TATA SONS CHAIRMAN MEETS PUNJAB CM, INDICATES MASSIVE EXPANSION PLANS FOR TAJ HOTELS IN STATE

Chandigarh, December 4, 2018: Encouraged by the positive stimulus given to industry by the Captain Amarinder Singh government, M/s Tata Sons is looking to expand its Taj Group of Hotels portfolio in Punjab in a big way.
The company has identified 10-15 projects for expanding its business in the state, its chairman Natarajan Chandrasekaran informed Chief Minister Captain Amarinder Singh at a meeting here on Tuesday.
The Chief Minister, during the meeting, asked M/s Tata Sons to come out with a Detailed Project Report (DPR) for its proposed project on rejuvenation of Chhoti Nadi and Badi Nadi River Bodies in Patiala. He handed over to the company chairman a formal letter of mandate for the same.
The preliminary cost of the project is estimated at Rs. 550 crores, with a maintenance period of 10 years.
The company chairman agreed to explore the Chief Minister’s suggestion of setting up an auto plant in the state, and also evinced interest in expanding into food processing, retail and the IT sector, which Captain Amarinder said offered immense potential for growth in view of the various incentives given by his government and the ease of business promoted by the new industrial policy.
Chandrasekaran said with the retail and service sectors not requiring much gestation period, these were an attractive proposition for expansion in the state, an official spokesperson said after the meeting. The Chief Minister pointed out that Punjab not only had surplus power to support industry but also boasted of no labour problems of any kind.
The possibility of starting Air Asia operations from Amritsar was also discussed, with Chandrasekaran promising to look at connecting Amritsar through domestic flights of the company’s aviation wing.
M/s Tata Sons Ltd. had earlier shown keen interest in the efforts of the Government of Punjab in dealing with the pollution and destruction of its water bodies, and had made a representation for the "Rejuvenation of the Chhoti Nadi and Badi Nadi River Bodies in Patiala" to the Patiala Urban Planning and Development Authority (PDA).
The representation was taken to the Punjab Infrastructure Development Board (PIDB) for further evaluation under the PIDB Unsolicited Proposal Bye Laws 2008 and, after preliminary examination, a decision was taken to issue the mandate to M/s. Tata Projects Limited for bringing a detailed project report at their expense for further scrutiny and international bidding as per the Swiss Challenge method.
The project envisages the rejuvenation of the Chotti Nadi, Badi Nadi and other water bodies of the Patiala City. It seeks to intercept all raw sewage or effluent entering the river, divert it to treatment plants, and release treated effluent to create a clean, pollution free, safe and perennial water body.
In this project, rubber dams are also proposed to be constructed at strategic locations to create a separate fresh water body which will ensure better flood management. The Riverfront is proposed to be developed with theme parks, walking avenues, sitting/functional spaces along the river, tree plantation landscape on both the banks of the water bodies.
TATA Power CEO Parveen Sinha and TATA Sons President Banwali Agrawal were also present at the meeting.
The Chief Minister accompanied by Industries & Commerce Minister Sunder Sham Arora, Media Advisor Raveen Thukral, Chief Secretary Karan Avtar Singh, Chief Principal Secretary to CM Suresh Kumar, ACS Investment Promotion-cum-Industries & Commerce Vini Mahajan, Principal Secretary to CM Tejveer Singh, CEO Invest Punjab Rajat Aggarwal.

ULTRA MODERN TECHNOLOGY TO BE DRIVING FORCE BEHIND REDUCTION IN ROAD MISHAPS: ARUNA CHAUDHARY
Chandigarh: “The use of high end technology would be ensured to stall the road mishaps and a comprehensive programme would be chalked out to educate students regarding road safety norms.” This was disclosed by the Transport Minister, Punjab, Mrs. Aruna Chaudhary here today in a communiqué after presiding over the meeting of Punjab State Road Safety Council.

