NEWS REPORTS FROM PUNJAB

CAPTAIN AMARINDER ASKS GoM TO SEEK SGPC SUPPORT FOR 550TH PRAKASH PURB CELEBRATIONS OF SRI GURU NANAK DEV JI
LAUNCHES GOLD AND SILVER MEDALLIONS TO MARK HISTORIC OCCASION

Chandigarh, June 20, 2019: Punjab Chief Minister Captain Amarinder Singh on Thursday asked the Group of Ministers (GoM) to approach the Shiromani Gurdwara Prabandhak Committee (SGPC) for support to state government’s celebration of 550th Prakash Purb of Sri Guru Nanak Dev ji on a common platform.

Chairing the meeting of the Executive Committee for the commemoration of celebrations, the Chief Minister expressed his keenness to organize this mega event in unison with the participation of SGPC and other religious organizations in a befitting manner, in line with Sri Guru Nanak Dev Ji’s universal message of love, peace, harmony and brotherhood.

The Chief Minister also mandated the GoM to extend a formal invite to the Jathedar of Sri Akal Takhat Sahib and President SGPC to seek their whole hearted support, cooperation and guidance for organizing this historic occasion in a meaningful manner.

Notably, a GoM comprising Tourism & Cultural Affairs Minister Charanjit Singh Channi, Medical Education & Research Minister OP Soni and Cooperation Minister Sukhjinder Singh Randhawa has already been constituted to review the day to day progress of the preparations and development projects and schemes associated with the 550th birth anniversary of Sri Guru Nanak Dev ji.

The Chief Minister also asked the GoM to finalise 10-day itinerary (from 5th November to 15th November, 2019) in consultation with representatives of the SGPC.

Taking part in the deliberations, Captain Amarinder Singh directed the Chief Secretary to finalize the modalities and funding pattern for the proposed ‘Guru Nanak Dev ji Marg’ from Sultanpur Lodhi-Kapurthala-Kartarpur-Beas-Mehta-Batala (including bypass)-Dera Baba Nanak, covering 136 KM inclusive of the cost of upgradation to 10 meters width, involving a total expenditure of Rs.96.15 crore. He asked the Principal Secretary PWD to execute this prestigious project as a separate one after clearance from the Chief Secretary.

The Chief Minister also asked the Special Chief Secretary Local Government to vigorously pursue the proposal for inclusion of Sultanpur Lodhi heritage city under Smart City Project worth Rs.271 crore, for which the state government had already submitted the concept plan to the Ministry of Housing & Urban Development, Government of India.

The Chief Minister also agreed to inaugurate the Bebe Nanaki University College for Girls in Sultanpur Lodhi, to be run as a constituent college of GNDU, Amritsar, which would start classes from this academic session i.e. 2019-20. The Chief Minister also asked the MLA Sultanpur Lodhi to motivate the parents of girl students from nearby villages to enroll them in the graduation courses being offered by the college free of cost for three years as part of commemoration of 550th birth anniversary of Guru Nanak Dev ji.

Captain Amarinder Singh also consented to inaugurate Sri Guru Nanak Dev Ji Centre for Invention, Innovation, Incubation & Training (CIIIT), established by the Inder Kumar Gujral Punjab Technical University, Jalandhar, at a cost of Rs.319 crore in the first week of August 2019.

Conceding the proposal put forth by PWD Minister, regarding development of the villages associated with the life of Sri Guru Nanak Dev ji (Charan Choe Villages) on priority, Captain Amarinder Singh directed to form committees comprising the concerned MLA, Deputy Commissioner and SDM to finalize the development works to be executed on the priority. He also asked the Special Chief Secretary Local Government to ensure overall infrastructural development in the towns and cities associated with Sri Guru Nanak Dev ji, a list of which would be provided by the Tourism & Cultural Department.
It was also informed in the meeting that the Information & Public Relations Department has got prepared a 88 minutes film from Epic channel in four parts on the life and works besides various journeys undertook by Sri Guru Nanak Dev ji in the different parts of world.

The Chief Minister was also apprised about the progress of tented city, to be erected at a cost of Rs.52.84 crore to provide accommodation facility at three different locations in Sultanpur Lodhi for nearly 40,000 people. MLA Sultanpur Lodhi also told the Chief Minister that several people residing in nearby towns and villages have already agreed to offer their accommodation for the devotees.

Captain Amarinder Singh was also informed about the website being developed by the Department of Governance Reforms by outsourcing the work to an internationally acclaimed agency with sufficient expertise and experience in designing such portals integrated with the various platforms of social media.

Expressing deep satisfaction over the pace of the execution of various development works by Local Government and PWD, the Chief Minister asked the Chief Secretary to regularly monitor the progress of the works with the concerned agencies to ensure their timely completion well in advance before this mega event to be held at Sultanpur Lodhi on November 12, 2019.

The Chief Minister also gave approval for the installation of large commemorative columns at five sacred places, including Amritsar, Anandpur Sahib, Talwandi Sabo, Sultanpur Lodhi and Dera Baba Nanak, and small commemorative columns in 22 towns as per the design submitted by the representative of Indian Federation of United Nations Association (IFUNA) under the supervision of PWD. The Chief Minister also gave nod to bio-diversity park by the Punjab State Council for Science and Technology over an area of 8 acres at Sultanpur Lodhi.

