IEP Chandigarh, August 8

Punjab Vigilance Bureau (VB) booked an Assistant Sub-Inspector (ASI), Malwinder Singh, posted at City Police Station-1 Malerkotla, for accepting a bribe of Rs 10,000 from Jagtar Singh resident of village Himtana in Malerkotla district. Divulging the details here today, an official spokesperson of the VB said that Jagtar Singh lodged a complaint that the accused ASI had demanded a bribe of Rs 50,000 to withdraw the name of his son, Pawanpreet Singh, from FIR no 123 dated 19-05-2022 registered under sections 420, 406, 120-B, 506 of IPC at City Police Station-1, Malerkotla. The complainant also alleged that the ASI already took Rs 10,000 from him. After preliminary investigation of the complaint, the spokesperson said that a team of VB laid a trap to nab the accused police official, who managed to flee from the spot in his swift car with bribe money of Rs 10,000 received from the complainant after seeing the VB team. The team of VB chased him and found the car abandoned near Balad Kanchian (Bhawanigarh). During the checking of the car, the VB recovered the trap money of Rs 10,000, besides, 460 grams Poppy Husk and 9 grams opium from the vehicle. In this regard, the spokesperson said that an FIR no 11 under section 7 of Prevention of Corruption Act has been registered against ASI Malwinder Singh at Economic Offences Wing (EoW) of VB, Ludhiana. The police have also registered a separate case FIR no 137 dated 08-08-2023 under sections 15 and 18 of the NDPS Act against him at Police Station, Bhawanigarh.

IEP Chandigarh, August 8

Punjab Mandi Board Chairman Mr. Harchand Singh Barsat on Tuesday contributed his one-month salary to the Chief Minister’s Relief Fund for flood relief and rehabilitation works. All the employees of Punjab Mandi Board and Market Committees also joined the Chairman and donated Rs 47.25 lakhs towards CM’s Relief Fund. Punjab Mandi Board Chairman Mr. Harchand Singh Barsat handed over a cheque of Rs 47.25 lakhs to Chief Minister S Bhagwant Mann. He expressed gratitude to these employees for coming forward to lend helping hand to the state government in this natural calamity. He said that Chief Minister S. Bhagwant Mann led Punjab Government has been carrying out relief and rehabilitation works in flood affected areas. The whole state government machinery has been working round-the-clock for providing relief and facilitating rehabilitation of those affected by floods.

IEP Chandigarh, August 8

Following the directives given by Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann to provide sufficient sand to the people of the state at reasonable prices and to completely full stop illegal mining activities, Mining Minister Gurmeet Singh Meet Hayer on Tuesday has asked the department to find other new places for public mining sites and commercial sites by September 20. In a meeting with the officials of the department at Punjab Bhawan here today, the Mining Minister said that the State Government is committed to providing sufficient sand to the people at affordable prices. All necessary actions for approvals to start 40 clusters with 67 commercial sites should be completed by monsoon season so that they can be started from September 20. Out of the 40 clusters auctioned, technical bidding has been done so far for 32 clusters and financial bidding is still on. The government is giving sand to people from both public and commercial sites at Rs. 5.50 per cubic foot. Meet Hayer further said that so far 60 public sites have been dedicated by the Chief Minister to the residents of the state and 13 more public sites are being prepared to start operations soon. He directed the department to search for new places for the opening of more public sites so that the needs of the people can be met. The approvals in this regard should be expedited. Pending environmental clearances should be taken up immediately. Meet Hayer asked the officials of the department to intensify the campaign to completely stop the illegal mining activities. Negligence in this matter will not be tolerated. He said that drone services should be taken to make the checking work more efficient and should be started from the Rupnagar district as a pilot project. He said that 716 FIRs related to illegal mining have been registered from 15 April 2022 to 4 August 2023. The Minister further said that Hi-tech cameras are being installed by HDFC at check posts from the Bank’s CSR funds. The meeting was attended by Secretary Gurkirat Kripal Singh, Director DPS Kharbanda, Chief Engineer H.S. Mehndiratta, SEs and all XENs.

