News Analysis India

Tag: Punjab government

  • Social security pension scheme of Punjab government finds mention in Class V paper, sparks row

    By PTI

    CHANDIGARH: An advertisement and questions related to the social security pension scheme of the Punjab government found mention in an examination paper of Class 5 students, drawing sharp reactions from a teachers’ body and the opposition SAD and AAP.

    The government advertisement on raising social security pension was inserted in the Punjabi subject paper of Class 5 students and then questions relevant to it were asked, said a teacher on Monday. The exam for Class 5, to prepare students for the National Achievement Survey (NAS), began on Monday.

    The NAS, aimed to assess learning achievement, is to be conducted in November. One of the questions asked to the students was “What is this advertisement about.” Another question was “When the distribution of the hiked social security pension began.”

    The state government had earlier announced raising the social security pension from Rs 750 per month to Rs 1,500 per month.

    Democratic Teachers’ Front (Punjab) president Vikram Dev Singh condemned the insertion of an advertisement in the question paper and accused the government of trying to publicise its schemes through student examinations.

    “It is totally wrong. We condemn it,” he said. Shiromani Akali Dal’s senior leader and former education minister Daljit Singh Cheema dubbed the insertion of an advertisement pertaining to a welfare scheme in a question paper as “unethical practice”.

    “Let the education remain education. Tomorrow you will start giving government advertisements and putting photos of ministers in school text books and then there is no end to it,” Cheema said slamming the Congress-led government.

    The AAP, the main opposition party in Punjab, also lambasted the government over the issue. “This is height of shameless publicity. @capt_amarinder what are you trying to do? You are not even sparing children of the state from your false propaganda. These cheap tricks will not get you and your party anywhere,” party leader Harpal Singh Cheema said in a tweet.

  • Punjab government waives loans worth Rs 41.48 crore of over 10,000 SC youths

    By PTI

    CHANDIGARH: The Punjab government has waived loans worth Rs 41.48 crore of 10,151 Scheduled Caste youths after they found it difficult to repay the money due to various reasons, including circumstances arising out of the COVID-19 pandemic, state minister Sadhu Singh Dharmsot said on Sunday.

    “This pro-people move by the state government has given a big relief to the SC youth,” a state government statement quoted Dharmsot as saying.

    The minister for social justice, empowerment and minorities said the Punjab government has decided to waive up to Rs 50,000 for all kinds of loans taken by SC youths for self-employment from the Scheduled Castes Development and Finance Corporation.

    Dharmsot said these loans are given by the corporation to SCs and persons with disabilities at low interest rates. He said the SC youths of the state were finding it difficult to repay the loans taken for self-employment “due to failure of trade, death of beneficiary, no earner at home and circumstances arising out of COVID-19”.

    The minister said it was decided to waive the loans of the youth to get them out of this problem.

  • Punjab government to cover 8.5 lakh farming families under health insurance scheme

    By PTI

    CHANDIGARH: The Punjab government has decided to bring nearly 8.5 lakh farmers and their families under the ambit of the health insurance cover for the year 2021-22.

    All the farmers having ‘J’ forms and ‘sugarcane weighment slips’ would be eligible for this health scheme.

    ‘J’ forms are needed for availing finance, subsidy claims and tax waivers.

    To facilitate the farmers to apply for this scheme in the easiest way, the Punjab Mandi Board has launched a dedicated portal for first time from this year. Now, the farmers need not to visit market committee office to apply manually as was the case earlier.

    The interested farmers can simply apply on Mandi Board’s portal, www.emandikaran-pb.in, uploading related documents, said an official statement on Sunday quoting Punjab Mandi Board Chairman Lal Singh.

    Singh added that the Board would pay the entire premium for the insurance cover of all the farmers, who will get cashless treatment facility up to Rs 5 lakh per annum.

    He further said all these farmers and their families will now be covered with effect from August 20, 2021.

