IEP Chandigarh, September 20

In view of the impending paddy procurement season commencing from October 1, the Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann on Tuesday reviewed the arrangements aimed at hassle free and seamless procurement of paddy.

“Every grain produced with the sweat and toil of the Punjabi farmer shall be purchased”, he said while chairing a meeting.

Emphasizing speedy purchase, the Chief Minister directed that purchase, lifting and payment should commence from the first day of procurement itself and warned of strict action if the farmer is put to any inconvenience.

Presiding over a meeting of the officials of the Procurement Agencies,  the Chief Minister directed the State Procurement Agencies and the FCI to be fully geared up for procurement of Paddy in the ensuing season.  He expressed satisfaction that the State had already arranged sufficient Bardana for the season well in advance and directed it’s optimal placement across the State in all Mandis.

Herein it may be noted that the Mandi Board has already notified 1804 purchase centers across the State. Further, in order to avoid glut like situation in the mandis,  temporary purchase centers are being identified for procurement of paddy.  It was also decided in the meeting today that unlike previous years no temporary Mandi shall be established in any rice sheller in the State.

The Chief Minister congratulated the Department for its transparent purchase policy that has ended the cartelisation in tenders for procurement of tarpaulins by facilitating new players resulting in a reduction in cost by more than 15%.

The Chief Minister also directed the officials to develop a standard operation procedure for tackling situation in Mandis arising out of untimely rains and strictly mandated resumption of paddy operations within 24 hours of stoppage of rain.

The Department apprised the CM that the land records in the State have been integrated with the  Anaaj Kharid Portal and checks have been imposed on the purchase of paddy against each Khasra number based on the estimated productivity of the land. The data of e-Girdawri is also being integrated and shall be completed well before September 30, 2022 by the Punjab Mandi Board.

In line with the Punjab Custom Milling Policy 2022-23 approved by Council of Ministers, the e-Verifications of Rice Mills are been carried out in all rice mills to ensure strict compliance of the policy guidelines. Consequently, a total of 3854 mills have been verified online till date. All the procedures regarding registrations, physical verification, delivery of rice to FCI and payments etc. have been switched to online mode and most of the procedures have been made faceless.

It was further explained that for the first time the linking of Rice Mills with the Mandies is being done through an automated software based on Least Distance Principle, which will result in substantial savings for the State Government .

The Chief Minister directed strict monitoring of the power consumption in each rice mill pursuant to the integration of Anaaj-Kharid portal with PSPCL portal. He further directed that the delivery of rice should be in accordance with the recorded electricity consumption so as to curb bogus purchases and recycling of PDS rice.

Expressing satisfaction at the arrangements, the Chief Minister ordered generation of digital gate passes by Transporter, Arhtiya, Market Committee and Miller with matching GPS coordinates. He also asked the DGP to set up police nakas across the State with special emphasis on border districts. Strict action was ordered against any truck carrying paddy which is not registered on the Mandi Board portal.

IEP Chandigarh/Sri Chamkaur Sahib, September 20

Punjab Social Justice and Empowerment, Social Security, Women and Child Development Minister Dr. Baljit Kaur today presided the Maulana Azad National Conference as a chief guest. The cabinet minister was also given formal salute by a troop of Punjab Police.

The National Conference was organized by the National Alapsankhayak Morcha Punjab where Cabinet Minister Dr. Baljit Kaur lend a sensitive ear to the problems related to the minority class and discussed various topics. On this occasion, MLA Chamkaur Sahib Dr. Charanjit Singh was also present.

During the event, Cabinet Minister Dr. Baljit Kaur and MLA Dr. Charanjit Singh assured the representatives that the issues highlighted by them will be resolved. They said that all the matters will be brought to the attention of Chief Minister Punjab Bhagwant Mann.

Dr. Baljit Kaur, while addressing the participants, said that the Punjab government, under the leadership of CM Bhagwant Mann, has been making efforts to provide benefits of the welfare schemes to the people. She added that special emphasis was being given to provide employment to the unemployed in the health and education sectors.

She said that the Punjab government was taking decisions to empower every section of Punjab socially and economically so that the living standards of the needy people can be raised.

