IEP Chandigarh, March 13

In a major administrative reshuffle, the Punjab government on Monday transferred 16 IAS and 3 PCS officers. Anurag Agarwal, IAS, who is currently posted as Additional Chief Secretary-cum-Financial Commissioner, Cooperation and in addition Additional Chief Secretary, Elections, has now been posted as Additional Chief Secretary-cum-Financial Commissioner, Cooperation and in addition Additional Chief Secretary, Elections, and in addition Additional Chief Secretary, Medical Education and Research in place of Alaknanda Dayal, IAS. 

Also, Raji P. Shrivastava, IAS, currently posted as Additional Chief Secretary-cum-Financial Commissioner, Forest and Wildlife Preservation has been posted as Additional Chief Secretary, Freedom Fighters, in place of Veerendra Kumar Meena, IAS.

Vivek Pratap Singh, Principal Secretary, Local Government has been posted as  Principal Secretary, Local Government and in addition, Principal Secretary, Health and Family Welfare relieving Veerendra Kumar Meena, IAS of additional charge.

Rahul Bhandari, Principal Secretary, Food, Civil Supplies and Consumer Affairs and in addition Principal Secretary, Civil Aviation and in addition Principal Secretary, Information and Public Relations and in addition Principal Secretary Resident Commissioner, Punjab Bhawan, New Delhi has been posted as Principal Secretary Resident Commissioner, Punjab Bhawan, New Delhi.

Veerendra Kumar Meena, Principal Secretary, Freedom fighters and in addition Principal Secretary Printing and Stationary and in addition Principal Secretary, Health and Family welfare has been posted as  Principal Secretary Printing and Stationary.

Vikas Garg, Principal Secretary, Transport has been posted as Principal Secretary, Transport and in addition Financial Commissioner, Forests, Wildlife Preservation in place of Raji P Srivastava.

Sumer Singh Gurjar, Principal Secretary, Social Security, Women and Child Development and in addition Commissioner, Rupnagar Division, Rupnagar has been posted as Principal Secretary, Agriculture and Farmer’s welfare and in addition Principal Secretary, Horticulture and in addition Principal Secretary Soil and Water Conservation in place of Rahul Tiwari.

Gurkirat Kirpal Singh, Secretary, Tourism and Culture affairs and in addition Secretary Mines and Geology has been posted as Secretary, Food, Civil Supplies and Consumer Affairs in place of Rahul Bhandari and in addition Tourism and Culture affairs, and in addition Secretary Mines and Geology.

Arshdeep Singh Thind, Secretary, Agriculture and Farmer’s welfare has been posted as Secretary, Agriculture and Farmer’s welfare and in addition Secretary Horticulture.

Ritu Aggarwal, Secretary, Home Affairs and Justice has been posted as Secretary Cooperative.

Malwainder Singh Jaggi, Chief Executive officer, Punjab water Supply and Sewerage Board has been posted as Secretary, Information and Public Relations and in addition Civil Aviation relieving Rahul Bhandari and in addition water Supply and Sewerage Board.

Other officers include IAS Abhinav, IAS Pradeep Kumar Agrawal, IAS Babita Singh, IAS Devinder Singh, IAS Puneet Singh, PCS Rajesh Kumar Sharma, PCS Vikas Hira, PCS Amardeep Singh Thind were transferred by the government. 

IEP Chandigarh, March 13

Punjab School Education Minister Harjot Singh Bains on Monday ordered an inquiry pertaining to irregularities during Punjab State Teacher Eligibility Test (PSTET).

Mr, Bains said that the matter was come to his notice that grave irregularities have been found during the Punjab State Teacher Eligibility Test held on Sunday. He issued an order to conduct time bound inquiry by Principal Secretary Level Officer and asked that a criminal case should be registered against the perpetrators of this heinous crime.

