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Tuesday 18th March, 2003 Repoll result vindicates Cong stand: Josan at 21:55 IST by Makhan Fazilka, March 17 “The victory of the Congress candidate, Mr Mohinderjit Singh Madaan, from Ward No 9 in the Jalalabad civic body repoll with a convincing margin after the deployment of the CRPF and special observers has shown once again that the elections were fair,” said Mr Hans Raj Josan, Jalalabad MLA, at a press conference after the declaration of the result late on Sunday. Mr Madaan defeated his nearest rival, Mr Prem Valecha of the Bharatiya Janata Party, by 404 votes. Repoll had been ordered in Wards 9 and 12 of Jalalabad, following allegations of booth capturing and rigging. Mr Prem Valecha, president of the Municipal Council of Jalalabad and an executive member of the Punjab BJP, was contesting from Ward No 9. Mr Rajnish Kumar Doomra, outgoing BJP councillor, was contesting from Ward No 12. After the repoll order of the State Election Commissioner, both candidates had given a boycott call in protest against the March 9 poll, in which, the Congress had won in all the remaining 13 wards. Mr Josan said, the BJP call was a farce, as Mr Madaan was a clear winner. The result for Ward No 12 will be declared later, as the case is sub judice. Mr Josan said, the BJP-SAD leaders, during the MC poll 5 years ago, had kidnapped the Congress candidates and torn their nomination papers. There had been no repoll then, he said. He said newspapers had given only one aspect of the elections. Seven party activists had been assaulted and shot at, he said. Rs 8 crore will be spent on setting up a canal-based drinking-water project for Jalalabad. This project is financed by World Bank. There shall be a vigilance probe into all substandard works done by the outgoing Municipal Council. Tuesday 26th November, 2002 Bhattal to appear in court today at 07:39 IST by Makhan Bathinda, November 25 Even as former Chief Minister, Rajinder Kaur Bhattal, facing trials in the case pertaining to corruption and embezzlement, appears in the special court here tomorrow in connection with the framing of charges, the defence counsel have moved an application in the court today to place those documents on record which allegedly exposed the double standards of the prosecution agency. Though Mr Nand Lal Garg, counsel for Mrs Bhattal, refused to divulge the reason behind the move, information gathered by TNS revealed that efforts were afoot to establish the fact that trials of Mrs Bhattal by the state prosecuting agency were being conducted on political consideration. Today when the Special Judge was to decide whether charges under Section 409 and 13 (1) D, read with Section 13 (2), of the Prevention of Corruption Act should be framed against Mrs Bhattal or not, Mr Garg moved the application. The documents include the affidavit and application filed by Mr Paramjit Singh Rai, Director, Prosecution and Litigation, Punjab, on January 28 in which he had urged that a challan could not be presented against Mrs Bhattal in the special court Bathinda, as it did not come under its jurisdiction and she could be put on trial before getting prior sanction. The application along with an affidavit was filed in the Punjab and Haryana High Court by Mr Rai. A similar application was filed in the court of Special Judge, here by the then DSP (Vigilance), Mr Khushi Mohammad, on January 2. However, with the change of government in the state Mr Mohammad moved another application in the court of Special Judge here on March 27 to withdraw the previous application and a statement in the high court was also made to withdraw the application moved by the senior functionary of the Department of Prosecution and Litigation, Punjab, to withdraw the application along with the affidavit moved by Mr Rai on January 28. Now the prosecution authorities have deputed special staff members posted in other districts to help the local office to ensure that charges were framed against Mrs Bhattal without any delay. A cross-section of lawyers to whom TNS talked to said they were surprised that why the state government had failed to initiate legal action against those officials, who had allegedly adopted double standards. Wednesday 13th November, 2002 Bhattal fails to appear in court at 15:35 IST by Makhan Bathinda, November 12 Even as former Chief Minister Rajinder Kaur Bhattal, who has been facing trial in the court of the special judge here in a case pertaining to corruption and embazzlement, failed to appear in court today. The special judge, Mr Jaspal Singh, directed her counsel to ensure her appearance on November 26 and adjourned the hearing. The special judge was to decide whether the charges of corruption and embezzlement from the Chief Minister’s Relief Fund in 1996 against Mrs Bhattal be framed or not, Mrs Bhattal did not appear in the court on the pretext that Section 144 of the CrPC had been imposed and there was a tense atmosphere in Punjab in the wake of SGPC elections. Mr Nand Lal Garg, counsel for Mrs Bhattal, when contacted, said an application was moved in the court of the special judge, in which exemption from personal appearance was sought for Mrs Bhattal on the ground that she was not able to appear today as Section 144 of the Cr PC had been imposed in Punjab. She did not appear in the court earlier on October 29 on the pretext that intelligence agencies had advised her against proceeding towards Bathinda from Chandigarh as farmers’ organisations and some political groups had given a Punjab bandh call and they had organised a dharna on the way. A case under Section 409 of the IPC and Section 13 of the Prevention of Corruption Act had been registered against Mrs Bhattal by the Vigilance Bureau at Ferozepore on the direction of the special judge, acting on the complaint of Mr Balwant Singh Dhillon, president, Amateur Boxing Association, Bathinda, in May last year. Mr Dhillon had alleged that Mrs Bhattal had embezzled Rs 20 lakh after withdrawing it from the Chief Minister’s Relief Fund in 1996, when she was the Chief Minister. Mrs Bhattal found herself in more trouble when non-bailable warrants were issued against her and a police officer of the rank of SP was directed to execute the warrants by the special judge. She secured bail from the court of the special judge after approaching the Punjab and Haryana High Court and a direction was issued to the special judge. Initially, Mrs Bhattal alleged that the corruption case had been registered as part of a conspiracy by a senior official of the Public Relations Department. Punjab denies stopping visitors to Temple at 15:34 IST by Makhan Chandigarh, November 12 The Punjab and Haryana High Court today dismissed a petition, registered on the basis of a telegram, alleging that the devotees were being stopped from visiting the Golden Temple, after Punjab’s Advocate-General denied the allegations, claiming that the security arrangements had been made in and around the election venue only. On a related petition filed by Shiromani Gurdwara Prabandhak Committee President Kirpal Singh Badungar seeking directions to the state of Punjab, the Chief Minister, the Director-General of Police and Amritsar’s Deputy Commissioner against the alleged indiscriminate arrest of SAD (Badal) workers, the High Court fixed November 26 as the next date of hearing. In the telegram, taken up by the Bench, comprising Chief Justice Mr B.K. Roy and Mr Justice G.S. Singhvi, it was earlier alleged that the visitors were not being allowed to stay in the inns. It was further alleged that even school children from Surat in Gujarat and Ponta Sahib had been asked to leave the inns. Appearing before the Bench, Punjab’s Advocate-General Harbhagwan Singh stated that Inspector General (Security) Rajinder Singh had informed him that security measures had been taken only at the election venue and the adjacent areas. After recording the statement, the Judges dismissed the petition. Badungar, in the petition, meanwhile, claimed that the members were being arrested in an attempt to weaken, even wipe out, the SAD (Badal). Quoting press reports, he added that as many as 1222 persons had been arrested. Majority of them, he submitted, were SAD workers. Referring to an order, he added that no person was allowed to stay in the inns, hotels and guest houses within 500 metres of the Golden Temple for two days from November 11. This, he added, had forced a number of devotees to leave the place even though they were to perform Akhand Path. Explanation sought Mr Justice Adarsh Kumar Goel of the Punjab and Haryana High Court on Tuesday directed Punjab’s Additional Director-General of Police to be present in the Court for explaining why he was not replying to the letters written by state counsel. Pronouncing the orders, the Judge observed: “State counsel submits that in spite of demi-official letters, the ADGP was not responding. Let Izhar Aalam be present in the Court in person to explain why he was not caring for letters written by state counsel”. The case will now come up for hearing on December 2. Compensation In just over 10 years after three Batala district residents were allegedly abducted by the police, Mr Justice K.S. Garewal of the Punjab and Haryana High Court on Tuesday directed the payment of Rs 3 lakh compensation each to relatives of the victims. Delivering the verdict, Mr Justice Garewal ruled: “The petition is accepted and sum of Rs 3 lakh each is hereby awarded to the petitioner and the heir. The amount shall be paid by the state of Punjab through the Chief Secretary. It shall be paid within two months from today”. The Court had earlier directed the holding of an inquiry by Gurdaspur’s Sessions Judge into the disappearance of Balwinder Singh, Gurbachan Singh and Palwinder Singh. The Judge, in his report, had submitted that from evidence it appeared that the three had been abducted by the police. The inquiry was, subsequently, handed over to the Central Bureau of Investigation. Saturday 27th July, 2002 Punjab BJP leaders call on Advani at 08:44 IST by Makhan New Delhi, July 26 The Punjab BJP has accused the Congress government in the state of politically victimising its leaders. In a representation to Deputy Prime Minister L.K. Advani, state BJP leaders said the Congress government in Punjab had created an atmosphere of terror among the people, including government servants, in the name of anti-corruption movement. The leaders, who met Mr Advani today, said the corruption had been bred by the Congress which ruled the country for five decades. They said in the past five months the Amarinder government had adopted vindictive methods to tarnish the image of the BJP-Akali government. Citing the arrest of BJP leader Ashok Loomba, they alleged that political opponents were being targeted and the police was using rough methods to extract confessions. They claimed that some leaders were being framed on the basis of statements made under duress by those arrested. Pointing out that Mr Loomba belonged to a well-respected family of Ludhiana, the BJP leaders demanded that the case against him might be withdrawn and the “state government directed to stop framing cases for political vendetta.’’ Sidhu case: Punjab issued notice at 08:43 IST by Makhan Kharar, July 26 Mr Roshan Lal Chouhan, Judicial Magistrate, here today issued notice to Punjab for July 27 in an application moved by the counsel of Gurdeep Singh Manchanda who was arrested by the Vigilance on the charge of sending money belonging to Ravi Sidhu, suspended Chairman of the PPSC, abroad through hawala transactions for granting bail. The counsel in the bail application has stated that the accused was in custody since July 13 and next date of production in judicial custody before the court is August 1. He has stated that no recovery was involved in the cases registered against him. He has appealed that the accused should be ordered to be released on bail. PATIALA: All accused in the PPSC recruitment scam, including suspended Chairman Ravinderpal Singh Sidhu, former Commission Secretary Pritpal Singh, Paramjit Singh Pammi and examiners Prof Gurpal Singh and Dr Jagdish Karla were on Friday supplied with copies of the chargesheet filed against them by the Vigilance Department in the Sessions Court. District and Sessions Judge also ordered that the scrutiny of the challan would be done on August 9. Disposing off another application filed by Sidhu’s advocate Sahib Singh Dhindsa, the judge allowed him to meet Sidhu for one hour privately whenever he was brought to the court here for a hearing. Meanwhile, a demand made for provision of the copies of the statements made by Randhir Singh Dheera and Prem Sagar was also adjourned till August 9. Docs give death, not certificate at 08:43 IST by Makhan Fatehgarh Sahib, July 26 Mr Naresh Wadhwa, husband of Veena Wadhwa, a woman who was killed during a tonsillitis surgery in Civil Hospital here, is a harassed man. The hospital has refused to issue him his wife’s death certificate and told him get it from the PGI. The PGI authorities told him to obtain it from Civil Hospital here. The Civil Hospital authorities say that the woman had died in the PGI and not in this hospital. The PGI authorities said the woman had been declared brought dead and never admitted, so, a PGI certificate could not be issued. Even the post-mortem examination was not conducted in the PGI. Till today, the Civil Hospital authorities have not reported the woman’s death to the Registrar of Births and Deaths. The man said this was because his wife had died due to negligence on part of doctors. When contacted, Dr Bansal, acting SMO of the hospital, said the man should go to the PGI for the certificate and refused to say anything further. Meanwhile, various social welfare organisations have urged the local health authorities not to harass the man any further. Mr R.N. Sharma, president of the Citizens’ Welfare Council here, and Mr Varinder Takyar, a social worker, said if the authorities did not change their behaviour, there would be protests. Northern Rly XEn booked by CBI at 08:42 IST by Makhan Chandigarh, July 26 An Executive Engineer of Northern Railway, presently posted at New Delhi, has been booked by the CBI for possessing assets disproportionate to his known sources of income. CBI sleuths today conducted raids at the Patiala house of Executive Engineer, Jagtar Singh and seized documents pertaining to five properties — three at Patiala and one each at Noida and Delhi. Sources in the CBI said the evaluation of documents seized during the raid at his house revealed the properties were priced at Rs 90 lakh against his known sources of income. The Executive Engineer has two children who are studying abroad. The property was reportedly amassed between 1989 and 1996, said the sources. The officer is yet to be arrested and teams have reportedly been sent to Delhi in this regard. A case under the Prevention of Corruption Act has been registered. Withdraw cut in grants: PCCTU at 08:40 IST by Makhan Jalandhar, July 26 The Punjab and Chandigarh College Teachers’ Union today demanded the withdrawal of 10 per cent cut in grants and alleged illegal pension notification issued on July 9 by the state government. The state government has committed fraud on teachers through the pension notification which killed completely the already issued executive order regarding the pension-gratuity scheme on December 18, 1996, alleged Dr V.K. Tewari, general secretary of the union while addressing a protest rally here. The union leaders met Education Minister Khushal Behl yesterday. He agreed to disburse Rs 21.35 crore towards the UGC pay-revision arrears. He revealed adding that this was not enough and the state government must withdraw the pension notification and the proposed 10 per cent annual cut in grants. He also demanded that the entire UGC package on pay-revision including extension of revised scales to all colleges and posts as on January 1, 1996 counting of total length of service for promotion placement, benefit of past service and other benefits being given in the other states. PTI Dilemma over octroi collection at 08:34 IST by Makhan BALWANT GARGBATHINDA: The mediaeval system of taxation was brought alive when the abolition of octroi was quashed by the Punjab and Haryana High Court on April 29, this year. Once again octroi collection appears to have put the state municipal committees and corporations in a dilemma.This time the problem lies in the methods employed for octroi collection. The tax can either be collected by the municipal employees or through contractors. Interestingly, the tax amount collected by contractors is always 25 to 30 times higher than what is collected by municipal employees, according to an audit report.But the ‘‘rude methods’’ employed by contractors have always invited severe criticism. The collection by municipal employees is no better since pilferage cannot be ruled out which inevitably results in the loss of revenue.It has been observed in the report that municipal committees nearing the end of their term are opposing contractual collection of octroi.However, in committees where elections are no where near, the stress is on the privatisation of octroi collection to generate funds for the cash-stripped committees.The collection of octroi in Bathinda has always been in the midst of controversy.During 1995-1996, the Bathinda municipal committee tried both the methods of octroi collection. The average collection in a day by the MC staff was Rs 1,07,505 and the amount collected by contractors in a day amounted to Rs 1,42,222.According to the audit report of the committee, a loss of Rs 31,59,247 was suffered when the tax was collected by MC employees.During 1997-1998, the Bathinda MC suffered a revenue loss of Rs 1,07,56,550 when committee staff collected the octroi.The money collected by the Bathinda MC staff in a day was Rs 1,15,239, while the amount collected by contractors on a daily average was Rs 1,44,763.The loss of revenue on account of pilferage by MC employees is not limited to collection. There are instances when the staff have allegedly tampered with octroi receipt books.In one of the many references in the audit report, the original receipt at an octroi post showed the amount received as Rs 1,300. However, the carbon copy of the receipt (to be maintained in the committee record) showed the amount as Rs 20.The fact that a lot of revenue has been lost will not force the Bathinda MC to give the job of tax collection to contractors.This could be because the MC house is nearing the end of its term, and it does not want to earn the residents’ ire by putting ‘‘rude’’ contractors on the job. Thursday 18th July, 2002 Dheera gets bail, may turn approver at 10:14 IST by Makhan Patiala, July 17 Vigilance Bureau officials today took Randhir Singh Dheera, key accused in the PPSC’s jobs for sale scam, into custody allegedly without authority immediately after he was released from the Central Jail here. Vigilance officials, including DSP, Vigilance, Ludhiana Sarup Singh, and DSP, Vigilance, Mohali Surjit Singh Khosa today posted themselves outside the Central Jail in early morning. Another alleged tout of suspended PPSC chief Prem Sagar, recently released from jail on bail was also seen outside the jail premises. Questioned by The Tribune Prem Sagar said, he had been brought from Moga by Vigilance officials to persuade Dheera to turn approver in the case registered against suspended PPSC Chairman Ravinderpaul Singh Sidhu and members of his family besides others at Patiala on April 30. He said both, he and another accused Pammi were being harassed since their release from jail and they could not even stay at their own homes. Immediately after Dheera was released from jail at 10 a.m. his new Ford Ikon car was cammandered by DSP Khosa who sat on the back seat along with him (Dheera) and proceeded to the PWD Guest House in the city. The DSP’s vehicle followed Dheera’s car. At the PWD Rest House Dheera disclosed that Vigilance personnel were pressurising him to turn approver in the case. Prem Sagar, who was also brought to the Rest House, said he and another accused in the case Paramjit Singh Pammi were also under pressure to turn approver. Dheera said he feared that the police would haul him up in either of the two cases registered against him at Mohali and Ludhiana and could also involve his sons in fresh cases. Dheera’s lawyer said his client would not turn approver in case he was assured that he would not be harassed by the Vigilance staff. He said it was due to this reason that Dheera earlier had shown reluctance in coming out of jail adding that Vigilance personnel had been following his client’s every move outside the jail. Dheera was questioned by Vigilance personnel at the PWD Rest House till noon and then he was whisked away again with Khosa sitting in his vehicle. Dheera’s counsel claimed that Dheera had been taken to Chandigarh for meeting with Vigilance officials there. The key accused had got bail in FIR number 24 registered here on July 10. He, however, could not be released from the jail immediately because some Sections had been listed wrongly in his release warrant. Though the wrong was rectified later, he deliberately did not furnish his bail bonds in a case registered against him at Ropar. According to a PTI report Randheer Singh Dheera, a Markfed employee, today denied that he had any plans to turn approver in the alleged cash-for-job scam of the Punjab Public Service Commission (PPSC) in which he had been arrested along with suspended Chairman Ravinder Pal Singh Sidhu and 10 others. Dheera also alleged that he was kept in a cell for four days in the jail before he made the confessional statement under Section 164, Cr PC, under pressure of Vigilance Bureau officials Sangrur SSP challans MLA at 10:13 IST by Makhan SANGRUR: The car of Gurpreet Singh Kangar, an independent MLA from the Rampura Phool constituency of Bathinda, was challaned on July 15 on the direction of SSP (Sangrur) Amardeep Singh Rai when Kangar was going to Chandigarh to cast his vote for the presidential election. The reason given for the challan was that the Lancer car in which the MLA was travelling was without a number plate, but the cause lay elsewhere. According to sources, the mistake the MLA committed was that he dared to overtake the convoy of the SSP near Sangrur. Annoyed, the SSP flashed a message, directing the police to challan the car at the next check post. The policemen who stopped the car at the next check post, however, let it go after learning that the person sitting inside was an MLA. Policemen manning the post told the SSP that the car belonged to an MLA, so they did not challan it. But the SSP was determined. He again directed the police to challan the MLA at the next check post. This time, the order was carried out and the MLA handed over a challan for driving without a number plate. Upon reaching Chandigarh, it learnt, that the MLA narrated the incident to other MLAs, who raised the issue with the chief minister. The chief minister reportedly pacified the MLAs, assuring ‘‘appropriate action’’. The very next day, the challan was withdrawn. Sidhu’s remand extended at 10:10 IST by Makhan Patiala, July 17 Suspended PPSC Chairman Ravinder Pal Singh Sidhu’s judicial remand was extended till July 26 by District and Sessions Judge S.N. Aggarwal here today. Sidhu’s advocate Sahib Singh Dhindsa filed an application, seeking permission to meet his client for two hours before he was taken back to jail whenever he came for court hearing, but the Sessions Judge allowed him to meet Sidhu for one hour after every hearing. Meanwhile, in another case, the court decreed that Prof Gurpal Singh and Dr Jagdish Kalra, who were out on bail, could be summoned as and when the need arose by the court as the challan had been presented in the court. The Vigilance Department also briefed the court of the steps taken by it to know about the whereabouts of Pritpal Kaur, Sidhu’s mother, and his brother Reetinder and sister-in-law Ajinder. It said advertisements had been placed in newspapers in this regard. High Court Bar supports CJ’s action at 10:07 IST by Makhan Chandigarh, July 17 Accusing the Punjab government of pushing the PPSC recruitment scandal under the carpet of secrecy, the Punjab and Haryana High Court Bar Association today demanded that the officers transferred out of the intelligence wing should be shifted back immediately. In a “stormy” general house meeting, the association members asserted that the officers, honest to the core, were transferred soon after they provided “relevant material” to the High Court Chief Justice which facilitated him to take action against three Judges. Congratulating the Chief Justice for withdrawing work from the Judges after conducting a thorough inquiry, the members also resolved to seek the transfer of all local Judges. They further decided to meet the Chief Justice of India and the Union Law Minister for the purpose. The justice delivery system would not improve till the local Judges were transferred out, they insisted. The convening of a “national conference” of the High Court Bar Associations spread all over the country was also demanded. Action on a “second list” of Judges reportedly being “prepared by the Chief Justice” was also sought by one of the members. Addressing the gathering of over 700 advocates in the afternoon today, advocate Tahar Singh claimed that the entire exercise of unearthing the scam was initially undertaken by the intelligence wing. After the government realised the involvement of certain Judges, it reacted by saying that the intelligence wing could only