Page 13 - Punjab Government

Rahul resumes Bharat Jodo Yatra from Adampur in Punjab despite biting cold

The Congress' Bharat Jodo Yatra resumed from Adampur here in Punjab on Monday, with scores of people marching along with Rahul Gandhi despite biting cold. The march started from the Kala Bakra area and several Congress leaders, including state party chief Amrinder Singh Raja Warring, were seen accompanying Gandhi. The yatra will enter Hoshiarpur district later in the day as part of its journey in Punjab and will halt for the night at Urmar Tanda. The march, which started from Kanyakumari in Tamil Nadu on September 7, will conclude in Srinagar by January 30, with Gandhi hoisting the national flag in the summer capital of Jammu and Kashmir. It has so far covered Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, Delhi, Uttar Pradesh and Haryana. On Saturday, the march was suspended for 24 hours in view of Congress MP Santokh Singh Chaudhary death. The MP had suffered a cardiac arrest during the yatra. He was cremated at his native Dhali

Pak: Punjab CM Parvez Elahi receives 186 votes to secure trust vote

In a midnight drama in Pakistan's Punjab Assembly, Chief Minister Chaudhry Parvez Elahi managed to obtain a vote of confidence paving the way for its dissolution on the wish of ousted prime minister Imran Khan. Punjab Governor Baligur Rehman of the PMLN had sought a vote of confidence from CM Elahi last month in a bid to stop the dissolution of the assembly. He had de-notified Elahi and his cabinet for failing to comply his order. However, the Lahore High Court had restored Elahi and his cabinet. On Wednesday, the LHC held hearing in this case and remarked that the chief minister would have to take trust vote. In the light of the court's observation, Elahi secured the required 186 votes from the Punjab Assembly in the ongoing session at 1 am Thursday amid the Opposition's protest. Punjab Assembly Speaker Sibtain Khan presided over the session and said CM Elahi had received 186 votes required to secure the trust vote. The Opposition led by the Pakistan Muslim League (Nawaz) boycott

New minister sworn-in in Punjab after Sarari's exit, portfolios reshuffled

Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann has also reallocated portfolios after the new induction

Punjab to install solar panels in all state govt buildings, says minister

This project will reduce the financial burden of the electricity bills of respective departments by approximately 40 to 50%

Punjab attracts investment of Rs 30,000 crore, says CM Bhagwant Mann

Punjab CM Bhagwant Mann said due to ease-of-doing business policies, an investment of Rs 30,000 crore has been firmed up in the last nine months, which will create new employment opportunities

Will make all-out effort to restore glory of hockey, says Punjab CM

Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann on Thursday vowed to make all-out efforts for restoring the glory of hockey in the state.

Punjab to roll out new agriculture policy by Mar 31: Agri Min Dhaliwal

Punjab Agriculture Minister Kuldeep Sinh Dhaliwal on Monday said the state government will roll out a new agriculture policy by March 31, 2023. The new agricultural policy will be prepared focusing the geographical situation, soil health, availability of crops and water, and consultations are being held with renowned agricultural scientists, experts and farmers' organisations. Dhaliwal was speaking during a 'Kisan Goshti' organised by the Punjab State Farmers and Agricultural Workers Commission on the theme of 'Agricultural Development Model of Punjab - some policy issues', a release said. Announcing the creation of a separate policy for natural farming, the minister said, people are facing health problems due to excessive use of fertilisers, chemicals, weed killers and pesticides in agriculture. He said to bring natural farming, it is necessary to work according to its climate. The state government will make every possible effort to strengthen the agricultural sector with the hel

'Serious issue': SC pulls up Punjab govt over sale of spurious liquor

The Supreme Court on Monday pulled up the Punjab government over the issue of sale of spurious liquor in the state, saying "Punjab is a border state and this is a very serious matter"

Punjab to probe irregularities in land deal for seed farm in 2008: Minister

Punjab Agriculture Minister Kuldeep Singh Dhaliwal has said that the state government will probe alleged irregularities in purchasing land at a whopping Rs 32 crore for setting up a seed farm near the international border in Amritsar in 2008. He said 700 acres of land near the border in Rania village was bought at an exorbitant rate by the agriculture department. In a statement here, the minister said, "During the then Parkash Singh Badal government when Sucha Singh Langah was the agriculture minister and Kahan Singh Pannu was the deputy commissioner of district Amritsar, this land was bought at a very high price. The then government purchased this land at Rs 4.5 lakh per acre, which is across the Ravi river near the international border, he said, adding that one cannot approach this land without the prior permission of the Border Security Force. "An investigation will be conducted under which scheme this land was purchased at that time", he said. "We will find out the farmers who

