Biomass plants fail to ferry stubble

Biomass plants fail to ferry stubble Archit Watts/TNS

Muktsar, October 29
Despite the appeal to the farmers by the state government to sell the paddy stubble to the biomass plants rather than burning them in the open fields, the effort has so far failed to yield the desired results due to the indifference of the authorities of the biomass plants.
In its ongoing campaign, the Punjab Pollution Control Board (PPCB) has given the contact numbers of five biomass plants set up across the state mentioning that the plant owners would themselves carry the stubble from the fields after purchasing it from the farmers. But a majority of them do not even attend the phone calls being made by the farmers.
After some farmers levelled allegations in this regard, this correspondent repeatedly tried to call on the numbers given by the PPCB, but except for one bio mass plant at Gulabewala village in the district, none attended a single call.
And interestingly, the official of that sole biomass plant where the phone call was attended also said that there was no arrangement to bring the stubble from the fields.
"The stubble would have to be brought here by the farmers itself. We are purchasing it at our plant established at Gulabewala village in Muktsar district. May be the other units are buying and bringing it from the fields, but our policy is different," said an official of Malwa Power Limited.
He also claimed that Deep Development Engineer Private Limited in village Gadda Dob of Ferozepur was also owned by the same management.
Repeated phone calls made to the Universal Biomass Energy Private Limited in village Channu, Muktsar, Punjab Biomass Power Private Limited in Bhagora, Patiala and Green Planet Energy Private Limited, Binjon in Hoshiarpur, failed to evoke any response.
Amardeep Singh, a farmer of Muktsar district, said, "I have been trying to make a phone call to the biomass plant in village Channu for the last four days, but no one has answered it. So, finally I have decided to burn the stubble in the fields as it is easy to clear the fields for the next sowing rather than waiting for any other option.

Courtesy: The Tribune

Khadi Board losing its lustre: Set up to provide financial aid to people in rural areas, the Board has failed in its task

Khadi Board losing its lustre

 Set up to provide financial aid to people in rural areas, the Board has failed in its task 

Archit Watts
Tribune News Service

Muktsar, October 29The Punjab Khadi and Village Industries Board, which was established to provide financial assistance to people in the rural areas for setting up cottage industries, has failed to serve its basic purpose in Muktsar, Faridkot and Moga districts.
In the last one-and-a-half years, not even a single applicant has got financial assistance from the Board in these districts. The reason for this has been the delay in the approval of the annual budget of the Board.
Highly placed sources in the department said the Board's budget was not approved last year (2011-12) and this year too, it has been delayed for long.
As of now, in the current fiscal year (2012-13), not even a single applicant has availed of financial assistance from the Board. A number of applications have come up before the Board's offices located in these districts, but delay in the allocation of budget has further delayed the entire exercise.
Krishan Lal, District Khadi and Village Industries Officer, who holds the charge of three districts (Muktsar, Faridkot and Moga), said, "Last year, the Board's budget was not approved, so we could not provide financial assistance to any applicant. This year too, the situation is almost similar as the budget was allocated only recently."
He, however, said the delay in allocating the budget was on the part of the Central Government and not the state government.
Giving details, he said as of now, nearly 15 people had filed applications in Muktsar district seeking financial assistance from the Board.
An applicant, who sought monetary help said, "I fulfill all the conditions for being a beneficiary and sought financial assistance 17 months ago, but nothing has been done in my case so far. My hard work has proved to be a fruitless effort."

