IEP Chandigarh, March 21      

    The Punjab government led by Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann is continuously working to provide basic facilities, clean and pollution free environment to the people of the state. Taking another step in this direction, Local Government Minister Dr. Inderbir Singh Nijjar said that the Punjab government has decided to spend approximately Rs 8 crore on development works in DeraBassi at Mohali District.          Giving more information in this regard, Minister for Local Government Dr. Inderbir Singh Nijjar said that the services of various posts such as labour, driver, electrician, Mali and other services will be hired for the maintenance of the dumping ground of Municipal Council DeraBassi and other works of DeraBassi, On which approximately Rs 1.86 crore will be spent.          Similarly, Providing and laying interlocking tiles and repair of drains at ward no.1,2,3,4,5,6 and 15, repair work of tiles and drains at various places in Saraswati Vihar, repair of roads and streets Chambers at various places in the town will also be done.          Apart from this, tiling work under over bridge to develop space for parking, Construction of Saini Dharamshala in ward no. 8, Construction of MRF Sheds at Dumping Point Derabassi, providing and laying drainage pipe near Gurdwara Sahib Mubarikpur, construction of street near Community Center Mubarikpur, the construction of ladies and gents bathroom near Community Center ward no.11 and many other works in the areas will be done. He said that approximately Rs.6.14 crore will be spent on all these development works.          Cabinet Minister, Dr. Nijjar said that the local government department has already started the office process for these works. He also said that the large population of the area will get benefit from these development works.          Dr. Nijjar further said that the main objective of the Punjab government led by Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann is to provide corruption free administration to the people of the state. If any officer or employee is caught committing corruption, he will not be spared, he added.          He has directed the officials to ensure transparency and quality in the development works to be carried out.

IEP Chandigarh, March 20

          In order to bring Punjab on number one in terms of producing green and clean energy, Punjab New and Renewable Energy Sources Minister Mr. Aman Arora visited Sustainable Impacts Plant at Bengaluru to study generation of Compressed Natural Gas (CNG) and Compressed Biogas (CBG) from Municipal waste and Agriculture residue.  

          Notably, the Sustainable Impacts is a joint venture of two Bengaluru based start-ups Carbon Masters and Hasiru Dala Innovations and they have capabilities and expertise in the field of waste management and carbon emission control.

          Meanwhile, Mr. Aman Arora along with Chief Executive Punjab Energy Development Agency (PEDA) Mr. Sumeet Jarangal and PEDA Director Mr. MP Singh extended an invitation to the Sustainable Impacts’ team to visit the state and explore feasibilities to set up plants in Punjab. He said that Chief Minister S Bhagwant Mann led Punjab Government is committed to ensure optimal production and utilization of green energy.

          Sharing his experiences after visiting the plant, Mr. Aman Arora said that this project could also be replicated in the cities, towns and major villages of Punjab. As the state has agriculture residue in abundance, this technology would be of great use not only for producing CBG and CNG but also producing organic fertilizer as a bi-product, which would reduce the use of chemical fertiliser, he added.

          Mr. Aman Arora emphasized that volume of urban solid waste if not addressed adequately, the most of this waste would be end up in landfills causing major health and environmental issues. He said that Mann government has been paying due focus on framing policies, programmes and management strategies to find a sustainable solutions to meet this challenge.

IEP Chandigarh, March 20    

      In order to resolve the problems faced by the farmers of the agrarian state of Punjab and to make agriculture a profitable venture, the State Government led by Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann has sought suggestions from the general public for the agricultural policy being made for the first time in Punjab.          In a press statement issued here today, Agriculture Minister Kuldeep Singh Dhaliwal said that it has been decided to prepare an agricultural policy to make the farmers debt-free and to make farmers adopt innovative techniques. In this connection, for the first time in the history of Punjab, the Chief Minister organized a Sarkar-Kisaan Milni. He said that the government has sought suggestions from the general public and especially the farmers, FPO Groups, Self Help Group, Kisan Association and Agro Industrial Association till March 31, 2023, to include the feedback of farmers in the agricultural policy.          The Agriculture Minister has appealed to the residents of the state to give their suggestions so that they can be made a part of the policy. For suggestions, WhatsApp on mobile number 75080-18998 or call on phone number- 0172- 2969340 or email on farmercomm@punjabmail.gov.in or a letter to Punjab State Farmers and Farm Workers Commission, Calcutta Bhavan, Airport Chowk, Aerocity Block C, Airport Road, S.A.S. Nagar (Mohali) can be sent.

