Chandigarh, February 28, 2022 (Yes Punjab News)
Rejecting the explanation given by the Bhakra Beas Management Board with regard to the changes made in the rules for appointment members of the Board, the Sanyukt Samaj Morcha today said that the BBMB should clarify to the people in clear words that the permanent whole time Member (Power) of the Board would be from Punjab. Otherwise, the Board should be ready to face protests on this issue.
President of the Morcha, Balbir Singh Rajewal said that nowhere in its statement, the BBMB authorities concerned had stated that the prevailing practice with regard to the appointment of the permanent Member (Power) from Punjab would continue and there would be no change in it.
He said that the issue raised by the SSM was with regard to the appointment of the permanent members of the Board. The statement issued by the BBMB does not specifically make the position clear in this regard. Rajewal said that Punjab was a major stakeholder in the BBMB and its chairman and one permanent member should be appointed from the state (Punjab).
He said that Punjab could not be compared with other states like Delhi, which has almost zero stakes in the BBMB. The statement issued by the BBMB that it would treat all partner states as equal is itself a big discrimination with the Punjab for which Bhakra dam was built. There was no substance in the BBMB’s plea that there were no eligibility criteria for the appointment of the members. Rajewal said that the appointment of permanent members in the BBMB has been made since 1967 and how it could be possible that these appointments were being made with any eligibility criteria.
“All know that the name of an experienced chief engineer from the Punjab Electricity Department used to be recommended by the state government for appointment as a member (Power) of the Board”, said Rajewal.
Rajewal said that as many as 25 farmer unions would hold demonstration at all the district headquarters on March 7 to protest against the tweaking of the BBMB rules regarding appointments of the Members and certain other issues such as factual mistakes in the history books of recommended by the Punjab School Education Board for the schools in the state. “Decision to hold such protests was taken at a meeting held by the Unions under the chairmanship of Buta Singh Burjgill and Bogh Singh Mansa ”, said Rajewal.
He said that the Education Board like organization had been treating the school books so casually that even it could not detect the glaring distortions in the history books. Beside it, there is an issue of “dastar”. A sikh girl student was not allowed to enter a college in Karnataka. “The dastar is a part and parcel of life of the Sikhs. By stopping the girl from entering the college, the authorities concerned have hurt the religious sentiments of the Sikh community”, he added.
Other issues include appointment of the DANICS (Delhi, Andeman, Nicobar Island Civil Services) cadre officers in Chandigarh at the cost of Punjab officers. Rajewal said that Chandigarh was a capital of Punjab and no officers belonging to DANICS and DANIPS cadres should be appointed in Chandigarh.
He said that the 60:40 patterns between Punjab and Haryana should be maintained while appointing officers and other employees in Chandigarh and filling the vacant posts. Besides that, there was the issue of privatization of power distribution in Chandigarh. “We are strongly opposed to it.
Farmers have fought against handing over the Government assets to the corporate houses for more than a year on Delhi borders”, said Rajewal adding that the SSM was with the Chandigarh power department employees on this issue. The power distribution could not be privatized in Chandigarh without taking the consent of the Punjab Government because Chandigarh is a capital of Punjab, he added. “It was not like other Union Territories”, he added.
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