IEP Chandigarh February 1

          The Punjab Vigilance Bureau (VB) has registered a corruption case against revenue Patwari Subash Chander, posted at revenue halqua Mulianwali, Fazilka district for accepting bribe of Rs the 1,500.

          Disclosing this here today an official spokesperson of the state VB said this case has been registered against the said accused on an online complaint lodged by Jagjit Singh, a resident of Fazilka on the Chief Minister anti corruption action line.

          He further added that the complainant has alleged in his complaint that the above said Patwari has been demanding bribe money of Rs 500 to issue copy of mutation of his land. He further alleged that the accused Patwari had already obtained Rs 1,500 as bribe from him to issue copies of Fard in this case. The complainant has also made recording of demand raised by the said Patwari to take bribes and submitted to the VB as an evidence.

          In this regard the VB range Ferozepur has investigated the complaint and found the allegations as true and correct. On the basis of this report, a case under Prevention of Corruption Act has been registered against the said accused at VB police station Ferozepur range. Further investigation of this case was under progress, he added.

IEP Chandigarh, February 1

          The Punjab government, under the leadership of Chief Minister Bhagwant Singh Mann, will complete various ongoing projects across the state on time. Punjab Local Government Minister Balkar Singh stated that the state government is committed to completing all projects on time.

          In the presence of MLAs from various constituencies and senior departmental officials, a review meeting was held at Municipal Bhawan today for Municipal Council/Nagar Panchayat Garhshankar, Garhdiwala, Hariana, Mukerian, Dasuya, Urmur Tanda, Talwara, Sham Chaurasi, Mahilpur, Nawanshahr, Banga, Rahon, and Balachaur. Cabinet Minister received detailed information about various development projects and discussed issues raised by the MLAs with departmental officials, urging prompt resolution.

          During the meeting, Minister for Local Government Balkar Singh discussed projects under various schemes, such as the Land availability of Sewerage treatment plants and water treatment plants. In addition of this, Tranche-3 AMRUT, and MDF/PIDB. After an in-depth discussion on ongoing development projects, officials were urged to ensure a high level of quality in the works.

          He emphasized that in case of any local-level problems in development works, the MLA of the concerned constituency should be informed, and issues should be resolved promptly in coordination with the district administration. Any delay in development projects will not be tolerated.

          Balkar Singh assured officials that the government has ample funds for development works. If a Municipal Council/Nagar Panchayat needs additional funds, they should contact their MLA, send a complete proposal with an action plan to the Head Office in Chandigarh. Officials were also instructed to share comprehensive information about development works with the MLA of their constituency for alignment with local needs.

          Highlighting the vision of Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Singh Mann-led government, Local Government Minister Balkar Singh emphasized the importance of working with sincerity and mutual cooperation to make the state “Rangla Punjab.”

          In attendance at the meeting were MLAs Karambir Singh Ghuman, Jasvir Singh Gill Raja, Dr Ravjot Singh, Malwinder Singh Jaggi,CEO of Punjab Water Supply and Sewerage Board,  Deepti Uppal CEO of PMIDC, Uma Shankar Gupta Director of Local Government Department, Commissioner of Municipal Corporation Hoshiarpur, Additional Deputy Commissioner (Urban Development) Hoshiarpur, and Shaheed Bhagat Singh Nagar, Halka Incharge along with various Municipal Councils/Nagar Panchayats.

IEP Chandigarh, January 31

Expressing concern over the unaddressed requests of the state government, Punjab Water Resources and Soil & Water Conservation Minister S. Chetan Singh Jauramajra urged the union government to incorporate Punjab into the Atal Bhujal Yojana.

Emphasizing the urgent need for inclusion the Punjab as the state is facing a critical situation due to continuous groundwater depletion, he lamented that the union government was not paying any heed despite constant correspondence from the state government.

