IEP Chandigarh December 26

The Punjab Vigilance Bureau (VB) on Monday arrested an accused woman named Bholi who was absconding in an extortion case in which her accomplices were operating as police officials and used to extort money from private persons by threatening to register police cases against them.

Disclosing this here today a spokesperson of the state VB said the Bureau had registered a case after an enquiry on 31-08-2021 under sections 388, 389, 411, 179, 171, 120-B of IPC and section 7 of prevention of corruption act at VB police station Jalandhar on the complaint of complainant Gurdeep Singh of village Mari Buchian, Gurdaspur district.

The complainant has alleged that accused Jyoti, resident of Sidhwan Dona, Kapurthala district and his accomplice Gurpreet Singh, resident of Hathi Khanna, Kapurthala city has recorded his video and were threatening him to pay the money by conning as assistant sub-inspector and police constable respectively.  The accused along with their female accomplice Bholi, resident of Wassal Chak, Gurdaspur district has demanded Rs. 4 lakh to return his Aadhar Card and credit card. He further alleged that the above mentioned accused persons have already took Rs 5,000 cash and withdrawn Rs 30,000 through credit card.

The spokesperson further informed that the accused conmen had demanded Rs 50,000 from the complainant in this regard and the VB has arrested two persons red handed while taking the bribe money. He added that in this case the above mentioned accused lady was evading her arrest by changing locations since more than one year.

During investigation it has came to light that both the persons were used to don police uniforms to extort the money from private persons and the accused lady was helping them to commit the crime.

IEP Chandigarh: 26 December,2022

  The Bhagwant Mann led Punjab government has revamped the image of the state’s government health sector in just nine months of its running tenure. Improving government health infrastructure and services to the general public were top priorities of the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) government and health related promises which were made in the poll manifesto were fulfilled by the party soon after its massive success. More than 100 Aam Aadmi Clinics (AAC) popularly known as Mohalla clinics were inaugurated in rural and urban areas of Punjab and it has happened for the very first time in the history of Punjab since independence that any political party has put impressive stress on health services across the state. It is expected that around 500 more such clinics will be in service on January 26.   The state health and family welfare minister, Mr. Chetan Singh Jauramajra said “Bringing revolutionary change in the health sector is the apex aim of this government and we are giving our selfless effort for its improvement””. He expressed that “People are taking advantage of AACs and it is clearly seen in statistics of AAC that within first three months 630035 patients were treated and 81909 lab tests were conducted in the laboratories of AACs respectively”. The health minister added “Punjab Health Systems Corporation has supplied medicines and consumables worth 124 crore rupees to the AAC and other health institutions in Punjab”. He said “Even union government is well aware of our efforts and it is the only reason that our efforts in the health sector were felicitated on many occasions”. Punjab has been successful in reducing Maternal Mortality by 13.93 percent as 34 dedicated Mother and Child hospitals have been operationalised in the state. Mr Jauramajra said that “The government has put special attention over the spread of Hepatitis B and C and we put more stress upon screening of patients and their timely treatment”. He said “The attention by the previous state government against hepatitis was very poor as screening and treatment was less but our government has screened more than 3 lakh suspects and 247680 pregnant women were tested free of cost for hepatitis B and C.” Mr Jauramajra asserted that “The government is running  Rashtriya Bal Swastha Karyakram (RBSK) in a more efficient manner and provided free treatment to 22585 children of government schools and aanganwari centers across the state”. He said “We have conducted free heart surgeries of 224 children in prestigious government and private empanelled health facilities.’ ‘, added he. He informed that “The government has also inaugurated a 300 bedded cancer hospital at Mullanpur near Chandigarh and provided free treatment of worth 16.25 crore to 1555 cancer patients in the state”.  Sharing another milestone, Mr Jauramajra said “The problem of cataract has become common ailment in Punjab but we are committed to eliminate it, 126010 surgeries of cataract patients were done and the sight of 512 patients have made possible through keratoplasty surgery”, He said “We are running National Programme Against Cataract and Blindness efficiently”. He said “The government has also focused on the patients having chronic renal problems and for them we have established 33 dialysis units at various government health facilities”. “More than 20525 patients had availed the free treatment at government dialysis units”. Mr Jauramajra said “We have provided medicines to de-addiction centres worth Rs 58 crore rupees”. He said “The start of 21 CT scan and 6 MRI scan centres were also another achievement of the Punjab government in its running tenure”. Dedicated 24*7 Stroke ready units have also been operationalised recently to cater to brain stroke patients in all 23 district hospitals and three medical colleges , where a patient with brain stroke will get prompt treatment and such a patient will be provided free CT scan and a life saving injection worth 30000 rupees free of cost. Mr Jauramajra said “We have also rejuvenated the mass media wing of the health department”. He said “Mass media wing officials including District Mass Media Officer, Deputy Mass Media Officer and Block Extension Educators have asked to create awareness at grass root level so that we could educate the masses about preventive measures against various diseases”. Mr Jauramajra said “We will provide updated equipment to the wing so that they could start a wave of awareness across the state”.

