IEP Chandigarh, October 13

Haryana Chief Minister Manohar Lal has directed the officers to make plans in order to make Yamuna and Ghaggar river in Yamunanagar and Panchkula districts pollution free as rivers are our national assets. He added that apart from the guidelines issued by the Central Government, we must work tirelessly to create new policies so that the surrounding states adopt similar policies. Apart from this, more work is required in the direction towards re-using of treated water as water conservation is a global concern. Water conservation is necessary for the future generation, although Haryana has taken many important steps in this direction.

The Chief Minister gave these directions to the officers during the review meeting of the Yamuna Action Plan here today. He said that plans should also be made on a large scale so that maximum reuse of treated water can be done in sectors like irrigation, thermal power plants, industrial and horticulture. He said that Ghaggar and Yamuna are the only two major natural rivers of Haryana. Their protection is essential. For effective implementation of Yamuna Action Plan, a joint meeting should also be held with the officers of neighboring states adjoining Haryana. Pollution whether it is water pollution or air pollution, the need of the hour is to curb their effect in order to safeguard our environment. Inter-state meetings should also be organized continuously on this subject.

Chief Principal Secretary to Chief Minister, Sh. DS Dhesi, Chairman of Haryana State Pollution Control Board, Sh. P. Raghavendra Rao, Additional Chief Secretary, Urban Local Bodies Department, Sh. Arun Kumar Gupta, Chief Executive Officer of Gurugram and Faridabad Metropolitan Development Authorities, Sh. Sudhir Rajpal, Additional Chief Secretary, Environment and Climate Change Department, Sh. Vineet Garg, Managing Director, Haryana State Industrial and Infrastructure Development Corporation, Sh. Vikas Gupta, Advisor (Irrigation) to the Chief Minister,  Sh. Devender Singh, besides senior officers of other departments related to Yamuna Action Plan were also present.

IEP Chandigarh, October 13

The Punjab government has taken a lead in creating history of identifying such Shamlat lands, which were not even known to the Panchayats. Sharing this information during a press conference at the Punjab Bhavan here today, the Rural development Panchayat Minister Kuldeep Singh Dhaliwal said that under the able leadership of Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann, a special campaign was launched by the Rural Development and Panchayat Department to get rid of illegal possessions and identify the Shamlat lands of the villages.          He said that a special shamlat cell was established by the Rural Development and Panchayats Department to run this campaign effectively. Kuldeep Singh Dhaliwal said that the department is thoroughly examining all the records of the revenue department related to shamlat lands across the state, so far the work of comparing the records with the revenue department record out of 153 blocks has been completed in 86 blocks to identify such shamlat land which is not under the possession or in the record of Panchayats. During this investigation, the department has identified 26300 acres of cultivable panchayat land, which was not owned by the panchayats, the estimated market value of which is approximately Rs 9200 crore.          Terming it a great achievement of the Bhagwant Mann led Punjab government, the Rural Development Minister lashed out at the previous governments and said that none of the previous governments did not bother to identify or take care of Shamlat lands.          Kuldeep Singh Dhaliwal said that the officials of the department have been directed to complete the identification of such shamlat land in the remaining blocks by December 2023. Besides this, he said that the records of the shamlat lands were being uploaded on the website of the department.          The Rural Development Minister taking forward the campaign to get rid of illegal occupation from panchayat lands, has issued a WhatsApp number and has appealed to all the citizens of Punjab to send complaints or information regarding illegal occupation of shamlat land on WhatsApp number 9115116262. He also said that the identity of the informer will be kept confidential.          Kuldeep Singh Dhaliwal further disclosed that during the first phase of the government’s campaign to get rid of illegal encroachment on land, a total of 9126 acres of land has been vacated from the illegal occupants. Following the appeal of the Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann, people have come forward willingly and handed over about 3435 acres of shamlat to the village panchayats.          Kuldeep Singh Dhaliwal announced the vacated shamlat lands would be handed over to the panchayats which would be used for development works by the panchayats. The land which is cultivable would be given on annual lease and non cultivable land would be used for plantation to preserve our environment.

IEP Chandigarh, October 13

Bathinda Development Authority (BDA) will conduct e-auction of prime properties situated in Bathinda and Abohar cities. The e-auction will be held from 20th to 31st October, 2022.

          Sharing details, an official spokesperson of Housing & Urban Development Department said that Bathinda Development Authority is offering 26 residential plots, 24 SCO sites, one school site situated at Nirwana Estate, Bathinda having reserve price of Rs. 5.72 crore and one multiplex site situated at Urban Estate, phase-2, Bathinda having reserve price of Rs. 19.40 crore.

