Page 11 - Punjab Government

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"

LIVE updates: India drops further in Global Hunger Index rankings

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Punjab CM Bhagwant Mann targets Opposition leaders over SYL issue

Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann Wednesday hit back at opposition leaders for accusing his government of failing to safeguard the state's interest on the Sutlej Yamuna Link (SYL) canal issue. Opposition leaders including Punjab BJP chief Sunil Jakhar, Shiromani Akali Dal president Sukhbir Badal, state Congress chief Amrinder Singh Raja Warring and Leader of Opposition in the Punjab Assembly Partap Singh Bajwa have been attacking the government over the vexed issue. Their criticism came following the Supreme Court directive on October 4, asking the Centre to conduct a survey of land in Punjab that was allocated for the construction of the canal's portion in the state and make an estimate of the extent of work carried out there. The Congress, BJP and SAD have held protests over the past few days, slamming the Mann government over the issue. In a post on X, Mann hit back at them asking if these leaders "carry some shame" when they leave home. Former Congress leader Late Balram Jak

Delhi mayor to attend 'Asia Pacific Cities Summit' in Australia from Oct 11

Delhi Mayor Shelly Oberoi will take part in an urban summit in Australia and present the work done by the Arvind Kejriwal government in the national capital, officials said on Sunday. The 'Asia Pacific Cities Summit' is scheduled to take place in Brisbane from October 11-13. While the theme of the summit is 'Shaping Cities for Our Future', there are three sub-themes: technology, data, development, and people's well-being, according to a statement issued by the mayor's office. Oberoi will depart for Brisbane on Monday, it said. She will present the 'model of the Kejriwal governance' to a global audience. This model showcases the work done in Delhi, Punjab, and the Municipal Corporation of Delhi under the leadership of Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal, the statement said. She will talk about education, health, and cleanliness. The summit will facilitate the exchange of ideas and achievements among mayors, policymakers, business leaders, and more. In the 2019 edition of the Summit, ma

Punjab CM Mann dares Opposition parties for a 'live debate on all issues'

He further said, "You can bring a paper with you but I will speak by word of mouth. November 1 'Punjab Day' will be a good day, you will also get time for preparation. I am fully prepared"

Will 'Gherao' CM residence on Oct 10: Sukhbir Badal on SYL Canal issue

"Bhagwant Mann should be ashamed whom the people of Punjab made the CM with such a majority," he added

Not even single drop of additional water to be shared with any state: Mann

Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann on Thursday said not even a single drop of additional water will be shared with any other state at any cost. He further informed that the state cabinet has approved the name of Gurminder Singh for the advocate general's (AG) post. Mann said this after chairing an emergency meeting of the cabinet at his residence here. Though no official agenda of the meeting was released, the council of ministers discussed the Sutlej-Yamuna-Link (SYL) canal issue. Mann said the name of Gurminder Singh was approved for the AG's post at the cabinet meeting. "Also, the SYL issue was discussed at the meeting ... not even a single drop of additional water will be shared with any other state at any cost ... convening the monsoon session (of the state Assembly) soon was also discussed ... approval to several pro-people decisions was given," the chief minister wrote on X. The meeting came a day after the Supreme Court asked the Centre to survey the portion of land in P

Punjab CM Mann calls emergency meeting of cabinet, no agenda released

Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann called an emergency meeting of his cabinet at his residence here on Thursday, official sources said. Though no official agenda of the meeting has been released, the council of ministers is likely to discuss the Sutlej Yamuna Link (SYL) canal issue, they said. The meeting came a day after the Supreme Court asked the BJP-led Centre to survey the portion of land in Punjab that was allocated for the construction of a part of the canal in the state. All political parties in Punjab asserted on Wednesday that the state does not have a single drop of additional water to share with any other state. However, political parties in Haryana have welcomed the apex court's directions, saying that the people of the state have been waiting to get the SYL water for years. A discussion on the appointment of the new advocate general is also expected to take place at the emergency meeting of the Punjab cabinet. During the hearing in the SYL matter on Wednesday, the

Over 1,300 security guards appointed for govt schools: Harjot Singh Bains

The Punjab government has appointed 1,378 security guards for all senior secondary government schools, Education Minister Harjot Singh Bains said on Wednesday. Chairing a programme at a local government school, Bains said these security guards would take care of the safety of students and also ensure they do not leave the school premises during study time. All senior secondary schools having student strength above 500 will have security guards, he said. The minister said these security guards will be deployed at the entry and exit gate of the schools and will ensure that no student leaves premises during school time without the permission of the principal, besides maintaining records of visitors, he said. The minister said the state government has embarked on a special drive to transform the education sector with state-of-the art infrastructure in government schools. He said the government has set aside Rs 250 crore to build boundary walls for all government schools. Likewise, ne

