IEP Chandigarh, March 1    

      Punjab government led by Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann is continuously striving to provide basic facilities, clean and pollution free environment to the people of the state.          Reiterating this commitment, Local Government Minister Dr. Inderbir Singh Nijjar said that taking another step in this direction the Punjab government has decided to spend about Rs 7.45 crore to improve the water supply system besides providing clean environment in Jalandhar.          Disclosing further,  Dr. Nijjar said that approximately Rs 2.12 cr. would be spent on operation, maintenance and electrical repair of 74 tubewells in zone-2 and 103 tubewells in Zone-3 of Jalandhar.          Apart from this, approximately Rs.1.69 and Rs 1.80 crore would be spent on operation, maintenance and electrical repair of 118 tubewells in Zone-4 and 104 tubewells in Zone-6.          Minister further said that about Rs 1.84 Cr will be spent for the annual maintenance of water supply & sewer lines in various wards and hiring services on out sources basis to smoothly run the work of Municipal Corporation Jalandhar.          The Minister said that the office process for these works has already been started by the local government department. He said that the Local Government Department has uploaded the e-tenders for these works on the Punjab Government website www.eproc.punjab.gov.in. If any kind of amendment would be required in these tenders the same information would be made available on this website.          He said that the Punjab government led by Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann is committed to provide corruption free administration to the people of the state. Therefore, any official or employee caught committing corruption would not be spared.          The Minister directed the officials to ensure quality and transparency in the work of the department.

IEP Chandigarh, March 1

          Punjab Government led by Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann is making continuous efforts to provide employment opportunities in Punjab. Under this series, applications have been called for filling up the post of Chairman of Punjab Public Service Commission.

          Spokesperson of the Punjab Government Personnel Department said that eminent persons having impeccable integrity, high calibre and administrative experience can apply for the post of Punjab Public Service Commission Chairman. The last date to apply for this post is March 22, 2023.

          Divulging in this regard, he said that a search committee headed by the Chief Secretary has been formed which will be considered by the High Empowered Committee chaired by the Chief Minister of Punjab after shortlisting the names from the applications received.

IEP Chandigarh, 1 March

          Punjab Public Works and Power Minister Mr. Harbhajan Singh ETO has termed the decision taken by the Hon’ble Supreme Court to convene the Punjab budget session from March 3 as a victory for democracy.

          Through a press statement issued from here today, the Cabinet Minister said that the Hon’ble Supreme Court has approved the decision of the Punjab Cabinet regarding convening of the Punjab Budget Session from March 3. He said that this decision is in favor of 3 crore Punjabis.

          Mr. Harbhajan Singh said that India is the largest democracy in the world. He said that this democracy can survive only by working according to the constitution made by Babasaheb Dr. Bhim Rao Ambedkar. He said that the governors appointed by the central government in the states should not act as spokespersons of the central government but should discharge their responsibilities as per the will and advice of the government elected by the people and in the interest of the people of the state.

          The cabinet minister said that the decision given by the Supreme Court in favor of the Punjab government confirmed that the governor cannot, under any circumstances, reject the proposal sent by the government to convene the session. He said that ignoring constitutional values by the Governor of Punjab and not allowing the government to convene a budget session is a violation of democratic traditions.

          He further said that the state government under the leadership of Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann is continuously working for the progress of Punjab and Punjabis.

IEP Chandigarh, March 1

          The Punjab government led by Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann will soon present the challan in the court pertaining to the Behbal Kalan firing case.

          A decision to this effect was taken in a meeting held between the state government and representatives of the Qaumi Insaaf Morcha. In the meeting Cabinet Ministers Harpal Singh Cheema and Aman Arora held discussions with leaders of Qaumi Insaaf Morcha including Advocate Amar Singh Chahal, Pal Singh France and Balwinder Singh.  During the meeting the Ministers apprised the delegation that the state government will soon present challan in the court regarding Behbal Kalan firing incident.

          The Ministers also apprised the delegation that the state government has already flagged the issue of making stringent provisions in existing laws of IPC related to sacrilege with the Union Home Minister. They said that the matter is already under the active consideration of the state government. They said that soon this issue will be raised before the President of India.

          On the issue of prisoners languishing in jails across the country, the Ministers said that for the release of Gurdeep Singh Khaira and Davinder Pal Singh Bhullar, the state government will soon contact the Delhi and Karnataka governments. It was also decided that the government will accept the pleas of the families of Gurmeet Singh, Lakhwinder Singh and Shamsher for their early release and start the process accordingly. It was also decided that the remaining demands regarding this will be considered in the second phase.

          They also assured that the government will take legal advice on the plea of shifting all the cases related to Jagtar Singh Hawara to Mohali court.  It was decided that the decision on this will be taken before March 31. In view of the inconvenience being caused to people, the morcha agreed to postpone the March by 31 members of morcha towards residence of the Chief Minister.

          During discussion regarding Bapu Surat Singh it was agreed that after he was discharged from the DMC Hospital, the state government will take care of his health. It was also decided that the morcha will ensure that Bapu Surat Singh will not participate in the protest for atleast a fortnight.