During a discussion on safeguarding water resources from pollution and preventing the decline of groundwater levels, S. Chetan Singh Jauramajra in a meeting with Rajya Sabha Member Sant Balbir Singh Seechewal at the Punjab Civil Secretariat, highlighted the repeated attempts by the Water Resources Department to draw attention of the union government towards the major issue. He also urged Sant Seechewal to strongly advocate for Punjab’s inclusion in the scheme with the union government.

Criticizing the union government for excluding Punjab from the Atal Bhujal Scheme, which is designed to assist states facing severe groundwater issues, the Cabinet Minister said that despite the state’s alarming groundwater situation, the central government has been continuously neglecting the state, which has over-exploited its precious natural resource to brim the national food stock.

Meanwhile, Sant Balbir Singh Seechewal said that as a member of the Parliamentary Committee on Water Resources, he already strongly objected to the exclusion of Punjab under this scheme and had also written to include Punjab in this scheme.

Addressing another concern raised by Sant Seechewal regarding the construction of a road on the Dhusi Bundh of the Sutlej River, S. Chetan Singh Jauramajra instructed the officials to coordinate with the Punjab Mandi Board for prompt implementation in this regard. He said that the riverside road construction would fortify Dhusi embankment, preventing breaches during floods.

The Cabinet Minister also directed department officials to ensure the cleanliness of rivers for effective rainwater drainage before the commencement of the rains, while stressing to accelerate cleaning works to mitigate potential damage.

Prominent amongst other who were present in the meeting included; Principal Secretary Water Resources Mr. Krishan Kumar, Chief Engineer (Drainage) Mr. Hardeep Singh Mendiratta, Chief Engineer (Canals) Mr. Sher Singh and other officials.

IEP Chandigarh, January 31

The Punjab cabinet sub-committee comprising Finance Minister Advocate Harpal Singh Cheema and NRI Affairs Minister Kuldeep Singh Dhaliwal on Wednesday held meetings with various unions related to the School Education Department,and discussed their issues in detail.

During these meetings held here at the Punjab Civil Secretariat, the Cabinet Sub-Committee gave a patient hearing to the demands raised by the representatives of Murr Bahal Kache Adhayapak Union, Overage Berozgar Union, Unaided Staff Front, B.Ed TET Pass Berozgar Adhiyapak Union and Daftari Karamchari Union. Meanwhile, the union leaders also submitted their memorandums to the cabinet sub-committee.

During these meetings, that held in a pleasant atmosphere, the Cabinet Sub-Committee discussed the points included in the memorandums presented by the unions with the officials of the school education department. The Cabinet Sub-Committee directed the officials to hold regular meetings with the unions to address the legitimate demands raised by them to find the suitable solutions at the earliest.

Meanwhile, the Finance Minister Advocate Harpal Singh Cheema also held a meeting with the NHM employees union. The Finance Minister directed the officials of the Health Department to study the approach adopted by other states regarding the demands of the Union.

Secretary School Education Kamal Kishore Yadav, Secretary Finance Gurpreet Kaur Sapra, Special Secretary-cum-Director General School Education Vinay Bublani, Special Secretary School Education Gauri Parashar Joshi, and among the union leaders Raman Kumar Malot, Praveen Sharma, Jagmohan Singh, Nirbhai Singh Jahangir, Gurwinder Singh Gill, Jasveer Kaur, Gurwinder Singh, Satnam Singh and Sukhchain Singh were present in these meetings.

IEP Chandigarh January 30

The Punjab Vigilance Bureau (VB) on Tuesday has arrested Horticultural Development Officer (HDO) Jaspreet Singh Sidhu, remained posted at Kharar and Dera Bassi, in SAS Nagar district who was accused in the multi crore Guava orchids compensation scam in SAS Nagar.

