Chandigarh, May 5, 2025 – In a major crackdown under the zero-tolerance policy against corruption spearheaded by Chief Minister Bhagwant Singh Mann led Punjab Government, the Punjab Vigilance Bureau (VB) on Monday nabbed Balkar Singh, posted as Superintendent, in Block Development and Panchayats Office, Amloh, in Fatehgarh Sahib district, red handed while demanding and accepting a bribe of Rs 60,000.

Disclosing this here today, an official spokesperson of the State VB said the accused was apprehended following a complaint lodged by a Sarpanch of Fatehgarh Sahib district.

The complainant has informed the VB that he had done mining on village Shamlat land during his tenure as Sarpanch and his case was pending with ADC Fatehgarh Sahib. He alleged that the above said accused has demanded the bribe to help him in resolving his case.

The spokesperson further added that following a verification of the complaint, the VB flying squad team laid a trap and apprehended the accused red-handed while he was receiving the bribe of Rs 60,000 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 accused at the VB Police Station Flying Squad-1, Punjab at Mohali. He would be produced before the competent court tomorrow and further investigations into this case was under progress, he said.

Chandigarh, May 5, 2025 — Punjab Government’s fight against corruption has gained further momentum as the Punjab Vigilance Bureau (VB) has arrested a government official in Amritsar following a complaint lodged through the Chief Minister’s Anti-Corruption Action Line. The vigilance operation underscores the growing success of this public initiative, which has become a powerful tool in empowering citizens and exposing corrupt practices across government offices.

Disclosing this an official spokesperson of VB informed that the arrested accused has been identified as Satnam Singh, Superintendent at the Block Development and Panchayats Office (BDPO), Verka Block, Rani-Ka-Bagh, Amritsar, who had  demanded a bribe of Rs 60,000 from a resident of village Nabipur, district Amritsar in exchange for official action on an encroachment complaint.

He further added that the complainant had informed that he had submitted a complaint to the BDPO Verka, Lakhwinder Kaur, concerned the illegal occupation of the approach road to his residence by his neighbour Gurwinder Singh. The BDPO had marked the matter to the said Superintendent, who in turn instructed Junior Engineer Mohit Kumar and Panchayat Secretary Ashok Kumar to verify the facts.

The verification revealed that the encroachment on government land was genuine, leading to a penalty of Rs 3,284 being imposed. Despite repeated notices, the encroacher failed to comply, prompting the BDPO office to request police assistance to remove the illegal structures.

However, instead of proceeding with due legal action, Superintendent Satnam Singh had demanded Rs 50,000 to “facilitate” further steps, instructing the complainant to pay Rs 20,000 as an advance. The complainant transferred Rs 10,000 via Google Pay to Satnam Singh’s account. Subsequently, the illegal pillars were removed with police assistance.

Further retaliation by the neighbour, who blocked the village drainage, led the complainant to approach the accused again. Satnam Singh reportedly told the complainant to stay silent about the bribe or risk further inaction regarding the drainage issue.

The VB verified all facts before registering a case under the Prevention of Corruption Act against Satnam Singh at the VB Police Station, Range Amritsar. He would be presented before the competent court tomorrow. The role of BDPO Lakhwinder Kaur is under scrutiny and would be investigated further, the spokesperson added.

The Punjab Vigilance Bureau reaffirmed its zero tolerance policy against corruption and urged citizens to actively report any instances of bribery or misconduct by government officials. “The Chief Minister’s Anti-Corruption Action Line is a weapon in the hands of the people. We call upon all citizens to come forward without fear. Timely reporting leads to timely action,” the VB stated.

Chandigarh May 5: In line with his commitment to providing roof to every poor and needy person in the state, Haryana Chief Minister Sh Nayab Singh Saini launched the allotment process for residential plots to 1.58 lakh applicants across 537 Gram Panchayats and 24 Mahagram Panchayats, under the second phase of the Mukhyamantri Gramin Awas Yojana 2.0.

          Speaking at a program held at the Haryana Civil Secretariat here today, the Chief Minister stated that the present government had committed in its Sankalp Patra to provide housing for poor families in both urban and rural areas in the State. “Our double-engine government is consistently working toward fulfilling this promise,” he said.

          He highlighted that Prime Minister Sh Narendra Modi launched the Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana to ensure every family has a pucca house. Building on this initiative, Mukhyamantri Awas Yojana is being implemented in Haryana. Under this scheme, the state government is providing plots to poor families, while also offering financial assistance for constructing houses under the Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana.

          The Chief Minister stated that under the Mukhyamantri Gramin Awas Yojana 2.0, plots were allotted to 4,532 beneficiaries through a draw in 61 Gram Panchayats and one Mahagram Panchayat during the first phase. Today, under the second phase of the scheme, the process for allotment of plots for 1.58 lakh applicants in 537 Gram Panchayats and 24 Mahagram Panchayats has been launched. He further informed that residential plots of 100 square yards will be allotted to applicants of Gram Panchayats, while those in Mahagram Panchayats will receive plots of 50 square yards.

Chandigarh, May 5- Reiterating its commitment to farmer welfare, the Haryana Government once again took a step in the interest of farmers and released compensation amount to farmers for the loss of crops due to fire incidents that took place in the state in the past few days.

Chief Minister Sh. Nayab Singh Saini today released about Rs 86.96 lakh for about 324 acres of area in the accounts of 151 farmers of 17 districts of the state (except Ambala, Mewat, Palwal, Faridabad and Panchkula) in a programme organized at the Haryana Civil Secretariat. This amount is being given proportionately by the Revenue and Disaster Management Department and the Agriculture and Farmers’ Welfare Department. The Chief Minister said the farmers whose crops have been burnt due to arson will be given free fertilizers and seeds by the government for sowing the next crop.

