Bathinda-Chandigarh Highway Project: Sukhbir reviews arrangements for foundation stone laying ceremony

Bathinda, January 21, 2015

 The Deputy Chief Minister Mr Sukhbir Singh Badal today evening reviewed arrangements for the foundation stone laying ceremony of Rs 3342 cr highway project to be held at Multipurpose Stadium in Bathinda. He was accompanied by the Cabinet Minister for Rural Development and Panchayat Mr Sikandar Singh Maluka.

Mr Badal said that the Union Cabinet Minister Mr Nitin Gadkari would be laying foundation stone of the four lane project of Bathinda-Chandigarh highway providing relief to the traffic plying on this stretch. The project would herald in a new horizon in the infrastructural development of state.

He said that Mr Gadkari would lay foundation stone of the Rs 3342 cr four laning project of Bathinda-Chandigarh road. He appealed people to reach Bathinda and be witness to the unprecedented developmental works being done in state such as laying the highway.

Under this multi crore project there are seven highway projects including Patiala bypass four lane, Patiala to Sangrur four lane, Sanrur and Dhanaula bypass four lane, Sangrur to Tapa four lane, Tapa to Bathinda four lane, Sangrur to Dugal Kalan four lane and Dugal Kalan to Punjab-Haryana border four lane project.

IG Mr Paramjit Singh Umranangal, DIG Mr Amar Singh Chahal, Deputy Commissioner Bathinda Dr Basant Garg, SSP Bathinda Mr Inder Mohan Singh Bhatti and others accompanied him.

State Commission for Protection of Child Rights urges Punjab govt. to reduce school bus fares

Chandigarh January 21, 2015

State Commission for Protection of Child Rights Punjab, Mr. Sukesh Kalia Chairman today urged the Punjab government to ensure reduction in private school bus fares with the decrease of petrol and diesel prices.

Addressing a meeting of the board members, Mr. Kalia expressed pleasure over the time to time reduction in petrol and diesel prices by Government of India; he said that the benefit of the reduced petrol diesel prices should reach the parents of the children who were commuting in the school buses.

He suggested that bus fares should be in accordance with the deflation of petrol and diesel prices.

Mr. Kalia expressed concern over the inadequate medical specialists and infrastructure in the government hospitals causing irreparable losses and suggested that the government hospitals be equipped with adequate medical and para medical staff.

During the meeting, Mr. Sukesh Kalia summoned the Civil Surgeon and SMO Ludhiana to take stock of the latest updates in the recently occurred unfortunate incident in the newly set up mother and child care hospital in Ludhiana where 6 newly born infants died due to inadequate staff and insufficient infrastructure and funds. 

After explaining the entire incident in detail both Civil Surgeon and SMO briefed Mr. Kalia about the strict administrative action taken against the medical officers and other para medical staff found guilty of negligence during the high level enquiry conducted in the incident. The Chairman also asked them to take ample administrative measures so that this kind of unfortunate situation could be averted in future.

Mr. Kalia also assured the health officers that their genuine grievances and hardships would be considered at the higher level and resolved. Referring to the lack of funds for the newly set up Mother and Child Institutes in the state, Mr. Kalia said that he would personally take up this issue with the Chief Minister and brief him in writing that how the general public was being harassed due to the financial crunch.

Punjab Transfers : 5 Tehsildars, 15 Naib Tehsildars transferred

Chandigarh, January 21, 2015

Punjab Government today ordered transfers and postings of 5 Tehsildars and 15 Naib Tehsildars with immediater effect.

TEHSILDARS - Names with new posting

Gurdev Singh - Rajpura

Joginder Pal - Bholath

Amrit Lal - Shaheed Bhagat Singh Nagar

Vipan Bhandari - Phagwara

Amarjit Singh - Balachaur

NAIB TEHSILDARS - Names with new posting

FEROZEPUR DIVISION

Madan Mohan - Moga

Jaswant Singh Brar - Talwandi Bhai

Charanjit Singh - Muktsar

Surinderpal Pabbi - Guru Har Sahai

Jaswant Singh - Malout

Jatinderpal Singh - Zira

Arjinder Singh - Khuhian Sarwar

Charanjit Kaur - Doda

Gurjant Singh - Lakhewali

PATIALA DIVISION

Johari Ram - Sangrur

Ranjit Singh - Ludhiana Central

Kamaljit Kaur - Mandi Gobindgarh

Joginder Singh - Kum Kalan

Janak Singh - Sunam

JALANDHAR DIVISION

Siri Ram Anand - Bhogpur

A spokesperson of the government said that under a separate order Smt. Hirawantri Naib Tehsildar CDC Faridkot Divisio, available for posting has been posted as Nai Tehsildar MLA Bathinda.

