Three domestic airports fail to take wing
Only three flights a week to Delhi GROUNDED Opened with much fanfare, domestic airports in Bathinda, Ludhiana and Pathankot have failed to live up to their early promise. They have remained nonfunctional for long periods with no domestic flights or have
BATHINDA: The small domestic airport in Bathinda remained nonfunctional for three years, but has finally got three flights a week to Delhi.
AAI OFFICIALS REMAIN TIGHTLIPPED OVER THE FINANCIAL VIABILITY OF RUNNING OPERATIONS WITH A THRICEAWEEK FLIGHT ONLY
Air India’s regional arm Alliance Air started the Delhi-Bathinda-Delhi flight in December 2016, barely months before the state assembly elections, and has sustained 50-55% occupancy. Set up in 2012 at a cost of ₹25 crore, the airport shares the runway of the adjoining Indian Air Force base for the 70-seater ATR-72 aircraft thrice a week — Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday.
Air Alliance manager Ramesh Ram gives credit to the Centre’s “regional connectivity scheme” which has helped reduce the air fare from ₹2,800 to ₹1,700 for the Delhi-Bathinda-Delhi flight. “The subsidy is paid by the government and may help introduce more flights from here” he said.
However, officials of the Airports Authority of India (AAI) were tight-lipped over the financial viability of running the operations with a thrice-a-week flight only. The airport does not have a single tuck shop, whereas the airport security has been handed to Punjab Police who are paid by the AAI. The airport still awaits its own dedicated road. The travellers have to cover a distance of 8 kilometres on the existing link road to reach the airport that is just 1.5km off the Bathinda-Malout state highway. A dedicated road was proposed in 2012, but the idea was dropped in absence of any flight for three years.
Non-operational since 2014, waiting for ‘Udan’
LUDHIANA : It was almost three years ago that the last domestic flight landed at the Sahnewal airport which is being currently used only for operating chartered flights.
But the airport authorities have now pinned hopes on the regional air connectivity scheme, UDAN, for revival of the domestic flight operations. Airlines have already started surveying the airport and domestic flights are expected to commence by September this year, according to airport officials. The repair work at the airport has started and the contractor has been asked to complete it by August.
The airport, which has a runaway of 1,463 metres feasible for a 42-seater aircraft, has turned into a white elephant. There is hardly any revenue, as no flight was operated since 2014. Business houses have been using the airport to park their chartered planes. The airport authorities have been charging only ₹72 per night, which is even lower than the car parking charges at a shopping mall.
Amardeep Nehra, officiating airport director, said the airport is fully functional and Doppler VHR omni-directional radio range (DVOR) has been installed. The airport has antihijacking staff, besides its own security force and fire brigade personnel. Scanning machines are also expected to be installed shortly.
6 years on, not a single flight
PATHANKOT: With not a single domestic flight in the past six years, the airport in Pathankot wears a deserted look.
Built at a cost of ₹37 crore almost 11 years ago, the airport, which has a “ready to use” airstrip and proper infrastructure, had domestic flight operations for the initial two-and-a-half years. Air Deccan, a private airline, ran its service, but suspended its operations due to poor occupancy on its flights.
Later, Air India also agreed to operate on this sector and started its flights in 2010, thanks to concerted efforts of then MP from Gurdaspur and former Union minister Vinod Khanna. But it did not carry on for long. The airline halted its operations from the airport a year later, citing losses. And, there has not been any domestic flight since then.
The runway of the airport is being used by the army to transports goods and personnel off and on. There is also an occasional chartered flight carrying VIPs and film actors, especially during the poll season.
Rajesh Pushkarna, a local businessman, blames the flight schedules for the failure of airlines to do well on this sector. “The flight timings were not suitable for business travellers and others who wanted to reach Delhi and return in the evening the same day,” he said.
SIDHU GIVES ₹5 LAKH FOR FIREFIGHTERS’ TREATMENT
LUDHIANA: Minister of local government, tourism and cultural affairs Navjot Singh Sidhu visited the injured firefighters admitted to the Christian Medical College and Hospital (CMCH) in Ludhiana on Friday evening and apologised on the behalf of the government for not providing them safety gear.Sidhu said Ludhiana municipal corporation commissioner has already issued a cheque for ₹4 lakh to the hospital for treatment of the injured firefighters, who suffered burn injuries while dousing flames in a textile mill on Thursday. He also announced ₹5 lakh from his pocket for their treatment. Sidhu said if the hospital bill doesn’t exceed ₹4 lakh, which have been already paid by MC, he will give ₹1 lakh to each to the firefighters admitted to the hospital.