Disclosing this here today an official spokesperson of the state VB said initially, said accused JS Sidhu has availed interim bail from the High Court on 01.09.2023. However, the VB vehemently opposed his anticipatory bail petition and eventually filed 3 affidavits/counter affidavits as replies during lengthy and detailed arguments to seek his custodial interrogation. The VB has categorically highlighted the call detail records showing proximity of JS Sidhu with other accused beneficiaries, statements of various witnesses, tampered and forged documentary records and differences in-between the report submitted with GMADA and office copy of the same report retained in the state Horticulture Department. Besides, category of the same plants was shown to be higher in report submitted with GMADA than that mentioned in the office copy of the same report, he added.

The spokesperson informed that subsequently, the High Court has dismissed his anticipatory bail petition on 24.01.2023. Thereafter, the accused HDO was continuously on the run and the VB was trying to trace him , whereby, he was duly arrested on Tuesday from SAS Nagar.

He added that the said accused had remained posted as HDO, Kharar for past 15 years continuously from 2004 to 2019 and was involved in evaluating market value of fruit bearing trees present on lands acquired by GMADA vide various acquisitions like Aerocity, IT City, Sector 88-89 etc.

Providing more details of this case, he informed that the VB has registered a case FIR no. 16 in 2023 after unearthing huge scam pertaining to embezzlement of about Rs 137 crores released under the disguise of compensation for said Guava orchards situated on the land acquired for development of Aerotropolis city by acquiring agricultural land pertaining to some villages including village Bakarpur and others situated alongside the Airport Road in SAS Nagar city.

He further added that during the investigation it has came to light that certain beneficiaries/ landowners, who have claimed compensation for fruit bearing trees situated in the name of orchids on their land, were familiar with the concerned officials/ higher-ups of Greater Mohali Area Development Authority (GMADA) and were having prior information of the land acquisition as well as the concerned villages, where the land was to be acquired. Moreover, they were also aware that the compensation for trees, including fruit bearing plants, would be assessed separately from the value of the land acquired. Subsequently, these individuals or groups in a preplanned way started purchasing and accumulating the land which was going to be acquired by the Authority with intention to exploit the provisions of the Right to Fair Compensation and Transparency in Land Acquisition, Rehabilitation and Resettlement Act, 2013 for their own wrongful gain in connivance with the concerned officials of Revenue Department, Land Acquisition Collector (LAC), GMADA, Horticulture Department etc. causing a huge loss to the state exchequer.

He further informed that  the accused persons in order to influence value assessment of Guava trees, showed the age of plants to be 4 years or more than 4 years, so that such aged trees are considered as fruit yielding. To do so, the accused persons get the Revenue/ Khasra Girdawari Register record pertaining to village Bakarpur for the year 2016-17 and tampered with the help of accused revenue Patwari Bachittar Singh and got mentioned in the record that Guava trees were planted since year 2016.

The spokesperson added that under the above said Act, determination of the age and category of fruit-bearing plants is crucial for calculating their market value and this assessment is typically done by horticulture officials.

He further added that detailed survey list pertaining to fruit bearing trees attached with the land under acquisition of village Bakarpur and other villages was prepared and further sent by LAC, GMADA to the Director Horticulture department for determination of market value of said Guava trees.

That, the land under acquisition falls in the jurisdiction of Block- Kharar of the Horticulture Department, where accused Jaspreet Singh Sidhu was posted as HDO at Dera Bassi. However, assessment work of these villages was given to him by his higher authorities without giving any reason/ justification.

That, fruit trees said to be present on about 180 acres of land were required to be evaluated by JS Sidhu, HDO, whereas, he had visited the land under acquisition only once for inspection/ evaluation and had managed to prepare assessment report pertaining to total 207 khasra numbers mentioned separately in the survey list of the LAC, GMADA.

Moreover, he was found to have obtained photocopies of khasra Girdawari record, wherein, over writing/ addition/alteration to mention guava orchard was clearly visible with the naked eye, however, he deliberately ignored these facts and proceeds to prepare tailor made assessment report evaluating 4-5 years of age of said plants.

