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PUNJAB LOCAL AC BUSES, RADIO CABS & AUTOS SET TO TRANSFORM PUBLIC TRANSPORT SYSTEM IN PUNJAB CITIES
• AMRITSAR, LUDHIANA, JALANDHAR, PATIALA , BATHINDA AND MOHALI SET
TOWITNESS TRANSFORMATION
• RS. 60 CRORE PUBLIC TRANSPORTATION PLAN ON ANVIL
• MEGA PLAN TO PRESERVE AND BEAUTIFY FOR HISTORIC GARDENS OF AMRITSAR
• HERITAGE VILLAGE IN AMRITSAR TO ATTRACT GLOBAL TOURIST

Chandigarh, November 17:

Public Transport system of important cities s of Punjab including Amritsar , Ludhiana ,Jalandhar , Bathinda , Patiala and Mohali is set to witness massive transformation with the approval of plan to introduce low floor AC buses , radio Cabs and Radio Autos within six months.
In a high level meeting presided over by Punjab Deputy Chief Minster Mr. Sukhbir Singh Badal and attended by Local Government
Minister Mr. Manoranjan Kalia, Member Parliament Navjot Sidhu at
Kapurthala House, here today, approved the mega joint Plan of Local Government Department and Transport Department to transform the Public Transport System in the cities. Mr. Badal said that an efficient and desirable Public Transportation System would check the congestion of personal vehicles on the roads. It was informed that tenders for Low Floor AC Buses have already been floated after the issue was cleared by Punjab and Haryana High Court recently. Similarly process was on to shortlist the operators for starting , radio cab and radio auto service in these important towns. He said that these cabs would be GPS controlled and would be available to the passengers at a simple phone call.

The meeting today also approved an ambitious plan for holy city Amritsar that would involve construction of heritage village at GT Road on GNDU Campus, preservation and beatification of Ram Bagh Gardens, preservation of historic Town Hall building, setting up of Food Street, development of pedestrian plaza opposite Golden Temple, restoration and preservation of Historic Gates and massive restoration of Gobindgarh Fort besides strengthening the infrastructure of Amritsar City to make it tourist friendly city.

Mr.Badal said that Amritsar has a potential to emerge as No.1 International Tourist Hub if we are able to prolong the stay of religious tourist by few days and attract more international tourists.
He called for a collective approach by all development agencies.

It was informed in meeting that Archaeological Survey of India as put up their conceptual plan for the development of Ram Bagh and it was working in coordination with Municipal Corporation for its development. It was approved in the meeting to develop historic Town Hall and adjoining area as place of heritage importance, in synergy with the surrounding area Golden Temple. The offices in the town hall have been shifted to alternate locations and Town Halls is being developed by Tourism Department in association with PIDB.

Emphasizing on attracting additional tourist to Amritsar city, Mr.Badal approved the plan of Heritage Village to be set up on G.T.Road, in the area provided by GNDU. Mr.Badal said that the management and construction of Heritage Village would be outsourced to private specialized agency.

It was also approved to ply eco-friendly Hop on Hop off buses connecting various religious places. The Sulabh International would construct and maintain 33 toilets in the city for the convenience of tourists.
Mr.Badal asked Transport Department to tie up with Tourism Department to start conducted tours on religious circuits including Chandigarh-Fatehgarh Sahib-Sirhind-Chamkaur Sahib-Ropar-Anandpur Sahib-Nangal-Chandigarh, Chandigarh-Patiala, Damdama Sahib-Talwandi Sabon, Mukatsar-Chandigarh and third on Chandigarh-Amritsar-Khadoor Sahib-Baba Bakala-Sultanpur Lodhi-Kartarpur-Chandigarh routes. Mr. Badal also reviewed the progress of covering of Ganda Nala the work on which was started six months ago.

Prominent amongst those who were present on the occasion included Mr. Inderbir Singh Bularia, Mr. Anil Joshi (both MLAs), Mr. D.S Jaspal, Principle Secretary ,Transport, Mr. S.S. Sandhu, Secretary, Urban Development.
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MoU BETWEEN RAILWAYS AND PUNJAB GOVERNMENT SINGLE AGENCY TO EXECUTE ROB PROJECTS
22 ROBs MORE TO BE CONSTRUCTED AT THE COST OF RS. 417 CRORE THIS YEAR

Chandigarh, November 17 :
The Union Railways has decided sign an MoU with the Punjab Govt. (PWD Deptt.) that will enable the State government to execute Railway Over Bridge portion of project along with approaches to ROBs, on mutually agreed projects expediting the construction of these projects. It was decided in a high level meeting held by Deputy Chief Minister Punjab S. Sukhbir Singh Badal that reviewed the progress of Railway Over Bridges (ROB) and Railway Under Bridges(RUB) with the senior officers of the Northern Railways, PWD and Local Government Department at New Delhi.