IEP Chandigarh, March 1      

    The Punjab Government led by the Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann is fully dedicated since day one to improve the living standard of common man with its pro people decisions. As part of this, the Food, Civil Supplies and Consumer Affairs Minister Lal Chand Kataruchak presided over a review meeting of the PUNSUP at Sector 34.          In the meeting with the General Managers of the Headquarters and District Managers, the Minister said that the process to provide various services to the people must be transparent and accelerated. Also, in accordance with today’s era, a robust working mechanism should be developed in place of the time worn traditional practices. Modern times are an era of fierce competition hence the department needs to concentrate on innovative techniques to further improve the functioning.          Divulging further, the Minister said that focus is being placed on the core areas of employment, power, health and education by the Punjab Government.          The initiative of PUNSUP pertaining to running the LPG agencies in Amritsar, Bathinda, Ludhiana, Sri Muktsar Sahib, Barnala, Jalandhar and Kharar (Mohali) to augment the income also came in for praise from Mr. Kataruchak.          The Minister also directed to call a meeting of the Inspector rank officers sooner besides laying stress on the proper maintenance of the foodgrains stored in the godowns as the farmers toil day in and day out to produce the foodgrains.          On the occasion, the MD, PUNSUP Amrit Kaur Gill expressed gratitude to the Minister for the State Government’s gesture of paying off Rs. 350 crore debt related to the Union Bank of India incurred by PUNSUP on effective implementation of the Atta Dal scheme thus providing a huge Financial relief.          The Chairman of PUNSUP Balbir Singh Pannu was also among those present.

IEP Chandigarh/ New Delhi, March 1  

        Punjab NRIs Affairs Minister Kuldeep Singh Dhaliwal on Wednesday demanded to include both the Amritsar and Shaheed Bhagat Singh International Airport (Mohali) for direct flights connectivity to Canada, New York, Los Angeles, Chicago, Seattle and San Francisco (USA) etc underlying that the commencement of these direct flights would ensure great facility to large number of travellers for both sides.           Calling on Union Minister of Civil Aviation Jyotiraditya M. Scindia here, Punjab NRIs Affairs Minister apprised that large number of Punjabis and Overseas Citizenship of India (OCI) card holders had been living in Canada and USA since long. He requested on behalf of the Government of Punjab to include both the Airports of Amritsar and Mohali for direct flights connectivity to airports namely Vancouver, Toronto, New York, Los Angeles, Chicago, Seattle and San Francisco (USA) to redress this long pending demand of the Punjabi Diaspora living in these countries. He apprised the Union Minister that during the NRI Sammelans organised by Punjab Government in December last year the Punjabi NRIs emphasized for commencement of these flights.           The Minister pointed out that there had been a persistent demand for providing direct air connectivity between Amritsar and Canada. Citing that it is of utmost significant to make direct flights operational from Amritsar to Canadian cities, said the Minister adding that presently travelers both from Amritsar and Canadian cities are hugely inconvenienced, as they have to travel to or from New Delhi or other cities in India to reach their destinations.           Emphasizing that there is enough volume of travelers from Amritsar, Kuldeep Singh Dhaliwal informed the Union Minister that this volume of travellers could cater to at least five flights in a week of wide bodied aircrafts to Canada. The recent bilateral Air Services agreement between India and Canada includes other Indian cities but has excluded Amritsar in the list of cities for direct flight operations, said the Minister adding that the Amritsar should had also been included in these cities.          On behalf of large number of Punjabi travelers of this region and the State Government, Kuldeep Singh Dhaliwal also requested the Union Minister to revisit the agreement by including the city of Amritsar and Mohali for direct flight connectivity. He said that this direct air connectivity would be of great benefit to Punjabis besides addressing long pending issue of the people of the region.          Mr. Dhaliwal revealed that Mr. Scindia assured to consider this demand on priority and to do sincere efforts for solving this issue.

IEP Chandigarh, March 1

          The Youth Services Minister Gurmeet Singh Meet Hayer has called upon the youth clubs of the state to expand their scope of activities at the ground level by reviving them and channelize the energy of the youth in the right direction. In this regard, the youth services department also released an amount of Rs. 1.50 Cr. to all the districts for the activities of the clubs.

          It was stated by Meet Hayer in a press communiqué issued today after presiding over a high-level meeting of the Youth Services Department at Punjab Bhawan. He said that Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann has visualized the dream of Rangla Punjab, in the fulfillment of which the youth can play the biggest and most important role. He said that the youth will be engaged in constructive activities for building a better society.

          Meet Hayer said that after the announcement made by Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann, this time after a long period of time, the selection process of Shaheed-e-Azam Bhagat Singh Youth Award given to the youth has been finalized. The names of the selected youth will be announced soon. In order to inculcate leadership qualities in the youth, they would be taken on tour to the tourist, heritage, religious and historical places of the State.

          The Minister further said that the number of youth clubs in the state is large but the activities of most of the clubs are completely closed. Such clubs should be identified and activated. He said that prevention of drugs, participation in sports, awareness among farmers against stubble burning, cultural activities etc. should be given priority in the activities of youth clubs.

          The meeting was attended by Punjab Youth Development Board Chairman Parminder Singh Goldi, Youth Services Department Director Amit Talwar, Deputy Director Dr. Kamaljit Singh Sidhu, Assistant Director Rupinder Kaur, Nehru Yuva Kender State Director Surinder Saini and all the field officers.