Giving more details the spokesperson informed that the VB has so far arrested total 21 accused persons including beneficiaries and public servants namely, JS Johal, LAC, Vaishali, HDO, Bachitar Singh, Patwari etc. Eventually, some beneficiaries were given anticipatory bails in lieu of their offer to deposit 100 percent of compensation amount by the High Court and other accused have also started availing parity.

Subsequently, the VB has approached Supreme Court of India challenging the bail orders of the High Court and after considering the facts Supreme Court has issued notices to the accused respondents.

The High Court has ordered various accused beneficiaries to deposit total amount of Rs 72.36 crores out of which Rs 43.72 Crores have been deposited as on date.

IEP Chandigarh, January 30

Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Singh Mann on Tuesday said that January 30 will be remembered as the ‘darkest day’ in the annals of Indian polity as BJP led Union government has murdered democracy during the election for post of Mayor in Chandigarh.

Interacting with the media persons here at local Punjab Bhawan, the Chief Minister said that this moment will be remembered as a black day in the history of our democracy. He said that unfortunately it is the same month when Republic Day is celebrated in the nation and BJP chose the same month for undermining the constitution of the country. Bhagwant Singh Mann said that this is a chronic habit of the BJP as they had earlier toppled democratically elected governments in Madhya Pradesh, Karnataka, Goa, Maharashtra and other states.

The Chief Minister said that if the counting of 36 votes can’t be conducted in a free and fair manner then how the polls and counting of votes for the entire country will take place impartially. He said that these leaders will loot the ballot papers from the voters for their vested interests, adding that EVM machines have already been found in their homes. Bhagwant Singh Mann said that democracy is not going in the right direction adding that it is not in the interest of the common man and the country.

The Chief Minister said that BJP had deliberately appointed the head of its minority wing as the Presiding officer in these polls. He said that the spineless presiding officer acted as per the whims and fancies of his masters to ensure victory of the BJP nominee. Bhagwant Singh Mann said that the presiding officer has jeopardized the constitutional process envisaged by Dr BR Ambedkar in the Indian constitution thereby backstabbing the entire nation.

The Chief Minister said that Presiding officer must be booked under sedition for deceiving the constitution of the country. He said that the presiding officer had deliberately counted the votes in the absence of polling agents just to ensure the win of the BJP candidate. Bhagwant Singh Mann said that this is unprecedentedly unfortunate as democratic has once again muzzled for the sake of the saffron party.

The Chief Minister said that the worry is not that BJP had hijacked the democratic process in Chandigarh but the real problem is that they will divest the people of their democratic rights in ensuing Lok Sabha polls too. Bhagwant Singh Mann said that today democracy has been murdered in Chandigarh adding that the soul of Baba Sahib Ambedkar must be hurt by seeing all this. He said that they will go to the court and challenge this election in which all the democratic norms have been set aside.

The Chief Minister said that it is beyond doubt that there is no democracy in the country as the BJP led government has hijacked the polls. He said that this has further raised doubts that the upcoming polls across the country will not be free and fair. Bhagwant Singh Mann said that this is not the issue of survival of any party or alliance but that of the democracy in the country.

The Chief Minister said that the BJP nominee was well aware in advance that he would win that’s why he was sitting near the chair which he occupied the chair promptly. He said that the presiding officer came late because he was directed to act in this direction only. Bhagwant Singh Mann said that the presiding officer was a spineless person who had bowed down before his masters to murder the democracy which is unwarranted and undesirable.

IEP Chandigarh, January 30

The Punjab Government has invited applications from eligible candidates for the recruitment of non-government vacancies of members in the State Women Commission by February 5th.

Divulging in this regard, Minister of Social Security, Women and Child Development, Dr. Baljit Kaur, stated that the state government is seeking persons, preferably women of ability integrity and standing, who have served the cause of woman or have sufficient knowledge and experience in law or legislation, administration of matters concerning the advancement of women or leadership, of any trade union or voluntary organization of women for protection, upliftment  and per motion of common interest of women, can submit their applications.

