus in Sonepat district at a cost of approximately Rs 49 crore, and a 100-bed MCH at the SHKM Government Medical College campus in Nalhar, Nuh district, at a cost of Rs 27.95 crore were also approved.

 In the meeting, several infrastructure projects were approved, including the construction of a ROB on the Jind-Panipat railway section and the Delhi-Ambala section in Panipat district; the extension of the existing two-lane ROB to four-lane ROB at  level crossing (LC) 575B on the Mumbai-Delhi railway line on the Ballabhgarh-Pali-Dhauj-Sohna road in Ballabhgarh; and the construction of a RUB at LC number 576 on the Delhi-Mathura railway line, crossing Delhi-Mathura road to Mujesar in Faridabad district. These projects will cost approximately 109 crore rupees.

Principal Advisor Urban Development Sh DS Dhesi, Additional Chief Secretary of School Education Department Sh Vineet Garg, Additional Chief Secretary Irrigation and Water Resources Department Sh Anurag Aggarwal, Commissioner and Secretary-I Finance Department Mohammed Shayin, Director General of Supply and Disposal Department Sh Pankaj, besides administrative secretaries of the concerned departments were present in the meeting.

Vigilance Bureau arrests police Sub Inspector taking Rs. 8,000 bribe

Chandigarh, June 27, 2025 :

 The Punjab Vigilance Bureau (VB), during its ongoing drive against corruption, has arrested Sub Inspector (SI) Ravipal, posted at police station Amir Khas, district Fazilka for demanding and accepting a bribe of Rs. 8,000.

Disclosing this here today an official spokesperson of the state VB said the arrest has been made following a complaint lodged by a resident of Guruhar Sahai in Ferozepur district.

He further added that the complaint has approached the VB alleging that the accused SI had demanded a bribe Rs. 10,000 for drafting and submitting reply of a writ petition in high court and submitting chargesheet in the district court pertaining to a police case registered against the complainant.

The spokesperson further informed that after verification of this complaint, the VB team laid a trap during which the accused police official was apprehended while he was receiving a bribe of Rs 8000 from the complainant in the presence of two official witnesses.

In this regard a case under the Prevention of Corruption Act has been registered against the aforementioned accused at the VB Police Station, Ferozpur Range. The accused would be produced before the competent court tomorrow and further investigation into this case was under progress, he said.