Dharamsala, September 5, 2013: The Himachal Pradesh chief minister Vir Bhadra Singh will launch food security programme in Himachal from Shimla on September 11.

This has been stated by state food and transport minister G S Bali at Dharamsala on Thursday. He said that the state will keep on providing selected food items to APL families too, though its rate may slightly be increased from the present one.

The minister said, “Government of India have agreed in principal to proved a help of Rs 400 crore to meet cost to provide subsidised food to APL families in the state.”

Bali said that a project of 19 crore has been sanctioned by center to bring civil supplies of the state on line.”He said that that to store more food under food security, the state shall built more storage on Private Public partnership with the help of central government.

Talking about the transport facilities the state he said,” GoI has agreed in principal to included Himachal as a Hill State in pilot project after Rajasthan and Assam for gape funding (in loss) to give increased transport connectivity in rural areas.”

He said that during his recent meeting with the Union Minister for Transport,  the Centre has agreed to providing Driver Training School for Himachal at the cost of Rs.14 crore. The Centre has also agreed to providing liberal fund for National Highway 20-a Nagrota Bagwan-Mubarkpur in Himachal.

Himachal Pradesh Transport and Food supply Minister GS Bali addressing the media parsons at Dharamsala on Thursday.

City Air News photo: Shyam Shayma, Dharamsala

One year rigorous imprisonment to two bank officials of Andhra Bank in separate cases of bribery

New Delhi/Jalandhar, September 6, 2013: The Special Judge for CBI cases, Hyderabad has convicted Javeed Ashraf, then Regional Controller of Mines, Indian Bureau of Mines, Hyderabad for accepting a bribe of Rs.10,000 from the complainant for issuing revocation order for commencing mining operations. The accused was sentenced to undergo three years Simple Imprisonment with a fine of Rs.20,000 each for the offence U/s.7 and 13(2) r/w 13(1)(d) of PC Act, 1988.  The court has also ordered that out of the total fine amount of Rs.40,000/-, Rs.10,000 is to be paid to the complainant as compensation. 

In another case, the Special Judge for CBI cases, Hyderabad has convicted  Randive Babruwan, then Assistant Manger and Sh. G. Ramulu, then Cashier, both of Andhra Bank, Lakshmapur Branch, Yellareddy Mandal, Nizamabad District (Andhra Pradesh) U/s 7 and 13(2) r/w 13(1)(d) of PC Act, for demanding & accepting a bribe of Rs. 5,000 as first installment out of total amount of Rs.10,000 from the complainant for processing his insurance claim (A.B. Jeevan Abhaya Scheme and Crop Insurance Claim) with regard to the accidental death of the complainant’s father.  Both the accused were sentenced to undergo one year Rigorous Imprisonment with a fine of Rs.2,000 each.

Chandigarh, September 6, 2013: The much awaited panel of 14th Finance Commission today arrived at Chandigarh under the Chairmanship of Dr. Y.V. Reddy. The other members of the Finance Commission were Professor Abhijit Sen, Sushma Nath, Dr. M. Govinda Rao and Dr. Sudipto Mundle.
They were accompanied by Ajay Narayan Jha, Secretary to the Commission and other officers of the Commission. Parminder Singh Dhindsa, Finance Minister, Punjab extended warm welcome to the Finance Commission on their arrival at Chandigarh.
Disclosing this here today, an official spokesperson of the Finance Department of Punjab Government said that the team of Finance Commission had series of discussions with the representatives of Urban and Rural Local Bodies and representatives of Trade and Industry.
The first meeting was held with the representatives of Local Bodies of the State, in which various core issues concerning the state like the problem of solid waste management, setting up and maintenance of state of the art water supply and sewerage system, construction and maintenance of urban and rural link roads, installation of LED street lights were highlighted by the representatives of local bodies. It was requested that the state has not been getting regular and adequate supply of funds from the union government for all these basic amenities.
The State Government requested the 14th finance Commission that grants for Local Bodies for the period 2015-16 to 2019-20 should be doubled from existing 1.5% of divisible pool of taxes to 3% of divisible pool of taxes. The State Government also requested the Commission to recommend State Specific Grants of Rs.1550 crore for Rural and Urban Local Bodies of the State for the period 2015-16 to 2019-20.
The representatives requested for suitable civic infrastructure to meet the demands of water supply (only 80% population is covered up till now in Punjab) for which Rs. 400 crore required.  For sewerage system State requires Rs. 1400 crore and for sewerage treatment plant it requires Rs. 500 crore.  They have also requested that for all the basic amenities in the urban areas at least Rs. 10,000 crore is required to allocate.  Moreover, they demanded a special package for maintenance of the present structure. They also requested the Commission to recommend grant of Rs. 400 crore for Fire Brigade system as there is very poor infrastructure available at the moment.
They pointed out that there is a need of sewerage system in the urban areas for which a grant of Rs. 100 crore required and for STP system Rs. 1500 crore is required.  The treated water would be used in the fields. They stressed the need for management of plastic waste in the cities through IT system/Cameras for which State needs Rs. 500 crore. They requested that if a grant of Rs. 2000 crore be given to Punjab the 80% of the water will be used in the State.  They pointed out that there is a need for a scheme to stop pollution by plastic bags and, further, installation of biogas plants at different places for which a grant of Rs. 1500 crore for all MCs be given.
The second round of deliberations was held with the representatives of Rural Local Bodies. In this one-two-one meeting the representatives raised the issues concerning the overall development of the villages, special mentions were made to the issues of up keep of village ponds, construction of Panchayat Ghars having proper furniture and other communication gadgets, construction of GAU-shallas to check the menace of stray cattle, construction of at least one community centre for the cluster of five-six villages.  
The last meeting of the day was with the representatives of Trade and Industry sector. The State Government drew the attention of Commission to flight of Industry and capital from the State due to Government of India policy of giving tax concessions to the industry of the neighboring States of Punjab. The representatives of Trade and Industry urged the Commission to provide fiscal incentives on the lines of hilly areas for the development of Industry in the State. The Industry also urged the Commission to ensure faster implementation of GST in the Country.
Officers of the Punjab Govt. including Mr. D.P. Reddy Principal Secretary Finance, Mandeep Singh Sandhu Principal Secretary Rural Development and Panchayat, Karan Avtar Singh Principal Secretary Trade and Industry, Ashok Kumar Gupta Secretary local bodies, Jaspal Singh Secretary Expenditure were also present.
The Urban Local Bodies were represented by Sunil Jyoti, Mayor Municipal Corporation Jalandhar, Harcharan Singh Gohalwaria, Mayor Municipal Corporation Ludhiana, Rajesh Honey, Councillor Municipal Corporation Amritsar, Gurmeet Kaur Brar, Councillor Municipal Corporation Patiala, Rajesh Chaudhary, President Municipal Council Nangal, Dharampal Rao, Councillor Municipal Council Gobindgarh, Joginder Pal Marwaha, President Nagar Panchayat Bhulath, Gurprem Singh Romana, President Municipal Council Kharar, Roshan Lal, Councillor Municipal Council Kharar.
The Panchayti Raj Institutions were represented by Jaspal Singh, Chairman Zila Parishad Patiala, Pritpal Singh, Member Zila Parishads Sangrur, Jagroop Singh Member Panchayt Samiti Patiala, Narinder Singh Sarpanch village Kheri Maniyan, Harjinder Singh Sarpanch village Mundo Sangtiyan, Bhupinder Kaur Sarpanch village Harnampur, Manjit Singh Member Block Samiti Majri, Sukhveer Kaur Sarpanch Village Nanowal.
The Trade and Industry were represented by D.L.Sharma, Chairman CII Punjab State Council & Director Vardhman Textile Ltd. Ludhiana, Sanjeev Nagpal, Convener Agriculture & Water Panel CII Punjab State Council & Managing Director Nasa Agro Industries Ltd Fazilka, J.B.S.Sangha, Vice Chairman CII Jalandhar Zonal Council & Proprietor Beas Cold Storage, Bhavdeep Sardana, Sr. VP & CEO The Sukhjit Starch & Chemicals Limited Phagwara, R.C. Rallhan, Chairman Sri Tools Industries Focal Point Ludhiana, Dinesh Lakra, Punjab  Apparel & Textile Park Focal Point Ludhiana, Kamal Dalmia,  Natraj Wooltex Limited  Amritsar, R.S.Sachdeva Co-Chairman PHDCCI Chandigarh, S.N.Garg President, Bathinda Rice Millers Association Bathinda, Sandeep Khosla, M/s Khosla Rubbers Pvt. Ltd. Focal Point, Amritsar, Dinesh Gupta, Convener CII Mandi Gobindgarh Core Group & Managing Director, Parbhat Heavy Forge Pvt. Ltd.
 