IEP Chandigarh/ Moga, December 26

NRI Punjabis have a special contribution to the prosperity of Punjab. Rangla Punjab in the true sense cannot be imagined without the active support of the Punjabi diaspora.

This was expressed by the Cabinet Minister of the NRI Affairs department Punjab, Mr Kuldeep Singh Dhaliwal while addressing the NRI Punjabis during the “NRI Punjabiyan Naal Milni” program organized at ISF College in Moga today.

He said that the Punjab government is preparing a special policy to solve all the problems related to NRI Punjabis promptly. To listen to the problems of NRI Punjabis and to solve them, the Punjab government is planning to conduct NRI meetings twice every year in December and April. The Punjab government invites NRI Punjabis that Punjab is yours, you come to Punjab, the Punjab government is committed to protecting your lands, protecting your lives and property and protecting your business.

Today’s event was attended by NRI Punjabis belonging to District Moga, District Fazilka, District Ferozepur, District Bathinda, District Mansa, District Faridkot and District Sri Muktsar Sahib.  Mentioning this special initiative taken by the government led by Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann, he said that the government decided that the NRI Punjabis should not have to suffer in government offices, secretaries and ministers’ offices, so the government decided that the government itself will go to the doorsteps of the Punjabis and solve their problems. He said that the government knows very well that the main issues of the NRIs are their land-property, business and family disputes.

 Mr. Dhaliwal appealed to all the NRI Punjabis that if any matter related to them is pending, then it is not necessary for him to personally come to Punjab. They can submit their applications to us through their relatives living in Punjab and the government will resolve their issues in due time.

 The Minister said that the Punjab government will try to establish special fast-track courts for the cases of NRIs as soon as possible so that the cases of the NRI Punjabis can be settled in the minimum time so that they can save time and money.  He said that nodal officers are being appointed by the Punjab government to hear the issues of the NRI Punjabis at the district level who will ensure timely and appropriate solutions to the complaints of the NRI Punjabis only.

 During the meeting with the NRI Punjabis, district-wise counters were established for the convenience of the NRI Punjabis from different districts where civil and police officials were listening to their issues and resolving the same. During this, more than 120 cases were heard.

 The cabinet minister urged the NRIs to actively participate in the meeting program initiated by the Punjab government. He said that the last meeting is being organized at Sri Amritsar Sahib on December 30 for which NRIs can register online or on the spot.

On this occasion, MLA from Nihal Singh Wala Constituency Mr Manjit Singh Bilaspur, MLA from Dharamkot Constituency Mr Devinderjit Singh Laddi Dhos, MLA from Moga Constituency Dr Amandeep Kaur Arora, MLA from Ferozepur City Mr Ranbir Singh Bhullar, MLA from Faridkot Mr Gurdit Singh Sekhon, Mr Jagdeep Singh Kaka Brar MLA from Muktsar Sahib, Mr Jagsir Singh MLA from Bhucho constituency, Mr Deepak Arora, Chairman Improvement Trust Moga, District President AAP Mr Harmandeep Singh Brar and others were present.