Meanwhile, ACS sports also informed the Chief Minister that a mega cycle rally was also being organized from Sultanpur Lodhi to Dera Baba Nanak with the participation of 550 cyclists to mark this memorable event.

With a view to further inculcating sports fervor and spirit of sportsmanship amongst the youth, the Chief Minister asked the ACS Sports to organize a series of Kabbadi Championship at village, block, sub-division and district level besides the already planned and finalized World Kabbadi Cup.

On the issue of providing transport facilities to the people to pay obeisance at Sultanpur Lodhi on this historic occasion, it was decided in the meeting that the Chief Minister would write to all his counterparts of the states having sizeable population of Sikhs to ferry them to Sultanpur Lodhi to elicit their maximum participation by pressing into service special trains and buses.

On the occasion, the Chief Minister also launched the commemorative medallions as a mark of these celebrations. ACS Industries & Commerce Vini Mahajan apprised the Chief Minister that the Punjab Small Industries & Export Corporation Ltd. (PSIEC) has been mandated by the state government for getting the task of these commemorative medallions minted and making them available to the general public. These commemorative medallions duly certified from Metals and Minerals Trading Corporation (MMTC) for 999 purity, which are available in 24 K gold 5 & 10 gms & in 50 gms pure silver (999 purity) with attractive blister packing. The sale price of 10 gm gold (999 purity) is Rs. 37,000/-, Rs. 18,500/- for 5 gm gold (999 purity) and Rs.2,900/- for 50 gms silver (999 purity), which would be sold through Phulkari, Punjab Government Emporiums of PSIEC located at Chandigarh, Amritsar, Patiala, Delhi & Kolkata. Besides, these medallions would also be made available at 16 retail outlets of MMTC located throughout the country.

The Chief Minister also gave approval to include Member Parliament from Khadoor Sahib Jasbir Singh Dimpa in the Executive Committee to make it far more broad based.

Meanwhile, Principal Secretary Cultural Affairs Vikas Partap conducted the proceedings of the meeting.

Prominent amongst others who were present in the meeting included; Tourism & Cultural Affairs Minister Charanjit Singh Channi, Health & Family Welfare Minister Balbir Singh Sidhu, PWD Minister Vijay Inder Singla, Transport Minister Razia Sultana, MLA Sultanpur Lodhi Navtej Singh Cheema, Chief Secretary Karan Avtar Singh, Special Chief Secretary Local Government MP Singh, Additional Chief Secretary Home NS Kalsi, ACS Industries and Commerce Vini Mahajan, ACS Sports Sanjay Kumar, ACS Forests Roshan Sunkaria, ACS Health & Family Welfare Satish Chandra, Financial Commissioner Rural Development & Panchayats Anurag Verma, Principal Secretary to CM Tejveer Singh, Secretary Information & Public Relations Gurkirat Kirpal Singh, Principal Secretary Transport K Shiva Prasad, Principal Secretary Water Supply & Sanitation Jaspreet Talwar, Principal Secretary Public Works Hussan Lal, Principal Secretary Governance Reforms Seema Jain, Secretary Higher Education VK Meena, DGP Dinkar Gupta, CEO Invest Punjab Rajat Aggarwal, Managing Director PSIEC Rahul Bhandari and DC Kapurthala DPS Kharbanda.
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VB NABS SENIOR ASSISTANT OF WATER SUPPLY DEPARTMENT RED HANDED FOR TAKING BRIBE

Chandigarh: State Vigilance Bureau today nabbed Senior Assistant Jasmeet Singh red handed for accepting bribe of Rs. 15,000/-.
Disclosing this here today a spokesperson of Vigilance Bureau Punjab said Jasmeet Singh, senior assistant posted at XEN office, water supply & sanitation department division no-1, Ferozepur was caught red handed on the complaint of Jaswant Singh of Jandi Mohalla, Ferozepur.
Giving details he said the complainant has approached the VB and alleged that the above named senior assistant was demanding bribe of Rs. 15,000 to clear the pending service bills of his firm.
After verifying his complaint the VB team laid a trap and the accused was caught red handed with Rs. 15,000 and tainted money was recovered from him in the presence of two official witnesses.
He informed that a case under Prevention of Corruption Act has been registered against the accused at VB police Ferozepur and further investigation was under progress.
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PUNJAB STATE DC OFFICES EMPLOYEES UNION WITHDRAWS STRIKE
Chandigarh: At the earnest assurance of the Revenue Minister Punjab, Mr. Gurpreet Singh Kangar to resolve the issues faced by employees of revenue department in a time-bound manner, the Punjab State District(D.C.) offices Employees Union has called off its strike with immediate effect. The Union was on strike since June 18, adversely hitting the working of DC Offices, state-wide.
Today in a meeting with the representatives of the Union in his office at Punjab Civil Secretariat, the Minister assured them that State Government and the Department of Revenue is pro-employee and all the genuine demands of the employees would be met. Acceding to the request of employees the Minister assured their promotions within a week. For speedy disposal of their demand, he ordered all the Divisional Commissioners to report personally in his office with the finalized Seniority Lists of the Employees. He directed Financial Commissioner Revenue, Mrs. Kalpana Mittal Baruah to immediately work out the modalities for holding the meeting of the Departmental Promotion Committee (DPC) on June 27 for promoting the employees.
Bringing complete transparency into action taken for meeting the demands of the Union, the Minister informed the representatives of the Union that Action Taken Report (ATR) on every genuine demand officially submitted by them can be sought by them from the FCR, on fortnightly basis.
Mr.Gurnam Singh Virk, the President of the Punjab State DC offices Employees Union thanked the Minister for compassionate consideration of the demands and assured smooth functioning in the District offices.
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PUNJAB STATE FOOD COMMISSION LAUNCH ITS WEBSITE
Chandigarh: In order to create awareness amongst the general public about the provisions of National Food Security Act 2013 and to address their grievances on priority basis, Punjab State Food Commission today launched its website psfc.punjab.gov.in.

