By Punjabnewswire4u
CHANDIGARH,
JUNE 24
Punjab Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal today directed the Principal
Secretary Home to ensure the completion of judicial enquiry ordered into the
Jeobala incident in Tarn Tarn district within stipulated time period of three
months in order to ascertain the facts that led to the death of ASI Kulbir
Singh during farmer’s agitation.
An assurance to this effect was given Mr. Badal to the delegation of
Kisan Sangrash Committee Punjab led by its State President Mr. Satnam Singh
Pannu in the meeting held here today at Punjab Bhawan this morning.
The Chief Minister also asked the state DGP to examine all the cases in which
several representative of union participated in the state wide rail and road
blockades in support of their agitation sympathetically, in which there was no
third party or any individual was involved as complainant. He also directed the
Chief Secretary to review all those decisions, which were in- principally
agreed in the meeting held with representative of
the union on December 18, 2011 under his Chairmanship and these must be
implemented in the right earnest. Mr. Badal also asked his Principal Secretary
to ensure release of Rs. Five lac as compensation payment each to the next of
the kin of the two left out farmers immediately who died in such agitations.
On the issue of giving compensation to the left out families of
farmers/laborers who committed suicides, the Chief Minister assured the union
that the state government would also extend the same quantum of relief @ of Rs.
two lac to the next of the kin of the deceased on the basis of verification
report of the committee comprising the Deputy Commissioner, SSP and Chief
Agriculture Officer of the concerned district.
The Chief Minister also directed the Financial Commissioner Development to work
out all the modalities to bring a legislation to abolish money lending in the
state to safeguard the interests of the farming community in the larger public
interest.
Responding
to another demand regarding the Voluntary Disclosure Scheme (VDS) to slash the
rate from Rs 4500 to Rs 1000 per BHP for enhancing the load capacity of the
motors in view of depleting water table, the Chief Minister informed the union
that the Powercom had already taken up the issue with the Punjab State
Electricity Regulatory Commission to reduce this amount from 4500 BHP to 3000
per BHP which would cost Rs. 150 crore to the state government. Subsequently,
the regulatory Commission has sought views/comments of Powercom regarding the
deposit of subsidy.
Referring
to another demand raised by the union regarding the allotment of tube well
connections to the applicants whose applications were pending since long, Mr.
Badal apprised them that the state government had already framed a new tube
well policy for the year 2013-14 to release 25000 Tube well connections in a
fair and transparent manner. He said that our government since 2007 had
released 2,10,000 Tube well connections to the farmers till date. The policy further stipulated that
9000 AP connections would be allotted to the applicants comprising
small farmers having land holding upto 2.5 acre and without any tube well
connection as on January 1, 1998, 3000 connections for marginal farmers having
land holding of more than 2.5 acre and upto 5 acre as on January 1, 1995
whereas the remaining 3000 connections for big farmers having land holding more
than 5 acre as on January 1, 1993. Besides, 7500 Tube well connection
would be released priority quota (Kandi, Border, International Fence,
Gurdwaras, Panchayats, SC, Gallantry, Drip Irrigation) during the current
fiscal. Likewise, the Chief Minister also gave directions to the PSPCL for the
release of connections amongst the pending applicants under the Accelerated
Release of Tube well connections (ARTC) Scheme since 1992.
On the
plea of the union to waive off the condition of installation of four star rated
company motors under the guidelines of Bureau of Energy Efficiency (BEE) which
were too expensive, the Chief Minister asked the PSPCL authorities to make
these motors readily available to the farmers on affordable rates in the market
and it was informed there were 14 suppliers in the market to meet the
demand.
On the
issue of restoring the facility of OYT connection to the farmers for shifting
the tube well connection from one site to another, the Chief Minister asked the
PSPCL to only charge the actual cost of the material and supervisory thereby
doing away with the labour charges as incurred earlier by Powercom.
The
Chief Minister also assured the union that all the Deras/Dhanis having three or
more households under urban pattern power supply for 24 hours would be covered
in difficult areas of Border/Kandi at the cost of Rs. 75 crore and the
requisite funds have been tide up.
The
Chief Minister also informed the union that the state irrigation department had
chalked out an ambitious program to de-silt the Upper-Bari Doab Canal system at
the cost of Rs. 211 crore during the year 2013-14 thereby enhancing the water
carrying capacity of canal and its distributaries and tail end. Likewise, the
state government had already embarked upon a massive program to clean 10200 KM
of feeders, distributors and minors at the cost of Rs. 22 crore.
Prominent
amongst those present in the meeting included Chief Secretary Mr. Rakesh Singh,
DGP Mr. Sumedh Singh Saini, PSCM Mr. S.K. Sandhu, FCR Mr. NS Kang, Financial
Commissioner Rural Development & Panchayats Mr. Mandeep Singh Sandhu,
Principal Secretary Heath & Family Welfare Vinni Mahajan, Secretary Local
Government Mr. Ashok Gupta, MD Punjab Health Systems Corporation Mr. Husan Lal
and Secretary Power Mr. Anirudh Tiwari.
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