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| Thursday, April 20, 2000, Chandigarh, India  
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Haryana’s
bid to attract US investment |
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| RJD leader demands refund ROHTAK, April 19 — Mrs Swaraj Lamba, former national president of the mahila wing of the Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD), who tendered her resignation from the party recently, has demanded that the ‘money’ she had given to the party fund be returned and has even threatened legal action against the party. Prisoner hangs himself AMBALA, April 19 — A prisoner lodged in Ambala Central Jail committed suicide here on Tuesday night. 2 workers die of asphyxiation REWARI, April 19 — Anil Kumar and Mintu, sanitation workers with Haryana Urban Development Authority (HUDA), died of asphyxiation while attempting to clear a choked sewer line in Sector 3 here last evening. 3 engineers suspended HISAR, April 19 — The Haryana Government has placed under suspension the services of three engineers after the breach in the Balsamand Minor canal on April 16. STD lines down for 9 hours ROHTAK, April 19 — The town’s STD phone lines were down for nearly nine hours yesterday due to a technical snag in the telephone exchange. This problem caused a huge financial loss to the Telecom Department as well as PCO operators of the town. Four held in dowry case SIRSA, April 19 — A young man died and two others were injured in an accident near here today. Expulsion of woman in labour to be probed ROHTAK, April 19 — Dr S.B. Siwach, Director, Post Graduate Institute of Medical Sciences has constituted a two-member committee to investigate into the affairs in which a seven-month pregnant woman in labour was made to leave the hospital by the doctor concerned on Monday last.
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Haryana’s
bid to attract US investment GURGAON, April 19 — Officers of the Haryana government, led by the Managing Director of the Haryana State Industrial Development Corporation (HSIDC), Dr Harbaksh Singh, and the Deputy Commissioner, Mr T.C. Gupta, met the USA Ambassador in India, Mr Richard F. Celeste, today and stressed the virtues of industrial estates in the state. Mr Celeste visited the industrial model township at Manesar,near here, to have a first-hand information on the quality and variety of infrastructure facilities that the Haryana Government provided for the present and prospective plot owners and investors in the much hyped industrial estate. He also visited some of the firms, including an American one, already in operation and talked to their personnel to get the feedback on the industrial climate in the state. Mr Ajay Chautala, son of Chief Minister, Om Prakash Chautala, was also present on the occasion. Mr Celeste inquired from the government representatives on the source of electricity for the industrial estate. He was particularly interested in whether the telephone lines would have optical fibres instead of cable lines. He also wanted to know the customs clearance facilities to export goods that would be produced by the firms in the industrial estate. Dr Harbaksh Singh said there were proposals for starting captive-power generating units for the exclusive benefit of the plot holders in the estate and for providing local facilities for customs clearance. Explaining the salient features of the township, he said the infrastructure development works in progress at the site, were being handled by the private sector agencies of international repute. On the occasion, the HSIDC, made a video recorded presentation of about 20 minutes delineating the fast industrial growth in the state. The meticulously planned audio visuals, laid emphasis on the industrial estate. Later, talking to
newspersons, Mr Celeste described the overall approach of
the Haryana Government as industry friendly. He
appreciated the planning of the industrial estate at
Manesar and lauded the infrastructure facilities to be
provided. He praised the HSIDC in developing the township
in record time. He said that US companies were evincing
interest in India, particularly in the states which were
close to the national capital. |
Hooda
points to chinks in CM’s promises CHANDIGARH, April 19 — If the Haryana Chief Minister, Mr Om Prakash Chautala’s last stint was marked by various promises, his present tenure is characterised by broken promises, says the Haryana Pradesh Congress Committee (HPCC) chief, Mr Bhupinder Singh Hooda. While laying wreath at the war memorial at Kosli at Rewari district in last January, Mr Chautala reportedly announced that state government would double the allowance it was giving to non-pensioner ex-servicemen and their families. About 12,000 widows and roughly the same number of ex-servicemen, mostly Second World War veterans, who live a wretched existence on the miserable allowance of Rs 200 per month, would have benefited had the government really enhanced the allowance. However, the state government is yet to clear a proposal in this regard, Mr Hooda says. There are also question marks about the state government’s dealing with the funds collected by the Deputy Commissioners from the public for the martyrs and injured soldiers of the Kargil skirmish, the Congress chief says. Out of the total money collected, the volume of which is not known, Rs 15 crore was given to a state government agency for distribution among the martyrs’ families. The Haryana Government had already announced Rs 10 lakh ex gratia for the martyrs’ families for which Rs 2 lakh was given by the state government and the remaining money was to come from the Chief Minister’s War Heroes Fund, set up for collecting donations from the public. However, even after giving Rs 8 lakh each to the families of the 105 Kargil martyrs from Haryana, about Rs 7 crore (out of Rs 15 crore) has reportedly remained with the state government. Moreover, funds worth Rs 2 crore were also transferred from the War Heroes Fund to the Chief Minister’s Relief Fund, Mr Hooda alleged. While the announcement related to increase of ex-servicemen’s pension was made on the eve of Assembly elections, the Kargil war, according to the Congress chief, was manipulated by the INLD-BJP alliance to win all the Lok Sabha seats from Haryana. The channelising of the War Heroes Fund for purposes other than the victims of the Kargil war amounts to betrayal of the patriotic feelings of the people of Haryana, Mr Hooda said. Coming back to the issue of series of sops announced by Mr Chautala before the Assembly poll, Mr Hooda said that initially the state government gave the old age pension generously to secure the votes of the recipients of the pension but once it won the elections, not only stringent measures for clearing the names of the beneficiaries, but it was also talking about downsizing the number of old age pension recipients. While Mr Hooda
criticised the INLD-led government for freezing
appointments in the State, he also pulled up the regime
for snapping electricity connections of the defaulters.