Courtesy: The Tribune

2 yrs on, youths missing from Gidderbaha remain untraced

2 yrs on, youths missing from Gidderbaha remain untraced Tribune News Service

Gidderbaha/Muktsar, Oct 28
Two youths of Gidderbaha sub-division in Muktsar district, who went missing over two years ago, remain untraced with their families and the police unable to get any clue about their whereabouts.
Twenty four -year-old Raghav Wadhwa, a student of law at Rayat and Bahra College, had gone missing with his white-coloured Swift car (PB-60-A-4800) on the night of his birthday on January 4-5, 2010 from Sector 23 in Chandigarh, where he had reportedly gone to drop his cousin.
His father Jagdish Wadhwa said, "We tried to find Raghav and approached many senior police officials, but in vain. He is still missing."
"We even moved an application in the Punjab and Haryana High Court seeking CBI probe, but the order is still awaited," added Wadhwa.
"The police has been increasing the reward money in the case of my son, which is not sufficient. Though his mobile phone was recovered from a Moga resident almost one-and-a-half years ago, the police has so far failed to get any vital clue in this regard."
Similarly, the whereabouts of 32-year-old Pardeep Kumar of Giljewala village, a grocery shop owner, who had gone missing from Rupana village in the district on November 3, 2010, are still unknown.
The brother of the missing youth, Pawan Kumar, alleged, "Some persons with proximity to the party in power including Sukhchain Singh and Karam Deep Singh of Rupana village, kidnapped my brother two years ago. He is still missing."
"After our repeated attempts, a case was registered against Sukhchain, his son and some unidentified persons, but they have not been arrested," added Pawan Kumar.
Meanwhile, the police said they were investigating the matter.
SSP, Muktsar, Surjit Singh said, "I will personally go through the investigations in the case of Pardeep Kumar. I have directed my subordinate staff to inform me about the facts of all missing persons."
y Raghav Wadhwa (24), a student of law at Rayat and Bahra College, went missing with his white-coloured Swift car (PB-60-A-4800) on the intervening night of January 4 and 5, 2010, from Sector 23 in Chandigarh.
y Pardeep Kumar (32) of Giljewala village, a grocery shop owner, is reported missing from Rupana village in the district since November 3, 2010.

Courtesy: The Tribune

Highway robbers on prowl in Muktsar district

Highway robbers on prowl Tribune News Service

Muktsar, October 28
Highways in Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal's home district Muktsar are turning unsafe with every passing day. In the past one week, two vehicle snatching incidents have occurred on the district roads, putting a question mark over the functioning of the district police, which otherwise claims that night dominance and special security measures had been taken due to the ongoing festival season.
On the night of October 26, unidentified persons snatched a truck loaded with paddy bags after thrashing its driver, who was sleeping in the vehicle after parking it on a roadside on the Jalalabad road.
"Driver Mohan Lal, who had to unload paddy bags at a rice mill, had parked the truck on the outskirts of the city, waiting to deliver the stock in the morning. But around 1 am, robbers attacked him and ran away with the loaded truck valued about Rs 11.5 lakh," said the police.
On October 21, five persons, including a girl, snatched an Alto car, which they had hired from Gidderbaha to go to Dabwali in Haryana, from its driver near Mehna village in Lambi assembly constituency. The police said the driver, Pardeep Kumar, had lodged a complaint alleging that the robbers posed as natives of Husnar village and hired the car for Rs 650 to go to Dabwali at about 6:30 pm on October 21.
"After reaching near Mehna village, an occupant told me that he was not feeling well and I slowed down the car. Taking advantage of the slow speed and the darkness outside, they thrashed me, snatched my cell phone and fled with the car," the complainant said.
These vehicle robbing incidents have created panic among the commuters who now say that the policemen must intensify patrolling, especially during night hours, so that they could travel without any fear.
"The festival season is on and people have to go to their relatives to greet them. But, the increasing number of theft and vehicle snatching incidents have been stopping them from doing so. It has even become a risky job to attend a wedding at night," said Mahinder Pal Nagpal of Malout.
Other residents also aired similar views saying that the attendance of policemen deployed on roads for night patrolling must be checked twice during their duty hours.
Senior Superintendent of Police Surjit Singh said, "Due to the ongoing festival season, all SHOs and other officials have already been told to intensify patrolling in their respective areas. Arrangements are also being made to keep an eye on history-sheeters. Policemen have also been deployed at all busy markets."

