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H A R Y A N A |  |
 Thursday, September 17, 1998 |
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Yadav seeks high-level probe CHANDIGARH, Sept 16 — The sacked Haryana PWD Minister, Dr Dharamvir Yadav, has demanded a high-level enquiry into the allegations levelled by him against the Chief Minister, Mr Bansi Lal, and his family as well as into the counter-allegations levelled by several of his former Cabinet colleagues against him. Women abuse minister ROHTAK, Sept 16 — Over 80 agitated women entered the residence of Urban Development Minister, Siri Kishan Dass and raised slogans against him, demanding the arrest of persons involved in a murder in Nehru Colony here. |
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 "No conditions" on |
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Kurukshetra
to be beautified |
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Yadav seeks high-level probe CHANDIGARH, Sept 16 — The sacked Haryana PWD Minister, Dr Dharamvir Yadav, has demanded a high-level enquiry into the allegations levelled by him against the Chief Minister, Mr Bansi Lal, and his family as well as into the counter-allegations levelled by several of his former Cabinet colleagues against him. In an exclusive interview to TNS Dr Yadav said the enquiry must be either by the CBI or by a sitting High Court Judge so that complete truth about these allegations would be brought before the people. He said he was willing to give an affidavit in support of his allegations and those who had levelled allegations against him should also give affidavits so that they might not back out later on. Reiterating his allegation that Mr Bansi Lal had been giving preferential treatment to his home district, Bhiwani, at the cost of the other areas of Haryana, Dr Yadav said Rs 11 crore was given to his department only a few days before he raised the banner of revolt against the Chief Minister. Even out of this meagre amount (to be spent on repair of roads, constructing new roads, maintenance of buildings and rest houses, including payment of their telephone and electricity bills and construction of new buildings), he alleged, the Chief Minister had specifically instructed that Rs 2 crore were to be given to Bhiwani district. Dr Yadav said there were about 35 divisions of the PWD in the state. After deducting Rs 2 crore for Bhiwani, about 30 divisions in other areas could get only about Rs 30 lakh each. Since each division catered on an average five Assembly constituencies, one could easily judge what paltry sum was allotted to the areas outside Bhiwani for development. Another Rs 11 crore given to the department during the current financial year was for purchase of bitumen from public sector refineries. When asked how Rs 62 crore
given to the department last year was spent, the former
Minister said about Rs 12 crore was spent on clearing
part of past liabilities. Though the rest of the amount
was inadequate to meet the requirement of the department,
work was started on village roads. Regarding the controversy over the Panchkula civil hospital where an excess payment was made to the contractor by the department, Dr Yadav said he was the first person to inspect the work as a result of which five officials, including an Executive Engineer, an SDO and a J.E., were suspended. He alleged all these persons were posted in Panchkula at the instance of the Deputy Commissioner, Mrs Saroj Siwach, who is a daughter of Mr Bansi Lal. Dr Yadav, who is a post-graduate in geography and had been teaching in Garhwal University and Government College, Narnaul, before he joined politics, denied that any of his family member played any role in transfers concerning his department. He said when the Chief Minister could not find anything against him, false propaganda was started to malign him and his family. He said if the Chief Minister was so concerned about the alleged role of his (Dr Yadav ) son in transfers, what action had he taken against those whose brothers, daughters, sons and sons-in-law had assumed extra-legal authority. Dr Yadav said every colleague of his knew that it was he who had opposed the decision to open general transfers in the state at a Cabinet meeting but his objection was overruled. He said he first annoyed the Chief Minister when he objected to the manner in which bus route permits were given to the kith of several Ministers, including the Chief Minister himself. He also alleged large-scale irregularities in the grant of licences to colonisers by the Town and Country Planning Department. He alleged two "groups of touts" were active in the department. While one group was headed, by a blood relation of the Chief Minister, the other was headed by a friend of Mr Bansi Lal. Dr Yadav said it was to the credit of the Bansi Lal Government that it had introduced the system of granting monthly mining licences in the state. Alleging that the system had been devised for taking kickbacks, he said recently a mining licence had been given to an industrial group which was known for making shoes. While Dr Yadav was vociferous in levelling allegations against the Chief Minister, he refused to discuss his political future. He said: "Any disclosure at this stage will spoil our game."
