IEP Chandigarh, November 8

Punjab Finance, Planning, Excise and Taxation Minister Advocate Harpal Singh Cheema on Tuesday said that the Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann led Punjab Government has established a new Tax Intelligence Unit (TIU) in the State GST Commissionerate to monitor GSTN platform for better analysis of the digital data available over it.

Revealing this here, the Finance Minister said that the state government has decided to establish TIU as all services and returns of registered taxpayers are available on GSTN platform in digital mode and it is creating a lot of data. He said that this Tax Intelligence Unit (TIU) will work directly under the control of the Taxation Commissioner, and Additional Commissioner (Enforcement) and Director (Investigation) will control it for day-to-day functioning.

“One Assistant Commissioner State Taxes, Three State Taxation Officers, and Six Taxation Inspectors will work full time in TIU”, said Cheema while adding that special Data Analysts, Legal experts, Cyber experts, and System managers were being recruited to make TIU professionally competent.

Cheema further said that a state-level facility with all new technologies and data analysis mechanisms would be set up at the Taxation Office, Patiala. “It will be equipped with the latest hardware, software, and artificial intelligence tools for analysis of data being generated by GST Portal, E-way bill portal, and Toll data of NHAI. The major emphasis will be on identifying and taking strictest action on habitual tax evaders, persons involved in fake billing business, accumulation of bogus Input Tax Credit, etc.”, said Cheema.

Disclosing the future plans and actions to improve the state revenues, Cheema said that the state government has been working on the department’s proposal to convert all Mobile Wings of State GST into State Prevention & Intelligence Units (SIPU). “These SIPUs will be having 9 different field units in various parts of the state and on Central Unit at Taxation Office, Patiala”, said Cheema while adding that these Units would especially work in coordination with TIU to undertake precise action by way of inspections, searches & seizures against big tax evaders.

The Finance Minister said that the Punjab Government had also decided to use the services of GST Prime, the latest data analysis tool created by NIC. He said that GST Prime would help in the creation of specific data analysis reports on various parameters, and the strictest action would be initiated as per these reports. He said that the Department has also undertaken a lot of activities to guide and facilitate genuine taxpayers so that they can do their business in a better way.

Reiterating Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann led the Punjab Government’s commitment to improving the fiscal health of the state, Cheema said that the state government has received more than Rs. 250 crores through enforcement actions by way of inspections & checking of vehicles; using data mining for recovery of pending dues from tax evaders and conducting an audit of selected high-volume taxpayers, whereas, during the regime of the previous government the department had received only 600 crores in last two years. He said that it was very unfortunate that the previous government did not pay any attention to improving state finances and remained dependent only on the GST compensation being provided by the Centre Government.

IEP Chandigarh/Ludhiana, November 8

Continuing with mission of beautifying Ludhiana, Punjab Local Bodies Minister Dr Inderbir Singh Nijjar on Tuesday inaugurated vertical garden project with covering 31 columns with vertical gardens under flyover in BRS Nagar along with Sidhwan Canal stretch.

He was also accompanied by MLAs Gurpreet Bassi Gogi, Madan Lal Bagga, Ashok Parashar Pappi, Hardeep Singh Mundian, Mayor Balkar Singh Sandhu, MC Commissioner Dr Shena Aggarwal, besides several others.

Giving more information about project, Dr Nijjar said that the project would cost Rs 2.17 crore and would be over by January 31, 2023. He said that 260 plants of different varieties would be strung on bio-panels under flyover besides a dedicated drip irrigation facility will be set up for watering the plants daily.

The Minister said that the company to which tenders had been alloted, will also maintain the vertical gardens for next there years. He said that these vertical gardens will add more beauty to this area besides making Ludhiana more greener and cleaner.

Dr Nijjar pointed out that the concept of vertical gardens on flyover pillars had been taken from Delhi and Jammu cities where such projects have remained successful and received overwhelming response from the people.

The Minister expressed hope that these green walls will also minimize the pollution levels in the city which is known as Industrial hub of India. He said that Punjab government led by Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann was committed to make Rangla Punjab with overall development of cities and rural areas of the state.

IEP Chandigarh/Ludhiana, November 8

Punjab Local Bodies Minister Dr Inderbir Singh Nijjar on Tuesday inaugurated the project of legacy waste bioremediation plant at Tajpur Road dump site which will clear five lakh tonnes of legacy waste under its first phase in next 22-months.

The project will cost Rs 27.17 crore and is being executed under Ludhiana Smart City Mission. The total area of landfill site is 51.36 acres which is situated around 15 km from the city. The total accumulated legacy waste at the site is approximately 25 lakh MT.

