High bidding, sand prices set to soar
Ruchika M Khanna
Tribune News Service
Chandigarh, May 19
In Punjab, building a house will get a lot more expensive. For, the Punjab Government today made over Rs 200 crore from the auction of 51 sand and gravel quarries across six districts. With the bidding prices hitting the roof, the prices of sand and gravel are bound to rise manifold.(Follow The Tribune on Facebook; and Twitter @thetribunechd)The reverse bidding (where the lowest bidder is successful) in 2014-15 had yielded Rs 45 crore. The progressive bidding of the 51 quarries today (51 more will be auctioned on Saturday) is expected to yield Rs 350 crore (including today’s bids). With the sites going at such high rates, the bidders would have to sell the extracted minor minerals (sand and gravel) at higher rates to cut even.The sand mining business in Punjab is cartelised. The auction today saw a rather lukewarm participation from the two main sand mining cartels, both dominated by Congress and SAD politicians. One lobby, led by a close relative of a Congress MLA from Majha and the son of a Congress MLA from Malwa, won bids for just four quarries – two in Jalandhar and one each in Hoshiarpur and Gurdaspur. The second lobby, comprising Akali politicians, won bids for one quarry in Jalandhar and the other in Amritsar. The remaining 45 quarries seem to have been taken by new bidders.The bids were allotted through e-auction, with a retired High Court judge monitoring the process.In the past six years, the then SAD-BJP government had gone for reverse bidding to keep the prices of sand and gravel under check. In the re-introduced progressive bidding, the cash-strapped Punjab Government would earn over Rs 350 crore by selling 2 croretonnes of sand and gravel — which is the annual extractable quantity from the 102 quarries being auctioned.The 20-odd quarries went for anything between 20-34 times higher than the reserve price. This has made these bids economically unviable. Their is speculation that many bidders could forfeit their deposits. The 51 quarries auctioned today are in Amritsar, Hoshiarpur, Pathankot, Gurdaspur, Ferozepur and Jalandhar. The highest bid received was for Rs 17.22 crore for the Chaharpur quarry in Amritsar, made against a reserve price of Rs 38.26 lakh. Officials in the Directorate of Mining, Department of Industries, said they saw no reason for the bidder backing off. Butt in case he forfeits his deposit, there would be a re-action within 15 days. “Though initially the prices may go up, but as supply meets demand, we expect correction in prices of sand and gravel,” said a senior officer.
Punjab auctions 51 quarries
- Already the prices of sand and gravel have shot up since the Cong govt put the brakes on illegal mining
- The price of sand has increased from Rs 14,000 per 800 cubic ft (in March) to Rs 19,000 per 800 cubic ft
- The price of gravel has zoomed from Rs 15,000 per 800 cubic ft to Rs 20,000 per 800 cubic ft
Punjab CM Amarinder Singh ropes in RIL tax adviser with minister’s rank
Ex-IRS officer will be CM’s financial adviser
Former Indian Revenue Service (IRS) officer V K Garg, who worked as adviser to Mukesh Ambani’s Reliance Industries Limited as head of its indirect taxes division, is set to join as financial adviser to Punjab Chief Minister Amarinder Singh. Faced with fiscal problems and debt burden, the Amarinder government has decided to appoint 1983-batch officer having a vast experience in financial matters as financial advisor to the Chief Minister. Garg will be accorded a state minister’s rank. He will be the sixth adviser to be appointed with CM.
Punjab Finance Minister Manpreet Badal said Garg’s expertise in GST and other financial matters would be very beneficial to Punjab. The list of advisers already working with Amarinder includes Lt Gen T S Shergill (retd), who is senior adviser to CM and enjoys Cabinet minister’s rank, Bharat Inder Singh Chahal who is adviser in State minister’s rank and Khubi Ram who is CM’s security adviser, besides Lt Gen B S Dhaliwal (retd), technical advisor to former chief minister Parkash Singh Badal who has been retained by the Amarinder government.
