Page 12 - Punjab

Punjab Police launches massive anti-drugs op across state, Cong takes dig

Punjab Police has launched a statewide operation against drugs, conducting raids at 750 locations as the cabinet sub-committee on the drug menace held its first meeting on Saturday, officials said. Around 12,000 police personnel were involved in the operation being carried out as part of an anti-drug campaign. Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann on Friday set a deadline of three months to make the state drug-free. As part of the state government's renewed push against the drug problem, action is being taken against drug peddlers and in some places, their properties were also demolished. Cabinet Minister Aman Arora on Saturday appealed to all political parties that instead of playing politics, they should extend their support to the state government's anti-drug campaign to save Punjab. The meeting of the cabinet sub-committee was also attended by Chief Secretary KAP Sinha and Director General of Police Gaurav Yadav. Addressing the media after the meeting, Finance Minister Harpal Si

Farmers' protest: SC to hear petitions related to the case after March 19

The Supreme Court on Friday deferred the hearing over the farmers' protest observing two rounds of talks took place between the Centre and the agitating farmers, who have raised several demands, including the legal guarantee for minimum support price for crops. A bench of Justices Surya Kant and N Kotiswar Singh said a third round of talks was scheduled on March 19. The bench therefore posted the matter, including petitions seeking contempt action against Punjab government officials over providing medical aid to farmer leader Jagjit Singh Dallewal, post March 19. Punjab advocate general Gurminder Singh said two ministers of the state had participated in the meeting. The bench appreciated the work of the apex court-appointed high-powered committee for providing a platform to the agitating farmers to raise grievances and took on record its interim report. The bench, which has kept the report with itself for time being, fixed an honorarium for chairman of the committee Justice (retd)

'Punjab is priority:' AAP minister who held 'defunct' dept for 20 months

Punjab minister Kuldeep Singh Dhaliwal faced criticism after a government notification revealed that the department he held for 20 months did not exist

From farm to follicles: How toxic wheat led to mass baldness in Maharashtra

Over 300 villagers in Maharashtra's Buldhana suffer sudden hair loss, with tests revealing high selenium levels in Punjab-sourced ration wheat as the likely cause

Ghost department in Punjab? Minister held fake portfolio for 20 months

AAP minister Kuldeep Singh Dhaliwal managed a non-existent department for 20 months, a Punjab govt notification reveals, sparking sharp criticism from the Opposition

BJP slams AAP after minister ran non-existent dept for 20 months in Punjab

According to a Punjab government Gazette notification, Dhaliwal who oversees NRI Affairs dept was allocated the charge of the Department of Administrative Reforms, which they now says does not exist

Bajaj Electricals gets Rs 14.08 cr demand from GST authority in Punjab

Bajaj Electricals Ltd on Friday said it has received a demand of Rs 14.08 crore from GST authority in Punjab for alleged mismatch in input tax credit (ITC) claimed by it. In a regulatory filing, Bajaj Electricals Ltd said it has received an assessment order dated February 20, 2025, from the Office of the Assistant Commissioner, Mohali, Punjab alleging liability on reverse charge mechanism, a mismatch in the input tax credit (ITC) claimed by it during FY 2020-21. "Consequently, a total demand of Rs 14.08 crore has been imposed on the company, which includes an alleged tax demand of Rs 7.45 crore, interest of Rs. 5.89 crore, and a general penalty of Rs 75 lakh," it said. The company is currently exploring various legal options and necessary steps, including filing an appeal before the relevant appellate authority, the filing said, adding there is no impact on financial operations or any other activities due to this.

Punjab govt launches career counselling initiative for class 12 students

The Punjab government has come out with an initiative to reach out to class 12 students to assist them in their academic and professional endeavours. The initiative is aimed at supporting the aspirations of students passing out from government schools in Punjab, School Education Minister Harjot Singh Bains said, adding the government would reach out to class 12 students with questions about their future plans to understand and nurture their dreams. Bains said the department has circulated a 'Google Form' to all the students appearing for class 12 board examinations. According to an official statement, the form, accompanied by a message from Chief Minister Bhagwant Singh Mann, invites students to share their immediate plans and long-term goals -- ?be it higher education, entrepreneurship, or competitive exams. The data collected will enable the state government to develop suitable support mechanisms to assist students in their academic and professional endeavours, Bains said. "This

Punjab Police crackdown on corruption, malpractices: 52 officials dismissed

The dismissals included one inspector, five assistant sub-inspectors (ASIs), four head constables (HCs), and 42 constables

Punjab CEO asks political parties to appoint booth level agents by Feb 28

Punjab's Chief Electoral Officer Sibin C on Thursday said that he has written a letter to all recognised political parties of the state to appoint their booth level agents by February 28. The chief electoral officer (CEO) said the booth level agents appointed by all recognised political parties will work closely with the booth level officers of the respective polling stations and help eligible citizens to file applications for inclusion, removal, modification and transfer in the electoral roll. Every recognised political party should send a list of 23 district representatives (or more), who are authorised to appoint booth level agents in respective districts, to the office of the chief electoral officer by February 28, the CEO said in a statement here. He urged all recognised political parties to take necessary action to the instructions issued by the Election Commission of India with an aim to maximise transparency in the process of preparation and revision of electoral roll and al