do the job of “sniffing” and the investigation was to be carried out by the Vigilance Bureau. The Bureau, he stated, was now involved in “Operation Close-up”. The Bar Association, he added, should resolve to meet the authorities concerned for ensuring the posting back of the officers. “Although I am sure they will continue to work with utmost dedication and honestly wherever they are posted, their transfer back to the intelligence wing will be in the interest of justice”, he asserted. Describing the withdrawal of work from the Judges as the “first victory in 25 years of the Bar and the media”, advocate Bhim Sen Sehgal maintained that page-one editorials in The Tribune injected a powerful dose in the advocates encouraging them to stand up against the corruption in the judiciary. Alleging the adoption of a “pick and choose policy” in the elevation of Judges, Mr Sehgal suggested that the Constitution should be amended to ensure that Judges above the age of 55 were appointed and were permitted to continue for a period not exceeding seven years. They should also be asked to give details of their assets at the time of taking oath and demitting the office, he added. Seeking action against other Judges “named in another list”, advocate Navkiran Singh said, “We believe that the CJ has prepared another list, it is necessary that action should be taken against them also”. Mr Navkiran further claimed that the advocates should not react if some member claimed that lawyers close to the Judges were being favoured, as it was an “open secret”. Today’s proceedings were disturbed when a member named a retired High Court Judge. The reference was objected to by some of the advocates, leading to chaos. The situation was brought under control only after Bar Association President Hawa Singh Hooda, along with other members, intervened. Others who supported the Chief Justice’s action included Mr H. S. Gill, Ms Daya Chaudhary, Mr Surinder Lamba and Mr I. S. Balhara. They also demanded the transfer of local Judges. No monsoon, but Bhakra dam is overflowing at 10:03 IST by Makhan SURINDER AWASTHI CHANDIGARH: Amidst disturbing reports of an elusive monsoon and its fallout on agriculture, there is good news, too. Nature compensates, albeit partially. Where the reservoir level elsewhere has declined, the Bhakra reservoir level is increasing at a rate of one foot per day because of the continued melting of snow in its catchment areas. The net result of the melting is that Bhakra Beas Management Board (BBMB) is able to fully meet irrigation needs of its commandment area spread in the partner states of Punjab, Haryana and Rajasthan. Also, its power generation has shown an increase of over 30 per cent since April 2002. Against the target of 2,753 million units, BBMB has produced 3,893 million units till date and this is despite the relatively poor performance at Pong dam. In stark contrast, the water level at Thein dam this year is 13 metres lower than last year’s (which was its first filling year). Instead of releasing 11,000 cusec water in mid-July, the management is releasing only 5,369 cusecs and accordingly power generation, too, had been affected. In all, Punjab State Electricity Board (PSEB) is generating only 117 lakh units per day from its hydro-projects against a target of 173 units, registering a shortfall in the vicinity of 40 per cent. Revenue officials bring Punjab govt to knees at 10:00 IST by Makhan BALWANT GARG BATHINDA: It was meant to be a grand exercise to eradicate corruption in Punjab. Starting from Punjab Public Service Commission (PPSC), the new chief minister seemed to be more than eager to stem out the big banyan tree of corruption. But once the all-powerful vigilance department started taking action against the revenue department of the state this month, the widespread agitation by the revenue officials against the move brought the government to its knees. The revenue department is one of the government departments in the state which are notorious for corruption. On Tuesday, chief minister Amarinder Singh assured the protesting revenue officials that their offices would be raided only after taking the deputy commissioner into confidence. The chief minister reportedly regretted the inconvenience caused to the officials following the vigilance raid. With the revenue officials on a statewide strike for the last one week to protest against the vigilance move, the already the state has further deteriorated. The other worrisome fallout is that the revenue officials have decided to come in direct confrontation with the vigilance department by exposing the ill-gotten wealth and property of the vigilance officials. The state government is perturbed and wants to defuse the tension between the two departments. On Monday, the state chief secretary called a delegation of Punjab Revenue Officers Association and arranged a meeting between them and the chief minister on Tuesday. According to the vigilance department sources, during the last five years, the maximum cases of corruption were registered against revenue officials in the state. During 1997, 1998, 1999 and 2000, the number of revenue officials caught red handed accepting bribes was 38, 42, 31 and 18 respectively. Out of a total of 707 cases registered under the Prevention of Corruption Act during these four years, 129 cases were against the revenue officials only. Tohra echoing CM’s views: Dhindsa at 09:53 IST by Makhan Chandigarh, July 17 Senior Akali leaders, Mr Sukhdev Singh Dhindsa and Mr Balwinder Singh Bhunder, today regretted that Mr Gurcharan Singh Tohra has allowed himself to become “his master’s voice” in his dealings with the Chief Minister, Capt Amarinder Singh. “Mr Tohra seems to have even forgotten the fact of his being a veteran compared with the CM and has confined his role to implementing the Congress agenda in Punjab at the behest of the Captain.” “However, even after openly springing to each other’s defence against Mr Parkash Singh Badal, both Mr Gurcharan Singh Tohra and Capt Amarinder Singh have failed to carry conviction with the masses, failing to answer any of the serious charges levelled against them by highly respected and non-political individuals,” said Mr Dhindsa and Mr Bhunder, Secretary-General and General Secretary of the SAD, respectively. In a statement here today, the Akali leaders said the strategy of the Tohra-Amarinder nexus was quite simple. Mr Tohra would defend the Chief Minister against charges of corruption by blaming everything on Mr Badal. Capt Amarinder Singh, for his part, would bail out Tohra on charges of complicity with intelligence agencies by blaming militancy on Mr Badal. The strategy, however, had boomeranged on both. “Mr Tohra has mortgaged his soul, mind and body to Amarinder Singh to such an extent that he cannot even think of words different from those used by the Chief Minister. “If Capt Amarinder Singh calls Mr Badal a coward and blames militancy on him, Mr Tohra echoes not only the same views but even the same words. Even a cursory look at the reactions of the two leaders on the Judicial Commission issue, the DSGMC poll, vendetta against Akali workers or the mystery of the missing crores is enough to establish that the former SGPC chief had been reduced to echoing his master’s voice.” The two leaders alleged that even the arrangements for Mr Tohra’s failed press conference were made by the Chief Minister’s personal staff. “It is amusing how Mr Tohra has become a spokesman for the Chief Minister in the scandal involving the disappearance of crores of rupees from bank lockers in the recruitment scam. The Akali leaders reminded Capt Amarinder Singh that he had himself been among the first to make such allegations against Mr Tohra in the past. Mr Dhindsa and Mr Bhunder further observed that the parallels in the situation and stands of these “stalwarts” were truly amazing. “Captain Amarinder Singh is facing serious allegations from his own officers regarding financial corruption amounting to crores in the Ravi Sidhu affair. Now Bhai Ranjit Singh has also come forth with conclusive evidence that Tohra men bought Congress support in the Delhi Sikh Gurdwara Management Committee elections by giving the party ticket to ‘killers’ of innocent Sikhs in 1984. Neither Mr Tohra nor Captain Amarinder Singh have been able to answer these charges or to give any convincing explanation on why their own men have turned against them on issues of integrity and political morality.” When Operation Black Thunder came, Capt Amarinder Singh’s suspicious role in joining the Akali Dal had already been exposed through his open friendship with the Rajiv Gandhi clan. “He is the last person from whom Tohra should seek support on issues concerning issues of the Sikhs versus the Congress. Similarly, Amarinder Singh could also do without certificates of honesty and war against corruption from Tohra and his lieutenants like Mr Prem Singh Chandumajra, Mr Dhindsa and Mr Bhunder said. But the unholy alliance was doomed from the start as the two men share nothing except their opportunism and disregard for values,” the Akali leaders said.” Mr Dhindsa and Mr Bhunder further said it was a tribute to the incomparable stature of Mr Badal that Mr Tohra and Capt Amarinder Singh do not even have the confidence to take on Mr Badal without each other’s help. By alleging that Mr Badal was the only stumbling block in the way of a resolution of the Punjab problem, both have indirectly conceded that they could not push their pro-Congress agenda because of Mr Badal’s towering presence. “The real stumbling block, however, was the Congress leadership in Punjab and in Delhi which wanted to punish Punjab for its role during the Emergency days,” the two leaders added. Amritsar ex-DC ready to appear before Akal Takht at 09:48 IST by Makhan Amritsar, July 17 Mr Sarbjit Singh, former Deputy Commissioner, who is the author of the controversial book “Operation Black Thunder — an Eyewitness Account of Militancy in Punjab” has offered to appear before Akal Takht to clarify his position on the facts mentioned in the book. Addressing a press conference at his residence here today, Mr Sarbjit Singh said, “Let Mr Gurcharan Singh Tohra be installed as Jathedar, Akal Takht, and even then he was prepared to appear before him”. He said the book was “first-hand information” and hence could not be contradicted. However, he said Mr Tohra was not the only one who knew about the impending Operation Bluestar, but Mr Parkash Singh Badal, Sant Harchand Singh Longowal, Sant Jarnail Singh Bhinderanwale too had an inkling about it. This was why Sant Longowal recruited one lakh “marjiwras” (do-and-die squad) and Sant Bhinderanwale called Gen Shubeg Singh to fortify Akal Takht. He denied that he had written the book to malign anybody as alleged by Mr Tohra. Meanwhile, Mr Tarlochan Singh, Vice-Chairman, Minorities Commission, described the allegations of Mr Tohra as “baseless” that the book was written as his behest. He said the fact was that he had not met Mr Sarbjit Singh for quite sometime. However, he welcomed the book and said such books must be written by all those who were directly involved in Operation Bluestar and Operation Blackthunder. On the other hand, Mr Harmindner Singh Gill, President, All India Sikh Students Federation, alleged that the publication of the controversial book was part of a big conspiracy. He said Mr Badal wanted to defame Mr Tohra. Friday 12th July, 2002 Petrol dearer in Punjab at 09:41 IST by Makhan Chandigarh, July 11 The Punjab Government today issued a notification of a Re 1 infrastructure cess per litre of petrol, as per the state’s annual Budget for the ongoing fiscal year. All petrol stations in Punjab would now sell petrol at a price higher by Re 1 per litre with immediate effect following the issuance of this notification, an official note said here today. UNI HC notice to Badal, others in PPSC case at 09:38 IST by Makhan CHANDIGARH: A writ petition seeking, among other things, a direction to former chief minister Parkash Singh Badal, to clarify as to how suspended PPSC chairman Ravinder Pal Singh Sidhu’s name was recommended for appointment as member of Union public service commission (UPSC), came up for consideration on Thursday at Punjab and Haryana High Court. Significantly, the petitioners have sought the high court’s intervention to direct authorities concerned to allow relaxation in the age limit for all those candidates who despite possessing merit and qualification were left out in various selections by the PPSC under Sidhu. The petitioners have also urged that those responsible for delay in investigating the PPSC recruitment scam should be brought to book. After hearing preliminary arguments, the division bench of Justices S S Nijjar and Kiran Anand Lall, issued notice to Punjab chief secretary, Punjab public service commission (PPSC), director general police, additional director general, vigilance, and former chief minister Parkash Singh Badal, listed by petitioners Harjinder Singh and three others, for July 29. Dangi plea to quash proceedings: Justice Ashutosh Mohunta of the Punjab and Haryana High Court, on Thursday, issued a notice to the state of Haryana and others for August 5 on the writ petition preferred by former Haryana minister Anand Singh Dangi to stay and quash proceedings pending before the special judge, Ambala. The proceedings pertain to three cases registered by the state vigilance bureau against Dangi under Prevention of Corruption Act at Ambala, Rohtak and Hisar. Bhajan Lal plea to quash FIR : Justice Adarsh Kumar Goel, on Thursday, issued notice for September 17 to the state of Haryana and other respondents on a writ petition filed by former Haryana chief minister Bhajan Lal for quashing an FIR registered against him. The judge also directed the investigating officer to bring the record of the case. Sonia urged to let CM continue as PPCC chief at 09:37 IST by Makhan Patiala, July 11 The Patiala District Congress Committee (DCC) today issued a statement saying that Capt Amarinder Singh should continue as PPCC president to keep the party “effective, united and result oriented”. In a communique to AICC President Sonia Gandhi and other leaders, DCC (urban) president Ved Prakash Gupta, while forwarding the “sentiments” of Congress workers, said the rank and file of the party wanted Capt Amarinder Singh to continue as the PPCC president and that any change could prove harmful for the party. Mr Gupta said because of the state’s proximity to the border Punjab should be treated as a special case and the Chief Minister be allowed to continue as the PPCC president as well. He said that former Chief Minister Beant Singh was able to achieve targets only because the high command had allowed him to hold the dual charges of the Chief Minister and the PPCC chief. BJP to play role of model Oppn: Jaiswal at 09:31 IST by Makhan Phillaur, July 11 The BJP will support any agitation launched by the Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) against the wrong, vindictive, and anti-people policies adopted by the Congress government in Punjab. This was stated by the Punjab BJP Organisational General Secretary, Mr Avinash Jaiswal while talking to this correspondent here today. He said though the BJP had decided to play a role of model opposition, but it would not tolerate any excesses on SAD-BJP workers. He alleged that law and order situation was deteriorating in the state due to the wrong policies of the Congress. Mr Jaiswal said the BJP was being strengthened at the village and town level in the state and its base would be expanded from 5000 villages to all 12,500 villages in the state. He said district-level meetings of the BJP had been held in 20 districts of the state, and block level meeting of the party would be held in 140 blocks in August. A state-level meeting of the Punjab unit of the BJP and its morchas would be held at Tarn Taran on July 14, which would be addressed by Punjab BJP affairs in charge Mr Sangh Priya Gautam. Monday 1st July, 2002 No evidence against 3 judges in PSC case at 09:08 IST by Makhan AJAY BHARADWAJ CHANDIGARH: While Chief Justice of Punjab and Haryana High Court AB Saharya has administered reprimand to three sitting judges for allegedly influencing former PPSC chairman Ravinder Pal Singh Sidhu in the PCS selections, the Vigilance Bureau is still grappling to assimilate tenable evidence against any of them. In fact, according to the Vigilance officials, the names of only two judges have surfaced so far during the course of investigation. ‘‘Even in their case too, we have yet to garner evidence which could conclusively put the two judges in the dock’’, said a senior official, who expressed surprise at the inclusion of the name of the third sitting judge among the list of the accused. ‘‘Ravi Sidhu’s touts during their confessional statements did name two sitting judges for influencing PCS selections, but the third name is something that never cropped up during the investigation’’, he added. The Vigilance’s findings thus are in stark contradiction to the facts and evidence assimilated by the outgoing team of Intelligence officials on the basis of which additional director general of police AP Bhatnagar had submitted his report to the chief justice. It is on the basis of Bhatnagar’s report that the chief justice decided to bar the three sitting judges, Justice ABS Gill, Justice ML Singhal and Justice MS Gill, from official work of the court. Bhatnagar told Times News Network that he did not know what had been the findings of the Vigilance Bureau, but the evidence and facts collected by the then team of Intelligence officials clearly put the three judges in the dock. Though IG (Vigilance) Chandra Shekhar was asked by the chief justice to assist Bhatnagar in collecting details about the judges’ conduct, he was practically kept out of the factfinding mission of the Intelligence. At this stage it is not sure whether the Vigilance officials would pick up any threads from the Bhatnagar report which formed basis of the chief justice’s action. Incidentally, Bureau and the Intelligence had had their first bout of confrontation over the involvement of judges in the multi-crore bribery scam. The Intelligence officials had felt that the interrogation reports of the key touts, Jagman Singh and Randhir Singh Dheera, were being tailored by the Vigilance Bureau in order to give benifit of doubt to the sitting judges. It was at this stage that the names of judges started circulating in the media with conflicting versions emanating from both the agencies attracting the chief justice’s attention to the crisis. It is learnt that the Vigilance Bureau did not furnish any details about the involvement of judges in the case following which the chief justice entrusted the task to Bhatnagar. SGPC hands over probe to Akal Takht at 09:06 IST by Makhan AMRITSAR: The Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee (SGPC) has decided to hand over the case of its assistant information officer Narinderpal Singh to Akal Takht for investigation and taking any decision. ‘‘Till then the officer would be placed under suspension,’’ said SGPC president Kirpal Singh Badungar. Narinderpal was caught red-handed while warding off evil spirit at a dera a few days ago. Badungar said, ‘‘In past, SGPC had failed to take the cooperation of other Sikh bodies like Nihang organisations and Singh Sabhas, due to which the committee had lacked in delivering its basic objective of Dharam Parchar. He said the SGPC had now set up staff training institutes where SGPC employees would undergo training. Mann to raise rice scam in Parliament at 09:05 IST by Makhan Chander Parkash Bathinda, June 30 The scam pertaining to the diversion of export category rice to domestic markets by export firms in connivance with rice mill owners and officials which came to light in the Food Corporation of India (FCI) in the district and other parts of state will be taken up in Parliament in the coming session by Mr Simranjit Singh Mann, MP and President, SAD (Amritsar), as he alleged that the FCI authorities has succumbed to the pressure of the “export lobby”. Mr Mann alleged that road movement of export category rice from various parts of Punjab to ports located in Mumbai and Kandla was suspended after the scam came to light, had been started again by the higher FCI authorities under pressure from the “export lobby”. A major scam, running into crores and involving illegal diversion of export category rice to local markets through and alleged nexus between rice mill owners, export firms and FCI officials was unearthed by the district police on June 18. Similar scams have also allegedly taken place at Sangrur and Ferozepore districts of Punjab, which had been reported in the media. The FCI authorities, which swung into action after The Tribune exposed the rice diversion scam, constituted a two-member panel to probe the role of FCI officials into the alleged scam and suspended the road movement of rice from Punjab to various ports. Though the different Central and state agencies, which have been tasked to probe the scam, are yet to submit their findings to the authorities concerned, the FCI authorities have once again allowed the road movement of export category rice to various ports from Punjab. After suspending the road movement of rice, the Punjab regional office of the FCI sought the permission of the higher FCI authorities for restarting the same. A week after the suspension of the road movement of rice, the FCI authorities allowed it be restored. Mr Mann while talking to TNS today said he had been collecting all relevant documents pertaining to the rice diversion scam to raise the matter in the coming session of Parliament. He added that a higher FCI authorities were involved into this scam, it was being hushed up. Sources said the FCI authorities had allowed the road movement of rice for clearance of stock which had been choking the storage space and to make enough space for storing the rice to be delivered by the millers after the next milling, which would start around October or November. They added that road movement had been allowed only to those export firms which had submitted bank guarantees and made advance payments to the FCI authorities in lieu of rice. In other cases, road movement would not be allowed. The district police, which exposed the rice diversion scam, seized about 36 trucks loaded with rice bags from six rice mills located in the district. The rice seized by the police was meant for export through an export firm namely Sharp Menthol India Limited. The Sharp Menthol India Limited, a Delhi-based export firm, was blacklisted by the FCI authorities after the scam was unearthed. Information gathered by TNS revealed that the rice mill owners had been selling better quality rice, to be delivered to the FCI in lieu of paddy taken from it for milling, in the open market at high rates. They would replenish their stock by purchasing rice from export firms at their doorsteps at a small premium. In this way, both rice mill owners and export firms, which had been getting rice from the FCI under export category at very low prices, had been minting money. The sources said in the past more than two years, more than 35 lakh metric tonnes (MT) of rice had been sold by the FCI to export firms under the export category rice. How much quantity of export category rice had illegally been diverted to the local markets by export firms will be known only after a probe by an independent agency. Punjab reverts 31 District Education Officers at 09:03 IST by Makhan Prabhjot Singh Chandigarh, June 30 In an endeavour to cleanse the Education Department of “ad hocism,” favouritism and nepotism, the Punjab Government has ordered the reversion of 31 District Education Officers, both Secondary and Primary , to their substantive ranks, besides making “merit-cum-seniority” the sole criterion for appointments at the senior level. As a sequel to this major policy decision, 60 Circle Education Officers (CEOs), Deputy CEOs, District Education Officers (DTEOs), both Secondary and Primary, were either reverted, transferred or given fresh postings today. The decision to revert to the “merit-cum-seniority” policy, says Mr Khushal Bahl, Education Minister, was necessitated because of the “total chaotic atmosphere” prevailing in the department for the past four or five years. Talking to The Tribune, Mr Bahl said that juniormost members of the Punjab Education Service Class II (Schools and Inspection Cadre) were posted as District Education Officers while the seniormost and meritorious Principals were ignored. The new policy would be strictly implemented. “And those who do not fulfil the merit-cum-seniority criterion have been shown the door and replaced by more competent, experienced and meritorious seniors,” said Mr Bahl, revealing that some of those who entered the PES Class-II (School and Inspection Cadre) only in 1999 and lacked adequate experience of even running a secondary school as Principal “manipulated” to get the coveted and responsible post of District Education Officer. A DEO is expected to implement the policies and programmes of the government and supervise hundreds of schools within his or her jurisdiction. “The old policy of ‘ad hocism’, favouritism and nepotism resulted in utter demoralisation in the cadre of Principals as juniormost members of the cadre started writing the ACRs of their seniors. Such a situation led to indiscipline,” he added. “We have also decided to concentrate on primary education. To strengthen primary education, seniormost PES Class-II officers have been posted as DEOs (Primary), both in big