Garg, an MBA in finance from Indian Institute of Management in Ahmedabad and a law graduate, served as joint secretary in tax research unit of Union government when Manmohan Singh was the Prime Minister in UPA-II government. Garg, who served as Commissioner of Central Excise in Ludhiana from 2004 to 2007, told The Indian Express on Tuesday that he was ready to join and was awaiting formal orders.
Sidhu marks probe into Rs 40-lakh scam
Addl Chief Secretary summons Abohar Municipal Council record
Raj Sadosh
Abohar, May 19
The Additional Chief Secretary (ACS) has summoned the record of the Municipal Council as officials did not respond to directions issued by the Finance and Local Bodies Departments in 2015 in the Rs 40.49 lakh scam.Local Bodies Minister Navjot Singh Sidhu had marked the complaint to the ACS. Abohar MC Executive Officer has been told to reach Chandigarh with the record on Saturday.The Examiner, Local Funds, had asked the department on August 28, 2015, that the Inspector General of Police had through letters dated August 16, 1984, and February 23, 1987, opined that FIRs should be registered as per the Punjab Municipal Account Fund code if embezzlements were detected in such funds.The Deputy Director, Local Bodies, Ferozepur, and Regional Director (Audit), Bathinda, had conducted preliminary investigations and informed Chandigarh that the allegations levelled in the complaints by the Retired Employees’ Welfare Association were found substantial.The association had alleged that the MC staff had tampered with the conditions laid in the auction of the MC commercial property on Nai Sadak held on August 20, 2010, by allegedly forging the signatures of former MC president Shivraj Goyal (BJP) and former EO Jagsir Singh Dhaliwal to illegally benefit the allottees. The inquiry also put Goyal under the scanner alongwith the successor of EO Dhaliwal in this case.The SAD- BJP alliance took over in April 2015 but no resolution was moved to discuss the case. The scam pertains to the auction of 13 commercial plots on the Nai Sadak opposite the SP’s residence. In the forged copy, the rate of interest was reduced from 18 per cent to seven per cent, transfer fee from three percent to one per cent and the clause for 10 per cent extra charges against the corner plot was deleted.An inquiry revealed that most property sale deeds were tampered. Dhaliwal and the Deputy Director, Local Bodies, substantiated the allegations. It was found that the council had suffered a loss of Rs 40,49,314 in the case.The association in a fresh complaint to Local Bodies Minister Navjot Singh Sidhu had alleged that the preceding government as well as the council sat on the file allowing some erring officials to retire. The MC also passed the site plans for construction of two shops in the Nai Sadak market even when sale deed was yet to be registered.
Fraud alleged
- Retired employees had alleged that the MC staff had tinkered with conditions laid in the auction of an MC property on Nai Sadakin Abohar in August 2010 by allegedly forging signatures.
Order to vacate private buildings housing govt offices puts admn in fix
Dist Admn Complex still not complete; likely to miss July 1 deadline
The under-construction District Administrative Complex at Gurdaspur. Tribune photo
Ravi Dhaliwal
Tribune News Service
Gurdaspur, May 19
The Punjab Government’s order to vacate private buildings housing government offices has put the administration in a fix as the District Administrative Complex (DAC), also known as a mini secretariat, is still under construction and sure to miss its July 1 deadline.The government has ordered that all private buildings be vacated by June 30.The Rs 46-crore five-storey DAC, which has been under construction for the last three years, has since long been trapped in a plethora of problems.After the project was 75 per cent complete, the contractor informed officials that he could not dismantle the “malkhana” (warehouse) of the old DC building, which was to be a part of the new complex, since an unknown quantity of RDX was lying there. The explosives were remnants of the days of militancy in Punjab.Harried tax-paying residents say that the explosives should have been removed before laying the first brick.To compound matters, scores of judicial documents are to be shifted to the adjoining Pathankot district. This requires the cumbersome process of taking permissions of varied nature from different departments.Deputy Commissioner (DC) Amit Kumar says that the RDX issue has been solved and the explosives have been removed. “However, we are facing some problems relating to the judicial files. I recently called a meeting of SSPs and judicial officers to ensure that the files are shifted,” he said.The administration has now asked the departments, which are to be brought under the DAC’s ambit, to purchase new furniture. “These departments have decades’ old furniture. I have asked them to approach their respective heads of department to purchase new furnishings. Once these are in place the shifting will commence,” he said.However, there are clear indications that it may take a few more months till things fall in place and the July 1 deadline is sure to be given a miss.
