UNICEF project for Haryana panches
NEW DELHI, Oct 25 — A massive UNICEF-funded programme is on the anvil to train all panchayat members in Haryana in the fields of reproductive health, disease control, nutrition and sanitation.

Relief sought for farmers
ROHTAK, Oct 25 — The Haryana unit of the All-India Krishak Khet Majdoor Union has demanded a compensation of Rs 5,000 per acre to the farmers whose standing crops had been destroyed or damaged in the recent spell of heavy rain.

• Inadequate water supply resented
• IAF recruitment rallies from Nov 7
• Dental workshop from Oct 27

UNICEF project for Haryana panches

NEW DELHI, Oct 25 (UNI) — A massive UNICEF-funded programme is on the anvil to train all panchayat members in Haryana in the fields of reproductive health, disease control, nutrition and sanitation.

The ambitious project at a cost of Rs 1.89 crore will see a total of 69,000 panchayat members, including women, in Haryana being trained to better perform their role as envisioned in the Panchayati Raj Act. The training will last for 21 months.

The project, to be funded by the UNICEF, will be implemented by the Population Foundation of India, PFI Chairman Bharat Ram said here. It would consist of identifying a consulting organisation (CO) at the state level and a credible training institute or NGO in each district as the implementing agency.

The members of the implementing agency will be trained by the PFI faculty and the consulting organisation in various salient features of the 73rd Amendment of the Panchayati Raj Act.

Other special areas of stress would include resource mapping, reproductive health, gender issues, nutrition, water and environment, control of communicable diseases and structure of the health services, Dr Bharat Ram said.

The PFI will develop training modules and video films like “Sansodhan” for this programme, he added.

Resource persons at the peripheral level, one for four to five panchayats will be identified and trained. They in turn will train panchayat members at the cluster level. Each cluster will consist of four to five gram panchayats. The duration of the training would be four days.

Dr Bharat Ram said that devolution of authority to panchayats following the Panchayati Raj Act had placed a great responsibility on them. Planning, prioritising and implementing of social development programmes call for certain levels of expertise and skills, which the new panchayat members may not possess.

The enormity of the task can be judged from the fact that there would be around 3.5 million panchayat members, including one million women, to be trained all over the country, he added.

The PFI will also undertake from January, 1999, another project to set up a training and resource development centre (TRDC) to train middle-level workers of voluntary agencies in reproductive and child health in slums of Delhi, Dr Bharat Ram said.

To be supported by the Union Ministry of Health and Family Welfare at a cost of Rs 38 lakh, the one-week training for the first batch of 25 workers will begin in January next year.

Set up by the late J.R.D. Tata in 1970, the PFI is a voluntary agency promoting programmes for population stabilisation, safe motherhood, improved child survival, reproductive health and community mobilisation in favour of the small family norm

Relief sought for farmers

ROHTAK, Oct 25 — The Haryana unit of the All-India Krishak Khet Majdoor Union has demanded a compensation of Rs 5,000 per acre to the farmers whose standing crops had been destroyed or damaged in the recent spell of heavy rain.

Mr Anup Singh, joint secretary of the union, said here today the compensation was very crucial for the farmers who had already been hit hard by various factors, including the ever-increasing costs of inputs — power, pesticides, seeds and fertilisers. The problem of waterlogging and heavy rainfall in several parts of the state had been a cause of concern for the farmers.

The union also sought relaxation in the recovery of loan instalments and revenue in the affected areas. The criteria for the purchase of paddy and other crops by the state and central government agencies should also be relaxed in view of the grim situation.

GOHANA (UNI): Farmers intending to drain out water from their fields on their own with the consent of the Deputy Commissioner would be provided diesel free of cost. Chief Minister Bansi Lal said while addressing a public meeting at Butana, 10 km from here, on Sunday.

Mr Bansi Lal said he was aware of the difficulties being faced by farmers, landless labourers and industrial workers. He said he had met the Prime Minister on Friday and apprised him of the havoc caused by the untimely rain followed by high-velocity winds, causing a severe damage to the standing crop.

A central team would resume its survey from Monday for three days to access the loss.

The Chief Minister said the government had succeeded in irrigating six lakh acres of additional land. Drains were desilted to ensure free flow of water.

