:: Public Opinion 

Bio-Data of Sant Balbir Singh Seechewal

• Distinction
• A great environmentalist (of the fame of Holy Bein Kar sewa).
• A great social reformer (famous as “Welfare Baba”)
• A great spiritual leader who seeks to preach the humanitarian message of Sri Guru Granth Sahib.
• Praised by Dr. A.P.J. Abdul Kalam, the former President of India, as the preacher of “A Noble Mission”.
• Acclaimed by international Time Magazine as “The Hero of Environment”
• Birth:
• Date of Birth: 2/2/1962
• Place of Birth: Village Seechewal, P.O. Chak Chela, Tehsil Shahkot, Distt. Jalandhar ( East Punjab ), India . Pin: 144701
• Parents: Sh. Chanan Singh (Father); Smt. Chanan Kaur (Mother)
• Education:
• Early Education: Govt. Primary School Seechewal, Govt. Primary School Talwandi Madho, Distt. Jalandhar.
• Matriculation: Govt. School Nihaluwal. Distt. Jalandhar.
• Higher: D.A.V. College Nakodar, Distt: Jalandhar. (Left studies without completing graduation in 1981 after coming into contact with his spiritual teacher Sant Avtar Singh.)
• Beginning of Social Responsibility:
• Joined the company of Sant Avtar Singh in 1981 at Nirmal Kuteya Seechewal.
• Was made the Head of Nirmal Kuteya Seechewal on 6/6/1988 (after the death of Sant Avtar Singh).
• Marital Status:
• Never married.
• Positions held:
• Chairman of Ek Onkar Charitable Trust (Regd.) Seechewal (Jalandhar),
• Unanimously elected Sarpanch of his native village Seechewal consecutively for the third time.
• Head of Nirmal Kuteya Seechewal.
• Patron of Tug-of War Association Punjab .
• Patron of Nirmal Noor, an environmental tri-lingual magazine.
• Patron of Body Building Amateur Association, Kapurthala.
• And many others.
• Fields of Public Service:
• Conservation of natural water resources including rivers, Beins, drains, wetlands, etc.
• Underground sewerage systems in villages and towns,
• Roads in remote and backward areas,
• Tree-plantation in wastelands,
• Advanced but low-cost Education for the poor and the needy,
• Promotion of sports,
• Eradication of poverty, illiteracy, superstition, drug addiction, social injustice, un-touchability, etc.
• Achievements:
• Kar Sewa of the river Kali Bein (July 2000 – July 2008)
• About Kali Bein river:

a)      Kali Bein is a 160 km-Long River sacred to Sri Guru Nanak Dev Ji who is said to have got enlightenment on its banks in 1507.

b)      It flows through Doaba, the most fertile, central part of the Punjab, known as the granary of India. It is lifeline of the people as it is the source of irrigation, means to drain out excess water from water-logged areas and the only source of recharging of water table in dry areas of the state.

• Effects of Work on the Kali Bein river:

a)      Renovation of the river at Sultanpur Lodhi: Clearing of hyacinth and silt from the river bed, demarcation of its area, stone fixing on the banks, roads along the banks, plantation, water supply and electrification on the banks.

b)      Restoration of flow of pure water in it.

c)      Celebration of Vaisakhi and other festivals on the banks.

d)     Reclamation of 6000 acres of land in Dasuya and Mukerian Tehsils of District Hoshiarpur.

e)      Recovery of depleted water table in 1,35,000 hectares of land in Kapurthala district.

• Additional Benefits:

a)      Quality of underground water is improving.

b)      Alternative arrangements of sewage waters in 24 villages and a town along the river have been completed.

                                                                                                        i.            Storage ponds have been dug and underground sewerage systems have been installed.

                                                                                                      ii.            After treatment these sewage waters are being supplied for irrigation of crops through underground pipelines, thus enhancing the agricultural produce through natural farming @ Rs. 5000/- per acre, and also saving a lot of money on fertilizers, water and energy.

c)      In Kapurthala district, thousands of acres of land near confluence of the Holy Bein with the Beas and the Satluj rivers have been reclaimed from floods.

d)      It is also due to this community venture that the Govt. got inspiration to declare the Kali Bein river as the Holy Kali Bein, Vide order No10.10.01-1W(5)/5756, Dated 11/10/2006

e)      It is also due this Kar Sewa that Govt. declared the historical city of Sultanpur Lodhi as the Holy City Vide order No. 4/28/06-237, dated 29-11-2006.

o   Work in the field of Education.