    He also informed that the number of farmers covered under the health insurance scheme during the last year of the scheme stood at around 5.01 lakh based on ‘J’ forms and ‘sugarcane weighment slips’.

    Now, the number of farmers has reached nearly 8.5 lakh, with 7.91 lakh farmers having ‘J’ forms registered with the Mandi Board and 55,000 cane growers, he added.

    Singh also said these 5.01 lakh farmers, who have already been registered under the Ayushman Bharat Sarbat Sehat Bima Yojana last year, need not re-apply on portal.

    They will be extended the benefit for the next year based on earlier documents, but remaining nearly 3.5 lakh farmers registered as ‘J’ form holders and ‘sugarcane weighment slips’ after October 1, 2020, would have to apply on portal for availing health Insurance.

    The Market Committees have also been directed to facilitate every farmer, in case he needs any help to avail this cashless treatment facility in a seamless manner, he said.

    Meanwhile, Mandi Board Secretary Ravi Bhagat said the eligible farmers can apply online on portal to avail the health facilities from empaneled hospitals from August 20 this year.

    He further said that apart from the family head, husband/wife, father/mother, unmarried children, divorced daughter and her minor children, widowed daughter-in-law and her minor children would also be considered eligible to derive benefit under the scheme.

    These farmers can approach any of the 642 empanelled private hospitals and 208 government hospitals for treatment facility of up to Rs 5 lakh for 1,579 diseases.

    Under the health insurance scheme, medical conditions including major surgical treatments such as heart surgery, cancer treatment, joint replacement and accident cases, among others, are covered.

  • Punjab govt in a spot after panel suggests FCI procurement of grains 

    Express News Service
    CHANDIGARH:  With only months left for the Punjab Assembly elections, the state government has found itself in a tough spot. An expert panel constituted by the state government to suggest medium and long-term economic strategies for Punjab in the wake of Covid-19 has recommended that the state stop foodgrain procurement and leave the task entirely to the Food Corporation of India (FCI).  It has also recommended that the government rationalise power subsidies and shut down two thermal power plants.  

    However, withdrawing from food grain procurement or rationalising power subsidy would upset farmers whom the government is trying to woo. The panel led by Montek Singh Ahluwalia called power subsidy an “unsustainable fiscal practice, which will harm future generations and cannot continue indefinitely.”Punjab’s power subsidy bill including free electricity to farmers is pegged at more than Rs 10,000 crore.

    Notably, in its first report, the panel had described free power to farmers as “highly regressive” and had said it has limited the “government’s ability to incur other expenditures essential for Punjab’s development.” The panel also called on the government to shut down two thermal power plants that have completed their economic life span and are now producing coal at a much higher cost. 

    “We would reiterate our recommendation in the first report that Punjab State Power Corporation Limited should shut down two thermal plants that produce power at a much higher cost than alternatives available to PSPCL, once these plants have completed their economic life span. Earlier, PSPCL had shut down Bathinda thermal Power plant as well. We however recommend that for these two plants, PSPCL should carry out advance planning to recover the best price for the assets and to ensure a smooth transition to other power sources,’’ the report said.

    The panel, which includes leading economists, was set up last year by the state government to frame a medium and long-term post-Covid economic strategy for Punjab. The panel said that the state government could reduce losses on foodgrain procurement operations. “Given the large presence of FCI in the procurement process, the State government should gradually withdraw,” the panel said.  Among other recommendations, the panel suggested an increase in budget allocation for the healthcare sector by 20% and setting up of Punjab Enterprise Promotion Panel.

  • Punjab’s government doctors to observe strike from July 12 to 14 over non-practicing allowance

    By PTI
    CHANDIGARH: Government doctors in Punjab on Saturday decided to abstain from work for three days from July 12 to July 14 in protest against silence of the state government over their issue of non-practicing allowance.

    They also threatened to go on indefinite strike from July 19 if their issues were not resolved by the state government.

