She said that the Punjab Tourism Summit and Travel Mart, which is scheduled to take place from 11th to 13th September, 2023 at the Amity Campus of SAS Nagar Mohali, is poised to be a significant gathering of tourism stakeholders and investors from across the country. This event will offer a unique platform to showcase the abundant tourism potential that Punjab has to offer, she categorically added.

          Minister Anmol Gagan Maan stated, “We have extended invitations to tourism stakeholders and investors from all corners of India to participate in this summit. It will be a dynamic showcase of Punjab’s tourism opportunities.”

          The Tourism and Culture Affairs Minister informed that the state government is in process to launch a dedicated mobile application, aiming at facilitating seamless communication between investors and tour operators. She said that this app will serve as a one-stop platform for those looking to invest in our state’s tourism potential and for tour operators seeking to offer unique experiences to travelers.

          The summit will kick off on the 11th of September, followed by the Punjab Travel Mart from the 11th to the 13th of September 2023. Apart from this, Familiarization (FAM) trips are scheduled from the 13th of September 2023, encompassing Sri Amritsar Sahib, Sri Anandpur Sahib, Kapurthala and Pathankot.

          Minister Anmol Gagan Maan also highlighted remarkable initiatives undertaken by the government to bolster tourism in Punjab, including the sanctioning of projects worth Rs.91.55 Crores under the Heritage Circuit Theme of Swadesh Darshan Scheme. An impressive amount of Rs. 67.00 Crores has already been released for these projects, expected to be completed by December 2023.

          In a bid to streamline processes, Ms. Anmol Gagan Maan said that the state government has introduced online registration for three schemes such as Farm Stay, Bed and Breakfast Homestay and Tented Accommodation and Camping Sites, reducing compliance burdens for citizens and businesses. She said that currently, 56 Farm House Properties, 84 Bed & Breakfast Units, and 7 Tented Accommodation units have been registered with the department.

          She said that the government has already allocated resources for hosting various festivals and events, such as the 6th Military Literature Festival, commemorating the 50th anniversary of District Faridkot and signing an MOU with the Indian Council for Cultural Relations to promote the state’s art and culture.

          Looking ahead, Ms. Anmol Gagan Maan unveiled upcoming initiatives for 2023-24, including a focus on Border Tourism, the upgrade of the Anglo-Sikh War Museum, the enhancement of Shaheed Bhagat Singh Street and the launch of Wellness Tourism and Culture Policies

IEP SAS Nagar

To prevent floods and damage to the nearby inhabitants, the water courses under encroachments would be cleared after getting an extensive demarcation of the areas under flow and buffer zone, said the deputy commissioner Aashika Jain, in a meeting held today.

      She said that the Northern Canal and Drainage Act 1873 mandates that no water body or drain should be obstructed. Referring to the recent floods scenario, she said that it has been noticed that the smooth flow of some of the water bodies have been hampered by the unplanned constructions. To prevent the flooding and maintain uninterrupted flow of the water bodies, it has been decided to allow future construction and development alongside water bodies after getting proper NOCs from the Drainage Department. 

       She directed the Sub Divisional Magistrates to complete the extensive demarcation move within stipulated time with the help of the Department of water resources officials.

     Taking up the issue of developing Miyawaki Forests in urban and rural areas, she directed the Urban local bodies officials of Zirakpur and Kharar to identify the sites in both the MCs. Similarly, the rest of the urban local bodies also asked to do the same exercise in their areas to develop Miyawaki Forests.

      Taking stock of the pendency of Driving licences and Registration Copies of the newly registered vehicles, the deputy commissioner directed the Secretary, RTA SAS Nagar to clear the pendency in a time bound manner.

      Similarly, to strengthen the health infrastructure in the district, an Aam Aadmi Clinic would be set up at Balongi, said the Deputy Commissioner. She said that we have 34 existing AACs who have been monitored regularly to ensure health facilities to the residents. Apart from that all the AACs have been issued a fund of Rs 10,000 each for requisite maintenance. She directed the health officials to maintain all the necessary stocks of Medicines and basic equipment.

     The Deputy Commissioner also reviewed the development works of Urban Local Bodies as well as Panchayats including street lights, drinking water, development works and drainage systems etc.

     Revenue Department officials asked to complete the crop damage assessment timely besides distribution of compensation to the affected farmers.

      Assessing the pendency of Sewa Kendras, the deputy commissioner directed to clear the pendency immediately to provide relief to the residents.

