IEP Chandigarh, May 1

Haryana Chief Secretary, Mr. Sanjeev Kaushal has prepared a State Biodiversity Strategy and Action Plan 2021-2030 for biodiversity conservation and management, which aims to balance the conservation of biodiversity with sustainable development and the well-being of local communities.         While presiding over the first meeting of the Haryana State Biodiversity Board, the Chief Secretary, Mr. Sanjeev Kaushal said that under this action plan prepared by the Wildlife Institute of India, it has been proposed to set up a Haryana Bio-diversity Knowledge Centre which will serve as a think tank and innovation of technologies.The Chief Secretary said that before implementing this action plan, a sub-committee would be constituted to monitor, precisely study and collect the data on biodiversity.  The Committee will include experts in this field besides members from the finance department.Mr. Kaushal said that a Tiger was spotted recently in the Kalesar National Park. Therefore, the officials should explore the possibility of establishing a tiger park.  He further asked the Forests and Wildlife officials to collect information on the areas of the state where the population of Nilgai and other wild animals has increased. A committee will prepare its report and submit it within a month. The next meeting of the board will be held in June.According to the action plan, work will be done by various departments to save species like cow, buffalo, monkey, nilgai and other wildlife etc. Apart from this, work will also be carried out for the management of cultivable land, underground water, supply of clean drinking water etc. in sufficient quantity to the population living in high rising buildings.Additional Chief Secretary (ACS), Agriculture and Farmers’ Welfare, Mr. Sudhir Rajpal, ACS, Environment, Forest and Wildlife, Mr. Vineet Garg, ACS, Development and Panchayats, Mr. Anil Malik, Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Haryana Forest Corporation, Mr. Vivek Saxena and other senior officers were present in the meeting.

IEP Chandigarh April 28

The Punjab Vigilance Bureau (VB) during its anti-corruption campaign, has arrested Forest Guard, Amarjit Kaur, posted at Wadhaghar forest beet, Moga district and resident of Bagha Purana, for demanding and accepting a bribe of Rs 10,000.Disclosing this here today, a spokesperson of the VB said this case has been registered against the above said woman employee on a complaint lodged by Gurmit Singh of village Mangewala, Moga district.Giving details he added that the complainant had alleged that the above said Forest official had demanded a bribe of Rs 15,000 each as a bribe for not to impose heavy fines in lieu of laying water pipes in the forest land against him and his neighbour. The complainant further alleged that the deal has been struck at Rs 10,000 each. He further added that the complainant has recorded the entire conversation on his mobile in this regard.The spokesperson further added that the VB unit of Ferozepur range has investigated the allegations levelled in the complaint and laid a trap in which the accused Forest lady has been arrested while she was taking a bribe of Rs 10,000 from the complainant in the presence of two official witnesses. In this regard a corruption case at VB police station Ferozepur against the above mentioned employee has been registered. The accused lady would be produced in the competent court tomorrow at Ferozepur. Further investigation in this case was under progress, he informed.

IEP Chandigarh, April 28

Wheat arrivals crossed 105 Lakh Metric Tons across the Mandis in the State today and surpassed the last year arrivals of 102.7 Lakh MT wheat that arrived in mandies during the entire Rabi season last year. Further, more than 100 LMT has already been purchased by the Government Agencies thus beating the total purchase of 96.45 Lakh Metric tons by the Govt Procurement Agencies during the entire Rabi season last year. 

Sharing these details the Food, Civil Supplies & Consumer Affairs Minister, Lal Chand Kataruchak said that 4.5 Lakh MT wheat has arrived today in the mandies and with this trend, total procurement of wheat will be atleast 20 lakh MT more than the previous season. 

The Minister further said that the hard working farmers of the State have  once again proved that Punjab is on the top in ensuring the Food Security of the nation, as the State is set to contribute more than 50% wheat in Central pool this year. 

Expressing satisfaction at MSP Payments to the farmers, the Minister said that breaking all previous year records, 18366 Crores has been released for payment to 5,72,822 farmers as MSP, till today and it is being ensured that payments are released to farmers within 48 hours of purchase   

The Minister further added that acting on the directions of the Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann for ensuring complete transparency in the procurement of wheat, the Vehicle Tracking System (VTS) has been implemented in the State during the ongoing wheat procurement season. The number of vehicles with GPS fitted on them has increased to more than 30000 as on date and more than 202250 online gate passes have been issued through the VTS, till now.