Courtesy: The Tribune

Most water samples from Muktsar schools fail test

Most water samples from Muktsar schools fail test  

Archit Watts
Tribune News Service

Muktsar, October 26
A majority of government schools in Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal’s home district Muktsar are without safe drinking water.
A Health Department team collected water samples from 73 government schools between April and September, but only two could pass the safety tests. Forty-seven samples failed the test whereas the reports of 24 others are awaited. Chief Medical Officer Dr Charanjeet Singh Brar said, “Fluoride level has been found to be high in the samples collected from these schools. The report has been submitted to the District Education Officer and the Deputy Commissioner for further action.” “We have recommended the schools to either change water source or install reverse osmosis plants,” he said.
Officials who gathered the samples said consumption of contaminated water may lead to vomiting, hepatitis, typhoid, diarrhoea and other water-borne diseases. Contaminated water is also to blame for the increasing cases of cancer in the Malwa region.
District Education Officer Gurinderpal Kaur said, “We have sought funds for installing reverse osmosis plants in schools where they are needed. We will visit these schools to examine the situation.”
Brar said 279 samples had been collected from other areas as well in the district. Of them, 88 failed the test whereas the report of 90 is awaited.

Coutesy: The Tribune

Protests over delay in lifting paddy a routine in Muktsar

Protests over delay in lifting paddy a routine in Muktsar

Archit Watts
Tribune News Service

Muktsar, October 27
Protests against the slow lifting of paddy have become the order of the day in Muktsar district, where farmers and commission agents are fed up with the poor arrangements made by the state government.
So far hardly a day has passed this procuring season when the farmers haven’t lodged protest and blocked roads in demand of speedy lifting of paddy from the mandis across the district.
Till date, this procuring season, nearly 15 such protests have been witnessed in Muktsar district alone, which is the home district of ruling Badal family.
Irate farmers here alleged that their produce was now being consumed by animals, as it had been lying in the open in the mandis for the past so many days and the officials of the procuring agencies have failed to streamline the procuring process.
The situation was said to be dismal in Lambi assembly constituency, where the farmers were repeatedly blocking Fazilka-Delhi national highway as a tool to speed up the process of lifting. In a number of villages, the irate farmers blocked the highway to urge the “erring” officials of the district administration to start the procurement.
The commission agents of Muktsar town also adopted the path of protest today. However, with the timely intervention of the district administration officials, they called off their strike against the arbitrary conditions of the rice mill owners.
The commission agents had alleged that the rice mill owners were procuring the paddy after under weighing the stock, saying that the paddy’s moisture content was high.
However, a team of senior officials of the district administration held a joint meeting between the delegation of Kacha Arhtiya Association and Rice Millers’ Association and directed them to co-operate with each other in streamlining the process.
Yesterday, a labourers’ union had also lodged protest at Muktsar grain market against the encroachments made by some people. They said no space was left for unloading paddy crop brought by the farmers.

Commuters' nightmare

 Oct 10: NH-10 near Kabarwala village blocked for an hour
 Oct 11: Muktsar-Sadiq-Ferozepur road near Seerwali village blocked for four hours
 Oct 13: Farmers of various villages block NH-10 for six hours
 Oct 14: Lambi villagers block NH-10 outside Lambi police station
 Oct 15: Farmers and commission agents of Gidderbaha village blocked the NH-15
 Oct 16: Mahuana village blocked Abohar-Delhi road for two hours
 Oct 21: Balochkera villager block Malout-Sito Gunno road for two hours

MGNREGA funds ‘misused' in Muktsar

MGNREGA funds ‘misused’ 

Archit Watts/TNS

Muktsar, October 25
The complaints regarding the "misuse" of funds under the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA) has raised a question mark over the functioning of the officials here.
First, a complaint came up before the DC over alleged use of MGNREGA funds for purchasing stationery goods worth lakhs. Now, allegations have been levelled for not paying salary to nearly 100 labourers hired last year for cleaning a village pond and embezzling the amount by “forging” the records.
An inquiry has been marked but the report is awaited.
Jagroop Singh, advisor, MGNREGA Rozgar Prapat Mazdoor Union, said, "I have lodged a complaint with the DC that the labourers of Thandewala village were hired under the MGNREGA to clean a village pond. They were later told to clean the pond of Charewan village too, which they completed in nine weeks. The muster rolls were prepared for nine weeks but the labourers were paid only for three weeks. The payment for six weeks is pending. The officials concerned embezzled the amount."
The officer investigating the matter said, "I am not authorised to speak to the media. But I can assure that the probe would be completed within a week. I have brought all the records including the muster rolls to my office. It is yet to be verified whether the officials concerned committed any fraud or they made an unsuccessful attempt.”
District Development and Panchayat Officer Nawal Nainiwal said, "The complaint was made directly to the DC. So, I am not aware of the facts."