Apart from this, the Cabinet Minister also instructed the Guru Nanak Dev University to conduct the paper agains as soon as possible without charging any fee. He directed the officials of the School Education Department to incorporate a clause in the contract with the third party regarding conducting examinations on behalf of the department that if any irregularities will be found then the executing agency or organisation will pay the suitable compensation to the students.

IEP Chandigarh, March 13

          Punjab Housing and Urban Development Minister Mr Aman Arora on Monday met the successful bidders of recently concluded e-auction of GMADA, in which the authority has earned the highest ever revenue of a whopping ₹1935.88 Crores in a single e-auction.

          Addressing the function organised at Mohali Club, SAS Nagar, Mr. Aman Arora directed the GMADA officials to designate Single Point Contact Official to facilitate these investors in getting all required permissions and also provide them a required Documents Checklist for various categories of properties so that they won’t have to face any hardship in setting up their establishments.

          Expressing gratitude towards the investors for showing faith in the Housing & Urban Development Department and giving thumping response to the e-auction, Mr. Aman Arora assured that GMADA would provide every possible help at every step.

          He said that investors from around the world are coming to Punjab to set up their ventures due to investors-centric policies implemented by the Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann led Punjab Government in the state.

          All the bidders thanked the H&UD Minster Mr Aman Arora and Principal Secretary Mr Ajoy Kumar Sinha for organising this event to interact with them.

          Chief Administrator PUDA Ms Apneet Riyait and Chief Administrator GMADA Mr Amandeep Bansal were also present.

IEP Chandigarh, March 13  

        The Punjab government led by Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann is making all possible efforts 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 about 6.90 crore on development works for the beautification of Amritsar city.          Disclosing this, Cabinet Minister Dr Inderbir Singh Nijjar said that about Rs 3.91 crores are being spent to provide and set up CNG based crematorium as well as to develop the crematorium in all aspects.          He further said that apart from this, a decision has been taken to spend 48.50 lakh rupees for the re-conditioning and development of various streets of Guru Amardas Avenue Ward No. 3 under Phase-2.          Cabinet Minister, Dr. Nijjar said that about Rs 1.51 crore will be spent for the redevelopment and beautification of 15 parks in Ward 6 of Pandura Sultanwind, South Constituency of Amritsar city.          He said that apart from this, other development works worth more than Rs.1.00 crore will be done.          Local Government Minister, Dr. Nijjar said that department has already started the process for these works. Tenders for these works have already been uploaded by the Local Government Department on the Punjab Government website www.eproc.punjab.gov.in.  If there is a need to make any kind of amendment in these tenders the same information would be made available on this website, he also added.          He said that the Punjab government led by Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann is committed to provide corruption free administration to the people of the state. Therefore, any official or employee caught committing corruption would not be spared.          Cabinet Minister, Dr. Nijjar directed the officials to ensure quality and transparency in the work of the department. 

IEP Chandigarh, March 13

          Punjab NRI Affairs Minister Kuldeep Singh Dhaliwal on Monday assured all non-resident Punjabis (NRP) that the Punjab government led by Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann is committed to redress their grievances at the earliest.

          During his visit to control room set up here for NRPs to register their grievances, Dhaliwal said that Punjabi diaspora can register their complaints and grievances on WhatsApp number 93093-88088 without any hesitation. He said that registered complaint would be forwarded to the concerned department or officer for follow-up and timely redressal. J. Balamurgan, Principal Secretary, NRI affairs department and Praveen Kumar Sinha ADGP, NRI Affairs, were also present on this occasion.

          Meanwhile, Dhaliwal call a number of complainants who had either registered their greivances during NRI Sammelan or registered these with the control room. The complainants thanked the NRI Affairs Minister for showing personal interest in resolving their issues besides applauding Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann led Punjab Government for taking such pro-people initiatives.

          On this occasion, the Minister directed the officers concerned to resolve all issues and complaints, except sub judice matter in a time bound manner. He said that he would soon call a state level meeting with all the Deputy Commissioners regarding the settlement of the grievances/complaints of the Punjabi Diaspora.