     Water supply and sanitation department officials asked to make sure to supply drinking water to all the consumers and house holds. She said that the 42 schemes for those a fund of Rs 45 lakh has been sought should be maintained on priority basis.

     Social Security Department officials asked to provide monetry benefits on a monthly basis on stipulated dates. They were asked to simplify the performa to ease the process of benefits. Food Supply officials directed to ensure to implement the supply of floor wheat instead of wheat grains that is expected to launch from next month.

     The officers who were present in the meeting included ADCs Viraj Shyamkarn Tidke, Geetika Singh and Damanjit Singh Mann.

Balraj Kundu, independent MLA from Meham assembly seat of Rohtak district, launched his new political party by holding a press conference at Hotel Mount View here today. The name of his newly established organization is Haryana Jansevak Party. He launched the party after getting wide feedback from the people of the state. The leader said that he would reveal his party’s strategy at a massive rally in Jind on November 1.

Balraj Kundu said, “We will not forge an alliance with JJP, BJP or Congress. His thinking is to give a new option to the people of Haryana. Our youth are falling prey to drugs and the crime rate has increased a lot. There is no one to listen to the pain of farmers. Insurance companies are dealing arbitrarily with the farmers. Compensation has not been given for the last two years. Even after depositing the premium, money is not given, nor is the premium being refunded. Insurance companies have committed a scam worth thousands of crores and this is not possible without the instigation of the state government. That is why I have formed this party to save Haryana.”

The state government has committed huge loot in the name of electricity. Bills have started rising due to the installation of a speed meter. This is very wrong. Seeing all these things I decided to form a new party. The present government of the state has not done anything noteworthy in the last nine years, rather crimes have doubled from before. If compared with the previous government in the state, debt has increased five times, inflation has increased four times and unemployment has increased three times. Asha workers, work instructors, and clerks are all on strike, whose condition has not been inquired about.

He said that the present government is avoiding its accountability, which is why it refused to discuss all the demands and proposals raised by the opposition in the House before the Assembly session. These included the demands of honorarium of Asha workers, compensation to farmers, security of temporary workers, sarpanchs, panchs, district councilors, contract teachers association, traders, sportspersons, representatives of Dalits and backward classes, etc., which did not get attention.

He said that the BJP-JJP government of Haryana has itself admitted in the Assembly that the unemployment rate in the state has reached 8.8%. The unemployment rate which was 2.9% in 2013-14 has reached around 9.0% today. The unemployment rate at the national level is 4.1% i.e. unemployment in Haryana is more than double the national average.

Despite being adjacent to the national capital, Haryana is still struggling with unemployment. The youth are worried, while 2.02 lakh posts are lying vacant in government departments. Instead of making recruitments, the government is carrying out scams like paper leaks and paper copying. By rigging the CET, the future of the youth is constantly being pushed back.

He said that thousands of unemployed youth are turning to drugs and crime. The condition of crime is such that Haryana has been considered the most unsafe state in the country in the Central Government’s Social Progress Index. The condition of crime in Haryana is such that the crime rate has doubled from 16.02 to 31.8.

He said that unnecessary information is being collected from the public in the name of family identity cards. There are so many problems in PPP and people are running around the offices to get them fixed. Similar mistakes have been made in Property ID. In this, the landlords were shown as the tenants and the tenants as the landlords. However, the government did not take action against the companies which committed irregularities on such a large scale.

Kundu said that the government is continuously cheating the farmers. The government itself accepted in the Vidhansabha that the compensation of Rs 1303 crore to the farmers has been pending for 3 years. This is the figure which has been accepted by the government. Farmers have been waiting for compensation for many seasons. The farmers have not yet received compensation for the floods that occurred in the past.

IEP Chandigarh, August 31

Rajesh Khullar, an esteemed civil servant and Additional Chief Secretary and Financial Commissioner of Revenue and Disaster Management and Consolidation Departments, retired from his illustrious career today, marking the culmination of around 35 years of dedicated and commendable service.

Chief Secretary Sh. Sanjeev Kaushal, Chief Principal Secretary to Chief Minister Sh. D.S. Dhesi, ACS Finance Sh. Anurag Rastogi and other esteemed representatives of the Haryana IAS Officers Association came together to extend their heartfelt wishes and gratitude to Sh. Khullar on the occasion of his retirement.

In addition to his responsibilities as the FCR, Sh. Khullar also held the crucial role of Additional Chief Secretary for the School Education and Information, Public Relations, Languages, and Culture Department. A 1988 batch IAS officer, his tenure has been marked by his unwavering commitment to public service and efficient governance.