Dist development bodies to be integrated under PUDA
PUDA was established in 1995 as the apex authority for providing planned residential, commercial and industrial spaces. Tribune file photo
Sanjeev Singh Bariana
Tribune News Service
Chandigarh, May 19
The state government has initiated the process to integrate the working of various district development authorities under the Punjab Urban Planning and Development Authority (PUDA).Chief Minister Capt Amarinder Singh has sought a report on the functioning of these bodies following reports of inconsistent implementation of rules and plans.PUDA was established in 1995 as the apex authority for providing planned residential, commercial and industrial spaces. Later, the Greater Mohali Area Development Authority (GMADA), Greater Ludhiana Area Development Authority (GLADA), Bathinda Development Authority (BDA), Jalandhar Development Authority (JDA), Patiala Development Authority (PDA) and Amritsar Development Authority (ADA) were set up to facilitate decentralised, area-specific functioning.A director of a district development authority, requesting anonymity, said, “The government gave us powers to develop colonies, but did not share the earnings from the auction of government land under the Optimum Utility of Vacant Government Land (OUVGL) scheme. This money would have been a major source of funds for developing infrastructure.”Confirming that a draft proposal was being finalised, a senior official said: “We are looking into the financial and legal implications of the exercise.”According to a Principal Secretary, “Multiple agencies working on related projects are facing problems due to overlapping of functions and lack of coordination.”A former director of PUDA said: “District bodies have failed to check the mushrooming of illegal colonies. Executive engineers were found exercising control over housing projects, leading to rampant corruption. Mismatch in the figures of loans and balance sheets indicate that the system has failed.”
Plunder of riverbed unabated
Most of the trucks engaged in sand mining operations don’t have govt permits
Illegal mining being done on the Sutlej riverbed in Dharamkot sub-division of Moga district. Tribune Photo
Kulwinder Sandhu
Tribune News Service
Sanghera (Moga), May 19
Sanghera is a small village near the Sutlej river in Dharamkot sub-division of Moga district. Here the river flows the widest with its banks more than 1.5 km apart and touching Jalandhar and Kapurthala districts on the other side.During May and June — before the onset of monsoon when the flow is less — the sand bed is exposed at most parts of the river.One can see JCB machines and heavy cranes at work digging their arms deep into the riverbed, scooping out sand and loading it onto the trucks and tractor-trailers.A walk around the area presents a ghastly picture. At many spots, the dugout trenches can be seen filled with river water so that one cannot make out the deep holes made by the indiscriminate extraction of sand.Ranjit Singh (name changed to protect his identity), a resident, said that the mining mafia is operating in at least five locations in the area. Musclemen numbering 20 to 30 are on guard at each location throughout the day and night. They do not allow any stranger to enter the area or click photographs.A group of three youths took this correspondent to a location from where few photographs were clicked from a distance without being noticed by anybody. The youths claimed that they see mining taking place daily with heavy machines.Dharamkot sub-division in Moga district is one of the places in the state where sand mining has been taking place for years. More than 50 per cent of the sand requirement of the Malwa belt is met from sand extracted from the Sutlej.Most of the trucks engaged in sand mining operations do not have government permits.The mining mafia is also causing huge damage to the ecology, water resources, agriculture and the livelihood of people. It has reduced the forest area along the river belt.The riverbed has also gone down by 5-8m at many places over the years. As Sutlej sand is of high quality, indiscriminate mining has been going on for the past many years.The villagers allege that the district administration is aware of the illegal mining but has deliberately turned a blind eye. “We grow crops near the river that have been destroyed many times by trucks ferrying sand from the river. We have complained to the local authorities numerous times but to no avail. The authorities are hand in glove with the mining mafia,” alleged another local resident.On the other hand, the local officials claim that 375 criminal cases have been registered with regard to illegal mining in Moga district during the past few years but despite that, the situation on the ground presents a sordid picture.