Punjab has received over Rs 50,000 crore investments in 18 months: CM Mann

Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Singh Mann Sunday said the state has received investments of more than Rs 50,000 crore in the past one-and-a-half years because of the concerted efforts of his government. Mann also said Punjab has complete communal harmony coupled with congenial atmosphere for industrial growth, which is giving impetus to its overall development and prosperity. The chief minister was addressing a gathering after laying the foundation stone of a Rs 138-crore cattle feed plant here which is to be set up by a Netherlands-based company, said an official statement. Farmers in Punjab and Haryana cultivating traditional crops are looking for ways to diversify their crops, or shift to horticulture, dairy, poultry, fishery, piggery and others for better earnings, said Mann. He said De Heus, an animal feed company, will set up the plant, adding that this is the first major investment by a Dutch company in Punjab. The Netherlands is known to be the second largest exporter of .

Punjab farmers go on 3-day protest over flood compensation, MSP

Police official Balvir S Ghuman said that massive security has been deployed to deal with the situation

Sidhu slams Mann on spending big on sorties, seeks details on aircraft use

Congress leader Navjot Singh Sidhu on Wednesday sought details of expenditure on the use of a helicopter and a fixed-wing aircraft by the Bhagwant Mann government, accusing it of spending public money on luxury sorties for AAP campaigns in other states. Sidhu wrote to the secretary of the Punjab Civil Aviation Department, seeking the information under the Right to Information Act. The Congress leader said the Aam Aadmi Party government, in the last one and a half years, used the aircraft for election campaigning in Gujarat, Himachal Pradesh and other states. "It has come to notice that the Punjab government on various occasions has used the official state chopper and also hired fixed-wing aircraft for campaigns and tours regarding party affairs, I need information on various accounts under RTI," he wrote. As the state government has to pay for the financial burden caused by hiring of fixed-wing aircraft, I request you to kindly inform the following things, the former minister ...

Punjab Vigilance Bureau issues lookout circular against Manpreet Badal

A lookout circular (LOC) has been issued against former Punjab finance minister Manpreet Singh Badal, who has been booked in connection with alleged irregularities in the purchase of a property in Bathinda, a top official of the Punjab Vigilance Bureau said on Tuesday. The LOC was issued on Monday after teams of the Punjab Vigilance Bureau conducted raids at the residence of Badal, who joined the BJP after quitting the Congress in January, in Muktsar to nab him. The Punjab Vigilance Bureau has registered a case against Badal and five others in connection with alleged irregularities in the purchase of a property in Bathinda. Besides Badal, former Bathinda Development Authority (BDA) chief administrator Bikramjit Shergill, Rajiv Kumar, Amandeep Singh, Vikas Arora and Pankaj have been booked in the matter. Rajiv Kumar, Amandeep Singh and Vikas Arora have already been arrested. The vigilance bureau had launched an investigation into the matter based on former MLA Sarup Chand Singla's

Punjab Police raids 264 suspected hideouts of gangsters' associates

Punjab Police on Monday conducted raids at suspected hideouts of associates of gangsters and anti-national elements, officials said

Punjab vigilance bureau books Manpreet Badal, 5 others in land buying case

The Punjab Vigilance Bureau has registered a case against former state finance minister Manpreet Singh Badal and five others in connection with alleged irregularities in the purchase of a property in Bathinda, a top official said on Monday. Apart from Badal, who is now a BJP leader, and former Bathinda municipal corporation commissioner Bikramjit Shergill, the other four booked in the case on Sunday night have been identified as Rajiv Kumar, Amandeep Singh, Vikas Arora and Pankaj, the official said. Rajiv Kumar and Amandeep Singh have been arrested, the officer added. The bureau had launched an investigation into the matter based on former MLA Sarup Chand Singla's 2021 complaint alleging irregularities in the purchase of the property at a prime location in Bathinda. BJP leader Singla, who was earlier with the Shiromani Akali Dal, had alleged that Badal, as a minister in the previous Congress dispensation, had abused his position to convert commercial plots into a residential plot f

Set up helpline for Indian students, NRIs in Canada: Punjab BJP chief

Punjab BJP chief Sunil Jakhar on Saturday urged External Affairs minister S Jaishankar for setting up a helpline for Indian students and NRIs in Canada amid a diplomatic row between the two countries. In his letter to the Union Minister, Jakhar while highlighting the concerns of citizens residing in Canada, urged him to release a detailed statement listing out the measures being taken by the Centre for the safety of the country's citizens in Canada until the eventual resolution of this issue. "This, I am sure, would go a long way in assuaging the sense of deep anxiety, panic and indecision prevailing amongst our people living in Canada and especially in students waiting to go abroad for studies. An assurance from your office would certainly lay to rest the doubts and insecurity of our students who are rightfully concerned about their study plans," Jakhar wrote in the letter. He suggested issuing a WhatsApp contact number for Indian students planning to go abroad to get in touch wit