IEP Chandigarh: December 30

Punjab Transport Department, under the dynamic leadership of Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann, is providing hassle-free online services and brought exemplary policies and schemes for the people of the state.

With an aim to make Punjab clean, green and pollution free, the Transport department has prepared draft of a new Electric Vehicle policy to check environmental pollution in the state. Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann gave nod to the draft policy, which envisages registration of 25% more electric vehicles as compared to last year.

The new draft policy major thrust will be laid in cities like Ludhiana, Jalandhar, Amritsar, Patiala and Bathinda that cater to more than 50% vehicles in the state. As per this draft infrastructure in terms of electric charging points will be set up across the state for private and public electric vehicles.

Transport Minister Laljit Singh Bhullar said that this draft policy also stipulates cash incentives to the people opting for electric vehicles in the state. First one lakh buyers of the Electric Vehicles will get a financial incentive up to Rs.10,000. First 10,000 buyers of electric auto-rickshaw and e-rickshaw will get a financial incentive up to Rs.30,000. First 5000 e-cart buyers will get incentive up to Rs.30,000. First 5000 buyers of Light commercial vehicles will get incentive between up to Rs.30,000-Rs.50,000.

Provision has also been made to waive off registration fee and road tax on the registration of these electric vehicles. The views of people will be taken before finalising this policy.

Similarly, taking a leap towards hassle-free e-governance services the Punjab Transport department has launched online driving license facility for the people thereby facilitating the citizens to get learner’s driving license on a single click of their computer, mobile, tablet or laptop.

After the launching of www.sarathi.parivahan.gov.in portal, the people are getting the learner’s driving license just at a single click of their computer, mobile, tablet or phone while sitting at their home 24X7.

Transport Minister Laljit Singh Bhullar informed that the applicant can apply the learner’s driving license while uploading his Adhaar card after which he can appear in the online learning license test. And, after clearing the online test the applicant can download the license and take its print. This online process is saving precious time of the people who earlier have to stand in long queues for getting their license.

Notably, the driving license was issued to 5.21 lakh applicants in the year 2021-22. With the launch of this online facility more than 5 lakh applicants are expected to get their licenses in a smooth and hassle-free manner without even going to the RTA offices. Apart from this if people desire they can apply their licenses at Suvidha centre too.

Likewise, Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann led state Government has started luxury Volvo buses from Punjab to the IGI Airport Delhi within three months after taking over in the state. From the date of commencing bus service on June 15, as many as 72,378 passengers have availed affordable bus service, and the government has generated revenue of over Rs.13.89 crore up till November 30.

Transport Minister Laljit Singh Bhullar said that about 25 Volvo buses are plying daily from Amritsar, Pathankot, Ludhiana, Hoshiarpur, Kapurthala, Jalandhar, Patiala, Nawanshahr, Ropar, Moga and Chandigarh to the international airport in Delhi.

The Transport Minister said this historic decision is facilitating to lakhs of NRIs of Punjab on one hand, similarly it is sounding death knell for transport mafia. The Cabinet Minister said that Mann government is taking every initiative to safeguard the interests of Punjabis and eliminate all sorts of mafia or monopolization from the state.

IEP Chandigarh, December 30

The Punjab government led by Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann is making continuous efforts to make the state crime free.  In the same direction, the state government has first taken a step in the direction of turning the state’s jails into reform houses.

Giving information in this regard, a Spokesman of the Punjab government said that random checking is being done continuously to make the prisons of the state free from drugs and mobile phones.

He  said that strict action has been taken against the employees of the prison department who are delivering drugs and mobile phones in the Jail and during the checking so far 4716 mobile phones have been seized from the prisoners which is the highest number in the past years.

Family Visits: Prisoners who maintain good conduct in prisons can now meet their family members physically also by registering under the Family Visits project. This was started in Punjab Prisons on 15.09.2022 to motivate prisoners to shun path of crime and for their re-integration with their families. Since then, 7497 such family visits have taken place across the prisons of the State of Punjab.