IEP Chandigarh, March 20    

      The Punjab Vigilance Bureau (VB) during its ongoing campaign against corruption, on Monday arrested Shivranjan Singh, former Sarpanch of Gram Panchayat Chabewal, District Hoshiarpur for collecting rent of Panchayat shops and ‘Khokhas’ to the tune of Rs 8,04,000 through fake receipts which was not deposited in the bank account of Panchayat. He was absconding for more than three months in this misappropriation case registered by the district police.          Disclosing this here today a spokesperson of VB said that after Harminder Singh, a resident of same village Chabewal, assumed the post of Sarpanch on 31.12.2018, it was found that rent of shops and ‘khokhas’ of said Gram Panchayat were owed to the shopkeepers. It was also come to light that former Sarpanch Shivranjan Singh, while collecting the rent of these shops, had not issued original rent receipts of the Panchayat to the shopkeepers but handed over fake receipts and no entry of the rent collected was made in the Panchayat record.  He further added that later, the Block Development and Panchayat Officer, Hoshiarpur-2, while investigating the scam, found that the said accused Shivranjan Singh, had collected Rs. 8,04,000 by forging fake rent receipts.          He added that in this regard, a FIR number 125 dated 13.10.2022 was registered against the said accused Shivranjan Singh, under section 409, 420, 465, 466, 467, 468, 471 of IPC and section 13(1), 13(2) of Prevention of Corruption Act at Chabewal police station.          The spokesperson further informed that this case was transferred to the VB range Jalandhar for further investigation. In this regard the VB has arrested absconding Shivranjan Singh in the above said case, and would be produced in the local court tomorrow. Further investigation of this case was under progress.

IEP Chandigarh, March 20     

     The Punjab government led by Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann, paying special attention to the health of children, girls and women and fighting against the malnutrition. State Government is celebrating the 5th Nutrition Fortnight from today under which different activities will be conducted in districts of Punjab.          Giving further information, Minister of Social Security, Women and Child Development, Dr. Baljit Kaur said that during this fortnight, children, girls and women would be made healthy and strong preventing malnutrition and the message of proper nutrition would be conveyed to everyone. She said that during this fortnight, street plays, nutrition fairs, bicycle rallies,free check-up camps related to anemia and many other types of events will be conducted.          She added that the traditional rituals of pregnant and new born children mothers will be performed.          Dr. Baljit Kaur appealed to the people of the state to ensure maximum participation in the events so that the message of nutritious food can be conveyed to everyone.          Minister further informed, Punjab has been awarded 6th position by the Government of India for its good performance during past Poshan Pakhwara.          Apart from this, she added that during the 5th Poshan Pakhwara, various activities will be conducted in Punjab, the main purpose of which will be to give good health to children, girls and women along with nutritious diet.          The Cabinet Minister expressed hope officials will work hard and diligently during the nutrition fortnight to make the Punjab a leading state in the country.