Presiding over the meeting the Deputy Chief Minister emphasized that he had already met Union Railway Minister Ms. Mamta Banerjeee and Chairman Railway Board and they have appreciated his new proposal for unified command of ROB Project and therefore an MOU in this regard was being signed.

It was informed in the meeting that department had started construction of 28 ROBs/RUBs out of which 22 have been completed and dedicated to the people of the state by the end of October, 2010.
These have been completed at a cost of Rs. 392 crore.
The Deputy Chief Minister emphasized the completion of five ROBs
namely- ROB Amritsar near Jawala Flour Mill, ROB on Morinda Bypass,ROB from NH-1 Beas to Dera Baba Jaimal Singh Beas, ROB at Bathinda on Bathinda Ghudda Badal Road and ROB at Fatehgarh and he was assured that work on these was going on at fast pace and these would be open to traffic by March 2011. They said that however the ROB at Chawapail on Chawa- Samrala Road would be completed by October ,2011.

The Deputy Chief Minister discussed the progress of ongoing 22 ROBs/RUBs being constructed at a cost of Rs. 417.00 Crores with the railways officials at 22 locations in the state. These projects are at Barnala, Budhlada, Shambu,Mukerian- Gurdaspur road,
Bathinda- Talwandisabo road, Sunam- Lehra road,Sunam near grain market, Khanna- Lalheri road,Malerkotla-Raikot road, Gobindgarh-Kheri Naudh road, Amritsar-Bhikiwind road,Gidderbaha, Sanewal, Tarntarn, ,
Mukatsar,2 in Amritsar city,and that are at different stages of work and would be completed by October 2011.

It was decided in a meeting that the ROB at Southern Bypass of Ludhiana City would now be executed by the PWD Department of Punjab Govt. instead of by the Railways. With this decision these two ROBs on Ludhiana -Dhuri line and Ludhiana - Ferozepur line would be completed in next 9 months . Long standing problem of congestion on southern side of Ludhiana city would be solved with these 2 ROBs along with 4-laning of 27 km road along Sidhwan canal. The Punjab Government is spending Rs. 328 Crore on this project alone which would be dedicated to the people of Ludhiana by Sept., 2011. The Railway authorities assured the Deputy Chief Minister that the Morinda Bypass ROB will be completed by January 2011 and the Fatehgarh ROB by March 2011.The Railway officials further assured that the pending approvals relating to Punjab projects shall be conveyed in next 3 weeks.

It was also decided that the ROB at Bathinda Ring road would now be constructed by the state govt. agency instead of the railways. In another decision the railway authorities decided that all ROB work would henceforth would be completed in 9 months.

ROBs at Damoriya Bridge, and at DAV college, Jalandhar would soon be completed by the railways as the other work stood completed.ROB at Lakkar Pull near Railway stn. Ludhiana would be expedited.
The Deputy Chief Minister asked the Railways and the PWD Department to undertake an exercise for construction of another ROB at Jagraon Bridge, Ludhiana in view of the increasing traffic congestion and consequential hardship to the citizens of Ludhiana.

The Railway officials assured full cooperation in all ongoing projects in the state and expressed their commitment to ensure that the deadlines set by the Deputy Chief Minister are met. The Deputy Chief Minister in view of the importance of these ROBs in the daily life of the people of Punjab , would be reviewing the progress of all ROBs and the concerned roads every month. He directed the PWD Department and the Local Government Department to apprise him the progress made in each project every fortnight
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MoU BETWEEN RAILWAYS AND PUNJAB GOVERNMENT SINGLE AGENCY TO EXECUTE ROB PROJECTS 22 ROBs MORE TO BE CONSTRUCTED AT THE COST
OF RS. 417 CRORE THIS YEAR

Chandigarh, November 17 :
The Union Railways has decided sign an MoU with the Punjab Govt. (PWD Deptt.) that will enable the State government to execute Railway Over Bridge portion of project along with approaches to ROBs, on mutually agreed projects expediting the construction of these projects.