‘State in deeper financial mess than what we initially thought’
Lots of revenue was kept out of the consolidated fund of the state, though it accrued out of cess, surcharge and taxes levied by the state. KR LAKHANPAL, chairman, Punjab expenditure and governance reforms commission
CHANDIGARH:Punjab expenditure and governance reforms commission chairman KR Lakhanpal said the fiscal mess in the state is far deeper than it was originally thought.
The commission chairman said the state government is in the process of gathering information to ascertain its full scale and status of the mess, as many things were done off the books. “Lots of revenue was kept out of the consolidated fund of the state even though it accrued out of cess, surcharge and taxes that were levied by the state exercising its sovereign power. Similarly, lots of expenditure was made in this manner,” he told Hindustan Times, citing revenues and expenditure related to rural development fund and infrastructure development fund as examples.
Lakhanpal, handpicked by the chief minister to head the commission, said loans were being raised with government guarantee, future revenues of public sector undertakings mortgaged without even being sure whether these revenue streams are going to continue or not and liabilities deferred. “All of this is not reflected in government books and has to be quantified. A forensic audit is needed to find out where this money was spent,” he said.
Dwelling on the solution, the former chief secretary said this is structural imbalance, not a cyclical imbalance. “You need structural correctives. As they say, economy is not in sparing the expenditure, but spending the money wisely. Whatever we have needs to be spent wisely on the felt needs of people. With resources being limited, prioritisation is important. There is a need to be careful about new projects,” he said.
Capt seeks fresh analysis of Punjab river waters
SYL ROW Amarinder Singh says most watersharing agreements with neighbouring states were annulled by Punjab government in 2004
From page 01 CHANDIGARH: Punjab chief minister Capt Amarinder Singh, on Friday, suggested a fresh analysis of Sutlej, Ravi and Beas waters and requested the neighbouring states to cooperate.
The chief minister was speaking during the 28th meeting of the Northern Zonal Council held here, which was attended by representatives of Punjab, Haryana, Rajasthan, Himachal Pradesh, Jammu and Kashmir and Union Territory, Chandigarh and New Delhi. The meeting was chaired by Union home minister Rajnath Singh.
“There is a consensus building up among the states for a reanalysis (of waters in the Sutlej). Haryana CM has accepted the proposal for reassessment under the supervision of the Centre,” chief secretary (CS) of Punjab Karan A Singh told mediapersons after the meeting. The secretary in the interstate secretariat (of the home department) at the Centre Sanjeevani Kutty also attended the meeting.
Punjab and Haryana are on a warpath on waters, as Haryana is seeking the construction of the Sutlej Yamuna Link (SYL) canal to take water from Punjab, while the latter is objecting to the canal on the plea that the quantity of water has reduced drastically over the past three decades since the SYL canal proposal was put forth. A case is pending in the Supreme Court.
“Punjab CM requested Haryana for an out-of-court settlement on the dispute,” said Punjab chief secretary.
However, the CM did not make a direct reference to the SYL, said the CS. “The officials of the union water resources ministry met officers from the states (separately) on the SYL issue on April 20,” he said, answering a query, adding that the Centre had to convey to both the states whether the meeting was open-ended or discussions had closed.
He also informed the media that Amarinder Singh also told the meeting that most watersharing agreements (with neighbouring states), signed in 1980s, were annulled by the Punjab government in 2004. Things now have changed drastically, so there was need to reanalyse the quantity of water.
Besides Union home minister Rajnath Singh, the others, who attended the meeting, included Punjab governor and UT administrator VP Singh Badnore, Haryana CM Manohar Lal Khattar, Delhi lt governor Anil Baijal, J&K deputy chief minister Nirmal Kumar Singh, Himachal Pradesh health minister Thakur Kaul Singh and Rajasthan water resources minister Ram Pratap.
‘SHOW COMPASSION FOR J&K YOUTH’
Home minister Rajnath Singh also asked all northern states to deal with the youth from Jammu and Kashmir, who have come to these states to work or study with compassion and soft hand. “We need to extend warmth to them, the home minister said,” informed Sanjeevani Kutty.
