IEP Chandigarh April 5   

       The Punjab Vigilance Bureau (VB) during its anti-corruption campaign, has arrested a chartered accountant (CA) Ankush Sareen, resident of Ludhiana, for taking a bribe of Rs 26 lakh in the name of income tax officers at Chandigarh.          Disclosing this here today, a spokesperson of the VB said this case has been registered against the above said CA, who is practising privately, after investigation of an online complaint lodged at the Chief Minister’s anti-corruption action line.          Giving details he added that the complainant Parminder Singh Sidhu, resident of village Malsian, district Ludhiana, has alleged that the above said CA had taken Rs 26 lakh in two instalments for giving a bribe to the income tax officers in lieu of settlement of a notice served to his relatives residing in USA regarding an income tax return.          The complainant further informed that he had handed over Rs 25 lakh cash to the CA at his residence on 15-01-2023 and also made a video. After this, CA Ankush Sareen had obtained Rs 1 lakh more for junior officers of income tax department from the complainant on 26-01-2023.          The spokesperson said during an enquiry from the IT department, the complainant came to know that said notice of IT department had not been filed and he realised that said CA had taken a bribe fraudulently in the name of income tax officers by making him fear of heavy penalty and had not given further to anyone. Then he called the said CA to return his money back as his work had not been done but he didn’t.          The spokesperson added that the VB unit of Ludhiana range has investigated the allegations levelled in the complaint and registered a corruption case at VB police station Ludhiana against the above mentioned CA after finding him guilty for extorting a bribe money by making him fear of heavy penalty. Further investigation in this case was under progress, he informed.

IEP Ferozepur/Chandigarh, April 5

The Punjab government led by Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann has sent books to all government schools in the state before the start of the new academic session so that the education of the students is not suffered.  The Minister of School Education of Punjab Mr Harjot Singh Bains made an official visit to the border areas of district Ferozepur today to know the condition of education facilities in the government schools of the state.           He said that during the previous governments, the students never got the books on time.           The cabinet minister said that government schools are being improved a lot by the government led by Bhagwant Mann and seeing this improvement, enrollment in government schools has also increased.            He said that during the admission campaign, many government officials/teachers have also admitted their children to government schools.           He appealed to the parents of the children to enrol their children in government schools because now there has been a lot of change in the government schools and a complete improvement has been brought in education and infrastructure.  He said that soon such government schools will be prepared in Punjab where there will be full staff, there will be coaches for various activities/sports, principals will bring training from abroad,  business blaster scheme launched in the Government schools.  He said that the Punjab government had promised to provide a high standard of education to the people of Punjab which they would leave no stone unturned to fulfil.          During the visit, Education Minister Mr Harjot Singh Bains arrived at the school by boat to find out about the state of the government school in Kaluwala, a border village located on the Sutlej River.  He said that he had come to know some time ago that two girl students of village Kaluwala go to school by boat every day and the people of this village also take the help of this boat to go to the city or other villages.  Due to this today, they have come here to understand this situation.  He said that the students here have to face many difficulties daily to get an education.          He said that the demand to build a bridge on this river is justified.  He said that he has asked the district officer to estimate this bridge and will take it with him and make a request to Chief Minister Punjab Mr Bhagwant Maan to build this bridge. He said that he is fully confident that this demand will be fulfilled by the Chief Minister.           In the meantime, he visited government schools of border village Tendi Wala, Gatti Rahime K, Gatti Rajo K and Jhughe Hazara Singh Wala, Government Senior Secondary School (Girls) Ferozepur City, Government School Satiye Wala, Government Primary School Mudki,  Government School for Girls Mudki also visited.          During the visit, he interacted with the students of the school and took feedback about the school and also interacted with the school staff.  Meanwhile, he gave instructions to the BDPO to quickly use the funds received for installing interlock tiles in the government school of Gatti Rahime K.  He praised the teachers for providing good educational facilities at Government School Gatti Rajo K and the staff and social workers for the work done in the school for their contribution to the school.  He announced a grant of Rs 2 lakh to the government school of village Tendiwala for a new room and about Rs 50 lakh to the government school girls Mudki.  Apart from this, wherever there is a need to build new rooms in government schools, install interlocking tiles, provide funds for that, he also assured to provide funds.          During the visit, he also had a taste of mid-day with the school students.           Meanwhile, MLA Ferozepur Urban Sr. Ranbir Singh Bhullar thanked Education Minister Harjot Singh Bains for his visit to the schools of the Ferozepur district.