Land purchase in name of seed farm during Badal govt to be probed: Minister

Punjab Minister Kuldeep Singh said that 700 acres of land at village Ranian, which was purchased on exorbitant prices by the agriculture dept in the name of seed farm in 2008 will be thoroughly probed

3 children crushed to death by train in Rupnagar; Punjab govt orders probe

Three children were crushed to death by a passenger train near Sri Kiratpur Sahib here on Sunday, police said. The Punjab government has ordered an inquiry into the incident. The incident took place when four children of migrant labourers were playing near the railway track close to a bridge over Sutlej river, they said. The fourth child was injured in the incident and was admitted to a hospital, said police. The boys were in the age group of 7 to 11 years, police added. Punjab School Education Minister Harjot Singh Bains expressed grief and said an inquiry has been ordered into the incident. "In a very sad incident, 3 children have lost their lives in a Rail Accident in Kiratpur Sahib. An enquiry has been ordered. My sincere condolences to the grieved families," said Bains in a tweet. Former Punjab chief minister Amarinder Singh sought compensation to the affected families. "Distraught to hear about the news of a passenger train crushing 4 children causing 3 of them to die on

Punjab govt announces to install 300 megawatt solar power projects

The Punjab government has decided to install solar power photovoltaic (PV) projects with a total capacity of 300 megawatt in the state. These projects include 200 MW canal-top solar PV power projects and 100 MW floating solar PV power projects on the reservoirs and lakes, said an official statement while giving details of the decision taken in a high-level meeting held here on Monday. The meeting was chaired by Punjab New and Renewable Energy Sources Minister Aman Arora. The proposed 200 MW canal-top solar project would be installed in a phased manner, under which 50 MW would be installed in the first phase, while projects of remaining capacity would be installed in subsequent phases, Arora added. These projects will be executed in build, operate and own (BOO) mode by the Punjab Energy Development Agency (PEDA), he said. While discussing in the meeting, the feasibility of setting up these projects, the minister said, viability gap funding (VGF) has been proposed to be claimed from

Exemplary action for selling Chinese kite string, says Punjab minister

Punjab Cabinet minister Gurmeet Singh Meet Hayer on Tuesday said the state government has asked all deputy commissioners to take exemplary action against those selling Chinese kite flying string. Hayer said a 13-year-old boy died after the Chinese string of a kite got entangled around his neck in Rupnagar district on Sunday Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann has taken a serious notice of this extremely unfortunate incident and has ordered strict action against such people who put human lives at risk. In a statement, he said children, elderly and animals have suffered in the past too due to Chinese string. He said there is a blanket ban on selling and using Chinese string in the state and there is not even a single manufacturing unit in the state, but some people bought these strings from other states. Those found involved in selling Chinese string will not be spared at any cost, he added.

Punjab govt to name schools after martyrs, freedom fighters: Minister

Government schools in Punjab would be named after martyrs and freedom fighters, School Education Minister Harjot Singh Bains said on Tuesday. Village panchayats and the school management committees have been asked to pass resolutions for schools to be renamed, he said. They will then send the same to the state headquarters within the next month through principals along with the biographical notes about the martyrs and freedom fighters, said the minister in a statement. Bains said the decision has been taken so that future generations get to know about the sacrifices of martyrs and freedom fighters for the country.

Punjab govt forms sub-committee for G20 summit meeting in Amritsar

A sub-committee of the Punjab Cabinet has been formed to oversee preparations for the G20 summit scheduled to be held in Amritsar in March next year. It will hold its first meeting on Monday. According to an official statement, the sub-committee has been formed by the state government so that Punjab can be presented as a centre of tourism during the global meet. The sub-committee has Local Government Minister Inderbir Singh Nijjar as its chairman. The other members are cabinet ministers Kuldeep Singh Dhaliwal, Harjot Singh Bains and Harbhajan Singh, the statement said. It is a matter of great pride for the state of Punjab that the G20 summit meeting will be held in Amritsar, in which presidents and prime ministers of major countries will participate to discuss issues pertaining to education, labour and others, it added. The G20 or Group of 20 is an intergovernmental forum of the world's major developed and developing economies. It comprises Argentina, Australia, Brazil, Canada, Ch

