CM Parkash Singh Badal inaugurates the Vikas Bhawan in Sector 62, Mohali on Sunday.To generate revenue and to make village panchayats self-sustaining and financially viable,Punjab government is exploring the option of renting out shops on panchayat land where commercial activity is viable.

CM Parkash Singh Badal said this on Sunday while addressing at the inauguration ceremony of Vikas Bhawan in Sector 62, Mohali.

Pointing out that the newly-constructed complex would house all offices of the department located at various places in Chandigarh and Mohali, Badal said this would help officers increase efficiency in day-to-day functioning, and save people time, energy and money.

He also called upon farmers, especially small and marginal ones, to cut wasteful expenditure on buying costly agricultural machinery and tractors by taking loans at high rate of interest which is unproductive and unviable.

Instead of taking loans, he advised farmers to make optimum use of agro-centres scheme aimed at providing all agricultural implements and equipment, including laser levellers and zero-tilling machines, at nominal rent. He urged the cooperative societies to come forward to run these centres as government was giving 30% subsidy on the purchase of equipment and machinery besides raising 70% amount through loans on easy interest.

Speaking on the occasion, rural development and panchayats minister Ranjit Singh Brahmpura said that Vikas Bhawan and State Institute of Rural Development would prove to be a milestone for the overall progress of the rural sector in Punjab.

The Punjab State Electricity Board (PSEB) has set up an ambitious target to reduce the T&D (transmission & distribution) losses to 17 per cent by 2011-12.

To achieve the designated target, the board has drawn a roadmap, which includes revamp of transmission lines, IT implementation, theft detection by enforcement agencies, installation of electronic meters etc.

It is worth noting that the board has projected T&D losses at 19.5 per cent for 2009-10 that represents a reduction of 3.03 per cent losses from 22.53 per cent in 2007-08 and 1.5 per cent from the level of 21 per cent for 2008-09.

These losses for the year 2007-08, 2008-09 and projections for 2009-10 are — 10,030 MU (million units), 9,766 MU and 11,699 MU respectively.As projected by the board, for 2009-10, the state has total energy requirement of 44, 105 MU which includes 8,287 MU as T&D losses.

Sources added that in order to bring in T&D losses in the coming years, the board has indicated some step it intends to take care in this fiscal year, which include, strengthening of distribution system, 100 per cent replacement of electro-mechanical meters by more accurate electronic meters, providing effective earthing at all the sub-station and distribution transformers, installation of meters outside the premises, augmentation of over-loaded feeders and deloading of distribution transformers etc.

Considering the board’s need to make substantial investment in transmission and distribution network for providing uninterrupted and reliable power supply to the consumers, the regulatory authority of the board, Punjab State Regulatory Commission (PSERC) has allowed an investment plan of Rs 2,000 crore for 2009-10.

Earlier, the state electricity regulatory commission had in Tariff Order 2004-05, fixed T&D loss of the board as 23.25 per cent and also fixed a trajectory of loss reduction for the next three years.

However, the board has not been able to achieve the T&D loss reduction targets as prescribed by the commission.

In fact, the commission was to redetermine the reduction trajectory of T&D losses beyond 2007-08 but had to retain a normative level of 19.5 per cent in 2008-09 as the board had failed to reach even close to that target by the end of 2007-08.

MOGA: Indian-born Canadian citizen Jagdev Singh,surrendered before a local court here on Wednesday.He has been facing the charges of murdering former MLA Nachattar Singh Gill, the father of Paramdip Singh Gill, DGP of the state.

He was released from the jail on September 3 after Amarjot Kaur Bhatti, Additional District and Sessions Judge had granted him supplementary bail in the case of fraud registered against him on August 4.

In another case of corruption registered against him under Sections 7, 13(2), 88 of the Prevention of Corruption Act-1988, SK Aggarwal, Additional Sessions Judge, had declined to grant him anticipatory bail.

Meanwhile, his mother Pritam Kaur died in the DMC Hospital, Ludhiana, and he filed a petition before the Punjab and Haryana High Court to get anticipatory bail. The court, while dismissing his plea, granted him just two-day arrest stay for September 7 and 8 for the cremation of her mother. It had directed him to appear before the local court on September 9.

Ramesh Grover, counsel of the NRI, said CJM Karunesh Kumar Kakkar had sent him to one-day judicial custody and asked the SHO (city-1) to file a reply if they wanted to arrest him or not by tomorrow.

JALANDHAR: Seven children from the Gujjar community who have spent the past five days searching for their mother whom they claim their father has abducted, met SSP R.K. Jaiswal on Wednesday.

Shakeena was kidnapped from Phillaur bus stand on September 4,her children told him. She was on her way to meet their sister at Laduwal in Ludhiana.

Ramzan Ali,20 and Zamanat Ali,18, said their family has been living at Thabalke village in the district for over a year now.Their father Hassein,45,who wants to re-marry, had kidnapped Shakeena,40,the two claimed.

The kids said Shakeena was a victim of spousal voilence,and Hussein,who presently lived at village Bulle near Bhogpur,had beaten her up and broken her legs after the abduction.

The kids, aged 4to 18 years, said they had visited Phillaur police station several times, seeking their help to trace their mother.

Ramzan and Zamanat, who visited the SSP office with siblings Mohammad Rafi,4,Salamdeen,6,Shareef,8,Gayeeya,15, and Bari,16,in tow,said on August 10 their father,with the connivance of villagers at Bulle, forcibily took away Gayeea,Mamdeen and 15 cattlehead from their dera at Thabalke village, where they reside.Shakeena had managed to slip away at the time.