It was decided in a high level meeting held by Deputy Chief Minister Punjab S. Sukhbir Singh Badal that reviewed the progress of Railway Over Bridges (ROB) and Railway Under Bridges(RUB) with the senior officers of the Northern Railways, PWD and Local Government Department at New Delhi.
Presiding over the meeting the Deputy Chief Minister emphasized that he had already met Union Railway Minister Ms. Mamta Banerjeee and Chairman Railway Board and they have appreciated his new proposal for unified command of ROB Project and therefore an MOU in this regard was being signed.

It was informed in the meeting that department had started construction of 28 ROBs/RUBs out of which 22 have been completed and dedicated to the people of the state by the end of October, 2010. These have been completed at a cost of Rs. 392 crore.
The Deputy Chief Minister emphasized the completion of five ROBs namely- ROB Amritsar near Jawala Flour Mill, ROB on Morinda Bypass,ROB from NH-1 Beas to Dera Baba Jaimal Singh Beas, ROB at Bathinda on Bathinda Ghudda Badal Road and ROB at Fatehgarh and he was assured that work on these was going on at fast pace and these would be open to traffic by March 2011. They said that however the ROB at Chawapail on Chawa- Samrala Road would be completed by October ,2011.

The Deputy Chief Minister discussed the progress of ongoing 22 ROBs/RUBs being constructed at a cost of Rs. 417.00 Crores with the railways officials at 22 locations in the state. These projects are at Barnala, Budhlada, Shambu,Mukerian- Gurdaspur road, Bathinda- Talwandisabo road, Sunam- Lehra road,Sunam near grain market, Khanna- Lalheri road,Malerkotla-Raikot road, Gobindgarh-Kheri Naudh road, Amritsar-Bhikiwind road,Gidderbaha, Sanewal, Tarntarn, , Mukatsar,2 in Amritsar city,and that are at different stages of work and would be completed by October 2011.

It was decided in a meeting that the ROB at Southern Bypass of Ludhiana City would now be executed by the PWD Department of Punjab Govt. instead of by the Railways. With this decision these two ROBs on Ludhiana -Dhuri line and Ludhiana - Ferozepur line would be completed in next 9 months . Long standing problem of congestion on southern side of Ludhiana city would be solved with these 2 ROBs along with 4-laning of 27 km road along Sidhwan canal. The Punjab Government is spending Rs. 328 Crore on this project alone which would be dedicated to the people of Ludhiana by Sept., 2011. The Railway authorities assured the Deputy Chief Minister that the Morinda Bypass ROB will be completed by January 2011 and the Fatehgarh ROB by March 2011.The Railway officials further assured that the pending approvals relating to Punjab projects shall be conveyed in next 3 weeks.

It was also decided that the ROB at Bathinda Ring road would now be constructed by the state govt. agency instead of the railways. In another decision the railway authorities decided that all ROB work would henceforth would be completed in 9 months.

ROBs at Damoriya Bridge, and at DAV college, Jalandhar would soon be completed by the railways as the other work stood completed.ROB at Lakkar Pull near Railway stn. Ludhiana would be expedited.
The Deputy Chief Minister asked the Railways and the PWD Department to undertake an exercise for construction of another ROB at Jagraon Bridge, Ludhiana in view of the increasing traffic congestion and consequential hardship to the citizens of Ludhiana.

The Railway officials assured full cooperation in all ongoing projects in the state and expressed their commitment to ensure that the deadlines set by the Deputy Chief Minister are met. The Deputy Chief Minister in view of the importance of these ROBs in the daily life of the people of Punjab , would be reviewing the progress of all ROBs and the concerned roads every month. He directed the PWD Department and the Local Government Department to apprise him the progress made in each project every fortnight
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Shiromani Akali Dal

'JAGO YATRA' IS NOTHING MORE THAN PERSONAL ASPIRATIONS OF MANPREET AND HIS BAND OF MISFITS- MAJITHIA

Chandigarh, November 17
Mr Bikram Singh Majithia, former Minister and MLA today said that consensus of the people of Punjab would not welcome the Jago Punjab Yatra and it would be nothing more than reflection of personal aspirations of Manpreet and his band of misfits.

In a statement issued here, Mr. Majithia said that Manpreet made his exit from the government and party based on a make believe debt waiver and its importance to abolish subsidies to receive the fictitious Rs. 35, 000 crore. He said that Manpreet has changed his tone and tenure because he’s out of the government and realized that masses would not back the person who would not provide subsidies and social justice to the poor. He said that this was a clear example of the level of integrity he and his group of 5 or 6 or whatever he has, and they were simply playing politics with the innocent people of the state who were trying to make a living and support their families.

