ALL ARRANGEMENTS IN PLACE FOR WHEAT PROCUREMENT FROM 1ST APRIL: ANURAG VERMA

CHIEF SECRETARY HOLDS MEETING WITH DCS & OFFICERS OF PROCUREMENT AGENCIES

DIRECTS PROMPT PAYMENTS & ROBUST MECHANISM FOR PROCUREMENT

Chandigarh, March 27:Keeping in view the harvesting during Rabi Marketing Season (RMS), Chief Secretary Anurag Verma today held a meeting through video conferencing with the officers of the procurement agencies as well as the Deputy Commissioners of all the districts to take stock of the procurement arrangements. Chief Secretary said that the procurement is beginning from April 1st and all the necessary arrangements have been made in this regard.

Divulging more, Mr Verma said that the wheat has been sown in 35.07 Lakh Hectare area in Punjab which is likely to result in 161.30 Lakh Metric Tonne (LMT) yield. The Cash Credit Limit (CCL) to the extent of Rs. 30,776 Cr is needed out of which Rs. 27077.91 Cr has been received for April. The balance amount for the month of May would be received soon. The Punjab Mandi Board has announced 1908 regular purchase centres which would be allotted soon to the various agencies as per the advice of procurement agencies.

Chief Secretary directed the Deputy Commissioners to ensure that the farmers face no hassles during the procurement and apart from robust mechanism for procurement in the mandis, special attention should be paid to the basic facilities. There must be prompt payment to the farmers in a hassle free manner, said the Mr Verma and further directed the Deputy Commissioners in case any issue is pending with any procurement agency, it must be brought to his notice immediately so as to ensure that no problem occurs in the procurement.

Among those present in the meeting included the Principal Secretary Food, Civil Supplies & Consumer Affairs Vikas Garg, Secretary Finance Gurpreet Kaur Sapra, MD Punjab State Warehousing Corporation Kanwalpreet Kaur Brar, MD PUNSUP Sonali Giri, Director Food, Civil Supplies & Consumer Affairs Puneet Goyal, Secretary Punjab Mandi Board Amrit Kaur Gill, General Manager FCI B. Srinivasan, MD Markfed Girish Dayalan and Additional Secretary Food, Civil Supplies and Consumer Affairs Kamal Garg.

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VIGILANCE BUREAU ARRESTS POLICE POST INCHARGE FOR ACCEPTING RS 15,000 BRIBE

Chandigarh, March 27, 2024 - The Punjab Vigilance Bureau (VB), during its ongoing campaign against corruption in the state, on Wednesday has nabbed Gurjit Singh, Assistant Sub Inspector (ASI), posted as In-charge Police Post, Court Complex, Amritsar red handed while he was accepting a bribe of Rs 15,000.

Disclosing this here today an official spokesperson of the state VB said the above mentioned accused has been arrested on the basis of a complaint lodged by Harjinder Singh, a resident of village Fatahpur, Amritsar district.

He further informed that the said complainant has approached the VB and alleged that the said accused has demanded Rs 50,000 for taking immediate action on a police complaint filed by him regarding a financial fraud amounting to Rs 40 lakhs. The complainant further added that the police personnel had already taken Rs 20,000 as a first instalment and demanding the balance amount of bribe.

The spokesperson informed that after a preliminary inquiry about this complaint the VB team laid a trap and the accused was caught red handed accepting the second installment of Rs 15,000 in the presence of two official witnesses.

He added that in this regard a case under Prevention of Corruption Act has been registered at VB police station Amritsar range. The accused would be produced in the competent court tomorrow and further investigation into this case was under progress, he said.

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VIGILANCE BUREAU ARRESTS PATWARI FOR TAKING RS 5,200 BRIBE FOR DEMARCATION OF LAND

Chandigarh, March 27: The Punjab Vigilance Bureau (VB), during its ongoing campaign against corruption in the state, on Wednesday has apprehended a revenue Patwari, Parmvir Singh, posted at tehsil office Dasuya, Hoshiarpur district for demanding and accepting a bribe of Rs 5,200. He was evading his arrest since one month in this case.

Disclosing this here today an official spokesperson of the state VB said the above mentioned revenue official has been arrested after an inquiry of a complaint lodged by Manprit Kaur, a resident of village Panwan in Hoshiarpur district on the Chief Minister Anti Corruption Action Line.

He further informed that during the investigation of the said complaint it was established that the accused had demanded and accepted Rs 5,200 for demarcation of land of the complainant and retained her application in this regard for three months. Subsequently, a case under Prevention of Corruption Act was registered at VB police station Jalandhar range last month after completion of enquiry but the accused Patwari has been evading his arrest since then. He would be produced in the competent court tomorrow and further investigation into this case was under progress, he said.

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DGP PUNJAB CHAIRS COORDINATION MEETING OF STATE LEVEL SECURITY COMMITTEE FOR RAILWAYS

— PURPOSE IS TO ENSURE BETTER SYNERGY BETWEEN RPF, GRP PUNJAB AND CENTRAL AGENCIES

— JOINT MEASURES ARE BEING TAKEN TO COMBAT SECURITY CHALLENGES AND PROTECT RAILWAY INFRASTRUCTURE, SAYS DGP GAURAV YADAV

— SPL DGP RAILWAYS SHASHI PRABHA DWIVEDI, SPL DGP INTERNAL SECURITY RN DHOKE & PRINCIPAL CHIEF COMMISSIONER RPF AN MISHRA ATTEND MEETING

CHANDIGARH, March 27:To review the security challenges and evolving nature of the threat to railways, Director General of Police (DGP) Punjab Gaurav Yadav chaired a coordination meeting of a State Level Security Committee for Railways (SLSCR) at Punjab Police Headquarters here on Wednesday.

The meeting was attended by Special DGP Railways Shashi Prabha Dwivedi, Special DGP Internal Security RN Dhoke, Principal Chief Commissioner Railway Police Force (RPF) AN Mishra, Senior Deputy Security Commissioner Nitish Sharma, AIG GRP APS Ghuman and other stakeholders of departments including Government Railway Police (GRP) Punjab and Central Agencies.

DGP Gaurav Yadav said that the purpose behind holding this meeting was to ensure better synergy and synchronisation between the RPF, GRP Punjab Police and Central Agencies. Joint measures are being taken to combat security challenges and protect railway infrastructure, he added.

Stressing on the need for better coordination between RPF, GRP Punjab and Central agencies, the DGP directed the concerned officers to hold regular coordination meetings to discuss the problems and amicably solve them.

He asked the RPF and GRP Punjab to send joint teams to conduct patrolling at railway tracks and escort for trains to ensure safety and security of general passengers.

He said that concerted efforts are on to further strengthen the Railway infrastructure in the state.

Meanwhile, officers of RPF, GRP Punjab and Central Agencies assured to work in a tandem.