    Doctors working in government hospitals have been protesting against the recommendation of Punjab’s Sixth Pay Commission de-linking non-practicing allowance from the basic pay.

    They are also agitating against the pay commission’s recommendation of reduction in the allowance from 25 per cent to 20 per cent.

    The decision to boycott health and veterinary services from July 12 to 14 was taken by the the Joint Government Doctors Coordination Committee (JGDCC) which has members from the Punjab Civil Medical Services Association (PCMSA) and is supported by the Punjab State Veterinary Officers Association, Rural Medical Officers Association, Punjab Dental Medical Officers Association and Punjab Ayurveda Officers Association.

    PCMSA president Dr Gagandeep Singh on Saturday told PTI that the state government’s silence over their demands forced them to announce a strike again.

    The strike will hamper health services including outpatient department (OPD).

    Besides, veterinary services will also remain shut.

    However, emergency services, post-mortem and COVID-related services will continue.

    The government doctors had already held strikes three times over the allowance issue.

    The JGDCC also decided that all the doctors in the state would boycott the government OPDs from July 15 till 17 and parallel OPD services would be run during this period in the lawns of hospitals so that the persons who are in need would not be deprived of availing health and veterinary services.

    They further announced that during the boycott of health services, all the doctors of the state would also donate blood while area-wise blood donation camps would be organised.

    The JGDCC said the state health minister had recently assured the Joint Committee to resolve the issue within a week but no action has been taken by the government in this regard even after a week.

    Convener of JGDCC Dr Inderveer Gill said the agitation over the allowance is to save the public healthcare system.

    “We will oppose any move of the government that is directed to destroy it. Doctors of the state did not want to close down the health and veterinary services but the government was pursuing a policy of evasion instead of resolving the issue of non-practicing allowance,” he said.

    The JGDCC said if the government did not resolve the issue over the allowance by July 18, all the health and veterinary doctors across the state would go on indefinite strike from July 19.

  • Sons of Punjab Congress MLAs get govt jobs after tweak in rules

    Express News Service
    CHANDIGARH:  The Capt Amarinder Singh-led Congress government in Punjab has tweaked rules to appoint sons of two Congress MLAs as Inspector in Punjab Police and Naib Tehsildar in the Revenue Department. The state cabinet on Friday gave the go-ahead for the appointments as special cases. The MLAs whose sons have benefited are Fateh Jung Singh Bajwa and Rakesh Pandey.

    In May 2017, the government had appointed Beant Singh’s grandson and MP Ravneet Bittu’s brother Guriqbal Singh as DSP.  In his case the government had taken the case to the Cabinet meeting to grant special permission by relaxing maximum age requirement. Arjun Pratap Singh Bajwa will get his appointment letter as Inspector (Group B) in Punjab Police. He is the grandson of former Punjab minister and senior Congress leader Satnam Singh Bajwa, who was killed by terrorists in 1987. Arjun Pratap’s appointment came through a one-time waiver in the relevant rules without making it a precedent.

    Arjun Pratap is the son of first-time Congress MLA Fateh Jung Singh Bajwa and the nephew of Rajya Sabha MP Partap Singh Bajwa who is a known critic of CM Amarinder Singh. The cabinet also gave the nod to the appointment of Bhisham Pandey, the grandson of Joginder Pal Pandey who too was gunned down by terrorists in 1987. Bhisham will be Naib Tehsildar (Group-B) in the Revenue Department.

    His appointment is also treated as a special case. Bhisham is the son of six-time Congress MLA Rakesh Pandey from Ludhiana (North). The CM said children and grandchildren of such people would continue to be considered by his government for compensatory appointment on a case-to-case basis. 

  • Punjab govt shouldn’t have sold COVID vaccines to private hospitals: P Chidambaram

    By ANI
    NEW DELHI: Former Union Minister and senior Congress leader P Chidambaram on Monday said Punjab Government should not have sold COVID vaccines to private hospitals.