IEP Chandigarh April 5

The Punjab Vigilance Bureau (VB) during its anti-corruption campaign, has arrested a chartered accountant (CA) Ankush Sareen, resident of Ludhiana, for taking a bribe of Rs 26 lakh in the name of income tax officers at Chandigarh.          Disclosing this here today, a spokesperson of the VB said this case has been registered against the above said CA, who is practising privately, after investigation of an online complaint lodged at the Chief Minister’s anti-corruption action line.          Giving details he added that the complainant Parminder Singh Sidhu, resident of village Malsian, district Ludhiana, has alleged that the above said CA had taken Rs 26 lakh in two instalments for giving a bribe to the income tax officers in lieu of settlement of a notice served to his relatives residing in USA regarding an income tax return.          The complainant further informed that he had handed over Rs 25 lakh cash to the CA at his residence on 15-01-2023 and also made a video. After this, CA Ankush Sareen had obtained Rs 1 lakh more for junior officers of income tax department from the complainant on 26-01-2023.          The spokesperson said during an enquiry from the IT department, the complainant came to know that said notice of IT department had not been filed and he realised that said CA had taken a bribe fraudulently in the name of income tax officers by making him fear of heavy penalty and had not given further to anyone. Then he called the said CA to return his money back as his work had not been done but he didn’t.          The spokesperson added that the VB unit of Ludhiana range has investigated the allegations levelled in the complaint and registered a corruption case at VB police station Ludhiana against the above mentioned CA after finding him guilty for extorting a bribe money by making him fear of heavy penalty. Further investigation in this case was under progress, he informed.

IEP SAS Nagar, April 5

A joint meeting of civil and IAF authorities was held to discuss important issues pertaining to the Air Force Station and surrounding infrastructure under the chairpersonship of Deputy Commissioner Ms. Aashika Jain. The various issues pertaining to the Air Force Station were deliberated upon.Executive Officer, MC Zirakpur  informed that cleaning of drains has been carried out by the Municipal Council and work related to cleaning of drain is being carried out by XEN Drainage and same will be completed in two more days. IAF authorities expressed their satisfaction over already completed work of cleaning of drains.A joint visit by all concerned civil and IAF officers is also planned for the coming week to monitor progress and identify pending issues.  MC SAS Nagar, MC Zirakpur as well as BDPO Mohali were directed to ensure regular cleaning drives of the area in periphery of the defence airport, similar direction was given to XEN Drainage to ensure biannual cleaning of all drains. Regarding access to three crash gates of the Indian airforce station, it was informed that all gates are now clear of any kinds of encroachment and all concerned local authorities were directed to get the access made/get the necessary repair works done.Regarding concern expressed by defence authorities over drone flying near defence area, they were informed that prohibitory orders are already in place and any such violation if still noticed may be immediately brought to the notice of police to be dealt as per law.It was also decided that a joint coordination meeting with IAF officers will be made a monthly feature now onwards as there is an overlap of jurisdiction of several departments /officers in the area located in periphery of the defence airport. So it was decided that this joint meeting will be attended by all concerned officials of the district like MC SAS Nagar, MC Zirakpur, GMADA, BDPO Mohali, Drainage as well as police, so that all issues raised by IAF are not just assigned to respective officers but are also redressed by concerned officials in time bound manner.It was appreciated by the IAF officials that defence lands were mutated by the revenue officials in favour of the defence authorities. This long pending issue was resolved through coordination between both organisations and active contribution of revenue officials.The meeting was attended by ADC (General) Aminder Kaur Brar, ADC (UD) Damanjit Singh, EO MC Zirakpur and officials of IAF.