Gangster shot by rival gang , 6 armed cops fail to retaliate

Jalandhar, January 21

A criminal, Sukha Kahlwan, was shot dead in the presence of six policemen allegedly by a rival gang at Paddi Khalsa village near Goraya today. He was being taken to Nabha jail after a court hearing in Jalandhar.

Kahlwan was facing more than 40 cases of murder, dacoity and robbery in Punjab, Haryana and Rajasthan.

The role of the policemen accompanying Sukha has come under the scanner as they failed to fire even a single shot in retaliation. They were carrying two carbines with adequate ammunition.

Sources said after a long chase around 4:30 pm, unidentified assailants travelling in a black Endeavour car shot at and flattened a tyre of the police Gypsy that carried Kahlwan. The moment the policemen alighted from the vehicle, the assailants fired over a dozen bullets at Sukha.

Sources said the rival gang only left after ensuring Sukha was dead.

Kunwar Vijay Pratap, Deputy Inspector General, Jalandhar range, confirmed the police did not fire in retaliation. He said an inquiry had been ordered into the case.

“We are trying to identify the gang behind the attack. An inquiry has been initiated to look into why the armed police team failed to respond,” he said.

Hailing from Kahlwan village near Kartarpur, Sukha entered the world of crime in 2008. Starting with small-time thefts and snatchings, he hit headlines in 2010 when his name figured in the high-profile murder case of Gurdarshan Singh Dhillon, BJP’s Phagwara unit chief.

The Punjab Police arrested Sukha from Delhi in 2012, but he escaped from custody in Ropar while being taken for a court hearing.

Sukhha was once attacked by his rivals in Rajasthan, an incident that had left his two accomplices dead. He survived another attack when one of his aides, Yameen, stabbed him and considering him dead, threw him into the Yamuna at Kanpur.

In 2012, he was arrested by the West Bengal police from Howrah. He also remained in the Haryana Police’s custody — had robbed a Hisar jeweller of 4-kg gold — for some time, before being handed over to the Punjab Police in 2013.

Lodged in Kapurthala jail, he had landed the prison staff in trouble by uploading two videos on his Facebook fan page titled ‘Sukha Kahlon sharp shooter’. He then posted a violent video of him brutally beating up a fellow prisoner.

Sukha’s fan page, created in early 2013, has over 25,000 followers, and is full of violent comments and photos glorifying gun culture. He was then shifted to the Nabha Jail and was lodged there ever since.

Tragic end

• Sukha Kahlwan was shot dead allegedly by a rival gang at Paddi Khalsa village near Goraya on Wednesday
• Was being taken to Nabha jail after a court hearing in Jalandhar
• Faced more than 40 cases of murder, dacoity and robbery in Punjab, Haryana and Rajasthan
• He belonged to Kahlwan village near Kartarpur
• Entered the world of crime in 2008 with small-time thefts and snatchings
• Hit headlines in 2010 when his name appeared in the murder case of Gurdarshan Singh Dhillon, BJP's Phagwara unit president

Punjab rolled out e-stamp for property transactions

Mohali, January 20
Deputy Chief Minister Sukhbir Singh Badal and Revenue Minister Bikram Singh Majithia launched the e-stamp service today.

The step would make property transactions convenient, besides ending public harassment and corruption, Badal said.

“The facility will obviate the need to stand in long queues for procuring stamp papers, besides ending the middleman culture. Now onwards, the common man will be able to deposit the stamp fee through wire transfers, drafts or cheques,” Badal said. It would also bring efficiency and transparency in the working of the Revenue Department, he added.

“People will be able to deposit stamp fee at thousands of branches of various banks near their places of work or residence. They people will now be able to deposit the exact fee instead of being forced to buy stamp papers of more denomination than needed, due to lack of availability and creation of artificial scarcity,” said Bikram Singh Majithia.

The state government’s next target would be to launch e-registration service, Badal said. “The state will witness the launch of e-registration facility in the next six months. It will complement the e-stamping measure. In fact, my aim is to make all government services online by July 2015,” Badal said.

“Following the launch of these two services, the people will not need to visit any department. They will be able to get their works done at nearby Sewa Kendras, to be set up in every ward soon. These centres will provide various services in a stipulated time frame and remove corruption automatically,” Badal said.

Adviser to Chief Minister Mahesinder Singh Grewal, Chief Parliamentary Secretary NK Sharma and Mohali Deputy Commissioner Tejinder Pal Singh Sidhu were also present on the occasion.

Special features

• Each e-stamp will have a unique ID that can be verified online
• It will have safety features such as ultraviolet verification, microfilm, thermal fixtures and encrypted 2-D bar code
• In case an e-stamp gets misplaced, one can apply for a duplicate e-stamp

Punjab: 20 IAS, 21 PCS officers transferred

Chandigarh - The Punjab government on Wednesday ordered transfers and postings of 20 IAS officers and 21 PCS officers.