Gayeeya,who  ran away from Bulle village and returned to Thabalke,said Hussein brutally beat up Mamdeen and him,and Shakeena too after she was abducted from Phillaur.

Punjab Government has restricted all district and Sub Divisional heads from issuing of Scheduled Caste Certificates to migratory persons came from other states in Punjab.

An Instruction letter in this regard has been sent to all Deputy Commissioners by Secretary Social Welfare Sh T. R. Sarangal recently.When contacted Phagwara SDM Amarjeet Paul confirmed it and told newsmen here this afternoon that all concerned have been instructed, not to issue any scheduled caste certificate to any migoratory person as he supposed to get it from his/her native state.

Meanwhile, State Government has instructed all officials not to issue any scheduled caste certificate to the persons other than only 39 castes of Hindu,Sikh, and Bodh follower as SC Certificate could be issued only to above castes and religeons in the state.

SDM Paul also confirmed that several marasi muslims were getting SC certificates by enrolling themselves as “Doom Caste” whereas SC Certificate could not be issued to anybody else.SDM said that state government had instructed to cancel all such SC Certificates issued to muslims earlier.

Patiala police has recovered 2-1/2 KG RDX with detonator and two more detonators have been recovered from one Raj Singh of Mansa district . SSP Arpit Shukla said on Friday that Patiala police has brought Makhan Singh and Raj Singh on production warrants from Mansa police for questioning in the killing of Rulda Singh, head of Rashtriya Sikh Sangat, an affiliate of Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS).

Rulda Singh was shot at on July 28 and later succumbed to his injuries on August 15 at PGI Chandigarh.

They had earlier been arrested by Mansa Police in connection with murder of one Lilly Kumar Patwari. Regarding who provide the RDX and where it was to be used by them is being ascertained through questioning. Further more developments are likely to be made in this case, said SSP.

When asked about from where Police have recovered the RDX, SSP said we can only say that it was recovered from Sadar police station and u/s 4/5 Explosive Act No. 6 of 1908 PS Sadar Patiala has been registered.

He said that they have to plans to use the RDX in Patiala and yet to decide the target.

He further disclosed that RDX was superior quality and was brought here from Pakistan. He said that it was the part of consignment and other part was used in Karnal on the unsuccessful attempt on the chief of Dera Sacha Sauda, Baba Gurmeet Singh Ram Rahim, came under a bomb attack on February 2, 2008.

The Punjab Government has transferred and posted three ADCs including three Deputy Directors, eight District Development & Panchayats Officers (DDPOs) and twenty three Block Development & Panchayats Officers (BDPOs) of the Rural Development and Panchayats Department.

Disclosing this here Friday, a spokesman of the Rural Development and Panchayats Department Punjab said that  JP Singh Dy Dir (E.P) Punjab, Chandigarh has been transferred as Divisional Director Ferozpur vice Jaspal Singh who has been shifted to Chandigarh headquarter as Deputy Director Panchayats replacing  Sukhwant Singh Sarao who has been posted as Additional Deputy Commissioner (Development) Sangrur vice  Harpreet Singh Garcha.  Davinderpal Singh Walia Additional Deputy Commissioner (Development) Tarn Tarn has been transferred to Chandigarh headquarter as Deputy Director.

He further added that Gurwinder Singh Sarao Secretary Zila Parishad (ZP) Bathinda has been posted as DDPO Mansa replacing Rajinder Batra. Baljit Singh Sandhu Secretary ZP Mansa would swap places with Balraj Singh DDPO Kapurthala. Kirpal Singh Secretary ZP Patiala has been transferred as Secretary ZP Kapurthala vice Mr Rakesh Kumar who has been shifted as Secretary ZP Amritsar.  Mohinder Singh DDPO Faridkot transferred as Secretary ZP Patiala and Amrik Singh Sidhu Secretary ZP Muktsar has been shifted as DDPO Faridkot.

he Punjab Government in pursuance of recommendations of the University Grants Commission, has revised the pay scales of teachers and equivalent cadres in universities and colleges in the state with effect from 1st  January, 2006.

Disclosing this here Friday Dr. upinderjit Kaur Education Minister Punjab said that he pay in the revised scale would be payable in cash with effect from 1st August, 2009. The arrears for the period from 1st January, 2006 to 31st July, 2009 would be released in installments in due course. The revised pay scales were applicable to the teachers and equivalent cadres of the universities including Punjab University, Chandigarh, Government colleges, aided private colleges, directorate of colleges and equivalent positions in the library and physical education cadres only, she said.

The Minister further added that a committee has also been constituted to consider the other recommendations/benefits/allowances mentioned in notification of 6th pay commission issued by Government of India, Ministry of Human Resource Development vide no. 1-32/2006FUII/UI (i) dated 31.12.08. The necessary action would be taken as and when the recommendations of this committee would be received, she said.

She further clarified that the revised pay scales were not applicable in the case of Punjab Agriculture University Ludhiana, Guru Angad Dev University of Animal Husbandry & Veterinary Sciences Ludhiana and other Medical, Veterinary Science, Technical and Engineering Universities and Colleges in the State. The allowances admissible to Punjab Govt. employees as applicable to the personnel covered under this notification would be payable at rates notified by State Govt. from time to time and with effect from the dates applicable to other employees, she said.