The Sikh Regimental Centre, Ramgarh Cantt (Jharkhand) organised a recruitment rally for Soldiers General Duty and Tradesmen Category.  The Common Entrance Examination (CEE) for the said rally was held on 25 Aug 2013 at Ramgarh Cantt.

Result of the Common Entrance Examination (CEE) is as follows :-

 (a)          ROLL NOs OF SELECTED CANDIDATES FOR SOL GD 

 (b)          ROLL NOs OF SELECTED CANDIDATES FOR SOL TDN

Chandigarh, September 7, 2013: Dr. Y V Reddy, Chairman, Prof. Abhijit Sen, Sushama Nath, Dr. M Govinda Rao and Dr. Sudipto Mundle, Members of the Fourteenth Finance Commission, and A N Jha, Secretary visited Punjab from September 6 to 7 to hold consultations with the State Government and key stake holders.

The commission met with the Chief Minister, Punjab Parkash Singh Badal his cabinet colleagues and senior officers of the State Government, for discussions.

The Chief Minister Punjab invited the attention of the Commission towards the Agriculture and Allied Sector, Health & Family Welfare and Grants for Border, Kandi areas, need for debt relief and on the need to tackle the water logging problem being faced by the State. A comprehensive picture of economic and fiscal profile of the State as well as observation regarding vertical and horizontal criteria and the proposal for grants for meeting post devolution revenue deficit was presented before the Commission. Apart from this the specific needs were projected regarding debt sustainability, sharing of subsidies, financing of relief expenditure. The Chief Minister raised his concern regarding decline in the share of State in Central Taxes and urged the Commission to ensure vertical fiscal balance between the Union and the State Government and horizontal balance amongst various States. He urged the commission to set realistic Fiscal consolidation targets for the State. He added that the State required special dispensation for diversification of agriculture, debt relief grant to take care of the outstanding loans and suitable compensation on account of power subsidy.

The Finance Minister presented and overview of the finances of the state and also highlighted that the state needed debt relief as the historic burden of debt was high and also expressed concern on the adverse impact of tax concessions given for the neighbouring states.

The state government submitted their memorandum and maid a detailed presentation on the finances of the state government, its projections for the award period and gave their views on some of the terms of reference of the commission. The commission also interacted with representatives of political parties, Panchayati Raj Institutions, Urban Local Bodies and the trade and industry associations.

The commission places on record its appreciation to the Chief Minister and state government for the cooperation and support extended to the commission and assures that the issues raised will receive due attention in the deliberation of the commission. The commission also looks forward to continuing interaction with the state government.

The commission will finalise its recommendations by October 2014 after completing its discussions with all the state governments, the Government of India and relevant stake holders.

MEANWHILE, another report from Chandigarh said-

To enable the state to overcome financial challenges and ensure a stable growth, the Punjab Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal today urged the 14th Finance Commission to recommend State Specific Grants of Rs 9639 crore besides fully funding the Agricultural Diversification Plan worth Rs. 8775 crores and a Debt Relief Grant to the tune of Rs 24, 813 crore for the state.

Making a forceful presentation, after submission of memorandum, before the 14th Finance Commission led by its Chairman YV Reddy here at Punjab Bhawan this morning, the Chief Minister apprised the Commission that the Centre had referred the issue of debt stressed states of Kerala, Punjab and West Bengal to the 14th Finance Commission and thus demanded Rs 24, 813 crore as Debt Relief Grant towards outstanding Small Savings and Government of India (GoI) loans. He mentioned that the then Prime Minister IK Gujral had waived the entire special term loan raised during the militancy in Punjab. However Badal lamented that when it came to implementation, only the outstanding balance on that date was waived therefore he impressed upon the Commission to grant a ‘Special Term’ loan and interest already paid by the state amounting to Rs 2694 crore at current prices.

The Chief Minister gave a brief account of how the state had been meted out a step motherly treatment by the Centre despite being the ‘Sword Arm’ and ‘Granary’ of the nation. Likewise, the state also faced the brunt of partition besides our people paid huge price during Indo-Pak wars. Subsequently we faced long years of Militancy and Punjab remained under long spells of President rule thus no additional sources were raised and substantial resources were diverted towards fighting the militancy pushing the revenue surplus state into vicious debt trap. Badal reiterated that Punjab fought the nations’ war and thus sought the restructuring of the balance outstanding debt and a moratorium on the payment of interest, considering the strong financial position of the state prior to militancy.

Pleading to recast the Federal Structure in true sense which was gradually shedding its character to pave way for a unitary form of Government, the Chief Minister urged the Commission to make comprehensive recommendations for decentralization of planning process besides evolving fair and justifiable formula for sharing of resources. He said that the States should be allowed to decide their own plan priorities as per their local needs adding that funds should be given in an “untied” manner. Thus Badal underlined the need to recommend all grants including Plan grants be distributed only on the basis of Finance Commission recommendations.

The Chief Minister bemoaned that by and large the states' expenditure in development has been rising while their share in revenue was readily declining whereas the scenario in Center situation was absolutely opposite as it was accumulating far more revenue than actually incurring expenditure on development. Therefore he requested the Commission to fix the share of states in central taxes at 50% and also to bring cess, surcharge and royalties to the shareable pool. To substantiate his claim, Badal cited that since the Fifth Finance Commission, state’s share in central taxes has been reduced from 2.450% to just 1.389% now.

