Page 10 - Punjab Government

Punjab CM Mann hikes sugarcane price by Rs 11 per quintal to Rs 391

Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann on Friday announced a hike of Rs 11 per quintal in sugarcane price, saying the new rate of Rs 391 a quintal is the highest in the country. The announcement came days after the chief minister assured farmers of "good news" in the coming days. "With an increase of Rs 11, the new rate will be Rs 391 per quintal, which will be the highest in the country," Mann said in a post on social media platform X. Earlier, farmers held protests demanding an increase in sugarcane price from Rs 380 per quintal to Rs 450 per quintal. On Friday last week, farmers held a demonstration on a national highway in Jalandhar but decided to end their stir after Mann's assurance. "As far as increasing the rate of sugarcane goes, Punjab has always been ahead," Mann had said last week. Protestors under the banner of Samyukt Kisan Morcha had blocked the Jalandhar-Phagwara section of the Jalandhar-New Delhi National Highway near Dhanowali village. The strike ended on the four

Punjab farmers end protest, warn of 'bigger agitation' if promises not met

Farmers who had gathered at Mohali and Panchkula along Chandigarh's borders on Tuesday ended their three-day protest after their meetings with Punjab and Haryana governors, but warned the Centre of a "bigger agitation" if it does not show "seriousness" towards their pending demands. "This was a trailer," said farmer leader from Punjab, Harinder Singh Lakhowal, on the three-day protest. "A bigger agitation will be held if the government does not show seriousness towards our demands," Lakhowal told PTI. He said there are some demands which pertain to the state government which they have separately taken up with it and a meeting in this regard with the chief minister will be held on December 19. Separately, a delegation of farmers from Haryana met Governor Bandaru Dattatreya here concerning various demands. After the meeting, farmer leader Suresh Koth told reporters that they "want to give a clear warning to the government that we have and we can fight for our rights." "If the gover

2-day Punjab Assembly session begins tomorrow, likely to be a stormy affair

The two-day Punjab Assembly session, which begins on Tuesday, is likely to be a stormy affair with the opposition parties trying to corner the AAP government over several issues, including law and order, illegal sand mining and the state's debt. During the session, the Bhagwant Mann government will table three Money Bills - the Punjab Fiscal Responsibility and Budget Management (Amendment) Bill, 2023, the Punjab Goods and Services Tax (Amendment) Bill, 2023, and the Indian Stamp (Punjab Amendment) Bill, 2023. Another Bill, the Punjab Canal and Drainage Bill, 2023, is also likely to be tabled in the House. The Bill aims to regulate and manage canals and drainage in the state. The session will start with obituary references on Tuesday, said officials. Punjab Governor Banwarilal Purohit had summoned the two-day session of the state Assembly. The opposition parties have slammed the AAP government for holding the session for a short duration. When the last session ended abruptly, the

PEDA signs pact with Gail to set up 10 compressed biogas projects in Punjab

State-owned Punjab Energy Development Agency (PEDA) has signed an agreement with GAIL (India) Limited to set up 10 compressed biogas projects and other new and renewable energy projects in the state. The memorandum of understanding (MoU) was signed by PEDA CEO Amarpal Singh and GAIL (India) Executive Director RK Singhal, an official release said. Punjab New and Renewable Energy Sources (NRES) Minister Aman Arora said the pact will help the state to manage five lakh tonnes of paddy straw per annum and generate clean energy out of it. Punjab is an agrarian state, and it has immense potential for crop residue-based CBG plants, he said, adding that the Punjab government's business-friendly policies are helping in facilitating companies to set up their industries in the state. NRES Secretary Ravi Bhagat said that with the implementation of these 10 projects, paddy straw in around 1.25 lakh acres is expected to be prevented from being burnt. These projects will also create around 50 rur

Punjab Guv gives approval to table 3rd money Bill; prorogues Budget session

Punjab Governor Banwarilal Purohit Thursday gave his approval to a money Bill, one of the three proposed legislations withholding consent to which created a row, to table it in the assembly, and also prorogued the Budget session that was convened in March. The governor's approval is mandatory to table a money bill in the Vidhan Sabha. Official sources said on Thursday the governor has approved the Punjab Fiscal Responsibility and Budget Management (Amendment) Bill, 2023. Earlier, he had approved two other money Bills: the Punjab Goods and Services Tax (Amendment) Bill, 2023, and the Indian Stamp (Punjab Amendment) Bill, 2023. The governor, meanwhile, also prorogued the Budget session, a day after the Punjab Assembly secretariat wrote to Purohit for it. "The fourth (Budget) session of Sixteenth Punjab Vidhan Sabha, which was adjourned sine-die at the conclusion of its sitting held on the 20th October, 2023 has been prorogued by an order of the Governor of Punjab, dated 15th November