IEP Chandigarh, September 20

An official Spokesperson of the Punjab Vidhan Sabha said that the Governor of Punjab has summoned the Sixteenth Punjab Vidhan Sabha to meet for its Third (Special) Session on Thursday, 22nd September, 2022 at 11:00 A.M., in the Punjab Vidhan Sabha Hall, Vidhan Bhavan, Chandigarh.

IEP Chandigarh, September 20

Haryana Chief Minister, Sh. Manohar Lal has paid tribute to Noor Hussain, a Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) jawan who was martyred during the Naxal attack in Chhattisgarh. The Chief Minister expressed his heartfelt condolences to the bereaved family of Noor Hussain, a resident of Yamunanagar.

Sh. Manohar Lal said that Noor Hussain had made a supreme sacrifice for the mother India. In this hour of grief, the State Government is standing with the bereaved family, added the Chief Minister.

Notably, Noor Hussain, a resident of Yamunanagar, was posted in Bijapur, Chhattisgarh. During his duty hours, the Naxals attacked his contingent during which Noor Hussain was martyred.

IEP Chandigarh, September 20

Health services in Haryana have witnessed a dramatic improvement during the last eight years of the tenure of Chief Minister, Sh. Manohar Lal. 

The pace at which Haryana has made progress in improving the health sector services is remarkable.

Even during Covid-19 pandemic, the robust arrangements made by the Haryana Government were exemplary. The Government had strenuously worked day and night in order to save the  valuable lives of the citizens by providing better administrative control, infrastructure, adequate deployment of doctors and para medical staff.

The number of medical colleges, dental colleges, homeopathic colleges, nursing colleges and schools etc. has substantially increased in the state. In 2014, there were 7 medical colleges in the state and MBBS seats were only 700. During the tenure of the present government six more  colleges were opened and today the number of MBBS seats has increased to 1,735. 

The state government is moving ahead with the goal of providing better health facilities to every person, especially the needy one’s.

The tireless efforts being made by the state government in the health sector are also being appreciated at the national level as well. The Haryana Government has been awarded the Atal Bihari Vajpayee Good Governance Award-2021 for setting up critical care ICUs in the medical colleges.

One new medical university, nine medical colleges and seven nursing colleges are being set up in the state

In order to further strengthen the health facilities, the state government is constantly emphasizing on health infrastructure. Pandit Deen Dayal Upadhyay University of Health Sciences is being established at Kutail, Karnal, which is close to completion. The university will also have a 750-bedded super specialty hospital and research department.

Similarly, 9 medical colleges are being set up in the state. In which, Pandit Neki Ram Sharma Government Medical College at Bhiwani, Government Medical College at Jind, Atal Bihari Vajpayee Government Medical College at Chhayansa, Faridabad, Government Medical College and Hospital at Koriawas, Narnaul, Government Medical College at Kaithal, Sirsa, Yamunanagar and Gurugram. This also includes Government Medical College and Hospital along with Kalpana Chawla Government Medical College Phase-II in Karnal. Apart from this, AIIMS is also being built in Rewari, which will prove to be a milestone for the health facilities of Haryana.

The Chief Minister had announced the opening of 6 Nursing Colleges in Faridabad, Rewari, Kaithal, Kurukshetra and Panchkula. Estimated cost of these projects will be Rs. 194 crore. According to the announcement, 85 to 88 percent of the work of colleges being built in all these districts has been completed and will be ready soon. Apart from this, other official processes including purchase of land for construction of the Nursing College building at Safidon, Jind have been completed. Work will begin soon.

22 lakh families of Haryana will get benefit under Ayushman Bharat Scheme

The state government is committed to provide better health facilities to the citizens of the state. The State Government has increased the annual income limit of BPL families to Rs. 1.80 lakh. According to the norms of the Central Government, 15.5 lakh families in Haryana were getting covered in this scheme, but the Haryana government has expanded the scope of this scheme, now 22 lakh families of the state will be covered under Ayushman Bharat Scheme. All these families will be provided free medical facilities up to Rs. 5 lakh.