Mr. Majitihia said that Manpreet’s new political aspirations included policies that the SAD-BJP gov’t has been implementing over the past 3 years. “Manpreet speaks of two types of subsidies, safety net for the poor and investment in human resource development. Both of which Sardar Parkash Singh Badal has been championing from the beginning of his political career of over 50 years”, said Mr. Majithia.
“Sardar Parkash Singh Badal has been the driving force of any government of the past three decades that has delivered for the poor. He is the one who created the Atta-Dal scheme, the Shagun scheme, water and electricity free for the farmers. Sardar Parkash Singh Badal is the one who championed those accomplishments for the people of Punjab and all of the sudden Manpreet is claiming that these are his new and fresh ideas??” added Mr. Majithia.

Mr. Majithia said that Manpreet used the subsidy issue in an unsuccessful attempt to undermine the party manifesto and social programs for the poor. He also used the issue to create his own exit from the government and now was attempting to create a political following around this Jago Punjab Yatra. “Manpreet has shown two faces in this entire episode. The first face was one of a disgruntled finance minister who opposed subsidies for farmers and the poor. His new face is that of a promoter of subsidies which he opposed as a Finance Minister a month ago. For someone who champions morals and ethics, I am really saddened by his behavior of the past month. It appears he has become the Master of Double Speak” said Mr. Majithia.

Mr. Majithia said that the people of Punjab could see the games being played through the Jago Punjab Yatra . “The political aspirations of Manpreet and his opportunistic colleagues are embarrassing. Manpreet has now gone as far as saying that blood relatives should not be in cabinet together. Has he forgotten he was the Finance Minister for the state appointed by his Uncle? He did not attempt to reject the appointment at that time instead he pressured his uncle to make him a minister and is the only credentials he has received to date. He has become whatever he is today because of his uncle. And now Manpreet is attempting to take credit for that very uncle’s accomplishments as his own new ideologies? Shame on you Manpreet, your Uncle deserves better than that!” said Mr. Majithia.
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LOCAL AC BUSES, RADIO CABS & AUTOS SET TO TRANSFORM PUBLIC TRANSPORT SYSTEM IN PUNJAB CITIES---· AMRITSAR, LUDHIANA, JALANDHAR, PATIALA , BATHINDA AND MOHALI SET TOWITNESS TRANSFORMATION

· RS. 60 CRORE PUBLIC TRANSPORTATION PLAN ON ANVIL
· MEGA PLAN TO PRESERVE AND BEAUTIFY FOR HISTORIC GARDENS OF AMRITSAR
· HERITAGE VILLAGE IN AMRITSAR TO ATTRACT GLOBAL TOURIST

Chandigarh, November 17:

Public Transport system of important cities s of Punjab including Amritsar , Ludhiana ,Jalandhar , Bathinda , Patiala and Mohali is set to witness massive transformation with the approval of plan to introduce low floor AC buses , radio Cabs and Radio Autos within six months.

In a high level meeting presided over by Punjab Deputy Chief Minster Mr. Sukhbir Singh Badal and attended by Local Government Minister Mr. Manoranjan Kalia, Member Parliament Navjot Sidhu at Kapurthala House, here today, approved the mega joint Plan of Local Government Department and Transport Department to transform the Public Transport System in the cities. Mr. Badal said that an efficient and desirable Public Transportation System would check the congestion of personal vehicles on the roads. It was informed that tenders for Low Floor AC Buses have already been floated after the issue was cleared by Punjab and Haryana High Court recently. Similarly process was on to shortlist the operators for starting , radio cab and radio auto service in these important towns. He said that these cabs would be GPS controlled and would be available to the passengers at a simple phone call.

The meeting today also approved an ambitious plan for holy city Amritsar that would involve construction of heritage village at GT Road on GNDU Campus, preservation and beatification of Ram Bagh Gardens, preservation of historic Town Hall building, setting up of Food Street, development of pedestrian plaza opposite Golden Temple, restoration and preservation of Historic Gates and massive restoration of Gobindgarh Fort besides strengthening the infrastructure of Amritsar City to make it tourist friendly city.

Mr.Badal said that Amritsar has a potential to emerge as No.1 International Tourist Hub if we are able to prolong the stay of religious tourist by few days and attract more international tourists. He called for a collective approach by all development agencies.