and educationally backward districts. “In the coming years the role of the DEO(Primary) will become very important as he or she will be the key officer in the district for implementing the Sarv Siksha Abhiyan, aimed at admitting all children in the 6-14 age group to schools in a time-bound manner. “Unfortunately, the number of absolute illiterates has been on the increase. Against 62.39 lakh illiterates in 1991, the number increased to 63.80 lakh in 2001. And there are 2.97 lakh children in the 6-14 age group who are still out of school in Punjab,” Mr Bahl added. Meanwhile, the following transfers and postings have been ordered in the Education Department: Circle Education Officers Mr Jaskartar Singh becomes Principal, GISTC, Faridkot, and, in addition, CEO Faridkot; Mr Rajinder Kumar will be CEO, Nabha; Mr L.R. Lakha will be the new CEO, Jalandhar. Deputy CEOs Ms Gulshanveer Kaur goes to Jalandhar as Deputy CEO while Ms Charanjit Kaur will be the new Deputy CEO, Nabha. District Education Officers (Secondary) Mr Avinash Chander Sethi — Moga; Mr Baldev Krishan Mittal — Ferozepore; Mr Sohan Lal Goyal — Muktsar; M Avtar Singh — Mansa; Mr Krishan Chand Kapoor — Nawan Shahr; Mr Bachittar Singh — Ludhiana; Mr Ujagar Singh Mahi — Ropar; Ms Iqbal Kaur — Fatehgarh Sahib; Ms Sukhmander Kaur — Faridkot; Ms Sudesh Handa — Kapurthala; Ms Bhupinder Kaur — Patiala; Mr Ashok Kumar Sachdeva — Sangrur; Mr Avtar Singh — Hoshiarpur; Mr Gurpartap Singh Guri — Amritsar; Ms Surinder Kataria — Bathinda; Mr Avtar Singh — Gurdaspur; Mr Raunak Ram — Jalandhar. DEOs (Primary) Mr Yah Pal Gulati — Amritsar; Mr Gian Singh Basra — Faridkot; Mr Yash Pal Mehra — Ferozepore; M Chander Hans Puri — Bathinda; Mr Harbans Lal Sodhi — Hoshiarpur; Mr Ved Parkash — Sangrur; Ms Jatinder Kaur — Jalandhar; Ms Veena Sharma — Ludhiana; Ms Mohinder Kaur — Fatehgarh Sahib; Ms Veena Gupta — Patiala; Ms Tejinder Kaur Shillon — Kapurthala; Mr Palwinder Singh — Mansa. DEOs reverted to their substantive ranks Mr Surinder Pal Singh Dhillon, Ms Usha Rani Sidhu, Mr Harbhajan Singh Bhullar, Mr Dalip Singh, Mr Ashok Kumar Bhalla, Ms Harjit Kaur, Mr Davinder Pal Singh, Mr Ajmer Singh, Ms Kulraj Kaur, Mr Kharag Singh Cheema, Ms Parkash Kaur, Mr Babu Lal, Ms Gurjit Kaur, Ms Parkash Kaur, Mr Raj Singh, Ms Bhupinder Kaur, Ms Pritpal Kaur, Mr Pritpal Singh Walia, Ms Gurminder Kaur, Mr Surinder Nibber, Mr Darshan Singh Brar, Mr Jaswant Rai, Mr Amrit Singh and Ms Raj Kumari. Saturday 29th June, 2002 Wheat stolen from godown seized at 10:21 IST by Makhan Officials of Markfed, Panchayati Dept ‘involved’ Ropar, June 28 A scam involving Panchayati Department and Markfed officials has come to light, with the local police early today seizing two truckloads of wheat allegedly stolen from Markfed godown in Chamkaur Sahib and arresting five persons. The SSP, Ropar, Mr G.P.S. Bhullar, in a press conference held here, said on a tip-off, a police party intercepted two trucks carrying 440 bags of wheat worth about Rs 2.5 lakh. The bags were allegedly being shifted from the Chamkaur Sahib godown of Markfed to Anandpur Sahib. The wheat was stolen by Jasbir Singh, a field officer of Markfed, in connivance with Jasmir Singh, a traffic constable, Harbhajan Singh, a watchman of Markfed’s plinths in Chamkaur Sahib and the two truck drivers, Harnek Singh and Jaswant Singh. The arrested Markfed official revealed that the stolen wheat was being taken to Anandpur Sahib to meet the shortfall in stocks under the Antyodaya programme. Officials of the Panchayati Department posted at the BDO office, Anandpur Sahib, had allegedly sold the wheat meant for the Antyodaya programme or the food-for-work programme in their area in the open market. The newly elected Zila Parishad ordered an stock verification of wheat lying under the programme. Fearing that the theft of wheat might be exposed, Panchayati Department officials contacted Jasbir Singh, field officer of Markfed, to help them deal with the situation. Jasbir Singh allegedly stole the wheat from the plinth under his charge and was in the process of shifting the stock to Anandpur Sahib when the police apprehended him. The SSP further said that as per rules, foodgrains from Markfed godowns could only be moved in the presence of two responsible officials. However, in this case, Jasbir Singh, in connivance with the watchman, illegally moved the wheat bags out of the plinths. The police has confiscated the entire record and sealed the plinth from which the wheat was stolen. The police has arrested and booked Jasbir Singh, along with his accomplices, under Sections 406, 379 and 120 B of the IPC. Two junior engineers of the Panchayati Department, Maheshwar and Naresh Kumar, have also being booked. The SSP said both were absconding. It is worth mentioning here that The Tribune reported a fake muster roll racket in the Panchayati Department recently. Investigations by The Tribune had unearthed an illegal practice being followed by some Panchayati Department officials. As per the guidelines of the Centre, development works in rural areas had to be carried out involving local labour. Under the employment assurance scheme, local labourers had to be paid half of their labour in cash and the other half in the form of foodgrains. However, Panchayati Department officials got the works done on contract in connivance with some sarpanches. The foodgrains meant for distribution among the local labour were sold in the open market and the profit pocketed by officials. Meanwhile, the Deputy Commissioner, Ms Seema Jain, has also directed the Secretary, Zila Parishad, to verify the wheat stocks under the assured employment scheme. Amritsar club debars Bedi at 09:57 IST by Makhan AMRITSAR: Local Service Club has denied entry to former caption of Indian cricket team Bishan Singh Bedi. The club authorities, under instruction from the club president, have pasted a notice which reads: ‘Bishan Singh Bedi (ex captain, Indian cricket team) is debarred from the club. No service will be give to him even as a guest. Instructions are to be followd strictly.’ In turn, Bedi, who is currently in the city for a cricket workshop, was ‘‘flabbergasted’’ to know of the notice. ‘‘I have nothing to do with the Service Club. I am not even a member,’’ he said. Club president Sarabjit Singh Sandhu alleged that the club had on several occassions honoured Bedi as a guest but ‘‘recently when we met in Delhi, he denied knowing me and refused to shake hands.’’ Sandhu said that having been humiliated in front of other dignitaries, he had taken up the issue with the club’s executive committee, which decided to debar Bedi from the club. Bedi admitted to meeting Sandhu at a function in Delhi but claimed that since it was a ‘shok sabha’ there was no need for formalities. Bedi said he would seek legal advice against the defamatory notice and the slanderous accusations by the club. Cong flays move on NDA team at 09:56 IST by Makhan Amritsar, June 28 A former General Secretary of the PPCC, Ms Ratna, today condemned the SAD-BJP combine for requesting the Central Government for sending an NDA team to Punjab for looking into cases of alleged harassment of their leaders. Senior Congress leader felt that in case the NDA government accedes to their request it would tantamount to interference in the working of the duly elected state government. Lauding the efforts of the Chief Minister Capt Amarinder Singh, in rooting out corruption in the state involving the former Akali ministers, she said Mr Parkash Singh Badal was crying foul as it was he who had allowed corruption to flourish and encouraged ministers and his family to amass a huge amount of wealth. She said the entire party was behind the Chief Minister. PAIC will not be disinvested: Bhattal at 09:53 IST by Makhan CHANDIGARH: Punjab agriculture minister Rajinder Kaur Bhattal has categorically stated that Punjab Agro Industries Corporations (PAIC) would not be disinvested but would continue to serve the farmers of Punjab. Bhattal made her announcement on the eve of signing of a MOU between PAIC and ICICI Bank Limited here on Thursday. The MoU is to develop agri business in Punjab and encourage infra-structure development including post-harvesting technology. Also present were finance and planning minister Lal Singh, minister of state for agriculture and Parliamentary secretary Mohinder S Rinwa. ‘‘Half the Punjab cabinet present here is committing that PAIC will not be packed up,’’ said Bhattal, in variance with the recommendation of the disinvestment commission. Bhattal highlighted the need for diversification and described the MoU as a major step in this direction because it would provide credit support to farmers, development of post harvest infra-structure and assist farmers in introduction of new crops. Punjab offers jobs to Kargil heroes, kin at 09:50 IST by Makhan A. S. Prashar Chandigarh, June 28 In pursuance to its general policy intent to expedite the implementation of the schemes relating to the welfare of ex-servicemen and their families, the Punjab Government today took a major decision to offer employment to 20 disabled soldiers of the Kargil Operations and their dependents under its scheme of “Honour and Gratitude”. Formal recommendations in this regard were made at a meeting of the Empowered Committee, held under the chairmanship of the Chief Secretary, Mr Y.S. Ratra, yesterday. Giving details, Mr K.B.S. Sidhu, Secretary, Defence Services Welfare, told Tribune News Service that former Lt Bikramjit Singh had been recommended for appointment to the PCS (Executive Branch). He had suffered 60 per cent disability in the operations in J & K on March 1, 2001. The committee resolved to offer the post of PCS (Executive Branch) to Mrs Anjali Dada, wife of the late Major Raman Dada. Major Dada had been conferred the Kirti Chakra posthumously for his act of gallantry in the Kargil Operations. The committee also recommended the appointment of Mrs Rajneesh Kaur as District Food and Supplies Officer. Her husband, Naik Jasbir Singh, had suffered 100 per cent disability, being blinded in Operation Vijay. Ex-Lance Naik Kashmir Singh, ex- Naik Daljit Singh and ex-Sep Mukhtiar Singh (all with 60 per cent disability) were offered the post of Inspector in the Department of Food and Supplies, while the brother of the late Sep Mustakh Khan was offered a similar post in the Excise and Taxation Department. Mr Sidhu, who is also the convener of the Empowered Committee, stated that his own department had taken a major initiative in offering posts of senior assistant to two widows of ex-servicemen who had attained martyrdom in Operation Vijay, apart from two disabled ex-servicemen, and in one case, a dependent brother. The other departments in which the eligible persons had been accommodated included the offices of Deputy Commissioners and Chief Medical Officers in various districts, as well as the Punjab State Electricity Board and the Municipal Council, Nangal. The committee also issued directives to the administrative departments concerned to post the selected persons at stations of their choice for a period of at least five years. Instructions were also issued to a few departments where previous recommendations of the committee had been held up on account of some difficulties. Mr Sidhu stated that the government had already relaxed the educational qualifications in the case of all Group C posts to matriculation and for Groups A and B to graduation, in such cases. The requirement, if any, of previous experience under the service rules had also been waived and the same held good for acquiring knowledge of the Punjabi language. The others who attended the meeting included Mr Bhagat Singh, Financial Commissioner (Revenue), Mr P. K. Verma, Financial Commissioner (Development), Mr Ramesh Nayyar, Secretary, Finance (Expenditure), and Mrs Kalpana Mittal Baruah, Secretary, Personnel. Friday 28th June, 2002 Sidhu embezzled secret funds: VB at 09:32 IST by Makhan PATIALA: The case registered against Punjab Public Service Commission (PPSC) chairman Ravinder Pal Singh Sidhu on April 30 at the police station of the Vigilance Bureau took an other turn on Thursday when the Bureau told the court that Sidhu had embezzled Rs 11.60 lakh from a secret fund of the PPSC for which section 409 of the IPC had been included in the case. On this ground, the Vigilance Bureau sought that his police remand be extended by seven days. On June 22, the court had remanded him to police custody till June 27. The court extended his police remand till July 1. The Bureau, on the statement of Karam Singh - an employee in the accounts section of the PPSC, told the court that Sidhu had withdrawn the said amount 23 times during September 9, 1996 to 2000 without giving any details. A team of assistant public prosecutors of DK Garg, GS Sandhu and Sukhchain Singh also told the court that during the police remand Sidhu did not cooperate with the Bureau saying that he had 'right of silence'. On the other hand, Sidhu's counsel Sahib Singh Dhindsa said the investigating agencies could not compel a person to give evidence against himself. It was the duty of the investigating agency to prove the charges levelled against him, he submitted. Dhindsa also alleged that the Vigilance Bureau was not getting his medical examination conducted properly. The court directed the Bureau to follow the orders of the court. Meanwhile, responding to an application by the Vigilance Bureau, the local court declared Ravinder Pal Singh Sidhu's mother Pritpal Kaur, brother Reetinder Singh, sister-in-law Arjinder Kaur, and an alleged tout Shamsher Singh as proclaimed offenders. The Bureau told the court that they had conducted raids to arrest these persons for questioning, but they could not be apprehended. Court has also issued warrants against them and directed the Bureau to report on July 17. Sidhu, through his defence counsel also filed an application in the court that he be provided basic amenities and facilities like medically prescribed diet, bath, bedding, fan and proper clothing and adequate sitting space in the transportation vehicle. Besides, he also sought proper medical check-up and treatment of skin infection and rashes. The court directed the concerned authorities to provide him the basic amenities and proper facilities. PTU, Thapar counselling dates clash at 09:30 IST by Makhan Bathinda, June 27 First it was Baba Farid University of Health Sciences, Faridkot, and now it is the turn of Punjab Technical University, (PTU), Jalandhar, to frame rules that seem to favour mediocre students. The PTU cancelled the counselling date at the eleventh hour and issued a public notice on June 25 stating that the counselling for B. Tech/BE and B. Arch courses, scheduled for June 26, had been postponed to July 8. The new date clashes with the counselling date of Thapar College of Engineering and Technology, Patiala. Information revealed that this year Thapar College had disassociated itself from the Punjab common entrance test conducted by the PTU for admission to various engineering colleges and had announced that the students would be admitted on the basis of their ranks obtained in the All-India Common Engineering Entrance Test conducted by the CBSE. The authorities of Thapar College entered into an understanding with the CBSE to declare ranks of the students from Punjab separately. The result of the CEET conducted by the CBSE was declared on June 19 and the students were given two ranks, one All-India rank and the other the Punjab one. A session of parents and professors contacted by The Tribune pointed out that Thapar College had disassociated itself from the Punjab CET as the examination had lost its credibility over the past few years. They added that even after adopting the CEET ranks, the college would be admitting 85 per cent of the students from Punjab. They alleged that the PTU authorities had changed the date of counselling deliberately to penalise brilliant students who wanted to get admission in Thapar College. “Unlike the MBBS course where only the quality of education provided by the medical college matters, in case of an engineering college, the line in which a student was admitted also mattered,” Mr Mohit Aggarwal, father of a student, said. Some engineering aspirants who have scored decent ranks in the CEET said if they went for the counselling of Thapar College and were not able to get admission in good courses, they would miss out on PTU courses also. No senior official was available for comments at the PTU and Thapar College. Akalis at the receiving end at 09:22 IST by Makhan Sarbjit Dhaliwal Chandigarh, June 27 The Akalis were at the receiving end in the Budget session of the Punjab Assembly that ended last evening. Congress legislators had a clear strategy. They systematically attacked the previous SAD-BJP government, making the former Chief Minister, Mr Parkash Singh Badal, the main target. The Akalis had no definite strategy or plan to counter the Congress attack. In fact, there was a whole lot of opportunities available to the Akalis to put the Congress on the mat. But they failed to do so. The issue of the freezing of certain allowances of employees is a burning issue. Of course, Akalis pitched in for the employees in the Assembly,. But they had the opportunity to do a lot more on the issue. Confrontation between the Akalis and the Congress in the House is a clear pointer that the political temperature will go up further in the days to come. Mr Badal, and his senior party colleagues like Capt Kanwaljit Singh, Mr Adesh Partap Singh and Mr Balwinder Singh Bhunder made several efforts to extend the hand of friendship and cooperation to Capt Amarinder Singh and his party in the House. But there was no response. Instead, Capt Amarinder Singh said that he would continue to pursue his “Vigilance Bureau line” to root out corruption, the political meaning of which is to “set the Akalis right.” The Congress approach is to demoralise the Akalis associated with Mr Badal to the extent possible. As the issue of corruption appeals most to the public, to whip Akali leaders on the issue fits in with the scheme of things of the Congress. Mr Badal and his nephew, Mr Manpreet Badal, tried their best to put the Congress on the defensive on the corruption issue. The senior Badal swore on the floor of the House that he had not taken a single penny as bribe to get any work done for anyone. In fact, Mr Manpreet Badal was the first to raise this issue. Appearing emotional, Mr Manpreet Badal was the first to swear that he had not taken even five paise as bribe till date and would keep the slate clean in the future. He challenged the Congress Ministers sitting on the two front rows of the Treasury Benches to say on oath that they had never taken a bribe. Except for Mr Avtar Henry, no Minister stood up to accept Mr Manpreet Badal’s challenge. Most of the questions came from Congress MLAs during question hour. And it provided them with an opportunity to take to task their own Ministers. Mr Malkiat Singh Birmi was the best in doing so. He did not spare anyone while asking supplementaries to Ministers. He came to the House after doing proper homework and asked pointed supplementaries to put Ministers in an awkward position. Mr Birdevinder Singh also did the same. Both Mr Birmi and Mr Birdevinder Singh asked sharp supplementaries to the Public Works Minister, Mr Partap Singh Bajwa, who is said to have emerged as a close confidant of Capt Amarinder Singh in the recent past. In fact, in the absence of Capt Amarinder Singh, Mr Bajwa replied to questions on Capt Amarinder Singh’s behalf, though Mrs Rajinder Kaur Bhattal and the Parliamentary Affairs Minister, Chowdhary Jagjit Singh used to be present in the House. The Akalis came out with a few questions and supplementaries. Most of the questions were asked by two Congress legislators, Mr Joginder Singh Mann and Prof Darbari Lal . From the SAD, Capt Balbir Singh Bath asked the maximum number of questions. All Bills presented in the House were passed without discussion. In a democracy this should not happen. Akali and BJP legislators had staged a walkout before the taking up of Bills by the House. There are several clauses in the Punjab Infrastructure (Development and Regulation) Act, 2002, that will affect people in the state, especially businessmen. But no one from the Treasury Benches stood up to seek clarifications from the Minister concerned. A Congress MLA, Mrs Razia Sultana’s maiden speech created a flutter among the Treasury Benches. Pleading the cause of the minorities, especially Muslims and Christians, in chaste Urdu, she said that justice had not been done to them in the Budget. It proved a bit embarrassing for the Finance Minister. She also made a veiled but pointed attack on Mr Parkash Singh Badal without naming him. Certain members used words during their speeches which, though not unparliamentary, indicated the lack of decency. There were objections to the use of such words which were later expunged. But they left a bad taste and set the wrong precedent. Mr Bhunder pointed out repeatedly that such bad precedents should not be set. MoU to develop agri-business signed at 09:19 IST by Makhan Chandigarh, June 27 The Punjab Agro-Industries Corporation (PAIC) and the ICICI Bank signed a Memorandum of Understanding here tonight to develop agri-business in the state by encouraging investment in infrastructure development, post-harvest technologies, value addition to agri-produce and allied areas. The memorandum was signed by Mr P.K. Verma, Financial Commissioner, Development, and Mr P.H. Ravi Kumar, Senior General Manager, ICICI, in the presence of the Punjab Agriculture Minister, Ms Rajinder Kaur Bhattal, the Finance Minister, Mr Lal Singh, the Minister of State for Cooperation, Mr A.S. Samra, and the Parliamentary Secretary, Dr Mohinder Rinwa, besides the MD of PAIC, Mr Himmat Singh. The Punjab Chief Minister, Capt Amarinder Singh, could not attend the programme as he was away to Patiala. Mr Verma in his welcome address, said the state government had taken upon itself the responsibility of gradually taking 10 per cent of the cultivable area out of wheat-paddy rotation and encouraging other profitable crops. The government and the PAIC, he said, would act as facilitators and help the farmers tackle problems. He said attempts in the past on diversification, though limited in scale, had failed because of lack of market support. Mr Himmat Singh made a presentation on the perspective plan of Punjab agriculture, highlighting the need for diversification from high-volume low-value crops to value-addition crops. In the absence of in house processing, post-harvest infrastructure, updated technology and marketing support, there was high level of wastage and low-value addition to agricultural produce in the state. Mr P.H. Ravi Kumar said the new instrument of crop insurance would be in the market within the next four to six months. Ms Bhattal reiterated the government’s commitment to make agriculture economically remunerative again. “We have taken it as a challenge. The Congress governments in Punjab have been successful in meeting previous challenges, including ending terrorism in the state,” she said. Mr Lal Singh said because of the poor fiscal health of the state, it was necessary for the farm sector to look up and the state would provide all support to make agriculture profitable. Intelligence loses turf war at 09:18 IST by Makhan CHANDIGARH: The ongoing turf war between the state police Intelligence and the Vigilance Bureau over the multi-crore bribery scam in the Punjab Public Service Commission saw its major fall-out on Thursday when the state government transferred all top Intelligence officers. It is learnt that the recent arrest of K S Bedi, manager of the Mohali branch of Punjab and Sind Bank, at the behest of Intelligence, proved to be the last straw in the prolonged tussle between the two agencies. The Vigilance Bureau had taken exception to the arrest of the key witness in the case and managed to get the case transferred to it from the state police. ADGP (Intelligence) A P Bhatnagar and IG (Intelligence) Sumedh Singh Saini, who were directly monitoring the case, have been posted out as ADGP (Security) and IG (Provisioning), respectively. DIG (Int) R P Singh and S S Mand, SP (Int), who had been assisting their seniors, have also been moved out of Intelligence, though no fresh posting has as yet been given to both of them. S S Virk, ADGP (Security) will be the new ADGP (Intelligence) while Shashi Kant takes over as IG (Int). DIG R P Singh has been replaced by Dinkar Gupta,who was DIG, Jalandhar range. The government has also ordered ordered the posting of four range DIGs. Rohit Chaudhary, DIG, Ludhiana range, takes over as DIG, Jalandhar range, while Mohammad Mustafa, DIG, Ferozepur range, will take over as DIG, Ludhiana range. R P Meena, DIG, Faridkot range, will become DIG, Ferozepur range, while Gurinderpal Singh, DIG (Commandos) is the new DIG, Faridkot range. Notice issued to Punjab on Jagman’s bail plea at 09:15 IST by Makhan Chandigarh, June 27 Taking up a petition filed by approver in the Punjab Public Service Commission recruitment scam Jagman Singh seeking the grant of interim bail, a Division Bench of the Punjab and Haryana High Court today issued notice of motion to the state of Punjab for July 3. In his petition taken up by the Bench, comprising Mr Justice J.S. Khehar and Mr Justice Jasbir Singh, Jagman Singh had earlier contended that his wife was in “advanced stage of pregnancy” and the expected date of delivery was July 17. He had added that except for him there was no one to look after her. Going into the