Briefly State

Ashok Thapar is BBMB member from Punjab

Ashok Thapar,an officer from Punjab,has been appointed Member (Power) of the Bhakra-Beas Management Board by the Government of India. He took over his new assignment late on Monday evening. He will have a three-year tenure. Prior to this assignment,he was working as Chief Engineer (Generation) in BBMB and was in-charge of all 28 units of hydroelectric power stations (2865 MW). Vinod Kumar Gupta,Chief Engineer/TS,BBMB has been entrusted with the additional charge as Chief Engineer (Generation) following Thapar’s elevation.

9 de-addiction centres to come up in Punjab

The state government is going to construct as many as nine drug de-addiction centres in Punjab. According to reports,an amount of Rs 3,65,86000 will be spent on the construction of these centres at Khyala Kalan in Mansa district,Barnala,Sangrur,Batala in Gurdaspur,Abohar in Ferozepur,Ludhiana,Ropar,Hoshiarpur and Fatehgarh Sahib. Addressing the executive committee of Ropar District Red Cross Society on Monday,Deputy Commissioner Arunjit Singh Mighlani said the de-addiction centre at Roopnagar Civil Hospital would come up at a cost of Rs 39.81 lakh.

BJP to make report of development work

The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) will soon make a report card of the development work done during the SAD-BJP regime,drawing a parallel to that done during the Congress regime,and make it public. BJP state chief Ashwini Kumar said this while addressing a press conference at the circuit house here.

Kumar was in Ludhiana to take stock of the arrangements of state-level working committee meeting to be held on February 26 and 27. He said: “Former Union minister and BJP’s Punjab affairs in-charge Shanta Kumar will attend the meeting,along with all BJP legislators and MPs of Punjab.”

Revenue collection shoots up

Punjab Government registered 29.3 per cent increase in the revenue collection in the first nine months of the current financial year against the previous year. A government spokesman said here on Tuesday that the Excise and Taxation Department collected Rs 9934.18 crore under different acts from April 1,2010 to December 31,2010 against Rs 7684.54 crore from April 1,2009 to December 31,2009. The total increase registered for the first nine months of the current financial year was 2249.64 crore that is 29.3 per cent. He further said that under the Punjab Value Added Tax (VAT) Excise and Taxation Department collected Rs 7863.76 crore against Rs 5959.20 crore last year — an increase of 32 per cent. Likewise,under the Central sales tax,the total collection increased to Rs 279.18 crore against Rs 228.23 crore — 22.3 per cent. The spokesman further said that the entertainment tax collection reached Rs 7.06 crore from Rs 0.29 crore — an increase of 2334.5 per cent.

Amarinder to chalk out course of action in meetings with party groups

Punjab Pradesh Congress Committee President Capt Amarinder Singh will hold meetings with leaders and representatives of various frontal organisations of the party on March 1,senior party leader and former minister Lal Singh said in a statement issued today. “Leaders and representatives of the five frontal organisations of the party,including Punjab Youth Congress,Punjab Pradesh Mahila Congress,National Students’ Union of India,Congress Seva Dal and Indian National Trade Union Congress will attend the meeting that is aimed at reviewing progress of the party during the last few months after holding district level rallies and chalking out future course of action,” he said.