IEP Chandigarh, September 20

Haryana Deputy Chief Minister, Sh. Dushyant Chautala said that the procurement of Kharif season crops in Haryana will start from October 1.  The State Government will procure around 1.60 lakh MT Bajra (millet) at the Minimum Support Price (MSP) under the Public Distribution System (PDS). He said that while keeping in view the sown area, farmers will be given the benefit of Bhavantar Bharpayee Yojana for the remaining produce.

The Deputy Chief Minister shared this information while interacting with the media persons in the Jhajjar district on Tuesday.

Responding to a question regarding the development of infrastructure facilities in the state, the Deputy Chief Minister said that the picture of the state would change after the development of the aviation hub in Hisar. Along with this, preparations are going on to make the Rakhigarhi site related to Harappan civilization a major centre from an archeological and tourism point of view.

He said that with the establishment of world’s largest single unit for car production in Kharkhoda, a new city would be developed near KMP.

After the press conference, the Deputy Chief Minister also met various delegations regarding different demands. While listening to the demand of the villagers of Badli, Pahasour and M.P.Majra regarding declaring Badli a municipality, the Deputy Chief Minister said that parks, fire stations and other facilities have been increased after the formation of a municipality.

Under the state government’s policy regarding property tax, no tax is charged for three years and it can be extended for two more years, he added.

As demanded by the villagers, the Deputy Chief Minister directed to conduct a survey in the concerned area.

The delegation of Arhtiya Association apprised the Deputy Chief Minister about their demands. The Deputy Chief Minister assured to convene a meeting in Chandigarh with a joint delegation of Arhtiya Association of all the districts of the state.

IEP Chandigarh

A ‘Special Foundation Course’ for officers of the Indian Police Service, Indian Railway Accounts Service and Indian Postal Service began in Haryana Institute of Public Administration (HIPA) Gurugram, which was inaugurated by Advisor to Prime Minister Sh. Amit Khare, IAS(Retd).         While inaugurating the Foundation Course Sh. Khare highlighted the challenges faced by the government. He listed out certain underlying objectives to counter contemporary challenges and stressed the need to bring improvement in service delivery while ensuring transparency in government business and further empowerment of citizens through dissemination of information. He said that the officers should adopt such practices that encourage a broad based public awareness and public participation in the key areas of developmental efforts.  Additionally, he stated that there is an urgent need to have complete elimination of undesirable practices such as touts, deliberate delays and corruption which are the impediments of development. He also desired that the officers need to exercise due control over assets, revenues and expenditure and asked the officers to establish a new robust information base for prompt and correct decision making.  This, according to him, will further help to tackle the issues with speed and precision.  He said that for enhancing the productivity and efficiency, promotion of knowledge network is the need of the hour.  Mr. Khare reiterated that he  strongly believe that ‘Good Governance’ would begin by making administration more responsive, citizen friendly and it should ensure accountability, which is the essence of the ‘minimum Government and maximum governance’ message of Prime Minister. Mrs. Surina Rajan, IAS (Retd), Director General of HIPA while welcoming the Chief Guest, explained the core objectives of the 15-week training course. She stated that the training course is a judicious mix of academic and non-academic components. The academic component is composed of 15 modules on varied subjects including traditional ones like law, public policy, basic economics and data analytics.  The non-academic component shall include treks and village visits apart from other extra-curricular activities. The newer modules including data analytics and concepts like ‘Sabka Sath Sabka Vikas’ (taking everyone together in process of development) and issues pertaining to national security shall be the other subjects of study required for developing the personality and capacities of the trainee officers.The Inaugural Function ended with a vote of thanks by the Course Director.

IEP Chandigarh, September 20

The Punjab Cabinet led by Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann on Tuesday approved summoning of the 3rd Special Session of 16th Punjab Vidhan Sabha on September 22, 2022 (Thursday) to move confidence motion in the favour of state government.

          A decision to this effect was taken during a meeting of Council of Ministers chaired by Chief Minister this morning here at Chief Minister’s Office in Punjab Civil Secretariat.

          Divulging the details a spokesperson of the Chief Minister’s Office, the Cabinet approved the recommendation to be sent to the Governor, Punjab for summoning special session of the House under Article 174 (1) of the Constitution of India. The spokesperson further said that the session will start with obituary references at 11 am, followed by moving of a confidence motion in favour of the state government.