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Women abuse minister ROHTAK, Sept 16 — Over 80 agitated women entered the residence of Urban Development Minister, Siri Kishan Dass and raised slogans against him, demanding the arrest of persons involved in a murder in Nehru Colony here. The minister, who is indisposed, alleged that the women entered the first floor of his house through the back door and used abusive language against him. He alleged that the district BJP chief, Mr Pradeep Jain, was "instrumental in inciting" the women. Mr Gulshan Bhatia, office secretary, state BJP, however, denied the allegations. He said the women were agitated as two sons of Mr Om Parkash, a BJP activist, had been implicated in a murder case. One of them was disabled. He said the police had taken the two into custody and the women had gone to the minister to submit a representation against their arrest. The minister, he alleged, refused to meet the women, who then raised slogans against him. Mr Bhatia said Mr Pradeep Jain had threatened to stage a dharna if the police did not release Mr Om Parkash’s sons. The arrested youth were released thereafter. Mr Bhatia said some landed property was the cause of dispute between Mr Siri Kishan Dass and Mr Om Parkash. The revenue authorities have reportedly decided the case in favour of the latter. The minister has reported the incident to the Chief Minister and the BJP leaders here have briefed their high commend about the details of the case.
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"No
conditions" on World Bank loan CHANDIGARH, Sept 16 — While the World Bank had certainly assessed the credit-worthiness of Haryana, it had imposed no conditions as such at the time of sanctioning of the Rs 2400-crore loan for implementing reforms in the state's power sector. This was disclosed by Mr Djamal Mostefai, Senior Energy Specialist of the World Bank and Task Manager of the Haryana Power Project, was talking to newsmen soon after the swearing in of a member of the Power Regulatory Commission of the state at Haryana Raj Bhavan this morning. The Rs 2400-crore loan was in fact part of the Rs 8,000 crore reformation programme of the power sector to be implemented over the next 10 years. The loan would be given to the Government of India at 6.5 per cent rate of interest by the World Bank. The Government of India would forward the loan to Haryana at 13 per cent interest to absorb the fluctuations in the money market and also to partly absorb 30 per cent grant in the loan amount. Out of the loan amount, 40 per cent will be spent on transmission improvement programme and 60 per cent on distribution. Mr Mostefai said the World Bank had set up a supervisory commission to assess the performance of the power officials at regular intervals as it was not possible to monitor the same on day-to-day basis. He said the World Bank had signed a unique partnership agreement with Haryana which was the first of its kind in the history of the World Bank keeping in view the long-term vision of the state to bring about reforms in its power sector. It was because of the novelty of the loan for reforms programme that several countries were watching the implementation of the power programme in Haryana. The achievement of various milestones in the reformation programme formed the basis of release of instalments. These instalments could be released even earlier than the scheduled period if achievements were quicker. Mr Mostefai expressed the hope that power supply would improve significantly in Haryana both qualitatively and quantitatively. The situation in Haryana had no doubt been very critical. Mr S. Y. Quaraishi,
Commissioner for Power, Haryana, said the state had
already received the first instalment of Rs 240 crore out
of which 70 per cent had been utilised. He also said that
any proposal for hike in power tariff would not come from
the World Bank but from the Tarnsco when it felt the need
for such an action and that too not more than once in a
year. |
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Kurukshetra to be beautified CHANDIGARH, Sept 16 — The holy land of Kurukshetra will be the 21st city in the country to be developed as an "international centre for tourism" by the Union Tourism Ministry. The Kurukshetra Development Board (KDB) has also decided to spend Rs 3.66 crore for beautifying Kurukshetra during 1998-99. This was disclosed at the 69th meeting of the governing body of the KDB chaired by the Haryana Governor, Mr Mahabir Prasad, at Raj Bhavan here today. The Governor is also the Chairman of the KDB. The Chief Minister, Mr Bansi Lal, Revenue Minister — Suraj Pal; Finance Minister — Charan Dass Sorewala; Mr Ashok Kumar and Mr Vaid Kapur Chand, both MLAs, and other senior officers of the State Government