Disclosing this here, Punjab State Food Commission chairman Mr. DP Reddy said that this website is launched for dissemination of Information, Education and Communication (IEC) to all stake holders. With the launch of this website, any complaint coming to the Commission would be referred to the District Grievances Redressal Officers of the concerned District and the appeals would be deal with at the level of the Commission.
He further said that the complainant can get his complaint settled internally or externally as per the provisions of the Act through the built-in MIS, the Commission would be able to see the status of any complaint. All the three Departments, i.e. Food, Civil Supplies & Consumer Affairs, Social Security, Women & Child Development and School Education have designated Nodal Officers to resolve the grievances of their respective Departments. Each Department has designated Master Trainers, who in turn would impart training to the officials of their respective Departments. In case the complainant is not satisfied with the order of the District Grievances Redressal Officer, he can file an online appeal, before the Commission. For further details public can log on to psfc.punjab.gov.in
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PUNJAB ORGANIZES TRI-STATE CONSULTATION ON TOBACCO VENDOR LICENSING HELD AT SAS NAGAR
CHANDIGARH: Health and Family Welfare Department, Punjab has initiated a crusade to eradicate tobacco use to save children and youth across the State. As part of this campaign a Consultation on Tobacco Vendor Licensing was organized by State Tobacco Control Cell, Punjab with technical support of International Union and Generation Saviour Association, in which representatives from government departments and non government organization of Punjab, Haryana and Chandigarh participated.
Taking part in the consultation Dr Nirlep Kaur, State Nodal Officer, Tobacco Control, Government of Punjab said that Health department of Punjab has taken up tobacco control as a flagship program at National level also steps taken by the state are appreciated. She said that tobacco Vendor Licensing is a cost effective tool for reducing tobacco consumption. She said that Himachal Pradesh has already made an act for licensing tobacco vendors.
She further added that during year 2018-19, 23,886 Challans have been issued against the violators under Cigarette and other Tobacco products Act, 2003 (COTPA, 2003). In a recent Notification issued on May 28 by Govt. of Punjab, Mass Media officers, Block extension Educators and Multi Purpose Health Supervisors are now authorized to challan under Section 4 and 6 of COTPA, 2003.
She said that Punjab is a pioneer state to focus on youth by timely ban on E cigarettes, Hookah bars and by declaring Colleges/Universities as Tobacco Free. Total 730 villages have been declared themselves Tobacco Free Villages by passing the resolution. Tobacco Cessation centers have been established in all the districts of the state. Free counseling and cessation medicines like Tab Bupropion, Nicotine gums and patches are being provided in these centers. Total 12,428 Tobacco users have received services at these centers in year 2018-19. State will continue making efforts to curb the menace of Tobacco as this will go a long way in deterring young children & youth from initiation & also motivate current users to quit.
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SC COMMISSION INSTRUCTS ACS HIGHER EDUCATION TO ACT AGAINST ERRING OFFICER OF PUNJAB COLLEGE OF EDUCATION CHUNNI KALAN
Chandigarh: The Punjab State Schedule casts commission had ordered the Additional Chief Secretary, Higher Education Department to act against erring Officers/Officials of Punjab Group of College Chunni kalan who are illegally collecting the admission fee from SC Students.
Disclosing this in a press communiqué Ms. Tejinder Kaur , Chairperson of Punjab State Schedule casts commission said that
Jatinder Singh and other students of Punjab Group of College Chunni kalan had filed a written complaint before the commission that Punjab Group of College Chunni kalan is illegally collecting admission fee from Schedule casts students who are doing B.ed and M.ed from this college.
Acting on the complaint, Commission had sought report from the concerned departments and found that the complaint is genuine and college authorities were found to be collecting admission fee from the SC students.
She said that as the matter is serious which is diluting the very purpose of the Post Matric Scholarship Scheme to enable poor SC students to pursue higher education, so she has instructed the Additional Chief Secretary to take strict action against the erring officers of the Punjab Group of College Chunni kalan. She said that the higher education department has also been asked to submit the compliance report in this regard.