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H A R Y A N A |  |
 Tuesday, December 29, 1998 |
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Refer power issue to SC:
Haryana Unsolved
crime cases piling up |
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CM withheld
grant, alleges Jindal Consumer
awarded compensation Petrol
stations remain closed Railway
men flay reduction of staff HCCI
decries Yadav’s statement |
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Refer power issue to SC: Haryana CHANDIGARH, Dec 28 — Haryana has urged the Union Government to refer the long-pending dispute over power sharing with Punjab to the Supreme Court. The Chief Minister, Mr Bansi Lal, in a communication to the Prime Minister and the Union Power Minister has pleaded that Punjab has been taking undue advantage and was consuming Haryana's share of power like it has been taking away Haryana's share in the Ravi-Beas waters. The Haryana Government wondered why Punjab was averse to referring the matter to the Supreme Court for a legal decision. "If the claims of Haryana are patently wrong, let the Supreme Court examine and conclude so", it said. Punjab officials assert that the forum available to Haryana as well as Rajasthan, another claimant for power, is the Bhakra Beas Management Board (BBMB). Let the representatives of these states put their claims there, officers here said. Haryana's claim rests mainly on past agreements and decisions. It wondered how Punjab could keep on opening matters settled and signed by Governors and Chief Ministers of the State in the presence of Union Ministers and Prime Ministers. The very sanctity of the agreement today stood undermined. Haryana has claimed water from Thein Dam and power from the Bhakra system, Beas, Ranjit Singh Sagar (Thein) project and Anandpur hydel project. The Chief Minister said, "The sharing of power from multi-purpose storage projects in this part of the country is generally being based on the shares of the participating States in the stored waters. The same principle was adopted while deciding the shares of Rajasthan and erstwhile Punjab from the Bhakra-Nangal complex. Clause 37 of the Bhakra-Nangal agreement clearly provides that either party shall be entitled to receive as a matter of right a share of the electrical power at any time available after meeting the demand of the common pool consumers in proportion to the party's share in water supply". "On this basis the share of power benefits amongst Haryana and Punjab should be 50:50 in pursuance to the Government of India notification dated 24.3.76. If this principle is adopted, Haryana State will be entitled to 50 per cent share out of the power generated at not only the Beas project but all other projects which may envisage power generation by utilising surplus Ravi-Beas waters in project like Thein Dam, UBDC Stage-II, Mukerian hydel scheme, additional power from Bhakra power houses and Anandpur Sahib hydel scheme". Haryana has argued that the principle of riparian rights do not apply to surplus Ravi-Beas waters, as these are national assets under the Indus Water Treaty. On the principle of long-term power needs, Haryana should be given a minimum of 60 per cent of the power from the share of composite Punjab as compared to 40 per cent given now. On the basis of generation from flow of water share, Haryana is entitled to 94 per cent of the power from Beas Unit-I, additional power at Bhakra and Anandpur Sahib hydel scheme. Thus against the present share of 377 MW, it is entitled to 1035 MW of installed capacity out of a total capacity of 2480 MW, after deducting Rajasthan's share. However, this is in addition to Haryana’s share in the Bhakra project. On the basis of the
Bhakra-Nangal agreement, Haryana is entitled to 50 per
cent of the power out of the share of composite Punjab as
per the March, 1976, notification on the sharing of
water. Thus Haryana is entitled to 917 MW out of the
total installed capacity of 2480 MW, after deducting
Rajasthan's share in the above project other than the
Bhakra-Nangal project. |
Unsolved crime cases piling up GURGAON, Dec 28 — Case files of unsolved crimes are beginning to pile up with the Gurgaon police making little headway in the incidents of shoot-outs, murders and robberies over the past few months. Despite preparing sketches of the culprits involved in the shoot-out at a hotel and robbery at an automobile centre here, the police has not been able to trace the criminals. A security guard was killed while the manager of the hotel, Mr Rajiv Kapoor, and another guard sustained serious injuries in the shoot-out. The ghastly shooting down of Amit Wahi and his father-in-law Anoop Bhatia at Sector 31 about a month ago had send panic waves across the city. The incident was believed to be the outcome of personal enmity between the Bhatias and one Ravi Sharma and his son. The two suspects are still at large. "We have been