Category Archives: Chandigarh

Chandigarh, Punjab

Chief Secretary directs all departments to ensure necessary arrangements to address water and air pollution issues

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IEP CHANDIGARH AUGUST 8, 2022

Punjab Chief Secretary Vijay Kumar Janjua today directed all departments concerned with controlling water & air pollution to work on a war footing in order to make Punjab and its rivers and streams pure and clean.

Reiterating the commitment of chief minister Bhagwant Mann to make a pollution free environment in the state, the Chief Secretary reviewed the discharge of sewage and effluents and disposal of solid and plastic waste in the state.  

While reviewing the water pollution of rivers due to discharge of sewage and effluents, the Local Government Department apprised that out of 111 STPs of about 785 MLD capacity proposed to be set up in the State, the work in 53 STPs (617.5 MLD) is already in progress. All the 111 STPs are likely to be made functional by December 31, 2023 and the State would be able to achieve the desired quality in the rivers. As far as pollution of river Sutlej is concerned, the 2 STPs at Jamalpur (225 MLD) & Balloke (60 MLD) are likely to be completed by March 31, 2023. Further, the Common Effluent Treatment Plants of 40 MLD & 50 MLD capacity for the treatment of Textile Dying Effluents at Ludhiana have already been commissioned.

Regarding the treatment of Dairy Effluents in Ludhiana, the work for setting up of the Compressed Bio Gas Plant to treat 300 Tons/day of Cow dung has been awarded. Further, there is a plan to set up one more Bio Gas Plant at Haibowal Dairy Complex which will handle around 200 Tons/day of Cow dung.Further, regarding the treatment of Liquid Waste being generated from Tajpur & Haibowal Dairy Complexes, the work on setting up of 2 ETPs is under progress and is likely to be completed by March 31, 2023.

In the meeting Rural Development & Panchayats Department informed the Committee that the work of rejuvenation of ponds has been completed in 860 villages and is under progress in 515 villages. 

The Chief Secretary was appraised by PPCB  that the State is strictly enforcing the ban on Single use plastic items as per the directions of Ministry of Environment Forest & Climate Change, Govt. of India. A State Level function had also been organized under the guidance of Chief Minister and Science Technology & Environment Minister on August 5, 2022 for creating awareness among public. 

The Chief Secretary was also apprised that Solid Waste Management, door to door collection and segregation of waste at source has been started. Further, around 8250 compost pits have been constructed for the management of wet waste and 266 material recovery facilities have been set up for the management of dry waste.

Regarding the Bio-remediation of old dump sites, it was informed that the work in 114 ULBs is to be completed by December 31, 2022, 32 ULBs by March 31, 2023 & 2 ULBs by March 31, 2024. The Local Government department has also set up micro units in 139 ULBs for the processing of construction and demolition waste. A 60 TPD Plant has also been commissioned at MC, Jalandhar.

Prominent among others who were present in the meeting included Financial Commissioner Rural Development K. Siva Prasad, Principal Secretary Housing & Urban Development Ajoy Kumar Sinha, Principal Secretary Local Government Vivek Pratap Singh, Secretary Environment Rahul Tiwari, Chairman Punjab Pollution Control Board Dr. Adarsh Pal Vig, CEO Punjab Water Supply & Sewerage Board Varinder Kumar Sharma, CEO PMIDC Isha Kalia, CEO PEDA Sumeet Jarangal, Director Environment Manish Kumar.

Chandigarh, Punjab

Pending VAT cases to be resolved within four months: Harpal Singh Cheema

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IEP CHANDIGARH AUGUST 8, 2022

Punjab Finance, Planning, Excise and Taxation Minister Advocate Harpal Singh Cheema on Monday directed the officials of the tax department to resolve all the pending VAT cases within 4 months to ensure an increase in revenue collection, that will be used for the development of the state.