Ridiculing Centre’s discriminatory approach for devolution of funds amongst the states, the Chief Minister said that over the years such formulas had been against the Fiscal interests of the progressive and better performing states like Punjab. Due weightage should be given to the Gross State Domestic Product (GSDP) and to the proportion of SC/ST population, which was the highest amongst the states in the country.

Referring to the Industrial Tax concessions given to neighboring states by Central Government, the Chief Minister said that this discriminatory policy has dealt a severe blow to state’s economy resulting in stoppage of fresh investment and flight of capital from the state. He asked the GoI to grant tax concessions to Punjab, at par with those granted to the neighbouring States, to compensate the state for the losses suffered by the flight of industry. Badal also sought Rs 3000 crore for promoting industry in Punjab by creating new and upgrading the existing infrastructure in the form of Industrial Focal points, Integrated Textile Parks, Food Parks, SEZs etc. In addition to this, we need Rs. 500 crore to build and strengthen infrastructure in the border areas to make use of the increased trade with Pakistan.

Outlining the state’s Agricultural Diversification Plan of Rs. 8775 crores, the Chief Minister said that it was all the more important now with the Centre Government mulling to do away with the MSP regime. Therefore he said that the state was left with no other alternative but to go for diversification of Agriculture through promoting its allied sector likedairy farming, piggery, fisheries, bee-keeping etc besides motivating the farmers to cultivate less water intensive and highly remunerative crops. Badal informed the Commission that to bail out the farmers in this hour of crisis and to save agriculture, the State government was investing nearly Rs. 6000 crore per year for providing electricity to the agriculture sector. Terming this initiative as a step towards the National Food Security he urged that GoI should share atleast 50% of the investment.

The Chief Minister attributed the population as a correct reflection of contribution of taxes, therefore he requested to accord weightage of at least 35% to population. To further give due importance to the component of SC/ST population, he suggested the Commission for introducing the element of equity, an additional weightage of 15% should be given to the states as they undertake substantial expenditure for the upliftment and welfare of these sections of society.   Likewise Mr. Badal also said that the weightage of the areas must be increased from existing 10% to 15% in the devolution criteria to meet the higher administrative costs to deliver similar level of public service across the country.

The Chief Minister also said that in order to enable the urban and Rural local bodies to perform their functions efficiently the general basic grant and performance grants should be merged into a single general grant for local bodies, which must be equal to three percent of divisible pool of central taxes. He also said that this grant must be given on lump sum basis adding that during each year of the 14th Finance Commission 20% of the Local Bodies must be covered thereby covering all the local bodies in five years.

Earlier the Finance Minister Parminder Singh Dhindsa in his speech said that the state government enacted Fiscal Responsibility and Budget Management act in the year 2003 and subsequently amended it to make consistent with the Fiscal consolidation path recommended by the 13th Finance Commission adding he said that the state has been able to meet the Financial consolidation path targets except for Revenue Deficit. The state government was conscious of the need to contain Revenue Deficit of the state and has made significant effort to increase its own tax revenues and compress non-plan revenue expenditure. As a result of the efforts of the state government, the average tax revenue have increased from Rs 5711 crore in 2002-03 to Rs 22, 588 crore in 2012-13.

Summing up the marathon deliberations, the Chairman of Commission YV Reddy said that he was highly impressed by the meticulous presentation of the Fiscal scenario in the state presented by the government. He assured the Chief Minister that the Commission would thoroughly examine all the aspects of Fiscal consolidation in a holistic manner.

The Chief Minister was accompanied by Cabinet Minister Chunni Lal Bhagat, Financial Commissioner Revenue NS Kang, Financial Commissioner Development Suresh Kumar, Principal Secretary Finance DP Reddy, Principal Secretary Higher Education Ravneet Kaur, Principal Secretary Irrigation Sarvesh Kaushal, Principal Secretary Health Vinnie Mahajan, Principal Secretary Education Anjali Bhawra, Principal Secretary to Chief Minister SK Sandhu, Financial Commissioner Animal Husbandry G Vajralingam, Secretary Expenditure Jaspal Singh, Secretary Power Anirudh Tiwari, Secretary Agriculture Kahan Singh Pannu and Director Local Bodies Priyank Bharti.

The Commission was represented by Members of the Commission Prof. Abhijit Sen, Sushma Nath, Dr. M Govinda Rao and Dr. Sudipto Mundle besides Secretary to Commission Ajay Narayan Jha.

Ferozepur, September 8, 2013: The Northern Railways having its Divisional Headquarters at Ferozepur, despite number of representations by the commuters and passengers, for the last six months, have failed to control the rush on Ferozepur-Fazilka route and they are compelled to travel on the roofs of the coaches.  
Railways which is one of the life line of India, claims to provide the best services to its passengers and at the stations but these looks to be only in papers and no efforts are being made to improve the services.  The coaches of DMU train running on Ferozepur-Fazilka route were reduced by diverting the same to other new routes, without surveying the rush on this route putting a lot of inconvenience to the passengers. The passengers demand that the coaches on this route may be doubled from the present only three coaches.
Honey Gureja and Jimmy Manchanda, daily passengers on this route said, “The Railways should plan the new routes only when the infrastructure is available for the same.  The policy of the Railways to give relief to the passengers on the new route and putting a lot of inconvenience to the old passengers is not appreciable”.

Jalandhar/New Delhi, September 8, 2013: Chaudhary Ranbir Singh was a great freedom fighter and a true Gandhian. He always raised voice for the poor, the weak and the farmers and his whole life was a saga of struggle, development and service.

These views were expressed by Haryana Chief Minister, Bhupinder Singh Hooda at the First International Memorial Lecture on Ranbir Singh organised in New Delhi.

Hooda said that just at the age of 15 years, in 1929, he accompanied his father Matu Ram to Lahore Congress Session. After completion of his studies, he jumped into freedom movement at the call of Mahatma Gandhi in 1941. He was arrested and jailed for three and a half years. He remained in eight jails, out of which four are in Pakistan today. He was the last person to the released from the jail in 1946 in Punjab.

Hooda said that at the age of 33 years, he was made member of Constituent Assembly. He was the youngest member. He remained member of seven Houses – Constituent Assembly, Constituent Assembly (Legislative), Provisional Lok Sabha, Lok Sabha, Rajya Sabha, Punjab Vidhan Sabha and Haryana Vidhan Sabha. Everywhere he voiced his concern for the poor, the weak and the farmers. When he was Irrigation Minister in Punjab Government, Bhakra Dam was dedicated to the nation by the First Prime Minister of India Pt. Jawahar Lal Nehru, which brought prosperity not only in Punjab and Haryana, but also whole of India.