attended the meeting. The Governor said with a view to promoting international pilgrimage and tourism in and around Kurukshetra, the KDB would initiate many ambitious and new projects. These included construction of a 40-foot-high idol of Lord Krishna, construction of a "Surya Dwar" at the Sannihit Sarovar, installation of a 10-foot-high Venugopal's statue under Kadamb tree which was planted by a former President of India in Sri Krishna Museum, a Yaksha image on all the four corners of Kurukshetra, high mast lightings at the Brahmasarovar and the Sannihit Sarovar, musical fountains and lights, an acquarium, a planetarium and a light and sound system. The governing body also approved a proposal for clearing the water way of the Saraswati Creak from Pipli to Jyotisar. The project would be an irrigation scheme to be developed by the KDB at a cost of Rs 50 lakh which was received by the KDB by way of donation from various individuals. Detailing the progress about the Rs 5-crore magnificent Panorama project of the KDB, the Governor said the interior civil construction works of the Panorama Museum building had been completed and the work on landscaping, science park, parking etc was in progress. It was expected to be completed shortly. Mr Bansi Lal emphasised upon developing Kurukshetra as a modern and pious city with all the essential civic amenities, sufficient accommodation and improved transport facilities so as to attract a large number of tourists from India and abroad. This was decided that all the main roads of Kurukshetra would be named after the heroes of the historic battle of the Mahabharata.
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Maneka inaugurates scheme for
disabled BHIWANI, Sept 16 — Mrs Maneka Gandhi, Union Minister of State for Social Justice, opened the first phase of a scheme launched nationwide for the disabled. She inaugurated a camp organised by the District Rehabilitation Centre to distribute artificial limbs among the handicapped. Addressing a gathering at Panchayat Bhavan, she said under the scheme, each MP would be encouraged to contribute Rs 10 lakh from his/her discretionary fund for the welfare of the disabled. The same would be spent on the purchase and distribution of artificial limbs. She said there were 21,000 such people in the district. Mrs Gandhi invited the disabled to Pragati Maidan, New Delhi, where an exhibition on artificial equipment was on. She asked the Deputy Commissioner, Bhiwani, to arrange for the visit. Stressing upon the need for tree plantation, Mrs Gandhi advocated one tree by one person to keep the nation pollution-free. Earlier, Mrs Gandhi was welcomed by students of Bal Bhavan School. She distributed wheelchairs, limbs and calipers among the handicapped. Later, she visited Krishan Pranami Ashram and inaugurated a camp for the handicapped. She also paid a visit to the local "gaushala" and praised its management. Mr Surender Singh, MP, welcomed the minister. Among those who spoke on the occasion were Mr C.S. Chauhan, Speaker, Haryana Vidhan Sabha, and Mr Ram Bhajan Aggarwal, Minister of Tourism.
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Faridabad student tops essay
competition CHANDIGARH, Sept 16 — The Haryana State Council for Science and Technology today announced the results of the state science essay writing competition for schools and colleges for 1997-98. Siddharath Vivek of Vidya Mandir School, Faridabad, won the first prize. He will be given a scholarship of Rs. 150 per month for two years. Miss Ritu Kumari, Government Girls Senior Secondary School, Gurgaon, bagged the second prize of Rs. 100 per month for two years while the third prize was given to Miss Ridhi Khetarpal, Chaman Lal D.A.V Senior Secondary School, Panchkula. She will be given Rs 75 per month for one year. Miss Priyanaka Kanwal of K.L Kayanand Public School, Faridabad; Miss Kirti Anand of Vidya Mandir School, Faridabad, Miss Monika Gakhar of Bhiwani Public School, Bhiwani; and Gaurav Goyal of St. Xavier High School, Sirsa, won consolation prizes of Rs 50 per month for one year. Harjit Singh, S.D. College, Ambala Cantt, won the first prize of Rs. 5,000. Miss Meenu Kapoor of Government College, Panchkula, and Aijay Malik of A.I Jat H.M. College, Rohtak, jointly bagged the second prize of Rs, 2,000 each. Miss Sunita Singh, C.R. College of Education, Rohtak, was given the third prize of Rs. 2,000. Miss Shaifali Gupta, Government College for women, Rohtak; Miss Rajni Hooda, C.R. College of Education, Rohtak; Miss Shivani Rao, Government College, Panchkula; Miss Neetu, GVM Girls College, Sonepat; Miss Renuka, GVM Girls College, Sonepat; and Miss Sapna Hurah, S.D. College (Lahore) Ambala Cantt; were awarded consolation prizes of Rs. 500 each. The prizes will be given at a state-level function.