It was informed in meeting that Archaeological Survey of India as put up their conceptual plan for the development of Ram Bagh and it was working in coordination with Municipal Corporation for its development. It was approved in the meeting to develop historic Town Hall and adjoining area as place of heritage importance, in synergy with the surrounding area Golden Temple. The offices in the town hall have been shifted to alternate locations and Town Halls is being developed by Tourism Department in association with PIDB.

Emphasizing on attracting additional tourist to Amritsar city, Mr.Badal approved the plan of Heritage Village to be set up on G.T.Road, in the area provided by GNDU. Mr.Badal said that the management and construction of Heritage Village would be outsourced to private specialized agency.
It was also approved to ply eco-friendly Hop on Hop off buses connecting various religious places. The Sulabh International would construct and maintain 33 toilets in the city for the convenience of tourists.
Mr.Badal asked Transport Department to tie up with Tourism Department to start conducted tours on religious circuits including Chandigarh-Fatehgarh Sahib-Sirhind-Chamkaur Sahib-Ropar-Anandpur Sahib-Nangal-Chandigarh, Chandigarh-Patiala, Damdama Sahib-Talwandi Sabon, Mukatsar-Chandigarh and third on Chandigarh-Amritsar-Khadoor Sahib-Baba Bakala-Sultanpur Lodhi-Kartarpur-Chandigarh routes. Mr. Badal also reviewed the progress of covering of Ganda Nala the work on which was started six months ago.

Prominent amongst those who were present on the occasion included Mr. Inderbir Singh Bularia, Mr. Anil Joshi (both MLAs), Mr. D.S Jaspal, Principle Secretary ,Transport, Mr. S.S. Sandhu, Secretary, Urban Development.
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Year Long Celebrations Of 150th Anniversary Of The Institution Of Comptroller & Auditor General Of India BADAL ASKS AUDIT STAFF TO BE FAR MOREOBJECTIVE IN THEIR APPROACH & ADOPT HIGH STANDARDS OF PROFESSIONALISM CHANDIGARH, NOVEMBER 16: The Punjab Chief Minister Mr. Parkash Singh Badal today called upon the officers of the Accountant General Punjab to be far more objective in their approach and should adopt high standards of professionalism with a focused attention on core aspects of governance during performance of audit. While inaugurating the year long celebrations of 150th anniversary of the Institution of the Comptroller and Auditor General of India (C&AG) here at Audit Bhawan, Mr. Badal said that the genuine constraints of the officers working at cutting edge must be taken into account so that the initiative and entrepreneurship were not discouraged. The chief Minister said, “You as auditors must perform your duties without fear or favour. But at the same time, audit should not be hindrance to the initiative and out of box approach of the executives, unless the intentions of the executives are malafide”.Mr. Badal asked the departmental officers to adhere to rules, prescribed procedure, financial prudence and propriety as they need not be sluggish with a view to avoid audit objections to the extent that it was detrimental to the interests of state. He urged upon the heads of the departments of the state to strengthen internal mechanisms and ensure effectiveness of the controls in their respective organizations. The Chief Minister further said that in view of the new economic scenario, the role of government was fast changing from provider of services to facilitator for socio-economic development with active involvement of Non Governmental Organizations. He said that audit projects under Public Private Participation (PPP) mode and regulatory authorities were other emerging areas where the institution of C&AG of India need to redefine its role for ensuring that public funds are used in a transparent manner for the public good. Sharing his concern on outstanding audit objections contained in the Inspection Reports pending for settlement for a long time, the Chief Minister said that the government would set up the departmental audit committees, wherever it has not been done, so that the pendency was overtaken within a time frame. Acknowledging the best services rendered by the office of AG Punjab in authorizing pension and other retirement benefits to the employees of the government of Punjab, Mr. Badal sought wholehearted support and cooperation from AG Punjab to ensure timely disbursement of pension and other retirement benefits. Instructions already issued by the government for sending pension papers to AG would be complied with as the Punjab government was committed to the welfare of the state government employees and the pensioners. Mr. S. Murugiah, Principal Accountant General (Audit) Punjab & UT Chandigarh in his key note address highlighted the role of Indian Audit and Accounts department in ensuring financial management in the government. He said that with the advancement of information technology, governments are computerizing the activities. We the auditors, traditionally relying on record based audit, have enabled ourselves to undertake audit of electronic databases using computers. Information Technology audits carried out by the department have been appreciated by many. IT audit of number of application software has helped the management in rectifying the deficiencies in the software and refining the packages. Besides modernizing out offices using information technology, we have computerized the compilation and preparation of Government accounts to serve out stakeholders better and in time. Out website and Interactive Voice Response System enable the pensioners and retiring Government servants to know the status of pension cases. He urged the state government departments to extend their cooperation and work with them as partners to ensure good governance and boosting the audit-auditee relations in the state of Punjab.Mr. Virsa Singh Valtoha, Chairman Committee on Public Sector undertakings, who was a guest of honour on the occasion, lauded the efforts of audit and accounts department for rendering valuable services to the state. Meanwhile, Mr. Mohinder Singh Principal Director of Audit, Defence Services welcomed the chief guest and Mr. Ajaib Singh Accountant General (Accounts & Entitlement) Punjab proposed the vote of thanks