IEP Chandigarh, August 8

After the success of the first edition of Kheda Watan Punjab Deya which was brainchild of Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann to create a sports culture in the state and make Punjab front ranking state in sports, this year the second Kheda Watan Punjab Deya will be organised for which the Sports department has already started preparations. Reviewing the preparations for the games at Punjab Bhawan, Meet Hayer said that by accepting the demands made by various players and Sports Associations, four new sports including Cycling, Equestrian, Rugby and Volleyball (Shooting) have been added this year. This time, a total of 34 sports will be held in which apart from the above four, Athletics, Hockey, Football, Volleyball (Smashing), Kabaddi (Circle And National Style), Handball, Boxing, Basketball, Wrestling, Judo, Archery, Shooting, Powerlifting, Lawn Tennis, Badminton, KickBoxing, Kayaking and Canoeing, Kho Kho, Gymnastics, Swimming, Netball, Gatka, Chess, Table Tennis, Roller Skating, Weightlifting, Softball, Rowing and Fencing. The Sports Minister said that competitions will be held in different age groups from under 14 to over 60 years of age to veterans. Athletics, Football, Kho Kho, Kabaddi (National and Circle Style) and Volleyball competitions will start from block level. Winners of block level and other games will be held at district level competitions and then district winners will be state level competitions. This time the state level competitions will be held in 20 districts instead of 10 districts last time by increasing the scope. The first, second and third place winners of the state level will be given a cash prize of Rs 10,000, Rs 7,000 and Rs 5,000 respectively. Meet Hayer said that the Games will be inaugurated by Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann in a grand opening ceremony for which the selection of the day and venue will be decided soon. The dates of the sports competitions will be announced soon after looking at the calendar of other national level sports competitions. There will be online and offline entries to participate in the games. During the grand closing ceremony, more than 10,000 winning players will be given cash prizes worth Rs 7 Cr. Special Chief Secretary Saravjit Singh, Director Harpreet Singh Sudan, Special Secretary Anand Kumar and Deputy Director Parminder Singh Sidhu were present in the meeting.

IEP Chandigarh

Haryana Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar paid a courtesy call to the Union, Agriculture and Farmers’ Welfare Minister Narendra Tomar in New Delhi late evening on Monday. During the meeting, Khattar apprised the Union Minister about the welfare schemes being run by the Haryana Government for the farmers. Khattar said that Haryana is an agrarian state and on the strength of its hardworking farmers, State is achieving new heights in the agriculture sector. In the last almost 9 years, the present state government has started new schemes for the welfare of the farmers and has also meticulously implemented the schemes of the central government in the state.“The state government is also making farmers aware to adopt natural farming so that minimum use of pesticides can be ensured in food grain production,” said Khattar.The Chief Minister said that apart from the cultivation of traditional crops in the agriculture sector, shifting towards horticulture crops is also equally important and acknowledging the same, the state government is making dedicated efforts to encourage the farmers to adopt horticulture crops instead of traditional crops.“For this, the state government has set a target of increasing the horticulture area to 22 lakh acres and tripling the production by the year 2030. Along with this, while moving in the direction of water conservation, a call has been given to adopt micro-irrigation instead of flood irrigation and farmers are being given subsidies for adopting micro-irrigation systems. Farmers are also supporting the government in this initiative and are now adopting micro-irrigation, which saves water and doubles production,” said the Chief Minister.