Mrs. Chaudhary directed the officers present to act against the violators of road safety norms using the modern technology. Divulging more, the minister said that breath analyzers must be used to check drunken driving, Speed Guns to put a stop to the over speeding vehicles, besides weighing machines to check overloading. The minister also added that speed cameras must also be installed as part of the pilot project on the Chandigarh-Nangal main road to nip the menace of overspeeding in the bud apart from making optimum usage of the weighing machines at toll plazas and other spots to deal with the problem of overloading.

Mrs. Chaudhary further elaborated that the strict implementation of the road safety norms needs to be ensured and most significantly, an awareness campaign must be waged to educate common masses in this regard. The minister also emphasized organizing awareness camps aimed at student community besides instructing the officers of the Education Department to ensure inclusion of the road safety norms a part of the curriculum and guiding about the same during the morning prayer time. The minister also directed the officers of the Transport as well as the Police department to make sure that no vehicle gets on the road without reflectors.

Prominent among others who were present in the meeting included Additional Chief Secretary Home Mr. N.S. Kalsi, Principal Secretary Transport Mr. K. Shiva Prashad, State Transport Commissioner Mr. Dilraj Singh, ADGP Traffic Mr. Sharad Chauhan and Representatives of different departments namely Finance, PRBDB, Health Services, School Education, Higher Education, Local Government, and Punjab Mandi Board.

PUNJAB GOVERNMENT NOD TO NEW POLICY AIMED AT REVIVAL OF DEFUNCT INDUSTRIES: SUNDER SHAM ARORA
Chandigarh: "The Punjab Government has given it's nod to a new policy which is aimed at the revival and rejuvenation of defunct industries. Under this initiative, the debt ridden companies as well as the entrepreneurs would be provided an opportunity for the one time settlement (OTS) of the balance amount. "This was disclosed here today by the Industries Minister, Punjab, Mr. Sunder Sham Arora.

The minister further said that the approval has been accorded to the entrepreneurs and the debt ridden companies for the one time settlement of their balance debt amount with the PSIDC and PFC. He also divulged that it would be the last chance for the companies not making the payments.

Mr. Arora also added that the One Time Settlement policy -2018 has been okayed and accepted after holding comprehensive deliberations with the promoters of revival and rehabilitation of the industrial sector and also as per the suggestions of the Chamber of Commerce and Industries Association.

The minister further divulged that as per this policy the entrepreneurs and the companies under debt would get a chance to receive the payment of Rs. 80-100 crore and Rs. 7-10 crore under the settlement of their balance debt with the Punjab State Industrial Development Corporation Limited (PSIDC) and Punjab Financial Corporation (PFC) respectively.

The minister also elaborated that the new policy would lead to the release of the hold up industrial assets and also reduce the unnecessary litigation with these corporations. He also said that the policy would also result in the generation of revenue for the development centric initiatives for boosting up the industrial infrastructure. Divulging more, he added that the PSIDC provided Loan to the 861 industrial units out of which 739 had settled the debt with the corporations where as the cases pertaining to only 122 units are pending.

Mr. Arora also said that the Punjab Government is fully committed to the revival of the industrial sector in the state. Thanking the Chief Minister Captain Amarinder Singh for according sanction to the policy, the minister said that the new policy would bolster the debt ridden companies as well as the entrepreneurs, it would yield employment avenues for the youth too.

VIGILANCE NABS REVENUE PATWARI FOR TAKING BRIBE
Chandigarh: State Vigilance Bureau nabbed a Revenue Patwari red handed while accepting bribe of Rs. 6,000.
Disclosing this here an official spokesperson of the Vigilance Bureau said Jaspal Singh, Patwari posted at Agwad Gujran-3 in Ludhiana district was nabbed red handed by Vigilance team for accepting bribe of Rs. 6,000 from complainant Gagandeep Singh of Chuhar Chak in Moga district.
The Complainant has approached the VB that the above said Patwari was demanding Rs. 10,000 for the correction in papers of his land and the deal was struck at Rs. 6,000.
After verifying his information, the Vigilance team laid a trap and the accused Patwari was arrested on the spot while accepting bribe of Rs. 6,000/- from the complainant in the presence of two official witnesses
He informed that a case under Prevention of Corruption Act has been registered against the accused at VB police station Ludhiana and further investigations was under progress.