On this occasion, apart from NRIs from different countries, Principal Secretary of the NRI Department Mr J. Balamurugan, Special Secretary Mrs Kanwal Preet Kaur Brar, AIG Mr Rajjit Singh, Deputy Commissioner Moga Mrs Poonamdeep.  Kaur, Deputy Commissioner Fazilka Mrs Senu Duggal, Deputy Commissioner Bathinda Shaukat Ahmed Pare, Deputy Commissioner Mansa Mrs Baldeep Kaur, Deputy Commissioner Faridkot Mrs Ruhi Dug, Deputy Commissioner Mr Muktsar Sahib Mr Vineet Kumar, Additional Deputy Commissioner Ferozepur Mr Sagar Setia, Senior Superintendent of Police Faridkot and Moga Mr Rajpal Singh Sandhu, Senior Superintendent of Police Bathinda Mr J. Elanchelian, Senior Superintendent of Police Fazilka Mr Bhupinder Singh Sidhu, Senior Superintendent of Police Mansa Mr Nanak Singh, Senior Superintendent of Police Mr Opinder Singh Ghuman, SP Ferozepur Mr Sohan Lal  Sony and senior officials from various departments were also present.

2022 IEP Chandigarh, December 26 

The crime rate in Punjab has witnessed a sharp decline under the able administration of Chief Minister (CM) Bhagwant Mann-led state government and the supervision of Director General of Police (DGP) Punjab Gaurav Yadav.According to the official crime data of the state vis-a-vis its comparison with the figures from the previous year, the number of murders this year has reduced from 723 in 2021 to 654 in 2022 whereas kidnappings have decreased from 1787 in 2021 to 1645 in 2022.Similarly, theft-related cases have also been reduced from 8417 in 2021 to 8407 in 2022 and cases related to the Excise Act have decreased from 10745 in 2021 to 9104 in 2022. The data also shows a significant decline in the total number of first information reports (FIRs) registered in the state from 73581 in 2021 to 71827 in 2022. Recounting the achievements, Inspector General of Police (IG) Sukhchain Singh Gill on Monday said that during 2022, the Internal Security has busted 18 terror modules with the arrest of 119 terrorist/radicals after recovering 43 Rifles, 220 Revolvers/Pistols, 13 Tiffin Improvised Explosive Device (IEDs), 24.5Kg RDX and other explosives, 37 Hand Grenades, two Sleeves of disposed Rocket Launcher, 22 Drones, and 23 vehicles.He said, similarly, the Anti-Gangster Task Force (AGTF), since its formation on April 6, 2022, has succeeded in busting 111 gangster/criminal modules after arresting 428 gangsters/criminals and neutralizing two, after recovering 411 weapons, 97 vehicles used in criminal activities, 44.21 KGs heroin and Rs 1.30 crores money. Pertinently, immediately after coming to power, the CM Bhagwant Mann-led state government formed a special Anti-Gangster Task Force (AGTF) headed by ADGP Promod Ban to wipe out gangsters from the state. The IGP said that from January 1 to December 20, 2022, five major incidents have taken place in Punjab including an IED blast at Police Post Kalwa, PS Noorpur Bedi, Ropar; RPG attack at Intelligence Headquarters building at Mohali; Murder of Punjabi Singer Shubhdeep Singh alias Sidhu Moosewala; Killing of Bargari sacrilege accused Pardeep Kumar and RPG attack at PS Sarhali, Tarn Taran. Punjab Police have effectively solved all these major crimes, he added.IGP Sukhchain Singh Gill, who has been holding weekly press conferences to update people on drug recovery, said that Punjab Government is committed to making Punjab a drug-free state and extensive anti-drug drives have been launched by the Punjab Police to combat the menace of drugs from the border State.Giving yearly updates on drugs, the IGP said that from January 1 to December 25, 2022, Punjab Police have arrested 16798 drug smugglers/suppliers, including 2316 big fish after registering 12171 first information reports (FIRs), including 1374 commercials.He said that the Police teams have recovered 582-Kg Heroin from across the state after carrying out cordon and search operations in drug-affected areas besides laying nakas at vulnerable routes across the state. Additionally, 147.5-Kg heroin was recovered by the teams of Punjab Police from Seaports of Gujarat and Maharashtra, taking the total effective recovery of heroin to 729.5 kg in a year, he added.Apart from seizing big-haul of heroin, the IGP said that the Police have also recovered 690-Kg opium, 1396-Kg Ganja, 518 quintals of poppy husk, and 60.13 lakh tablets/capsules/injections/vials