IEP Chandigarh, April 3

          In order to make Punjab regain its first position in sports, new sports policy fulfilling the ground realities will be implemented soon. A draft has been prepared with the suggestions of experts from department of sports and to make it more efficient, suggestions from people have been sought till April 15.

          Today, in a press statement, Sports Minister Gurmeet Singh Meet Hayer said that new sports policy would prove helpful in fulfilling the promise of making Punjab a number one state made by Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann. Till April 15, 2023, players and concerned people can send their suggestions via email suggestions.sportspolicy.punjab@gmail.com so that these suggestions can be added into sports policy before finalising the draft.

          The Minister said that the sports policy will strengthen the sports department and see recruitment of more coaches, increase the seats in the sports wings, create a sports-friendly environment, and provide financial assistance to the players to prepare for international competitions, including all important events of every sport for a cash prize, giving jobs to players, incentives to coaches doing a good job and starting awards for coaches, preparing a common calendar by the sports department in collaboration with the departments of school education and higher education and scholarships for players.

          It’s worth mentioning, that Gold Medalist Hockey Olympian and Arjuna Awardee Surinder Singh Sodhi, Former Chief Coach of Boxing and Dronacharya Awardee Gurbaksh Singh Sandhu, Vice President of Punjab Olympic Association and Ex DGP Rajdeep Singh Gill, Sports Director of Guru Kashi University, Talwandi Saboo Dr. Raj Kumar Sharma along with the representatives of Sports Authority of India, N.I.S., School and Higher education have been included in the experts committee of sports policy.

IEP Chandigarh April 3

          The Punjab Vigilance Bureau (VB) during its ongoing campaign against corruption in the state, on Monday nabbed an Assistant Sub Inspector (ASI) Surjit Singh (No. 214/Ludhiana) and Jagpreet Singh, Head Constable (HC), both posted in police station, Delhon, Ludhiana district for demanding and accepting a bribe of Rs 5,000.

          Disclosing this here today, a spokesperson of the VB said the above said police officials have been arrested on the complainant of Atma Singh, resident of Sayian Kalan, Ludhiana district.

          Giving details he added that the said complainant has approached the VB unit Ludhiana range and alleged that the above said police officials have demanded Rs 20,000 to release motorcycle of his son who have been arrested in NDPS case but the deal has been struck at Rs 10,000. The complainant further informed that the HC has taken Rs 5,000 on behalf of ASI as a first instalment of bribe.

          The spokesperson informed that a VB team from Ludhiana range laid a trap and the accused police officials have been arrested on the spot while taking a bribe of Rs 5,000 from the complainant in the presence of two official witnesses.

          In this regard a case under prevention of corruption act has been registered against both the accused at VB police station Ludhiana range. Further investigation in this case was under progress.

IEP Chandigarh, April 1

On the instructions of Punjab School Education Minister Mr Harjot Singh Bains, the department has issued a letter to give one and two year service extension to state and national awardee teachers respectively.Giving information in this regard, Punjab School Education Minister Harjot Singh Bains said that after assuming the charge as Education Minister, this matter came to his notice and he had instructed the officials to prepare a report and submit it to him.Mr. Bains said that the previous governments had stopped to give extension in service after the year of 2018 . He said that Bhagwant Mann led  Punjab government is committed to restoring the dignity of nation builders.According to the instructions issued on October 9, 1989, he said that the state awardee teachers were given 01 year re-appointment after completing 58 years of age and the National awardee teachers were given an increase of 02 years in their service period after retirement as he/she physically and mentally fully fit. These instructions were applicable till the issuance of new instructions on 10/7/2018.Mr. Bains said that the decision to give extension in service to state and national awardee teachers is a way of honouring the best teachers and at the same time encouraging the rest of the teachers and getting services of these good teachers.He said that the decision to give extension in service period of State Award/National Award winner teachers has been reconsidered and a decision has been taken to implement it in the Education Department.  Now, all State Award/National Award winning teachers will have 01 & 02 year extension respectively, if their service record find correct.He said that the instructions issued on 25/4/2020 are stand cancelled with immediate effect and the instructions issued on 26/8/2020 are amended to the extent that in paragraph-6 of these instructions, service to state awardees  The condition imposed regarding non-extension of call is abolished. These instructions will be applicable from 31/03/2023.