Cong MLAs express displeasure over police functioning in state
I will not interfere in the government functioning, but no one can deny the oversight SUNIL JAKHAR, Punjab Congress chief
CHANDIGARH: Punjab Police has come under fire yet again from the Congress quarters with many legislators expressing their displeasure before chief minister Captain Amarinder Singh, alleging interference from Akali Dal in the functioning of police.
During a lunch meeting hosted by the CM on Wednesday for an interaction with the MLAs from Bathinda, Faridkot, Mansa and Ferozepur, the issue was raised by the legislators.
“While raking up the issue, some of the leaders alleged that senior police officers were still getting directions from former deputy chief minister Sukhbir Badal,” said an MLA on the condition of anonymity.
Speaking to Hindustan Times, a minister said: “Since chief minister Captain Amarinder Singh is not directly involved in postings, senior cops are adjusting their favourites on the key posts. When a politician recommends an official, it becomes controversial.”
“But when he manages things through his sources in the department, it is deemed upright.” added the minister.
A Congress MLA cited an “example” of Ferozepur when a SAD leader sitting on a dharna against attack on Akali workers allegedly by the Congress, “with complete authority called up senior police officials and they were heard taking directions from Sukhbir”.
Another MLA cited example of deputy superintendent of police (DSP) Rampura Phull Gurjit Singh Romana, who had worked closely with former minister Sikander Singh Malooka. “When Congress formed the government, Romana was transferred as DSP Bhucho.
Later, he was transferred as DSP (City) Bathinda in the third list of transfers, when a few Congress MLAs raised the issue,” he said.
This is not the first delegation that has expressed resentment over police postings in the state.
“A few days back, I met former SAD MLA Sarabjit Singh Makkar in a function where he had come with an assistant sub-inspector and six commandoes of the Punjab Police,” said a Jalandhar MLA
“I called up additional director general of police (security), who forwarded my complaint to a senior official in Jalandhar Police Commissoinerate. Within five minutes, the senior officer called up Makkar to inform him about the complaint,” added the Jalandhar MLA.
A senior party leader rued, “Punjab Police Service officer Ravinderpal Singh Sandhu, who was assistant commissioner of police (Jalandhar West) during the SAD-BJP regime and had allegedly slapped cases against Sushil Rinku (now Congress MLA from West), was posted as SP Phagwara- a key posting,”
KK Sharma is new PRTC chief
PATIALA :KK Sharma, a close confidant of chief minister (CM) Captain Amarinder Singh, took over the charge as chairman of Pepsu Road Transport Corporation (PRTC), in the presence of former Union minister Preneet Kaur, on Friday.
Soon after his joining, Sharma listed his top priorities including adding 100 new buses in the present fleet of 1,045 buses.
He also announced addition of 25 new heating, ventilation and air conditioning (HVAC) buses to the fleet of the PRTC while bus connectivity to Chandigarh from every district of Punjab is also on the cards.
“The poor policies and ignorant attitude towards the corporation by the SAD-BJP government has pushed the institution into acute financial crisis,” he said, adding, “The required steps will be taken to improve public transport facility across the state, besides uplifting its financial conditions.”
Sharma added that strict action will be taken against illegal buses plying on the roads. Besides, unemployed youth would be provided permits of mini buses so as to generate employment for them.
Contractual workers to boycott 300 new buses under kilometre scheme
LUDHIANA: In an all out defiance of the state transport department’s proposal to introduce 300 new buses under the kilometer scheme, around 4,000 employees of Punjab Roadways state contract workers’ union have decided not to serve in buses under this scheme.
The state transport policy states that 40% routes will be given to private players while 60% will be retained by state transport. However, the scenario during Akali rule (19972002, 2007-2012 and 2012-2017) was inverse as the lion’s share between 60 and 70 % went to private players, weakening the financial health of the state transport department. For routes to rural areas, the ratio was 20:80 (20 roadways and 80 private) but to favour the private players, mini buses were allowed to ply on almost all profitable routes in the rural belt across the state.
Union president Bhagat Singh said, “Framing a transport policy that favours private bus operators has become a norm in the state, thanks to the previous Akali government. The new Congress government, instead of introducing government buses under Punjab Roadways, is busy holding deliberations to introduce 300 new buses under the kilometer scheme which will be run by private players while conductors will be hired from state transport.”
“If buses under this scheme hit the roads, contractual employees will not work in these buses. It will be a complete boycott from our side. The scheme is an all-out attack against job regularisation and will further delay it.”