Punjab has no water to spare for any state, Mann tells Ravi-Beas tribunal

Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann on Wednesday said the state does not have a single drop of water to share with any other state. Mann stated this before the Ravi Beas Water Tribunal set up for adjudicating river water disputes between Punjab, Haryana and Rajasthan. At a meeting with the tribunal led by its chairman Justice Vineet Saran, members Justice P Naveen Rao and Justice Suman Shyam, and registrar Rita Chopra, the chief minister reiterated that the state has no spare water to share with any other state and there is no question of sharing even a single drop of water with anyone. Punjab has no surplus water to share with any other state and reassessment of availability of water is required as per international norms, Mann said, according to an official statement. He also urged the tribunal members, who are in Punjab for a site visit of the Ravi water system, to deliver justice to the people of the state. Mann pointed out that Punjab's 76.5 per cent blocks (117 out of 153) a

PSTET result 2025 announced at official website; check link to download

The Punjab State Council of Educational Research and Training (PSCERT) has announced the Punjab State Teachers Eligibility Test (PSTET) 2025 results today, Feb 19, 2025 at https://pstet.pseb.ac.in

Mann slams Oppn for 'spreading rumours' that Kejriwal wants to be Punjab CM

Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann on Tuesday slammed the opposition parties for "spreading rumours" that AAP supremo Arvind Kejriwal wanted to become the chief minister of the border state following the party's rout in the Delhi Assembly polls. "Is it possible?" Mann questioned when he was asked that the opposition party leaders claimed that Kejriwal would be the next chief minister of Punjab. "They (the opposition) say whatever comes to their mind. They earlier had said so," said Mann while speaking to reporters in Sardulgarh. They only spread rumours, alleged Mann as he slammed the rival party leaders. Following the debacle in the Delhi assembly elections, Kejriwal had met Mann, state ministers, and party MLAs in Delhi on February 11. Several opposition party leaders had targeted Kejriwal for calling the meeting of Punjab MLAs.

Row over Sikh immigrants deported without turbans, SGPC condemns US

SGPC member Gurcharan Singh Grewal condemned the incident, labelling the deportation of Sikhs without turbans as a serious affront to their religious identity

'Why only Amritsar?' Mann asks Centre over US deportation flight decision

Punjab CM Bhagwant Mann questioned the Centre's decision to select Amritsar as the landing site, suggesting it was politically motivated

Planes with deportees landing in Amritsar: Bid to defame Punjab, asks CM

I strictly oppose this and demand to the MEA and the MHA that the plane is still onboard, change the route and make it land in Delhi, Hindon or Ahmedabad, Bhagwant Mann said

Congress undertakes extensive reshuffle across key state-level roles

In a major organisational revamp, the Congress on Friday appointed former Chhattisgarh chief minister Bhupesh Baghel as general secretary in-charge of Punjab and Rajya Sabha MP Syed Naseer Hussain as general secretary for Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh. Overall, the party replaced six general secretaries and in-charges, including heavyweights Sipak Babaria and Mohan Prakash and appointed two new general secretaries and nine in-charges. Senior party leader and Rajya Sabha MP Rajani Patil was made the in-charge of party affairs in Himachal Pradesh and Chandigarh, and Karnataka Congress veteran was appointed the in-charge of Haryana, while former Rajasthan minister Harish Chaudhary was appointed the in-charge for Madhya Pradesh. Former Congress president Rahul Gandhi's confidante Krishna Alla Varu, K Raju and Meenakshi Natarajan have been appointed AICC in-charges for election-bound Bihar, Jharkhand and Telangana respectively. Former Uttar Pradesh Congress chief Ajay Kumar Lallu will ..

Punjab approves disbursal of Rs 14,000 cr arrears for employees, pensioners

The Punjab Cabinet on Thursday accorded consent to disburse pending arrears of government employees and pensioners worth Rs 14,000 crore. A decision to this effect was taken in the meeting of the Council of Ministers held here under the chairmanship of Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann, said an official release. A spokesperson of the Chief Minister's Office said the Cabinet gave the approval to release arrears of revised pay and pensions and leave encashment from the period of January 1, 2016, to June 30, 202,2 and that dearness allowance from July 1, 2021, to March 31, 2024, for pensioners and employees. This sum worth Rs 14,000 crore will be released in stages and will give much-needed relief to the employees and pensioners. There are three lakh government employees and three lakh pensioners who will directly benefit from this move, said the release. To provide houses to the economically weaker section, the Cabinet gave a nod to a policy for 'Optimum utilisation of land reserved for

Groundwater in Punjab, Haryana contaminated with uranium, arsenic: Report

The Central Ground Water Board report attributes the rising uranium levels to leaching from agricultural land. Intensive use of fertilisers has exacerbated the problem

Kejriwal finding ways to become Punjab CM, says BJP's Manjinder Sirsa

Sirsa was replying to the dissent rumours of AAP Punjab MLAs and alleged that Kejriwal's real aim is to target the leadership of Punjab's Chief Minister