IEP Chandigarh, March 31 

A delegation of office bearers of various Self Help Groups from Himachal Pradesh visited Chandigarh to celebrate Swachhotsav, a festival of cleanliness, and to learn about the best practices of the Municipal Corporation Chandigarh. The visit was to promote the convergence of Swachh Bharat Mission (SBM) and Deendayal Antyodaya Yojana- National Urban Livelihood Mission (DAY-NULM).The delegation was welcomed with flowers and mementoes made from recycled items packed in hand-made cloth bags. All the standees and banners used during the event were biodegradable and made up of cloth, in an effort to promote zero waste event and sustainability.During the event, officials of the MCC briefed about the projects of MCC in a detailed presentation on best practices and functions, including solid waste management, processing of construction & demolition (C&D) waste, sewerage treatment plant and many more practices.The delegates also visited different projects handled by local self-help groups working with 3R projects like ‘Arpan’ which makes agarbattis from waste flowers, Jagruti, the self help group which makes herbal Holi Colors from floral waste, Bartan Bhandar and the self help group making art from waste materials. The delegates praised the work of SHGs and appreciated their work for reducing and reusing waste materials. They also visited Gaushala and saw the maintenance of community toilets handled by SHGs.The beauty of Chandigarh, including its roads and clean environment, was also appreciated by the delegates. They praised the cleanliness of the city and the solid waste management system, along with other projects of MCC.

IEP Chandigarh, March 31    

      In a continuation to the series of meetings to remove the bottlenecks from the clearance process for Compressed Biogas (CBG) and City Gas Distribution (CGD) projects in the state, Punjab New and Renewable Energy Sources Minister Mr. Aman Arora on Friday brainstormed with officials of Forest & Wildlife and Local Government department to create a mechanism to make the approval process hassle-free and time-bound.          Chairing a meeting with Local Government officials, Mr. Aman Arora and his cabinet colleague Mr. Inderbir Singh Nijjar, Local Government Minister, in principle have also decided to review the annual rental amount for laying CGD pipelines. During the meeting, they also discussed various inter-departmental issues related with CBG and CGD projects.          During the meeting with Financial Commissioner Forest & Wildlife Mr Vikas Garg and other officials of the department, it was decided to reduce the time period to grant forest permission for CBG and CGD projects.          Mr. Aman Arora emphasized that the fee being charged by various departments should be collected at a single point to facilitate the investors. He also directed the Director PEDA to prepare a list of CBG and CGD projects pending at the end of different departments and send it to departments concerned by next week so that clearance process could be expedited.          He further informed that a Working Group of all stakeholders will soon be constituted to formulate CBG Policy of the state and the Group will submit its report by April end.          Principal Secretary Local Government Mr Vivek Pratap Singh, Director PEDA Mr MP Singh, APCCF Mr Saurabh Gupta, PCCF Mr. R.K. Mishra, Chief Wildlife Warden Mr. Dharminder Sharma, General Manager Torrent Gas Private Ltd. Mr. Jignesh V. Agravat, Senior Manager Indian Oil Corporation Ltd Mr. Kshitiz Sanadhaya, Senior Manager, Vice President Think Gas Private Ltd Mr. R. Maheswaran, GA- Head Gujarat Gas Ltd Mr. Mahendra Dha Dubey, Project Manager Thind Green Energy Pvt Ltd Mr Gaurav Kathpal and Project Head EverEnviro Resources Management Pvt Ltd Mr. Pankaj Kumar were also present in the meeting. 

IEP Chandigarh, March 31

          In a major pro-farmer decision aimed at safeguarding their interests during natural calamities, the Punjab Cabinet led by Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann on Friday gave nod for hiking the compensation due to nature’s fury by 25% per acre thereby giving a major respite to the food growers.

A decision to this effect was taken by the council of Ministers in its meeting held here at the Punjab Civil Secretariat- I under the chairmanship of the Chief Minister.