The Cabinet Minister added that the Punjab Government to be recruited one Senior Vice Chairperson, one Vice Chairperson and ten members (eight General and two SC) for the State Women Commission to effectively implement women welfare schemes.

Furthermore, the minister informed that interested candidates can submit their applications along with their Bio-data to the office of Social Security, Women and Child Development Department, Punjab, SCO No: 102-103, Sector 34-A, Chandigarh, by 5th February 2024. Applications received after the specified date will not be considered.

IEP CHANDIGARH, JANUARY 29

          The Punjab Governor Mr Banwarilal Purohit on Monday administered the oath of office to the newly appointed Chairman of Punjab Public Service Commission (PPSC) Mr Jatinder Singh Aulakh and State Chief Information Commissioner Mr Inderpal Singh.

          Meanwhile, Chief Secretary Mr Anurag Verma conducted the proceedings of a  brief and impressive swearing-in-ceremony here at the Punjab Raj Bhawan this evening.

          Mr Jatinder Singh Aulakh, a 1997-Batch former IPS officer of Punjab Cadre, hails from Village Bargari (Faridkot). During his long stint of 33 years in Punjab Police, he rose through the ranks starting as DSP to finally retiring as ‘Intelligence Chief’ in the rank of ADGP. Mr Aulakh did his schooling from PPS Nabha, BA (Honors) from DAV College, Chandigarh and LL.B. and MA History from Panjab University.

          While serving as SSP, he had headed various districts of state including SAS Nagar, Sangrur, Ropar, Jagraon, SBS Nagar and Khanna. He also served as Commissioner of Police Amritsar and Commissioner of Police Ludhiana, IG Patiala and Ferozepur Range, IG Headquarters and Intelligence. He retired in the rank of ADGP as Chief of Intelligence Wing. Mr Aulakh was bestowed the ‘National Award (Special), ‘Police Medal for Distinguished Services’ ‘Police Medal for Meritorious Services’ ‘Chief Minister’s Medal and three DGP Commendation Disc.

          Likewise, eminent Advocate Inderpal Singh also took oath as the Chief Information Commissioner, Punjab. Born in 1963, S. Inderpal Singh is a name to reckon with in the legal sector and is on the panel of Union of India, standing Counsel for British High Commission, elected Member Bar Council of Punjab and Haryana High Court and later on elected Vice Chairman Bar Council of Punjab and Haryana High Court. He was appointed on August 20th, 2022 as Senior Additional Advocate General Punjab.

          Prominent amongst others who attended the function included Cabinet Ministers Aman Arora, Bram Shanker Jimpa and Gurmeet Singh Khudian, Special Chief Secretary to Chief Minister VK Singh, DGP Gaurav Yadav, Director Media to Chief Minister Baltej Singh Pannu, PPSC Members Gurpartap Singh Mann, Supreet Ghuman and Harmohan Kaur Sandhu, State Information Commissioners Asit Jolly and Amrit Pratap Singh Sekhon, Officers of civil and Police administration besides family members of newly appointed Chairman and State Chief Information Commissioner.

IEP Jalandhar, January 27

Eyeing to reduce the road fatalities by around 3000 annually, the Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Singh Mann on Saturday flagged off 129 hi-tech vehicles of the country’s first of its kind ‘Sadak Surakhya Force’.

Addressing the gathering here today in a function to launch this force here today at PAP grounds, the Chief Minister said that this is a historic occasion as Punjab has become the first state to launch this ambitious scheme to save the precious lives of people. He said that all the officers had played a key role in constitution of this force and then its dedication to the people. Bhagwant Singh Mann  envisioned that it will go a long way in saving the lives of people and streamlining the traffic movement.