IEP Chandigarh 

Cybercrime has indeed become a significant concern in today’s technological era. The rapid advancement of technology has provided criminals with new opportunities to exploit vulnerabilities and commit various forms of cybercrimes. Meanwhile, as technology-driven crime becomes more sophisticated, the Manohar Lal-led Haryana Government too has taken proactive measures to tackle cybercrime and tighten the noose around cyber fraudsters. The successful raid in Nuh district, involving a total of 5,000 personnel in Haryana, where the police uncovered a cyber fraud worth about Rs 100 crore, not only highlights State’s significant accomplishment in the fight against cybercrime but showcases the seriousness with which the state’s law enforcement tackled this issue.  This was the biggest ever raid of its kind in India in which 320 hideouts of cyber criminals spread across 14 villages in Nuh district were raided. The steps taken by the Haryana government to address cybercrime are commendable. As per the official data, a total of 65 cyber criminals were arrested during raids, with an additional 25 arrests made in the period before and after the raids. Besides this, Law enforcement seized a significant number of IT devices, including 66 mobile devices and 5 micro ATM machines. These devices were likely used in carrying out cybercrimes. Numerous fake documents were exposed, including details of 739 fake SIM cards, 307 fake bank accounts, and 199 UPI handles. These fake documents were likely used for illegal activities. Notably, the criminals attempted to destroy evidence that had been collected during the raids. He said that in the guise of the violence in Nuh strict in the past few last days, an attempt was made to destroy the evidence collected during this raid and a planned attack on the cyber police station. This cyber police station of Nuh has been completed two years back. The cyber station contained massive fraud and other criminal documents and the miscreants aimed to destroy the evidence to avoid prosecution.  Apart from this, the setting up of 318 cyber help desks one each in a cyber police station and coordination centres demonstrates a comprehensive approach to tackling cyber threats. 29 cyber police stations have also been set up in the state. Integrating the Cyber Crime Helpline -1930 with the Emergency Response Support System- DIAL-112 and coordinating with other states and the national centre at State Level Cyber Crime Coordination Centre in Panchkula also reflects the state government’s coordinated effort to effectively combat cybercrime on multiple levels.

IEP Chandigarh, August 5 

Prime Minister, Sh. Narendra Modi will lay the foundation stone for the redevelopment work of 508 railway stations across the country through video conferencing on August 6, under the Amrit Bharat Station scheme launched for the development of railway stations in India. Under this scheme, 15 railway stations of Haryana state have also been included, which will be upgraded/modernized. Expressing gratitude to the Prime Minister for this scheme, Chief Minister, Sh.  Manohar Lal said that the redevelopment of railway stations will provide better facilities to passengers and will also strengthen the public transport service. He said that apart from 15 railway stations in Haryana, other stations would also be developed in the upcoming phases. This national-level function will also be telecast live at all railway stations/venues. Under the Amrit Bharat Station scheme, stations will be redeveloped with upgraded amenities including toilets, waiting areas/halls, free Wi-Fi facilities, kiosks for products, etc.

IEP Chandigarh, August 5

 Additional Chief Secretary, Agriculture and Farmer’s Welfare Department, Haryana, Sh. Sudhir Rajpal emphasized the need for constructing storage facilities at the village level to accommodate 5000 metric tons of grains under the Agricultural Infrastructure Fund. This step aims to fulfill the grain storage requirements within the state. Additional Chief Secretary, Sh. Rajpal chaired a state-level review meeting of the Agricultural Infrastructure Fund Scheme, where he directed the officers to prioritize the establishment of pack houses for horticulture and vegetable growers and godowns for storage of agricultural products and fertilizers in packs. He said that, so far, a sum of Rs. 886 crore has been approved for 1119 entrepreneurs of Haryana under the scheme, out of which Rs. 736 crore has already been disbursed to 935 entrepreneurs. The Chief Secretary noted that interested entrepreneurs can apply for this scheme by preparing Detailed Project Reports (DPR) through District-level Implementation Committees. The Agricultural Infrastructure Fund Scheme supports post-harvest management and the creation of community agricultural assets, offering medium and long-term loans and financial assistance. The Central Government has allocated Rs. 3900 crore for this initiative, with distribution planned by the year 2025-26. The main aim of the fund is to reduce post-harvest losses and to increase farmers’ income. This scheme provides loans up to Rs. 2 crore for empowering agri-entrepreneurs, start-ups, self-help groups, farmer producer organisations, joint liability groups, primary agricultural credit societies, marketing cooperatives, multi-purpose cooperatives, agricultural produce marketing societies, godowns and silos, cold stores, and cold chains. The government provides up to a 3 percent interest subsidy on these loans. For the year 2023-24, Rs. 925 crore has been allocated for various structures, out of which Rs. 150 crore has already been disbursed. A unique aspect of this scheme is that beneficiaries can also take advantage of this scheme by taking a grant in any scheme of the central and state government, he added. The Additional Chief Secretary unveiled posters outlining the objectives and eligible activities of the scheme during the state-level meeting. Advisor, Agriculture Infrastructure Fund, Sh. Amarjit Mann, Director General, Horticulture Department, Dr. Arjun Saini, Additional Director, Agriculture Dr. Rohtas Singh, Sh. Chandra Mohan Dhiman and many bankers remained present at the state-level meeting.