background of the case, the petitioner had contended that he was taken into custody in a case registered in the PPSC scam under the provisions of the Indian Penal Code and Prevention of Corruption Act by the State Vigilance Bureau at SAS Nagar on March 25. Claiming to have been implicated in the case, he had added that his name had not been mentioned in the first information report registered by the Bureau Counsel for the petitioner had added that Jagman Singh was later projected as a tout of Commission’s under-suspension Chairman Ravinderpal Singh Sidhu. He had further added that the petitioner had already made a confessional statement before a Judicial Magistrate at Kharar and was allowed to become an approver in the case. The case will now come up for further hearing on July 3. Allowed Allowing a writ petition filed by senior Vice-President of Sirhind Municipal Council Rakesh Kumar Verma, a Division Bench of the Punjab and Haryana High Court on Thursday ruled that the petitioner, granted charge on February 4 this year, shall have the right to continue till February 3 next year. Delivering the verdict, the Bench, comprising Mr Justice J.S. Khehar and Mr Justice Jasbir Singh, observed that the issue involved in the present petition had been covered by a judgement of the High Court pronounced on January 30 last year. In it, though the petitioner had been duly elected by a resolution of the Municipal Council, he was not allowed to function in one way or the other. While allowing the petition, the Court had held that the petitioner was entitled to a term of one year.... Referring to the present case, the Judges added that the petitioner was granted charge on February 4 and shall obviously have the right to continue till February 3 next year. In his petition, Mr Verma had earlier contended that he was elected as senior Vice-President on June 29 last year, but on July 2, 2001, the President, after tampering with the record, had claimed that the elections had not taken place due to disturbances. Soon after, the Director of Local Government had sought a detailed report. On January 1 this year, a letter was sent to an Executive Officer stating that the elections had been carried out in accordance with the rules, counsel for the petitioner had added. He had further claimed that the petitioner, after taking over the charge on February 7, had sent a representation to the Director of Local Government for granting him a period of one year from the date of his taking over the charge, but his grievance had not been redressed. Interim bail Directing the continuation of interim orders instructing that the Chairman of Oil Selection Board, Justice M. R. Agnihotri, will not be arrested till further orders, Mr Justice Ashutosh Mohunta of the High Court on Thursday fixed July 19 as the next date of hearing in the case. A former Punjab and Haryana High Court Judge, Justice Agnihotri, along with two others, were earlier booked by the Central Bureau of Investigation, for cheating and other offences under Sections 120-B, 420, 467, 468 and 471 of the Indian Penal Code, besides Prevention of Corruption Act on June 10. His anticipatory bail plea was initially rejected by UT Additional District and Sessions Judge Ms Sneh Prasher. Taking up his petition, Mr Justice Mohunta, on the last date of hearing, had asked the former Judge to join the investigation as and when required and had also permitted his counsel to accompany him. PWD workers oppose Budget proposals at 09:14 IST by Makhan Bathinda, June 27 Election session of the PWD Field and Workshop Workers Union, Bathinda zone, was held here today at the main office of the Water Works Sewerage Board. The session was presided over by Mr Karamjit Bihla, president, Mr Gurmez Singh, chairman, and Mr Ved Parkash Sharma, secretary of the union. At the session, the union passed main resolutions and demanded that anti-employees recommendations, in the Budget like freezing of DA, abolition of posts lying vacant and cess on petrol be reversed. Addressing the session, Mr Satpal Bharti, secretary, Lal Jhanda Bhatta Mazdoor Union, said all employees should unite and fight against the anti-employee policies of the state government. Office-bearers of the union demanded that services of employees working in different departments on daily wages or ad hoc basis for the past three years should be regularised. Thursday 27th June, 2002 Punjab Budget passed at 10:45 IST by Makhan Chandigarh, June 26 After a three-day-long debate, the Punjab Assembly today passed the Budget, approving the Punjab Appropriation Bill, 2002, authorising the payment and appropriation of Rs 28340.79 crore. The Bill was moved by the Finance Minister, Mr Lal Singh. Interestingly, Akali legislators who had opposed several Budget proposals did not move a single amendment seeking modifications in the proposals. However, while taking part in the debate they criticised various aspects of the Budget’. “I am surprised why the Akalis did not move any amendment”, said the Punjab Chief Minister, Capt Amarinder Singh, while interacting with mediapersons after the passing of the Budget. If they had any objection to any specific proposal, they should have moved an amendment, he added. Before the passing of the Appropriation Bill, discussion was held on certain demands mentioned in it . The discussion remained confined to demands relating to the agricultural and health sectors. Mr Balwinder Singh Bhunder, Mr Sunil Jakhar and Mrs Rajinder Kaur Bhattal participated in it. Mr Jakhar said there was need to critically evaluate the performance of Punjab Agricultural University which had failed to tackle problems faced by the agricultural sector. He said PAU should be closed down as it was serving no purpose while the government had to spend Rs 100 crore every year on it. The university was making no worthwhile contribution to agricultural research, he added. The Assembly also passed the Punjab Panchayati Raj (Amendment) Bill that replaced the ordinance issued in this connection earlier. It also passed the Punjab State Legislature ( Prevention of Disqualification) Amendment Bill, 2002, replacing the ordinance issued earlier in this connection. This has been done to protect those MLAs who have been appointed to certain positions in the Punjab Government, from disqualification. The House also passed the Punjab State Legislature Members (Pension and Medical Facilities Regulation) Amendment Bill, 2002, that authorises the state government to withdraw certain facilities which were given to former Chief Ministers by the previous government. The Punjab Infrastructure (Development and Regulation) Bill, 2002 was also passed by the House to allow the participation of the private and public sectors in the development, operation and maintenance of infrastructure facilities in the state. Mr Lal Singh said the Bill had been passed to give high priority to infrastructure development to accelerate economic and industrial growth. The Government wanted that the private sector should supplement its efforts in the development of infrastructure. Earlier during the question hour, Capt Amarinder Singh, replying to a question by Mr Gurjant Singh, (CPI), said there was no ban on the recruitment of one member of each of the terrorist affected families. He said 729 applications for jobs from such persons were pending besides 429 applications were being processed. He said his government would provide jobs to these persons on top priority but he did not specify the time-frame. Replying to a question by Mr Joginder Singh Mann on behalf of Prof Darbari Lal, Capt Amarinder Singh said there was no possibility of paying subsidy worth Rs 469 crore that was due against the state government to the industrialists concerned in the immediate future. He said he would call a meeting of such industrialists to discuss the issue with them after the announcement of the new industrial policy. Their dues might be cleared in instalments, he added. The Chief Minister said the government was not in a position to provide temporary power connections to tubewells at this stage. Punjab House passes Infrastructure Act at 10:44 IST by Makhan Chandigarh, June 26 The Punjab Infrastructure Development Board, which is to be set up under the Punjab Infrastructure (Development and Regulation) Act, 2002, passed by the state Assembly today, would have the power to levy fee to raise infrastructure fund in the state. According the provisions in the Act, every dealer would be liable to pay a fee levied under the Act on the sale or purchase of the goods specified in Schedule-111 within the state at the rate not exceeding Rs 6 for every Rs 100 value of goods as the state government may, by notification, direct. The fee would be levied when the act is enforced in the state by issuing a necessary notification by the state government. With respect to the fee, the accounts would be maintained and the returns submitted in the manner prescribed by the state government. Whoever contravenes or fails to comply with the provisions of this Act, the rules and the regulations made with respect to filing of true returns and the payment of fee shall be punishable with imprisonment for a term which may extend to six months or with which may extend to five times the fee to be paid. B.Sc (IT) part II results today at 10:35 IST by Makhan Amritsar, June 26 The results of B.Sc (IT) part II held by Guru Nanak Dev University will be declared tomorrow. The results can be accessed on the university website “gnduonline.org” after 5 pm tomorrow. Meanwhile, candidates who appeared for counselling on June 25 and 26 for the LL.B (three years) course are to submit their graduation certificates by July 5. Dr Kashmir Singh, coordinator of the law entrance test, clarified that failure to submit the certificates would result in the chance to be passed on to the next candidate on merit. Seized rice rotting in FCI godowns at 10:23 IST by Makhan Chander Parkash Bathinda, June 26 Even as the work of exporting rice has come to a complete halt in Mansa and Bathinda districts after a rice scam in the Food Corporation of India (FCI) came to light in the city on June 18, rice worth lakhs of rupees lying in many trucks detained at its godown here has started to rot. Information gathered by TNS stated that more than 800 quintals of rice worth 7 lakh, lying in trucks had started rotting as neither the FCI authorities nor the police authorities had made arrangements to save the same. However, the FCI authorities claimed that the rice did not belong to them now as the gate pass for the same had been issued in the name of the export firm, Sharp Menthol India Limited, against whom a criminal case had been registered by the police authorities for their alleged involvement in the rice scam which came to light after police parties raided the FCI godown and six rice mills located in the district and seized about 36 trucks loaded with rice bags. The truck operators, whose trucks had been detained, also alleged that as they were not at fault and that their vehicles should be released and they should be given adequate compensation. On the other hand due to the agitation of the FCI employees in protest against the implication of certain FCI employees the criminal case has led to a complete halt to the storage and acceptance of rice operations in Mansa and Bathinda districts. The state agencies are finding it difficult to meet the deadline of June 30 fixed in connection with the completion of milling of its paddy stock by rice mill owners due to the strike. A section of exporters and FCI contractors have also suffered huge financial losses on account of demurrage they had to pay to the railway authorities for the delays. The movement of rice to other states from the two districts has also come to a complete halt due to the srike. Mr V.K. Singh, Senior Manager, FCI, Punjab region, has already said that no senior official of the FCI was involved in the alleged scam and the company, Sharp Menthol India Limited, was a genuine firm which had submitted a bank guarantee of Rs 35 crore to the FCI. He added that a two-member panel had been constituted to probe the role of a certain low rank FCI official in the alleged scam. However, the police has arrested an Assistant Manager (Depot), FCI, Hardev Singh, for his alleged involvement in the scam, while six FCI officials, who were earlier arrested, had been released on bonds. The police authorities were tight-lipped and declined to divulge the details in connection with the investigation into the matter, which was being handled by senior police officials. They also conducted some raids to arrest the main accused involved in the scam. The FCI authorities had blacklisted the company. An exporter said if the FCI authorities did not make arrangements for releasing the rice for export their contracts with the foreign buyers would be terminated and they would suffer losses. Meanwhile, the FCI official along with drivers of trucks, who were arrested by the police authorities, could not secure bail. Darbari Lal elected Deputy Speaker at 10:21 IST by Makhan Chandigarh, June 26 Prof Darbari Lal, a senior Congress legislator from Amritsar, was unanimously elected Deputy Speaker of the Punjab Vidhan Sabha today. Born in Gujarat, now in Pakistan, in 1942, Prof Darbari Lal migrated to Amritsar in 1947. He taught at DAV College, Amritsar, for 20 years before being elected to the Punjab Vidhan Sabha for the first time in 1980 and later in 1985 and 2002. He has special interest in history and writes for various newspapers. His name was proposed by the Leader of the House, Capt Amarinder Singh. It was seconded by the Minister for Parliamentary Affairs, Chowdhary Jagjit Singh. Representing the principal Opposition party, the Shiromani Akali Dal, in the House, Mr Balwinder Singh Bhunder endorsed the name of Prof Darbari Lal for the office of Deputy Speaker. After the election, Capt Amarinder Singh, accompanied by Mr Bhunder, Mr Sucha Singh Chottepur, Mr Tikshan Sud of the BJP and Mr Gurjant Singh of the CPI, escorted Prof Darbari Lal to his seat in the House. As per tradition, the Deputy Speaker sits on the bench along with the Leader of the Opposition, who at present is Mr Parkash Singh Badal. Prof Darbari Lal thanked all parties for electing him unanimously. Tuesday 25th June, 2002 M.Com (I) results today at 10:22 IST by Makhan Amritsar, June 24 The results of M.Com. (I) paper held in April will be declared on June 25 by Guru Nanak Dev University. The results will also be available on the university website the same day after 5 p.m., a university spokesman informed in a press note here today. Sale deed scam detected at 10:19 IST by Makhan Varinder Walia Amritsar, June 24 Sale deeds below the rates fixed by the Collector during the five-year tenure of SAD-BJP government have been detected by a report which has indicted many Tehsildars and revenue officials for causing a huge loss to the state exchequer. The scam is just a tip of the iceberg as the inquiry pertains only to a few villages. The inquiry was conducted by Mr Gian Singh Bal, the outgoing Additional Deputy Commissioner on the direction of the Commissioner, Jalandhar division. The Tehsildars who were indicted include Rajesh Sharma, Rajinder Singh, Vinay Kumari, Lakhwinder Singh, Parmpreet Singh and P.P.S. Guraya. After going through the official record, the inquiry officer found that the revenue officials registered the sale deeds below the rates fixed by the Collector, apart from evading stamp duty. In a separate report, Rajesh Sharma has been indicted for committing irregularities while registering sale deeds of “zumla mushtarka malkan” (share-holders) land. As per the report, he registered 38 sale deeds in Pandori Waraich village. The land in question was sold and deeds were registered without the share-holders getting their individual shares determined by the competent authority. Though Rajesh sharma was transferred on the basis of several complaints, he succeeded in getting his transfer cancelled. The inquiry was entrusted to the Additional Deputy Commissioner by the Commissioner, Jalandhar, on February 8. The inquiry officer studied the sale deed records between 1996 and December 2001. As per the inquiry report, in 1996 alone, at least five sale deeds registered by Rajesh Sharma were Rs 1.96 lakh less than the rates fixed by the Collector. By doing so, a stamp duty to the tune of Rs 11,813 was evaded. Similarly, three Tehsildars, Rajinder Singh, Rajesh Sharma and Vinay Kumari, registered at least 16 sale deeds which were Rs 4.5 lakh less than the rates and hence evaded stamp duty to the tune of Rs 27,438. In 1998, the above revenue officials registered as many as 36 sale deeds (under value of over Rs 27 lakh) and evaded stamp duty of Rs 1.6 lakh. Lakhwinder Singh, Rajesh Sharma and Vinay Kumari were responsible for the registration of 18 such deeds in 2000 which were undervalue (Rs 21 lakh) and evaded a stamp duty of Rs 1.2 lakh. In the coming year, the four Tehsildars, including Parmpreet Singh, registered 35 sale deeds which were found to be less than the rates (total Rs 38 lakh) and evaded stamp duty of about Rs 2.3 lakh in 2001. The revenue officials indulged in the registration of deeds which were less than the rates to the tune of Rs 1 crore and stamp duty of Rs 5.59 lakh had been evaded. The inquiry officer said the Tehsildars and clerks of the department should be held equally responsible for causing such a huge loss to the exchequer. 250 SAD, BJP workers ‘implicated’ at 10:18 IST by Makhan Fazilka, June 24 Mr Surjit Kumar Jyani, former state Forest Minister, addressing a press conference here today alleged that Capt Amarinder Singh’s government is indulging in politics of vendetta. He said 250 SAD-BJP workers in the Fazilka area had been implicated in police cases during a short span of three months. He alleged that officers had merely become “puppets” of politicians. He denied charges of corruption against him and said he or his family members did not have bank accounts anywhere. Declaring his assets and property, he said he was a co-sharer in 170 acres of ancestral agricultural land. He owned a plot allotted to him under the legislature quota, two plots at Fazilka purchased on instalments, besides a Lancer and Qualis purchased on loan. He denied his involvement in the alleged wood scam and sought an impartial probe and action against erring personnel. He said all Congress leaders should make their property and assets public as declared in their election manifesto. Illegal buildings continue to mushroom at 10:16 IST by Makhan Jalandhar, June 24 Despite directives from the state Local Bodies Department Secretary, Mr Sarvesh Kaushal, to all four commissioners of municipal corporations to check the mushrooming of illegal buildings, the construction of such illegal buildings and commercial complexes in Jalandhar continues unabated. Mr Kaushal had shot off a demi-official letter to the four commissioners last week saying that the monitoring of the sanctioned building plans was not being carried out in accordance with the provisions of the building bylaws, as a result of which illegal construction was continuing. The Secretary, who had instructed that the menace of unauthorised construction should be checked within 10 days, had also directed that no building should be allowed to be occupied without obtaining the completion certificate as required under Section 272 of the Punjab Municipal Corporation Act, 1976. However, during a round of various parts of the city by The Tribune team today, it was found that huge commercial complexes are coming up in a number of posh areas of the city, including Mall Road in Model Town and the Gazi Gulla Road locality near the Model Town market. Interestingly the Model Town locality is a residential area and no commercial building can be constructed here without obtaining special permission with regard to “change in use of land” from the civic body or from the Local Bodies Department. Besides these under-construction buildings do not have any parking facilities in stark violation of the building bylaws which state, “50 per cent of the total area of a commercial building should be reserved for parking purposes.” Most of the owners of these commercial complexes had reportedly shown parking places in their building plans but instead had used the space for shops and showrooms. It is alleged that MC officials are patronising defaulters and a lobby of builders. “You see, officials of the building branch are charging Rs 3,800 as bribe for approving a plan of a residential building within 15 days of the submission of an application and in case one fails to pay the bribe, the officials put several objections. Besides, they charge huge money, running into lakhs, for allowing construction of huge buildings including hotels and commercial complexes, without mandatory approval of building plans,” reveals a local architect on condition of anonymity. The corporation Commissioner, Mr Jagjit Singh, admitted that he had also observed that construction activity was going on in some places. He said he had already directed his subordinates to stop illegal construction, if any, in the city. Bedi case with Vigilance Bureau at 09:46 IST by Makhan AJAY BHARADWAJ CHANDIGARH: The arrest of manager of the Mohali branch of the Punjab and Sindh Bank, Kuldip Singh Bedi, in the Ravi Sidhu multi-crore bribe scam, after sparking off a turf war between the Intelligence and the Vigilance Bureau, took a new twist when the state police, which had executed the arrest, transferred the case to the Vigilance Bureau. Bedi’s arrest by the Mohali police last week had raised hackles for tillrecently he had been a key witness in the case. The police investigations, conducted independently of the Vigilance Bureau, however, detected him to be one of the prime accused who had transferred Sidhu’s money to foreign banks through hawala transactions. The Vigilance Bureau chief director AP Pandey, ADGP, had taken exception to the manner in which the Intelligence had reportedly framed charges against Bedi and consequently had shot a letter to DGP MS Bhullar requesting him to hand over Bedi’s case to the Vigilance. According to sources, Bedi, during his interrogation by the police, informed that he along with Sidhu’s brother, Reetinder Singh, had stacked Rs 2 crores in the two lockers in the Sector 22 branch of the Punjab and Sindh Bank. The Vigilance had, however, drawn blank when it broke open both the lockers in April. Both the lockers, incidentally, were then opened by a team of the Vigilance sleuths with Bedi as a witness. While admitting to have illegally transacted more than Rs 1 crore to a bank in Belgium, Bedi had told the investigating officials that he would normally operate in tandem with former bank official, GS Manchanda, who has been absconding in the case for about two-and-a-half months. Manchanda’s wife is already in the judicial custody. Hawala recipients named: Bedi, during his interrogation, is believed to have named police officers and politicians whose money, he claimed, was transferred to foreign banks through hawala transactions. Bedi has also disclosed his links with militants’. Excise staff to observe ‘black day’ today at 09:43 IST by Makhan Prabhjot Singh Chandigarh, June 24 Shaken by the death of an Excise and Taxation Officer and two Inspectors in less than a week, allegedly because of working under stress, the Confederation of Employees of the Punjab and Excise and Taxation Department has given a call for a “black day” tomorrow . A decision to this effect was taken at a meeting of the confederation held in Jalandhar yesterday after the bhog ceremony of Mr Karnail Singh Sahota, ETO, who died in a late-night road accident while returning home from office last week. It was at the meeting of the confederation that news about the death of the two Inspectors was broken. According to sources, the confederation has decided to ignore for the time being the Excise and Taxation Commissioner’s invitation to hold “negotiations”. The invitation was extended to the Confederation at the bhog ceremony of Mr Sahota . The deaths of Mr Pardeep Malhotra and Mr Navdeep Tuli within 48 hours of each other has given credence to the allegation of the confederation of “horrifying psychosis created by a stressful work environment” in the department. Mr Tuli, an engineer, was given employment on compassionate grounds and was in his early 30s. He was posted in Ludhiana-I. Mr Malhotra was posted at the ICC, Madhopur. Mr Tuli, according to family sources, awake until late at night on Saturday, was upset and panicky with regard to the preparation of reports and documents for the June 25 meeting. “This stress has been playing havoc with employees of the department. No one has peace of mind. And most of the work being assigned to each official is either repetitive or redundant,” alleges the confederation. Even the Excise and Taxation Commissioner, Mr Suresh Kumar, against whom the agitation is being organised, admitted that there was a “lot of avoidable redundancy” in the department and he would try to check it. He also admitted that there was increased work pressure and that was why 50 posts each of Excise and Taxation Officer and Inspector had been sanctioned for the department. The Jalandhar meeting of the confederation was attended by more than 200 representatives of Excise and Taxation officers, inspectors, members of the ministerial staff and Class IV employees, including drivers. The confederation also observed two minutes’ silence as a mark of respect to Mr Malhotra and Mr Tuli. Demanding the “immediate ouster of the Excise and Taxation