                                                                                                  i.      A Post-graduate College named Sri Maan Sant Avtar Singh Yadgari Mahavidyalya Seechewal was inaugurated on 27/5/1999 .

                                                                                                ii.      Sant Avtar Singh Ji Yadgaari Secondary School has been established at Nirmal Kuteya Seechewal.

                                                                                              iii.      A school for the poor slum dwellers from other states named Nawan Nanakana School Sultanpur Lodhi was started in 2006.

                                                                                              iv.      An Environment Research Centre has been established at Seechewal to promote research in the field of preservation of water and other natural resources and to spread awareness about it among common people.

o   Work in the Field of Sports

                                                                                                  i.      Elaborate Sports tournaments are organized in March, May and November every year at Seechewal.

                                                                                                ii.      Inducements to sportsmen of the area.

                                                                                              iii.      Linking of games with morality and religious piety (uttering of “waheguru”, the name of God, instead of kabaddi, complete prohibition of using abusive language during games, etc.)

                                                                                              iv.      A Sports stadium at Nirmal Kuteya Seechewal established in 2001

                                                                                                v.      Gymnasium was established at Nirmal Kuteya Seechewal.

                                                                                              vi.      Establishment of Sports Club Seechewal in 2007.

                                                                                            vii.      Appointed Chairman and Patron of Tug-of-War and Body building Associations.

o   Work on the Roads

                                                                                                  i.      Work began on Birth day of Guru Nanak in 1991.

                                                                                                ii.      Identified and got demarcated and vacated the area of roads under illegal possession of people.

                                                                                              iii.      Established approach roads in remote areas.

                                                                                              iv.      Set in a new era of economic and social development in the area: gave a boosting to agriculture, education, and social interaction, raised the rates of landed property many times making the farmers richer, and so on.

• Difficulties and risks: Following are some of the difficulties and risks confronted during the kar sewa of the Holy Kali Bein river. However, the kar sewa has broken the ice and people are gradually coming round to the ideas of Sant Balbir Singh Seehcewal and realising their moral duty of protecting the natural water resources:
• Negligence of the people:
• We, Indians, have forgotten the precious edicts of our forefathers, Gurus and saints whereby they preached reverence for our natural resources. We have started being guided by our narrow selfish motives. The worst thing about this is that we are have turned our rivers into dirty drains and still do not know what havoc we have played with our environment and natural resources.
• By throwing poisonous effluents of our industries into the rivers we ignorantly feel that we have found a proper disposal for them. But we forget that we are creating more serious problem, that of poisoning the whole earth.
• Some superstitious people throw the worship material into the pure waters and contaminate them (in the name of religion!)
• Some people build their houses and other concerns in the bed area of the rivers and obstruct the natural path of the flow. Such encroachments bring about floods.
• Out of their ignorance sometimes such people start opposing the positive environmental projects.
• Non availability of revenue record:
• Whenever some renovation work is started on a river, one of the most pestering problems is that of demarcation of its area. Either the revenue record is not available, or it is inconsistent.
• For ex. in the case of the Kali Bein river, it was found that at some places its area was shown to be the property of the central government, at others it was under private ownership. It was often sold and purchased, thus endangering its very existence. People were often heard saying, “there is no river here. It’s our property.”
• Its breadth is also not consistent along its length. At some places Kali Bein becomes wider like a wide river, at others it narrows down like a creek.
• Non availability of record leads any renovation work into quagmire.
• Moreover, rules and regulations regarding this are not protective of natural resources. These allow free play for the vested interests.
• What is required is that revenue records be made legally uniform so that to protect them becomes easier and smoother.
• Lethargy of Administration:
• Sometimes under the directions of sagacious authorities, administration takes up some environmental project. But the whole thing is lost in formalities of meetings and paper work and actual output is equal to zero.
• It is due to the vested interests, political biases, lack of will power, and lethargy of the administration.
• The pity of the matter is that the administration and government which is supposed to be protector of the law, proves to be the major law-breaker.
• State and central pollution control boards which are duty-bound to control the pollution of natural resources, become major protectors of the polluters.
• All these things were felt during the kar sewa of the Holy Kali Bein and work on the Kala Sanghian Drain in Jalandhar and Buddha Nullah in Ludhiana .
• Clear and unambiguous laws should be made for the protection of environment and no dilly-dallying should be tolerated on the part of administration.

o   Lack of research:

§  Not much research material is available regarding our rivers and Beins.