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PUNJAB CM GREETS THE PEOPLE
ON THE EVE OF ID-UL-ZUHA (BAKRID)


CHANDIGARH, NOVEMBER 16:
The Punjab Chief Minister Mr. Parkash singh Badal today extended his warm greetings to all the Punjabis especially the Muslim brethren on the eve of Id-ul-Zuha (Bakrid).
In a message Mr. Badal said that this unique festival symbolizes love, sacrifice, goodwill, compassion and trust. He urged that these values should enrich our composite culture, strengthen our unity and harmony and inspire us to work for the over all development and growth of the humanity.
The chief minister appealed the people to celebrate the festival collectively by rising above petty considerations of caste, colour, creed and religion.
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PUNJAB TO CREATE A CORPUS FUND FOR FREE TREATMENT OF BPL FAMILIES

CHANDIGARH, NOVEMBER 16:

The Punjab Government would create a corpus fund for providing free medical treatment and health care facilities to the BPL families of the state in private super specialty hospitals. A decision to this effect was taken by the Punjab Chief Minister Mr. Parkash Singh Badal in the 8th meeting of Board of Directors of Greater Mohali Area Development Authority (GMADA) here at his residence this morning.
Expressing concern over the plight of poor patients Mr. Badal said that now-a-days getting medical and health care facilities in private super specialty hospitals was beyond the reach of these hapless persons. Mr. Badal also approved in principal that GMADA would contribute 20% of the amount that it earned from the auction of the land to the private players for establishing these private super specialty hospitals, to this fund. It was also decided in the meeting that for the allotment of plots in the upcoming Mullanpur Urban Estate GMADA would adopt the system of inviting on line applications to facilitate the people and it would soon tie-up with the banks in this regard besides setting up its Suvidha Centres.

The board also gave green signal to allot land as per the policy to HOUSEFED Punjab for the construction of multi storey flats in the cities. It was also decided in the meeting to grant approval for the allotment of land to 13 co-operative house building Societies for the construction of multi- storey flats with a condition no new member would be registered. The board also gave approval to construct an old age home at Mohali under PPP mode by PIDB. Mr. Badal also directed GAMADA to prepare a plan for the construction of working women hostel. It was also decided in the meeting to transfer the library in sector 68 Mohali to ‘Mohali Senior Citizens Association’ along with an adequate grant to run it. The board also gave approval to acquire land as per the proposal of GMADA based on the master plan of Mohali to develop proper drainage system for rain water. It was also informed in the meeting that about 25 villages around Mohali were being developed by providing new roads, street lights, and Water Supply & Sewerage system. Mr. Badal directed the concerned departments to expedite the pace of work. Prominent amongst others who attended the meeting included Chief Secretary Mr. S.C. Agrawal, Principal Secretary to Chief Minister Mr. DS Guru, Principal Secretary Finance Mr. KBS Sidhu, Secretary Housing & M.D. PIDB Mr. Sukhbir Singh Sandhu, Chief Administrator GMADA Mr.
Vivek Partap Singh and CA PUDA Mr. Sarvjit Singh.

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SUKHBIR GREETS PEOPLE ON THE EVE OF ID-UL-JUHA(BAKRID)

Chandigarh, November 16: Punjab Deputy Chief Minister Mr. Sukhbir Singh Badal today greeted the people of Punjab on the eve of Id-ul-Juha (Bakrid).
In his message, Mr.Badal said that Bakrid is a festival of sacrifice of worldly things for the will of the God. Extending heartily greetings to all Muslim brethren on this occasion, Mr. Badal said that on this auspicious day of commemorative sacrifice, we should all rededicate ourselves to uphold the principles of love, compassion and understanding and avow to live in fellowship as brothers and sisters, in the true.

