IEP Chandigarh, July 6

Exposing the lie of former Chief Minister Captain Amarinder Singh and former Deputy Chief Minister Sukhjinder Singh Randhawa that they don’t know about Mukhtiar Ansari, the Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann on Monday released letter written by Randhawa to Captain about the whole issue. The Chief Minister said that the letter  written by Randhawa to Captain on April 1, 2021 clearly shows that both these leaders were well aware of the entire incident. He said that surprisingly both these leaders are now feigning ignorance about issue and are trying to mislead the people. However, Bhagwant Mann said in reality both these leaders were hand in glove with each other to save the dreaded gangster. The Chief Minister said that these ‘experienced politicians’ tried their level best to save the dreaded gangster and ensure comfortable stay for him in jail. He said that it is surprising that these leaders are claiming that they are not aware that who came in jail or not but reality is that they themselves hatched the entire conspiracy to save Ansari. Bhagwant Mann said that these shameless leaders are misleading the people with their lies but their every sin will be exposed in coming days. The Chief Minister said that the honest government formed by the people of state will not allow the nefarious designs of these politicians to succeed. He said that they will be made accountable for every sin conducted against the state and its people. Bhagwant Mann further said that this was just tip of iceberg and he will bring real face of these leaders through number of proofs he has against these leaders. 

IEP Chandigarh, July 3

Punjab Legislative Assembly Speaker Kultar Singh Sandhwan has urged farmers not to use dangerous chemical ‘Paraquat’ to ripe the moong crop.          Expressing grave concern over the trend of using hazardous chemicals by the farmers, Mr. Sandhwan said that excessive usage of various chemicals for agricultural production is causing dreadful diseases like cancer. He said that some farmers in the state are preferring to ripe the moong crop unnaturally by spraying chemical ‘Paraquat’. He said that while this chemical is harmful for crops, it is also extremely dangerous for human health.          Mr. Sandhwan further said that farmers are preferring to ripe moong by spraying this chemical on the standing crop instead of cutting and drying it. He said that ‘Paraquat’ is the chemical using for herbicides. He said that this chemical has not been recommended by the Agriculture Department or the Agriculture University but farmers are using to save the time.          Mr. Sandhwan has appealed to the farmers not to use this chemical keeping in view of the larger public interest and prefer to ripe the crop naturally.

IEP Chandigarh, July 3       

   Political parties will now be able to file their financial accounts online to the Election Commission. The measure has been enabled with the launch of a new web-portal (https://iems.eci.gov.in/) to facilitate the online filing of Contribution Report, Audited Annual Account and Election Expenditure Statement by the Political Parties. These financial statements are required to be submitted by political parties to the Election Commission/Chief Electoral Officers of States/Union Territories, as per the Representation of People’s Act, 1951 & transparency guidelines issued by the Commission, from time to time, over the last many years.          Divulging the details, CEO Punjab Sibin C informed that in a letter addressed to all political parties, ECI has said that the facility has been created with twin objectives: firstly, to facilitate political parties in overcoming the difficulties in physical filing of reports, and secondly, to ensure timely filing of financial statements in the prescribed/standardised formats. The online availability of the data is expected to enhance the level of compliance and transparency.          In the letter, the ECI pointed to the pivotal position of political parties, and stressed that it is incumbent on them to adhere to the principles of democratic functioning and transparency in electoral processes, particularly in financial disclosures.          The on-line portal also has a facility for sending reminders in the form of messages on the registered mobile number and registered emails of the authorised representatives of the political party so that the dates of compliances are not missed. A comprehensive guiding manual with graphical representations, and FAQs have also been sent to the political parties explaining the online module and the process of filing reports online.          He added that to give further guidance on the on-line filing, the ECI would also organise a hands-on training programme for the designated person(s) from various political parties. The political parties not wishing to file the financial report through online mode will have to convey the reasons for not filing on-line to the Commission in writing and may continue to file its reports in hard copy along with CDs/Pen drive in the prescribed formats. The commission will, in turn, publish all such reports online, along with a letter of justification sent by the party for not filing financial statements online. 