Commissioner and the Additional Excise and Taxation Commissioner-I, the confederation expressed its solidarity with the Punjab Chief Minister, Capt Amarinder Singh, in achieving the revenue targets, but appealed to the state government to act on its demand of shifting the two officers out of the department. In a signed statement issued after the meeting, Mr S.S. Cheema, president, Excise and Taxation Officers Association, said that “if such a suffocating environment continues, more precious lives may be lost in the near future. All members of the confederation will wear black badges tomorrow to “protest against the derogatory and insulting behaviour of the Excise and Taxation Commissioner and the Additional Excise and Taxation Commissioner-I.” It’s girls all the way in PSEB at 09:43 IST by Makhan SAS NAGAR: It’s girls once again. In the Punjab School Education Board Class X results declared on Monday, girls have outperformed boys, notching up 16 positions in the top 20 of the merit list for regular students. Ravneet Kaur of Doaba Public Senior Secondary School, Parowal (Hoshiarpur), has topped with 94.46 per cent marks. She is followed by Gurpreet Kaur of Gurunanak Public National Public School, Mahilpur (Hoshiarpur) with 93.23 per cent. Rohini Gupta of Holy Heart High School, Amritsar, and Sandeep Kaur of Nankana Sahib Public School, Kila Raipur (Ludhiana), have stood third with 92.76 per cent marks. The pass percentage has shown an improvement over 2001. Of the 2,84,075 students who appeared in the exams 1,67,877 passed; the percentage of 59.09 is 10 per cent more than the pass percentage of 49.17 in 2001. The number of students who reappeared for the exams was 61,404. The result of private candidates has also shown an improvement with a pass percentage of 38.64 as compared to 33.53 per cent in 2001. The top three private candidates are Rajan Singla (90.30), Gundeep Kaur (90.15) and Renu Kapahi (89.80). Government schools have performed poorly as compared to the private schools with only two girls from government schools making it in the top 20. Compared to last year, the results have been declared 10 days in advance. ‘Result- witheld cases’ have also fallen from 5,000 in 2001 to 1,300 this year. The subject-wise pass percentage has also shown an improvement. In Punjabi, 96.19 per cent students have passed as compared to 96 per cent in 2001. The pass percentage is 66.07 per cent in English, 66.07 per cent in Hindi, 53.04 per cent in Maths, 81.52 per cent in science and 65.50 per cent in social studies. The pass percentages in these subjects had been 96, 58.53, 77.91, 42.51, 65.83 and 56.30 per cent respectively. Jagjit Singh Sidhu, secretary, PSEB, said that with the computerisation of the results the department had reduced the chances of error in results. For the first time students will be given computerised photo certificate with detailed marks. The certificates will be made available from July 3. The district-wise gazettes of the results were dispatched from the department and the same would be officially released on Tuesday. Sidhu said that since the students were being provided computerised marksheets no cutting, erasing and overwriting would be accepted. To ensure error-free results, the department had sent a list of names to all the schools to correct any mistakes in names and subjects. Tota’s White House raided at 09:41 IST by Makhan Moga, June 24 A team of the Vigilance Bureau from Chandigarh today raided White House, the residence of former Education Minister Tota Singh, who is in judicial custody on charges of cheating, forgery, corruption and accumulation of assets disproportionate to his known sources of income. Sources in the bureau said no evidence regarding the accumulation of wealth in the form of cash or jewellery had been recovered from the residence. Certain documents pertaining to owning of immovable property were, however, recovered, the sources added. The sources further denied that the bureau had arrested any councillor of the Moga Municipal Committee in this regard. However, few other persons, including the son Mr Barjinder Singh, alias Makhan Singh, and personal assistant of former minister Gurmail Singh are wanted in the case. No raids have been carried out on his residence at Nihal Singhwala, the sources added. Saturday 22nd June, 2002 CM seeks report on rice scam at 09:38 IST by Makhan Bathinda, June 21 The Chief Minister, Punjab, Capt Amarinder Singh, today said he had sought a report from the district police in connection with the export rice diversion scam, which allegedly took place in the city, and added that the matter would be dealt with according to the report. While addressing a press conference at Talwandi Sabo, 30 km from here, Capt Amarinder Singh said at the moment the matter seemed to be serious but action would be taken after he receives the report from the district police. A major scam, running into crores of rupees involving the illegal diversion of export earmarked rice, to the local market through a nexus allegedly between rice mill owners, some export firms and employees of the Food Corporation of India (FCI) was unearthed by the district police authorities on June 18 here. The Chief Minister said though the matter related to the Central Government, the Punjab Government would take appropriate action if the situation demanded. Meanwhile, Mr V.K. Singh, Senior Regional Manager (SRM), FCI, Punjab region, while talking to the TNS said Sharp Menthol India Limited was a real business firm and had been doing business worth crores of rupees with the FCI for the past many months. The firm had been doing major share of export of rice through railway mode of transportation. He added that no senior official of the FCI based at Delhi was involved in the scam. He pointed out that the FCI had a bank guarantee worth Rs 35 crore from this firm and it had about 60 per cent of share in the export market. Information gathered by the TNS revealed that the police authorities did not have any evidence so far which could establish that the firm was fake and higher FCI officials were involved in the alleged scam. DMC deadlock continues at 09:37 IST by Makhan LUDHIANA: As the dharna by the DMC employees’ union entered the fifth day, and with the ward paramedical staff coming out for a dharna each day for two to three hours, the efficient functioning of the hospital has been seriously affected. There is no sign of the deadlock getting resolved yet. While SC Ahuja, principal of the college, blames the union members for the current impasse, Chander Mohan Kalia, president of the union, said that they were invited to the secretary of the managing society, Prem Nath Gupta’s residence to talk about the issue. Navraj Kaur, secretary of the union, said that they were ready to talk about the issue anywhere within the campus of the DMC hospital, but would not go to the secretary’s house. But even as the game of charges and countercharges go on, the hospital’s work has been ground to a standstill with the employees refusing to work, and the management not prepared to concede to their demands. On Friday the employees decided to let an employee or two stay at the work station. The rest went to join the dharna. To counter this the management locked up the employees from outside at their work points, so that they could not leave. Five employees were locked in the telephone exchange of the hospital from morning to afternoon on Friday, with a double lock at the door, and two security guards at the door. They also bolted the billing section, where fifteen to twenty employees work. The union members said that the management employees had threatened them with calling the police, if they did not work peacefully. Punjab to move SC on river water issue at 09:33 IST by Makhan Talwandi Sabo, June 21 In a significant statement which could have far-reaching consequences, the Chief Minister of Punjab, Capt Amarinder Singh, said the Punjab Government would approach the Supreme Court through a writ petition for judicial division of river waters between Punjab and Haryana and the SYL canal could be used for bringing the surplus water which Haryana had been consuming for the past many years back to Punjab. Capt Amarinder Singh said though the Supreme Court had ordered the completion of the SYL canal, the Punjab Government would approach it for division of quantum of river waters between these two states on the basis of ratio of agricultural land. He added that Haryana had been getting more water than Punjab against the norms. Capt Amarinder Singh, who was accompanied by Mr Enrique Anchordoqui, the Ambassador of Uruguay, was here to inaugurate the water treatment plant donated by Uruguay. The Chief Minister said Punjab had been getting only 12 million acre foot (MAF) water against the agricultural area of 105 lakh hectares while Haryana had been getting 14 MAF water against its agricultural area of 80 lakh hectares. He added that the main issue before the completion of the SYL canal was that there should be judicious division of the river waters. Disclosing that the expansion of the Council of Ministers would take place only after the AICC chief, Mrs Sonia Gandhi, gave her nod after the Budget session was over, Capt Amarinder Singh said efforts were being made to secure foreign funding to make the financial position of the state strong. Every body, including employees, would have to make some sacrifices for bringing the economy of the state back on the rails. He added that money which was being seized from politicians the who had been in power earlier and other government servants would be diverted to development works. The crusade against corruption would continue and 10 retired Judges of the Punjab and Haryana High Court had been shortlisted for constituting the judicial commission to probe corruption during the previous SAD-BJP regime. The assets acquired by the politicians in power earlier through unfair means would be forfeited and put to use for development works. The Chief Minister said panchayats would be empowered as per the constitutional provisions made in the 73rd and 74th amendments. Panchayats would be given powers to run dispensaries and schools in their respective areas, he added. Regarding the allegation levelled by former Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal that he had an affidavit against Public Works Minister Partap Singh Bajwa in connection with bungling, the Chief Minister said as Mr Badal and his associates were under attack on various counts, Mr Badal had made a fake affidavit against Mr Bajwa to save himself. He added that the crusade against corruption would also take Mr Badal to task. Answering a question regarding the alleged role of a DCC functionary in the construction of a multi-storey building around the fort at Bathinda, Capt Amarinder Singh said he was yet to get complaint from senior functionaries. When he received the same, he would look into the matter, he added. The Chief Minister said to provide safe drinking water and sanitation facilities in rural areas, a soft loan of Rs 5000 crore would be taken shortly from a consortium of banks through a UN agency and a plan of Rs 2350 crore had been prepared in this connection. In the coming three years, about 6000 villages would be covered under the rural health programme, he declared. Mr Jasjit Singh Randhawa, Minister for Public Health, Mr Enrique Anchordoqui, the Ambassador of Uruguay, Mr Jeet Mohinder Singh Sidhu, an MLA, and Mr Harminder Singh Jassi, a former minister, also spoke. Capt Amarinder Singh also went to Takht Damdama Sahib to pay obeisance. Banks ignore small farmers at 09:31 IST by Makhan Amarjit Thind Ludhiana, June 21 The Agro Economic Research Centre (AERC) of the Punjab Agricultural University (PAU), recently conducted a study on indebtedness of farmers for the Ministry of Agriculture. The study threw up some shocking facts. The small and marginal farmers whose number is the largest lent their holdings are small in the state get merely mere 27.02 per cent of the total agricultural credit. Here too the process has been marred with wrong selection of beneficiaries, improper monitoring and less promising purposes for which the loans are being advanced defeating the national objective of providing low-cost credit to this group. What to talk of diversification, the share of certain thrust sectors like dairy and poultry farming besides fisheries has decreased in the past three years. It may be recalled that the Centre had sometime ago, directed the states to suggest measures so that a national policy could be drafted to benefit the marginal farmers whose condition is deplorable even after half a century of Independence. In this context, PAU carried out a study “flow of Credit to Small and Marginal Farmers in Punjab” under the aegis of the Ministry. It was conducted by Kamal Vatta in association with Prof Karam Singh, Director, AERC. The study recommended to the state government and the Centre to adopt the Self-Help Group (SHG) strategy to provide low-cost credit to the small and marginal farmers, most of whom largely were dependent on arhtias and commission agents for credit needs. The SHG strategy has enjoyed great success and has come to the aid of farmers in Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh and West Bengal to reduce their dependence on money lenders, who charged highly excessive rate of interest — 24 per cent to 60 per cent — from them. Talking to The Tribune about the study, Prof Karam Singh, said, “there are 1,706 banking institutions — including 942 commercial banks — in the rural areas of the state which have raised deposits worth Rs 12,254.28 crore and advanced about Rs 6,000 crore as loans to the agriculture sector. Out of this amount, the small and marginal farmers — whose number is largest and who own small holdings in the state — are poorly placed and are getting just 27.02 per cent of the total agricultural credit. We found that no worthwhile efforts have been made by the banking institutions for financing the self-help groups till now. The credit scheme has rather been marred with wrong selection of beneficiaries, improper monitoring and less promising purposes for which the loans are being advanced, he added. Despite an increased flow of credit in the state in the past three years, crop loans still constituted more than two-thirds of the agricultural advances. Incidentally, there has been a decline in the proportion of advances made to crucial sectors like minor irrigation (from 2.82 per cent to 1.09 per cent), land development (from 0.47 to 0.36 per cent), farm machinery (from 16.83 to 11.67 per cent), dairy farming (from 5.37 to 4.90 per cent), poultry farming (from 1.58 to 0.87 per cent) and fisheries (from 0.13 to 0.16 per cent) in the corresponding period, he revealed. It was found that cooperative and commercial banks gave preference to medium and big farmers for providing agricultural loans. If this trend continued, the objective of overall rural development by eradicating the rural poverty will not be achieved. The banks would have to favour small operational holdings and agricultural holdings and agricultural labourers to achieve this national objective, he pointed out. A study done by Prof H.S. Shergill, Department of Economics, Panjab University, Chandigarh, in 1998, also found that the small and marginal farmers were mostly dependent on informal sources, despite high rate of interest, as they were discriminated against the cooperative and commercial banks. The researchers relied on primary data collected from two villages, one in an advanced region — Ludhiana — and the other a traditional one — Moga. It was observed that the medium and large farmers had to spend lesser sums as transaction costs, as compared to about one per cent of the total loan amount, that small farmers had to pay as bribes and other non-official charges to secure loans. It is interesting commercial banks take 14.07 and 8.33 days on an average in advanced and traditional areas to process a loan, against 2.32 and 7.65 days taken by cooperative banks in the same area respectively. But the informal sources (money lenders and commission agents) process loans within 0.73 and 1.09 days respectively. Prof Karam Singh maintains that small and marginal farmers have to face various problems as compared to medium and large farmers to get credit from formal and informal sources, including high cost of credit. The study advocated that to meet the needs of the small and marginal farmers at a reasonable rate of interest, the government should adopt a strategy of Self-Help Groups (SHG). It would also cut down the transaction costs of the banks, besides providing them an alternative to money lender. It has also recommended that the banking institutions should also be encouraged to provide adequate credit to the neglected segments of the farm community. — Concluded Punjab Police team to discuss crook’s business at 09:26 IST by Makhan Chandigarh, June 21 Top academic’s financial experts, law enforcement and intelligence officials, bankers and policemen — including Mr Sarabjit Singh and Mr Jyoti Trehan (both from Punjab Police) — shall meet at Jesus College, one of the oldest and medieval colleges of the University of Cambridge in England from September 8 to September 15 to concentrate on putting the crooks out of business. “Putting the crooks out of business. The war on organised Crime and Terror” is the theme of the symposium which has attracted 200 experts, who will through keynote addresses, lectures and over 50 workshops focus on the practical issues relating to crime and terror, their implications for the rest of the world. By crooks, say the organisers of the symposium, they mean not only fraudsters and organised crime, but also terrorists. Over the years the fight against serious crime and abuse, has increasingly focused, at many levels, on the proceeds. This inevitably has led to more and more attention being focused on money laundering. Mr Sarabjit Singh has been invited as a keynote speaker to the symposium. He would speak on “Wealth, Power, Crime and Terror — the links”, the subject relevant in the aftermath of the events of September 11 last year. The symposium dates coincide with the first anniversary of the terrorist attacks on the USA. Mr Trehan has been into research and currently is a Jawahar Lal Nehru fellow. He has done commendable work on money laundering. Besides Mr Sarabjit Singh, Mr Michael Chertoff, Assistant Attorney-General of the US Department of Justice; Dr Dayanath Jayasurya, Director-General, Sri Lanka Securities and Exchange Commission; Prof Leonid Fituni, Director, Centre for Strategic and Global Studies, Russia Academy of Sciences; Prof Mark Pieth, Professor of Criminal Law and Criminology, University of Basel (Switzerland); Dr Eamon Mullen, Federal Prosecutor of Argentina; Prof Margaret Beare, Director, the Nathanson Center for the Study of Organised Crime and Corruption, York University, Toronto, and a few others would speak on the same subject. Court gives nod for Sidhu’s retention in jail at 09:23 IST by Makhan ROPAR: In another significant development in the PPSC scam case, Vigilance Bureau (VB) on Friday got a goahead from the court to retain suspended PPSC chairman Ravinder Pal Singh Sidhu in jail after expiry of the stated period of 90 days, which ends on June 22. Ravi Sidhu was produced in the court of special judge (vacation judge), Ropar, Kuldeep Singh. The public prosecutor pleaded for re-arrest of Sidhu in connection with cases registered under sections 467, 468, 471 and 120-B against him which were added by VB on May 21. During the hearing in the court of the special judge, the defence counsel strongly objected to the prosecution’s demand stating that there was no reason for such orders as the accused had already been in jail for nearly three months. The defence counsel also objected to the investigating agency’s plea saying the court of a vacation judge cannot decide on the matter as only the sessions court is competent to decide on it. The judge, after hearing both sides, gave VB a ‘go ahead.’ In its two-page order, the court stated that "as sections 467, 468, 471 and 120-B were already added against the accused on May 21, 2002, Vigilance Bureau may re-arrest him and it does not necessarily require the court’s permission for that." Wednesday 19th June, 2002 Stay ordered on Punjab govt panels at 12:38 IST by Makhan CHANDIGARH: In a significant decision, the Punjab and Haryana High Court, on Tuesday, stayed till further orders an important part of the instructions issued by the Punjab government. According to the instructions, two committees of administrative secretaries had been created for different categories of officers and public servants, which would scrutinise complaints and other material, before approval was given for a vigilance department probe. These panels would now cease to scrutinise documents and grant clearance. The high court stay has been ordered on paragraph four of the instructions issued by the Punjab government on March 6, 2000, with special emphasis on part(e) of the same. The order was passed by the ordered on vacation bench of Justices Swatanter Kumar and Jasbir Singh, after conclusion of arguments on a writ petition filed by Ashok Chaudhry of the Lawyers Initiative, an HC-based organisation of advocates, which had sought court intervention for quashing the instructions which were against the law fixed by the apex court and the spirit of the criminal procedure code. In their order, Justices Swatanter Kumar and Jasbir Singh said, that they were concerned with larger public interest at this stage. They further observed that it was common knowledge that the state government was probing dishonesty in public life. This effort, they contended, would prove unfruitful in view of the instructions since it would be difficult for these investigating agencies to book the accused. The agencies would need a free hand in investigations and booking the accused, the judges observed while staying the instructions related to the administrative secretaries’ panels. The investigating agency has been directed to quickly complete the tasks at hand and submit a report in court on the next date of hearing which is July 29. Other parts of the instructions, the judges said, would not be stayed as of now since they were yet to be put under consideration. Asking investigating officers of all ranks to strictly follow the orders, Justices Swatanter Kumar and Jasbir Singh, added that serious view would be taken of non-compliance. The bench laid special emphasis on part(e) of the instructions which states: An inquiry or an FIR shall be registered on the recommendation of the respective committee, after approval of competent authority on the basis of complaints received. Contractor accuses Bajwa of graft at 12:36 IST by Makhan Chandigarh, June 18 Making allegations in the presence of former Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal and former Akali ministers, a liquor contractor, Mr Sanjeev Mallhan, today alleged that the Public Works Minister, Mr Partap Singh Bajwa, and his brother Fatehjang Singh Bajwa had sought Rs 30 lakh as bribe for the allotment of certain liquor shops in the Hargobindpur belt of Gurdaspur district. Speaking to mediapersons, who had been invited by Mr Badal at his official residents, Mr Mallhan said that he had paid Rs 5 lakh to Mr Fatehjang Singh on the direction of Mr Bajwa and the remaining amount was to be paid in due course. He has made these statements in an affidavit, the copies of which were given to the mediapersons. Mr Badal said the Chief Minister, Capt Amarinder Singh, should inquire into the allegations made by Mr Mallhan in the affidavit. Earlier, speaking in the Punjab Vidhan Sabha, Mr Badal had claimed that he had an affidavit with him regarding the involvement of Mr Partap Singh Bajwa in a scandal and had invited journalists to his residence to have the details of the scandal. Mr Mallhan, who claimed that he was working in the Congress for the past 15 years and had a close relations with the Bajwa family, had been engaged in the liquor trade for the past eight years or so. “During the last financial year, I entered in the partnership in liquor trade with Mr Fatehjang Singh Bajwa”, he added. For the current financial year, the auction of liquor shops was held on March 19 at Amritsar. “Though I wanted to expand my liquor business, I was not allowed to do so by Mr Partap Singh Bajwa, who used his official influence in this connection. On April 10, I was removed from the liquor trade by the Bajwa brothers and they made a brother of a senior Congress leader of Amritsar district as partner in the business.” He said at the time of auction on March 19, he deposited Rs 15.75 lakh in the Excise Department’s account for being partner in the bid that was offered for the Dina Nagar circle to take liquor shops by a firm named Swastik Entrepreneurs in which besides him, Mr Fatehjang Singh was also partner, he asserted. Mr Mallhan said that on the basis of partnership, he was allotted 20 liquor shops by the firm during the year 2001-2002 in the Hargobindpur and Ghuman areas. But during the current financial year, he was given only four liquor shops. He was removed from even those four shops on April 10 by the Bajwa brothers, he alleged. He said that he had a balance amount of Rs 40 lakh against Bajwa brothers pertaining to previous financial year. He also gave details of property which he claimed belonged to Mr Partap Singh Bajwa. He has made a mention of certain kothis in Chandigarh, two expensive cars, a 50 acre farm near Chandigarh, a petro-chemical