IEP Chandigarh/Ludhiana, March 20  

        Punjab Finance, Planning, Excise and Taxation Minister Advocate Harpal Singh Cheema said on Monday said that the Punjab government led by Chief Minister Bhagwant Singh Maan has been providing every support to uplift village playgrounds and traditional sports fairs to ensure that budding players at these fairs could be further trained to compete at international level.          Finance Minister Advocate Harpal Singh Cheema and MLA Hardeep Singh Mundian were Chief Guest and Special Guest at the Football Cup and Dog Race Fair organized by Guru Gobind Singh Sports Club at village Dhanansu of Sahnewal constituency. On this occasion, Advocate Cheema said that the Punjab government has been making all possible efforts to make the youth of Punjab energetic and healthy by keeping them away from drugs. He said that rural sports fairs and playgrounds have been contributing a lot in this mission.          Speaking on the occasion, MLA Hardeep Singh Mundian said that their effort were to make the Rangla Punjab mission of the Chief Minister Bhagwant Singh Mann a reality, in which the sports fairs being held in the villages and towns of Punjab were making a big contribution. He said that ever kinds of support was being extended to the sports fairs besides improving the playgrounds in the rural areas.          On this occasion, Finance Minister Advocate Harpal Singh Cheema announced that all the legitimate demands of the panchayat members led by Sarpanch Saudagar Singh and prominent representatives of  the village Dhanansu would be fulfilled on priority. Meanwhile, Finance Minister Cheema, MLA Mundian and Police Commissioner Ludhiana Mandeep Singh Sidhu were also honored by the organizers.

IEP Chandigarh, March 19     

     Punjab Employment Generation & Training and New & Renewable Energy Sources Minister Mr Aman Arora handed over degree certificates to 200 graduates and 50 postgraduates in the convocation ceremony of Quest Group of Institutions.          Addressing the convocation ceremony at Law Bhawan, Sector 37, Chandigarh, Mr Aman Arora congratulated the students.          “Sky is the limit so dream big, work hard to fulfil your dreams. Never ever give up and make constant efforts to accomplish your goals,” said the Cabinet Minister.          Expressing the concern over brain drain through educational emigration, Mr. Aman Arora said that this trend leads to a significant loss of qualified human resources. Chief Minister S Bhagwant Mann led Punjab Government has been working strenuously to create employment opportunities to stop the brain drain from the state. As many as 26,797 appointment letters have been given to youth in a year by Punjab Government, he informed.          Registrar IK Gujral Punjab Technical University Dr. SK Mishra, Chairman Quest Group Mr. DS Sekhon, Vice Chairman and Executive Director Mr H.P.S. Kanda, Vice Chairman & Head of International Affairs Mr J.P.S. Dhaliwal, Campus Director Dr Rajiv Mahajan and heads of various departments were also present in the ceremony. 

IEP Chandigarh, March 19   

       Punjab Police on Sunday continued its crackdown on Waris Punjab De (WPD) elements wanted on criminal charges, and also made preventive arrests of persons attempting to disturb peace and law & order in the state.          Official Spokesperson of the Punjab Police said that Amritpal Singh remains a fugitive and efforts are being made to arrest him. Flag marches by district police and Paramilitary Forces (PMF) companies led personally by Senior Superintendents of Police (SSPs) and Commissioners of Police (CPs) have been held all over the state, he said, adding that the Peace Committee Meetings in all districts have also been held and there is complete peace and harmony in the state.          During the ongoing operations against WPD elements and persons attempting to disturb peace and harmony in the state, another 34 arrests were made throughout the state on Sunday. A total of 112 persons have been arrested so far.          The Spokesperson said that during the ongoing search operations, an abandoned ISUZU vehicle bearing registration number PB10FW 6797 has been recovered from village Salina, Police Station Mehatpur, district Jalandhar Rural. The said vehicle was used by Fugitive Amritpal while police were on chase. A .315 bore rifle along with 57 live cartridges, a sword and a walkie-talkie set has been recovered from the abandoned vehicle, he said, adding that, the vehicle is owned by Manpreet Singh of village Anokharwal, SBS Nagar, who has been arrested.          Flag marches led by CPs/SSPs were jointly conducted all over the state by the Punjab Police and companies of Central Para Military Forces. Peace Committee Meetings have been held jointly by the Civil Administration and Punjab Police in all the districts of the state in order to appeal to the citizens to maintain peace and harmony.          The spokesperson further said that strict action as per law will be taken if anyone found spreading fake news, rumors and hate speech. All citizens, media persons and social media platform intermediaries are requested to act in a responsible manner and to fact-check the authenticity of the content being shared by them on various social media, electronic media and print media platforms, he added.          He also appealed to the citizens not to pay heed to fake news and rumors and to fact-check authenticity from the police. All mischievous elements attempting to disrupt peace and harmony in the state shall be dealt with strictly, he added. Punjab Police is committed to maintain law & order and rule of law in the state.

