Chandigarh, October 25
The ministry of environment and forests (MoEF) is still in no mood to concede to Punjab’s demand of relaxing the provisions of the Forest Conservation Act to Shivalik land falling under the Punjab Land Preservation Act, 1900 (PLPA).

On the other important issue of waiver of the net present value (NPV) for land owners of protected areas, the ministry, however, said that it had requested the apex court to exempt the NPV in case of private forests.

Clarifying its stand again today on the areas protected under the PLPA in Punjab, a top ministry official said Punjab could go to the Supreme Court if it wanted to commercially exploit the 65000 hectares of forest land, whose delisting it is seeking.

Additional director-general of forests, Government of India, G.K.Prasad, here to attend the first north zonal conference of forest ministers, said the ministry was firm on its earlier stand of allowing delisting of the said forest land only if Punjab promised to use it for agricultural purposes and sustainability of people’s livelihood.

“We will not allow commercial use of this land as Punjab is now demanding. Earlier, the Supreme Court had referred the matter of delisting of forest land in Punjab to the forest advisory committee. It had directed us to consider Punjab’s case as per the provisions of the Forest Conservation Act.”

“We can at best allow this land for agricultural use, as this land was primarily agricultural in nature,” Prasad said, adding that the ministry had already asked the state to submit a detailed list indicating the status of the use of this land before October 25, 1980, up to December 12, 1996. The final approval for delisting (subject to stated conditions) will come after the list of original land use has been submitted, he said, speaking to TNS today.

Prasad, incidentally, had a supporter in Haryana forest minister Kiran Choudhary who, during the conference, said that protected forest areas should not be tampered with at any cost.

The ministry’s stand notwithstanding, Punjab chief minister Parkash Singh Badal again urged the Government of India to relax the delisting conditions, citing them as “too severe to be of use to people inhabiting these areas”.“I urge the government to allow the states to take decision on its behalf with regard to provisions of the Forest Conservation Act relating to development projects,” Badal said, blaming inordinate delays in infrastructure development works to the law and the bottlenecks it created.

The CM also asked the attending union minister of state for environment and forests S. Reghupathy to finance the states to realise the goal of bringing 33 per of land under forests and tree cover by 2012. The minister, however, did not make commitments on the financial front, but said the ministry would fully support the private sector for the enhancement of forest cover by providing adequate saplings.

About the demand of waiver of net present value (NPV) for the land of owners of areas closed under the PLPA, Reghupathy said the issue was pending before the apex court. The ministry has, however, filed an affidavit in the SC, stating that social infrastructure works, public welfare projects and non-conventional energy projects involving forest land up to 1 hectare may be granted full exemption from the payment of NPV. The ministry has now requested the court that the NPV be exempted in cases of private forests.

In respect of irrigation projects, 30 per cent exemption may be granted, while for underground mine, the NPV will be charged over 50 per cent of the NPV of the forest area. In respect of proposed field firing ranges, 100 per cent NPV on notified impact area should be charged,” said the minister, inviting consensus of the participating northern states of Punjab, Haryana, Rajasthan, Himachal and Uttarakhand on the matter pertaining to the amendment of guidelines for establishing petrol pumps.

Phagwara, October 25
Rajinder Kaur Bhattal today asked Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal to do something constructive for the welfare and interests of the people instead of wasting time in adopting vindictive attitude towards his political rivals.

She said this while on a visit to the residence of family friend Kewal Singh here. The PPCC president alleged that 175 false cases against Congressmen had been tabled in the Vidhan Sabha.

When asked whether the Congress could ask the BJP to leave the SAD and join hands with it to form a new state government, Bhattal said the Congress could not join hands with a communal party.

Later, she held a brief meeting with Congress leaders, including Rana Gurjit Singh, to assess the present political situation. She also visited the house of ex-MLA Joginder Singh Maan.

ABOHAR: Congress MLA Sunil Jakhar has said Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal must stop politics of vendetta and devote attention to the welfare of poor people. He was here to inaugurate a dharamshala at Dhaani Bashesharnath on the outskirts of the town here on Thursday.