§  No satellite maps are available, no factual information is provide for the people who want to do renovation work on natural water resources.

§  The universities should be asked to promote such research if we want to preserve our natural resources.

• Presidential Acclaim:
• Dr. A.P.J. Abdul Kalam, the former President of India, has been kind enough to announce to the people of world the significance of Sant Balbir Singh's work in many of his national and international speeches.

o   Visits of Dr. Kalam to Sant Bablir Singh Seechewal:

1. Dr. Kalam himself came to visit the place of Sultanpur Lodhi in Punjab on August 17, 2006 to see the kar sewa work being done on the Holy Kali Bein by Sant Balbir Singh and his followers.
2. He also came to visit Sultanpur Lodhi to attend the 8th anniversary celebrations of Kar sewa of the Holy Bein on July 27, 2008 .

• His speeches in praise of Sant Balbir Singh’s work are listed below:

1.      All India Radio Address to the Nation on the eve of Technology Day, 11-05-2004

2.      Address at the Launching of the People's Foundation for Development of Enlightened Citizenship, New Delhi , 15-06-2004

3.      Address at the Inauguration ofIndia Country-Level Development Marketplace, New Delhi , 21¬06-2004

4.      Address at the Technology Day Award Function, Pragati Maidan, New Delhi , 30-06-2004

5.      Address at the Inauguration of the Seminar on Tourism, Ahmedabad, 15-10-2004

6.      Interaction with the Students of the Gandhi Institute of Computer Education and Information Technology: Mumbai, 18-11-2004 .

7.      Address at the IPI-INDIA Award for Excellence in Journalism 2004, New Delhi , 06-12-2004

8.      Address at the Lokpriya Gopinath Bordoloi Award for National Integration, Guwahati. 31-12-04

9.      Inaugural Address at the National Water Convention 2005, New Delhi , 11-05-2005

10.  Presentation by Siruthuli and Interaction with Students, Coimbatore , 06-07-2005

11.  Address at the Concluding Ceremony of Diamond Jubilee Celebrations of Press Club, Kolkata, 13-07-2005

12.  Address at the Inauguration of the International Conference on Environment-Awareness- Enforcement, New Delhi, 20-01-2006

13.  Answer to a student's query in "Children's Comer".

14.  Address at the World Environment Day 2006, Bangalore , 06-06-2006 .

15.  Address at the Launching of the Post-centenary Golden Jubilee Celebrations of Univ. of Mumbai, 18-7-06 .

16.  Visit to Kali Bein at Sultanpur Lodhi, 17-8-06 .

17.  Address during the Dedication of the Upper Krishna Project to the Nation, Almatti, Kamatka, 21-8-06 .

18.  Visit to Alagappa University and Address to the Students, Karakudi, Tamilnadu, 24-09-2006 : Karaikudi

19.  Address at the Second Convocation of Dev Sanskriti Vishwa Vidyalaya, Haridwar, 09-12-2006

20.   Address to the Nation by the President of India DR. A.P.J. ABDUL KALAM on the Eve of the 58th Republic Day2007, 25-01-2007

21.  Address and Interaction with the Thinkers of  Greece, Organised by ELIAMEP, Athens, Greece, 26-04-2007.

22.  Address at the Launching of the Centenary Endowment Scheme of Calcutta Club Limited, Kolkata, West Bengal , 17-05-2007 .

23.  Address at the 8^th Anniversary of Cleanliness of Natural Water Resources in Nirmal Kuteya, Sultanpur Lodhi, July 27, 2008 .

24.  And many others.

• Honours of Sant Balbir Singh Seechewal:

1.      Honoured on the occasion of the 286th Birth Anniversary of Nawab Jassa Singh Ahluwalia for his activities in the field of moral education on May 2, 2004.

2.      Honoured by All India Pingalwara Charitable Trust Amritsar on the occasion of the first centenary of Bhagat Puran Singh on June 4, 2004 , for his selfless service to humanity.

3.      Honoured by Satguru Jagjit Singh, the spiritual leader of the Namdharis on June 26, 2004 for his public welfare projects.

4.      Felicitated by the governing council of Lyallpur Khalsa College Jalandhar on July 15, 2004 for his activities in the field of education and evironment.

5.      Felicitated by Guru Nanak Mission Medical and Educational Trust Dhahan Kaleran (Nawan Shehar) in Punjab on 23 July 2004 .