IEP Chandigarh,  March 18     

     Punjab’s Information and Public Relations Minister Chetan Singh Jouramajra attended the two-day meeting of the National Executives of the Indian Journalists Union at Chandigarh today as the chief guest.          A two-day meeting of the National Executive of Indian Journalists Union is being held on 18 and 19 March 2023 at Kisan Bhavan, Sector-35 Chandigarh under the host of Punjab and Chandigarh Journalists Union.          In this meeting, National President of Indian Journalists Union Srinivas Reddy, National Media Adviser to Chief Minister of Andhra Pradesh Amar Devlapalli, Former President SN Sinha, Scribe News Magazine Editor Suresh Alapati and National General Secretary Balwinder Singh Jammu were present. Apart from this, more than 100 eminent journalists have arrived from 20 states of the country. The purpose of this meeting is to discuss the challenges facing the media and to find their solution.          Addressing a large gathering of the journalist community on this occasion, Information and Public Relations Minister Chetan Singh Jouramajra said that media is considered as the fourth pillar of democracy. He said that media plays an important role in creating a good society. The media presents the real mirror of the country and the world to the society. He said that the first responsibility of the media is to present the real activities going on in the society to the people.          The minister said that in today’s society, there has been a lack of reality in the propaganda being done through social media. He added that today the social media is being used only to fulfill their own interests, away from the reality. He appealed to the journalist community to adhere their responsibility to present the real picture to the society while also considering the propaganda going on social media so that democracy can be strengthened.          Minister explained that in the current situation, the journalist community is facing many challenges. He hopes that the renowned media personalities of the country participating in the two-day meeting of the Indian Journalists Union will consider the problems of the journalist community and give their valuable suggestions to solve them. The minister said that the Punjab government led by Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann will provide all possible support to the media for the further strengthening of democracy.          The Minister congratulated the two-day meet host team president Balbir Jandu, vice president Jai Singh Chhibbar, Treasurer Bindu Singh and others for this effort today.

IEP CHANDIGARH, March 18       

   Punjab Police on Saturday launched a massive state-wide Cordon And Search Operations (CASO) in the state against elements of Waris Punjab De (WPD) against whom several criminal cases stand registered.          During the operation, a total of 78 persons have been arrested so far, while, several others have been detained for questioning.          Divulging more details, official spokesperson of Punjab Police said that on Saturday afternoon, several activities of WPD were intercepted by the Police at the Shahkot-Malsian Road in Jalandhar district and seven persons were arrested on the spot. Several others including Amritpal Singh are on the run and a massive manhunt has been launched to nab them, he added.           During the state-wide operation, nine weapons, including one .315 bore rifle, seven rifles of 12 bore, one revolver and 373 live cartridges of different caliber have been recovered so far.          The Spokesperson informed that WPD elements are involved in four criminal cases relating to spreading disharmony among classes, attempt to murder, attack on police persons and creating obstructions in the lawful discharge of duties of public servants. Case FIR No. 39 dated 24-02-2023 stands registered against WPD elements for the attack on Ajnala Police Station, he added.          He said that all persons involved in criminal offences shall be dealt in accordance with law and all persons wanted by the police should offer themselves to the process of law. Their constitutional rights of legal defence shall be protected, he added.          Meanwhile, all the citizens are requested not to pay heed to fake news and rumours. Situation in the state is completely stable. All persons indulging in mischievous activities for disturbing peace and harmony in the state shall be dealt with strictly.