        A highlight of Sh. Rajesh Khullar’s illustrious career was his appointment as the Executive Director at the World Bank’s Washington DC office in September 2020, for a term of three years. Prior to this international assignment, he played a pivotal role as the Principal Secretary to Haryana Chief Minister Sh. Manohar Lal for nearly five years, where his contributions significantly impacted the state’s development trajectory.

        Notably, during his tenure, Sh. Khullar also shouldered the responsibilities of Haryana ACS Home, simultaneously serving as the Principal Secretary to the Chief Minister. His journey has been adorned with numerous pivotal roles across both the central and Haryana governments. Notably, he served as Joint Secretary in the Department of Economic Affairs, Union Ministry of Finance, showcasing his versatility and prowess in tackling multifaceted challenges.

IEP Chandigarh, August 31

Haryana Chief Minister, Sh. Manohar Lal will inaugurate the expansion work of Bhiwani Jail on September 5, 2023. This expansion includes a new jail that has been constructed on about 12 acres at a cost of Rs. 29.98 crore. The new jail has an inmate capacity of 774 persons, including both male and female prisoners. The new jail complex is equipped with modern facilities.

        Sharing more information in this regard, a government spokesperson said that Energy and Jails Minister, Sh. Ranjit Singh will also attend the inauguration ceremony.

        He said that in the jail expansion work, five barracks have been built in the new jail complex for male prisoners and one barrack for female prisoners. The capacity of a men’s barrack is 126 and the capacity of a women’s barrack is 114. Earlier the capacity on the old jail was 561, which has now increased to 1335.

        The spokesperson said that a shed has been built in the new jail complex for skill development, where the jail prisoners will be able to learn some work or other. Similarly, separate meeting rooms have been made in the new complex for male and female prisoners to meet their families. Apart from this, a separate kitchen has also been made. He said that an administrative block has been built in the jail premises, which houses the offices of the jail officials.

IEP Chandigarh, August 31

Amidst ongoing campaign against corruption in the state, Punjab Vigilance Bureau (VB) on Thursday nabbed an Executive Engineer (XEN) and a Sub-Divisional Officer (SDO) of the Mining department while accepting a bribe of Rs 5 lakh. The arrested accused officers have been identified as Sartaj Singh Randhawa, XEN posted at Hoshiarpur and Harjinder Singh, SDO posted at Dasuya. 

Disclosing this here today, an official spokesperson of the VB said that Jaspreet Singh resident of village Dholan of tehsil Jagraon lodged a complaint that he is working with Regal Enterprises Company as a Site Controller. The company was awarded a contract of land-filling at Mukerian-Talwara Railway line and it had also submitted Rs 41,10,117 as a fee fixed by the government with the department concerned to excavate soil from village Ghagwal of tehsil Dasuya. Thereafter, it was come into their notice that the land, for which the fee was paid, is falling under section 4 and 5 of the Forest Department. The company filed an application to transfer the royalty in March 2023. The complainant along with his senior Jatinder Singh met the accused SDO and the XEN at latter’s office on July 20 and the XEN Sartaj Randhawa said that the royalty cannot be transferred but after the repeated requests, then he said that SDO Harjinder Singh will talk to them in this regard.

After a few days, the accused SDO called Jatinder Singh to his office in Dasuya and told that the XEN Sartaj Randhawa demanded Rs 12 lakh as a bribe to transfer the royalty. Later, the accused SDO agreed on Rs 8 lakh for the same, the complainant alleged.

After preliminary investigation of the complaint, the spokesperson said that a team of VB unit Hoshiarpur laid a trap and arrested both the accused while accepting the bribe money of Rs 5 lakh from the complainant in the presence of official witnesses.

In this regard, an FIR no. 22 dated 31-08-2023 under section 7 of Prevention of Corruption Act and 34 of IPC has been registered against XEN Sartaj Randhawa and SDO Harjinder Singh at Police Station VB, Jalandhar Range. Both accused will be produced in the court on Friday and further investigation is under progress, he added.

IEP Chandigarh, August 31

The Punjab Government, led by Chief Minister S. Bhagwant Singh Mann, is promoting a campaign to provide employment opportunities to the youth. Under this series, Punjab Water Supply and Sewerage Board Chairman Dr. S.S. Ahluwalia handed over appointment letters to 21 Junior Engineers (JEs). On this occasion, CEO of Punjab Water Supply and Sewerage Board, and Secretary of the Information and Public Relations Department of Punjab, S. Malwinder Singh Jaggi, were also present.