For the first time in the history of Haryana, compensation for arson in crops is also being given by the Agriculture and Farmers’ Welfare Department. This time, the farmers are getting double the compensation that they usually get.

Sh. Nayab Singh Saini said our government is always working for the upliftment and interest of farmers. Farmers are our food providers and they will not be allowed to face any kind of problem. He said due to a large number of fire incidents in the fields in the recent past, damage to the Rabi crop of the 2025 season was reported in the state. In view of this, the government decided to open the e-Kshatipurti portal to receive claims of loss from the concerned farmers. After this, the regional officers of the Revenue Department were also instructed to immediately verify the claims and upload their report on the portal.

The e-Kshatipurti portal is being run by the State Government through ‘Meri Fasal Mera Byora’ portal to receive and verify compensation claims related to crop loss due to natural calamities from Rabi season 2023.

On this portal, farmers themselves submit their crop loss claims and compensation is being paid through online mode after due procedure as per prescribed norms. This online process has made the entire process of compensation claim simple as well as transparent.

Chandigarh, May 5

Haryana Chief Minister Sh. Nayab Singh Saini has the vision of making every poor family socially and economically advanced. For this, the Chief Minister is not only making public welfare schemes but is also completing them at the ground level.

In this connection, the Chief Minister transferred an amount of Rs 86.93 crore to the accounts of 2286 beneficiaries through DBT here today. Notably, the Haryana Government had launched the ‘Deen Dayal Upadhyaya Antyodaya Parivar Suraksha Yojana’ (Dayalu) from April 1, 2023 to provide financial assistance to the family in case of the death of the earning head in any accident in Antyodaya families. Under this scheme, financial assistance of Rs 1076.275 crore has already been sent to 28644 beneficiaries digitally through NPCI through their Aadhaar linked bank accounts.

Under this unique scheme of Haryana, financial assistance is provided in case of accidental or untimely death of a person above 6 years and up to 60 years of age. In this, the family is given financial assistance of Rs 1 lakh on the death of a child between the age of 6 to 12 years, Rs 2 lakh on the death of a teenager between the age of 12 to 18 years, Rs 3 lakh on the death of a youth between the age of 18 to 25 years, Rs 5 lakh on the death of a person between the age of 25 to 50 years (who is usually the head of the family and the breadwinner) and Rs 3 lakh on the death of a person between the age of 45 to 60 years.

In a case where the age of the beneficiary is more than 25 years and up to 45 years and there is a minor girl in the family, then out of the assistance amount of Rs 5 lakh, Rs 2.5 lakh will be sent to the bank account of the minor girl.

Notably, Chief Minister Sh. Nayab Singh Saini has always been sensitive towards such poor families and is committed to extend help in the time of difficulty.

Chandigarh, May 5 – Haryana Chief Minister Sh. Nayab Singh Saini said the state government is in a proactive mode. The pension of people eligible for various social security pension schemes is processed automatically and people do not have to run around offices like before.

The Chief Minister was addressing the ‘Financial Assistance Distribution Ceremony’ organized for the beneficiaries of various public welfare schemes today at the Haryana Civil Secretariat in Chandigarh. Agriculture and Farmers’ Welfare Minister Sh. Shyam Singh Rana was also present on the occasion.

On this occasion, the Chief Minister transferred the first pension of 24,695 new beneficiaries of various social security pension schemes directly to their bank accounts with a single click. A total amount of Rs 7.48 crore was sent to all these beneficiaries. The Chief Minister congratulated all the new beneficiaries. Notably, under various social security pension schemes run by the Haryana Government, financial assistance/allowance is provided regularly to the eligible beneficiaries. On the instructions of the Chief Minister, the State Government had invited applications for pension from eligible persons under various social security pension schemes. In the month of April 2025, a total pension amount of Rs 7.48 crore has been sent to the accounts of 24,695 new beneficiaries approved under these schemes by the Chief Minister today. Now, the total number of beneficiaries under these pension schemes in the state has increased to 35,16,814 and a pension amount of Rs 1060.16 crore will be given per month.

The Chief Minister said under various social security pension schemes, the number of eligible people has increased by a total of 17407 among the beneficiaries of old age allowance. Apart from these, there has been an increase of 1673 beneficiaries in widow pension, 864 in handicapped pension, 1700 in the number of beneficiaries of financial assistance given to destitute children, 2062 in the beneficiaries given to widowers and unmarried persons, 530 in Ladli social security allowance, 106 in the number of disabled children not going to school, 351 in the financial assistance given to third and fourth stage cancer patients, one in transgender allowance and one in the number of beneficiaries of financial assistance given to persons suffering from rare diseases.

          Thus, the total beneficiaries of all these various social security pension schemes have become 24695.

On this occasion, Haryana Chief Secretary Sh. Anurag Rastogi, Additional Chief Secretary of Revenue and Disaster Management Department Dr. Sumita Misra, Additional Chief Secretary of Agriculture Department Sh. Raja Sekhar Vundru, Additional Chief Secretary of Social Justice, Empowerment, Scheduled and Backward Classes Welfare Department Smt. G. Anupama, Principal Secretary to Chief Minister Sh. Arun Kumar Gupta, Additional Principal Secretary to Chief Minister Sh. Saket Kumar, Director General of Information, Public Relations and Language Department Sh. KM Pandurang and other senior officers were present.

Deputy Commissioners from various districts of the state were also connected to this function through video conferencing.