During an informal interaction with media after a review meeting of the Tax Department here at Punjab Bhawan, Advocate Harpal Singh Cheema said that the department has been asked to resolve the pending cases related to VAT within 4 months. Those cases in which 25 per cent of the assessed amount has not been deposited by the appellant, they, should be resolved within one month, he directed.

He said that apart from this, the officials of the department have been directed to follow-up all the cases  under hearing in the VAT Tribunal and the High Court to put the department’s view clearly in front of these forums.

Replying to a query regarding the Electricity Amendment Bill 2022, the Finance Minister said that when Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann was a member of Parliament, he had strongly opposed the move when this bill was brought earlier by the BJP led Centre government in 2020 along with three black farm laws, At that time, then Union Minister and SAD Leader Harsimrat Kaur Badal had supported the Bill. He further added that while withdrawing this bill at that time, the central government had promised that the state governments, farmers and other stakeholders would be consulted before bringing this bill again.

But breaking its promise the BJP’ led government has once again brought the bill without consulting stakeholders.  “The BJP led Centre government is trying to appease its corporate cronies”, said Cheema while adding that the Aam Aadmi Party will oppose any such move by holding protests from villages to parliament to safeguard the rights of farmers and common people.

Earlier, during a high-level meeting of the tax department, the finance minister was apprised of the achievements of various divisions of the department regarding tax collection under GST, VAT and CST through a PowerPoint presentation. Meanwhile, a brainstorming discussion held on the issue of putting a full stop on tax evasion. The Finance Minister expressed satisfaction over the performance of the officials of the tax department and assured to provide necessary technical and human resources while welcoming the suggestions given by the officials to prevent tax evasion. He also made it clear that corruption will not be tolerated at any level.

          Ajoy Sharma, Financial Commissioner Taxation, K. K. Yadav, Tax Commissioner, Ravneet S Khurana, Additional Commissioner Audit and Viraj S. Tidke, Additional Commissioner Enforcement were also present in this meeting.

Chandigarh, Punjab

Minority students can apply till September 30 to get stipend under centrally sponsored schemes : Dr. Baljit Kaur

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IEP CHANDIGARH AUGUST 8, 2022

To avail Centrally Sponsored Pre-Matric, Post-Matric and Merit Cum Means Based Scholarship Schemes disbursed by the Department of Social Justice, Empowerment and Minorities, students from the minority sections can apply till 30th September 2022. 

Stating this here today, Minister of Social Justice, Empowerment and Minorities  Dr. Baljit Kaur said  the department is continuously working for the welfare of the needy and economically weak people of the state. It is under this mission that pre-matric, post-matric and merit-cum-means scholarship for the minority class are being given. 

Dr. Baljit Kaur informed that during the academic year 2021-22, 5,03,179 students have been benefited by scholarship under the pre-matric scholarship scheme, 55,430 students under the post-matric scholarship scheme and 1716 students under the merit cum means scholarship scheme. The Ministry of Minorities, Government of India has opened the National Scholarship Portal for all the States on 20th July 2022 to provide the benefit of these schemes to the students during the current year 2022-23. 

Students can apply online till 30 September 2022 for pre-matric scholarship scheme and online till 31 October 2022 for post matric scholarship scheme, merit-cum-means based scholarship. To avail this scheme, the student should belong to minority community (Sikh, Muslim, Buddhist, Parsi, Jain and Christian), income limit for pre-matric scholarship is Rs.1.00 lakh per annum, income limit is Rs.2.00 lakh for post-matric scholarship and merit-com – Income limit for all means is Rs 2.50 lakh. Under this scheme one can apply on the National Scholarship portal www.scholarships.gov.in and for more information visit the site link www.minorityaffairs.gov.in or mobile app-National Scholarship (NSP). Apart from this information can be obtained on helpline number 1800-11-2001 (toll free).