project near Dera Bassi, a market near Uchha bridge in Amritsar city and other properties in this connection. Seeking the resignation of Mr Partap Singh Bajwa as Minister, Mr Mallhan has requested the Chief Minister to order a CBI probe into this case. Fatehjang denies allegations When contacted by mediapersons, Mr Fatehjang Bajwa said that he had no business links with Mr Mallhan. He said Mr Mallhan had enacted a drama and given a false affidavit for which he would have to face the legal action. He said that he had come to know that Mr Mallhan had himself sold his shops to some party which was supposed to give him a certain amount for block samiti elections. Mr Fatehjang Bajwa further said that he was not partner of any Swastik Entreprenuers as claimed by Mr Mallhan. All allegations levelled by Mr Mallhan were baseless, he asserted. Mr Partap Singh Bajwa’s version was not available. Ministry expansion after Budget session at 12:33 IST by Makhan Sarbjit Dhaliwal Chandigarh, June 18 The Punjab Chief Minister, Capt Amarinder Singh, has decided to expand his Council of Ministers. “After the Budget session, I will discuss the issue with Mrs Sonia Gandhi, President of the All India Congress Committee”, he said today. Some senior congress MLAs are waiting in the wings to be inducted as ministers. Among those aspiring for berths Mr Birdevinder Singh, Prof Darbari Lal, Mrs Razia Sultana, Mr Surinder Singla, Mr Hans Raj Joshan and Rana Gurjit Singh. Capt Amarinder Singh said that there was no plan for the reshuffle portfolios at the moment. There are 14 cabinet ministers, six ministers of state, two parliamentary secretaries besides the Chief Minister in Punjab. The issue of appointing working president of the Punjab Pradesh Congress Committee is also pending. Capt Amarinder Singh, who is at present head of the PPCC, has requested the party high command to appoint a working president to handle the organisational matters. About the registration of criminal and corruption cases against Akali leaders, Capt Amarinder Singh said that he was overseeing everything and nothing was happening without his approval. He said first the investigation was started by the Vigilance Bureau on the basis of a complaint or source report. After investigation, a report was submitted to him by the top brass of the bureau. “I give approval for registration of the case after going through the investigation report. The decision is taken only after I am convinced that the matter deserves to be further investigated after registering the case and involving the persons concerned in the investigation”, Capt Amarinder Singh said. “Nothing is happening without my approval and the impression that the bureau is doing everything on its own is false.,” he added. He said no one was above law and no one involved in corruption would be allowed to escape the bureau’s net. He said the function of the commission to be set up under the chairmanship of a retired Judge would be confined to sifting genuine complaints and rejecting the motivated and false ones. The commission was not being set up to hold a probe into the scam. He said there was a plan to take out about 10 lakh hectares from the paddy-wheat rotation this year for diversification of crops. “We are negotiating with certain multinational companies in this connection”, he added. BSc results to be out by June 20 at 12:18 IST by Makhan CHANDIGARH: All BSc (general) results of Panjab University will be declared by June 20. Joint controller of examinations Ashok Raj Bhandari said it was for the first time in the university’s history that BSc results had been delinked from the BA results. Earlier the university declared BA and BSc results simultaneously for each of the three years. The decision to de-link the exams was taken since the total number of students in BA/BSc part I is 60,000 and of this large number there are only 5,500 BSc students. Due to linking up of the two exam results the entire process was slowed down and the BSc students’ result was delayed to correspond with that of the BA students. The total number of students students who appear in the BA/BSc I, II and III exams is 1,10,000. Of these the BSc students are only 9,500 and the remaining 1,00,500 are BA students. The result of BSc (general) second year was declared on Tuesday and can be accessed on the university websitewww.results.puchd.a c.in. if the results were declared linked to the BA results, then the BSc first year result would have been declared on June 26, BSc II on June 28 and BSc III on June 29. On these dates only the BA results would be declared while the BSc results would be all out by Thursday. Punjab FM presents Budget today at 12:17 IST by Makhan P P S Gill Chandigarh, June 18 The Minister for Finance, Mr Lal Singh, will present the Punjab Budget, 2002-03, to the Vidhan Sabha tomorrow. This is the first Budget of the Congress government. The government had earlier bared financial facts and figures, as if mentally preparing the people to tighten their belts. Broad contours of the Budget are visible, including the blame that would be apportioned to the previous Akali-BJP government, holding it responsible for the fiscal mess. All indications are that the Budget is primarily a “bureaucrats’ cuisine”. If lack of political will of the previous government and the presence of a large number of concessions and exemptions lowered the tax-GDP ratio down from 7.62 per cent in 1994-95 and 6 per cent in 1998-99, what is proposed now? The government would approach the Centre about off-Budget liabilities for action and relief. The Budget is likely to promise to cap the rate of growth of fiscal deficit at not more than 2 per cent per annum, reduce revenue deficit as a percentage of total revenue receipts by 5 per cent, each year, and cap debt to GSDP ratio at a maximum level of 40 per cent. It is also seen that the government is keen to cap outstanding guarantees on debt raised by public sector undertakings (PSUs). It is clear from the financial position of these PSUs that these guarantees are liabilities, which are likely to devolve upon the state, sooner than later. The return to the government from PSUs, despite an investment of over Rs 8,000 crore, is zero. The Budget proposes “fast-track disinvestment” for which a separate directorate has been created. Panchyatai Raj institutions and municipalities are likely to get more financial and administrative powers, as per the 73rd and 74th Constitutional Amendments. Similarly, infrastructure development will get attention. On the agriculture front, biotechnology would get priority, as would information technology in education. Land and water being critical inputs in sustaining agriculture, averting further degradation is imperative. While wheat and paddy may have given socio-economic status to the people, the two have ruined ecology and environment. Therefore, the Budget is likely to refer to diversion of at least one million acres (20 per cent of the total cultivated area), to more remunerative crops. This is expected to give farmers 100 per cent to 150 per cent additional return once commercial crops are sown. Agro-industry will get a push as the Budget hints at private investment of nearly Rs 1,000 crore in the next two or three years. The government worry is soil health, reclamation of alkaline soil and introduction of integrated pest and weed management. A provision of nearly Rs 54 crore for this purpose to be spent in the next five years is to likely to be there. Drinking water and sewerage is to be provided in cities. The Budget will take cognisance of certain urban projects that have remained neglected, including the Sutlej Action Plan. In, all only 8 per cent Plan allocation was released for all proposed urban projects in 2001-02. Similarly, a World Bank-aided project for water supply and sewerage, costing Rs 462.5 crore is on the anvil for seven towns. Middle East Funding Agencies are providing Rs 140 crore for the same purpose in respect of 21 other towns. The Budget hopes for financial assistance from LIC and HUDCO to the tune of Rs 150 crore. For Patiala, a special Rs 114-crore scheme is ready, as part of the National Capital Region Counter Magnet development scheme, while reference would be made to ONYX, France, for the garbage collection scheme. An industrial policy is on the anvil, with a provision for caring for small scale industries, as per WTO requirements. In fact, even for agriculture development, WTO provisions are being kept in view. The industry will get a ‘’self-certification and licensing of certification authority to qualified persons’’ scheme that is to be introduced. There is good news for the industry. There is a backlog of sanctioned incentive cases of over Rs 500 crore, as on March 31, 2002. The government is likely to announce the plan to issue fully tradable and marketable bonds, as part of its strategy to discharge this liability. The Budget has an investor-friendly input. A software technology park at Patiala is likely to find mention in the Budget, besides one at Mohali. Power sector is dear to the Chief Minister. The Budget is likely to assure full financial support to the state electricity board, which, in return, will ensure efficiency and transparency. Therefore, a special provision to check theft and pilferage by introducing energy audit and accounting system, is included, besides additional funds for the expansion of the existing power generation units at Lehra Mohabbat, Shahpur Kandi and Mukerian. A new policy to attract private investors in the power sector is on the anvil. So is a proposal for joint venture with Central Power Utilities. Punjab wants generation plants at the coal pithead and is tying up hydro-power agreements with Himachal Pradesh and Uttaranchal, besides, a banking agreement with it. The Budget proposes to stress on Sarv Shiksha Abhyan and introduce the Early Child Care and Education Scheme to be run in village level government primary schools, as pre-primary class, which will supplement the work of ‘’anganwaris’’ to cover children in the age group of 3 to 5. The village development committees would get power to monitor schools and dispensaries. As per the plan, fundamental reforms are on the anvil to introduce medical insurance and healthcare financing in the health sector. A special comprehensive and integrated improvement scheme for Dalit Habitats is part of the Budget proposals for an overall amelioration of the poor. Safe drinking water and rural sanitation is to get priority. The discussion on the Budget will be opened by the former Finance Minister, Capt Kanwaljit Singh. Anti-corruption drive to go on: Amarinder at 11:55 IST by Makhan Chandigarh, June 18 The Punjab Chief Minister and Leader of the House, Capt Amarinder Singh, today hit back at the Akalis saying that their “threats” would not scare his government and stop it from pursuing anti-corruption cases against politicians and public servants, howsoever highly placed. He was replying to the discussion on the Motion of Thanks to the Governor for his March 22 Address to the Vidhan Sabha. The House passed the Motion by voice vote. Capt Amarinder Singh reiterated that there would be no political witch-hunt, but those persons against whom evidence became available would not escape the vigilance net. In the previous government, one saw only scams with corruption ingrained in the body politic and administrative machinery. “Corruption had almost become a religion’’, he added. He rejected the offer of Mr Parkash Singh Badal that he alone should be investigated, allegedly for amassing assets worth Rs 3,300 crore, a charge levied against him by the Congress since the February elections. (Mr Badal had made this comment while drawing the government’s attention to the ongoing “harassment and humiliation” of Akali-BJP workers and supporters. He said rather than going after them, why not try him alone, if that was the aim, and punish him, if found guilty.) Capt Amarinder Singh said the government was gathering facts in the matter. A new judge to head the one-man commission of inquiry against the previous government would be appointed shortly, in place of Justice A S Garg, who had since quit. The terms and conditions of the commission showed that it would sift complaints and the ones that required a vigilance probe would be expeditiously taken up. It was a major speech by the Chief Minister, who backed his arguments with facts and figures while finding fault with the previous Akali-BJP government. He drilled holes in the claims of the Badal government and ridiculed it for its “misrule”. He rubbed it the wrong way on all fronts of governance—economic, financial, agricultural, industrial, developmental, administrative and even in the matter of recruitments. The bottom line of his nearly 75-minute speech was the promise of “good governance’’, freedom from corruption and financial bankruptcy, creating a new Punjab through a series of socio-economic, administrative, infrastructural and PSU reforms and the restructuring of key organisations like the state electricity board. He chronologically listed the “achievements’’ of his government in the past 100 days or so and sent a clear message to the Akalis: be prepared to face the Vigilance Bureau. He did not point by point reply to the issues raised by Mr Badal in his speech on Monday and stuck to his party’s political agenda and his government’s policies. He promised to fulfil all promises made in the Congress election manifesto, including the payment of Rs 30 per quintal as bonus on paddy, but added a rider. All promises and commitments would be fulfilled as and when the financial position so warranted. In respect of most of the issues, he would pause to say: “Wait for the Budget to be presented tomorrow’’. Capt Amarinder Singh did not make any reference to the “cooperation’’ extended by the Akalis in fighting corruption provided Congressmen, too, were included in vigilance inquires. On the contrary, he stoutly defended his colleagues whose names were repeatedly mentioned in connection with the Bhikhiwind and Midhu Khera killings. He read out from the police reports in respect of Bhikhiwind and Midhu Khera to say that the two killings were the out come of “old enmity and land disputes, respectively, and not political in nature’’. The Chief Minister, continuing his diatribe against the Akalis, chided them for rushing to Delhi to the Prime Minister, as smallschool children go to their teacher with petty complaints. In a spirited defence of the law and order situation, he said there was nothing wrong with it. He also quoted from The Tribune editorials to impress upon the House that Mr Badal had done only selective reading of excerpts and went on to complete the same by reading out passages that were left out by Mr Badal. Though he spoke extempore, only occasionally looking at the notes, Capt Amarinder Singh’s prepared text, running into 18 closely-typed pages, gave an overview of the government’s performance so far and its future plans. At times, he seemingly lost continuity and sounded repetitive in his comments while referring to financial mismanagement during the Akali regime, recalling their politics of “morcha” and went on to say that today the Akalis were reaping what they had sown in the past five years. Conscious of the fact that the Akalis occasionally called him “one of us’’, Capt. Amarinder Singh said he had understood the Akalis’ modus operandi to remain in power. They first precipitated a situation, mobilised workers through sentimental appeals, had them beaten up, landed themselves (comfortably) in jails and came out as “heroes’’. Warming up to the issues of power, irrigation, sharing of water with Haryana, construction of the SYL canal, etc, Capt Amarinder Singh said the government (Congress) policy was clear and there should be no ambiguity about it. He emphasised that “Punjab does not have a drop of water to spare and share with anyone’’. In the same breath, he ridiculed the Akalis on their “pro-farmer” stance and went on to tell how many farmers under debt had committed suicide and how agriculture had become unremunerative. He promised to “transform’’ agricultural practices and develop agriculture as an industry by promoting agro-processing and involving private investment in infrastructure. He referred to poor industrial development and the plight of the have-nots, who did not have basic facilities like drinking water and sewerage. He had a dig at the BJP for converting urban Punjab into an “unlivable’’ habitat full of filth. He kept reminding the House of the critical financial position, loss-making public sector undertakings, outstanding debt repayments, poor socio-economic services, failing the primary education and primary health care system and how, despite the 73rd and 74th Constitutional amendments, democratic organisations like municipalities and panchayati raj institutions had been deprived of administrative and financial autonomy. In short, he touched upon all aspects of governance, punched the Akalis hard where it hurts the most and presented his views aggressively. He gave enough hints of the politics of confrontation. He also reminded the House that the focus would remain on corruption and it would not be allowed to be diverted to law and order. The people had supported the government policies in the past over 100 days, as was evident from the series of electoral wins. Several members from both the Treasury and Opposition Benches today participated in the discussion prior to Capt Amarinder Singh winding up the same. Monday 17th June, 2002 BJP putting up ‘secular face’ at 10:31 IST by Makhan Ropar, June 16 The All-India Forward Bloc (AIFB) has strongly condemned the communalisation of the office of the President of India by major political parties, including the BJP, the Congress and the Samajwadi Party. In a press note issued here yesterday Mr V.P. Saini, national secretary of the AIFB said the BJP after mercilessly and inhumanly “massacring” Muslims in Gujarat was trying to put up a secular face by nominating Dr Abdul Kalam as the presidential candidate, for whom the AIFB had the greatest regard as a scientist and as a person but it was opposed to his election as the President of India. Mr Saini added that Dr Kalam had been selected for this post not just as a great scientist but as a Muslim scientist. He said in this era of coalition governments, the President of India was expected to play a crucial and decisive role, for which long political experience and maturity was a practical necessity. He said the Prime Minister Mr Atal Behari Vajpayee, had damaged the nation in two ways: first by depriving the nation of the services of a great scientist and secondly by giving a communal colouring to the august office of the President of India. Mr Vajpayee had also selected a candidate who had no practical knowledge and experience of politics. Justifying the decision of the Left parties to put up a candidate in the presidential election, he stated that it was essential to counter the communal, casteist and divisive forces in the country. He welcomed the selection of Capt Laxmi Sehgal of Rani Jhansi Regiment of the INA as a candidate for the post of President by the Left parties, adding that it was a tribute to the legendry revolutionary Neta Ji Subhas Chandra Bose. Farmers defy govt's early paddy plan at 10:27 IST by Makhan KS DHALIWAL JALANDHAR: The government’s action plan on the agriculture front aimed at discouraging early sowing of paddy to save power and conserve water resources and to improve quality of produce to meet the WTO challenge appears to have backfired as a large number of farmers used generators and diesel pumps to start the sowing of paddy in defiance of the plan. The action plan was to cut the supply of power in the whole of May up to mid-June to a mere two to three hours and also to delay releasing of water in the canals. Also, a large number of farmers who went in for diversification in response to the call given by experts and the government did not get the required amount of water for the new crops and so had to plough them back into the soil. The government has mismanaged the entire experiment, farmers’ leaders have alleged, leaving the farmers confused and lacking in confidence to take another risk. ‘‘This time after the harvesting of wheat thousands of farmers went in for crop diversification and sowed sunflower, maize, fodder, sugarcaneand vegetables. However, when they saw electricity supply being cut to just about two hours daily they panicked and most of them have ploughed back their crops into the soil.’’ This is nothing but mismanagement by the electricity board, which didn’t even bother to inform the farmers who were going in for diversification. Now their crops had been ruined. ‘‘We are going to start an agitation against the PSEB authorities. Even today the supply has been been less than eight hours,’’ said Hardev Singh Sandhu, president Kirti Kisan Union. ‘‘The aim of the action plan was prevent farmers from early sowing of paddy as it resulted in poor quality produce and wastage of power and natural water reserves,’’ he added. A number of farmers in the Malwa region who had planned to revert back to the cotton crop were also dissapointed as they could not sow their cotton in time. According to experts such cotton was always vulnerable to disease. Talking to TNN over telephone, Dhana Singh of Bhattiwal village in Sangrur district said, ‘‘As water was not released in the canals and power reduced to just about two hours daily the cotton crop we had planned this time in place of paddy will not grow well. The yield will also be affected.’’ Even in Malout region known to be the cotton belt, the same problem has been reported, said Sandhu. Iqbal Singh Chatha,who planted sunflower and melons in 20 acres each, had to plough back the sunflower due to the drastic cut in electricity. Also the melon crop which used to be lifted by traders in Jammu region could not be lifted due to war preparations on the front. There has to be a well planned strategy synchronising the power sector, the farmer and marketing of the product,’’ says Sandhu. All the farmers talked to were unanimous on this point, otherwise such experiments could lead to their ruin as they had already landed deeper into debt. Varsity seeks donations from NRIs at 10:17 IST by Makhan LUDHIANA: Forced by an unceasing financial draught, Punjab Agricultural University (PAU) vice-chancellor (VC) Kirpal Singh Aulakh has mooted the idea of mobilising monetary donations from its alumni and prosperous Punjabis settled abroad. Disclosing this in an interview with Times News Network at his residence on Wednesday, Aulakh said the proposal would be put before the Board of Management (BoM) for approval in a meeting meeting in July. ‘‘If the BoM approves this, we will have another avenue open before us, which may be a new thing here but a common one in developed nations,” he said. This development assumes significance in context of the much talked about poor financial health of PAU. All talk of the previous government of coming to the rescue of PAU in fiscal matters had failed to fructify. Faced with a deficit of about Rs 23 crore last year, Aulakh deplored the government’s failure in releasing the promised funds. ‘‘In last year’s Rs 144-crore budget, we demanded Rs 102 crore from the government, which sanctioned Rs 81 crore but did not release it,” he said. Sounding optimistic about the present government, he claimed that chief minister Amarinder Singh, on his insistence, had agreed to raise this limit to Rs 91 crore in the current year. Alleging that the previous government had let him down, he said a proposal to create a corpus fund worth Rs 100 crore was submitted to the SAD-BJP government, which had even sanctioned Rs 15 crore towards this, but did not release the amount. ‘‘In fact, no money has been released for the last four years or so,” he claimed. Aulakh said another proposal relating to imposition of one per cent cess on surplus marketable commodities, including foodgrains, had also been submitted to the government and, if approved, it would help in raising another Rs 100 crore, he said. The monetary crunch has particularly affected research work. For the last few years, no new research work has been taken up. The V-C said that PAU failed to commission a study on preservation of vegetables and fruits under the post-harvest technology. ‘‘As seen in the case of successive potato and tomato crops having been dumped on roads by farmers, such knowledge would have led to better storage facilities,” he said, adding that post-harvest technology and biotechnology biotechnology were the two cutting edge technologies which suffered the most due to lack of funds. To make up for this, PAU has vigorously pursued collaborations with foreign universities, like in the case of San Jose State University, California to impart training in agricultural engineering and agro-business management. Similarly, an understanding was reached with University of California for training in post-harvest technology, he said, acknowledging over crisis the contribution of PAU alumni in these ventures. Aulakh has also taken certain cost-cutting measures to check the fiscal slide. He claimed to have saved about Rs 14 crore from the salaries’ account by downsizing 21 per cent teaching and non-teaching posts in various departments. Besides, eight departments were condensed into four to check the wastage of funds. A similar exercise was undertaken in the case of five zonal outstation research centres. Bhagat Singh’s kin resents distortions at 10:11 IST by Makhan Ferozepore, June 16 A relative of Shaheed