of Pharma opioids from across the state. The Police have also recovered Rs 11.59 crores of drug money from the possession of drug smugglers arrested this year.He said that under the ongoing special drive to arrest Proclaimed Offenders (POs)/Absconders in NDPS cases, Punjab Police have arrested 955 POs/Absconders since January 1, 2022.IGP Sukhchain Singh Gill said that after coming to power, Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann has also increased the ex-gratia amount to Rs 1 crores to be given to the families of Police Personnel in case of death in the line of duty. Recently, two cheques of Rs 2 crores (Rs 1 crore each) were handed over to the family of slain Punjab Police Constable Mandeep Singh, who attained martyrdom in the line of duty. The Rs 2 crore amount includes Rs 1 crore as ex-gratia by the state government, whereas, another payment of insurance cover worth Rs 1 crore was to be made by the HDFC bank.Meanwhile, the Punjab Government has also enhanced the budget allocation for Police Welfare from Rs 10 crore to Rs 15 crore.BOXES:ACTION AGAINST TERRORISTSTerror Modules Busted: 18Terrorists/Radicals Arrested: 119Total Rifles recovered: 43Total Revolvers/Pistols recovered: 220Total Tiffin IEDs recovered: 13RDX and other explosives recovery: 24.5KgTotal Hand Grenades recovered: 37Drones recovered: 22 2. ACTION AGAINST GANGSTERSTotal Modules Busted: 111Gangsters/Criminals Arrested: 428Gangsters/Criminals Neutralised: 2Weapons Recovered: 411Heroin Recovered from Gangsters: 44.21KgVehicles Recovered: 97Unaccounted Money Recovered: Rs 1.30 crores 3. ACTION AGAINST DRUGSTotal Drug smugglers/Suppliers Arrested: 16798Big Fish Arrested: 2316Total FIRs Registered: 12171Total Commercial Quantity FIRs: 1374Total Heroin Recovered: 729.5KgTotal Opium Recovered: 690KgTotal Ganja Recovered: 1396KgTotal Poppy Husk Recovered: 518 QuintalsTotal tablets/capsules/injections/vials of Pharma opioids Recovered: 60.13 lakhTotal Drug Money Recovered: Rs 11.59 croresTotal Arrest of Proclaimed Offenders/Absconders in NDPS cases: 955 4. FIVE HIGH-PROFILE CASES EFFECTIVELY SOLVED IN 2022— IED blast at Police Post Kalwa, PS Noorpur Bedi, Ropar— RPG attack at Intelligence Headquarters building at Mohali— Murder of Punjabi Singer Shubhdeep Singh alias Sidhu Moosewala— Killing of Bargari sacrilege accused Pardeep Kumar— RPG attack at PS Sarhali, Tarn Taran 

IEP Chandigarh, December 26      

     Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann today said that the supreme sacrifice made by legendary martyr Shaheed Udham Singh will always inspire the youth for selfless service to the nation.           Paying floral tributes to Shaheed Udham Singh on his birth anniversary, the Chief Minister said that the countrymen are enjoying fruits of freedom due to the enormous sacrifices made by such legendary heroes. He said that said that Shaheed Udham Singh was a true son of soil, who had in a heroic act exhibited exemplary courage by killing Michael O’ Dwyer, the prime perpetrator of Jallianwala Bagh massacre. Bhagwant Mann said that the unprecedented sacrifice made by this iconic martyr at the altar of national freedom struggle helped the country to overthrow the yoke of British Imperialism.           The Chief Minister further said that Shaheed Udham Singh waited for 21 years to avenge the massacre at Jallianwala Bagh and thus laid the foundation of the freedom of the nation. He exhorted the youth to draw inspiration from the sacrifices of Shaheed Udham Singh and other national heroes for eradication of drugs and other social evils from society. Bhagwant Mann also said that Shaheed Udham Singh always stood for communal harmony during the course of his foreign sojourns so as to gather and inspire people to jointly contribute towards the freedom movement.           The Chief Minister asserted that Punjabis have a prominent place in the national freedom struggle and we are proud of their brave and unique contributions.  Bhagwant Mann said that he bows his head in reverence to such great martyrs and patriots of India’s freedom struggle, who displayed heroism and valour thereby making supreme sacrifices to for attaining freedom for the country. He said that the rich legacy of unprecedented sacrifices made by martyrs would act as a lighthouse to guide the destiny of our future generations. 