Punjab records over 1,700 farm fires, 'very poor' AQI in parts of Haryana

Punjab on Tuesday reported 1,776 stubble-burning incidents, taking the total number of farm fires to 28,117 while air quality indices in Haryana and the border state were in 'poor' and 'very poor' categories. The fresh figure indicated that the crop residue burning cases in the state have started rising again. The state had reported 639 such cases on November 9, six on November 10, 104 on November 11, 987 on November 12 and 1,624 on November 13. Paddy straw burning in Punjab and Haryana is considered one of the reasons behind the alarming spike in air pollution levels in Delhi in October and November. Of the total farm fires reported on Tuesday, Bathinda saw maximum such cases at 258, followed by 253 in Barnala, 188 in Sangrur, 181 in Moga, 176 in Ferozepur and 149 each in Fazilka and Faridkot, according to Ludhiana-based Punjab Remote Sensing Centre data. On the same day in 2021 and 2022, the state had seen 2,541 and four fires respectively. Out of a total 28,117 farm fires reco

Govt to send flying squads to monitor farm fires in Haryana, Punjab: Report

The Centre will dispatch flying squads to Punjab and Haryana to monitor stubble burning incidents and submit daily reports, government sources said on Thursday. This decision was made at a meeting chaired by the cabinet secretary on Wednesday. The meeting was attended by chief secretaries and other senior officials from Punjab, Haryana, Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan, and Delhi, as well as the Commission on Air Quality Management (CAQM) and secretaries from the ministries of environment, agriculture, housing and urban affairs, and power. During the meeting, the Cabinet Secretary directed the Punjab administration to take effective actions to prevent further stubble burning in the remaining days of this harvest season, the sources said. District magistrates, senior superintendents of police, and station house officers have been instructed to ensure there is no further stubble burning. The CAQM has been tasked with deploying flying squads to Punjab and Haryana and submitting daily reports

Punjab farm fires drop to 639 after crackdown against stubble burning

Punjab Thursday saw a sharp drop in the number of stubble burning incidents as it recorded 639 farm fires while police and civil administration launched a crackdown against erring farmers to prevent crop residue burning. On Tuesday, the Supreme Court had issued directions to ensure stopping of crop residue burning "forthwith", amid a spike in pollution levels in Delhi-NCR. The SC bench had also made the local station house officer (SHO) concerned, under the overall supervision of the chief secretary, responsible for stopping crop residue burning. Paddy straw burning in Punjab and Haryana is considered one of the reasons behind the alarming spike in air pollution levels in the national capital in October and November. Punjab Thursday reported 639 stubble burning incidents. The state had seen the number of farm fires 3,230, 2,060, 1,515 and 2,003 on November 5, 6, 7 and 8 respectively. Following the SC directions, the Punjab Police chief on Wednesday had asked police officers to wor

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ED arrests Punjab AAP MLA in bank fraud-linked money laundering case

Punjab AAP MLA Jaswant Singh Gajjan Majra was on Monday arrested by the Enforcement Directorate in connection with a money laundering investigation linked to a bank fraud case, official sources said. The legislator was taken into custody under provisions of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) after he was detained by agency officials from a public meeting he was holding in Malerkotla, they said. The sources alleged that Gajjan Majra, a legislator from the Amargarh assembly constituency, had skipped multiple summons issued to him in the past and hence, was detained by the officials and then arrested after questioning. The Aam Aadmi Party's Punjab spokesperson Malvinder Singh Kang charged that the way Gajjan Majra was picked up from a public meeting by the ED shows the BJP's politics of defaming the party. He said the MLA has been facing a case since before he joined AAP. The central agency raided the MLA and some others in September last year as part of this PMLA ...

Governors vs state governments: Supreme Court calls for introspection

Experts say 'sitting on a Bill'' not an option as Punjab, Kerala move apex court

Punjab approves religious tours scheme, announces festival sop for traders

The Cabinet also gave it's nod to start Mukhyemantri Tirath Yatra scheme and also to double the Ex-Gratia grant of disabled soldiers

Punjab cabinet gives nod to pilgrimage, settlement scheme for traders

The Punjab cabinet Monday gave nod to a pilgrimage scheme for elderly people and a one-time settlement scheme for traders with tax dues up to Rs 1 lakh. The approval came during a meeting of the council of ministers chaired by Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann here. Addressing the media after the cabinet meeting, Finance Minister Harpal Singh Cheema said the cabinet has approved the 'Mukh Mantri Tirth Yatra' scheme whereby elderly people could visit various religious places including Nanded Sahib, Hazur Sahib, Chintpurni, Jawalaji, Naina Devi through buses and trains free of charge. This scheme will be rolled out on November 27, the chief minister said in a post on X. A sum of Rs 40 crore has been earmarked for the 'Mukh Mantri Tirth Yatra' scheme, said FM Cheema. He further said a sub-committee has also been formed for the scheme. Asked about the age of people who could avail this scheme, he said the sub-committee will take a call on it. In another decision, Cheema said the cabinet