Bhagat Singh has taken exception to the alleged distortion of facts in the Bollywood movies based on the life and times of the martyr. His nephew, Mr Baber Singh Sandhu, who is chairman of the All-India Bhagat Singh Memorial Trust, has threatened to sue the makers of “The Legend of Bhagat Singh” for tampering with facts. Mr Baber Singh told The Tribune on the telephone that Bhagat Singh never got engaged to any girl and his marriage had not been planned. He said a girl had been wrongly projected as his fiancee in the film. He said a song in the film, “Pagri Sambhal Jatta,” was based on western music, thereby making a mockery of the sanctity of the song. He said the song was based on a movement started by Ajit Singh, uncle of Bhagat Singh. He lamented that such distortions were incorporated in the film despite the objections raised by Kultar Singh, brother of Bhagat Singh. He said a communication to this effect has been sent to the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting and the makers of the film to debate the distorted parts in the film, failing which he would sue the parties concerned. BKU(E) faction gives clean chit to Jethuke at 10:09 IST by Makhan Bathinda, June 16 The Ugrahan faction of the Bharati Kisan Union (Ekta) today gave a clean chit to Mr Jhanda Singh Jethuke, district president of the BKU, in the case of the misappropriation of funds of the union during the Jethuke struggle. It may be recalled that a faction of the union had alleged that Mr Jethuke had misappropriated Rs 4 lakh given by the authorities for the family members of those killed and injured at Jethuke village during an agitation of the union. The other faction had alleged that Mr Jethuke did not keep an account of the many received from the authorities and that given to the aggrieved families. The BKU (E) was divided into two groups when allegations were levelled against some of the district-level office-bearers of the union, including Mr Jethuke. Mr Joginder Singh Ugrahan and Mr Sukhdev Singh Kokri Kalan were appointed president and general secretary of a faction, respectively, which was later joined by Mr Jethuke. The other faction was led by Mr Pishora Singh Sidhupur and Mr Gurmeet Singh Dittupur. Mr Ugrahan and Mr Kokri Kalan at a meeting of the union said here today that there was no need of keeping an account of any amount received from the authorities as compensation as it was not an income of the union. Mr Ugrahan said that whenever some amount was received as compensation it was directly given to the beneficiaries. He said that some of the former office-bearers of the union were levelling baseless allegations against them. He alleged that the aim of the other faction was to weaken the agitation of the farmers. Mr Kokri Kalan said the allegations that the expenses of leaders of the other unions, who participated in the Jethuke agitation, were met out of the funds of the union were baseless. He said that when many of the BKU leaders were arrested the office-bearers of the other unions were asked to look after the injured workers and the family members of those arrested and killed during the agitation. He added that for the purpose some funds were set aside. Vigilance raid on Kahlon’s residence at 10:05 IST by Makhan PTI AMRITSAR: Punjab's Vigilance Bureau on Sunday raided the house of former minister Nirmal Singh Kahlon in connection with alleged irregularities in recruitment in the rural and panchayat department whose charge he has held in erstwhile Prakash Singh Badal ministry in 2000. DSP (Vigilance) Rashpal Singh said during the six-hour search at Kahlon's residence here, the sleuths recovered two kgs of silver utensil, 130 grams of gold ornaments, Rs seven thousand in cash, some deposit certificates, two licensed revolvers and a licensed gun. Searches were were also carried out simultaneously at the former minister's house in village Kahlon in Fathegarh Churain in Gurdaspur district. Vigilance sources said Kahlon had allegedly committed irregularities during the recruitment drive for 200 posts relating to his ministry in 2000. All recruitments, including official connected with them, are under Vigilance Bureau's scrutiny, the sources said. Kahlon, who was not present at the time of the raid, is alleged to have recruited one of his close relatives, who was absolutely physically fit, in the quota of handicapped for government jobs, the sources said. Khalon's wife Swinder, who was present during the raid by vigilance sleuths, said raids were "politically motivated and meant to malign them". She said she and her family were feeling insecure because of "vindictive" attitude of the state government. "Ever since the change of government, we have been getting threatening calls. Moreover, my husband survived three attempts on his life," Swinder said. Sunday 16th June, 2002 Friends of Tota Singh go underground at 05:58 IST by Makhan BALWANT GARG MOGA:Their charmed world has suddenly fallen apart. All friends and loyalists of former education minister Tota Singh, after he was arrested from Moga on Friday by the Vigilance department, have suddenly vanished from public view. The sudden arrest of their patron and mentor seems to have unnerved them and sparked off this exodus. Quiet a few of them, known for their proximity to the leader, were seen scurrying for cover on Saturday. While the residence of Tota Singh in Moga, the ancestral village of the minister, wore a deserted look with forbidding lock hanging on the front gate the residence of his NRI brother Sukhdev Singh at Didarwala village was also found locked on Saturday. Those who were known as PAs and close to the former minister in Moga were found missing from their houses on Saturday. Apart from this, the arrest of Tota Singh for allegedly committing irregularities in the recruitment of teachers, has sent a shock wave among hundreds of teachers in the area who were selected last year during the tenure of Tota Singh. A number of officials of Muktsar education department who allegedly facilitated the recruitments in the department on the basis of job-for-cash formula, are suddenly nowhere to be found. A number of them have reportedly gone underground. Repeated attempts to contact them at their residences yielded no reply. Anticipating the arrest of Tota Singh for his alleged involvement in a number of scams in the education department during his tenure his son Makhan Singh, who was allegedly a main conduit in in the recruitment scam, had left India for Canada about two months back. Chandigarh: Tota Singh was remanded to five days in police custody till June 20, on Saturday, by Kharar judicial magistrate RL Chauhan. He was arrested for allegedly having made money on recruitment of science, Elementary Training Teachers, clerks and others in the state education department and purchase of sub-standard paper, involving about Rs 5 crore, for the Punjab School Education Board. The Viglance Bureau maintained that Tota Singh was yet to be interrogated about his disproportionate assets, godowns worth Rs 10 crore, 15 acres of land worth Rs 2 crore, numerous buses and benami shares in private colleges under Punjab Technical University, Jalandhar. However, his counsel opposed the remand saying that the properties mentioned in the FIR were ancestral and had proper records. SAD-BJP wants Centre intervention at 05:56 IST by Makhan CHANDIGARH: The SAD-BJP combine has sought immediate intervention of the Union government to caution the Punjab government lead by Amarinder Singh, which it alleged, had unleashed a reign of terror to obliterate the combine using muscle power in connivance with the police and state administration. In a memorandum submitted to the Prime Minister, on Saturday, the combine has alleged that the law and order has deteriorated to a point where the constitutional machinery in the state had already broken down. In view of this, Central intervention was required. The Centre, they added, could at least exercise its residuary powers under Article 248 of the Constitution. The SAD-BJP Parliamentary parties have demanded that the Union home ministry issue a letter of warning to Amarinder Singh detailing the reasons for doing so as reflected in the memorandum. They have also sought the constitution of an independent agency to probe the complaints, besides sending a team of eminent personalities from the NDA to Punjab for assessing the law and order situation. Besides this, the Union government must also ensure that no injustice was done to SAD-BJP workers and their supporters. Citing specific cases, the combine alleged that Gurdial Singh, official candidate for the Assembly polls from Valtoha, was shot dead in broad daylight on May 20 with an AK-47. Despite irrigation minister Gurchet Singh Bhullar’s name figuring in the FIR, he was neither dismissed nor permitted to resign, they added. He was instead given a clean chit, they said. Gurdial Singh, who had reportedly felt threatened by Bhullar, had urged the Punjab governor and additional director general of police (ADGP-Security) for security cover, but instead the skeleton security given to him earlier was also withdrawn. The SAD-BJP leaders have urged the PM to get the situation assessed by an independent agency to prevent the complete breakdown of law and order. "The Punjabi people don’t accept the kind of administrative arrogance and tyranny exhibited by Captain Amarinder Singh," reads the memorandum. Alleging that democracy had been throttled at all levels, the memorandum points out that the elections to the four Municipal Corporations last month, and the recently concluded Zila Parishad and Panchayat Samiti elections, had been rigged by misusing the government machinery. CM's move on mayoral chessboard at 05:55 IST by Makhan AMRITSAR: With the election of Sunil Dutti as the fourth mayor of Amritsar, state Congress President and Chief Minister of Punjab Amarinder Singh has created a new power centre in order to keep a check on the political activities of both Om Parkash Soni, an Independent MLA who had recently joined Congress and veteran Congressmen and MP RL Bhatia. Sources in the Congress camp say that Amarinder has picked up Dutti as a probable alternative to Soni, a former Congressmen, who during the regime of SAD-BJP government was considered a close lieutenant of former chief minister Parkash Singh Badal, but had recently shifted his loyalty to Amarinder Singh. He was taken back in the party fold as the latter also required maximum support of MLAs for effective governance. Moreover, Bhatia who himself had projected Dutti as the Congress party’s mayoral candidate during the election of third mayor of Amritsar in October 2000, had reportedly ignored Dutti during the distribution of councillors’ tickets in the corporations elections presumably under the pressure of his loyal MLAs, Raj Kumar and Jugal Kishore Sharma whose choice for mayoral candidate was District Congress Committee president Joginder Pal Dhingra. The announcement of Chaudhary Jagjit Singh, minister of local government, to extend maximum help to Dutti and consider his proposal regarding the development of city on a priority basis has further indicated Amarinder’s backing to Dutti. However, under the changing political scenario, political observers here opine that either the Bhatia camp would make its comeback with some surprising moves or some of his leading supporters, including MLAs, could desert him. Support of Dhingra to Dutti during his election is also seen as a pre-planned move of the kingmakers. Reliable sources in the Congress camp informed that senior Congress ministers, including Chaudhary Jagjit Singh along with a few MLAs, had closeted at the Circuit House before the elections of mayor. Stay on Zora’s arrest extended at 05:54 IST by Makhan FEROZEPUR: District and sessions judge MMS Bedi has extended the stay on the arrest of Ferozepur Member of Parliament Zora Singh Mann till June 26. The MP, who has been charged with theft and assault, in a case registered at Jalalabad Sadar police station on June 13 was granted interim bail till Saturday. New Punjab transport policy soon at 05:53 IST by Makhan LUDIANA: Punjab government will announce a new transport policy after the budget session, besides affecting a major reshuffle in the state transport department by June 30, said Punjab transport minister Tej Parkash Singh here on Saturday. Stating this at a press meet here, the minister hinted that the government had no plans to affect a hike in bus fares in the coming budget session. He added existing travel concessions for various sections of society would continue. He, however, dodged queries on reason behind the fare hike of two paise per km in the state. Speaking about recovery measures, the minister informed that they had already decided to withdraw services from villages where it had been running losses. He said the new routes would be soon be advertised, permits for which, would be be allotted to unemployed youth. About the sorry condition of state-owned buses, the minister, attributing the same to lack of spare parts. A fleet of 300 new buses would also be added to the the Punjab Roadways and PRTC. Bharti launches mobile service at 05:52 IST by Makhan PTI [ SATURDAY, JUNE 15, 2002 6:20:57 PM ] AMBALA: Bharti Cellular Ltd, a subsidiary of Bharti Televentures India, launched mobile telephone service in Haryana on Saturday. Sunil Bharti Mittal, Chairman and Group Managing Director of Bharti enterprises, inaugurated here the new 'AirTel' network by making the first call Sushma Swaraj, Union minister for information and broadcasting. Mittal claimed that Bharti mobile footprint covered 93 per cent of all mobile phone users in India cutting across 1.8 million square km in 16 states touching a total population of approximately 600 millions and a customer base of over 1.6 million. He said in the first phase 31 cities and towns like Ambala, Rohtak, Panipat, Karnal and Sonepat would get the AirTel service. Another 34 towns of Haryana would be covered in the second phase shortly. Woman dies in SGPC serai at 05:51 IST by Makhan AMRITSAR: An unidentified woman believed to be in her forties died under suspicious circumstances in one of the inn (serai) situated at the Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Complex. According to reliable sources in the SGPC, the woman reportedly a pick pocket, was caught by the SGPC’s task force and was taken to a room for interrogation. In a bid to save herself from the alleged unlawful custody of task force, the women jumped from the window of room and was severely injured. Sources revealed that she was taken to Shri Guru Ram Das Hospital where she was reportedly declared brought dead. Sources further revealed that the police personnel present at the hospital got suspicious of an unidentified body and sent the body for the post mortem. Ajaib Singh, manager of the Golden Temple, when contacted by TNN admitted that a woman devotee had died after she slipped form the staircase of Guru Ram Das Sarai on Tuesday. He said they had informed the police about the mishap. About the version of SGPC sources, Ajaib Singh said that there was groupism within the SGPC so few people just wanted to malign the committee image for their own vested interests. Strangely, Harbeant Singh, secretary, SGPC expressed ignorance about the incidence and maintained that he was out of station and didn’t know about the mishap. Only a few days ago, a veteran SGPC member Puran Singh Josh had alleged that sarai rooms were given to prostitutes in connivance with the SGPC employees. The allegations were, however, denied by the committee. Former Akali minister in custody at 05:49 IST by Makhan PTI [ SATURDAY, JUNE 15, 2002 6:17:20 PM ] KHARAR: Former Akali minister Tota Singh, arrested by Punjab Vigilance Bureau on corruption charges, was sent on Saturday to police custody till June 20. Kharar Judicial Magistrate cum Civil Judge Roshan Lal Chohan sent Singh to police custody after the former education minister, arrested yesterday, was presented before him amidst tight security. A large posse of policemen was posted at the court premiese as a number of supporters of the former minister had gathered outside and were raising slogans. The Punjab Vigilance Bureau arrested Singh following registeration of a criminal case against him for alleged forgery and amassing of assets disproportionate to his knwon sources of income. The charges against Singh include alleged scandal in recruitment of clerks in the Education Board, purchase of sub standard paper worth Rs three crore and accepting illegal gratification in transfers and postings. Earlier, the vigilance sleuths recorded Singh's statement in its office in Chandigarh. Saturday 15th June, 2002 Badal to submit memo to PM at 10:37 IST by Makhan Sarbjit Dhaliwal Chandigarh, June 14 Senior Akali leaders led by Mr Parkash Singh Badal today left for Delhi to submit a memorandum to the Prime Minister, Mr Atal Behari Vajpayee, and the Union Home Minister, Mr L.K. Advani. They are likely to meet both leaders shortly after 12 p.m. on Saturday. Among those who left for Delhi were, Mr Balwinder Singh Bhunder and Capt Kanwaljit Singh. Mr Sukhdev Singh Dhindsa is already in Delhi. All Akali legislators accompanied by the senior party leaders are supposed to meet the Prime Minister and the Home Minister. Mr Badal had stated that the BJP MLAs would also accompany the Akali MLAs to the Capital. Mr Manpreet Singh Badal, in charge of the publicity wing of the SAD, told The Tribune that by tomorrow morning all Akali MLAs would be in Delhi. He said certain MLAs had left for their respective constituencies yesterday after attending the Assembly session and would be travelling to Delhi from there. The memorandum will be, by and large confined to three main issues. The first is the alleged rigging of elections by Congress activists with the help of official machinery especially a section of the police. It has been stated in the memorandum that the ruling Congress leaders started the “rigging” of elections in the Malout Assembly poll and continued the process in the municipal corporation elections and later in the recently concluded zila parishad and block samiti elections. It was a pre-planned rigging of elections. When complaints were made to the government authorities concerned in this connection, no action was taken. The second issue in the memorandum relates to the “deteriorating” law and order situation in the state. Giving instances, the memorandum, states that violent attacks have been made on Akali activists at various places. The instance of senior Akali leader Gurdial Singh, who was the SAD’s candidate in the Valtoha constituency, has been given in the document. Gurdial Singh, along with his close relations, was shot dead at Bhikhiwind, near Amritsar, last month. Congressmen were behind these murders, it has been alleged. The third major point in the memorandum relates to political “vendetta”. It has been alleged that the ruling party is making Akali leaders and their supporters selective targets and false cases have been registered against many of them. A list of cases has also been attached to the memorandum. A number of other incidents have also been mentioned briefly in the document. Fund paucity hits Khalsa complex at 10:35 IST by Makhan Lalit Mohan Ropar, June 14 Paucity of funds has hit work on the ambitious Khalsa Heritage Memorial Complex at Anandpur Sahib. The Anandpur Sahib Foundation, which has taken up the project, has not received any money for the past five months. Larsen and Torbo Company, which has been entrusted with the construction work of the project has also not been paid any amount for the same period. As per the agreement, the company does work on credit and claims payment from the Anandpur Sahib Foundation on a monthly basis. The monthly bill of the company ranges from about Rs 2 crore to Rs 2.5 crore. Though the company is continuing with the work, authorities, on the condition of anonymity, said if the money was not paid by next month, construction might be stopped. Company officials say that the credit had reached about Rs 10 crore. The company has been forced to continue the work, as the laying roofs on the main building is in progress. They said once work on the roofs is over, the company would not proceed with the further construction till its dues are cleared. The paucity of funds is creating other problems. Sources said the interior construction will be based on the designs of the National Institute of Design, Ahmedabad, which is doing the interiors. The initial estimate of the interior designing of the complex was Rs 70 crore, which was later raised to Rs 90 crore. The design institute is demanding a major chunk of the said amount in advance before delivering the detailed designs. However, due to the non-availability of funds, the foundation has not been able to pay to the institute. Though the government was making a budgetary provision of about Rs 15 crore in the forthcoming budget for the Khalsa Heritage Complex, the amount would not sustain the development. The Punjab Government was also trying to attract donations from the Punjabi NRIs and the Union Government. However, the donations for the project have been dismal. at 10:34 IST by Makhan Lecturers’ recruitment ‘bungled’ at 10:23 IST by Makhan Tribune News Service Bathinda, June 14 Even as the Punjab Public Service Commission (PPSC) scam is yet to reach a logical end, complaints regarding bunglings in the recruitment of physical education lecturers last year by the departmental selection committees have started pouring in. Mr Ramandeep Singh and Mr Najar Singh, both local residents, in a complaint sent to various authorities have alleged that at least three candidates selected by the Departmental Selection Committee had been selected by using unfair means. They pointed out that one of the candidates who was selected for appointment as a physical education lecturer, did not possess a D.P.Ed degree, which was necessary according to the rules. In another case, a candidate who was selected and was placed high on merit in the final selection list had only D.P.Ed and M.P.Ed degrees and even his academic merit was not very high. The merit was of this candidate was deliberately assessed wrongly to benefit him. The complainants alleged that one of the appointees had obtained his degree from outside Punjab as he failed to get admission to any college of Punjab due to poor academic merit. One candidate was given the highest marks in the interview though he had no certificate of sports, which was mandatory for appointment as a physical education lecturer. All these cases proved that the selection process was unfair, he alleged. Mr Ramandeep Singh claimed that he had obtained 70 per cent marks in D.P.Ed, 72 per cent marks in M.P.Ed, and had obtained first class marks in a Yoga certificate course. He also had a diploma in physical education coaching, besides being a player of national level. He alleged that he was not given fair marks in the interview to select favourite candidates. Mr Najar Singh also claimed to have a good academic record and said he was not given even six marks in the interview. They demanded a probe into the bunglings in the recruitments. No official could be contacted for comments. Insurance frauds on the rise at 10:22 IST by Makhan Prabhjot Singh Chandigarh, June 14 It is not only banking and other financial institutions which are facing increased cases of fraud and bunglings, insurance companies, too, are not far behind. “In fact, in the insurance industry, , white-collar crime is well organised,” says Mr Sudarshan Singh Sachar, a former Assistant Inspector-General of Police and private investigator. “The insurance sector is stinking with frauds and scams as rich and influential persons, in connivance with senior functionaries of these companies are making fraudulent claims,” he adds. While frauds in the banking industry are exposed often, those in the insurance industry mostly remain unreported. The surveyor-client-company-executive nexus is reportedly behind most of the scams in the insurance sector. And the major beneficiaries, besides the claimants, are senior functionaries of the insurance companies. One of the new players in the automobile insurance business has been upset over the theft of seven brand new cars from various parts of Punjab and Chandigarh during the past few months. Two of the cars, both Maruti 800s with temporary registration numbers, were stolen from Chandigarh and never recovered. Some of the new vehicles so stolen get back into the market with “forged” registration documents after their engine and chassis numbers are tampered with. Recently, a gang involved in the theft of brand new vehicles with temporary registration numbers was tracked down in Punjab. Other players involved in insurance-related vehicle thefts are officials of the Regional and State Transport Authorities. Without their connivance such stolen vehicles cannot be registered afresh with forged sale letters and tampered engine and chassis numbers. In fact, the number of stolen vehicles recovered is negligible. Insurance companies dole out crores of rupees annually as “claims”. Interestingly, the inventory of the police — Punjab, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh or even Chandigarh — contains a large number of unclaimed motor vehicles, including two-wheelers and four-wheelers. And in the case of most of these “unclaimed” vehicles, the owners have already made insurance “claims.” Fire and theft are the major avenues used for defrauding insurance companies. Industrial units, road transport companies and even major trading houses