          Dhaliwal also appealed the overseas Punjabis to invest in Punjab while adding that Punjabis who have achieved success in foreign countries should also contribute for the progress of their state. The Punjab government will help them in every way, he said.

IEP Chandigarh, March 12

The Punjab government has decided to extend  the time period of a policy by 5 years under which riot victims and terror attack victims in the state get 5% reservation in allotment of plots or houses without any financial concession, Revenue Minister Brahm Shanker Jimpa said.He said that the Punjab Government under the dynamic leadership of Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann has decided to extend the facility of 5 per cent reservation in allotment of plots/houses by Urban Estates/Improvement Trust/Pepsu Township Development Board, without any financial concession for five more years.He said that this facility of reservation was abolished on December 31, 2021, but with the decision taken now, this facility has been extended till December 31, 2026.The Revenue Minister said that a letter regarding this pro-people decision of the Punjab Government has been issued to all the Deputy Commissioners, Department of Housing and Urban Development and Local Government Department. 

IEP Chandigarh, March 12

          Social Security, Women and Child Development and Social Justice Empowerment and Minorities Minister Dr. Baljit Kaur thanked Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann and Finance Minister for presenting a public interest budget in the Vidhan Sabha and said that with this budget, changes will be seen in the lives of all sections.

          She said that Social Security departments that have access to every resident of the state of Punjab, while the Department of Social Justice ensures that the people who have been downtrodden for centuries get the rights guaranteed by the Constitution of India.

          Dr. Baljit Kaur said that under the able leadership of Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann, the Department of Social Justice has done its job of providing justice to the people completely in one year.

          She further said that the matriculation scholarship scheme was under controversy for the past several years. She said that due to the looting of the previous Governments, apart from the education and valuable time of the students studying on scholarship, they had to stumble time and time again to get their degrees, while the Punjab government led by Bhagwant Mann implemented this scheme for the Scheduled Cast students in a transparent manner and also got the fifth position across the country for running the scheme in a good manner.

          She said that B.R Ambedkar portal is opened for students.  On which students can avail the scheme by applying online. This portal remained open throughout  the year, the scheme which was seen sinking during the previous years, this year more than 2 lakh 20 thousand students have been registered on this portal.

          She said that the previous Governments considered the Ashirwad scheme only as a means of obtaining blessings. When the Bhagwant Maan government came into existence, after that day, Rs. 51,000 omens were given under this scheme in the true sense. She said that our Government settled the pending cases of more than 35000 girls during the previous governments. She said that our government  has so far released an amount of Rs. 175 crores under Ashirwad scheme.

          She thanked the Finance Minister for proposing Rs. 850 crores for Post Matric scheme and Adarsh Gram Yojana and said that in Adarsh Gram Yojana we provide facilities in those villages whose scheduled caste population is 50 percent.

          She said that the recruitment process of around 5700 Anganwadi workers is going on. She said that due to the absence of a policy regarding the transfers of Anganwadi workers, Anganwadi workers had to face a lot of problems for the last 20 years, which our government has eliminated. Due to which Anganwadi workers are working near their homes today.

          She mentioned that after 47 years our Government has implemented reservation in the recruitment of Anganwadi workers as per the ideology of Baba Saheb Ambedkar.

          She said that this is the first budget of Punjab in which Gender Equality has been fully taken care of due to which a budget provision of Rs. 7172 crores rupees has been made.

          She said that women of the state are getting a lot of benefits through widow pension and free bus travel facility.

          She added that her department is continuously working to ensure 50 percent participation of women in each scheme of the Punjab Government.