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Board cancels exam at two
centres BHIWANI, Sept 16 — The Board of School Education, Haryana, has cancelled the English paper of senior secondary class at two centres. The Board Secretary told mediapersons here today that due to "violation of sanctity" of examinations, the Board had cancelled the examination conducted on September 14 at Government Senior Secondary School, Jhajjar and Adarsh High School, Jhajjar -12 centres.
Fine imposed on textile unit FARIDABAD, Sept 16 — Officials of the municipal corporation last night impounded a truck carrying an imported machine worth Rs 1 crore without paying octroi. Mr Subedar Suman, Mayor said today that a local unit had evaded octroi worth Rs 2 lakh and a penalty of Rs 20 lakh had been imposed on it. He said the corporation
had also imposed a penalty of Rs 25 lakh on a textile
unit for importing a knitting machine from Turkey without
paying the due amount to the civic body. |
Crops damaged in Sonepat areas SONEPAT, Sept 16 — Crops in large tracts of Hullaheri, Krewri, Rattan Garh, Barwasni, Garhi, Haqiqat and Bhatgaon villages have been submerged under following blocking of a syphon in the East Juan Drain. Affected farmers have alleged that the authorities concerned have failed to flush out the accumulated water in the villages despite repeated representations made to them. Meanwhile, resentment prevails among farmers of Chitana, Bhatana Zaffarabad and Mahra villages against the failure of the authorities concerned to drain out water accumulated in their fields. Farmers alleged that lack of power supply to pumping sets was the main reason for the submergence of the paddy crop. Various farmers' organisations yesterday urged Chief Minister Bansi Lal to order the pumping out of the accumulated wanted from the fields.
BJP yet to finalise name CHANDIGARH, Sept 16 — The Haryana Chief Minister, Mr Bansi Lal, told newsmen here today that the next expansion of his ministry would be done when the BJP finalised the name of its legislator to be sworn in as Minister of State. He said the Education Minister, Mr Ram Bilas Sharma would give him the name after consultations with his party leadership. Mr Bansi Lal said Mr Sharma was at present admitted to the All-India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) and was expected to be discharged soon. He said he would fill the
vacancy caused by the dismissal of Mr Dharamvir Yadav at
ease. |
HMS plea to CM on
employees’ stir CHANDIGARH, Sept 16 — The Hind Mazdoor Sabha, today deplored the Haryana Government, resorting to large-scale arrest of employee leaders who had given a call for a one-day strike on September 16 to protest against the non-acceptance of their demands. Mr A.D. Nagpal, national secretary of the sabha in a press note said today that Haryana employees had been agitating peacefully for their demands for the past eight months. "It is unfortunate that the Haryana Government has been repeatedly invoking to ESMA for curbing peaceful agitations first of teachers and now of Haryana Government employees. Mr Nagpal appealed to the Chief Minister, Mr Bansi Lal to sort out the issues with the employee leaders across the table, and not by resorting to Draconian measures like ESMA to suppress legitimate trade union activities of the employees.
Haryana planning fast food joints GURGAON, Sept 16 — Mr Ram Bhajan Aggarwal, Tourism Minister, Haryana, inaugurated a wing of Shama Tourist Complex here today. He said Haryana Tourism was working on a plan to build complexes at Bhiwani, Hansi, Pehowa and Rai. Fast food centres were planned for Hisar and Rohtak. A mini golf course was
being designed at Uchana near Karnal. |
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