Levy exemption not to help farmers
By Yoginder Gupta
Tribune News Service

CHANDIGARH, Oct 25 — The Union Government's decision to exempt non-basmati rice meant for export market from levy will help only a coterie of exporters and will not provide any relief to paddy growers and millers.

This is the general feeling among the millers and growers of Haryana about the latest concession announced by the Union Government for the rice industry in the wake of widespread loss to paddy by the recent rain. Rice millers feel that the concession will not mitigate the sufferings of the growers and the millers but would rather add to their misery.

The exporters of rice, millers allege, are holding them to ransom. Till the fear of levy was there, the exporters were offering about Rs 850 per quintal of rice to the millers who, in turn, were purchasing paddy at rates ranging from Rs 500 to Rs 525 per quintal in Haryana against the support price of Rs 470 per quintal. The millers say since the exporters feared that the millers would sell 75 per cent of their rice to the FCI at the levy price of Rs 829.90 per quintal, they offered about Rs 20 per quintal extra to the millers.

The specifications of the rice purchased by the exporters were also liberal as compared to those of the FCI. The exporters were purchasing rice with broken content up to 30 per cent against 22 per cent specified by the FCI. They were also paying 90 per cent of the amount in advance to the millers.

However, this situation prevailed only up to the last week of September. When the Union Food Ministry announced not to impose levy on paddy purchased up to October 10, the exporters started changing their attitude.

The millers say they not only reduced the purchase price to about Rs 800 per quintal, the exporters also stopped making payment in advance. They told the millers that they would be paid after the rice had reached Kandla port. With the government exempting the non-basmati rice from levy in Punjab up to the month-end, the exporters, the millers say, are now trying to purchase rice at rates below Rs 800 per quintal. They have also tightened their specifications as well as made the payment schedule stringent.

HAUTA’s plea to VC
Tribune News Service

HISAR, Oct 25 — The Haryana Agricultural University Teachers Association (HAUTA) has expressed concern about the "violation" of the selection procedure for the appointment of the Head of the Department of Extension Education.

A meeting of the HAUTA Executive Committee held here under the chairmanship of its president, Dr R S Singal observed that "it is unfortunate that the selection procedure has been violated by the university administration regarding the appointment of the Head, Extension Education, which has created a wrong precedent".

The Head of the Extention Education Department, Prof H K Verma, who was appointed by the Selection Committee about eight months ago, was replaced by another teacher on the recommendations of the Personnel Committee which is a non-statutory body. The HAUTA executive decided to impress upon the Vice-Chancellor to reconsider the decision in order or rectify the wrong.

The HAUTA executive also took several other decisions concerning the teaching community.

Cheating case against CA
From Our Correspondent

SONEPAT, Oct 25 — The Gohana police has registered a case under sections 420, 467, 468 and 471 of the IPC (cheating, forgery and misappropriation of funds) against a chartered accountant, Tarun Goel.

According to an FIR lodged with the police by Mr S S Sodhi, acting director of Delhi Stock Exchange, Rs 75 lakh received from the investors had allegedly been misappropriated by certain directors of the company. Seven persons, including the first director, launched a private company, named Karan Finance, with its headquarters at Gohana in 1990. A "dead man" was appointed chairman and the company was got registered. All seven directors belonged to Gohana.

One of the directors died in 1993. When the company was converted into a public limited company in 1994, the proceedings had the signature of the dead director.

Later, five of the six directors made a complaint to the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) alleging that they had not been taken into confidence while converting the private limited company into a public limited one. Moreover, a dead man had been appointed chairman of the company which had been successful in getting approval of the RBI for releasing the public issues.

They also alleged that the headquarters of the company was shifted from Gohana to Gurgaon wherein 10 employees were shown in its working. A Development Officer of the UNITEC had reported on June 23, 1997, that the office of this company had no building and the vacant plot belonged to the Chartered Accountant.

Dara Singh elected Jat Mahasabha president
From Our Correspondent

FARIDABAD, Oct 25 — Film actor Dara Singh was elected president of All-India Jat Mahasabha at Ballabgarh today.

More than 3000 delegates from all over India participated in the function.

Though Sahib Singh Verma, former Delhi Chief Minister, Mr Ram Chand Bainda, BJP MP from Faridabad and Mr Rajinder Singh Bisla, a former Haryana Congress MLA, were present, important Jat leaders like Mr Devi Lal, Mr Om Parkash Chautala and Mr Bansi Lal were conspicuous by their absence.