making efforts to nab them but success continues to elude us. It seems that the accused have gone underground", a police official said. Little progress has been made in the case pertaining to the killing of the manager of a private company, Chander Prakash Taneja, at his Sector 4 residence. Preliminary investigations had revealed that the victim had developed animosity with certain union leaders when he worked at Farukhabad in UP. Taneja was alone in his house when the incident occurred. Added to the list of unsolved cases is the sensational Nirmala Gehlot murder case of Sector 14 in which the killers had first made about 66 incisions on Nirmala's body with a knife before stabbing her to death. Several vital clues had emerged during investigation. It became evident that the killer was an aquaintance. Her maid had disclosed that the victim was expecting "important guests". Since no cash or valuables were taken away from the house, the motive behind her murder was said to be related to a property dispute. Another failure of the police is the unsolved robbery cases, at least nine, which took place in October. A senior police official
said: "We have not been able to make a breakthrough
in certain cases but it must not be forgotten that such
incidents have declined in the past couple of months.
There have been isolated cases of killings where the
motive was personal enmity, but otherwise the crime
situation has been under control". |
CM withheld grant, alleges
Jindal AGROHA (Hisar), Dec 28 — The chairman of the Sarvjati Morcha, Mr O.P. Jindal, today denied the claims of the Chief Minister Mr Bansi Lal, that he (the latter) did not stop the state grant to Agroha Medical College. Addressing a hurriedly called press conference on the college premises here today, Mr Jindal alleged that "the Chief Minister is telling blatant lies by manipulating some signatures of members of the college management." Mr Jindal said although Mr Bhajan Lal had initiated the move to stop the aid to the college, but following resistance from the college management, he withdrew the move. The earstwhile political ally of Mr Bansi Lal claimed that Mr Bhajan Lal had sanctioned Rs 2 crore for the college and this amount was withheld by the Bansi Lal government. Mr Jindal, who was the chief guest at the conclusion of the 17th Haryana State Women's Hockey Championship, devoted his entire speech criticising the Chief Minister for stopping the aid to the college. Referring to the promise
made by Mr Bansi Lal about round-the-clock power supply
in Haryana from July, he said: "The CM is trying to
befool the people". Claiming that the BJP was
waiting for an opportunity to withdraw its support to the
government. |
Youths walk away with safe ROHTAK, Dec 28 (FOC) — A safe containing Rs 6.91 lakh was stolen in the wee hours today from a room of a petrol filling station owned by Haryana Tourism here. According to the FIR some youths came to the filling station at nearly 2.30 a.m. and made away with the safe weighing nearly 80 kg. Interestingly, the two attendants of the station were sleeping inside the room. According to filling station authorities, the cash could not be deposited in the bank owing to holidays on December 25, 26 and 27. The SSP, Mr P.K. Agarwal,
said a case has been registered. |
Consumer awarded compensation PANCHKULA, Dec 28 — An electricity consumer has been awarded a compensation of Rs 2500 by the local consumer court for being harassed by the Haryana Vidyut Prasaran Nigam (HVPN) by charging excess bill. Further the HVPN has been directed to refund the excess amount charged by it along with 18 per cent interest from the date of realising the bill till the date of payment. The consumer has been awarded Rs 500 as costs of the proceedings. The order was passed by the District Consumer Disputes Redressal Forum on a complaint filed by Mr Paramjeet Singh, a resident of Basola village, Pinjore, near here. Mr Paramjeet Singh in his complaint alleged that he ran a scooter repair shop at Basola bus stand and had got a power connection. From June, 1995, to December, 1996, he complained that no employees from the HVPN, then Haryana State Electricity Board (HSEB), visited his shop for recording the units consumed. The power bill he received during the period was on the average basis. He alleged that in June, 1996, the old electric meter was replaced and he was directed to pay Rs 1423 for consuming 172 units, though as per the rules the amount should have been Rs 432. Moreover, the department kept charging Rs 18 per month as cost of the new meter though he had deposited Rs 500, he alleged. The HVPN maintained that the meter went dead in June, 1995, and thus the bill was being sent on the average basis. It said on receiving representation the account of the complainant was checked and it was found that Rs 265 had been charged in excess. The forum observed that the HVPN by not issuing the bill on actual reading and then charging for 534 units instead of 469 units had indulged in deficiency of services. The order has to be