Chandigarh, October 25
Trying hard to put a lid on the controversy over observations made with regard to Punjab economy by state finance minister Manpreet Singh Badal, Punjab Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal today said the former was an intelligent person and was very dear to him.

At Jalandhar yesterday Badal had stated that Manpreet Badal should check facts with regard to the state’s economy before making any definite observation in this regard. Badal had stated that the economy was in a good health. A few days ago, Manpreet Badal had stated that subsidies given to various sections of society, including the farm sector, should be reviewed to improve the fiscal health. It was not for the first time that Manpreet had made such an observation. Earlier, on several occasions, including in his budget speech, he had made similar observations.

Badal today said there was nothing to worry about the state’s economy. Punjab would witness such a development in next five years which it did not have in the past 60 years, Badal asserted. He said there was no problem with regard to the finance minister and if there was any, it would be resolved. Badal said no meeting had been fixed yet with BJP leader Balbir Punj.

Meanwhile, Manpreet Singh today attended his office and held a meeting with a Canadian delegation. However, he did not meet journalists though he had asked them to turn up around 5 pm. For a few days, Manpreet Singh was away to Indore. In his absence various sorts of rumours continued doing the rounds in the state secretariat. Till last night, mediapersons continued to bother senior officers to check rumours whether Manpreet Singh had resigned or not. However, senior officers, including Manpreet Singh himself, confirmed that he was very much part of the Badal government and that all reports regarding his resignation were false and baseless.

Meanwhile, sources said certain vested interests were deliberately spreading rumours regarding Manpreet Singh. “Efforts were being made at a certain level in the government to identify such persons who are out to create trouble for the government,” said a SAD leader.

Amritsar, October 25
While urging Jathedar Akal Takht for taking necessary action against Delhi Sikh Gurdwara Management Committee (DSGMC) chief Paramjit Singh Sarna, for sending holy scriptures in a container to Canada in violation of Sikh Maryada, SGPC president Avtar Singh today submitted inquiry report to Jathedar, Akal Takht, Joginder Singh Vedanti.

In the report to Jathedar Akal Takht, SGPC chief said the committee constituted by the SGPC found DSGMC had sent holy books through a container without following any Sikh maryada hurting the sentiments of Sikhs all over the world. He alleged that various teams sent by the committee to Delhi and Mumbai had confirmed that the 100 Sarups of Guru Granth Sahib was kept with woolen garments and other domestic materials in the container.

He alleged that the DSGMC chief Sarna had tried to mislead the Sikh Sangat by stating that as soon as the incident came to his knowledge he immediately stopped the sending of sarups to Canada and made arrangements to shift the Holy Scriptures to Gurdwara Hazoor Sahib. However, Makkar said the sarups were sent to Vancouver (Canada) on October 20.

Besides the Sarups, Gutkas of Gurbani, Pothian, woolen garments and domestic materials were also loaded in the same container. He said according to the documentary evidence regarding the placement of order by Malik and Co., he said the order was already made to send the Sarups on October 3. He said that the entries made in the documents showed Guru Granth Sahib written which was later shown as ‘Big Sketch Books’, which was unfortunate and highly objectionable.

He appealed to Jathedar to take strict action against the accused so that no one in future could dare to violate the maryada.

London, October 25
An Indian woman hailing from Punjab set herself ablaze after her parents allegedly forced her into a violent marriage, an international conference was told here. Jasvinder Sanghera, from Derby, said her sister Robina was driven to suicide after she was told that she could not leave her husband because her family would be ashamed. When her sister killed herself, Sanghera, was on the run from home because she had refused to marry a man her parents had lined up for her from the age of eight.

She told the EU Forced Marriages Conference in central London yesterday that she still held people accountable for the death of Robina. The two-day conference, hosted by the foreign office and the European Commission’s Daphne Fund, allows the UK’s Forced Marriage Unit to share its experience with other countries.