IEP Chandigarh, December 26

Punjab Transport Minister Laljit Singh Bhullar, on Monday, informed that the transport department has fixed the rates for the transportation of minor mineral as defined under Mines and Mineral (Development and Regulation) Act, 1957 in the State of Punjab.

Divulging further, S. Laljit Singh Bhullar said that the carriage rates of minerals such as Earth, Surkhi, Sand, Fly Ash, Bajri, Ballast, Stone Boulder, Kankar and Building Rubbish, are being categorised in various rate slabs.

“This move of Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann led government will stop the trend of charging rates arbitrarily by the transporters, thus stop the fleecing of common man”, said the Cabinet Minister.

He said that the rate between 0.5 km to 50 km will be vary between Rs.68.49 to Rs.349.82 per MT. Likewise, the rates for 51 km to 100 km will be applicable between Rs.352.61 to Rs.467.95 per MT.

He said that the rate between Rs.469.11 to Rs.526.19 per MT will be applicable for the distance between 101 km to 150 km, Rs.527.27 to Rs.579.78 per MT has been fixed for the distance between 151 km to 200 km. Similarly, the rates for the distance between 201 km to 250 km will be very between Rs.580.85 to Rs.633.38 per MT, while Rs.634.44 to Rs.686.96 per MT has been fixed for the distance between 251 km to 300 km.

Transport Minister Laljit Singh Bhullar said that for transportation of minor minerals for the distance above 300 km, the rate for every additional 1km will be charged at the rate of Rs.1.07 per MT in addition to the fixed limit of Rs.686.96.

A notification in this regard has been issued, he added.

IEP Chandigarh, 26 December

Punjab Finance, Planning, Excise and Taxation Minister Advocate Harpal Singh Cheema one Monday released the book titled ‘The Punjab That Was Not’ penned by Dr. Pushpinder Singh Gill, one of the senior most professors of Punjabi University, Patiala

Releasing the book during a brief but impressive function held here at ‘Vit Te Yojna Bhawan’, Finance Minister Harpal Singh Cheema said that this book is the result of the work done by Dr. Gill in the direction of what happened in the past, what should have happened and how the economy can be brought back on track in the future for the betterment of Punjab’s. He said that one would get to learn a lot from this book.

Meanwhile, Dr. Pushpinder Singh Gill said that he has tried to put and explain every issue in simple and easy language through this book as there was lack of required debate on economic issues in the state. Dr. Gill, who has been serving at Punjabi University for the past 37 years, said that this book is a collection of articles written on economic, social, religious, education, environment and various other issues of Punjab. He said that he has been also running a YouTube channel named ‘Khund Charcha’, through which the general public has been brought face-to-face on more than 100 issues and suggestions were also offered to the government to overcome these issues.