Special principal secretary to the chief minister, Ajoy Sharma, was given the additional charge of special secretary, water supply and sanitation department. Executive director, Punjab State Scheduled Castes Land Development and Finance Corporation, Alaknanda Dayal, was given the charge of director, social security and development of women and children, and in addition special secretary, social security and development of women and children.

Deputy commissioner, gurdwara elections, Punjab, Harjeet Singh, was given the additional charge of member secretary, Punjab State Commission for Backward Classes. Special secretary, technical education and industrial training, Dharam Pal, was given additional charge of controller, printing and stationery.

Additional registrar, cooperative societies, Arun Sekhri, was given additional charge of special secretary, power. Director general, school education, Pradeep Kumar Aggarwal, was given additional charge of secretary, school education. Managing director, Punjab Small and Export Corporation, Amit Dhaka, was given additional charge of additional secretary, industries and commerce.

Special secretary, personnel, Gurpreet Kaur Sapra, was given additional charge of executive director, Backfinco. Transport director Malwinder Singh Jaggi was given additional charge as secretary, Punjab state NRI commission.

Director, planning, Parveen Kumar Thind, was given additional charge of additional secretary, finance. Ferozepur additional deputy commissioner Amit Kumar was given the additional charge as deputy director, urban local bodies, Ferozepur.

The officers who got regular postings are Manjit Singh Narang as special secretary, transport, with additional charge of managing director, Pepsu Road Transport Corporation, and Ritu Aggarwal as special secretary, information and public relations, along with the charge as additional director of the same department.

Meanwhile, Adapa Karthik was transferred as ADC general, Kapurthala; Varinder Kumar Sharma as ADC development, Bathinda; Sonali Giri as ADC (general), Faridkot, with additional charge as ADC development, Faridkot; Apneet Riyait as ADC general, Ludhiana; MK Arvind Kumar as ADC general, Sangrur; Girish Dayalan as ADC general, Jalandhar; and Kulwant Singh as SDM, Nakodar.

Punjab Govt files plea in SC on release of Sikh detainees

Chandigarh, January 10

The Punjab Government has filed an application in the Supreme Court seeking permission to consider and decide applications of life convicts for remission in jail term and their premature release.

The state government said an application had been moved in the apex court on the direction of Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal.

Sikh activist Gurbaksh Singh Khalsa had started a hunger strike more than 50 days ago at Lakhnaur Sahib Gurdwara in Ambala seeking the release of Sikh detainees. The state government has been issuing statements on a daily basis clarifying its stance on detainees.

A spokesperson for the Chief Minister said the state government had filed the application in the Supreme Court through its counsel Jagjit Singh Chabbra.

“It has been submitted before the court that the Governor of Punjab has been exercising the powers granted under Article 161 of the Constitution of India. The sovereign power to grant pardon or clemency was independent from the powers available with the state under Section 432 and 433 of the Criminal Procedure Code,” said the spokesperson.

But in light of the orders passed by the Supreme Court on July 9, 2014, the state governments have been restrained from exercising the power of remission to life convicts.

There were cases where life convicts have become eligible for remission in light of the policy framed in compliance with the orders of the court.

Punjab has not considered the cases of remission or forwarded these to the Governor because of the restraint imposed by the apex court. The applications of convicts for prayer for remission and premature release were not being considered by the state government.

“Under these circumstances, the counsel has pleaded that the court may allow the state government to consider and decide applications of the life convicts seeking prayer for remission and premature release in the interest of justice,” said the spokesperson.

Khalsa has sought the release of seven life convicts — Lakhwinder Singh, Gurmeet Singh, Shamsher Singh Gurdeep Singh, Waryam Singh, Devinder Pal Singh and Lal Singh. However, the state government has said it had no authority to take a decision because they had been convicted by courts in other states and the Union Territory of Chandigarh.

The state government had said 3,600 persons were undergoing life imprisonment in Punjab jails. Of these, only 182 life convicts had undergone the minimum sentence and their cases could be considered for premature release subject to the parameters prescribed in the state policy.

Centre says no to Parkash Singh Badal's plea for detainees' release

The Centre on Thursday turned down the Punjab government's demand to release detainees who have been convicted in various terror cases. The convicts include the assassins of former chief minister Beant Singh and are serving their sentences in different jails.

Deputy chief minister of Punjab Sukhbir Singh Badal who was accompanied by SGPC president Avtar Singh Makkar and Rajya Sabha MP Avtar Singh, appealed to Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh to direct the various state governments holding Sikh detainees who have completed their required sentence and are eligible for release under the 'premature release policy' to free them forthwith.

