IEP Chandigarh, July 19    

      Giving a big relief to the cancer patients of the state, Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) Rajya Sabha Member Parliament Sanjeev Arora on Wednesday announced to provide free treatment worth Rs 1.5 lakh each to 100 Cancer patients every year.          He made this announcement, while chairing a meeting of Punjab Health Department Officials here at Punjab Bhawan.          Detailing about the initiative, MP Arora said that medical expenses are very high in India and in the case of cancer treatment, the expenses incur into lakhs of rupees. It was his dream that no patient of cancer should suffer due to lack of treatment because of unaffordability, he said, while adding that to realise this dream, he has formed ‘Krishna Pran Breast Cancer Charitable Trust’  in the memory of his mother, who died recently fighting breast cancer. This trust will provide Rs 1.5 lakh worth of free treatment to 100 Cancer patients every year.          It is pertinent to mention here that Cancer patients in Punjab are already being provided treatment worth Rs 1.5 lakh under Mukh Mantri Cancer Rahat Kosh and this proposed treatment will be in the shape of matching contribution by the trust. Therefore, the patient will get free treatment worth a total of Rs 3 lakhs.          Emphasizing on the need to raise awareness about the Mukh Mantri Cancer Rahat Kosh scheme, the MP said, as general public is not aware of this scheme and as a result many of the cancer patients fail to take benefit of this scheme.          Principal Secretary Health Vivek Partap Singh assured the MP to implement the proposal in expedited manner and instructed the concerned officials to carry out the modalities for earliest implementation of this new initiative.          Director Health and Family Welfare Punjab Dr Adarshpal Kaur and Assistant Director cum State Program Officer Cancer Control Cell Punjab Dr. Sandeep Singh Gill were also present in the meeting. 

IEP Chandigarh, July 19    

      To ensure efficiency, economy, transparency, fair and equitable treatment of bidders, Punjab Finance Minister Advocate Harpal Singh Cheema on Wednesday launched the State Public Procurement Portal (SPPP). The Punjab Finance department has developed this portal in collaboration with the National Informatics Centre (NIC).          Launching the portal during the one day orientation program for State Account Services (SAS) officers organised here at Municipal Bhawan, Finance Minister Harpal Singh Cheema said that the State Public Procurement Portal has been setup under Section 43 of the Punjab Transparency in Public Procurement Act, 2019 with the aim of improving transparency and accountability in the Procurement Procedure.          He said that the portal would provide access to the information regarding basic tender details (latest active tender, opening/closing tender & cancelled tender), bidding documents, active corrigendum, act & rules, appeal and its procedures, annual procurement plan, list of bidders who presented bids including during pre-qualification or bidder registration, list of pre-qualified and registered bidders, list of bidders excluded under section 24 with reasons, decisions regarding appeals mandated under section 49 and 50 the act, details of successful bids; their prices and bidders and list of blacklisted bidders.          Highlighting the objectives of the portal, the Finance Minister said that SPPP would also help in promoting competition in the procurement process by providing single point access to the information on procurements across various procuring entities. He said that each procuring entity would ensure the procurement related information to be published on this portal. “All procuring entities would also publish their procurement plans on the portal in the beginning of each financial year”, he added.          Addressing the SAS officers participating in the orientation program, the Finance Minister said that the Punjab Government is committed to improving the economic position of the state by adopting financial reforms and technical innovations. He encouraged the officers to keep on updating their professional skills by training programs and enhancing their professional qualification. He said that a training policy for SAS officers is under consideration to improve their efficiency of financial management as per the needs of latest IT and other technical advancements. On this occasion he also invited the officers to give their suggestions and feedback regarding the difficulties being faced by them at ground level.          The Orientation program was focused apprising SAS officers about the new modules of IFMS and IHRMS designed to bring transparency, accuracy and speed in the official work. They were asked to perform their duties as per rules and regulations without succumbing to any pressure, and a message was conveyed that any negligence in the work would be taken seriously.          Prominent amongst others, Principal Secretary Finance Ajoy Kumar Sinha, Secretary Finance Diprava Lakra, Secretary Expenditure cum Director Treasury Mohammad Tayyab, and Special Secretary Finance Yashanjit Singh were also present on this occasion.

IEP Chandigarh, July 19    

      After a month’s training at the Jwala Gutta Badminton Academy in Hyderabad, one could see the excitement and enthusiasm on the faces of the players who returned to Punjab. Eight year old Yuvan Bansal, 10 year old Kamil Sabharwal, 13 year old Shivan Dhingra and 14 year old Arushi Mehta were full of confidence. These new age players now aim to reach the top in the Badminton field like Pullela Gopichand, Saina Nehwal, PV Sindhu, Jwala Gutta and Lakshe Sen.          Such confidence was evident in all the 34 players as they shared their training experiences with Sports Minister Gurmeet Singh Meet Hayer. The surroundings of Punjab Bhawan Chandigarh were filled with the enthusiasm these budding sportsmen. Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann’s dream of making Punjab the number one state in sports in the country will now be fulfilled by these players with their diligence and hard work.          The 34 players sent to Hyderabad for training at their own expense by the Sports Department of Punjab will continue to receive guidance during their daily practice to further hone the lessons and techniques learned, from Dronacharya awardee and former Indian badminton coach SM Arif. After meeting with ace Indian Badminton star Jawala Gutta, every player was determined to be like her.          During the meeting players also shared their experiences with Sports Minister Meet Hayer. The new techniques and the method of stretching were liked most by the players. Meet Hayer assured the sportsmen that the State Government is making all possible efforts to bring the sportsmen of Punjab onto the international stage of sports and the new sports policy will give a new direction to the sportsmen of the state.          On this occasion, the players also presented a memento to Meet Hayer, which was specially sent by Jawala Gutta Academy for the Sports Minister.          Director Sports Harpreet Singh Sudan said that a total of 34 badminton players in the age group of 8 to 15 years received one month of training in Hyderabad. There were 18 girls and 16 boys among them. Coach Varun Kumar and Sehnaz Khan also went with these players. At the end of the camp, the Bhangra performance presented by the players of Punjab enthralled all the players of Jwala Gutta Academy.

IEP Chandigarh, July 19   

       Water Supply and Sanitation Minister Bram Shanker Jimpa has informed that more than 83 percent of the water supply schemes of the villages affected by floods have been repaired. He said that 368 water supply schemes of south, north and central zone were affected due to flood and 308 schemes have been repaired till 12 noon on July 18 with the restoration rate being 83.69 percent.          He said that some days back, Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann had released funds to the tune of Rs. 10 crore for the repair of drinking water supply schemes and also directed to provide clean drinking water to the flood affected people in all circumstances.          It may be recalled that Bram Shankar Jimpa had also held a meeting with the officials and field staff of department last week and instructed that there should be no shortage of clean drinking water in the flood-affected rural areas.          It is pertinent to mention that the Punjab Government has ensured the supply of clean water to the flood victims through alternative arrangements and sufficient quantity of water tankers have been sent to the areas where water could not reach through pipes.          Jimpa informed that the remaining 60 water supply schemes will also be made operational soon. Officials and employees of different zones and circles are actively working to repair them.