He said as a first in the country, all the prisoners lodged in various prisons of Punjab (approx. 30000) were screened for drug abuse. Apart from this In order to design and implement better de-addiction strategy, a survey of all addict prisoners lodged in Punjab prisons has been conducted. The survey consisted of 86 questions which were prepared by a Committee of senior educationists of various Universities and other education institutions of Punjab and Chandigarh. Report of this survey is being prepared.

IEP Chandigarh / Amritsar, December 30

Punjab NRI Affairs Minister Mr. Kuldeep Singh Dhaliwal said that Punjab Government would soon set up fast track courts in the state to facilitate Punjabi NRIs in addressing their issues in a short span of time.Presiding over Fifth ‘Punjabi NRIs Naal Milni’ held at Convention Center GNDU, the Cabinet Minister Mr. Kuldeep Singh Dhaliwal said that the state government was committed to prompt resolution of their grievances by taking the initiative of such meets. He said that this endeavour of the state government led by Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann will go a long way bringing positive results.The Minister said that these courts would be functioning dedicatedly for the speedy redressal of Non Resident Indians’ (NRIs) issues pertaining to civil cases. He added that the proceedings will be initiated soon to establish courts to deal civil cases of NRIs so that their precious energy, time and money could be saved.Expressing satisfaction over the enthusiastic response of the Punjabi Diaspora towards the Milni initiative, Dhaliwal said that the NRIs would be made active partners in the state’s progress. He also lauded the contribution being made by NRI Punjabis in the development of villages and cities. He further pointed out that nodal officers are being deputed in the districts, who would get the issues of NRIs done at the earliest without any delay.In the presence of civil and police department officials, the NRI Affairs Minister heard the problems of NRIs from districts Amritsar, Gurdaspur, Pathankot and Tarntaran and directed that these complaints should be resolved immediately. He released what’s app number 9056009884 for NRIs complaints.During the meeting with the NRI Punjabis, district war counters were established for the convenience of the NRIs from different districts where civil and police administration officials were listening to their issues. A total of 103 cases were heard during today’s event.Prominent amongst those present on the occasion included MLA kasmir Singh Sohal, MLA Dalbir Singh Tong, MLA Mrs Jeevanjot Kaur, MLA Amarpal Singh, MLA Sarvan Singh Dhun, ADGP (NRI) Praveen Kumar Sinha, Commissioner Mrs. Gurpeet Kaur Sapra, Special Secretary (NRI Affairs) Mrs Kanwalpreet Kaur Brar, Police Commissioner Jaskaran Singh, Deputy Commissioner and SSP of Amritsar, Tarntaran, Gurdaspur and Pathankot along with senior officials of various departments were present.

IEP Chandigarh, December 29

          One of the major city in Doaba, Hoshiarpur will get a state of the art vacuum cleaning machine in the New Year. The successful trial of this machine was done last evening in the presence of Cabinet Minister and Hoshiarpur MLA Bram Shanker Jimpa.

          Jimpa said that Hoshiarpur have taken a step forward in the direction of realizing the dream of Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann to make the state clean and beautiful. He said that the purchase of this machine including the truck will be around Rs. 55-60 lakh. Starting the trial of vacuum cleaning machine from bus stand chowk Hoshiarpur, Jimpa said that this machine will soon be available for cleaning streets & roads of the city. After the purchase of this machine, Hoshiarpur will join the selected cities of Punjab where cleanliness is being done with such modern machines.

          He said that this gift has been given to the residents of Hoshiarpur so that the city can be cleaned without blowing dust. Bram Shanker Jimpa said that he is trying his best to make Hoshiarpur a dust & garbage free city and efforts have been already started to achieve this target.  “I am trying my best for the overall development of Hoshiarpur and the pace of development will be accelerated in the near future” Jimpa added.