Hooda said that  Ranbir Singh particularly paid attention to the welfare of freedom fighters. In 1972, he got approved Samman Pension for freedom fighters from the Prime Minister Mrs Indira Gandhi. He used to say that they have sacrificed a lot for the nation, they should not suffer in free India. I always remember this and I am happy to say that in Haryana freedom fighters are given the highest Samman Pension as compared from other States, said Hooda. Haryana Government is trying its best to fulfill their dreams.

Hooda said that Ranbir Singh was not only a capable parliamentarian, minister and administrator, but also a nice human being. I learnt a lot from him. He was a man of principles and an honest person. About politics he used to say that today’s politics is quite different. At the age of 64, he retired from active politics and devoted himself to the social work.

Presiding over the function former speaker of Lok Sabha,  Balram Jakhar remembered the services of Ranbir Singh to the society and the nation. He was like my elder brother and always inspired me to work hard, he said. “When I became Irrigation Minister, then I started sprinkle irrigation and gave subsidy to the farmers. I am happy that Bhupinder Singh Hooda is also doing the same today”, he said, adding, “As speaker of Lok Sabha, I never allowed indiscipline in the House. I used to say, those who become MPs and MLAs, they should think that they have come for the service of the people”.

Ch. Ranbir Singh established an example for others, when he voluntarily left politics at the age of 64, to devote himself to the social cause.

The President of Commonwealth of Sikhs, USA,  Gurvinder Singh paid his tributes to  Ranbir Singh, saying that he was a true Gandhian. He offered to hold next  Ranbir Singh Memorial Lecture in America.

Ambassador of Mangolia in India  Sanjaasuren Bhayaraa was the Chief Guest at the function. He said that he was very happy to know about various aspects of the life of Ch. Ranbir Singh.

Raghunath Singh and Prof. Jagbir Singh, conveners of the function, thanked the guests and the audience.

New Delhi, September 8, 2013: Union Minister for Rural Development Jairam Ramesh said that the new Land Acquisition Bill is not against industrialisation and urbanisation as there is no bar on purchase of private land.

He said the new Act renamed as the Right to Fair Compensation and Transparency in Land Acquisition, Rehabilitation and Resettlement Bill, 2013 will come into force only in such cases where the land will be acquired by Central or State Authorities for any public purpose.
Briefing the media here, Ramesh said, the new Act which will be notified within three months will be applicable to SEZ ( Special Economic Zone) Projects and there will be no change in the land use except in certain cases through laid down procedures. He said, the thirteen Central Acts which are outside the purview of the new Act have to conform to the provisions of compensation and Rehabilitation and Resettlement package within one year of the coming into force of the legislation. He said, there is a balance in the new Act as it serves the the interests of all sections of society.
Terming the Bill as a progressive piece of legislation, the Minister said it gives priority to the interests of the farmers, landless labourers, Dalits and tribals, which he also termed as national interest. He also allayed the fears that the new Act gives absolute powers to the collectors as far as land acquisition, Award, compensation and rehabilitation are concerned and stated that unlike in the old Act, the above provisions have been clearly enunciated in the new law thus curtailing the discretionary powers of the District Magistrates.
Ramesh criticised the Public Sector Undertakings for the large scale displacement of people particularly tribals in states like Chhattisgarh, Odisha and Jharkhand for executing projects mainly mining and coal without adequate compensation and R&R package, which the Minister said is the main cause of growth of Naxalism. He said, the era of forcible acquisition is over and added that if the new Land Acquisition Act is implemented properly, it will put an end to inhumane displacement of tribals from forests and check the Maoist problem

Haraaz (Sri Muktsar Sahib), September 8, 2013: On the personal request of Punjab Chief Minister Mr. Parkash Singh Badal, a high level delegation of the 14th Finance Commission (FC) led by its Chairman YV Reddy today visited the flood affected areas of Sri Muktsar Sahib district to have first hand information about the massive devastation caused to the public installations, standing crops and houses, to enable the Commission for making recommendations to Government of India (GoI) for evolving a time bound action plan to check recurrence of such calamities emanating from the chronic problem of water logging in the region.

Interacting with the local residents of Khokhar, Haraaz and Udaikaran village, the member of the 14th Finance commission and Chairman Agriculture Committee of the Planning Commission of India (PCI) Prof. Abhijit Sen assured them that he would soon recommend to Chairman PCI to depute a high level team to assess the extensive damage caused to crops, houses and physical infra structure especially the roads and power grid stations due to recent floods in the area. He said that PCI was fully seized of the water logging problem in the Malwa belt as it had already sent a team led by its Member and expert on water resources Prof. Mihir Shah, who had submitted a detailed report to tackle this problem on permanent basis expeditiously adding Prof. Sen said that it was an established fact that the recent flooding in the region was also an outcome of water logging. Prof. Sen apprised the Chief Minister that Mihir Shah Committee would revisit the flood affected water logged areas to take stock of the entire situation in this context so that tangible steps could be taken to avert such situation in future. Expressing solidarity with the flood affected victims, Prof. Sen said that the GoI was at their beck and call in this hour of crisis.

The Chief Minister thanked the Chairman of the Commission YV Reddy who termed the water logging crisis as an unusual phenomenon and assured him that the Commission would do its best to bail out the state government from this piquant situation within the ambit of its functioning. He said that over the period of time the centuries old drainage system was gradually crumbling and it was the need of hour to revamp it for which the centre government should come forward with massive financial assistance to ultimately relieve the people from the pangs of water logging since long. He urged the Commission to impress upon the GoI to send a team of experts on hydrology and drainage to address the problem of water logging efficaciously besides revamping the entire drainage system in the state accordingly.

Realising fully the substantial loss caused to the crops, the Chief Minister said that he personally invited the Commission to visit these areas to keep them abreast with the ground realities and said that the ill effects of the recent floods due to water logging would have future implications for at least one decade. He said the migration of people from villages on mass scale due to floods was another cause of concern for the state government and thus he warranted GoI’s immediate attention to help the state in eradicating the problem of water logging so that the people’s confidence could be restored. He said, “It is never late and requested the centre to act promptly to save the precious lives of people, their property and cattle from fury of floods”.

Later talking to the media persons at Jhabelwali, the Chief Minister said that the Commission had been enlightened with the hardships faced by the people of area due to water logging and he hoped that it would certainly help the state to overcome the menace of water logging.

Replying to a query Prof. Abhijit Sen said that the PCI has fully endorsed the proposal for Agriculture Diversification sent to it and promised to recommend the funding of this ambitious program to GoI for putting the traditional agriculture on a strong pedestal.

Earlier the commission accompanied by Chief Minister visited the damaged 132 KV Power Grid at village Sarai Naga and 220 KV Power Grid at Sri Muktsar Sahib.

The Chief Minister was accompanied by Cabinet Minister Bikram Singh Majithia, his Principal Secretary SK Sandhu, Special Principal Secretary KJS Cheema besides the senior officers of civil and Police administration.