Maluka accused of implicating people in wrong cases
Lakha Sidhana interacts with media persons in Bathinda on Thursday. Tribune Photo: Pawan Sharma
Tribune News Service
Bathinda, May 18
The Malwa Youth Federation leader and gangster-turned-politician Lakha Sidana today made an allegation against SAD leader Sikander Singh Maluka for getting wrong cases registered against innocent persons during the 10-year rule of the SAD-BJP government in the state.He also challenged Maluka for an open debate on the atrocities committed on people during the SAD-BJP rule.While addressing mediapersons at press club, Sidana presented a few families in front of the media.He alleged that these families had been harassed by the SAD leader. He also showed a few copies of FIRs of the cases saying that these cases had been registered as a result of vendetta politics.He alleged that no action had been taken against those who committed crime. Sidana said in the Goldy murder case, which took place outside Phul court, the police wrongly booked Rana Nambardar, Mithu Ved, Mahinder Singh, Pargat Singh, Bira, Sema Singh and their family members.He would apologise publically if he loses debate to Maluka, he added. When Sikander Singh Maluka was contacted over the issue, he said he would not comment on the allegations made by Sidana. He said Sidana read a script given to him. The Congress government has formed a commission and if the government is of the view that any wrong case has been registered, the commission should probe it, the SAD leader adde
‘Regular, reliable’ connectivity in the air
Sahnewal airport to start flights under UDAN scheme from next month, says MP Ravneet Singh Bittu
A file photo of the Sahnewal airport in Ludhiana.
Tribune News Service
Ludhiana, May 19
Good news for Ludhiana residents, as flights will start operating from the Sahnewal airport under UDAN (Ude Desh ka Aam Naagrik) scheme from the next month.Ludhiana Member of Parliament Ravneet Singh Bittu said this after meeting Union Civil Aviation Minister Jayant Sinha and Punjab officials.Bittu said the state government would help the airlines company for better connectivity. Earlier, flights were suspended due to loss to the airlines company, but now the state and the Centre governments will provide financial aid to the airlines company if they suffer loss.Stating on the importance of air connectivity, Bittu said: “The industrial potential and the entrepreneurial spirit of Ludhiana suffers a major setback due to the lack of regular and reliable air connectivity. Despite the structural bottleneck of short length of the air strip, UDAN scheme will ensure regular and reliable connectivity.”The Punjab government apprised Bittu that it was actively cooperating with the Union government with respect to issues such as viability gap funding, relief on taxes on aviation fuel at refuelling facilities, exemption from landing charges and hanger facility. The matter of adding additional length to the air strip was also under active consideration of the state to help make the optimal use of Ludhiana airport.According to Bittu, Ludhiana should see regular flights from the month of June 2017, beginning with Alliance Air and later in the month of August joined by Deccan Charters. With 50 per cent of seats on every flight capped at Rs 2,500 per seat under the UDAN scheme and applicable for flights where the distance is less than 500 km or one hour, UDAN scheme will be a boon for the people of Ludhiana. Firstly, Ludhiana airport will handle flights till Delhi and thereafter to Mumbai and other important cities. Previous govt had a bias against Ludhiana, says BittuBittu lamented that the Shiromani Akali Dal-Bharatiya Janata Party (SAD-BJP) government had a bias against Ludhiana and favoured Bathinda airport over it. They lacked sincere efforts and deprived Ludhiana of the facility it deserved, he said. He further said: “The present government in Punjab is committed to restore Ludhiana’s place in the industrialisation of the state.”
Regular flights from June
- With 50 per cent of seats on every flight capped at Rs 2,500 per seat under the UDAN scheme and applicable for flights where the distance is less than 500 km or one hour, UDAN scheme will be a boon for the people of Ludhiana
- The city will see regular flights beginning with Alliance Air and later in August joined by Deccan Charters
- Ludhiana airport will first handle flights till Delhi and thereafter to Mumbai and other important cities