ULBs should have own income sources: Hp CM
Shimla: Urban Local Bodies should strive to create their own income sources to accelerate the pace of development in their jurisdiction, Himachal Chief Minister Jai Ram Thakur said on Saturday. Presiding over the review meeting of Urban Development Department here, he said that Smart City Mission was being implemented in the State under which Shimla Smart City and Dharamshala Smart City projects were being executed. He said that both these cities were important cities of the State from a tourism point of view. He said that the project proposals of Dharamshala Smart City was of Rs. 2109.69 crore whereas of Shimla Smart City was of Rs. 2905.97 crore. Thakur said Atal Mission for Rejuvenation and Urban Transformation (AMRUT) was being implemented in the State in Municipal Corporation Shimla and Municipal Council Kullu. He said out of total allocation of Rs. 304.52 crore, an amount of Rs. 166.38 crore have been released under this project out of which 119.58 crore have been spent. He said that this project envisages augmentation of water supply, water treatment plant, sewerage treatment plants, construction of drains, foot bridges, foot overbridges, developing parking, green spaces and parks.
loa for transfers of teachers extended
Chandigarh: Punjab Government has extended the last date for transfer of teachers, computer faculty and education providers, EGS / AIE / STR / Volunteers till June 12. A spokesperson of the education department said that the previous date for online applications for transfers was fixed on June 5 but on the request of teachers, computer faculty and education providers, EGS / AIE / STR / volunteers, it has been extended. This decision has been taken to avoid any inconvenience of the teachers due to the unavailability of confidential reports and required other data.
CAPT AMARINDER REVIEWS projects under UEIP
CHANDIGARH: Punjab Chief Minister Capt Amarinder Singh on Saturday directed the ACS Local Government to accelerate the pace of ongoing projects under Phase I of the Urban Environment Improvement Program (UEIP), and set a deadline of June 30, 2020, for their completion. While reviewing the progress of UEIP, he also asked the ACS to submit the remaining proposals under Phase-I of the programme to the Punjab Infrastructure Development Program (PIDB) by June 15, along with proposals for funding under Phase-II after obtaining the same from the Urban Local Bodies (ULBs) by June 15. Notably, the UEIP is being implemented by the ULBs with financial support of PIDB. To ensure time-bound progress of the ongoing projects, the Chief Minister has further directed the ACS to submit a weekly progress report, every Friday. Earlier, the Director Local Government apprised the Chief Minister that an allocation of Rs.298.75 crore was made to various ULBs under Phase-I of the UEIP, but projects/ schemes worth only Rs.108.44 crore had been undertaken so far. Of this, only Rs.40.89 crore had been spent so far. As a result, the Department yet to submit project proposals for over Rs.190.31 crore to the PIDB for funding, with the ULBs yet to utilize Rs.67.55 crore.
Punjab Minister Tript Bajwa slams Akali Dal
Chandigarh: Punjab Rural Development and Panchayats Minister Tript Rajinder Singh Bajwa on Saturday slammed the Shiromani Akali Dal for what he called "betraying" the people once again by being co-partner of the BJP in launching attack on the already weakened federal structure of the country under the garb of farm sector reforms. In a statement, Bajwa said, “Akali Dal’s representative in the Modi government Harsimrat Kaur Badal was not only part of the decision to deregulate farm sector, she later hailed it and her husband and party president Sukhbir Singh Badal echoed her views the next day”. The Badals were now partners in the crime against farmers in the country. He said the two ordinances cleared by the Modi government and promulgated immediately not only hit at the federal structure of governance in the country but also start the count-down for making the minimum price support system and state marketing boards irrelevant and meaningless.
Max temperature below normal in Hry, Pb
Chandigarh: The maximum temperature in Haryana and Punjab continued to hover well below the normal limits on Saturday. Chandigarh recorded a maximum temperature of 32.7 degrees Celsius, six notches below normal, according to the meteorological department here. In Haryana, Ambala's maximum settled at 34.2 degrees Celsius, five below normal while Karnal recorded a high of 33.5 degrees Celsius, six below normal. Hisar recorded a high of 37 degrees Celsius, five notches below normal while Narnaul registered a high of 33.5 degrees Celsius, eight notches below normal. Amritsar in Punjab, which was lashed by rains, recorded a steep fall in mercury levels. The maximum temperature in the holy city settled at 29.5 degrees Celsius, down 11 notches against normal limits. Ludhiana registered a maximum of 30.6 degrees Celsius, nine notches below normal while Patiala's maximum settled at 35 degrees Celsius, five notches below normal limits.
Three more infected with coronavirus in UT
Chandigarh: Three more people including a five-year-old boy tested positive for coronavirus in Chandigarh on Saturday, taking the COVID-19 tally to 312 in union territory. All three are residents of Bapu Dham colony, the medical bulletin said. Of the 5,237 samples tested so far, 4,906 are negative and reports of 21 are awaited, it said. Thirty one cases are active in the city while five COVID-19 patients have died due to the virus so far, it said. A total 273 patients have recovered from the infection so far.