IEP Chandigarh, December 29

The Punjab government led by Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann has taken pro-farmer decisions for the welfare of the farmers of the State in the year-2022.          Giving this information, Punjab Agriculture and Farmers Welfare Minister Mr. Kuldeep Singh Dhaliwal said that the state government had so far released an amount of Rs. 31.70 crore to the kin of 634 farmers, Rs. 5 lakh to each family, who were martyred during the farmers’ agitation. Similarly, as many as 326 family members of the said farmers have been provided government jobs in various departments while the verification process for giving jobs to 98 members is completed whereas the process for government jobs to 210 others is underway, said Dhaliwal.          The Minister also mentioned that the State Government had also fixed Minimum Support Price of Rs. 7275 for per quintal of moong crop under which Rs. 61.85 crore had also been transferred directly to the bank accounts of 15737 farmers. He said that this initiative of Punjab Government was taken to boost the crop diversification, which was received excellent response.             Referring to the Direct Sowing of Paddy, the Minister said that the Punjab Government was encouraging the farmers adopt practice of direct sowing of paddy to save precious natural resource as well as protecting the depleting water table.  He said that the State Government had disbursed payments worth Rs. 25.06 crore to farmers against the total land earmarked during kharif-2022 i.e. 1.69 lakh acres under Rs. 1500 per acre scheme for direct sowing. Punjab Government has increased the sugarcane price by adding Rs. 20 besides releasing Rs. 492 crore to cooperative and private sugar mills so that the payments to be given to the sugarcane growers.            Describing agriculture as a vital part of the State’s economy, Mr. Dhaliwal said that Punjab had contributed in the national food kitty thus paving a way to make the country self-reliant on food security front for the last five decades and has maintained sufficient food stock for the country. During the year 2021-22, Punjab has contributed 31% wheat and 21% rice of the country’s food reserves. He said that geographically, Punjab has an area of 50.33 lakh hectares, of which about 41.27 lakh hectares are used for agriculture. He said that the irrigation was being carried out in 40.74 lakh hectares (98.9 percent) while the crop intensity of the state was more than 189 percent. It produces about 18 percent of wheat, 11 percent of rice and 4 percent of cotton, 10 percent of milk, 20 percent of honey and 48 percent of mushrooms in the country.          The Agriculture Minister said that crop diversification was one of the major focus areas of the state government so that the area under paddy-wheat cropping system could be reduced and ground water was protected. Special efforts are being made to increase the area under low water consumption crops like cotton, maize, oilseeds and pulses. He said that in the year 2021 the area under edible oil crops was 31600 hectares which registered an increase to 43900 hectares in the year 2022. He said that apart from providing subsidy on crop residue management equipment, the Punjab government is encouraging the farmers to adopt the latest agri-inputs and techniques to get more benefits by mechanized crop residue management besides saving time and energy.          Mr. Dhaliwal further said that the state government is making concerted efforts to manage the straw waste. He said that as a result of the government’s efforts, the number of farm fires has reduced to 49,922 in 2022 from 71,304 in 2021, which is about 30 percent less.         

IEP Chandigarh, December 29

The Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann led State Government had made a firm commitment to all the stakeholders viz. Farmers, Labourers, Millers and Arhtiyas before the start of paddy procurement season about ensuring the uninterrupted procurement. That the Government fully lived up to its commitment is proved by the fact that during the current season, 182.11 Lakh Metric Tonne (LMT) paddy stood procured out of the target of 184.45 LMT. The procurement was made at the Minimum Support Price (MSP) of Rs. 2060 per quintal fixed by the Government of India. 

Guided by the Food, Civil Supplies and Consumer Affairs Minister Mr. Lal Chand Kataruchak, this time no problem was encountered by the farmers in the mandis and procurement as well as lifting was done on time. Within mere 4 hours of the procurement, the payments were credited into the bank accounts of the farmers.