Mr Dara Singh urged the government to award the "Bharat Ratna" to late Jat leader and former Prime Minister Charan Singh.

Bhajan for Rs 10,000 per acre relief
Tribune News Service

CHANDIGARH, Oct 25 — Former Chief Minister of Haryana Bhajan Lal has demanded that the state government should pay a compensation of Rs 10,000 per acre to those farmers whose crops have been completely damaged by the recent rain.

In a statement issued here today, Mr Bhajan Lal said Rs 5,000 per acre should be paid for the damage to the standing crops and another Rs 5,000 per acre should be paid because the farmers would not be able to sow the rabi crops because of the standing water in their fields.

Mr Bhajan Lal said the rain had caused a heavy damage to the standing paddy and cotton crops in the state. He said he had raised these issues with the Prime Minister, Mr Atal Behari Vajpayee, at a meeting of the Parliamentary Consultative Committee to the Ministry of Agriculture held in Delhi a couple of days ago.

He said he had also urged the Prime Minister to introduce a crop insurance scheme for the farmers. He said the scheme should be for individual farmers and not based on the principle of collectivity for the entire block.

Mr Bhajan Lal criticised the state government for not announcing any immediate interim relief for the farmers.

Warning to block traffic
From Our Correspondent

ROHTAK, Oct 25 — Agitated villagers of the Meham Chaubisi region have threatened to block traffic on the Delhi-Fazilka national highway on October 26 in protest against the casual attitude of the authorities towards dewatering operations.

A decision to this effect was taken at a meeting of sarpanches, panches, farmers and residents of the villages yesterday.

The Lok Dal MLA from Meham, Mr Balbir Singh, and the President of the Meham Chaubisi Jan Sangathan, Ms Meena Chaudhary, alleged that thousands of acres of agricultural land had been inundated for the past one month due to faulty alignment and level designing of the Meham drain. The villagers threatened to gherao the office of the Deputy Commissioner, if no steps were taken to rectify the situation.

The villagers demanded the transfer of the SDM, immediate replacement of the burnt transformers and a compensation of Rs 10,000 per acre to the affected farmers.

Inadequate water supply resented
From Our Correspondent

AMBALA, Oct 25 — Residents of Model Town have resented inadequate supply of drinking water for the past six days.

A spokesman for the Model Town Welfare Association, Lt-Col B.N. Bali, said here yesterday that despite complaints to senior officials, no concrete steps had been taken for the restoration of a tubewell meant for supplying water.

He said that in the event of the failure of the tubewell, alternative arrangements should be made. A complaint in this regard had also been made to the Deputy Commissioner.

Meanwhile, residents of the PWD Colony in the cantonment have complained of unhygienic conditions in the locality in spite of representations to the officials. They said that an epidemic could break out in the area, if urgent steps were not taken.

IAF recruitment rallies from Nov 7
From Our Correspondent

AMBALA, Oct 25 — The Indian Air Force will hold recruitment rallies at the Police Lines at Baramula and Badgaun in Jammu and Kashmir on November 7 and 9, respectively.

The Commanding Officer of the Airmen Selection Centre, Ambala, Sqn Ldr Naveen Jain, said here yesterday that for the technical trade, a candidate should have passed the 10 plus two or equivalent examination with physics, mathematics and English with 50 per cent aggregate marks or should have completed three years' diploma in engineering from a government recognised institution.

The candidate should have been born between May 1, 1980, and May 1, 1983.

For the non-technical trade, a candidate should have passed the matric or equivalent examination with a minimum of 45 per cent marks in aggregate with at least pass marks in English and should have been born between May 1, 1980 and May 1, 1983.

Dental workshop from Oct 27
From Our Correspondent

ROHTAK, Oct 25 — An international-level workshop on "oral implantology" will be held at the Dental College of the Postgraduate Institute of Medical Sciences (PGIMS) here on October 27 and 28.

According to Dr Sanjay Tiwari convener of workshop, Dr PC Quara from Italy, who is a well known dental expert, will be among the doctors who will give a live demonstration of the latest technique of fitting of a permanent denture. He said the latest technology has eliminated some of the problems faced by the persons who go in for denture.

He said Dr RK Bali, Chairman of the Dental Council of India would inaugurate the workshop. About 200 delegates from various parts of the country and abroad were likely to participate in the workshop.