6.      Felicitated by Civil Authorities on the occasion of Independence Day, on August 15, 2004, for his praiseworthy activities to promote education.

7.      Honoured on the occasion of the Birth Anniversary of Shri Rajiv Gandhi on Sep.3, 2004, in recognition of his contribution to promotion of sports.

8.      Felicitated with "Shromani Desh Sewa Rattan Award" by Shaheed Memorial International Sewa Society on 19/11/2004 .

9.      Honoured on the historical occasion of 300th Shaheedi Celebration of Baba Jeevan Singh on January 9, 2005 at Muktsar.

10.  Felicitated by Punjab Armed Police Kapurthala on January 15, 2005 .

11.  Honoured by the government authorities at Republic Day celebrations on January 26, 2005.

12.  Honoured by Punjab Pollution Control Board on World Environment Day, on June 6, 2005 in recognition of his contribution in the field of environment.

13.  Honoured by Dr. S.N. Subrao at National Integration Camp on June 27, 2005 at Nangal.

14.  Felicitated by three reputed environmental NGOs - Punjabi Sath, Dharat Suhavi, & Chowgirda Bachao Committee at Lambra (Jalandhar) on July 1 0, 2005.

15.  Felicitated by the Punjab Panchayat Federation, during a tree planting campaign at various places of Punjab, on August 6, 2005.

16.  Felicitated by Rotary Club International Sultanpur Lodhi Greater on August 29,2005 .

17.  Honoured by Environment and Science Society of N.J.S.A.Govt. College Kapurthala on September 2, 2005.

18.  Felicitated at Hindu Kanya College , Kapurthala on February 22, 2006 .

19.  Honoured by the famous newspaper group "Charhdi Kala" at Patiala on February 25, 2006.

20.  Felicitated by famous writer Ajeet Cour and famous painter Arpana Cour at New Delhi on April 21, 2006.

21.  Felicitated at Jalandhar on May 6, 2006 by many NGOs working in the field of moral and religious education, environment and social service.

22.  Honoured by Doordarshan Jalandhar with "Panj Pani Award-2006" on World Environment Day, on June 5, 2006.

23.  Felicitated by Bairagi Mahamandal in Distt. Ludhiana on June 9, 2006 on the occasion of 290th Martyrdom Day of Banda Singh Bahadur.

24.  Felicitated by the famous group of newspapers Dainik Jagran on October 13, 2006 on the occasion of completion of seven years of its publication in Punjab .

25.  Honoured at a Workshop on the Management of Water Resources at Thapar Institute of Engineering Patiala on November 18,2006 .

26.  Honoured at Khalsa College for Women Sidhwan Khurd, Distt. Ludhiana on November 22, 2006.

27.  Honoured on November 27, 2006, at the inauguration function of Annual Workshop of Maharishi Vishwamittar Ved Vedang (from 27 Nov. to 2 Dec. 2006) held at Punjab University, Sadhu Ashram, Hoshiarpur.

28.  Honoured on December 2, 2006 , at Fourth Conference of Baba Aya Singh College Riarki Tugalwala, Distt. Gurdaspur.

29.  Honoured on January 8, 2007at the inauguration of a two-day Workshop (8-9 Jan., 2007) on the teachings of Guru Nanak Dev Ji at Guru Nanak Dev University, Amritsar.

30.  Felicitated on January 16, 2007 at Mata Gujari College Fatehgarh Sahib.

31.  Felicitated on February 4, 2007 by International Bhai Mardana Society at Ferozepur.

32.  Given "Living Legend Award" by People's Forum at Kot Kapura on April 7, 2007 .

33.  Felicitated on May 16, 2007 by Punjab Global Foundation at Patiala with "Global Punjabi Award-2006".

34.  Felicitated on July 12, 2007 by Forest Department, Senior Citizens' Welfare Association, Malwa Arts, Sports, Culture and Education Trust, and other associations at Patiala on the occasion of tree-planting campaign.

35.  Felicitated by the Managing Committee, the Staff and the Students of Guru Nanak College Sukhchainana Sahib Phagwara on July 13, 2007.

36.  Felicitated by Guru Nanak Nishkam Jatha ( U.K. ) at Amritsar on August 26, 2007 .

37.  Felicitated by Doon Welfare Association at Noor Pur Bedi in Ropar on October 2, 2007 on the occasion of Gandhi Jayanti.