At 3,230, Punjab records max farm fires in a day; AQ 'severe' in Haryana

Punjab on Sunday reported 3,230 farm fires, the highest in a day so far this season, while the air quality in large parts of Haryana was recorded in 'very poor' and 'severe' categories. With the 3,230 fresh farm fires, the total number of stubble burning incidents in Punjab so far this season stands at 17,403, according to Punjab Remote Sensing Centre data. Farm fires reported in November constitute 56 per cent of the total stubble burning incidents this season, the data showed. However, the number of stubble burning incidents registered from September 15 to November 5 this year is 41 per cent less than 29,400 recorded during the corresponding period last year. Punjab reported 28,792 farm fires during the same period in 2021. Out of the 3,230 stubble burning incidents reported on Sunday, Sangrur reported the maximum at 551. This was followed by 299 in Ferozepur, 293 in Mansa, 247 in Bathinda, 189 in Barnala, 179 in Moga, 177 in Tarn Taran and 169 in Patiala. The state recorded 5,

SC to hear on Monday Punjab govt's plea against guv's delay in nod to bills

The Supreme Court is scheduled to hear on Monday a plea moved by the Punjab government on the issue of alleged delay in granting assent by Governor Banwarilal Purohit on bills passed by the Assembly. A bench of Chief Justice D Y Chandrachud and Justices J B Pardiwala and Manoj Misra is scheduled to hear the plea, which has also sought directions to the governor to clear all pending bills, which have been passed by the Assembly and are awaiting his assent. The plea has said such "unconstitutional inaction" has brought the entire administration to a "grinding halt". It has said the governor cannot indefinitely sit over the bills as he has restricted powers under Article 200 of the Constitution, which deals with the governor's power to give or withhold assent or reserve a bill for the president's consideration. The Punjab governor is involved in a running feud with the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) government led by Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann. On November 1, Purohit gave his approval to tw

Punjab records 1,030 farm fires in a day, air quality turns 'poor'

Few places in Punjab on Monday reported air quality indices in the 'poor' and 'very poor' categories as the state reported 1,030 farm fires with Sangrur district witnessing the maximum number of such incidents. Monday's farm fires took the total number of crop residue burning incidents in the state to 6,284 in the current paddy harvesting season, data released by the Ludhiana-based Punjab Remote Sensing Centre showed. Of the 1,030 stubble burning incidents reported on Monday, Sangrur recorded a maximum of 198 such cases, followed by 129 in Tarn Taran, 124 in Ferozepur and 80 in Mansa. On the same day in 2021 and 2022, the state had seen 1,373 and 1,761 farm fires respectively. Meanwhile, as paddy harvesting is underway in Punjab, many places in the state on Monday recorded 'moderate' to 'very poor' air quality. According to the Central Pollution Control Board data, Bathinda recorded an air quality index (AQI) of 379, followed by Ludhiana at 241, Amritsar 201, Jalandhar 183 and Pat

2-day assembly session is legal: Punjab assembly Speaker Kultar Singh

Punjab assembly Speaker Kultar Singh Sandhwan on Friday told the House that the two-day session being held was legal. The assertion came after opposition Congress members sought his ruling in the wake of the governor's observations. The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) government has gone ahead with the session despite the governor's secretariat having said that the October 20-21 session -- being projected as an extension of the Budget Session -- is "bound to be illegal" and any business conducted during it is "unlawful". "If the session is being held it is a legal session. As speaker, this Chair deems the session as legal," Sandhwan informed the House after Congress member Partap Singh Bajwa, who is also the leader of the opposition, sought his ruling in the matter. Noisy scenes were witnessed in the assembly after Congress MLAs questioned the speaker on whether the session was legal. Though Sandhwan asserted that the the two-day session was legal, Congress members continued to raise questio

Akali Dal asks Punjab Assembly speaker to train AAP MLAs on SYL canal issue

Akali Dal leader Cheema also took a dig at AAP Rajya Sabha MP, Sandeep Pathak for openly siding with Haryana on the issue

Oppn running away from debate because they looted Punjab: AAP's Cheema

The finance minister also took a jab at the opposition parties on the state's drug issues and said, "It is under the governance of the BJP, Congress and Akali Dal that drugs were spread in Punjab"

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