complied with within a period of two months. |
Petrol stations remain closed CHANDIGARH, Dec 28 — Petrol stations in five districts of Punjab and Haryana surrounding Chandigarh remained closed today to demand uniformity in sales tax on petroleum products in the region. According to Mr S.R. Singla, president of the Panchkula District Petroleum Dealers Association, 140 petrol stations in Ropar, Fatehgarh Sahib and Patiala districts of Punjab and 30 in Panchkula and Ambala districts of Haryana observed a one-day token strike today. He told TNS that the executive committees of the Punjab Petroleum Delers Association and the Haryana Petroleum Dealers Association would meet on January 2 and January 3, respectively, to decide the next course of action. He said all petrol stations in the two states were likely to go on a day's strike next month to press for uniformity in sales tax. Mr G.S. Chawla, a spokesman of the Ropar District Petroleum Dealers Association, said petrol in the Union Territory of Chandigarh was cheeper by about Rs 2 per litre than that in Punjab and Haryana. The price difference had not only ruined the petrol stations in areas adjoining Chandigarh but had also given rise to "underground market" of petroleum products. He said the Himachal Pradesh Petroleum Dealers Association had also decided at its executive committee meeting held last evening that the petrol stations of Parwanoo too would join today's strike. However, due to technical reasons they could not do so. Mr Chawla said at present the tax on petroleum products in Punjab was the highest in the region. In Haryana and Himachal the tax on these products was 10 per while in Chandigarh tax on diesel was 1 per cent and that on petrol was 0.7 per cent. Even in other union territories, he said, the tax was 10 to 11 per cent. He said unscrupulous persons were taking advantage of the situation and were "smuggling" petroleum products from Chandigarh to be sold in neighbouring states through unauthorised and unorganised outlets. Unusually high bids
running into crores of rupees in the recently held
auction of certain petrol stations in Chandigarh were
primarily because of smuggling of petroleum products from
the city. Otherwise the high bids were unviable, he
added. |
Railway men flay reduction of
staff AMBALA, Dec 28 — The general secretary of the All-India-Railway Men's Federation, Mr J.P. Chaubey, and president of the Northern Railway Men's Union, Mr Shiv Gopal Misra, said here today that the government was putting safety of the passengers at stake by cutting down on employees' strength under the pressure of the World Bank. Addressing a joint press conference, they said that while the posts of class 'C' and 'D' employees were being reduced by the railway, the number of officers was the same, thus putting a lot of strain on the maintenance staff. They said that the increase in the number of train accidents in the country was because the prescribed safety norms were not strictly adhered to. They alleged that the railways had an objective to abolish 3.5 lakh jobs. Mr Chaubey said that though there was a lot of resentment against the government among the railway employees on the issue of non-implementation of the terms of the agreement signed between the government and the union representatives on September 11, 1997, yet all protests had been put off till the expiry of the deadline in April next year. He said that socialism had suffered a setback as the gap in the minimum and maximum salaries of the employees of the department had increased manifold. Mr Misra said that while the government pleaded financial constraints, it was increasing the number of railway zones putting more pressure on the resources. He said that a committee should be formed to study the viability of these zones. He said that the government should reimburse the loss which occurred to the railways due to subsidised travelling. Meanwhile, the local unit of the northern Railway Pensioners' Forum today criticised the railway department for not implementing the recommendations of the Fifth Pay Commission which was causing hardships to the pensioners and their widows. Addressing a press conference here today on the occasion of the Pensioners' Day, the president of the forum, Mr G. B. Dass, said that the govenment was yet to implement the recommendation of repaying the commuted pension amount after 12 years instead of 15 years which was particularly affecting those who retired before 1986. He said that it was unfortunate that they were being denied a medical allowance of Rs 100 per month. Mr Dass stressed the need
for grant of status of joint consultative machinery to
the standing committee of voluntary agencies as per the
proposal of the Fifth Pay Comission as the pensioners had
been ignored while constituting the anomalies committee.