The State Government had set up 1806 traditional purchase centres in the mandis besides declaring as many as 583 public places and 37 rice mills as interim purchase centers for the facilitation of farmers and then the allotments were made. Government procurement agencies including FCI have credited Rs. 37,514 crore into the accounts of the nearly 8 lakh farmers for the paddy procured by the agencies of the State. 

The department has played yeoman’s role apart from the Mandi Board in ensuring hassle free procurement. Besides, the contribution of the Punjab Police in effectively stonewalling the illegal paddy coming from the other States by putting up Nakas at the interstate barriers has also come for appreciation. 

          The custom milling policy of the State Government has garnered praise from the Government of India which has asked the State Government to share its expertise with the other States.

IEP Chandigarh, December 30

Punjab Chief Minister S Bhagwant Mann released a poster of ‘Khedan Halqa Sunam Diyan’ to be organised in the memory of Late Punjab Minister Babu Bhagwan Dass Arora, the father of Mr. Aman Arora, Minister of Information and Public Relations, Punjab.          After release of the poster at CMR here, Mr. Aman Arora said that Babu Bhagwan Dass Arora Memorial Sunam Super League under the banner of ‘Khedan Halqa Sunam Diyan’ will be organised and sponsered by Babu Bhagwan Dass Arora Memorial Foundation at Shaheed Bhai Mati Dass Senior Secondary School, Longowal from February 4 to February 5, 2023.          Pertinently, Babu Bhagwan Dass Arora Memorial Foundation has been organising medical camps and carrying out other social works for the welfare of public for over a decade.          Revealing more details about the ‘Khedan Halqa Sunam Diyan’, the Cabinet Minister said that three categories of sports— Volleyball Shooting, Volleyball Smashing and Tug of War, will be organised to promote sports culture at the ground level as per the commitment of Chief Minister S Bhagwant Mann, who is ardent sports lover and himself a good player of volleyball shooting.          Recently, Mann Government had also organised the three-month long sports gala “Khedan Watan Punjab Diyan” to identify hidden talent and thereafter hone that talent to produce international level sportspersons from the state.          The Cabinet Minister said that winner teams of these three events will be bestowed with cash prizes along with trophies.           Mr. Aman Arora informed that Padma Shri heavyweight International Boxer Kaur Singh, Gold medal winner of Asian Games and Padma Shri Sunita Rani, Gold Medalist Athlete of Asian Games, will be felicitated at the tournament. Sports kits will also be distributed to all the participating teams. Last date for registration of teams is January 20, 2023, he added.

IEP Chandigarh, December 28

Making optimum use of the internet to provide hassle-free services to people at their doorsteps, Punjab Housing and Urban Development (H&UD) Department has adopted a new mantra to bring far more efficiently while ensuring time-bound services to the people in a transparent manner.

The creation of a robust online system is among the various people-centric initiatives taken by the Housing & Urban Development Minister Mr. Aman Arora in 2022, to live up to the promise made by Chief Minister S. Bhagwant Mann to provide an honest and transparent model of governance.

The single portal designed by the H&UD offers numerous services including regularization of plots and buildings, Change of ownership, and procuring NOCs, etc at a click, that too in a mandated timeline. Earlier, an applicant had to make numerous rounds to the government offices to get these basic services done.

Giving a major reprieve to the people who bought properties in unauthorized colonies, the H&UD department has introduced a facility for online submission and processing of applications on the regularization portal www.punjabregularization.in for obtaining NOC. Further, the timeline for issuance of NoCs has also been reduced to 15 working days from the earlier stipulated period of 21 days to ensure quick and timely disposal of applications.

Pertinently, this facility of regularization could be availed only by those allottees/residents whose properties fall under the unauthorized colonies developed before March 19, 2018.

Earlier, the applications were processed offline so the applicants had to wait a long time for getting issued the NOC. Now, the portal extends a large number of facilities such as online submission of applications, online payment, status checking of applications, and online disposal of the same. This one single portal is designed for the regularization of plots and buildings falling within MC and outside the MC area for quick disposal of applications.