New Delhi/Jalandhar, September 9, 2013: Haryana Chief Minister, Bhupinder Singh Hooda on Sunday said that it is the duty of all of us to propagate the high ideals of Brahamleen Shri Devender Swaroop Brahamachari so as to render selfless service to the humanity, especially in the field of education and “gau sewa” (care of cows).

Hooda was speaking as chief guest in the “shrandhanjali sabha” of Gurudev Shri Devender Swaroop Brahamachari at  Shri Jai  Ram Annkshetra Trust in Rishikesh on Sunday.

Describing service to humanity as a part of our culture, the Chief Minister said that God gives all of us the strength to realize the dreams of founder of Shri Jairam institutions Shri Devender Swaroop Brahamachari, who spent his entire life to serve the humanity. These institutions have made tremendous progress and are playing a significant role in the areas of education and health. Following the path of Gurudev Shri Devender Swaroop Brahamachari, Shri Brahamswaroop Brahamchari is taking forward the legacy of Guru ji and serves the mankind.

Hooda said that he was closely associated with the Trust as he was born again at this place about 13 years ago when he miraculously escaped from massive flow of the Ganges. At that time, he had got a chance to meet the people there in the Ashram and he came to know that Shri Devendra Swroop Brahamchari had selflessly dedicated himself to serve the mankind. Not only this, he also served those who had migrated to Kurukshetra during partition of the country. It was because of the efforts of Brahamchari that many institutions had come up at Kurukshetra, Delhi, Haridwar and  Rishikesh as prominent centres and were serving the people.

The Chief Minister said that during the recent devastation which occurred in Uttarakhand, the Jairam Trust had also made a significant contribution to rehabilitate and serve the affected pilgrims and their relatives. It is a matter of happiness that the Ashram is working for the promotion of education, propagation of Sanskrit education and serve the cows.

Speaking on this occasion, Shri Brahamswaroop Brahamchari said that his Guru ji had led a simple life and had never encourage hypocrisy. He had always worked for promotion of education, health and Sanskrit language. The institutions set up by Shri Devendra Swroop Brahamchari to serve the mankind are flourishing. He also thanked the Chief Minister, Bhupinder Singh Hooda who  offered to provide all possible help to the victims of Uttarakhand devastation.   He also presented ‘Ganga Jal Urn’ on behalf of saints to the Chief Minister.

Paying tributes to Devendra Swroop Brahamchari, Haryana Pradesh Congress Committee President, Phool Chand Mullana said that Jairam Trust was serving the humanity in a big way. Similarly, with the blessings of the Ganges, Chief Minister Hooda is serving the mankind.   Hooda had given a new direction to Haryana in the field of development. During Uttarakhand devastation, Hooda himself visited the area and provided all help to the victims. Apart from announcing immediate relief of Rs.10 crore, the state government had also adopted a number of villages for rehabilitation, he added.

Speaker, Haryana Vidhan Sabha, Kuldeep Sharma said that India’s culture is associated with saints. The saints had also shown path of progress and prosperity to all of us during any kind of adverse situation. The Jairam Trust is moving on the path of service to the mankind shown by Brahamleen Shri Devendra Swroop Brahamchari.

Those present on this occasion included MLA Rishikesh, Prem Chand Aggarwal, MLA Rurkee, Pardeep Batra, former Minister, Delhi Mangat  Ram, a number of saints and trustees from different religious institutions and  a large number of devotees.

New Delhi/Jalandhar, September 9, 2013: The Secretary-General, INTERPOL, Ronald K. Noble has complimented CBI in its capacity as the National Central Bureau (NCB), for Interpol in India for demonstrating professionalism and willingness to share its expertise to effectively combat transnational organized crime.  In a message on the Central Bureau of Investigation’s Golden Jubilee Year, the Secretary General, on behalf of the INTERPOL global family, extended his congratulations to the CBI and said that the Bureau showed a Leadership role several times, including when it co-hosted with Interpol two important Regional Programmes.
The Secretary-General said that the CBI has become a powerful and respected international voice. He added that during the last five decades under leaders beginning with D.P.Kohli and continuing with the Director Shri Ranjit Sinha, the CBI’s strong commitment to international law enforcement cooperation placed India at the forefront of global policing.
The Interpol Secretary General said with India’s booming economy relying in great part on its IT infrastructure and industry, the CBI understands the need to engage with INTERPOL on transnational crimes such as cybercrime, which threaten the security of nations.

Gandhinagar/Chandigarh, September 9, 2013: The Punjab Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal today announced to host the next ‘Global Summit on Agriculture’ in Punjab during February, 2014. 

Badal demanded that the Commission for Agriculture Costs and Prices (CACP) should be declared as statutory authority to enable it to function with full autonomy for making recommendations with regard to hike in the MSP of various crops so that the farmers could get remunerative prices of their produce.  At present, the CACP was merely a recommendatory authority which was working under the direct influence of Ministry of Agriculture, GoI and the final say for the fixation of MSP lies with the GoI on the further recommendations of Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs.

Addressing the delegates, progressive farmers, agriculture scientists and experts from across the world on the inaugural session of three-day Global Summit on Agriculture at Mahatma Mandir in Gandhinagar, the Chief Minister lauded the efforts of his counterpart in Gujarat Narendra Modi for organising this global summit on agriculture to highlight and find tangible solutions to the problems of farmers and agriculture in the country. He said it is indeed a very noble initiative for which Modi deserved all applause for this. Badal said that agriculture was the oldest source of livelihood in the world as majority of the population in the developing countries and sizeable chunk of the poor throughout the world depend on agriculture. In India also 53% of the population was still dependant on agriculture. He appreciated the Indian Farmers have an impressive long-term record of taking the country out of serious food shortages despite rapid population increase. This was achieved through the farmers' hard work and sacrifices.

Underlining the need to encourage the Inter-State collaboration amongst the Industries and entrepreneurs in agri-business, Badal believed that there should also be an inter-state collaboration for the promotion of agriculture development in the country. He said our government has introduced a new investment promotion policy and therefore he invited all the entrepreneurs and farmers to make huge investments in Punjab. He assured of all possible help and support on behalf of the Punjab Government, to the interested entrepreneurs looking for lucrative opportunities in the agro-processing industry.      

Highly appreciating this summit, Badal said he would not only be eagerly waiting to receive the recommendations of the summit but also follow-up them meticulously. He said the summit would prove to be a milestone in setting up new parameters for the farmers to maximise their profits by adopting emerging farm practices on scientific lines adding he hoped this platform would offer some concrete solutions to the problems confronted by our farmers in order to improve their economic lot. He said such a forum must encourage inter-state exchange of farmers, experts, agriculture scientists, agriculture extension workers for better understanding and sharing of experience in the latest practices and innovations in farming.