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LUDHIANA METRO ON RAIL AS SUKHBIR HOLDS MEETING WITH DELHI METRO CORPORATION

Chandigarh, November 16: Mr. Sukhbir Singh Badal, Deputy Chief Minister today had a detailed meeting with a high level team of Delhi Metro Rail Corporation Ltd. regarding the proposed Metro Rail project for Industrial city Ludhiana.

It may be added that Deputy Chief Minister immediately after assuming charge of the post in January 2009, had promised for Mass Rapid Transport System (MRTS) including metro rail for the Industrial city Ludhiana, keeping in view its rapid expansion besides daily commuting of thousands of labour from adjoining towns of Mandi Gobindgarh and Khanna. He had at that time, requested Delhi Metro Rail Corporation Ltd. to conduct a feasibility study of Metro Rail in Ludhiana and deposited over Rs. 1 crore for conduct of study. He said that Delhi Metro Rail Corporation Ltd. took one and half year to conduct detailed feasibility study of the project. The detailed project report of the project conducted by the Delhi Metro has estimated Ludhiana Metro project cost at Rs 6600 crore. According to detailed project report, the first corridor of Ludhiana Metro will be 15.798 km long having 14 stations. The second corridor will be 13.035 km long with 13 stations.

The team of Delhi Metro Rail Corporation Ltd today gave a detailed presentation to Deputy Chief Minister Mr. Sukhbir Singh Badal and also discussed various financial models for the scheme. They also discussed the financial model of Delhi Metro Rail Corporation Ltd..

The Deputy Chief Minister asked the Punjab government officials to explore various alternatives and expedite the processing of detailed project report so that work on Ludhiana Metro could be started at the earliest after working out financial closure of this prestigious project.
He said that the Punjab government has already asked the Centre for viability gap funding for Ludhiana Metro Rail project as it was lifeline for the state’s burgeoning industrial town Ludhiana and Chief Minister Punjab has already taken of this issue with Union Finance Minister. It may be added that Delhi Metro Rail Corporation managing director E Sreedharan who visited Ludhiana had a detailed meeting with Deputy Chief Minister to find way for expeditious completion of this project.

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BEGGAR HOUSE AND REHABILITATION-CUM-VOCATIONAL CENTRES TO BE SET UP FOR BEGGARS IN PUNJAB

CHANDIGARH, NOVEMBER 16:

With a view to discourage the begging menace from the society, Punjab Government has decided to set up Beggary Houses (BH) and Rehabilitation-cum-Vocational Centres (RCVC) in the major districts of the State. Disclosing this here today Ch. Swarna Ram, Social Security Minister, Punjab said such Beggary House and Rehabilitation-cum-Vocational Centre has already been working at Amritsar. A grant of Rs.25 lac has been sanctioned to this centre for the salary of staff, food, medicine, office expenses, furniture, bedding, utensils and recreational iteams ( T.V.,Music System, Table etc.), he added.

He further said that BH & RCVC at Jalandhar is also being set up shortly and an amount of Rs.25 lac has also been sanctioned for this centre. A proposal to set up such centre at Ludhiana is also in pipeline, minister added.
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125.32 LAKH TONNES PADDY PROCURED IN PUNJAB`
Chandigarh, November 16: Government agencies and private millers procured more than 12532556 tonnes of Paddy till last evening.

A spokesman of Punjab Govt. said here today that out of total procurement in all the procurement centers of Punjab, Government agencies procured 12358505 tonnes (98.6%) whereas private traders procured 174051 tonnes (1.4%) of paddy. Till October 15, PUNGRAIN had procured 3860659 tonnes (31.2%) whereas MARKFED procured 2583939 tonnes (20.9%), PUNSUP procured 2905041 tonnes (23.5%), PSWC procured 1437670 tonnes (11.6%) whereas PAIC was able to procure 1073860 tonnes (8.7 %) of paddy.

The Central Government agency FCI had been able to procure 497336 tonnes (4.0%).
The spokesman added that District Ludhiana with 1469695 tonnes of procurement was leading in procurement operations whereas district Sangrur with 1372841 tonnes of procurement was at second slot and District Patiala 1182348 tonnes of procurement ranked at third position.