He was also accompanied by MLAs Daljit Singh Grewal, Madan Lal Bagga, Hardeep Singh Mundian, Mayor Balkar Singh Sandhu, MC Commissioner Dr Shena Aggarwal, DC Surabhi Malik, AAP District President (Urban) Sharnpal Singh Makkar, AAP District President (Rural) Harbhupinder Singh Dharaur, besides several others.

Addressing the residents, the Cabinet Minister said that the process of disposing of legacy waste accumulated at the dumpsite would be carried out through a bioremediation process in two phases. He said that work of the first phase had been awarded to Sagar Motors which will clear 1440 tons per day of waste in its plant by using Zero Landfill technology. He said that the contractor had also agreed to deploy extra machinery and complete the work well before the deadline. 

Dr Nijjar pointed out that the tenders for phase-II are already floated to dispose of the remaining 19.62 lakh tonnes of legacy waste here. He said that the project would give a major relief to the residents from the foul smell emanating from the garbage dump site. He said that Solid waste management was one of the biggest challenges for cities and the Punjab government led by Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann has been making sincere efforts to make Punjab clean and green by scientifically disposing of garbage and solid waste.

IEP Chandigarh, November 8:

Punjab Information and Public Relations Minister Mr Aman Arora on Tuesday has expressed deep grief over the tragic and untimely death of Arsh Sharma (25), the younger son of Mr. Devinder Pal, Senior Staff Reporter of Punjabi Tribune. He died in a road accident near Phagwara in wee hours today.  Expressing his heartfelt sympathies with bereaved family, relatives and friends in this hour of grief, Mr. Aman Arora prayed to the Almighty to grant eternal peace to the departed soul and fortitude to the family to bear this irreparable loss.Meanwhile, Principal Secretary Information and Public Relations Mr. Rahul Bhandari and Director Sonali Giri also expressed deep sorrow over the tragic demise of Arsh Sharma.

IEP Chandigarh, November 7

Punjab Vidhan Sabha Deputy Speaker Jai krishan Singh Rauri has written a letter to Punjab Government to declare ‘Chhinjh Chharahan Di’ as a heritage fair.

In this letter, S. Rauri said that from the first Sunday of the month of Maghara every year, this Chhinjh fair is held for four consecutive days at the village of Achalpur Majari, a semi-mountainous area under Garshankar of Hoshiarpur district. He said that this historic fair needs to be preserved as a sign of heritage.

S. Rauri further wrote that the Punjab government is constantly striving hard for preserving the rich heritage of Punjab for the next generation. The people of the this region have been demanding to declare the historical fair ‘Chhinjh Chharahan Di’ as a heritage fair for a long time. In the book of eighth class, published by the Punjab School Education Board, the article ‘Chhinjh Chharahan Di’ written by the renowned writer Amrik Singh Dayal is being taught in schools from the last ten years.

He said that since the region was backward and hilly, this fair could not be promoted and neither the previous governments paid any attention to this.

IEP Chandigarh, November 7

Punjab Vidhan Sabha Speaker Mr. Kultar Singh Sandhwan has extended greetings to the people on the auspicious occasion of 553rd Prakash Purb of Sri Guru Nanak Dev Ji.

         Mr. Sandhwan said that Sri Guru Nanak Dev ji gave the message of ‘Kirat Karo, Naam Japo and Vand Chhako’ through his philosophy. He guided the humanity to attain salvation by spreading the cult of devotional love, affection and living with mutual brotherhood.

Mr. Sandhwan appealed the people to imbibe the spirit of service and humility as preached by the Great Guru and strive hard for carving out a peaceful, prosperous and healthy society by following the precious legacy of Guru Nanak Dev ji. He appealed  to the people to celebrate Guru Purb  with utmost devotion by rising above the caste, colour, creed and religion.

IEP Chandigarh, November 7

The Punjab Government has cancelled the registration of The Kalgidhar Transport Co-operative Society Limited, Talwandi Sabo.

Informing this, Transport Minister Laljit Singh Bhullar said that the registration of ‘Kalgidhar Transport Co-operative Society Limited’ has been cancelled under Section-61 of the Punjab Cooperative Societies Act-1961. He added that a public notice was issued in the newspaper under Section 59 of the Punjab Cooperative Society Act-1961 and Section-58 of the Punjab Cooperative Society Act-1963 on October 7, 2022 for filing a claim regarding the society, but during the given period, no claim received from any member/legal heirs of member/former-members/any institution/office/bank or individual. Therefore, the registration of The Kalgidhar Transport Co-operative Society Limited’ Talwandi Sabo has been cancelled.