The Union home ministry, however, indicated that legal opinion could be taken in select cases like old people and those having completed 20 years in prison but not those convicted in serious charges. Releasing terrorists convicted in charges like the assassination of former Punjab Chief Minister Beant Singh is ruled out, home ministry officials said.


"Sukhbir Singh Badal impressed upon Rajnath the urgent need to look into the issue of release of 13 detainees who are languishing in jails in various states including Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan, West Bengal, Karnataka and Gujarat besides the Union territory of Chandigarh. He briefed Rajnath that few of the detainees were even 80 years old and one detainee had even gone blind," a Punjab government spokesperson said.

"Badal also told Rajnath that the Punjab government had also on its part decided to move an application before the Supreme Court to allow it to exercise the pre mature release policy for all lifers who have completed their required sentence and were eligible for remission," the spokesperson added.

Facing criticism for seeking pre-mature of convicted terrorists, the Punjab deputy CM said the Akali Dal is not anti-national. "Our party was only endorsing the sentiments of the Punjabis and no one should try to label it as an anti-national party. The same yardstick has been used by the Centre to free some convicts earlier," Sukhbir Singh Badal said.

In a letter on December 24, 2014, Punjab Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal had requested various governments, including Delhi and Chandigarh for pre-mature release of 13 live convicts, including Jagtar Singh Hawara and Paramjit Singh Bheora, who had assassinated former Punjab chief minister Beant Singh.

Moreover, Akali Dal's demand for a pre-mature release of convicted terrorists has irked opposition Congress that is also in the news for the meeting between party spokesperson Sukhpal Singh Khaira and Gurbaksh Singh who is on a chain hunger strike from last two months in a Gurudwara near Amabala.

Drug addiction in Punjab is national problem: Parkash Singh Badal

Centre-state effort required to check drug menace in Punjab, says Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal

GANDHINAGAR: Facing strident criticism over large-scale substance abuse in Punjab, Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal today said the state government is fighting the "nation's war" against drug abuse.

"We have suffered a lot of pain in the past. First it was of partition, then militancy. Earlier we were labelled as terrorists and now they call us drug addicts," an anguished Chief Minister told the Indian diaspora at the 13th Pravasi Bhartiya Divas event here.

Terming drug addiction a "national problem just like militancy," Badal said," We are waging the nation's war against drugs. Drugs come from outside, we in Punjab don't make it. We have caught drugs coming into India from other states as well."
Widespread drug abuse, apart from being a matter of social concern, has also acquired political dimensions with both the BJP and Congress flagging the issue during the Lok Sabha poll.

The ruling Shiromani Akali Dal had earlier this month staged a dharna against the drug menace in the state near the International Border and pitched for "greater awareness" and "vigilance along the border with Pakistan".

Though initially SAD had announced that the sit-in was to put pressure on the Border Security Force to stop entry of drugs into the state from Pakistan, it later said the exercise was intended to create awareness about substance abuse.

Opposition Congress had also staged sit-ins the same day at the district headquarters demanding dismissal of the Punjab government for "inciting people against the security forces".

Besides demanding sealing of the International Border, SAD has been seeking a ban on cultivation of narcotics in states like Rajasthan and Madhya Pradesh to tackle drug abuse. Both these states are ruled by SAD's ally BJP.

BJP will also launch its own campaign against drug abuse on January 22 from Amritsar.

Punjab Government orders inquiry after teacher allegedly strips school girls

Chandigarh: A day after 13 girl students of a school in Gurdaspur were strip searched by a lady teacher for alleged theft, the Punjab government has ordered a probe into the incident.

Reacting to a report that the girls were subjected to humiliation after Rs. 500 went missing from the purse of one of the teachers, Punjab Education Minister Dr. Daljit Singh Cheema said strict action would be taken against any teacher found guilty, According to an official release.

He said the District Education Officer (Elementary) of Gurdaspur has appointed the inquiry officers and would be submitting a report in a fortnight.

He also issued instructions to all government schools in general that he would not tolerate any such incident in future.

According to Gurdaspur police, the teacher, who taught in a government girls middle school in a village in Gurdaspur district, found that a Rs. 500 note missing was from her wallet.

She later called seventh grade girl students and allegedly stripped them in a classroom to look for her note, police had said earlier.

The victims disclosed the incident to their parents, following which one parent registered a case against the teacher under section 354 (assault or criminal force with intent to outrage modesty of woman), 506 (criminal intimidation) of IPC and provisions of the SC/ST Act.

Absconding

The police said the students of Government Girls Middle School in Madiala village had alleged that their drawing teacher Harjit Kaur subjected them to strip search.

The accused is absconding.