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. 

IEP Chandigarh, December 28

Giving importance to the education sector is the top priority of the Punjab government under the leadership of Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann. In the higher education sector, the government fulfilled the demand of teachers of colleges and universities which was pending for the last six years.          Higher Education and Languages Minister Gurmeet Singh Meet Hayer said that in the very first year, the Bhagwant Mann government took a big step to implement the UGC 7th Pay Commission for teachers of colleges and universities in Punjab. With this decision implemented in the month of October, teachers will get a financial benefit of Rs. 280 Cr from the government exchequer. Along with this, the salaries of the guest faculty and part-time teachers working in the colleges were increased and they were given various types of holidays.          In order to give due respect to the Punjabi language, the month of November dedicated to Punjabi mother tongue was celebrated as Punjabi Month by the Language Department. During this month, in a state-level function at Amritsar, Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann took a major decision and announced to give top priority to Punjabi language on all boards till February 21, 2023 across the state. On any government, private or other board, Punjabi language must be written at the top, after that any language can be written. Penalties will be imposed for non-compliance with these orders after International Mother Language Day, on February 21.          Prizes were given to the authors selected for the best books at Bhasha Bhawan, in the beginning of Punjabi month. Apart from this, events dedicated to great literary figures were organized throughout the month. Waris Shah, Bhai Veer Singh, Balwant Gargi, Nanak Singh, Sant Ram Udasi, Ajmer Aulakh were remembered through various events. A budget of Rs. 30 crore was kept for new district libraries.          This year the story writer Sukhjit was selected for the Bharatiya Sahitya Akademi award for his book ‘Main Ayanghosh Nahin’ and Bhupinder Kaur Preet for the translation of tribal poetry book ‘Nagare Wang Vajde Shabad’ which was a matter of pride for Punjab.          During the year Rs. 5 Cr for sports, Rs 10 Cr for digital classrooms with e-content, Rs. 5.39 Cr for provision of sanitary napkins for girls, Rs. 11.50 Cr for solar system for the colleges of the state, were released. For the NCC infrastructure improvement and provision of facilities in units and training centers, Rs. 5 Cr were released. 

IEP Chandigarh, December 28

Punjab Vidhan Sabha Speaker Mr. Kultar Singh Sandhwan discussed various important issues with Telangana Vidhan Sabha Speaker Mr. Pocharam Srinivas Reddy. During the meeting both the leaders shared their experiences regarding the functioning of the Vidhan Sabha.On the invitation given by the Speaker of the Telangana Vidhan Sabha, Mr. Sandhwan reached the Telangana Vidhan Sabha and met the Speaker Mr. Reddy. Many MLAs were also present on this occasion.According to a spokesperson of the Punjab Vidhan Sabha, both the leaders discussed legislative buisness as well as agriculture, dairy farming, culture, sports, science, technology etc. After the meeting Mr. Sandhwan said that he learned a lot during the discussion. On the occasion Mr. Sandhwan was warmly welcomed.

IEP CHANDIGARH, DECEMBER 28

The Punjab Governor and Administrator, Union Territory, Chandigarh, Shri Banwarilal Purohit in a message on the Gurpurab of Sri Guru Gobind Singh Ji, called upon  the people to rededicate themselves to the ideals and goals set out by the great Guru and work for creating a harmonious society, based on values of humanism and secularism.

       The Governor said that Guru Gobind Singh Ji, a saint soldier, symbolized the virtues of truth, righteousness and universal brotherhood. He was a great warrior and launched a crusade against social injustice and tyranny of the rulers of those times. Sacrifice made by Sri Guru Gobind Singh Ji who sacrificed his four sons, father and mother for preserving human and secular values are rare in the annals of mankind.

       He appealed to the people to strive in unison for carving out a healthy and harmonious society by following the precious legacy of the tenth Guru and celebrate the occasion irrespective of caste, creed and religion.

IEP Bidar/Chandigarh, December 27

Punjab Vidhan Sabha Speaker S. Kultar Singh Sandhwan Honored with S. Joga Singh Ji Kalyana Award at Guru Nanak Dev Engineering College, Bidar.

According to a spokesperson of the Punjab Vidhan Sabha, this award was presented by the Governor of Karnataka Mr. Theewar Chand Gehlot during an impressive ceremony last evening. S. Sandhwan studied engineering from this college and this award is given to the prominent alumni of Guru Nanak Dev Engineering College, Bidar. The ceremony was organized by Sri Guru Nanak Jhira Sahib Foundation Bidar in the college campus.

 Gehlot mentioned the achievements of S. Sandhwan during his address. On this occasion S. Sandhwan recalled his student life and thanked the management of the foundation. It is to be noted that S. Sandhwan is currently on a tour of the Southern Indian states. S. Sandhwan also bowed at Takht Sri Hazur Sahib where the Chief Jathedar S. Kulwant Singh welcomed him.

IEP Chandigarh, December 27

The Punjab Government has declared a Gazetted holiday in the state on December 28, 2022 in view of Shaheedi Sabha to be held at Sri Fathegarh Sahib-2022.Disclosing this here today, an official spokesperson said that on the occasion of Shaheedi Sabha at Sri Fatehgarh Sahib, all the government offices, boards/corporations and government educational institutions of the state of Punjab will remain closed on December 28, 2022 (Wednesday). A notification in this regard has been issued by the Personnel Department, Punjab Government.This holiday is declared as a holiday under the interpretation of Section 25 of the Negotiable Instruments Act-1881.

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.