IEP New Delhi, December 26 

 Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann on Monday said that the unprecedented and supreme sacrifice made by chotte sahibzadas will ever inspire humanity to fight against tyranny, oppression and injustice.  Addressing the gathering here during a function organised here at Major Dhyan Chand Stadium, the Chief Minister said that Baba Zorawar Singh and Baba Fateh Singh, the chotta Sahibazadas of tenth master of Sikhs Sri Guru Gobind Singh, attained martyrdom at a tender age adding that they showed exemplary courage and fearlessness to stand up against the might of the Mughal Governor of Sirhind. He said that the sahibzadas had inherited the traits of valor and selfless service from Dashmesh Pitaah, who fought relentlessly for the sake of humanity. Bhagwant Mann said that today the entire world is paying glowing tributes to Chotte Sahibzadas for their unparalleled sacrifice in the history of the world. Eulogizing the supreme sacrifice of younger Sahibzadas and Mata Gujri ji, the Chief Minister said that these sacrifices were unprecedented in the annals of the history of mankind across the globe. He said the entire world was proud of this unique and unparalleled sacrifice which was a matter of great honor not only for the Punjabis or our countrymen but everyone living across the globe. Bhagwant Mann said the history of Punjab was replete with countless sacrifices that had derived inspiration from our great Gurus like Sri Guru Arjun Dev ji, Sri Guru Teg Bahadur ji and Sri Guru Gobind Singh ji who laid down their lives for the sake of mankind. The Chief Minister said that on one hand people were heading towards Fatehgarh Sahib for paying obeisance to younger sahibzadas and on the other hand Punjabis are observing this month as ‘month of mourning’. Bhagwant Mann recalled that his grandparents also used to sleep on the ground during these days to mourn the martyrdom of chotta sahibzadas and Mata Gujri ji. He said that the younger generations need to be made aware of this supreme sacrifice to inspire them to make selfless sacrifices for the country. Expressing gratitude to the Prime Minister Narendra Modi for organizing this event, the Chief Minister said that it will go a long way in perpetuating the glorious legacy of chotte sahibzadas to our younger generations. He said that commemorating the great sacrifices of the chotta Sahibzadas is the need of the hour to cement the ethos of human rights. Bhagwant Mann said that this will also help in keeping the youngsters abreast about the great sacrifice of chotta sahibzadas. Bhagwant Mann also thanked the Prime Minister for holding two sessions of the prestigious G-20 summit on Education and on Labour, in the holy city of Amritsar. He said that the state is renowned all over the world for its warm hospitality and no stone will be left unturned for welcoming the guests from participating nations during these events. Bhagwant Mann said that these sessions will be held at the sacred land of Amritsar where lakhs of devotees daily pay obeisance at Sri Darbar Sahib, Durgiana Mandir, Sri Ram Tirath, Jallianwala Bagh and others. 

IEP Chandigarh, December 25

Maintaining its top position in the collection of Goods and Services Tax (GST), the Ludhiana division leads the state in both collection and growth rate during the first eight months of the current fiscal year. The division registered net GST revenue of Rs. 3354 Crore till November end and a growth rate of 23.17 percent as compared to the same period of FY 2021-22.

          Disclosing this here today, the official spokesperson of the Taxation department said that Ludhiana-2 collected the highest GST revenue of Rs 1018 crore while Ludhiana- 5 led the division with a growth of 48.18 percent amongst the 6 districts of Ludhiana division namely Ludhiana-1, Ludhiana-2, Ludhiana-3, Ludhiana-4, Ludhiana-5 and Fatehgarh Sahib falling under Ludhiana Division.

          Revealing the growth rate of total GST revenue recorded by the various divisions of the Taxation department up to the month of November as compared to the same period of the previous financial year, the Spokesperson said that Patiala division remained on the second position with a growth rate of 25.99 percent, whereas, Amritsar, Jalandhar, Ferozepur, Faridkot and Ropar divisions registered growth rates of 19.42, 19.39, 17.11, 9.45 and 2.49 percent respectively.

          He further added that in net GST revenue collection Ropar Division scored the second position with net GST revenue of 2002 crore, whereas net GST collection by Jalandhar, Amritsar, Faridkot, Patiala and Ferozepur divisions were 1420.33 crore, 885.71 Crore, 872.43 Crore, 700.42 Crore and 364.3 crore respectively.

          The Spokesperson said that the performance of the various divisions of the Taxation department and districts falling under these divisions was reviewed by the Punjab Finance, Excise and Taxation Minister Advocate Hapal Singh Cheema during a monthly review meeting of the department. He said that during the meeting the Minister appreciated the officials of performing districts and divisions besides advising the district-level officers to learn from the experiences and professional qualities of each other to further improve their performance. He also asked them to adopt a courteous approach towards taxpayers and come out with innovative measures to convince the taxpayers that the department was working to facilitate them.