Robina was taken out of school at the age of 15, forced to marry, and then moved to Germany with her husband. She told delegates at her Lancaster House, “She suffered horrific abuse in her marriage; physical and mental abuse.”

Jasvinder begged Robina to leave her partner but her sister told her that she didn’t have any authority in this matter as she had been disowned.

“She was right. The people who could make the difference were my parents, family and community leaders. That’s where she went and they sent her back, saying she should make the marriage work. Was she driven to commit suicide? I would say so. She set herself on fire and suffered 80 per cent burns. I still hold people accountable for her death” Jasvinder said.

Sanghera (42), whose family is originally from the Punjab, told the conference that South Asian women in Britain had a suicide rate two to three times above average. She said, “The question I ask is, are we being driven to commit suicide or is suicide covering up murder.” She said statistics showed there were 12 so-called “honour killings” every year.

Her own family disowned her after she refused to marry the man they chose.

She said, “I rang my mother and the response I never expected to hear is the response hundreds of girls are hearing today. That was to tell me that I was the perpetrator. In their eyes I was dead.” Her younger sister then had to marry the man chosen for her so the agreement was honoured, Sanghera said. Sanghera now directs the Karma Nirvana support group. — PTI 

Abohar, October 25
Diwan Chand Verma, executive officer of the municipal council, here has been divested of all official powers. A team of the Department of Local Bodies led by a superintendent in the regional director’s office personally served the orders received from the state headquarters to Verma, sources confirmed.

Verma had been transferred after formation of the present alliance government but managed to stay, arguing that he being on the verge of retirement was at a liberty to serve the present place of posting. Later, he was among the EOs who had been placed under suspension. But the department had to withdraw the orders reportedly under pressure from some of them who also enjoyed links with the top brass in the alliance.

According to information, Ram Kishan Mittal, state vice-president of the BJP (local bodies cell) and Suvarsha Narang, BJP councillor, here had made identical complaints to the government, levelling serious allegations involving corruption, malpractices and administrative impropriety in the council led by the Congress.

Provident fund and instalment of LIC policies issued to the employees had been deducted while disbursing salaries but the same was not deposited in the relevant accounts and misused in making payments to the contractors due to vested interests.

The team took away some record from the council to Chandigarh for further screening.

The BJP workers again lodged a complaint to the department averring that the ailing EO was operating from his residential office to which public had no access.

The Director of the Local Bodies Department had issued instructions for speeding up the recovery of a whopping 2.5 crore which were due to the consumers. But warned that the amount would not be used for paying bills of the contractors.

Ludhiana, October 25
Air in the entire district, particularly in the rural belt, is heavily laden with noxious fumes of paddy straw, which continues to be burnt rampantly despite a complete ban by the government. During a random survey today, suffocating thick smoke and paddy stubbles in fields were witnessed all over the district.

A huge span of harvested land bore the stamp of burnt paddy stumps at Kamalpura, Talwandi Jagdev, Halwara, Mandiani, Talwandi Khurd, Talwandi Kalan, Pandori, Thhat and Sekhupura villages, besides certain other locations. Fields could be seen engulfed in heavy smoke at a number of places.

Emissions from the burnt straw of paddy contain 70 per cent carbon dioxide, 0.66 per cent methane and 2.09 per cent nitrous oxide and causes suffocation. The residue causes irrepairable loss to the fields because the pesticides mixed with the earth. Doctors along the state highways confirmed a large number of people visiting them for breathing-related problems.

Carbon dioxide takes over 100 years to disappear from the atmosphere, according to experts. Conservative estimates say that Punjab produces approximately 15 million tonnes of paddy residue.

Moreover, a sizeable portion of the residue is burnt.

Tarsem Singh, a farmer, said, “Farmers don’t burn the paddy residue because they are against environment. They don’t have an alternative for its disposal because they have to prepare the fields for the next crop. The government or agriculture monitoring agencies have, till date, not given us any viable method for disposal of paddy residue.”