IEP Chandigarh, July 3     

     In a dream come true, the farmers of the state got canal water after decades on the directions of Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann to provide the same to them. For the first time in their lives, the new generation of farmers saw nature’s bounty irrigating their fields in the form of canal water.          It was stated by Water Resources Minister Gurmeet Singh Meet Hayer during a press conference at Punjab Bhawan here today.          Meet Hayer lauded all the officers and employees of his department for the historic achievement and said that strengthening the canal water network is the main need of the hour to save the agriculture and groundwater of the state. He said that whereas the farmers are  getting canal water for the first time, the same was provided to cotton belt farmers during sowing season on their demand.          Meet Hayer further said that out of 15741 water courses closed in the state due to the non-availability of canal water for the last several decades, 13471 water courses were restored by the Water Resources Department during the last two and a half months. Now, out of a total of 47000 water courses in Punjab, only 2270 remain to be restored, regarding which the work is also going on a war footing. To restore the water courses, the government issued a notification and they were given government status instead of community water courses. Apart from this, the condition of repairing the water courses was abolished only after 25 years.          The Water Resources Minister said that the department has restored these closed water courses at a cost of Rs.  200 Crore through MGNREGA. Similarly, unutilized funds were also used. More than 20 percent of the canals in Punjab are running beyond their capacity due to which sufficient water is also reaching the tails.          The department also increased the capacity of BML, BDC and UBDC. He said that they are continuously getting the canals inspected by deploying Patwari to XENs of the department to ensure that canal water reaches the farmers. He said that till last year in Punjab only 21 percent of irrigation was done with canal water while the remaining 79 percent was done with underground water. The new initiative will significantly increase the area irrigated with canal water.          Meet Hayer further said that taking another big step, the revenue cases of canal water disputes which have been pending for a long time were resolved quickly. In one year, 4700 new cases of disputes came up while 5016 cases were solved by the department in which the backlog was also cleared. Now only 1563 cases are pending which will also be solved soon.          Giving details about the works being done to deal with the possible threat of floods in the rainy season, Meet Hayer said that the department has completed 318 flood prevention works at cost of Rs. 89.10 Crore before the season started. Among them, 193 drain cleaning works were completed with Rs. 39.53 Crore expenditure and 75 different flood prevention works were done with Rs. 46.43 Crore cost. Similarly, five machines were purchased by the department at the cost of Rs. 3.15 Crore which are being used for cleaning the drains. He said that with this, the department will now clean the drains throughout the year.          Principal Secretary Water Resources Krishan Kumar was also present on this occasion. 

IEP Chandigarh/Pathankot, July 3   

       With Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann directed the Punjab Police to ensure smooth and safe travel for devotees going for the Amarnath Yatra, Special Director General of Police (Special DGP) Law and Order Arpit Shukla on Monday presided over a high-level meeting of Police, Army, Civil Administration and other security agencies to take stock of the security arrangements in this regard.          The meeting, which was held in Pathankot, focused on strategic preparations for the ongoing Amarnath Yatra, encompassing diverse aspects such as police deployment, security measures, traffic management, and disaster management.          The Special DGP also deliberated on concerns including camp security, the establishment of a resilient communication network, meticulous plan for traffic regulation along the national highway and other thoroughfares. He also asked the concerned officers to make appropriate arrangements for parking, and the use strategic deployment of forces across all four yatra routes— including from Shambhu Border to Phillaur, Phillaur to Bhogpur, Bhogpur to Pathankot, and Pathankot to Lakhanpur Barrier.          Notably, the Punjab stretch spanning from Shambhu to Madhopur has been intricately divided into four sectors— Shambu to Phillaur, Phillaur to Bhogpur, Bhogpur to Mukerian, and Mukerian to Madhopur.          Emphasising the crucial role of close coordination among officers, security agencies, and the civil administration, the Special DGP stressed on the need for meticulous planning and effective mechanisms to ensure the smooth and peaceful conduct of the yatra. He exhorted officers to pay special attention to vulnerable locations and base camps, besides directing them to ensure robust security arrangements at such areas.          While underscoring the necessity of comprehensive disaster management arrangements to address any natural calamities that may arise, he stressed on the need to implement standard operating procedures (SOPs) to handle eventualities such as fire incidents or flash floods.          Later, the Special DGP Arpit Shukla also visited Facilitation Centre established by the Punjab Police at Madhopur Barrier.          Prominent officers including Commanders from different Brigades, DIG Border Range Narinder Bhargav, Deputy Commissioner Pathankot, SSP Pathankot Harkamal Preet Singh Khakh, SSP Kathua, SSP Noorpur, Shailesh Kumar from RAW and Ravinder Thakur from IB were present in the meeting.