He said that the cases of pensioners who retired before
1986 from the Ambala division were yet to be settled
which was creating problems for them as the general
manager of the northern railway had passed an irrational
order that these cases would be decided at Delhi and
Ferozepur. |
HCCI decries Yadav’s
statement CHANDIGARH, Dec 28 — The Haryana Chamber of Commerce and Industry (HCCI) has reacted sharply to the statement of Mr J.P. Yadav, Administrator of the State Pollution Control Board, that 3000 industrial units in the state were causing pollution. In a joint statement issued here today the president and the senior vice-president of the chamber, Mr Shiv Pratap Singh Bajaj and Mr N.C. Jain, respectively, said the statement of Mr Yadav had created panic among the industrial units in Haryana because the Administrator’s information, they said, was "totally untrue" and "without any authentication" Expressing the fear that the board might start harassing the industrial units in near future, Mr Bajaj and Mr Jain alleged that the statement had been made for extraneous considerations. They claimed that under persuasion by the chamber practically all industrial units in Haryana had already met the norms of the board by installing effluent treatment plants and other equipment required to control pollution by their units. The chamber leaders said about two years ago the board had submitted a list of polluting units to the Supreme Court on the basis of which certain units were either closed or fine was imposed on them. Later on the chamber found that the list was wrong and the board had to apologise. Demanding that the
Chairman of the board should be appointed immediately,
the chamber leaders said a representative of the chamber
should also be nominated on the board to present the view
point of the industry. They also urged the Commissioner,
Industry and Environment, Mr M.L. Tayal, to keep a watch
on the functioning of the board to avoid unnecessary
harassment to the industry. |
Prohibitory orders in Ballabhgarh FARIDABAD, Dec 28 — The district administration today imposed prohibitory orders in Ballabhgarh till January 3 due to tension after former Lok Sabha member Phoolan Devi led a funeral procession of Rajbir who was killed in a group clash over a land dispute last week. Earlier, addressing a condolence meeting Ms Phoolan Devi, alleged that Haryana had become a haven for land mafia. She threatened that the Delhi-Mathura national highway would be blocked if adequate compensation was not given to the family of Rajbir. She demanded action against officials for their indifferent attitude towards his murder. On the assurance of the
senior officials to Mr Phoolan Devi that three persons
had already been arrested and more would be nabbed soon,
the body was taken for cremation. |
Bansi Govt 'anti-farmer' SONEPAT, Dec 28 — Mr Bhupinder Singh Hooda, President of the Haryana Pradesh Congress Committee, said here today that the Congress alone was the real friend of the farmers, working for the protection of their rights. Addressing representatives of various farmers organisations, he said if the Congress came to power in the state after the next assembly elections, it would tackle the problems of growers on a priority basis. He, however, blamed some opposition leaders for misleading them by making false promises in a bid to grab power. He described the Bansi Lal Government as anti-farmer, saying that it had failed to supply DAP and other fertilisers to the farmers at the time of sowing of the rabi crops. He alleged that ruling party leaders, were amassing wealth and Chief Minister, Bansi Lal was encouraging them to do so. Referring to the vigorous
campaign launched by the Haryana Vidyut Prasaran Nigam
(HVPN) against power theft in the rural areas, the
Congress leader alleged that farmers were being harassed
and penalised without any justification. |
Rai sarpanch warns mill MD SONEPAT, Dec 28 — Mr Ranjit Kaushik, a Youth Congress leader and former sarpanch of Rai village, today warned the Managing Director of the local cooperative sugar mill that if the mill failed to get the supply of bonded sugarcane from cane growers at the support price fixed by the state government and reopen the weighing centre of Murthal Zone immediately, the sugarcane growers would have no other alternative but to block the movement of traffic on the G.T. Road passing through Murthal Chowk within a couple of days. In a signed press statement, Mr Kaushik described the decision of the mill management to close down the weighing centre of Murthal zone as unjust and unwarranted when the mill had already bonded a huge quantity of sugarcane from the growers. This, he said, had caused widespread resentment among the farmers who had been forced to take their produce to other weighing centres for onward supply to the sugar mill. Mr Kaushik blamed certain