The UNEP scientists in the past have pointed out that that the build-up of the haze, a mass of ash, acids, aerosols and other particulars, is disrupting the weather cycle, including rainfall and wind patterns. And the haze phenomenon is set to intensify over the next 30 years. Its implications are dangerous for agriculture.

A teacher at Dasmesh Khalsa Girls Senior Secondary School, Kamalpura, showed the burnt stubble of paddy in the field adjoining the school boundary. “We had to close our teaching day before yesterday because of a very thick cloud of a smoke in our classes. It was impossible to breathe and there was a continuous irritation in the eyes even after we went home.”

Moga, October 25
Tension gripped Bhinder Kalan village falling in Dharamkot area when jathedar of Takht Damdama Sahib Balwant Singh Nandgarh along with activists of Ek Noor Khalsa Fauj attempted to remove the samadh of Baba Saman Giri located in the complex of Gurdwara Akhand Prakash, nearly 25 km from here today.

The samadh is revered by people of all faiths. According to sources, Jathedar Nandgarh held a meeting with the activists of the fauj and management of the gurdwara after which they allegedly went to remove the samadh.

When they got to know about this, a group of villagers advanced towards the gurdwara to stop the removal. Activists of the fauj went inside the gurdwara when they saw the villagers.

Sources said the agitated villagers threatened that they will pelt the activists with stones whenever they came out of the gurdwara.

Subsequently, police reached the spot. SSP, Faridkot, L.K. Yadav, who is holding additional charge of this district police chief, also visited the spot. He said that Jathedar Nandgarh did visit the place but was not aware of the ground reality. He added that he left the place as soon as the reality dawned upon him.

The district police chief claimed that the samadh was intact. He said that the Sikh activists had arrived to perform prakash of Guru Granth Sahib as per Sikh Rehat Maryada. However, earlier this was not conveyed properly to the villagers and they construed it otherwise, he added. He said that the incident had been entered in the Daily Dairy Report (DDR).

Amritsar, October 25
The Dal Khalsa has urged the SGPC and the Delhi Sikh Gurdwara Management Committee (DSGMC) to stop their tirade against each other on the Guru Granth Sahib issue.

Senior leaders of the Dal Khalsa Satnam Singh Paonta Sahib, H.S. Dhami, Kanwar Pal Singh and Manjinder Singh while talking to the Press here today said the issue had jeopardised the reputation of the Sikhs. They also exhorted both august bodies to immediately stop pointing fingers at each other and instead hold a closed door meeting of all Panthic bodies at Akal Takht in this regard. Moreover, neither the SGPC nor the DSGMC should attempt to monopolise the logistical aspect of printing, publishing and transportation of Guru Granth Sahib, they added.

They further said to counter the threat of demographic change in the state the Dal Khalsa would hold a Punjab Jagao March on October 31.

Patiala, October 25
All India Human Rights Association and Sardarni Jaswant Kaur Charitable Trust organised an inter-school paper reading contest on the right to information act at Government Senior Secondary School, Tripuri Town, here, today.

The programme was inaugurated by Brig D.S. Grewal, in which, about 22 schools participated. He enlightened the students on first-aid and cancer prevention.

Dr S.S. Mohi, member, PPSC, who was the chief guest on the occasion, appreciated the efforts of the organisers and honoured Bindu Bala, SHO of the Nabha police station, Balkar Singh of Kotwali police station, Patiala, for their relentless services. He also honoured K.R. Verma, DTS of the Red Cross Society. Balbir Kaur Gill, principal of Career Academy was honoured as ‘Best Principal’ of the district. Red Cross cadets and scouts presented a guard of honour to the guests. — TNS

Bathinda, October 25
Two persons were killed while two others sustained severe injuries in a road accident involving a stationary truck and a car at Behman Diawana village on Malout road some 12 km from here last night.

When they were returning to Gidderbaha, lights from vehicles coming from the opposite direction reportedly blinded the driver of the car momentarily. The driver could not see the truck (RJ-18G-2401) standing on the road and rammed into it from the rear.