IEP CHANDIGARH, March 12

With investigations of the Kotkapura Firing incident reaches at the final stage, the Special Investigation Team (SIT) headed by ADGP LK Yadav on Sunday said that if anyone having any additional, relevant information, which may have a bearing upon the case could share by personally meeting him at his office at Floor 6, Punjab Police Headquarters, Sector 9-C here from 10.30am to 1.30pm on coming three Thursdays i.e. March 16, March 23 and March 30, 2023. Notably, the Kotkapura Firing incident took place on October 14, 2015.He said that people can also share information in this regard by sending a message on WhatsApp no 9875983237, or by emailing at ID newsit2021kotkapuracase@gmail.com. Even at this stage any input/information provided by any responsible individual might prove to be very helpful for the SIT in completing this legal process of investigation at the earliest, he added.The ADGP also expressed gratitude to the people of Punjab for their kind cooperation with the SIT in the discharge of the sacred responsibility entrusted to SIT. He said that the strength of consciousness of every single individual of Punjab has been a prime mover in the completion of the legal process of investigation connected with the Kotkapura Firing Case.Pertinently, on the directions of Punjab and Haryana High Court Chandigarh, the State Government had constituted a Special Investigation Team (SIT) consisting of three Senior officers including ADGP LK Yadav, IG Rakesh Agrawal, and SSP Moga Gulneet Singh Khurana to investigate the Kotkapura firing incident. The SIT has submitted its first Challan in the Court on February 24, 2023.

IEP CHANDIGARH, March 12

          As part of ongoing drive to make Punjab a safe and secure state as per the vision of Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann, Punjab Police on Saturday carried out a special operation under which persons booked under Arms act were checked by the Police teams across the state. The operation was carried out in wake of the G-20 Summit on the directions of Director General of Police (DGP) Punjab Gaurav Yadav.

          The operation was conducted in a synchronised manner from 11am to 5pm and all the CPs/SSPs were asked to depute one team per police station to check the wherebouts and antecedents of all the persons booked under Arms act in last five years, who are on bail, parole or acquitted.

          Additional Director General of Police (ADGP) Law and Order Arpit Shukla said that the 400 Police teams, involving 2000 police personnel, have checked as many as 1343 such persons, who were booked under the Arms Act in the last five years, of which, 1194 persons were on parole or bail. One person has been arrested during the operation, he said.

          He said that the intent to carry out this operation was to keep check on the influx of illegal arms and ammunition from across the international border and the inter-state borders from states including Uttar Pradesh, Bihar and Madhya Pradesh, besides, keeping vigil on gangsters and anti-social elements.

          Meanwhile, such operations also help in infusing fear among anti-social elements and instilling a sense of security among common people.

IEP SAS Nagar, March 12

Punjab Sports Minister Gurmeet Singh Meet Hayer on Sunday inaugurated the All India Civil Services Cricket Tournament by taking to the field himself.

As many as 39 teams from different States, UTs and Regional Sports Boards across the country are participating in this tournament being conducted by the Sports Department, Punjab from March 12 to 19. These players are employees of their respective state and central government departments.

During the opening ceremony at the Sports Stadium in Sector 78, Meet Hayer formally inaugurated the tournament by hitting a shot with the bat. He was also introduced to the captains of all the teams. Speaking earlier, he welcomed the players of all the teams and wished them for better performance. He shared his memories of playing cricket from his childhood and said that he still plays cricket when he gets time.

Describing the sports sector as the top priority of the Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann led State Government, Meet Hayer said that this time the budget of the sports department has been kept at Rs. 258 Cr which is more than 55 percent as compared to last year. This will give a big boost to the sports sector.

Earlier, Director Sports Amit Talwar welcomed the Chief Guest and all the teams and briefed about the tournament.

On this occasion, players from other states were very impressed by the martial art Gatka and Jugni Bhangra Academy’s folk dance Bhangra performances.

Prominent among others who were present at the occasion included Punjab Youth Development Board Chairman Parminder Singh Goldy, District Planning Board Chairperson Prabhjot Kaur, ADC (General) Amaninder Kaur Brar and District Sports Officer Gurdeep Kaur.