mill officials of hatching a conspiracy with certain
middlemen for getting the supply of sugarcane from UP
growers, ignoring the local ones. |
Ex-servicemen seek
recognition of body KAITHAL, Dec 28 — Ex-servicemen expressed concern over the indifferent attitude of the state government solving their problems at a state-level convention of the National Ex-servicemen Coordination Committee held here yesterday. Col Devinder Singh Rajput (retd), who was the chief guest, was among several others who spoke on the occasion. They expressed concern over the reduction of their quota in government jobs from 27 to 10 per cent and the benefit of seniority in service to those who had served in the armed forces during the emergency. They also demanded the recognition of their organisation by the Haryana government and involvement of their representatives in the appointments of ex-servicemen in various fields. Their other demands include pension to veterans of the Second World War and financial assistance to and the rehabilitation of the ex-servicemen and widow of those who died during operations. They also demanded pensionary benefits and dearness allowance to re-employed ex-servicemen. They will submit a
memorandum to the Governor Mr Mahabir Prasad, in this
regard. |
Drive to prepare new ration cards CHANDIGARH, Dec 28 — A massive campaign has been launched by the Panchkula district administration since November 1 last to prepare new ration cards. Forms for the purpose were provided to consumers at their doorstep by officials of the District Food and Supplies Department. A spokesman of the department said today that 8938 ration card forms were distributed to the consumers of Panchkula city besides 4260 in Kalka, 3372 in Raipur in Raipur Rani and 3996 in Barwala block. He said ration cards in
Sectors 2, 4, 6, 8, 9 and 12 had already been prepared.
He also disclosed that the forms were also being
distributed to the consumers of Sectors 10, 11, 12A and
14 and the consumers had been asked to submit group
photograph of their family in duplicate along with the
application form for the purpose. |
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Power theft detected BHIWANI, Dec 28 — Officials of the Haryana Vidyut Prasaran Nigam and the Vigilance Department conducted raids on units in the local industrial area following complaints of theft of power on a large scale. Sources said nine plastic units were checked and only one of them was found up to the norms. It is alleged that these units were stealing electricity and had changed meters. The owners of a major plastic unit had absconded, fearing arrest. It may be mentioned that the line loss of Bhiwani city is between 60 per cent and 70 per cent. Complaints of power theft on a large scale have been made with the department and the Chief Minister. Entrepreneures had
committed that henceforth they would not indulge in power
theft. They had also promised to install new meters. |
Holiday in Pinjore on Dec 30 CHANDIGARH, Dec 28 —
The Haryana Government has declared holiday on December
30 in its offices and institutions falling in the limits
of Municipal Committee, Pinjore, Panchkula district, as
well as within the meaning of Section 25 of the
Negotiable Instruments Act, 1881, on account of municipal
elections on that day. |
Foundation day celebrated CHANDIGARH, Dec 28 — The Haryana Congess today celebrated the 114th foundation day of the Indian National Congress with gaiety and fervour. A spokesman of the party said here today that the party flags were hoisted on the party offices all over the state. Workers' meetings were held at all district headquarters which were addressed by the Presidents of the District Congress Committees and other senior leaders. The former Tripura
Governor, Mr Sultan Singh and Mr Jai Singh Rana and Mrs
Kartar Devi, Vice-President and General Secretary of the
Haryana Congress, respectively, were among those who
participated in the celebrations held here. The party
chief, Mr Bhupinder Singh Hooda, greeted the party rank
and file. |
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