Chandigarh

Gurmeet Singh Meet Hayer directs education department to constitute high level committee to probe irregularities in aided and private colleges

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IEP CHANDIGARH AUGUST 8, 2022

Higher Education Minister Gurmeet Singh Meet Hayer has directed that a high level committee be constituted to probe the allegations regarding the irregularities in Aided and private colleges. He was chairing  meeting with Principal Secretary Jaspreet Talwar, DPI (Colleges) Rajiv Kumar Gupta and other officers to review the functioning of the department. 

The Minister took the stock of the current position of the Centralized Admission Portal and instructed the officers to ensure that the all the government colleges and aided should be taken on board and no college should be left in this regard.

Meet Hayer told the officers that the curriculum of the various courses should be revised as per the needs of the current day environment, need of industry, modern day requirements and a meeting of the Vice Chancellors should be called and immediate steps should be taken to review the syllabus of various programmes. 

The Minister also reviewed the various Budget Schemes for the development of the Government colleges of the state and asked the officials to implement these schemes for the welfare of the students and ensure money allocated for the various tasks should be judiciously used.  The schemes emphasized on the Career guidance and counseling, Infrastructure development, Wi-Fi and internet facilities for the colleges, meritorious student’s scholarships, Development of Sports infrastructure, renovation of public libraries and creation of New infrastructure for the government colleges. He also reviewed the various issues relating to NCC.

Chandigarh, Punjab

Vigilance Bureau nabs RTA Bathinda employee for taking bribe Rs. 7500

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IEP CHANDIGARH AUGUST 8, 2022

Keeping in view the zero tolerance policy against corruption adopted by the Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann led state government, the Punjab Vigilance Bureau during its ongoing campaign on Monday nabbed Bhalwan Singh, working as data entry operator at RTA office Bathinda, red handed accepting bribe of Rs. 7500.

Disclosing this here today, a spokesperson of Punjab Vigilance Bureau (VB) said the accused Bhalwan Singh has been arrested on the complaint of Raghbir Singh from Mansa, owner of private mini buses.

Giving details he informed that the complainant has lodged a complaint in the VB and alleged that the above mentioned data entry operator was demanding bribe for issuing a copy of bus permit for his passenger bus.

The spokesperson added that after verification of the facts made in the complaint, a VB team caught accused Bhalwan Singh red handed while accepting bribe of Rs. 7500 from the complainant in the presence of two official witnesses.

In this regard a case FIR  No. 6 dated 08.08.2022 u/s 7, Prevention of Corruption Act has been registered at VB police station Bathinda and further investigation is under progress.

Chandigarh, Punjab

Bhagwant Mann government to speed up government recruitment process to provide employment to all the eligible youth of the state: Kuldeep Singh Dhaliwal

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IEP CHANDIGARH AUGUST 8, 2022

The Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann led government has issued directions to all the departments to speed up the exercise to provide government jobs to the unemployed eligible youth of the state. Minister for Rural Development and Panchayat Kuldeep Singh Dhaliwal today at Vikas Bhawan, while giving appointment letters to 43 newly appointed draftsman said that due to the negligent approach of the previous governments, the talented youth of the state could not get government jobs. He said that due to which the common people were facing a lot of problems in getting government services. 

Kuldeep Singh Dhaliwal said that the Bhagwant Maan government is in the process of filling vacancies in government departments on priority to provide hassle free quick government services to the common people and vacancies are being filled in each department according to their full capacity. He said that the legal hurdles in the recruitment of vacant posts in some departments are also being removed by taking the legal opinion of experts.

The rural development minister further said that all the recruitments by the state government will be filled on the basis of merit without any discrimination according to academic qualification. Earlier, while congratulating the newly appointed 43 draftsman, Kuldeep Singh Dhaliwal said that they should perform their duty with honesty and service spirit so that people can get government services as soon as possible.

Chandigarh, Punjab

CM SECURES RS 2800 CRORE WORTH BENEFITS FOR PUNJAB FROM CENTRE INCLUDES RS 1760 CRORES PENDING RDF PAYMENTS

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IEP CHANDIGARH AUGUST 8, 2022

Union minister for Food and PUblic Distribution Piyush Goyal has accepted a major demand of PUnjab to release Rs 1760 crore outstanding Rural Development Fund (RDF) after chief minister BHagwant Mann took up the matter with him today.