Take steps to bring down stubble burning incidents: CAQM to Punjab govt

The Centre's air quality panel on Friday directed deputy commissioners of all districts in Punjab, barring Pathankot, to take measures to "drastically" bring down the number of farm fires in the agrarian state. A thick layer of smog has enveloped Delhi-NCR for the last two days, primarily due to unfavourable meteorological conditions trapping pollutants and raging farm fires in Punjab. The Commission for Air Quality Management (CAQM) reviewed the implementation of measures to restrict the farm fire count in Punjab at a meeting with its chief secretary and deputy commissioners of 22 districts, barring Pathankot (no farm fire incidents were reported there). A statement said the primary focus of the review meeting was to reiterate the need to intensify action to check the sudden spike in the number of stubble burning cases seen in the last few days. "The chief secretary and deputy commissioners were reminded of their earlier commitments of drastically bringing down the farm fire count

150 farmers honoured for not burning crop residue in Punjab, says speaker

Punjab Vidhan Sabha Speaker Kultar Singh Sandhwan on Saturday exhorted farmers not to burn stubble so as to keep the environment clean and pollution free. He was addressing a gathering here in an event in which 150 progressive farmers from across the state were honoured for not setting the crop residue on fire for the last five years, according to an official release here. Sandhwan said crop residue burning causes damage to other microorganisms present in the upper layer of the soil as well as its organic quality. Speaking on this occasion, Environment Minister Gurmeet Singh Meet Hayer said it is a matter of happiness that farmers are giving up stubble burning practice. Due to pollution, not only the lungs are damaged, many other type of health diseases affect the human being, he stated. Hayer appealed to progressive farmers to spread the message of not burning crop residue in villages. The minister also expressed happiness that the young generation is now participating in planta

Previous govts plundered Punjab of its resources, trying to undo damage: CM

Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann on Tuesday claimed that previous government "mercilessly plundered" the state's resources and his regime is trying to undo the damage. "The Aam Aadmi Party government will overhaul the entire system in the state to ensure its progress and prosperity of people," said Mann addressing a gathering at a state-level function to mark Vishwakarma Day here. Earlier, governments had "mercilessly plundered" the wealth of the state, causing it an irreparable damage, he said. Now, with the blessings of Lord Vishwakarma, he is trying to repair the damage done to the state by ensuring its complete revamp, claimed Mann. Exhorting workers and craftsmen to make concerted efforts for strengthening the infrastructure of the state and the nation, the CM said it will be a real and befitting tribute to Lord Vishwakarma. The CM said his government strives to make the youth of Punjab job providers instead of job seekers, stressing that Punjabis are blessed with qualities

Punjab announces to restore old pension scheme for state govt employees

The Punjab government on Friday decided to restore the old pension scheme for its employees, with Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann terming it a Diwali gift for the state staff. "We have taken an in-principle decision to this effect in a cabinet meeting. This will benefit lakhs of employees," he said while adding that modalities will be worked out. Mann said the approval for six per cent dearness allowance for government employees has also been given by the state cabinet. The restoration of the old pension scheme, which was discontinued in 2004, has been one of the major demands of state government employees. The state government's decision has come ahead of the Himachal Pradesh and Gujarat Assembly polls, where AAP is trying its luck and had promised to restore the old pension scheme for state government employees if voted to power. Mann said the employee's demand has been met now and it's a Diwali gift for them. "Arvind Kejriwal has told that we say (promise) we have to deliver and

Residential, commercial urban estate to come up in Ludhiana: State minister

The Punjab government will develop a residential and commercial urban estate in Ludhiana as part of the city's overall development, Housing and Urban Development Minister Aman Arora said. During a meeting to review the functioning of Greater Ludhiana Area Development Authority here on Monday, officials informed the minister that the agency was in the process of acquiring around 2,000 acres at Ladhowal bypass in Bagga Kalan, Noorpur Bet, Garha and Gounspur villages for the proposed project. Arora directed the officials to initiate the land acquisition process. He also that the site selection committee had recommended the location and a consultant was engaged to facilitate the land acquisition. Arora also directed the officials to complete all other ongoing projects of the agency in time without compromising on the quality.