Badal said that he represented a State, which was known as the ‘Granary of India’ with just 1.5% of the total area of the country, it provides about 50% of food grains procured by Government of India to ensure food security. He said that Punjab’s farmers have a record of pulling the country out of the era of food shortages. But in the process, they have sacrificed their vital natural resources: water and soil fertility, which resulted in the reduction of their farm income substantially. He pointed out consequently; the agriculture crisis in Punjab was very acute. He mentioned our farmers were under heavy debt of Rs.30, 000 Crore, every farming family on an average was under a debt of Rs.2.71 lac. Thus, we needed major investments in diversification and had already asked for a package of Rs.5000 Cr. for the green revolution states from GoI , but it has provided only Rs.500 Cr. which is too little and insufficient.

Dwelling on the agriculture crisis in the country, Mr. Badal said that the farmers were grappling with serious crisis which was becoming more and more grave with each passing day. He attributed growth in agriculture not keeping pace with other sectors of economy as a major factor. He said earlier the share of agriculture in the national income was 60% with the same percentage of population dependant on it. Now, the share has declined to 13.7% whereas the dependant population continues to be nearly the same. Thus, the increase in the national income has bypassed the farmer. He further said that the small and marginal farmers who comprise 83% of the total farmers were the hardest hit by this crisis. Badal bemoaned with declining incomes of farmers, the debts of the farmers were on rise consistently compelling farmers to commit suicides. Putting on record, Badal said that of 2,71,000 suicides reported in the country till 2011, 4700 farmers and agricultural labourers have committed suicides in Punjab.

Citing the main cause for agricultural crisis as the anti-farmer policies of the Government of India, Badal said that though agriculture was the State subject but all major policies and decisions on agriculture were governed by Centre including the determination of prices of major inputs and agricultural produce. Badal lamented that while the input prices have been surging regularly, the market price for agriculture crops have not risen proportionately. As a result, the gap between the farmers input cost and income has been rising continuously, rendering most of the farmers poor.

The Chief Minister said that there were worldwide upswing agricultural subsidies to sustain agriculture but the case was just opposite in India. The States which give input subsidies to the farmers were severely condemned for their pro-farmer policies. There was a wide gap between the cost of production and the income of the farmers. Today 83% of the farmers own up to 5 acres only. The GoI has not made adequate investments in agricultural research and development and mechanisation. Diversification, said Badal was the major need of the hour, has not received the necessary government support, specially the progressive states. Agro-industries, including fruit, vegetables and food processing, have not been developed to create better markets and value additions.

Putting forth a slew of suggestions during the deliberations in the summit, Badal said that the lopsided policies of GoI should be changed to ensure profitable level of income to the farmers. The farmers should be given greater input subsidy and support for agriculture infrastructure development and mechanization. Remunerative market prices should be given not only for wheat and paddy but also for other crops. The first step towards this was the acceptance of the Dr. Swaminathan formula of fixing MSP which covers cost of production plus a margin of 50% to the farmers. As further growth in agriculture would be possible only with new technology, the Government of India should invest heavily in Research and Development in agriculture and allied sectors, added Badal.

Earlier, the Chief Minister also visited the various stalls at the exhibition put up by the organisers of summit and interacted with the progressive farmers from different states and abroad besides he also evinced keen interest in the latest agriculture machinery and farm equipments displayed there.

The Chief Minister was accompanied by his Advisor on Media and National Affairs Harcharan Bains, Principal Secretary SK Sandhu, Financial Commissioner Development Suresh Kumar and Director Agriculture Dr. Mangal Singh Sandhu.

New Delhi/jalandhar, September 10, 2013: Haryana Power Minister Capt. Ajay Singh Yadav has urged the Union Government to suitably modify the pricing formula for the bonds so that the net rate for issue of bonds by the power utilities does not exceed the indicative rate of 8.9 percent.

He was speaking in the 7th Power Ministers Conference at New Delhi on Tuesday organised by Union Ministry of Power to deliberate the critical issues concerning Power sector. He said that Financial Restructuring Plan (FRP) of the state discoms has been approved by the State Cabinet. The state level monitoring committee has been constituted. Under the scheme the state government would take over liabilities of about Rs.7381 crores.

The FRP envisages issuance of bonds by the discoms against 50 percent short terms liabilities to be taken over by the State Government. As per the methodology for the bonds specified by Union Power Ministry, the indicative rate of interest on bonds to be issued by the discoms was given as 8.9 percent. However, due to increase in yield of Government securities, the effective rate of interest on bonds, as per the formula, has gone up to 10 percent. In  view of the present financial health of the discoms, they could not absorb such a high rate and as such none of the states except Tamil Nadu, has so far issued the bonds, he added.

Capt. Yadav said that at present Haryana is power surplus state and the this situation would continue for the next 2-3 years. However, due to increase in the demand particularly in the NCR region, the state would have to plan for additional power availability in the later years. To cater to the increase demand of power, the state government would source power through bidding so that the power is available for next three years. He said that fuel linkages are required for bidding and presently, the coal linkages are not being given to private generators by Ministry of Coal and as such the bids for power could not mature. He requested the Union Ministry to allocate additional coal blocks to the State Government for initiating the process of inviting bids for power.

He said that Haryana has completed 87 percent electrification work under Rajiv Gandhi Grameen Vidyutikaran Yojna (RGGVY) and the entire work would be completed within next six months. He said that the State Government has launched Priyadarshni Aawaas Yojna, wherein 100 square Yard plots are being allotted to the weaker sections, scheduled castes and backward classes residing in Haryana. An expenditure of Rs.255 crore is envisaged for providing distribution infrastructure in these colonies. He said that in a written statement, Haryana Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda has urged the Union Power Minister for covering electrification of such hamlets under RGGVY but it has not been approved yet on the ground that for coverage of Dhanies under RGGVY, population as per 2001 census is considered. He said that in all the colonies being developed under Priyadarshni Aawaas Yojna, the population would be more than 100 and therefore he requested to grant approval to cover this scheme under RGGVY.

He said that implementation of R-APDRP projects would be completed as per schedule. Also, a smart grid project is being implemented in Panipat City. He said that the quality of coal supplied by Coal India and its subsidiaries to thermal power plants of state is often found to be in variance with the quality tested at receiving end. The actual Gross Calorific Value (GCV) of coal received at stations is less and inferior than billed GCV by Coal India. He requested, the Union Ministry of Coal to take up the matter as inferior quality of coal has a direct impact on the tariff for the consumers of the state.

New Delhi/Jalandhar, September 11, 2013: The Central Bureau of Investigation has on Tuesday filed three charge sheets in the Court of Special Judge for CBI cases in Hyderabad.

The First charge sheet filed against a Director & his private cement company based at Kadapa(Andhra Pradesh); Financial Adviser of a Kadapa based Group of Companies; Vice Chairman/Managing Director  & his private Cement Company based at Chennai;   then Principal Secretary to Revenue Department; then Principal Secretary, Irrigation & CAD (Projects), Govt. of AP; a private Publications Company of Hyderabad, represented by its Director and another private company based at Bangalore, represented by its Director U/s 120-B r/w 420, 420 IPC and sections 9, 12, 13(2) r/w 13 (1)(d) of the Prevention of the Corruption Act, 1988.