Courtesy: The Tribune

Muktsar ex-ADC comes under scanner: Faces probe for ‘misappropriation’ of rural job scheme funds

Muktsar ex-ADC comes under scanner 

Faces probe for ‘misappropriation’ of rural job scheme funds

Archit Watts
Tribune News Service

Muktsar, October 23
An alleged misappropriation of MGNREGA (Mahatama Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act) funds has come to light in the district. The role of former Additional Deputy Commissioner (Development) Kuldeep Singh has come under the scanner.
Acting upon a complaint, present Additional Deputy Commissioner (ADC) NS Bath has even begun investigations into the alleged misappropriation.
Bath said, “As per the complaint received, the official who earlier held the charge of ADC (D) Muktsar is accused of releasing MGNREGA funds for the purchase of stationery items without verifying the works for which the payment was made.”
He said the complaint was received 15 days ago. “I have started investigations. The statements of a superintendent and a few other officials have been recorded. Correspondence has been made twice to the officer concerned whose role is in question to come and record his statement for a speedy probe,” he said.
The investigating officer said the grant amounted to around Rs 40 lakh, which was paid to a printer for purchasing stationery items under the job scheme for the entire district.
Deputy Commissioner Paramjit Singh said, “We have taken the matter seriously. Even before receiving the complaint, I had told the present ADC to investigate the matter as I had received some verbal inputs about alleged irregularities in payments made under the MGNREGA.” He said records had been seized and the matter was under investigation.
Kuldeep Singh, who at present holds the charge of Land Acquisition Collector, Improvement Trust, Ludhiana, confirmed that he had been contacted by the Muktsar ADC. “I got a call today. The matter in question is payment made for the purchase of stationery goods under the MGNREGA. The payment was made from one government department to another. I am ready to get my statement recorded and whosoever is found guilty should be booked as per the law.”

Synopsis of the matter

• The funds were part of the National Rural Employment Guarantee Act
• 
  
• The case pertains to “misappropriation” of NREGA funds worth Rs 40 lakh
• A complaint was received against Muktsar ex-ADC Kuldeep Singh two weeks ago
• The charge is he released funds without verifying what for the grant was meant
• The matter pertains to the purchase of stationery items for Muktsar district
• Present ADC NS Bath has already started investigations into the “misappropriation”
• Kuldeep Singh has also been summoned for the recording of his statement twice
• He, however, claimed that the payment was made from one govt department to another

Courtesy: The Tribune

SLOW LIFTING OF PADDY: Dist-level livestock contests postponed

SLOW LIFTING OF PADDYDist-level livestock contests postponed Archit Watts
Tribune News Service

Muktsar, October 22
Due to the reported delay in the lifting of paddy from the grain markets and farmers busy sitting there awaiting the sale of their produce, the Animal Husbandry department has postponed its scheduled district level livestock championships starting from today.
The two-day district level championship had to start from today at Mohali and Moga districts.
Though no fresh date has been announced for the holding of livestock championships, yet the preparations being made in this regard have been stopped.
Deputy Director (Muktsar), Animal Husbandry department, Naresh Sachdeva, said, "In our district, the championship was scheduled to be held on October 25 and 26, but yesterday I got a phone call from the senior officials to postpone it for some time. As of now, no fresh date has been announced in this regard."
Giving the reason behind this development, he added, "The farmers are busy selling their produce in the mandis, so it was of no use organising the event in such a situation."
He added that the department had made all arrangements to organize the event. "The venue was decided. Duties had been assigned to the officials. The public announcement had also been made through the media. But the event has been postponed at the last moment in all districts of the state," added Sachdeva.
Similarly, Dr HS Sandha, Director, Animal Husbandry, said, "As the farmers are busy in mandis, we decided to organise the livestock championships next month."