The impact of the accident was so severe that Ravinder Kochar and Rajinder Kumar died on the spot. The victims got stuck inside the smashed car. The passersby and volunteers of an NGO had to cut through the wreck and pull the victims out.

Investigating officer ASI Mithu Singh said that a case has been registered against the driver of the truck, Dharmender Singh, on the basis of statements of Vinay Kumar, who is a relative of one of the deceased. The accused is at large. 

Amritsar, October 25
A tech savvy thief decamped with Rs 6.64 lakh from a Punjab National Bank ATM situated in Khalsa Central Orphanage in Putligarh area here today.

According to sources, the thief was able to enter the building housing the ATM, as there was no guard on duty last night.

He first opened the lock of the ATM and after inserting the password removed the hard disk installed in the machine, which stores the recordings made by the ATM building surveillance camera. This was probably done to ensure that the camera’s recordings did not reveal the thief’s identity.

A case has been registered.

District Police Chief Kunwar Vijay Pratap Singh said as per investigations the ATM was last operated at 12.15 pm in the night and Rs 500 were withdrawn.

However, the ATM was stopped only after 3.25 am.

Rajpura, October 25
The Rajpura police today arrested five drug smugglers, including a woman, from separate places in town.

R. P. Munjal alias Manju was arrested by the police from near Neelpur village on the Rajpura-Patiala road.

Manju, a resident of the local new officer’s colony, was arrested when a police party spotted a small packet containing some white powder falling from her pocket. She was detained for questioning. In the meantime, the police recovered 25 gm smack from her possession.

Later, she was produced in a local court which sent her to two-day police custody.

Employees of the local civil hospital were arrested by the police with half-a-kg of opium. The peddlers were identified as Suresh Kumar and Saleem Mohammad, residents of quarters in the hospital. Besides, two other men - Balbir Singh and Angerz Singh, were also arrested by the city police with half-a-kg of opium.

All the accused had been booked under the relevant sections of the NDPS Act.

The police was further investigating the matter to find out if there was a network of drug peddlers operating in the town, informed sources.

Abohar, October 25
Staff at the Government Senior Secondary Model School for Boys here have declined to oblige senior officials in the Education Department in falsely endorsing a reply for submitting the same before the Punjab State Human Rights Commission (PSHRC) on alleged failure in providing basic amenities to more than 2,000 students, sources said.

The staff, which was not made a party in the reference by the commission, preferred to remain silent. The commission has now fixed November 28 as next date for hearing.

The PSHRC, taking a suo motu notice of a report published in these columns in July this year, had in a full bench reference, issued notice to the principal secretary, Education Department, and DPI (S) seeking an explanation on depriving the students and teachers in the “model” school of facilities like potable drinking water, toilets and failure in getting the boundary wall constructed.

The Tribune report along with a photograph indicated that cattle was roaming around classrooms and lawns. The department had not appointed lower rank staff for the past many years. This resulted in thefts in the scouting hall and computer rooms.

Interestingly, even after publication of the report, another theft was committed, depriving the students of computer education which has been made compulsory under the Sarv Shiksha Abhiyan.

The principal had lodged complaints with the city police but there has been no breakthrough in investigation so far. The school had been getting canal water supply for irrigating the playgrounds but the same was suspended thanks to the apathy of the local municipal council in checking encroachments on the way.

Senior officials in the Education Department reportedly wanted the staff of the school here to rebut the details carried in The Tribune report so as to satisfy the PSHRC during hearing yesterday. However, no funds were released for reconstruction of the boundary wall that had collapsed during the creation of a new double lane road in the neighbourhood.

However, the principal took pains in arranging drinking water in the school complex, besides giving the playground a refreshing look by religiously using the funds dumped earlier in different accounts. But the contribution by the department was till date zero, sources added.

The principal and staff had removed some deficiencies by individual efforts. The main gate of the school is now closed after working hours to prevent the entry of vehicles that had been damaging the grounds in the past.

Even today, it was found that some of the classrooms were not fit for use. There had been no efforts also to fill vacancies of chowkidars and peons.