Sharing these details on the sidelines of the Rajya Sabha Secretariat, where he met the Union Minister, the Chief Minister said that the minister asked the officials present to expeditiously process the case for release of the pending RDF payments for the previous Kharif and Rabi procurement seasons. This would financially benefit the State of Punjab by more than Rs. 1700 crores, he said.

Mann called on the Union Minister today and  discussed various issues of urgent importance with him. During the course of discussion, the Union Minister assured the Chief Minister of prompt action on the other demands raised by the State Government, which would result in a financial benefit of more than Rs. 2800 crore for the State Government annually.

In addition to the Rs 1760 crores RDF payment the chief minister informed that the Union Minister had also accepted his request  to revisit the decision to peg the reimbursement of interest payments to Punjab at the interest rates available to FCI. He said that the Union Minister appreciated the stand of the State Government that it would never be able to get loans at interest rates available to FCI, which is backed by the sovereign guarantee of the Union. The minister asked his officials to  assist the State of Punjab in getting cheaper Cash Credit Limits for the annual procurement of Foodgrains. This decision is likely to save the Punjab Government an unnecessary financial burden of Rs. 1000 crore annually, said the Chief Minister.

The Chief Minister also took up the matter of inadequate reimbursement of expenditure incurred by the Punjab Government for procurement of wheat a couple of months back. The Union Minister positively responded to the request of the Chief Minister to reconsider the rates allowed for Labour and Gunny / PP bags and asked the officials of the central Department of Food and Public Distribution to reconcile these figures with the officials of the State Government at the earliest. This decision, once implemented, shall benefit the state by more than Rs. 100 crore, explained the Chief Minister.

Following this the Chief Minister  assured Goyal that his government  will soon show him positive results in crop diversification which is essential to break the wheat-paddy cycle, which has severely impacted the water table in Punjab.

Chandigarh, Haryana, Health, Punjab

Regular medical follow-up coupled with healthy lifestyle might help prevent second cardiac arrest by 45 per cent, says Dr RK Jaswal

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IEP CHANDIGARH AUGUST 7, 2022

Regular medical follow-up and maintaining a healthy lifestyle post undergoing a heart procedure are absolutely essential for the well-being of a patient. In addition to this, patients and their family members should be well aware of the care and follow-up techniques that can help prevent a cardiac arrest.

To sensitise the general public on how to maintain cardio-vascular health, Dr RK Jaswal, Head of Department and Director of Cardiology; and Director, Cath Lab, Fortis Hospital Mohali, organised a public awareness programme on ways to prevent heart attacks for several patients – who have undergone percutaneous coronary angiography (PTCA)/Stenting – from across North India at Hotel Novotel here on Sunday.

This is the seventh such event on patient education organised by Dr Jaswal wherein tips are imparted under ‘Post PTCA After Care’ to the general public.

Addressing the gathering at the event, Dr Jaswal, added, “Medical investigation has established that if a patient, who has undergone percutaneous coronary angiography (PTCA), strictly adheres to proper medical follow-up and maintains a healthy lifestyle, chances of him/her suffering a second heart attack or a sudden cardiac death decreases by 45%. Maintaining a healthy lifestyle after undergoing a heart procedure is essential for a long, healthy life.”

The patients were further apprised on the advanced treatment options, now available in a majority of leading hospitals across the world, which significantly reduce complications and improves long-term patient outcomes.

“Fortis Hospital Mohali, which is a Centre of Excellence for Cardiac Sciences, offers the most advanced and latest technology such as Rotablation, Fractional Flow Reserve (FFR), Optical Coherence Tomography (OCT), Intravascular ultrasound (IVUS), Impella etc. available 24×7 for the last decade,” added Dr Jaswal.