REGULAR EMPLOYEES OPPOSED TO SCHEME
Even regular employees of Punjab Roadways have vehemently opposed the kilometre scheme. But they have ruled out any possibility of a boycott.
All India Trade Union Congress member Jagdeesh Chahal said, “Though we strongly oppose the kilometre scheme, we will take a final decision on whether to render services or not in our next meeting.”
There are more than 4,000 contract workers in Punjab Roadways who have decided to not render services to the buses under the kilometre scheme.
Sources said things had barely changed after the new government assumed charge and the state transport department still continued to bear the onslaught of a monopoly by private players that was prevalent during the SAD-BJP regime.
They added that private bus operators under the kilometre scheme were barely concerned about passenger base as they were paid according to kilometres travelled, causing a huge loss to public transport.
Running buses directly under its umbrella rather than roping in private players will garner maximum revenue to the state transport and will discourage corruption which was inherent during previous government’s rule, said union members.
Capt for 60:40 ratio in govt posts of UT
Tribune News Service
Chandigarh, May 12
Punjab Chief Minister Capt Amarinder Singh today took up the issue of the share of the state in government posts in Chandigarh. Taking up the issue at the 28th meeting of the Northern Zonal Council (NZC) here today, he sought instructions to the UT to implement the 60:40 ratio decided during the re-organisation of the state. Punjab Chief Secretary Karan Avtar Singh said the CM requested the Union Home Minister to look into the matter.It was pointed out that as per the spirit of the Punjab Re-organisation Act, all posts were to be filled according to the 60:40 ratio from states of Punjab and Haryana but, without consulting the states, the UT was filling posts from its own cadre.
Drugs: CM seeks help from other states
Chief Minister Capt Amarinder Singh welcomes Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh during a meeting of the Northern Zonal Council in Chandigarh on Friday as Punjab Governor VP Singh Badnore looks on. Tribune photo
Tribune News Service
Chandigarh, May 12
Chief Minister Capt Amarinder Singh today sought Centre’s help in increasing vigilance by central forces to check cross-border drug smuggling, and asked for greater cooperation with Rajasthan, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, and Jammu and Kashmir to destroy the cultivation of poppy and cannabis.At the 28th meeting of the Northern Zonal Council meeting here, he underlined the need to combat the drug menace in an organised manner.The Chief Minister sought to put an end to smuggling of narcotic substances from areas, where poppy and cannabis are being cultivated legally for pharmaceutical and related purposes. Sharing of information and initiating criminal action against smugglers should be promoted, he said. The CMurged Rajasthan to shift poppy husk vends situated near border villages of Punjab.Seeks more share in Central fundsCapt Amarinder called for greater operational freedom to states cutting across party lines. He demanded an increase of at least 50 per cent share in central funds.Wants concession under border state statusReferring to the border status of Punjab, the Chief Minister reiterated his demand for Central concessions on the lines of the fiscal and industrial concessions given to Jammu and Kashmir, Himachal Pradesh, and Uttarakhand.
Ensure safety of Kashmiri students: Rajnath to CMs Chandigarh: Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh on Friday asked the Chief Ministers of the northern states to ensure the safety of Kashmiri students. The Union Minister, while referring to the attacks on Kashmiri students in different states, asked the participating states to take care of the students and provide them proper environment. Sanjeevani Kutty, Secretary in the Home Ministry, in a briefing after the meeting said while drawing attention of the states to the issue, they have been asked to implement the advisory. TNS
Capt orders recruitment of 4,000 cops
Tribune News Service
Chandigarh, May 12
Chief Minister Capt Amarinder Singh today ordered filling of 4,000 police vacancies across ranks, while directing the department to ensure that 2,000 police personnel are recruited every year to fill the vacancies arising annually out of the routine retirement of cops.Chairing a meeting of Home and Police Department officials here, the Chief Minister said recruitment would carry forward the sweeping reforms being undertaken in the Police Department such as diversion of personnel from VIP duty.His government, said Capt Amarinder, was committed to providing jobs to the unemployed youth, with at least one job in each household, as promised in the run-up to the Assembly elections.The Chief Minister also directed the officials to ensure that police officials were allowed a free hand to work within the ambit of law, while also taking care to ensure that no vindictive action was resorted to by the cops at any level, right from the lowest rung at the police stations.