          The spokesperson said that possession of the auctioned sites shall be handed over to the successful bidders on payment of 25 % amount of total bid price. Bidders will have to make balance payment in installments at interest rate of 9.5% P.A. All details of these properties and terms & conditions are available on the auction portal www.puda.e-auctions.in.

          For participating in the e-auction, he informed, the intending bidders shall be required to sign up on the auction portal and obtain user ID and password. Bidders shall be required to deposit refundable/adjustable eligibility fee by way of Net Banking/Debit Card/Credit Card/RTGS/NEFT.

IEP Chandigarh, October 13

Punjab Finance, Planning, Excise and Taxation Minister Advocate Harpal Singh Cheema on Thursday said that the state’s excise collection crossed ₹4000 crore mark within the initial six months of a financial year for the first time, registering total Excise revenue collections of Rs. 4280 Crore.

Addressing a press conference here at Punjab Bhawan, the Finance Minister revealed that the Excise revenue collection during the current fiscal year registered an increase of 37.62 percent over last year’s figures for the same period. He said that during the year 2021 and 2022, the excise revenue collection from April 1 to October 12 was Rs 3110 crore and Rs 4280 crore respectively.  He said that the people of Punjab deserve congratulations for the fact that their government has recorded an increase of 1170 crore rupees in excise revenue during this period.

Slamming the previous state governments for not making adequate changes in the excise policy due to their collusion with the liquor mafia, the Finance Minister said that these governments facilitated the liquor mafia in the loot of more than 22,500 crore from the state exchequer if we assume only 7 per cent increase in excise collection every year for the last 15 years against the present growth of more than 37 percent. He said that the intentions of the government led by Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann were clear from the fact that it has set a target of Rs 9000 crore excise collection while the last government’s target was only Rs 6200 crore. Referring the unfortunate incident of Tarantarn, Cheema said that political-mafia nexus in liquor trade had not only caused loss to the state exchequer but also led to loss of a number of human lives.

The finance minister said that the lobby of the liquor mafia was trying to harass our officers through the Union government to break this policy. He said that the honest government of Punjab under the leadership of Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann and following the revolutionary ideology of Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal stand firmly with its officers to fail the pressure mounting tactics being used by the Center through its various agencies. He said that opposition parties in state were also questioning the Punjab government’s excise policy under the pressure of the liquor mafia. He challenged them to answer why there was no adequate increase in excise collection during their governments.

Dedicating the healthy Growth of 37 percent to the new Excise policy in his press statement, Cheema said that the Excise Policy 2022-23 has ushered a paradigm shift in the liquor trade in Punjab. “The main twin objectives of the Excise Policy are maximization of revenue and providing affordable quality liquor to citizens. The policy also strives to keep a stringent check over smuggling of liquor from the neighboring states through extensive enforcement and by incorporating new technological measures”, said the Finance Minister.

          Disclosing further, the Finance Minister said that the actual potential of liquor trade had been assessed by allotting the retail groups through a free, fair and transparent manner of e-tendering. He said that these vends had been made in groups of a general size of around 30 crores, and total of 6378 vends in 175 groups had been e-auctioned in the state.  

Highlighting the initiatives taken to ensure the availability of liquor at most competitive price in the state, Harpal Singh Cheema said that the duty regime has been further liberalized and Minimum Retail Sale Prices of Punjab Medium Liquor (PML), IMFL, IFL (BIO Brands), and Beer have been factored in the New Excise Policy. The Finance Minister said that the lower prices of liquor as compared to neighbouring states and increased enforcement has led to a huge decrease in the smuggling of liquor in Punjab. He said that due to the lowering of PML and IMFL prices consumers were now avoiding smuggled liquor or illicit liquor made from Lahan.

Cheema said that provisions for new Distillery license and Brewery license have been made in the policy to encourage capital investment besides increasing the employment capability in the state. He said that a new license for the production of malt spirit has been also introduced in the State. He said that POS machines shall be installed at every retail vend in the coming months to ensure that the customers should be provided an invoice for the purchase of liquor.

          Harpal Singh Cheema said that the Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann led Punjab government has made a series of efforts to increase the own revenue of the state to fulfill all the commitments and promises made to the people besides ushering in an era of development and prosperity. He said that the excise government has also tightening the noose against past defaulters.

IEP Chandigarh, October 13

Punjab Finance, Planning, Excise and Taxation Minister Advocate Harpal Singh Cheema on Thursday said that the state’s excise collection crossed ₹4000 crore mark within the initial six months of a financial year for the first time, registering total Excise revenue collections of Rs. 4280 Crore.