    Responding to a question on the alleged selling of COVID vaccines by Punjab Government to private hospitals, the Congress leader said, “I agree that Punjab government should not have given vaccines to private hospitals. But what is the proportion of vaccines they gave to private hospitals in few days when that policy was in force? Maybe 1-2 per cent. They have corrected it now.”

    “The underlying message is that the government has learned from its mistakes. They made two cardinal mistakes and made effort to correct those mistakes. But as usual bluff and bluster, Prime Minister blames the opposition for the mistakes he committed,” said Chidambaram.

    This comes amid allegations by the opposition about COVID-19 vaccines being sold to private hospitals at higher prices by the Punjab government for profit.

    His remarks came after PM Modi in his televised address on Monday announced that the Centre will provide free COVID-19 vaccine to all Indian citizens above 18 years of age from June 21 and it will handle the 25 per cent vaccination that was with states till now under the liberalised plan announced earlier.

    The Prime Minister said the Centre will procure 75 per cent of the total production of the vaccine doses and provide them free to the states. No state government would be spending anything on vaccines. 

  • Covid-vaccines thrown away in Rajasthan, Punjab profiteering: Union Minister Hardeep Singh Puri hits out at Congress

    By ANI
    NEW DELHI: Union Minister Hardeep Singh Puri on Saturday hit out at the Congress government in Punjab, which has come under fire by Opposition on the charge of profiteering by diverting centre-allocated Covid-19 vaccines to private hospitals in the state.

    Addressing a press conference here, the union minister referred to questions earlier raised by Congress leader Rahul Gandhi that targeted the central government’s on Covid-19 vaccines. Puri said the country’s vaccines were being in the garbage in Rajasthan and being used for profiteering in Punjab.

    “The Congress party has been fueling vaccine hesitancy. Rahul and Sonia (Gandhi) ji keep saying that we should not export vaccines. Rahul Gandhi asks – where are our children’s vaccines? In Rajasthan they are in the garbage, and in Punjab they are being used for profiteering,” Puri said.

    Over the last few days, several vials of COVID-19 vaccines were reported being thrown out into the garbage in Rajasthan.

    “In Punjab, Covid-19 doses which should be provided free of cost to people were sold at higher prices to private hospitals. A dose of Covishield that was purchased at Rs 309 was been sold at 1,560,” Puri said.

    He added that said that as per the Punjab government’s officer and in-charge of COVID-19 vaccination, 4.29 lakh doses of Covishield were procured at Rs 13.25 crore, an average amount Rs 309 per dose.

    As many as 1,14,190 Covaxin doses have been procured at Rs 4.70 crore, averaging to Rs 412, he added, saying that the state was making a profit out of their own procurement.

    “The Punjab government’s officer and incharge of COVID vaccination has disclosed on May 29 some data and pointed out that 4.29 lakh doses of Covishield procured at Rs 13.25 crore, its average amount Rs 309 crore. 1,14,190 Covaxine doses procured at Rs 4.70 crore its average amount is Rs 412,” Puri said.

    “The Centre has distributed 50 per cent of vaccines to states and Union Territories to administer vaccines to people free of cost. States are profiteering on their own procurement. If these figures are true then the real amount of profit is not just Rs 2.40 crore,” Puri added.

    This comes a few days after opposition Shiromani Akali Dal leader Sukhbir Singh Badal demanded a High Court-monitored probe into the alleged selling of Covid vaccine doses by the Punjab government to private hospitals for profit.

    Meanwhile, the Punjab government on Friday withdrew its earlier order of providing “one-time” limited vaccine doses to the 18-44 age group population through private hospitals after allegations by opposition of “diverting” Covaxin doses at “hefty margins”.

    A brief letter– signed by Vikas Garg, the state-in-charge for vaccination– said the order “has not been taken in the right spirit and is hereby withdrawn”.