Chandigarh, Punjab

CM SLAMS AKALI AND CONGRESS LEADERSHIP FOR LIVING IN ‘FOOL’S PARADISE’

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IEP CHANDIGARH AUGUST 5, 2022

Slamming the Congress and Akalis for their anti-people stance, the Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann on Friday said that that the leaders of both these political parties are living in ‘fool’s paradise’ assuming that they are still in power.

Addressing the gathering, while presiding over a state level function to mark 72nd state level Van Mahostav here today, the Chief Minister said leadership of both these parties is yet to overcome the trauma of crushing defeat inflicted upon them by the people during assembly elections. He said that they still behave in the way as they are running the government in state. However, Bhagwant Mann said that these power hungry politicians have forgotten that the wise and brave people of Punjab have chosen a government that is serving them zealously.

Taking SAD President Sukhbir Singh Badal to cudgels, the Chief Minister said that the leader who used to boast that they will rule Punjab for 25 years has been totally rejected by people. Bhagwant Mann said that neither he has been able to win his seat nor he gets any candidate now to contest from his party. He said that during their days of power these leaders had forgotten that people are supreme in a democratic set up and once you ignore them in power they won’t give second chance to them.

The Chief Minister, while quipping on former Chief Minister Charanjit Singh Channi, questioned his absence from the political arena. He said that this Congress leader who claimed himself to be capable of doing everything is seen nowhere after the debacle of his party. Bhagwant Mann said that he fails to understand where Channi has ran away adding if this is the condition of Chief Ministerial candidate of Congress then that of the remaining party can be judged very well.

The Chief Minister said that as a fact of matter both Congress and Shiromani Akal Dal (SAD) are now ‘deadwoods’ of Punjab politics. He said that the people have rejected them as they have failed to fulfill the expectations of people. Bhagwant Mann said that these parties are now indulging in cheap tactics for scoring brownie points before media.

The Chief Minister said that for the first time a government has been formed in the state which is working untiringly for well being of masses. He said that people will no longer have to run pillar to post in government offices at Chandigarh and district headquarters for getting their administrative works done as the state government will ensure it at their doorsteps. He said that a mechanism is being evolved where benefits of all the government schemes will be delivered to people at their doorsteps thereby saving the time, money and energy of people.

The Chief Minister said that during the poll campaign they had promised the people of state that the AAP government will transform their destiny. He said that though earlier too the political parties had made promises with them but none of them kept any of their word with masses. Bhagwant Mann said that from first day of assuming charge of office AAP government has already started the process of fulfilling each and every promise made with people to restore the pristine glory of the state.

The Chief Minister said that for the maiden time in history of state a team of honest leaders is serving the people. He said that 75 Aam Aadmi clinics will be dedicated to people on coming Independence Day where people will get quality health and diagnostic services free of cost. Bhagwant Mann said that 16 Medical colleges will be constructed in coming five years thereby enhancing total tally of medical colleges to 25 thus transforming Punjab into a hub of medical education.

The Chief Minister said that the students aspiring to pursue medical education will no longer have to go to countries like Ukraine. He said that these students will be provided quality medical education in these medical colleges. Bhagwant Mann said that earlier governments have not paid any attention towards it due to which our students had to move abroad.

The Chief Minister further said that in a path breaking initiative his government provided 600 units of free power per billing cycle to every section of society. He said that as a result of this, 51 lakh households out of total 74 lakh will get zero electricity bill in the month of September. Likewise, Bhagwant Mann said that 68 lakh household will get zero power bill in January, which will be roughly 90% of the total households of the state.    

Meanwhile, the Chief Minister solicited support of people against the use of single use plastic and plantation of more and more trees to save the environment for our coming generations. He underscored the need for making this campaign a mass movement for checking environmental degradation. He said that single use plastic poses a serious threat to environment as its debris is non degradable and can exist in environment for hundreds of years and in water for even thousands of years.