38.  Honoured with "Punjab Rattan Award-2007” by the famous Hindi group of Newspapers "Dainik Bhaskar" at Jalandhar on October 8, 2007.

39.  Felicitated on October 18, 2007 by Pingalwara Ashram at Patiala with "Baba Mohan Singh Award." 

40.  Honoured on November 5, 2007 at Punjab and Haryana Bar Council Auditorium Chandigarh by Punjab Eco-Friendly Association (PEFA).

41.  Felicitated by Institute of Sikh Studies at Chandigarh on November 10, 2007.

42.  Felicitated on December 25, 2007 by PEDA at Arjan Das College Dharamkot. 

43.  Felicitated by Sikh Sangat at Suratgarh, Rajasthan on January 2, 2008 .

44.  Felicitated by Rotary Club at Mohali on February 16, 2008 .

45.  Felicitated at Moga on June 5, 2008 on World Environment Day.

46.  Awarded “Excellence Among Sikhs” by US based social organization SCORE (Sikh Council on Religion and Education, Washington) on July 4, 2009.

47.  Awarded Nirmal Gram Puraskar 2008.

48.  Honoured by Punjab Academy of Sciences with Fellowship on 07/02/2009 at P.A.U. Ludhiana.

49.  Honoured by Guru Jambheshwar University of Science and Technology Hissar with Madhu Bhasin Award on 09/02/2009.

50.  Honoured by Punjab Govt. with State Award on 15/08/2009 at Ferozepur.

51.  Honoured by Dainik Jagran with Punjab Rattan Award on 04/10/2009 at Jalandhar.

52.  Honoured by UNDP and ARC under the Eco-Sikh Five Year Plan at Windsor 2009 (2-4 November, 2009) in London, U.K.

53.  Felicitated at the Summit of World Religious leaders during Climate Change Conference organized by UNO at Copenhagen, Denmark from 7 to 13 December, 2009.

54.  Honoured with Sarishti Award by Indian Institute of Management (IIM) at Ahmedabad, Gujrat.

55.  Felicitated with SAARC Environment Award-2010 at SAARC Conference held at New Delhi on 27/03/2010.

56.  Honoured by the international organisations during his visits to U.K., Canada, Philippines, Holland and other countries.

57.  And many others.

·         Contact:

o   Head Office:

Nirmal Kuteya, Seechewal, P.O. Chak Chela, Tehsil: Shahkot, Distt. Jalandhar (Pb.). Pin. 144701.

Phone:             01821-270263, 270363

Fax:     01821-270263, 01828-221063

Mobile :            94173-19463

Email:              maharaj_ji@nirmalkuteya.com

Websites:

a.       www.nirmalkuteya.com

b.      www.santseechewal.net

c.       www.kalibein.net

d.   www.nirmalnoor.com

o   Branches of Nirmal Kuteya, Seechewal:

1.      Nirmal Kuteya, Sultanpur Lodhi, Distt.Kapurthala. Pin: 144626.

(Situated on the banks of the Holy Bein near Gurdwara Sant Ghat, established in November 2001), Phone: 01828-221063, 224963, Fax: 01828-221063

2.      Nirmal Kuteya, Talwandi Madho, Distt. Jalandhar.

(Situated on Sohal Khalsa-Talwandi Madho road, established in May 1995)

3.      Nirmal Kuteya, Sohal Khalsa, Distt.Jalandhar

(Situated on Sohal Khalsa-Raiwal Road, established in 1996).

4.      Nirmal Kuteya Gallowal, Distt. Hoshiarpur.

(Situated on the banks of the Holy Bein near Budho Barkat-Gallowal Bridge , Established on May 5, 2003 )

5.      Nirmal Kuteya, Rasoolpur, Distt. Jalandhar.

(Situated on Talwandi Madho-Goraya Road, Estblished in 1998)

6.      Nirmal Kuteya, Mallha, Distt. Ludhiana .

(Situated on Malha-Chakkar Road, Established in 1999)

7.      Nirmal Kuteya, Kotla Heran, Distt. Jalandhar.

(Situated on Jalandhar–Lohian Road via Kala Sanghian, Established in 1997)

8.      Nirmal Kuteya, Fattehwal, Distt.Kapurthala.

(Situated on the banks of the Holy Kali Bien near Ahli Kalan, Established on 25/11/2007   )

o   Branches Abroad:

1.      Indian Nirmal Temple Paniqui Temple Tarlac Manila ( Philippines )

(Established in 2004)