Courtesy: The Tribune

Colony’s ‘PUDA approved’ claim doubtful

Colony’s ‘PUDA approved’ claim doubtful Archit Watts
Tribune News Service

Malout/Muktsar, October 21
Despite the state government's efforts to put a ban on the registration of sale deeds of plots in unapproved residential colonies to check their mushrooming growth, the problem is far from over.
A residential colony was inaugurated today at Bathinda road in Malout with huge hoardings on the roads describing it as "PUDA (Punjab Urban Development Authority) approved".
The authorities concerned revealed that the colony had not been approved so far and if the owners of the colony had mentioned it as "PUDA approved", then they were inviting legal action.
Uma Shankar Gupta, Chief Administrator, Bathinda Development Authority (BDA), said, "The colonisers have submitted their documents but we have not yet given them the licence. They can't claim it as PUDA approved as of now."
While visiting the site of the 17-acre colony, it was found that its owners had not only installed a huge board mentioning it as "PUDA approved" at the site, but also in other parts of the town.
They were even found distributing free brochures of the colony, mentioning that it had been approved by PUDA, to those attending the inaugural ceremony.
Sources said the colony was being developed by some liquor traders of Muktsar, who have close affiliation to the ruling party.
Meanwhile, Tehsildar, Malout, Harsharanjeet Singh said, "As of now, we have not received a single document regarding PUDA's approval either from the owners of the Star City colony or from the PUDA officials. The plots in this colony are not yet approved in our records."
On the other hand, Gaurav Saluja, MD of the Star City colony, claimed, "We have deposited the fee with the PUDA but the licence is still pending, which is expected soon. The delay was caused only due to some change in the layout of the colony at the last moment."
It may be mentioned that earlier during its survey, the BDA had identified 132 of total 136 residential colonies as unapproved in Muktsar district. And 11 of the total 12 colonies were declared unapproved in Malout town.

A hoarding put up at the site of a proposed colony in Malout claims to have been approved by the PUDA. A Tribune photograph
Courtesy: The Tribune

Fund-starved govt has enough to construct heliport for Badals; On a fast track, the project, planned near Badal village, has already got all clearances

Fund-starved govt has enough to construct heliport for Badals 
On a fast track, the project, planned near Badal village, has already got all clearancesArchit Watts
Tribune News Service

Muktsar, October 19
The fund-starved Punjab Government, which has been finding it difficult to pay salaries to its employees, is all set to construct a heliport at Mann village, adjoining Badal village, in the district. The heliport, to come up over 20-25 acres, will facilitate easy landing and flying of helicopters of Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal and his son and Deputy Chief Minister Sukhbir Badal.
Sukhbir, who holds the portfolio of civil aviation, has already given a go-ahead to the project and desired an immediate action in this regard. There is already a helipad for the Badals at Kaljharani village, 5 km from Badal village, in Bathinda district. After landing at Kaljharani, the VVIPs have to travel by road to reach Badal village.
Sources said the Defence Ministry and Air Force authorities have also given no-objection certificates (NOCs) for the proposed heliport, but with some conditions.
These include: Only visual flight rules shall be undertaken, vertical extent shall not exceed 650 m above the sea level, all flights will operate in coordination with the Bhisiana Air Force station and no separate airspace shall be earmarked for the heliport.
Going through the departmental communiqués, it has been learnt that the project, moved by Capt Abhey Chandra, Adviser, Civil Aviation, Punjab, was issued the NOC on August 28 for the next five years by AS Chaudhary, Under Secretary, Ministry of Defence. Similarly, Ankur Moudgil, Wing Commodore, issued an NOC on behalf of the Air Force.
Even the state departments like Town and Country Planning, Forest, Water Supply and Sanitation, Power, Canal, PWD (B&R), Agriculture, Mandi Board and District Development, all have issued NOCs for the proposed heliport.
The Revenue Department has also prepared satellite maps of suitable locations of nearly 125 acres along with land records so that it could be acquired at the earliest. Recently, a meeting of senior officials of the departments concerned was held where the project was discussed at length.
Muktsar Deputy Commissioner Paramjit Singh said: “The heliport is proposed to be built at Mann village. But I am not aware of its purpose”. Talking over the phone, Capt Abhey Chandra said: “We have been told to obtain NOCs from all the departments concerned and the process has started. The heliport will facilitate VVIPs, but the public can also avail of the facility after getting permission from the Deputy Commissioner”.

Courtesy: The Tribune