Addressing a press conference here at Punjab Bhawan, the Finance Minister revealed that the Excise revenue collection during the current fiscal year registered an increase of 37.62 percent over last year’s figures for the same period. He said that during the year 2021 and 2022, the excise revenue collection from April 1 to October 12 was Rs 3110 crore and Rs 4280 crore respectively.  He said that the people of Punjab deserve congratulations for the fact that their government has recorded an increase of 1170 crore rupees in excise revenue during this period.

Slamming the previous state governments for not making adequate changes in the excise policy due to their collusion with the liquor mafia, the Finance Minister said that these governments facilitated the liquor mafia in the loot of more than 22,500 crore from the state exchequer if we assume only 7 per cent increase in excise collection every year for the last 15 years against the present growth of more than 37 percent. He said that the intentions of the government led by Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann were clear from the fact that it has set a target of Rs 9000 crore excise collection while the last government’s target was only Rs 6200 crore. Referring the unfortunate incident of Tarantarn, Cheema said that political-mafia nexus in liquor trade had not only caused loss to the state exchequer but also led to loss of a number of human lives.

The finance minister said that the lobby of the liquor mafia was trying to harass our officers through the Union government to break this policy. He said that the honest government of Punjab under the leadership of Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann and following the revolutionary ideology of Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal stand firmly with its officers to fail the pressure mounting tactics being used by the Center through its various agencies. He said that opposition parties in state were also questioning the Punjab government’s excise policy under the pressure of the liquor mafia. He challenged them to answer why there was no adequate increase in excise collection during their governments.

Dedicating the healthy Growth of 37 percent to the new Excise policy in his press statement, Cheema said that the Excise Policy 2022-23 has ushered a paradigm shift in the liquor trade in Punjab. “The main twin objectives of the Excise Policy are maximization of revenue and providing affordable quality liquor to citizens. The policy also strives to keep a stringent check over smuggling of liquor from the neighboring states through extensive enforcement and by incorporating new technological measures”, said the Finance Minister.

          Disclosing further, the Finance Minister said that the actual potential of liquor trade had been assessed by allotting the retail groups through a free, fair and transparent manner of e-tendering. He said that these vends had been made in groups of a general size of around 30 crores, and total of 6378 vends in 175 groups had been e-auctioned in the state.  

Highlighting the initiatives taken to ensure the availability of liquor at most competitive price in the state, Harpal Singh Cheema said that the duty regime has been further liberalized and Minimum Retail Sale Prices of Punjab Medium Liquor (PML), IMFL, IFL (BIO Brands), and Beer have been factored in the New Excise Policy. The Finance Minister said that the lower prices of liquor as compared to neighbouring states and increased enforcement has led to a huge decrease in the smuggling of liquor in Punjab. He said that due to the lowering of PML and IMFL prices consumers were now avoiding smuggled liquor or illicit liquor made from Lahan.

Cheema said that provisions for new Distillery license and Brewery license have been made in the policy to encourage capital investment besides increasing the employment capability in the state. He said that a new license for the production of malt spirit has been also introduced in the State. He said that POS machines shall be installed at every retail vend in the coming months to ensure that the customers should be provided an invoice for the purchase of liquor.

          Harpal Singh Cheema said that the Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann led Punjab government has made a series of efforts to increase the own revenue of the state to fulfill all the commitments and promises made to the people besides ushering in an era of development and prosperity. He said that the excise government has also tightening the noose against past defaulters.

IEP Chandigarh, October 13

On the orders of Minister for Social Security, Punjab Dr. Baljit Kaur the department conducted verification of pensioners drawing various kind of pensions from the state exchequer. Among those verified 90248 pensioners were found deceased. Now the district level officers have been directed to submit the undistributed amount into treasury by 21st October, stated Dr.Baljit Kaur in a press statement issued her today.

Please set that a department give pensions to elderly, widows, dependent children and the disabled. Describing the news published in some newspapers regarding the survey as unfounded, Dr. Baljit Kaur said that on 4 August 2022, she had a meeting with the districts’ officials of the department.

During the meeting, she had instructed all the district officials to identify deceased beneficiaries for the financial assistance scheme for old age pension, widow and dependent women, dependent children and destitute. It should be ensured that pension is not transferred to the account of any deceased beneficiary. So she directed that a survey of existing beneficiaries of old age pension and other financial assistance schemes should be conducted.

By taking action as per the orders and getting back the amount lying in their accounts by identifying the deceased beneficiaries, the financial loss of the government will be prevented and other needy people will be helped with this amounts, she added.