have, in connivance with senior officials of the insurance industry, been also committing frauds almost every day. Take for example the case of a pharmaceutical company which made a huge claim stating that an entire truckload of costly medicines had been “destroyed in a fire”. Then there are claims in which stocks are shown destroyed in fires in godowns or on the factory premises. A few cases picked at random for investigation, however, usually reveal a different story. Then attempts are made to pressurise or persuade the private investigators to either change their report or dilute the findings. Friday 14th June, 2002 Akali leader’s murder: govt in tight spot at 09:23 IST by Makhan Amritsar, June 13 The publication of a picture of Capt Amarinder Singh, showing him sitting in the Qualis allegedly used in the killing of senior Akali leader Gurdial Singh and five others on May 19 has put the Congress government in a tight spot. According to confirmed reports, Mr Gurchet Singh Bhullar, Irrigation Minister, whose name was also mentioned in the FIR, and Mr Tarlochan Singh Chakwalia, a Congress candidate from Patti, were also travelling in the vehicle, which was being driven by one of the accused, Jasbir Singh, alias Jassa. However, after the killings, the Chief Minister had stated that Mr Bhullar had no links with the accused. It may be mentioned here that Capt Amarinder Singh had addressed at least five election rallies in Amritsar district on February 1. Some of the persons against whom the FIR was lodged also participated in the rallies. Walkout in Punjab House at 09:22 IST by Makhan Chandigarh, June 13 Raising slogans Akali and BJP legislators and certain Independent MLAs today staged a walkout from the Punjab Assembly in protest against the use of English in the House. They urged that the House should confine itself to Punjabi. When Mr Birdevinder Singh, Congress MLA, started reading out his call-attention motion in English, Capt Kanwaljit Singh got up to protest and requested the Speaker to ask him to speak in Punjabi. This led to an exchange of taunts for a while, ultimately leading to a walkout by the Akalis as well as certain Independent MLAs even as Mr Birdevinder Singh switched over to Punjabi. Earlier, Mr Balwinder Singh Bhunder, Akali MLA, repeatedly intervened to ask that the proceedings should be in Punjabi. Mr Sucha Singh Chhottepur, a leader of the Independent MLAs’ group, said that they were not with the Akalis, but they were all for the use of Punjabi in the House. They also staged a walkout. He said: “We are known in the world for our Punjabi identity and it will be appropriate to use Punjabi in the Assembly.” Earlier, the House witnessed a war of words between Congress and the Akalis over the use of what the latter described as unparliamentary words against them by the Treasury Benches yesterday. The Speaker assured them he would remove the objectionable references if any. The use of offensive language, especially by the Treasury Benches, against Akali legislators has become a common feature. Comments laced with bitterness from the Treasury Benches are often heard. Earlier, such bitter wordy duels were never seen between the Treasury and Opposition Benches. Mr Birdevinder Singh also provoked Akali legislators during zero hour by observing that they (Akalis) clapped in the House like “khusras” (eunuchs) yesterday. It offended the Akalis and Capt Kanwaljit Singh got up to reply that he was not prepared to utter the filthy words used by Mr Birdevinder Singh, but his observations were objectionable. The Speaker ruled that the use of the word “khusra” by Congress legislator was not unparliamentary. Chowdhary Jagjit Singh and Prof Darbari Lal condemned the conduct of the Akali legislators in the House yesterday. Through his call-attention motion, Mr Birdevinder Singh asked the government why it was wielding the stick against junior-level employees of public sector undertakings by slashing their wages and allowances. He sought taking of the report of the Disinvestment Commission for debate in the House before its implementation. He urged the government to take to task IAS and PCS officers and other high-ups for bringing PSUs into the red. Mr Lal Singh, Finance Minister, said in his reply that the final report of the commission was not ready yet. It would be made available to the House after completion. He also promised to look into the demand for action against the IAS and PCS officers concerned. During question hour, replying to Mr Joginder Singh Mann’s question regarding suicide by farmers, Mr Partap Singh Bajwa said that the member had asked a significant question which should draw the attention of all. As many as 20 farmers committed suicide from 1997 to February, 2002. Replying to a supplementary question of Mr Birdevinder Singh whether there was a proposal to waive the loans of small farmers, Mr Bajwa said that as the government was in a financially tight situation, it would be unable to do so at present, but it could be possible at a later stage. As many as 144 posts of lecturer were vacant in government colleges, said Mr Khushal Behal, Education Minister, replying to Mr Tikshan Sud’s question. Mr Sardul Singh, Excise and Taxation Minister, said that the Ambuja cement factory at Bathinda had been given sales tax exemption of Rs 171.87 crore on February 14 this year. He was responding to a question by Mr Tripat Rajinder Singh Bajwa. The Finance Minister said a total of Rs 314.37 crore was given under the “sangat darshan programme” during 2000-2001 and 2001-2002. The question was asked by Prof Darbari Lal. There were 1,1486 male and 614 female inmates in Punjab’s jails against the capacity of 9,434 males and 420 females, the members were informed. Mr Manpreet Singh Badal raised, during zero hour, the issue of 300 lift irrigation schemes on the Sirhind canal which had been lying closed for the past three months. He sought their revival immediately as otherwise the farmers concerned would not be able to sow their kharif crops. SAD MP booked for theft, assault at 09:21 IST by Makhan FEROZEPUR: The Jalalabad police has booked Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) Lok Sabha member from Ferozepur, Zora Singh Mann, his brother, two sons, besides 12 of his accomplices in a case of theft and assault and under the Arms Act. A case under sections 188, 379, 324/323, 506, 148/149, IPC and sections 25/54/59, Arms Act was registered against them on Wednesday at the Jalalabad Sadar police station on the complaint of a farmer, Shaminder Singh of Chak Suhela village. The MP is also a resident of Chak Suhela village where the disputed land is located. Shaminder said he was involved in a dispute over four acres of land with a supporter of the MP and the Jalalabad SDM had clamped section 145, CrPC and appointed a receiver in this connection on April 23. The crop was harvested by the tehsildar and kept in government possession, to be given to its owner after solving of the dispute. Shaminder said that when on June 11 he had gone to his field adjoining the disputed land, he found some people removing his tubewell motor. He claimed that when he protested he was intimidated and made to run for his life. The complainant alleged that while he was ringing up the police from a PCO in Chak Ladhuwala village, the MP, along with his sons Nardev and Vardev, besides several others, came there in vehicles and started beating him and his associates Gurdev and Baljeet. Shaminder alleged that all of them carried firearms and lethal weapons. The police has confirmed the arrest of only one of the accused, Darshan Singh. Zora Singh Mann, while addressing a press conference here on Thursday evening, termed the charges as politically motivated as the complainant had nothing to do with the ownership of the disputed land, which he claimed was registered in the name of Harnek Singh and Darshan Singh,who were cultivating it for the last four-five years. With the change of government, the land was put under section 145, CrPC by the administration at the behest of the Congress, he alleged. Meanwhile, district and sessions judge M M S Bedi has granted anticipatory bail to Zora Singh Mann, his brother, two sons and others. Modified pension scheme for private colleges at 09:18 IST by Makhan P.P.S. Gill Chandigarh, June 13 Based on the concept of ''defined'' contribution, a new modified pension scheme for Punjab's non-government aided colleges has been approved by the Council of Ministers. The scheme envisages contribution of the share of the employer (private college managements), the employee (teaching and non-teaching) and the government towards the Contributory Provident Fund to create a corpus out which the staff will be entitled to pension benefits. The corpus will be operated by a registered trust, comprising managements and union representatives. The draft pension scheme, along with the necessary guidelines for its framing and operation, have been sent to the Legal Remembrancer for vetting. An official notification of the scheme is expected in a fortnight, according to highly placed sources. The issue of pension has been hanging fire since April,1992, when the then Finance Minister, Dr Kewal Krishan, now Speaker, first conceded the demand of the private colleges, which get 95 per cent grant-in-aid from the government. Thereafter, it went through a maze of political and administrative vicissitudes, coupled with agitation, boycott of examinations, lightning strikes, relay fasts, rallies, etc, by the Punjab and Chandigarh College Teachers Union and the Joint Action Committee of the Non-government Affiliated Colleges of Punjab and Chandigarh. The chronology of events related to the pension scheme shows that it was repeatedly taken up by both the Congress and Akali-BJP governments in their respective council of ministers' meetings between 1992 and 2002. In fact, there is also the Punjab Affiliated Colleges (Security of Service of Employees) Amendment Act, 1999. But the pension scheme has failed to take off. The new draft pension scheme, it is reliably learnt, envisages that if pensionary benefits are indeed to be given, these should be limited to pension and gratuity. It leaves out the commutation of pension, leave encashment etc. As per the new scheme, the entire amount in the Contributory Provident Fund, including the share of the employer and employee will form part the corpus fund from where the pension and gratuity payment will be made. Under no circumstances will the corpus fund be part of the state Budget. Sources told TNS that there was no legal sanction to treat the staff of the private colleges on a par with government employees. The latest decision of the Council of Ministers, taken on June 9, has nullified the earlier decision of the Akali-BJP Council of Ministers, taken on December 12, 2001, as also the decision of the Congress Council of Ministers of January 3, 1996. Interestingly, the Akali and Congress Council of Ministers kept changing and modifying the pension scheme and undoing each other's decisions, ostensibly at the instance of the Department of Finance, much to the disappointment of the staff of the private colleges. There are 140 aided colleges, which have been raising this demand since 1990. The total number of employees seeking pension benefits is 3,903 teaching and 2,865 non-teaching. This benefit, if accepted by the colleges, will not accrue to the 30 unaided colleges. Even in the present case, the Finance Department had its way and overruled the proposals of the Department of Higher Education, say sources. The council was told on June 9 that if the December 12, 2001, decision of the Akali-BJP government was to be implemented, it would cast a financial liability on the state, which would not be justified in view of the precarious fiscal condition. Legally, it argued, the state was not bound to provide pension to the aided private colleges, as the law in this regard only enables and does not direct the government to do so. Punjab, incidentally, is the only state in the country where the pension-cum-gratuity scheme has not been implemented so far. Even Haryana has given this benefit to its aided colleges. Tuesday 11th June, 2002 Punjab to get Rs 18,657 cr for Plan at 08:37 IST by Makhan NEW DELHI: Punjab will get Rs 18,657 crore for the tenth plan and Rs 2,743 crore in the current fiscal, including Rs 20 crore for the reconstruction of houses damaged in the border areas. The outlays were finalised at a meeting between chief minister Capt Amarinder Singh and planning commission deputy chairman K C Pant. Pant told mediapersons after the meeting that a provision of Rs 20 crore has been made in the plan outlay for 2002-03 for reconstruction of houses damaged in the recent Pakistani shelling in border areas. The chief minister had sought Rs 50 crore for rehabilitation of the people who have migrated from the border areas and could not cultivate their land due to the ongoing tension along the 500-km Indo-Pak border in Punjab. At the meeting, Pant pointed out that the state’s growth rate had slowed down during the ninth plan and the share of the service sector had stagnated around 30 per cent. Complimenting the state on achieving foodgrains production target for the ninth plan and for introducing cultivation of medicinal plants, the deputy chairman said the private sector should be encouraged to provide cold storage back-up for growing fruit and vegetable production. The chief minister admitted that the growth of agriculture, the mainstay of the state, had slowed down. The centre wanted to change the minimum support price (MSP) mechanism and procurement pattern. But the policy shift should be slow, giving sufficient time to farmers to adapt to the new environment. Pant expressed concern over the performance of the PSUs and pointed out that the state electricity board and Punjab Roadways had been incurring losses. The state was advised to levy at least 50 paise per unit of power from the farmers who are now getting free electricity. Amarinder Singh said the state would adopt a middle path, exempting small and marginal farmers from the proposed electricity charges. The government was determined to revamp the PSUs and go for disinvestment in a big way. But he took exception to the high rate of interest charged by the power finance corporation and the rural electrification corporation despite the recent fall in interest rates. The chief minister also sought a review of the formula for central assistance. In order to offset the burden of the pay commission recommendations, the Centre should take the lead in freezing dearness allowance and other benefits. Badal votes against Akali Dal (B) at 08:34 IST by Makhan BADAL (Muktsar): This village of former Punjab chief minister Parkash Singh Badal has stubbornly denied Congress a victory in the last 20 years. Therefore, Monday's defeat of the SAD(B) candidate for block samiti elections in Badal zone has come as great humiliation for the Badal family. The bastion of Pash ji, as the former chief minister is affectionately called in this area, was breached as Congress candidates for panchayat samiti elections wrested 16 of 18 seats in Lambi block. In Badal zone itself, the Akali candidate lost the seat to the Congress candidate by a margin of 491 votes. This is in contrast to the outcome of the last assembly elections when SAD(B) candidates had won almost all seats in Moga, Muktsar, Faridkot and Bathinda districts. In Gidderbaha block, where the former CM's nephew and SAD(B) man Manpreet Singh Badal is MLA, Congress swept 18 of 21 block samiti seats. SAD(B) candidates could win only two seats while one seat went to an independent backed by Congress. In Muktsar block, as per results available by 6 pm, Congress, Akalis and independent candidates won sixteen, six and two seats respectively. In Malout, eight of thirteen declared results favoured Congress while SAD(B) candidates won five seats. In Bathinda district, as per the results of zila parishad elections available by 6 pm on Monday, Congress had wrested 12 of 14 seats. In Moga district, the available results for panchayat samiti elections showed the Akalis and Congress neck and neck. Of the 35 declared results, 14, 11 and eight favoured the Akalis, Congress and independents respectively. While two seats were won by CPI candidates, all independents had the support of Congress candidates. Of the six declared results for zila parishad, the Akalis and Congress bagged three each. In Faridkot block, Congress registered a sweeping victory by winning 18 of 21 panchayat samiti and all five zila parishad seats. In Kot Kapura block of Faridkot district, Congress won nine of twelve panchayat samiti seats. The results are a blow to the Akali claim of having a strong base amongst rural voters and should alert the party to a possible debacle in the impending SGPC elections. Congress strong in most districts at 08:32 IST by Makhan PATIALA: Congress has won eight of nine block samitis in the district with a clear majority. Of the 18 seats in Patiala block samiti, 17 have returned Congress while one has gone to the Akalis. Likewise, Congress has bagged 15 of 16 seats in Bhunarheri block while one has gone to SAD (Badal). All 16 seats of Sanaur block samiti have been won by Congress. In Ghanaur, 16 of 19 seats have gone to Congress and three to SAD (B); in Patran, 14 of 18 have gone to Congress and four to SAD (B) while in Nabha block, 21 of 25 have gone to Congress and the remaining four to independent candidates. In Samana block samiti, 11 of 16 seats have gone to Congress while SAD (B) could win only one seat. The final result of zila parishad polls is still awaited. Of the eight blocks of Sangrur district, Congress has bagged five with complete majority. Out of 15 seats in Bhawanigarh block, eight have gone to Congress, three to SAD (B), three to independents and one to All India Shiromani Akali Dal. Out of 23 seats of Barnala block samiti, 16 have gone to Congress, two to SAD (B) and five to independents. Fatehgarh Sahib: According to Vikas Partap, deputy commissioner, Fatehgarh Sahib, the Congress party has won all the 10 seats of the Zila Parishad of Fatehgarh Sahib. Besides, the Congress party has also won all the five block samitis with a clear-cut majority in this district. Out of the total 15 seats of Khamanon block, the Congress has bagged 14 seats while one has gone to SAD (Badal). Jalandhar: From the results declared so far, Congress seems to be heading for a hattrick, having already won the assembly and corporation elections. Out of the 19 zila parishad seats in Jalandhar district, Congress has won 10 and is leading in other eight seats. One seat has been won by the Shiromani Akali Dal. Counting is still going on. Out of 121 seats, 64 have been bagged by Congress, 35 by SAD and 22 by Independents in the block samiti elections in this district. Amritsar: Of the 283 panchayat samiti seats, Congress bagged 35, SAD-25, independents four and one seat went to the CPI. Pathankot: The Congress seems to be heading for landslide victory in the zila parishad and block samiti poll, according to the trends and results available in the Gurdaspur district. According to official sources, the Congress bagged as many as 16 seats, the BJP and Independent 1, out of the total 23 seats in Pathankot block samiti poll. The ZP poll counting trends also showed similar results. Did scam-busting help Cong? at 08:30 IST by Makhan BATHINDA: What could be the reason behind the reversal of trend in the voting pattern of the voters in this part of Malwa? Was it Punjab government’s drive against corruption or intimidation of voters and candidates of Shiromani Akali Dal (Badal) by the police? The reasons could be many any varied. If Congress attributed the sweeping victory of the party candidates in zila parishad and block samiti elections to the state government’s drive against corruption, Akalis said it was rigging, booth capturing, deletion of name of Akali voters from voters’ list, intimidation of candidates by the police and other such ill-practices, which had no place in a democratic system, that helped Congress win the elections. The media in charge of SAD(B), Manpreet Singh Badal, said, the panchayat election was a farce. But Avtar Singh Brar, a senior Congress leader from Faridkot, claimed that it was the skeletons of corruption, which had started tumbling out of Akali leaders’ cupboards in the last three months, that made people vote against Akalis. What significant could have changed since the assembly election? People, who had voted for Akali candidates then, had helped the party won all 11 seats in Moga, Muktsar and Faridkot districts. But, the same people voted enthusiastically in favour of Congress in panchayat polls. Ruminating over this, Brar said that the big issue this time was mind-boggling quantum of corruption which dominated voters’ mind and translated it into votes for Congress candidates. But for Manpreet, it was total subversion of democratic set up. “We withdrew from the polls at 11 am in most of the constituencies on the polling day as the police was brandishing arms to intimidate the party workers and voters. First, they snapped genuine Akali voters, then rejected nomination papers and now rigged the polling booths. What was the point of holding the elections if Congress had to behave this way?” asked Badal. A delegation of Akali MLAs would meet George Fernandes soon and issue of complete subjugation of democratic set up in the state under Congress government would be raised with the Prime Minister, Union home minister and Union law minister for their interference in the matter, said Badal, adding that a meeting of 40 party MLAs was organised in Chandigarh on Monday to discuss the issue. INLD member joins Congress at 08:28 IST by Makhan PTI [ MONDAY, JUNE 10, 2002 9:51:46 PM ] CHANDIGARH: Ram Singh Verma, a member of national working committee of Haryana's ruling Indian National Lok Dal (INLD), joined Congress on Monday.Verma had contested assembly polls from Bhiwani in 1987 and 1996 on Lok Dal ticket, a Congress spokesman said here.Verma, who is also head of the Backward Cell of Haryana, had a meeting with Haryana Congress Chief Bhupinder Singh Hooda and expressed full faith in the policies and programmes of Congress under the leadership of Sonia Gandhi, the spokesman said. BJP leader booked for faking will at 08:18 IST by Makhan BATHINDA: The Bathinda police on Friday registered a criminal case against former Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) Mahila Mandal president Manju Bala.She has been accused of preparing a false will deed to usurp the property of her mother-in-law in connivance with an employee of the Ram Pura Phool Nagar Council.The case has been registered at the Ram Pura Phool police station after a probe into a complaint made by Vinod Bansal, husband of the accused.Bansal had alleged illicit relationship between his wife and the council employee, Pawan Kumar. He had alleged that Bala, in connivance with some employees of the Nagar Council, prepared a fake will of Shanti Devi, mother of the complainant, to take possession of some prime properties. 50% voting in Zilla, panchayat polls at 08:16 IST by Makhan CHANDIGARH: Approximately 50 per cent of the around 1.5 crore electorate voted in the zila parishad and panchayat samiti elections in Punjab held on Sunday amid tight security.The polling concluded at 4 pm in all 17 districts of the state, the counting of votes will take place on Monday and the results are expected by late afternoon.Barring some incidents of stray violence, the elections passed off peacefully, officials said. Supporters of former power minister in the Badal government, Sikandar Singh Maluka and his rival Gurpreet Singh Kangar clashed in Maluka’s village. The police intervened and the polling continued. A turnout of 43 per cent was reported in Bathinda district and 52 per cent in Ferozepur.Minor skirmishes were also reported between supporters of former minister Sucha Singh Langah and Sucha Singh, the MLA from Dhariwal, in Chotepur village. The poll percentage was reported to be around 50 per cent in Gurdaspur district. The elections saw as many 679 candidates pitted against each other for 254 of the 281 zila parishad seats.Twenty-seven candidates have already been returned unopposed. Of these, are from Congress and two from Shiromani Akali Dal.For the panchayat samitis, there were 5,872 candidates for 2,241 seats out of total of 2,484. Of these, 233 seats went uncontested, 211 to the Congress, seven to the SAD and 11 to independents. 2 Khalistani militants held in Kapurthala at 08:14 IST by Makhan PTI [ MONDAY, JUNE 10, 2002 4:19:39 PM ] KAPURTHALA: Two terrorists of the Khalistan Liberation Force (KLF), who were wanted in a kidnapping case and declared proclaimed offenders for more than 14 years, were arrested here, police said on Saturday.District police Chief R N Dhoke told reporters the duo -- identified as Jinder Singh alias Jinda and Lakha Singh alias Ladoo -- were active members of the KCF and wanted by the Kapurthala police for the kidnapping of one Sucha Singh of village Mansoorwal. They had demanded a ransom of Rs one lakh for his release in 1988, Dhoke said adding Sucha was released by them after 15 days.He said the duo had confessed to two murders at Goindwal and Verowal in Amritsar district and one case of attempt to murder was also registered against them at Goindwal Sahib police station.Dhoke said eight proclaimed offenders have been arrested over the past fortnight after police launched a special campaign to arrest such criminals. |
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