The Chief Minister said that the idea for forming this force has not came overnight but it has been a result of gross introspection of this serious problem. Bhagwant Singh Mann said that as MP he had vehemently raised issue of road accidents in Lok Sabha as 12 deaths take place in state due to these mishaps. He said that since then it was in his mind that a force will be formed to save the lives of people in the coming days adding that today his dream has come true.

The Chief Minister said that with the constitution of this force, the Police will be able to discharge its Policing duties far more effectively. He said that the vehicles that have been roped in for the force are one of the finest vehicle across the world. Bhagwant Singh Mann said that SSF will be instrumental in saving the lives of common man and from now onwards the data of every month will be analysed to judge the working of SSF and data will be shared with the people after every month.

The Chief Minister said that this is a step forward towards making Punjab the safest state in terms of road accidents. He said that the day is not far when this motive is achieved in the larger public interest for the well being of state and its people. Bhagwant Singh Mann also asked the staff of SSF to discharge their duties effectively and honestly to save the lives of people.

The Chief Minister said that points will also be kept for the driving licenses so that in coming times chronic violators are punished by cancelling their Driving licenses. He said that this is the need of hour to make sure that people abide by traffic rules and vehicular movement is streamlined. Bhagwant Singh Mann said that it is matter of immense pride and satisfaction that a large number of girls are joining the force and 90 drivers of the SSF vehicles are girls.

 The Chief Minister said that this force has been launched as a plan for road safety for covering 5500 km of state and national highways. He opined that Punjab has witnessed a significant increase in traffic and road infrastructure over the past few decades. Bhagwant Singh Mann expressed concern that 65% of road fatalities take place on the national and state highways adding that most of these fatal accidents take place between 6:00 pm to 12:00 pm, when the presence of police on these roads is minimal.

The Chief Minister said that as many as 129 patrolling vehicles, fitted with specialized equipment to check drunken driving and over speeding, will be deployed on these routes, each covering a distance of 30 kilometres. He said that  Police personnel who have been imparted quality training are being deployed in Sadak Suraksha Force out of the newly recruited cops. Bhagwant Singh Mann said that training was imparted at Kapurthala adding that this force will be pivotal to check the fatality rate due to road accidents in the state on one hand and to streamline the movement of traffic on the roads of the state on the other.

The Chief Minister said that the first of its kind specialized force will be instrumental to save several precious lives that are lost in road accidents daily in Punjab adding that this force will be entrusted with the task of checking rash driving, streamlining vehicular movement on roads and others to check the road accidents. He said that these vehicles will also have a complete medical kit for providing emergency treatment to any person in need. Bhagwant Singh Mann said that the force will be duly connected with trauma centres to ensure that people get required medical help on time.

The Chief Minister said that daily around 14 precious lives are lost in road accidents in Punjab. He said that this causality can be checked by manning the roads well for which ‘Sadak Surakhya Force’ has been constituted in the Punjab Police. Bhagwant Singh Mann envisioned that this force will be instrumental with the task of checking rash driving, streamlining vehicular movement on roads and others to check the road accidents adding that it will reduce the burden on cops deployed in Police stations.

The Chief Minister said that Police is doing its duty in a fair and impartial manner to assure that justice is given to people. He said that instead of using the Police as a remote and a computer his government has handed over these gadgets in the hands of cops to enhance their efficiency. Bhagwant Singh Mann said that the state government is leaving no stone unturned for the well being of the Police force so that they discharge their duty efficiently.

The Chief Minister said that Punjab was a frontrunner and Punjab will always continue to be that as Punjabis have been blessed with indomitable spirit of hard work and resilience. He said that the state government is performing its duty meticulously and zealously to ensure that Punjab leads the country in every sphere. Bhagwant Singh Mann exhorted the people to play a proactive role by supporting the state government in a noble cause.

The Chief Minister also launched the phase I roadmap of the SSF on which the vehicles will move in the state.

On the occasion Director General of Police Gaurav Yadav, Home Secretary Gurkirat Kirpal Singh, Additional Director General of Police MF Farooki and AS Rai were also present.