Tarn Taran Diary

Improvement Trust fails to meet expectations of city residents

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The existence of Improvement Trust, Tarn Taran, established in 2006 when it was made a revenue district, remains confined merely to paper. It is an institution meant to provide modern residential localities to people besides commercial sites, including shop-cum-office etc. It is a matter of great interest that the Trust itself is being run from a rented portion. The present site is its fifth since its inception as it is yet to find its permanent location. The most interesting feature of the Trust is that during the last 19 years, it could do nothing but write just two letters to its office concerned for the proposed commercial projects in Tarn Taran city, but the fate of these two projects remains uncertain. Whenever there is a change of government in the state, the chairperson of the Improvement Trust is replaced by the government concerned immediately. After assuming office, the new chairman declares steps for the implementation of the proposed projects but the said projects have not moved ahead with time. The Trust has the proposal to give shape to the old roadways depot-cum-workshop into a commercial site. It is situated on prime land in the heart of the town, spread over 7 kanal. In the last 19 years, the Improvement Trust could take the possession of just 3 kanal and the remaining four kanal of land is still in the possession of the roadways department. The other proposed project is on the Goindwal Sahib road in the town, located on land belonging to the Canal Department. The land is in the name of the Canal Department and its ownership has not been changed in the name of the Improvement Trust. There are only two employees working in the office of the Trust on a regular basis. These include a Junior Assistant and a computer operator with two outsourced employees belonging to class IV category. The payment of these employees is released by the Improvement Trust, Amritsar. The Executive Officer (EO), SDO, Junior Engineer (JE) and accountant of the Improvement Trust, Amritsar, have been given additional charge of this Trust since its inception. The Improvement Trust, Amritsar, has given more than Rs one crore for the working of Improvement Trust in Tarn Taran, including the salary of employees and the dues of its chairman during the last 19 years as the Trust has no source of income. The Trust officials in Tarn Taran said that they have been writing two types of letters to their senior officials, for the transfer of four kanal of land of the roadways in the name of the Improvement Trust. This 7 kanal of land has been encroached by the district police. The other letter written by the Trust officials is related to the issue of transfer of land belonging to the Canal Department, situated on Goindwal Sahib road in Tarn Taran. The office of the Improvement Trust has proved an useless institution belying hopes of its residents.

Akali Dal (Waras Punjab De) enters active politics

Political circles in the district are keeping a close watch on the activities of the newly formed political outfit Akali Dal (Waris Punjab De) led by radical jailed Sikh leader and Khadoor Sahib MP Amritpal Singh. Amritpal Singh, a first-time politician, entered active politics winning the election as an independent candidate though no established political party had extended its support to him. He defeated candidates of the Congress party, ruling AAP, SAD and the BJP besides other independents. Amritpal Singh got 4,04,430 votes as against his nearest rival Kulbir Singh Zira of the Congress party who got 2,07,310 votes. The SAD which remained a winner for the maximum number of times since the 1952 elections, failed to save its security. After Simranjit Singh Mann, president of SAD (Amritsar), it is Amritpal Singh who defeated the established political parties. Simranjit Singh Mann, who was lodged in Bhagalpur jail in Bihar, won his first ever election of 1989 from the then Tarn Taran Lok Sabha constituency (at present, its name is Khadoor Sahib after delimitation). Mann got 5,27,707 votes (93%) and his nearest rival Ajit Singh Mann of the Congress could get only 47,290 votes and failed to save even his security deposit. After that election, though Mann contested from Tarn Taran, he failed to get even a remarkable response from the people. Presently, in the absence of Amritpal Singh, his father Tarsem Singh, mother Balwinder Kaur, uncle Sukhchain Singh besides some close associates have been involved in political activities in the state. The Akali Dal (Waras Punjab De) formed a five-member committee for Tarn Taran district where four Vidhan Sabha seats have been formed to carry on political activities. The responsibility for Tarn Taran Vidhan Sabha constituency has been given to two, a woman and the other from the Hindu community with Patti, Khadoor Sahib and Khem Karan having one each. At the time of the formation of a five-member committee, Tarsem Singh himself confessed in one way that there was resentment among a section of the party workers and he had to state that the other workers who worked hard in the 2024 Lok Sabha election too would be adjusted soon. Tarsem Singh said the doors of the party for those other than the Sikh community, are open for the party. The party’s stand on

the Khalistan issue is not clear. Some party workers who

played a remarkable role in the election, commented that the response given to Amritpal Singh is not sure to be achieved forever. Political observers are keeping a close watch on every activity of the newly formed Akali Dal formed by Amritpal Singh.

‘Kindness Wall’ facing neglect

The ‘Wall of Kindness’ established outside the office of the SDM, Tarn Taran, five years back with the motto of giving for those who have enough and to those who are in dire need of garments, is facing total neglect by the administration. No official has either appealed for donation or to the needy to come to the site to take advantage of the ‘kindness’. At present, there seem to be few torn clothes that are of no use.