The State Government has set up almost 1700 procurement centers and activated its total machinery to ensure smooth procurement of paddy, the spokesman added.
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PRESS NOTE
CHANDIGARH, NOVEMBER 16:
In partial modification of the earlier notification dated 8-12-2009, the Punjab Government has empowered all District Development and Panchayat Officers in the State of Punjab As Collector under the P.P.Act 1973 and Joint Development Commissioner (IRD) Punjab as Commissioner in respect of Jumla Mushtarka Malkan and Shamlat lands and lands under ownership of Zila Parishads and Panchat Samitieis within the limits of their respective jurisdictions.
Disclosing this here today a spokesman of the Revenue & Rehabilitation Department said that in this regard a notification has been issued.

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“Mother of all scams” thrice the amount of Punjab’s debt

Spectrum scam money enough to pay for free power to farmers for over two centuries: SAD
Chandigarh November 16 – Shiromani Akali Dal today described the alleged corruption in the allotment of 3-G spectrum licenses involving a loss of Rs. 1,76,000 crores (Rs. one lakh seventy six thousand crores) to the exchequer as “mother of all scams and a new benchmark in corruption by Congress governments in the country.”

“This money would have been enough to meet the NAREGA bill for the whole country for several years or subsidized food for the poor in the entire country for a long period. With this amount, the centre could have written the Punjab’s debt off three times over or paid for the farmer’s free power bills amounting to just Rs. 650 crores annually, for more than a century,” said the SAD General Secretary Mr. Balwinder Singh Bhunder in a statement here.

Mr. Bhunder further said that the mind-boggling amount was enough to set up one hundred mega thermal plants of the size of the proposed plant. “We could set up nine oil refineries like the one at Bathinda with this money which has now gone into the pocket of just one man,” he said.
Mr. Bhunder also asked the Punjab Congressmen to break their silence on the issue. “But they won’t because they are themselves among the principal beneficiaries of this culture of corruption, “he said.
The SAD General Secretary further said that the sins of an entire government can not be atoned for merely by enacting the drama of resignation of one minister. “Every time the Congress is caught red-handed, it tries to divert public attention from the issue through cosmetic measures like changing a Chief Minister here or dropping a minister there but refusing to punish the guilty or even quitting on moral grounds.

Alleging that the Congress was the fountainhead of all corruption scams in the country beginning with the infamous scandal concerning jeeps meant for the armed forces in 1948, he said that corruption touched new heights with the Prime Minister’s name getting directly linked to fake bank cheques during Mrs. Indira Gandhi’s regime. Thereafter, corruption and Congress became synonymous in public mind with major scandals hitting the country’s public life one after the other. The Bofors scandal, the JMM saga, the Adarsh Society scam, the Ludhiana City Centre Scandal – all these are the miles stones on the Congress journey through the murky waters of corruption.

The Akali leader demanded a full scale probe into the spectrum scam by a JPC and said that the opposition would not allow the government to mislead the nation by simply take face saving measures like the resignation of a minister.
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ISTRI AKALI DAL BASHES BITTU- ASKS HIM TO APOLOGIZE FROM WOMEN COMMUNITY

Chandigarh November 16 - Bibi Paramjit Kaur Gulshan, Member Parliament and President Istri Akali Dal today took an strong exception to Ravneet Bittu's statement describing the sacred movement against female foeticide, 'Nanhi Chhaan' , as a scheme to derive political mileage.

In a statement issued here today, Bibi Gulshan said that it was not expected from persons like Ravneet Bittu, Punjab Youth Congress President who sent hordes of goons to so called coronation rally of "Maharaja" at Chandigarh with the singular purpose of eve-teasing the girl students of adjoining colleges, to understand the sanctity of Nanhi Chhaan movement. She said that Ravneet coming from the linage of family whose member was named as prime accused in infamous "Katia molestation case" can not be expected to raise voice in favour of women as a class.

She said that instead of appreciating the fact that Smt. Harsimrat Kaur Badal without any personal interest has been driven by a mission to help the society get rid of deep seated prejudices and evils that is having long term impact on the demographic profile of the state, Bittu was trying to defame the women as a class, by politicizing the purely social movement. She said that Congress that did nothing during last 60 years to combat the nefarious practice of female foeticide, were perplexed by the success of Nanhi Chhaan in rural heartland as well as urban areas of Punjab, were trying to pick holes in this sacred mission.

She said that Harsimrat's campaign against social evils like female foeticide and ecological pollution was a sacred mission and a matter of deep commitment for every woman of Punjab and north India facing this problem. She reminded him that even the President of India, the non-political Constitutional Head of the Country, had deemed the movement significant and apolitical enough to lend her own name, support and presence to it and by denigrating this movement, Bittu has thrown mud on top Constitutional Authority of India and he should publicly apologize for his comments.