IEP Ludhiana, April 28 

 The Punjab Cabinet led by Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann today mourned the death of former Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal by observing two minutes silence. At the very outset, the Cabinet paid tributes to the Akali patriarch by observing two minutes silence. The entire council of Ministers paid tributes to departed soul and prayed to Almighty to grant eternal peace to departed soul and courage to bereaved family members for bearing the irreparable loss.

IEP Chandigarh/Canberra, April 28

 Haryana Home Minister, Sh. Anil Vij called on Australian Minister for City Services and Transport, Mr. Christopher James Steel in Canberra, Australia today. During this, discussions and deliberations were held regarding cooperation between Haryana and Australia on various subjects. These mainly include health, transport, education etc.During the meeting, City Services and Transport Minister of Australia Mr. Christopher James Steel expressed his desire to cooperate with Haryana in the above areas. During the meeting, Sh. Vij invited Mr. Christopher James Steel to come to Haryana, on which Mr. Steel accepted the invitation and expressed his desire to come to Haryana. During the meeting, Mr. Steel told Sh. Vij that he wished to work with Haryana in future so that mutual relations could be further strengthened.It is worth mentioning that discussions have been held between various organizations and bodies of Haryana with the Australian Government for short-term employment-oriented courses, which are expected to be finalized soon.

IEP Chandigarh/Canberra, April 28

Haryana Home Minister, Sh. Anil Vij said that “The Gita preached by Shri Krishna is not for any religion, caste, region and language, it is for the entire humanity.  He said that every statement of Shri Krishna ji unties the knots of human life and it is also called the key to success. Apart from this, he said that we will spread the message of Gita to all the countries of the world gradually.

Sh. Vij was addressing the gathering as the chief guest at the Opening Ceremony of the International Gita Mahotsav at the Federal Parliament, Canberra, Australia today.  On this occasion, he released the book Geeta Prerna.  In this program, Sh. Vij was also honored by wearing a turban. Geeta Manishi Swami Gyananand Ji Maharaj, Swami Sudarshan Anand Ji, MLA from Panipat Mahipal Dhanda, various ambassadors, commissioners and Senator and Chief Minister of Australia Government were also present on this occasion.

He said that we all have become a part of history by organizing the International Gita Mahotsav in this auditorium in the Australian Parliament. The extent to which Gita ji is propagated is less.  He said that whenever a crossroad comes in your life, you do not know where to go, whether to go east or west, north or south, then it is written in Geeta ji that ‘phakat shaastr ko bana rahanuma, kee karana hai kya, tujhe karana hai kya na.

He said that if you open Geeta ji, you will find answers to all your questions.  Geeta ji undoubtedly during the war of Mahabharata, when Arjuna dropped his weapons, Lord Shri Krishna preached Geeta to him.  He said that the wise people, the people who know, do not grieve for those who die, and Shri Krishna has told about all kinds of knowledge, including Gyan Yoga, Bhakti Yoga, and Karma Yoga.  Maximum emphasis has been given on Karma Yoga that we have to do our work without worrying about the result, we have to execute our work. Narrating the verse, he said that

IEP Chandigarh April 25

The Punjab Vigilance Bureau (VB) during its anti-corruption campaign in the state, has nabbed a clerk Harjeet Singh, posted at Tehsil office, Talwandi Sabo, Bathinda district for demanding and accepting a bribe of Rs 4,500.Disclosing this here today a spokesperson of the state VB said this case has been registered on complaint of Gursewak Singh of village Jaga Ram Tirath, Bathinda district.Giving details he further informed that the complainant has approched the VB and alleged that the above said clerk has demanded Rs 10,000 in liue of issuing his marriage certificate. He further alleged that upon his request the deal has been struck at Rs 6,000 and the accused had already taken Rs 1,500 as a first instalment of bribe and demanding the remaining money.The spokesperson added that the VB unit of Bathinda range, after preliminary investigation of the allegations levelled in the complaint, has laid a trap and the accused has been arrested while taking a bribe of Rs 4,500 as a second instalment in the presence of two official witnesses and the tainted money has been recovered from him.In this regard a corruption case has been registered against the above said accused at VB police station Bathinda. Further investigation in this case was under progress, he informed.

