PUNJAB

Punjab Chief Minister Charanjit Singh Channi assured the representatives of various industrial associations that their genuine grievances would be addressed on priority in fast track mode.

Channi, addressing the members of various industrial associations who called on the Chief Minister in the presence of Minister Brahm Mohindra, said that most of their demands have already been met as promised by him during the Punjab Investors Summit and the remaining would also be resolved amicably soon after getting these thoroughly examined from the concerned quarters.

Taking prompt cognizance of the prevailing SMS racket in the Steel Market of Mandi Gobindgarh, Channi ordered the Fatehgarh Sahib SSP instantly to take stern action against all those unscrupulous Elements involved in such unethical trade practices.

Six years after it was notified, the Punjab Government will implement the Anand Marriage Act-2016 in letter and spirit for the Sikhs to register their marriages in the State. Announcing this, the Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann on Tuesday said that the Government will take steps to generate awareness about the Act.

Though the Act was notified in 2016, there is hardly any awareness about it in Punjab. Several other states have implemented this Act but we have lagged behind. Now, it will be implemented here as well, said Mann, accompanied by wife Dr Gurpreet Kaur, after paying obeisance at Takht Sri Kesgarh Sahib, on the occasion of theparkash purbof founder Guru Nanak Dev.

Mann said that 22 states, including Haryana and Delhi, have implemented the Act but it has not been implemented in right earnest despite the notification issued six years ago. The Government will take steps to generate awareness about the Act, he added.

Relieved by data presented in The Supreme Court that highlightedstubble burning in Punjaband its neighbouring state of Haryana contributed to less than 10% Air Pollution in Delhi, the said that area where crop residue was burnt since October has reduced considerably compared to last few years.

Punjab recorded 1,761 incidents of crop residue burning on Monday, increasing the total count this season to 67,165 incidents.

Punjab has worked diligently on various facets stretching from in-situ and ex-situ management of stubble to motivating industries to utilize paddy stubble. The reduction in area itself speaks volume of the intent of the government.

The Environment Ministry said active paddy residue burning cases in Punjab, Haryana and the eight NCR districts of Uttar Pradesh had “come down significantly” this year and fewer fire counts were reported in 2021 as compared to last year.

As many as “1,795 fire counts were reported in the past one month as compared to 4,854 instances in the corresponding period in 2020,” officials said, adding that Punjab had reported substantial reduction.

As per the report based on the protocol framed by ISRO for the Commission, paddy residue burning events have been reduced by 69.49 per cent in Punjab, by 18.28 per cent in Haryana and by 47.61 per cent in the eight NCR districts of Uttar Pradesh during the one-month period compared to the same period last year, they added.

During the one-month period of the current year, the total reported residue burning events in Punjab are 1,286 as against 4,216 for the same period last year.

The Battle of Saragarhi was fought 124 years ago on September 12th.

Highlights:

The Battle of Saragarhi was the last battle between the British Raj and the Afghan tribes before the Tirah Campaign.
Saragarhi was the Communication tower between Fort Gulistan and Fort Lockhart.
The 2 forts in the rugged Northwest Frontier Province were built by Maharaja Ranjit Singh but were renamed by the British.
On September 12, 1897, an estimated 12,000 24,000 members of the Orakzai and Afridi tribes attacked Saragarhis outpost and severed the connection between Fort Gulistan and Fort Lockhart
The 36th Sikh soldier led by Havildar Ishar Singh fought till his last breath, wounding 600 others and killing 200 tribes
In 2017, the Punjab government decided to make 12th September as Saragarhi Day as a holiday.

UT administratorVP Singh Badnorehas taken a serious view of untreated sewage flowing from Kansal inPunjabinto the forest areas behindSukhna Lake, which is getting contaminated.

Despite repeated reminders from the Chandigarh administration, the governments of neighbouring Punjab andHaryanahave failed to stop sewage flowing from their territories into the forest areas. The critical issue pertains to sewage flowing from Nayagaon and Kansal villages of Punjab and Saketri and Madadevpur villages of Haryana, and damaging and Fauna. To deal with the dirty water of Kansal and Nayagoan, the administration had recently chalked out a proposal to construct a new sewage treatment plant atKishangarh.

In February last year, the UT administration had taken up the matter with the Punjab and Haryana governments during a meeting of theapex committee for coordination of Tricity, besides a letter was also sent to both the states in 2019.

Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann urged Union Housing and Development Minister Hardeep Puri to include Mohali in the Smart City project for its inclusive development.

Mann, who met Puri at his office in New Delhi, said Mohali assumes immense significance because it is part of the tri-city which also includes Chandigarh and Panchkula. Most of the departments of the Punjab government have their head offices in Mohali and as such it is imperative to give further fillip to its Growth, the chief minister said.

He said Mohali and its adjoining municipal committees like Zirakpur, Kharar, Derabassi and Kurali have witnessed immense growth because of the presence of the international airport, educational institutes, industries and townships.

The area needs special funding to support planned growth and development, the Punjab chief minister said, adding that including Mohali in the Smart City project for its holistic and planned growth was the need of the hour.

Flagging another issue, Mann requested Puri for the restoration of the same ratio of funds under Atal Mission for Rejuvenation and Urban Transformation (AMRUT) 2.0 as was the case in AMRUT 1.0. He said under AMRUT 1.0. Centre and States’ financial contribution was 50:50 for towns in the one lakh to 10 lakh Population category whereas under AMRUT 2.0, it has been revised to 33:67. For cities with a million-plus population like Ludhiana and Amritsar, the ratio was 33:67 while under AMRUT 2.0 it was 75:25, Mann said.

Sports Minister Rana Gurmit Singh Sodhi handed Rs 5 lakh each to Tokyo-bound athletes to procure required besides giving finishing touches to their preparation ahead of the all-important games.

Sodhi said gold winners at the Olympics would get Rs 2.25 crore as prize Money, while those winning silver and bronze medals would be richer by Rs 1.5 crore and Rs 1 crore, respectively, besides a government job.

The Indian contingent for the upcoming Tokyo Olympics is expected to be around 190 with 100 athletes having qualified for the mega event so far, including 56 men and 44 Women.

The numbers have been made operational for all 22 districts to promptly address the issues of farmers and arhtiyas during procurement operations in wake of Covid-19.

Reiterating the resolve of Punjab Government to procure every single grain of the farmers produce, Punjab Mandi Board chairman Lal Singh said that all necessary Health protocols as well as social distancing measures would be followed in the right earnest to keep the spread of Covid-19 under check.

Having received 2,295 proposals amounting to Rs 41,043 crore in the last 11 months, the state is gearing up to attract investment by creating a land bank, including 20 industrial clusters and 15 industrial parks.

The minister said the government would continue providing support to the Industry and an outlay of Rs 3,751 crore had been provisioned for FY 2023-24 i.e. an increase of 19% over FY 2022-23 (BE). For capital subsidy to industrial units, Rs 75 crore and for industrial focal points, an initial amount of Rs 50 crore has been proposed for FY 2023-24. An amount of Rs 2,700 crore has been provided for providing subsidised power to the industrial units.