          Divulging more details a spokesperson of the Chief Minister’s Office said that keeping in view the loss incurred by the farmers recently due to heavy rains, hailstorms and strong winds, the Cabinet has decided to enhance the relief amount from Rs.12,000/- per acre to Rs.15,000/- per acre for 76-100 percent for loss of crops. This measure will give a healing touch to the affected farmers who will be able to get a reasonable financial relief from the government. These relief rates will be applicable from March 1, 2023.

Nod to extend exemption of 2.25% stamp duty and fees land registration by April 30

Keeping in view the larger public interest, the Cabinet also gave its consent to extend the exemption of 2.25% stamp duty and fees to those registering their property/land by April 30. Those opting for registration of land will now be exempted from 1% Additional stamp duty, 1 % PIDB fees and 0.25 % special fees.

GIVES NOD FOR HIRING 2574 KISAN MITRAS AND 108 FIELD SUPERVISORS IN THE AGRICULTURE DEPARTMENT

The Cabinet also gave approval for hiring 2574 Kisan Mitras and 108 field supervisors in the Agriculture department. These Kisan Mitras and Field Supervisors will encourage the farmers to get out of the rut of wheat/ paddy circle and cultivate less water guzzling crops like Cotton and Basmati. This step will act as a catalyst to save precious groundwater of the state by boosting crop diversification program on one hand and providing employment to the youth of the state on the other.

NOD TO ENACTMENT OF THE PUNJAB CANAL AND DRAINAGE ACT, 2023

The Cabinet gave its nod for formation of the Punjab Canal and Drainage Act-2023 to regulate and manage canals and drainage in the state. The main objective of this act is to ensure hindrance free canal waters to farmers and land owners for irrigation purposes, maintenance, repair and timely cleanliness of canals, drainage and natural water courses. Apart from this, the act will also provide a fair and transparent mechanism for redressal of grievances of water users and other regulatory restrictions against unnecessary wastage of water.

At present, the activities relating to irrigation, navigation and drainages in the state are regulated by an Act namely the Northern India Canal and Drainage Act-1873 which was enacted by the Government of India in the British Era. With the passage of time and Re-organization of the state, a number of provisions contained in the said Act have become outlived. The Punjab has not enacted any separate legislation to manage and control the aforesaid activities.

ACCORDS ITS APPROVAL TO FRAME THE PUNJAB CHILD LABOUR (PROHIBITION AND REGULATION) AMENDMENT RULES, 2023

In order to further curb the menace of child and adolescent labour, the Punjab Cabinet led by Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann on Friday gave its approval to frame The Punjab Child Labour (Prohibition and Regulation) Amendment Rules, 2023 with amendment in The Child Labour (Prohibiton and Regulation) Act, 1986 through The Child Labour (Prohibition and Regulation) Amendment Act 2016.

NEW SERVICE RULES OF DEFENSE SERVICES WELFARE, EMPLOYMENT GENERATION AND WATER RESOURCES DEPARTMENT APPROVED

In another significant decision, the Cabinet also accorded consent to newly framed Group-A Service Rules after restructuring of the Defense Services Welfare Department. These rules will be implemented after issuance of notification in this regard.

Likewise, the Council of Ministers also approved the Departmental rules for Group A, Group B and Group C of Employment Generation, Skill Development and Training Department.

The Cabinet also gave nod to Service Rules of various posts of Water Resources Department. These rules are related to Engineering, Scientist, Technical, Ministerial as well as Non-Technical Staff belonging to Group A, B and C services posted in the Head Office and Field offices in the Department.

GREEN SIGNAL TO SEND THE CASES FOR SEEKING PREMATURE RELEASE OF LIFE CONVICTS CONFINED IN THE JAILS OF STATE

The Cabinet also gave green signal for sending the cases of eight prisoners for seeking Premature Release of life convicts confined in the jails of state. After the nod of Cabinet under Article 163 of the Constitution of India, these special remission/premature release cases will be submitted to the Punjab Governor under Article 161 of the Indian constitution.

The Cabinet also gave approval for sending the case of special remission to convicts confined in Jails of Punjab, in the second phase to commemorate the 75th Independence Day of India being celebrated as ‘Azadi ka Amrit Mahotsav’.