It has been alleged that favours were shown to private Cements Company of Chennai in the form of renewal of lease of land & allotment of water from Kagna and Krishna Rivers by violating norms & procedures for quid-pro-quo investments made by its Managing Director to the tune of Rs.140 crores(approx) in three other private companies.

The second charge sheet filed against a Director & his private cement company based at Kadapa; Financial Advisor of a Kadapa/Hyderabad based Group of Companies; Five Directors,            U/s 120-B,  420,  IPC & Sec.13 (2) r/w 13(1)(d) of PC Act, 1988 and substantive offences thereof on the allegations which were pertained to grave irregularities in grant of mining lease for limestone over an extent of 2037.52 acres in Kadapa district to a private Cements Company of Kadapa.

The third charge sheet filed against a Director of private Cement Company based at Kadapa; Financial Advisor of a Kadapa/Hyderabad based Group of Companies; Chairman of a Hyderabad based Group of Companies and six private firms based at Hyderabad/Bangalore for the offences of criminal conspiracy, cheating and criminal misconduct by abusing official position U/s 120-B, 120-B r/w 420 IPC and 9, 13(2) r/w 13 (1) (d) of the PC Act, 1988.

The allegations pertain to quid-pro-quo investment of Rs.68 crores(approx) made by the Chairman, representing a Group of companies in Hyderabad into two private companies of Hyderabad/Bangalore for the benefits received by him in the form of alienation of government land measuring 231.09 acres in Ananthapur District; grant of prospecting licence over an extent of 304.7 ha. in Kurnool district; renewal of mining lease over 821 acres in Ranga Reddy district, extending relaxations / benefits to his hotel project situated in Banjara Hills, Hyderabad.

The public is reminded that the above findings are based on the investigation done by CBI and evidence collected by it.  Under the Indian Law, the accused are presumed to be innocent till their guilt is finally established after a fair trial.

New Delhi/Jalandhar, September 11, 2013: The Central Bureau of Investigation has registered a case U/s 120-B. 420, 468, 471, 511 and 13(2) r/w 13(1)(d) of PC Act, 1988 against the then CMO (Family Welfare), Banda(UP); then SMO(Store) Banda(UP); then Chief Pharmacist; Proprietor of Meerut based Pharmaceuticals Company and others unknown causing an alleged loss to the tune of Rs.6,00,000 (approx) to the Govt. Exchequer.

The High Court of Judicature at Allahabad, Lucknow Bench vide Order dated November 10, 2011 passed in Writ Petition Nos. 3611(MB) of 2011 (PIL) and other connected matters vide which, CBI was directed to enquire into the matter of execution & implementation of the NRHM Scheme and utilization of funds given by the Govt. of India in the entire state of Uttar Pradesh since its inception in the year 2005-06 till November 15, 2011.

It is alleged that during 2010-11, then Chief Medical Officer(FW), Banda entered into criminal conspiracy with then SMO(Store), Banda; then Chief Pharmacist; Proprietor of Meerut based Pharmaceuticals Ltd. and unknown others. In furtherance of the said criminal conspiracy, the accused fraudulently & dishonestly purchased Iron Folic Acid and Albendeazole tablets violating the purchase procedure; circulars; orders, financial rules and PIP etc at exorbitant rates and prepared forged documents as genuine and thus caused alleged huge loss to the NRHM funds.

Further investigation is in progress.

New Delhi/Jalandhar, September 11, 2013: Union Minister Oscar Fernandes, Rohtak MP Deepender Hooda and other senior youth Congress leaders today boosted the morale of NSUI for the DUSU elections, at the NSUI meeting in New Delhi today.
Oscar Fernandes called upon the students of Delhi University to work unitedly and come out with flying colours this year also in the DUSU elections, like last two years. NSUI and youth congress are the foundation of the congress party and DUSU election is the test. He appreciated the efforts being made by Deepender Hooda for the victory of NSUI. The victory in DUSU election will further strengthen the hands of Mr Rahul Gandhi and Congress Party, which will help achieve positive results in Delhi Assembly elections and Lok Sabha elections.
Deepender Hooda expressed confidence that like last two years, this year also NSUI will make its mark and all the four candidates of NSUI will establish their victory. Challenging other parties,  Deepender Hooda said that office bearers of DUSU have successfully solved the problems of the students and this year also the situation is in favour of NSUI. ABVP and other groups will draw blank. NSUI has already established its credibility in this year’s Punjab University Student Union elections.
This year’s panel of NSUI for DUSU elections consists of  Vishal Chaudhary for the post of President,  Kapil Sharma as Vice President, Karishma Thakur as Secretary and Kushank Khari as Joint Secretary.
Students present at the meeting assured the leaders by raising hands that margin of victory this year will be more than the last year.
Those present on this occasion included MPs Ashok Tawar, Dr. Arvind Sharma and Mahabal  Mishra, youth leaders  Jag Pravesh, Rajiv Satav, Rohit Choudhary,  Girish, Nadim Javed,  Tarun Kumar, Taswir Solanki,  Lalit Nagar, Arun Hooda, Ajay Chhikara, Ragini Nayak, Ravina Choudhay, Amit Sihag and others.

Chandigarh/Mansa, September 11, 2013: Bathinda MP Harsimrat Kaur Badal today demanded capital punishment for the Delhi gang rape perperators in order to check the occurrence of such heinous crimes in future. She said such exemplary punishment was imperative to make India safe for women. She said capital punishment would also create a sense of fear among anti social elements who would never dare to commit such a crime in future.

Making these comments while addressing media persons at sangat darshan programme organised in this district, Harsmirat Badal expressed deep concern over the slow pace of prosecution and demanded that such cases of heinous crimes should be tried at fast track courts to bring the culprits to book and to provide timely justice to the needy.

Badal during her visit to her Lok Sabha constituency also distributed cheques for development activities. She also listened to the problems of the people which were redressed at the moment.

While addressing the gatherings at various villages she said the union government had been denying BPL cards to the poor and now with Lok Sabha elections on the anvil, the centre was announcing populous schemes for the poor such as providing free ration just to pocket votes.

The Bathinda mp said the Food Security Act of the union government was a carbon copy of the Atta Dal scheme of the SAD-BJP government. She said the Punjab Government was already providing free Atta Dal to all the poor families of the state whereas the Union Government was launching such schemes purely for political gains. Badal said the people of the country were aware of such tricks of the Congress and that they would teach them a lesson in the coming elections.

She meanwhile asked the people to report the matter at the Mansa Office in case of any irregularity in spending the funds meant for development works. She said the Punjab Government had been releasing the amount for Old Age Pensions and Shagun Scheme and if any eligible person does not get the amount he could contact the officer of the respective department.

Fatehgarh Sahib, September 11, 2013: In the follow-up of the busting of a terrorist module by the Fatehgarh Sahib Police on September 6 this year when seven persons were arrested and six weapons recovered, the district police has arrested six more members of the terrorist module, including the ringleader Satnam Singh of Nanded Sahib (arrested from Sangli, Maharashtra).

