Chandigarh: SC orders bar on razing of any construction which has come up till May 21. In an immediate relief for those facing demolition of their buildings/ constructions in the Sukhna catchment area, the Supreme Court today ordered a stay on the demolition orders. Making it clear that the Administration authorities will not demolish any construction which has come up till May 21, a division bench of the Apex Court today also ruled that no further construction will be allowed to come up in the catchment area till further orders.

Chandigarh: A senior official of the Chandigarh Administration on Monday urged the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) to draft an industrial policy for the city. Stating that the Draft Industrial Policy 2009 had become old, Home Secretary-cum-Industries Secretary Anil Kumar further said that the time was ripe for a fresh policy draft. “ Let us focus on a few key areas and draft a policy to give vision and guidance to the industry in Chandigarh.

Jalandhar: Despite Punjab being asked by the Central Ground Water Board (CGWB) to decrease at least 10 lakh hectare under water-guzzling paddy in state and use the same for maize cultivation, the government has been unable to do so in the past three years. This year’s target area under maize cultivation is 1.50-lakh hectare — same as set by the state agriculture department for the year 2011.

Ludhiana: With wheat production in Punjab reaching an all-time high, well-known agricultural scientist and Rajya Sabha MP Dr M S Swaminathan on Wednesday urged the state government to provide farmers with an additional Rs 100 per quintal over the Minimum Support Price (MSP) as was the case in Mahrashtra and Rajasthan. “This is what we call procurement price,” said Swaminathan while interacting with farmers.

Wheat procurement in Punjab has touched an all-time high of 124.65 lakh tonne. Out of the total procurement, government agencies have procured almost

Cong questions 15-year tax holiday to refinery; villagers who gave land still waiting for job. Even as steel tycoon Lakshmi N Mittal has hinted that he may go for an initial public offering (IPO) of the just commissioned Guru Gobind Singh Oil Refinery at Bathinda, for expansion to raise capacity, the Punjab government may not get any direct benefit from the Rs 21,500 crore unit to which it has given a tax holiday of 15 years.

Himachal Pradesh Cabinet on Monday instituted a committee under the chairmanship of chief secretary to consider proposed amendments in the Town and Country Planning Act for regularisation of constructions. However, it postponed the decision on relaxing ban in the green area for new constructions on ‘sandwiched’ vacant plots.

Diesel to be cheaper by Re 1. Despite the finance department’s reservations, the Punjab government is all set to abolish octroi on petrol and diesel in the state. While this will reduce the rate of petrol by Rs 2 per litre and diesel by Re 1 per litre, the move will lead to a revenue loss of Rs 100 crore to the various local bodies in the state.

The Centre has decided not to grant forest clearance (stage-I) to any project without examining the documentary evidence related to settlement of rights of affected families. The Forest Advisory Committee of Union Ministry of Environment and Forests has made compliance to the provisions of the Forest Rights Act (FRA), 2006, mandatory for seeking clearance for projects.

The Rs 21,500-crore Guru Gobind Singh Refinery near Bathinda — the largest investment Punjab has seen since Independence — will formally be inaugurated by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on April 28. While Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal will be present on the ocassion along with his cabinet colleagues, state Congress president Captain Amarinder Singh is not likely to attend the function. Amarinder is expected to go to Delhi for a couple of days on Friday for pre-scheduled meetings, said sources. Other Congress leaders are expected to attend the function.

Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal on Thursday shot off a letter to Union Agriculture Minister Sharad Pawar asking him to allot more mega food parks in the state to provide impetus to agro-processing sector and benefit the farmers. The mega food parks, a flagship programme of the Ministry of Food Processing Industries, aims at boosting growth of food processing industry through facilitating establishment of food processing infrastructure backed by supply chain.