    Further, it has been decided that the private hospitals should return forthwith all the vaccine doses available with them. The doses which they have utilised as of date should also be returned, once they get supplies from the manufacturers,” the order added. 

  • Profiteering during emergency indecent: Mayawati on Punjab government’s alleged sale of vaccines

    By PTI
    LUCKNOW: Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) chief Mayawati on Saturday hit out at the Congress-led Punjab government for allegedly selling COVID-19 vaccine doses procured under the state quota to private hospitals at a higher rate, saying profiteering during an emergency is indecent and inhuman.

    Her remarks came a day after the Punjab government asked private hospitals to return all vaccine stock meant for the 18-44 age group and ordered a probe into the allegations. The recalled vaccine doses will be administered free to this age group by the government, state Health Minister Balbir Singh Sidhu said.

    2. पंजाब सरकार की इस गलत हरकत का मीडिया द्वारा पर्दाफाश करने के बाद स्पष्ट है कि कोरोना वैक्सीन के सम्बंध में कांग्रेस नेतृत्व का अभी तक का जो भी स्टैण्ड व बयानबाजी आदि रही है उसमें गंभीरता कम व नाटकबाजी ज्यादा लगती है। केन्द्र सरकार इसका उचित संज्ञान ले, बीएसपी की यह माँग। 2/2
    — Mayawati (@Mayawati) June 5, 2021

    In a tweet in Hindi, Mayawati said, “The Congress government of Punjab is buying COVID-19 vaccines at Rs 400 (each) from the Centre and selling them to private hospitals at Rs 1,060 instead of passing on the benefits to the people through government hospitals. Profiteering during an emergency is indecent, inhuman, condemnable and extremely saddening.”

    This makes it clear that the Congress’ stand and statements on vaccines so far lacked seriousness. The BSP demands that the Centre take cognisance of this, she said.

    Referring to media reports, Union minister and senior BJP leader Prakash Javadekar had on Friday alleged the Punjab government got over 1.40 lakh doses of Covaxin at Rs 400 each and gave some of them to 20 private hospitals at Rs 1,000 each.

    This is “dangerous” news, he had said. The Centre has also written to the Punjab government seeking a clarification over reports that it sold Covaxin to private hospitals and earned a profit.

  • Punjab Congress in-fighting: Navjot Singh Sidhu may get plum post in cabinet, say sources

    Express News Service
    NEW DELHI/CHANDIGARH: Punjab Chief Minister Captain Amarinder Singh on Friday met the three-member panel set up by the Congress high command to find a solution to the infighting in the party’s state unit. 

    Sources said that as part of reconciliation efforts, Congress MLA and former Punjab minister Navjot Singh Sidhu could be brought back to the state cabinet. Sources said that during the three-hour meeting Amarinder gave a “report card” on the performance of his cabinet colleagues. 

    There are rumours that a few of them may be dropped and replaced by new faces.

    Amarinder reportedly did not oppose Sidhu’s return to the cabinet and chances are that he would be given an important portfolio. Discussions were also held on appointing a Dalit as the new deputy chief minister, keeping in mind the state’s large Dalit population.  

    There are also speculations that Sunil Jhakar may be replaced as the state Congress president.  The meeting also saw discussion on the issue of justice in the sacrilege case. Sidhu and other Congress leaders have raised complaints that the government is doing nothing to bring the culprits to justice.

    Amarinder reportedly assured the panel that a Special Investigation Team was investigation the case and the law will take its course.

    Talks were also held on governance issues and ways to revamp the state party unit ahead of next year’s Assembly elections. Discussion were also held on the complaints raised by party MLAs that ministers are not listening to them. 

    A number of MLAs had told the panel that they want Amarinder as the party’s chief-ministerial face in 2022, but complained that he is not very accessible to them. The panel started its work on Monday. It has by now met most of the party MLAs and ministers. It will submit a report to Congress chief Sonia Gandhi over the weekend.