The arrested persons are as under- Satnam Singh s/o Bikram Singh r/o Nanded Sahib- arrested from Sangli on September 10, 2013; Harvinder Singh s/o Gursewak Singh r/o Jagraon; Maninderjit Singh s/o Shingara Singh r/o Tanda Mari, PS Ghuman, district Gurdaspur; Tarandeep Singh s/o Satnam Singh r/o Tanda Mari, PS Ghuman, district Gurdaspur; Tejinder Singh s/o Tarlochan Singh r/o Sandoli, PS Pehowa, distt. Kaithal, Haryana and Bachitar Singh s/o Hardev Singh r/o Pandori Gola, district Tarn Taran.

Disclosing this here today, the Fatehgarh Sahib SSP Gurmit Singh Chauhan disclosed that following-up on the leads received from the arrests made on September 6, 2013 and further investigations in case FIR No. 144 dated September 5 this year u/s 153-A, 120-B IPC, 25 Arms Act, PS Fatehgarh Sahib, a police party of district police went to Maharashtra and effected the arrest of module leader Satnam Singh from Sangli with the assistance of Maharashtra police ATS. After his arrest, Satnam Singh has been produced before a Judicial Magistrate and his police remand upto September 18, 2013 has been obtained for further questioning.

He further said that other the other five arrests have been effected today on September 11 this year, on basis of leads developed during the investigation, including the questioning of Satnam Singh. In addition to the six weapons earlier recovered, 3 small weapons and one AK-47 rifle have been recovered from the freshly arrested persons. The total recovery of weapons from this module is now 10 including AK-47 rifle (1) and small weapons (9).

He revealed that the preliminary questioning of arrested persons and the investigations have revealed a sinister design to revive terrorism in Punjab by foreign-based terrorists who have motivated and financed  local modules for undertaking terrorist action with specific targeting of certain leaders, with the aim of disturbing the hard-earned peace in Punjab by fanning communal passions. The primary mode of radicalization of the arrested youth have been the internet and social networking sites such as facebook and whatsapp. The foreign-based layer is headed by Germany-based Babbar terrorist Resham Singh and includes operatives based in the UAE, Hong-Kong & Newzealand. The money transfers mostly used Western Union and are being investigated. The targets were selected by the Punjab-based terrorist modules and approved by the foreign-based handlers. The module had expanded and included many hardcore criminal elements involved in murder and robbery also in the terrorist network, he added.  

He said that the investigations have revealed systematic funding, motivation and support to several terrorist modules through social networking sites, Western Union etc. On August 22, 2013 another terrorist module was busted by the Amritsar police figuring Karandeep Singh @ Harry, Jagdeep Singh and Satbir Singh. An FIR u/s 17, 18, 20, 40 under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act, 1967, 120-B, 153-A IPC, 25 Arms Act has been registered in police station ‘E’ Division, Amritsar and investigations are ongoing. Necessary coordination with the Amritsar Commissionerate Police is also being done in this regard.

Further investigations are in progress.

Ferozepur September 12, 2013: Giving a befitting reply to the Pakistani smugglers on Indo-Pak international border Ratto Ke, BOP, BSF 191 jawans, under the leadership of Commanding Officer D.K.Pramnik, seized 13 Kg heroin, two grenade, one supper gold quality 30 bore foreign pistol, 2 magazine and 50 live cartridges.

Giving this information, DIG BSF, Ferozepur, Ravi Joseph Loku informed, the value of heroine recovered is Rs.65 crore in the international market.

DIG Loku informed, on Wednesday night, at Ratto Ke BOP, in Khemkaran sector under his jurisdiction, the BSF Bn 191 jawans saw some movement of some suspicious nature persons on Pakistan side and BSF jawans observed that four persons from Pakistan side are moving forward.  BSF cops challenged them and at about 1.30 am, Pakistani smugglers started firing.  In return, the BSF jawans also fired and one Pakistani smuggler was injured in firing while his three accomplices managed to move back to Pakistan taking along with the injured one.

He further informed that on searching the area, the BSF jawans recovered 14 packets from one pipe near the pillar No.169/12, out of which 13 packets contained heroine of one kg each and in one packet, two grenades and ammunition. After taking into possession of heroine and arms, BSF is now working of theory to locate as to whom this delivery was to be given on the Indian side and to identify the smugglers.

Chandigarh, September 12, 2013: The Punjab Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal said here today that the Reserve Bank of India report which puts Punjab among the three best investment destinations in India during 2012-13 should serve as an eye opener to the Congress leaders who never tired of painting a negative picture of their own state.

Punjab finished ahead of Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh, Gujarat, Bihar and West Bengal, to be one of the three most attractive investment destinations in the country, according to the figures released by the Reserve Bank of India.

"The Congress should realise that Punjab has done it despite deliberately adverse and ruinous policies of the Congress-ruled center against Punjab, such as denial of concessions granted to our neighbouring states and the refusal to provide freight equalisation."

Badal said that perfect law and order situation, an atmosphere of peace and communal harmony, ideal labour relations, top-grade infrastructure, improved power scenario and an investment friendly industrial policy were some of the reasons that resulted in pushing Punjab up among the top three destinations in the country. "The Congress leaders see nothing of this and are busy trying to portray Punjab as the worst state in the country. They should now try and contradict the report of the Reserve Bank of India, if they can," said the Chief Minister in a statement here today.

"The Congress leaders in Punjab have been spending all their energies on running down their own state and its achievements.  They are out to defame their own state as a part of a well-planned agenda to stop investments from coming here. Their speeches and actions had adversely affected the investment climate in the state in the past as potential investors developed wrong and unfriendly notions about us, we performed creditably despite all this," said Mr. Badal 

The Chief Minister asked the Congress leaders, especially the PPCC chief Partap Singh Bajwa, to read the Reserve Bank of India report. Punjab finished among the three best investment friendly destinations this year, with just two percent of the total area of the country and 1.5% of its total population, Punjab accounted for nearly 13% of the total investments made in the country during the period, says the RBI report.

The Chief Minister said that Punjab's performance was all the more creditable when one considers that India on the whole slipped badly on the investment sector. "At the all India level, numbers confirmed the go-slow on investments." according to the RBI report. "In the light of this, Punjab's showing is not only heartening but also an indicator of better things to follow. Investments are the key denominators of growth and the trend indicates that we have turned the corner towards economic resurgence. I am not saying we do not face challenges. But we have defied heavy odds to emerge as a front runner in the country. I hope the Congressmen, who spend sleepless nights criticising their state's economy will sleep peacefully and quietly now," said the CM.

Badal said that with the new Investment Promotion Policy of the state, announced by the Deputy Chief Minister Sukhbir Singh Badal, the state is bound to go even higher on the national scale. "The Congress leaders should now start taking pride in their state and the thank the people of Punjab, if not the government, for the major improvements in the state's standing on the investment chart," Badal said.