To fix accountability in the functioning and ensure all the services in time bound manner, In first, the H&UD department has also made digitally signed permissions accessible to the owners of their properties, thereby bringing in 100 percent transparency in the functioning of the department, which will further create a mechanism that people won’t need to file RTI to access these permissions. “I have been personally monitoring the status of online services and delay in disposal of any application will not be tolerated,” reiterated Mr. Aman Arora.

All the applications regarding these 25 services are being processed online; besides providing services i.e. real-time tracking of applications, issuance of digitally signed certificates and intimation through SMS alert.

The following services can be availed online; Change of ownership, change of ownership (death case unregistered will), change of ownership (death case all legal heirs), change of ownership (death case registered will), issuance of CD, issuance of CD for extended area, issue of no due certificate (NoC), issue of re-allotment letter, permission for sale/gift/transfer, permission to mortgage, permitting professional consultancy services, transfer of letter of intent (LoI), transfer permission (before CD), demarcation of plot, issue of completion certificate/ occupation certificate, issue of completion certificate/ occupation certificate- private property, issue of DPC – Private Properties, issue of DPC certificate, certificate of Registration as Estate Agent, certificate of registration as a promoter, registration of Architect, issuance of temporary sewerage connection (for construction purpose), regularization of water connection, sanction of sewerage connection and sanction of water supply.

ZERO-TOLERANCE TOWARDS DELAY IN SERVICE DELIVERY

Adopting zero-tolerance towards delay in service delivery to the people of the state, the H&UD department has issued show-cause notices to 42 officials, besides charge-sheeting three officials— two Senior Assistants and an Assistant Estate Officer, for dereliction of duty. The department has put in place an online mechanism in which applications and files received by the Department are being monitored by senior officials and by the Minister Mr. Aman Arora himself. This strict action was taken after Mr. Aman Arora found out that the maximum pendency was at the level of the 45 officials across the department, who were issued show-cause notices, while three have been charge-sheeted for not responding to the show-cause notices and for dereliction of duty.

IEP CHANDIGARH/GURDASPUR, December 28:        

  In yet another major success against trans-border smuggling networks amidst the ongoing war against drugs launched on the directions of Chief Minister (CM) Bhagwant Mann, Punjab Police have arrested two drug smugglers after recovering 10 packets of heroin, weighing 10Kg, from their possession, said Director General of Police (DGP) Punjab Gaurav Yadav here on Wednesday.           Those arrested have been identified as Harshdeep Singh of Village Thaman in Gurdaspur and Sarwan Singh alias Sabba of Shahur Kalan in Gurdaspur. The Police have also recovered two .30 bore foreign-made pistols along with four magazines and 180 live cartridges from their possession.           The development came just three days after Punjab Police had busted an elaborate trans-border drug smuggling cartel with the arrest of its two kingpins after recovering 10Kg heroin and one sophisticated drone from their possession.           DGP Gaurav Yadav said that following reliable inputs, Police teams of Counter Intelligence (CI) Pathankot carried out a special operation near village Thaman in Gurdaspur and successfully arrested both the drug smugglers, when they were walking to their home after retrieving consignment of drugs and weapons pushed by Pakistan-based smugglers through fences with the help of a pipe at Border Outpost (BOP) Chauntra (Dorangala, Gurdaspur). Preliminary investigations revealed that both the drug smugglers were in contact with Pak-based smuggler identified as Rehmat Miyan, he added.           AIG CI Pathankot Amarjit Singh Bajwa said that accused Sarwan is a notorious drug smuggler and had even served seven years imprisonment before being bailed out in 2018. Further investigations are on, he said.           Meanwhile, a case FIR no. 38 dated 28.12.2022 has been registered under section 21/61/85 of the NDPS Act and section 25/54/59 of the Arms act Police Station SSOC Amritsar.