Announcing new projects for Dhuri assembly segment, the Chief Minister announced that state government will construct Railway over Bridge (ROB) on Railway line bisecting city in two parts at a cost of Rs 15 crore. Likewise, he announced a grant of Rs 2 crore for building state-of-art park for residents, upgrading existing Badminton complex to enable 70 players to play in it and complete overhaul of sewerage system of city with the cost of Rs. 13 crore. Bhagwant Mann also announced to restore all the previous permits to ensure better road connectivity with every educational institutes.

In his address, Finance Minister Harpal Cheema described this campaign as a revolutionary decision to save the environment of the state. He hailed the Chief Minister for taking several path breaking initiatives for well being of the state. 

Addressing the gathering Information and Public Relations Minister Aman Arora lauded the Chief Minister for taking the visionary decision to initiate this campaign. He said that under the visionary and dynamic leadership of the Chief Minister Punjab is making progress in every field. Aman Arora described this as a historic initiative by the Chief Minister and said that every Punjabi should participate in this campaign with missionary zeal. 

In his address Environment Minister Gurmeet Singh Meet Hayer said that single use plastic was posing a grave danger to the human life. He said that every effort will be made to save the state from this danger.

Addressing the gathering Forest Minister Lal Chand Kataruchak apprised the people about Shaheed-e-Azam S. Bhagat Singh Hariawal Lehar embarked by the state government. He solicited fulsome support and cooperation of people to make this campaign a huge success.

Earlier, the Chief Minister started the plantation drive by planting saplings. He also flagged off the fruit sapling laden tractors at Government School, Benara.

On the occasion, the Chief Minister also unveiled jute bags prepared by the Punjab Pollution Control Board to replace the plastic bags.

Prominent amongst others present on the occasion included Cabinet Ministers Harpal Cheema, Aman Arora, Gurmeet Singh Meet Hayer and Lal Chand Kataruchak, MLAs Narinder Kaur Bharaj, Barinder Goyal, Jaswant Singh Gajjanmajra,Jameel Ur Rehman, Kulwant Singh Pandori, Dr. Balbir Singh and Labh Singh Ugoke, AAP leader Gurmail Singh, Additional Chief Secretary Forest Raaji P Srivastav, IG Patiala Range MS Chhina, Deputy Commissioner Jitendra Jorwal, SSP Mandeep Singh Sidhu and others were also present.

Chandigarh, Haryana

Haryana Government committed to ensure road safety and curb accidents in the state

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IEP CHANDIGARH AUGUST 5, 2022

Haryana Government led by the Chief Minister, Sh. Manohar Lal is committed to ensure road safety in the state. To curb road accidents in the state, Haryana Government has been establishing Institute of Driving Training and Research (IDTR) in Karnal in collaboration with Honda Motorcycle and Scooter India Pvt. Ltd. The construction work of IDTR on about 9.25 acres of land near the new bus stand has been completed. The Chief Minister will dedicate this institution to the people of the state on coming Saturday.

        Referring to a report, the Chief Minister, Sh. Manohar Lal said that road accidents are the leading cause of death across the world. Therefore it is necessary to curb road accidents and this institution will play an important role. He said that in this institute, the drivers across the state will get proper training classes, which would ensure road safety in the state. He said that the institute will be the first driver training and research institute equipped with modern facilities. With the establishment of the institute, driving training facility will be imparted to the drivers of Panchkula, Ambala, Yamunanagar, Kurukshetra, Panipat and Sonipat including Karnal.

        It is worth mentioning that training for driving two wheeler, four wheeler light and heavy vehicles will be imparted and driving tests will also be taken in this institute. The duration of training will be 2, 4 and 6 months. Through the automatic driving test track, minor mistakes of the trainee will be checked, rectified and a certificate will be issued after passing the test. Facilities like passing of all types of vehicles will also be available here. Along with this, male and female instructors will impart the training. Arrangement of smart class rooms, canteens, hostels and workshops have also been made. The institute will be operated under the joint aegis of Transport Department and Honda Company. All types of facilities for the drivers will be available in the institute.