PUNJAB CM SEEKS DETAILED REPORT ON FIRE IN BARNALA INDUSTRIAL GODOWN
Chandigarh: Punjab Chief Minister Captain Amarinder Singh has sought a detailed report from the Barnala Deputy Commissioner into the incident of fire in an industrial godown that left three dead.
The Chief Minister has also announced ex-gratia grant of Rs. 1 lakh each to the next of the kin of the deceased, identified as Jagjeet Singh (24) of village Gill Kothe, Sikander Singh (25) and Sadhu Singh (27) of village Cheema.
Captain Amarinder Singh has expressed anguish over the mishap, which occurred in an industrial godown at village Ugoke in Tapa Sub Division, and has extended his sympathies to the families of the victims.
In his directive to the DC, Captain Amarinder has asked him to thoroughly probe the incident to ascertain the cause of the fire, and to suggest remedial measures to prevent recurrence of such incidents in the future.
Acting swiftly on the directives of the Chief Minister, the Deputy Commissioner has deputed the Sub Divisional Magistrate, Tapa, to submit the detailed report in the matter at the earliest.
Meanwhile, DC Dharam Pal Gupta, along with SSP and SDM, visited the site and met the victims’ families.
An official spokesperson later said the situation was now under control and fire had been completely extinguished.

STICKERS NOT TO BE PASTED ON FRUITS AND VEGETABLES- FOOD SAFETY COMMISSIONER
Chandigarh: The Food Safety Commissioner Punjab in a letter to all the Food Safety Teams has directed them to spread awareness amongst traders that the fruits and vegetables should not be sold in the market with stickers pasted on them.
Giving details, Commissioner KS Pannu informed that the use of stickers on food products to provide information on traceability, grades, price etc. is a common practice across the globe. But, a lot of times these stickers are applied directly on food sources such as on fruits and vegetables. Apples, kiwis, mangoes, oranges, banana, pears and bell peppers are some common fruits and vegetables which have stickers applied directly on the surfaces. However, it is observed that in Punjab “traders use stickers to make their product look premium or sometimes to hide any defect on the product.“Tested Ok”, “Good Quality” or “Name of Product” are some common terms mentioned on the stickers which do not have any significance at all,” said he. A wide variety of adhesives are used on these stickers to paste them effectively. Safety of these is not known. Studies show that substances like surfactants used in adhesives are toxic.
People generally remove stickers from fruits or vegetables and consume without thinking about residues of adhesives present on them. Heat from sunlight on the fresh fruits and vegetables sold in open market also increase the migration of harmful chemicals from adhesives into fruits. Risk of consuming this is high in case of fruits or vegetables with skin, said he.
The Food Safety Teams have been directed to check the sale of such fruits and vegetables as well as make the traders aware of the provisions the Food Safety and Standards Act, 2006 as per which no food business operator shall store, sell or distribute any article of food which is unsafe. The teams have also been advised to inform the traders that “in case a sticker is must to provide relevant information like grade, price or barcode as in case of sales in supermarkets then stickers or labels should not be put directly on fruits and vegetables rather a functional barrier like a safe transparent thin film may be used and sticker should be pasted on them. The ink used on the stickers must be food grade quality and must not migrate into food.”
Giving a word of caution to the consumers, Mr. Pannu said that fruits and vegetables with stickers are not necessarily of premium quality. Consumers must check the quality before buying them. Reiterating the FSSAI advisory issued in this context he said that stickers should be removed before consumption of fruits and vegetables. To prevent consuming residues of adhesives, consumers must peel or cut the skin of fruits and vegetables where the sticker was applied and wash the fruits and vegetables properly with water before consumption.