During a function organized today at the Punjab Water Supply and Sewerage Board office in Sector 27, Chandigarh, Dr. S.S. Ahluwalia mentioned that Chief Minister Bhagwant Singh Mann is providing new employment opportunities as promised to the Punjabis. This initiative aims to keep the new generation away from drugs and wrongdoing, so they don’t have to go abroad to fulfill their dreams.

While handing over appointment letters to 21 Junior Engineers of Punjab Water Supply and Sewerage Board, Dr. S.S. Ahluwalia advised the newly appointed employees to work with a zero-tolerance policy against corruption, as there is no place for corruption in the Punjab Government.

Dr. S.S. Ahluwalia further stated that since the formation of Chief Minister Bhagwant Singh Mann’s government, 12 SDOs and 43 JEs have been recruited in the Punjab Water Supply and Sewerage Board. He also highlighted that the Punjab government has provided about 35,000 government jobs so far. He pointed out that previous governments used to offer jobs in the last year of elections, but the current government’s primary focus is to make ‘Rangla Punjab’ by providing maximum jobs to the youth. He emphasized that in the Punjab Government, youth are being recruited based on merit, without any discrimination or recommendation.

JE Nishant Garg, who received the appointment letter on the occasion, expressed gratitude to the Chief Minister, stating that Bhagwant Singh Mann is the first Chief Minister who has provided government jobs to the youth solely based on merit, without any bribe or recommendation, in a transparent manner. He added that during the five-year tenure of previous governments, jobs were only released in the last year, whereas the government of Bhagwant Singh Mann has provided government jobs to the youth on a large scale in the first year itself. He further mentioned that he had been applying for a government job since 2016, and now the Government of Bhagwant Singh Mann has granted him the job.

IEP Chandigarh, August 31

After the grand opening of ‘Khedan Watan Punjab Diyan-2023’ (Season-2) by Chief Minister S. Bhagwant Singh Mann during the opening ceremony at Bathinda, the Block level competitions kick started today. Competitions in eight sports started today in all the blocks across the state. Near about 1.5 lakh players participated in all 157 Blocks.

Sports Minister Gurmeet Singh Meet Hayer has instructed all the District Sports Officers that the players who could not register online but reach the ground should be allowed to participate. Many requests were received from Players who could not get registered for some reason. So this decision has been taken by the Sports Minister keeping in mind their interests.

Divulging the details, Meet Hayer said that this time eight age group competitions are being conducted in a total of 35 sports. Eight of these sports competitions have started at the block level. Athletics, Football, Volleyball (Smashing and Shooting), Kabaddi (National style and Circle style), Kho Kho and Tug of War in eight age groups Under 14, Under 17, Under 21, 21 to 30 years, 31 to 40 years, 41 to 55 years, 55 to 65 years and above 65 years competitions are being conducted. The block winners will further participate in district level tournaments.

Meet Hayer further said that apart from the winners of the above eight games in the District level competitions, there will be direct competitions for other new sports and then there will be State level competitions in the month of October. He said that after the success of the first season, this time more enthusiasm is being shown among the players. State level winners will be given prize money of Rs. 7 Cr. He said that the sports department has made proper arrangements for the competitions of the players.

IEP Chandigarh, August 31

Punjab Rural Development and Panchayats Minister S. Laljit Singh Bhullar, on Thursday, informed that the decision to dissolve panchayats, known as the foundation of the democracy, has been withdrawn due to technical flaws.

In a statement issued here, the Cabinet Minister said that when the matter to dissolve panchayats came to the notice of Chief Minister S. Bhagwant Singh Mann, he ordered strict action against the officers of the panchayat department due to technical flaws in the concerned order dissolving panchayats, and the decision in this regard has been withdrawn in Punjab and Haryana High Court.

The Cabinet Minister stated that the government has initiated efforts to conduct timely elections for village panchayats in the state. The process of revising voter lists, demarcation of wards and implementing a 50 percent reservation etc. for the elections was very long, but due to the floods in the state, the operation was halted as the officers and employees were engaged in relief efforts.

The Cabinet Minister affirmed the Punjab government’s commitment to holding panchayat elections as per schedule. He said that to strengthen democracy, Chief Minister S. Bhagwant Singh Mann has also announced Rs.5 lakh to each village which will unanimously elect panchayat.

In this matter, the Punjab government has suspended the principal secretary and director of the rural development and panchayat department with immediate effect for taking a technically flawed decision regarding the dissolution of panchayats.