IEP Chandigarh, April 25

The Martyrs’s Memorial (Shaheed Smarak) being constructed at Ambala Cantonment in Haryana will be one of its kind in the country.  The Martyrs Memorial will give a new identity to innumerable unsung warriors and fighters at the national and international level, since the first freedom struggle of 1857.        Contribution of people of Haryana will be attractively displayed so that the youth can draw inspiration from the life and valor of the martyrs. This monument will have a unique confluence of technology and history. The construction of the Shaheed Smarak is in the final stage and in order to display the information of history in an interesting way, a meeting was held today under the Chairmanship of Additional Principal Secretary to the Chief Minister and Director General, Information, Public Relations, Language and Culture Department, Dr. Amit Agrawal at Haryana Bhawan, New Delhi with the historians, who are the members of the Shaheed Smarak Nirman Samiti.         It was apprised in the meeting that in the next 15 days, a detailed plan of the memorial will be prepared and shared with all the members of the committee. After taking their suggestions, a final decision will be taken in this regard. Dr. Amit Agrawal said that apart from installing photo panels in this memorial, with the help of light and sound, efforts will be made to display the glorious journey of modern Haryana from pre-history to the present stage journey. He informed that from the first freedom struggle of 1857 to the contribution of Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose INA in the freedom struggle and how the people of Haryana endured the tortures of the then British government. He added that all such important historical information will be vividly displayed with a brief description. Dr. Agrawal said that the visitors coming to the memorial will get to know about the rich history of Haryana and it would become a sure ‘destination visit’ for the tourists and locals. He said that major construction work of this monument has been completed and in the next one and a half months the final decision on the material to be displayed in the monument will be taken and the work will be allotted to the concerned agency. He hoped that by the coming October this memorial will be completely ready and open to the general public. Committee member and Chairman, Indian Council of Historical Research, Prof. Raghuvendra Tanwar said that this monument will be unique of its kind in the whole country because of its large size and inclusion of detailed facts related to history. It has also been decided in today’s meeting that all the members should visit the Red Fort Museum and other museums prepared by the Archives Department based on the first battle of 1857. He added that members will explore the gaps which should be incorporated in the Martyrs’ Memorial, Ambala Cantonment.         Col. Yogender (Retd.), member of the committee made a presentation. Renowned historian Prof. Kapil Kumar, Archivist, National Museum of India, Dr. Devender Kumar Sharma, Director and Vice-Chancellor, National Museum Institute, Prof. Dr. Anupa Pandey, former history head of Sanatan Dharma Mahavidyalaya History Department, Dr. Udayveer, Historian, Sh. TajenderWalia, Additional Director of Information, Public Relations and Languages Department, Dr. Kuldeep Saini, Haryana Public Works Executive Engineer, Sh. Rajkumar also gave their suggestions.

IEP Chandigarh, April 25

Haryana Government has directed all Administrative Secretaries to upload pending State Acts & Subordinate Legislations on the website of India Code Portal in consultation with the Law Department, Haryana within 7 days positively.        In a letter written to administrative secretaries by the Chief Secretary, it has been requested to submit a completion certificate after uploading the necessary document to the office within the stipulated time period.

IEP Chandigarh, April 24

Agriculture and Farmers Welfare Minister, Sh. J P Dalal directed the officials to promptly resolve the problems of the general public, while redressing ten out of twelve complaints during the meeting of the district public relations and grievances redressal committee in Sirsa today.        On the complaint of Kavita Rani of Bakrianwali village about taking loan with forged signature, the Agriculture and Farmers Welfare Minister directed the concerned DSP to take cognizance of the matter and action against the bank.        Similarly, on the complaint of shops made illegally by Krishna Kumar Jindal, a resident of Mandi Kalanwali, the Additional Deputy Commissioner apprised the minister that the matter was investigated under which some flaws were found. On this, the Agriculture Minister gave directions to get the matter investigated through State Vigilance.        Meanwhile, on the complaint of non-receipt of compensation for the loss of wheat and mustard crops in Rabi 2021 of Jodhkan, Ding, Mochiwali and Kukar Thana villages, the Agriculture Minister directed the bank officials to make payment at the earliest.        On the complaint of Mandi Dabwali resident Pawan Kumar about illegal possession of his house by his brother, Sh. JP Dalal directed that the police should take appropriate action in this matter and the complainant should meet the Superintendent of Police regarding the same.        On the occasion, Chairman, Haryana State Agriculture Marketing Board, Sh. Aditya Devi Lal, Deputy Commissioner, Sh. Parth Gupta along with other officials and members of the committee were present.