IEP Chandigarh 

Haryana Home Minister, Mr. Anil Vij said that the police is taking pro-active measures to maintain peace in Nuh after unrest. As of now, a total of 104 FIRs have been registered and 216 individuals have been arrested. Moreover, 80 individuals have been detained under preventive custody in connection with Nuh incident. When media persons asked about the viral video of CID Inspector, Mr. Vij said, “I’ve taken note of the video, suitable action will be taken at the appropriate juncture.” Responding to a question regarding Pakistan’s involvement in the Nuh unrest, the Home Minister conveyed that the police are well-versed in these details and are meticulously examining each aspect. Addressing the query about a link between the Punjab-registered vehicle and Hyder Ali during the incident, Mr. Vij said that this information has been forwarded to the authorities for investigation. 

IEP Chandigarh, August 5

 Haryana Chief Minister, Sh. Manohar Lal said that under the Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Anna Yojana, about 32 lakh families in the state are getting the benefits of the PDS scheme. “To simplify the Public Distribution System, our government has made effective changes in the system. Now all the work is being done online in a transparent manner, due to which the beneficiaries, as well as the depot holders, do not have to face any problem to get the ration,” said Sh. Manohar Lal while interacting with the ration depot holders through audio conferencing here today. During the interaction, the depot holders thanked the Chief Minister for simplifying the Public Distribution System. Depot holders said that earlier people used to come to us, again and again, asking the dates of arrival of ration. The Haryana government has linked the information regarding the ration with the consumers’ mobile numbers, which has brought great relief to the consumers as well as to the depot holders. The government has reduced our problems by making the entire process online, said the depot holders. The Chief Minister said that many times a family had to face the problem as someone else used to avail of the ration facility on their behalf or they have only got half of the ration meant for them. To solve this problem, the government has started the EPDS portal. Under this, automatic POS machines have been installed at 9,434 fair-price shops. The ration is being made available to consumers through machines. Due to this, 100 percent distribution of essential commodities is being done after authentication on a biometric basis. Now no ineligible person can get ration by adopting any fraudulent means, informed Sh. Manohar Lal. The Chief Minister said that the government had linked the information of ration with the mobile of the consumers. Now, as soon as the supply reaches the ration shop, the consumers automatically get information about the arrival of the ration through mobile messages. The Chief Minister said that earlier in the old ration cards system; there was no information about any change in the number of family members. There were also doubts related to eligibility. Lack of transparency led to misunderstandings and due to this; there were numerous complaints from consumers. To solve all these problems, we have compiled the data of all the eligible families by taking the help of e-governance and have made all the processes online. Now, with the help of the depot holders, the work of distribution of ration has been made completely transparent and simple,” said Sh. Manohar Lal. The Chief Minister said that while reiterating the state government’s commitment towards women empowerment, the Government has taken a significant step by reserving 33 percent of the ration depots for women. Also, on applying the women applicants would be given allotment priority. He said that it would not be wrong to call the depot holders the charioteers of the Antyodaya Abhiyan launched by the Prime Minister, Sh. Narendra Modi. Because of depot holders, the work to distribute ration to satisfy the hunger of the poorest person is being done in a smooth and hassle-free manner.  Not only this, your role becomes even more important during natural calamities.  The commendable services rendered by you during the COVID-19 pandemic is an example of this, said the Chief Minister. During the COVID-19 pandemic time, the Prime Minister had taken a pledge that no person in the country sleeps hungry. To fulfill this resolution, he had started the Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Anna Yojana and the onus was on you to implement this scheme. I feel proud to say that you have left no stone unturned to make this plan a success, said Sh. Manohar Lal. Similarly, the One Nation – One Ration Card Scheme has been launched by Prime Minister, Sh. Narendra Modi to facilitate every ration card holder of the country to get ration anywhere in the country. Earlier, due to employment or any other reason, the poor families living far away from their original residence could not get ration. Now any citizen of the country can get his quota from any