“ It was Mr Chautala only who had earlier told
people not to pay power bills, now he is cutting
connections of those who had responded to his
directive”, he said. |
Fear
stalks brickkiln workers SHAHZADPUR (Ambala) April 19 — Fear is stalking brick kiln workers who are now forced to sleep in the open fields. The brick kiln workers are afraid that they might be again targeted by a group of workers who had attacked some brick kiln owners as well as workers. The tension in the region among kiln workers is palpable as they narrate the incidents which led to a group of workers, instigated by a local leader, to beat up those who were working at the bhattis last week. When this correspondent met the brick kiln workers, they said that for the past three days, they are now sleeping in the open field. “We are not sleeping in our shacks as we may be targeted by either the group which was involved in last week’s incident or we may be picked up by the police for questioning”, a worker said. Mr Chander Pal, a brick kiln worker hailing from Muzaffarnagar, said that there is always fear about being made a target. “We fear for our lives so we sleep in the open fields outside. We have sent out family members back to Uttar Pradesh and only when the things cool down here would they come back,” he said. He stated they are suffering due to the incident as the local shopkeepers are no longer giving us products on credit. “We are losing money but what can we do? The workers pointed out that things have come to such a pass that this morning when an old man died at a nearby brick kiln, their relatives who were working at a brick kiln located about a kilometre away were afraid to attend the last rites. “The workers went to attend the last rites only after they were accompanied by the munshi,” they said. Mr Subhash Kalra, owner of Anil Bricks, alleged that the current crisis in the brick kilns is due to a local leader, Chaman Lal, who acts as an arbitrator between the owners and the workers. “We now give a slip of paper to the brick kiln workers which they carry to the local market. The slip states that they are working in my brick kiln and are not involved in any way with the group of brick kiln workers who were involved in last week’s incident”, he said. Deputy Superintendent of Police, Naraingarh, Mr Mehar Singh, said that the area police is on the look out for all those who were responsible for the attack on brick kiln owners. “We are conducting raids at various places to nab the guilty persons. We have already arrested about 32 persons in this connection and we hope to catch all the guilty persons soon,” he said. Mr Singh pointed out that the local leader, Chaman Lal, and several others have gone underground and “we are on the look out for them. We will catch them soon. The brick kiln workers had even attacked a policeman’’. The Sub Divisional Magistrate, Naraingarh, Mr S.S. Saini, said that work had already started in most of the brick kilns. He stated that he had
not received any report of brick kiln workers sleeping in
the open fields due to fear of attack. |
Rohtak
gets intelligent network system ROHTAK, April 19 — The intelligent network system (IN) has been introduced in telecom district here. The IN system, which provides the facility of pre-paid cards to telephone subscribers has been introduced in nearly 24 cities in the country, including Faridabad, Gurgaon, Ambala and Kalka in Haryana and Chandigarh. The facility is likely to be introduced in Hisar, Bhiwani and Bahadurgarh shortly. The General Manager, Rohtak telecom district, Mr A.K. Jain said here yesterday that the IN has many more services which would be introduced in due course. He said the department has also introduced “free phone service” under which phone calls can be made to a number where the called party would pay for the call. This facility is very useful for corporate sector to facilitate marketing without making the callers to pay for the call. Mr Jain said in India telephone cards are available in three denominations of Rs 105, 210 and 525 and can be purchased from the customer service centre set up at the local telephone exchange. The holder of this card can make calls from any telephone (STD or non-STD) by dialling a code printed on the card. The meter of the telephone from where the call is made will not operate and the call charges would be deducted from the pre-paid card account automatically, he said. Mr Jain added that the equipment to provide Internet services in Rohtak had been received and the services were expected to be commissioned by May-end.
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SSICs of
region to face SAIL jointly CHANDIGARH, April 19 — The small scale industries corporations of (SSIC) Punjab, Haryana, Chandigarh and Himachal Pradesh have decided to jointly take up with the Steel Authority of India (SAIL) the issue of drastically reducing the number of items available to the corporations. A meeting of the Punjab Small Scale Industries and Export Corporation (PSSIEC), the Haryana State Small Industries and Export Corporation (HSSIEC) and the Chandigarh Industries and Tourism Corporation (CITCO) was held here yesterday to evolve a consensus on the issue. The Himachal Pradesh Small Scale Industries Corporation (HPSSIC) could not attend the meeting convened at a short notice. But its officers have shared the views of the other three corporations and have offered to work in close cooperation with them. The meeting was presided over by Mrs Surjit Kaur Sandhu, M.D. of the PSSIEC. According to informed sources, the SSI sector in the four states had been utilising iron and steel material to the tune of over three lakh tonne through the SSICs per annum for the past three years. For the current year the SSI sector in these states had posted higher demand, which should have resulted in a stepped-up supply from various steel majors, the SAIL being the single largest supplier. However, contrary to the expectations, the SAIL has curtailed the number of items available under the memorandum of understanding to be signed with the SSICs. Now only two items have been made available to the SSICs. Even on these items the SAIL had severely curtailed rebate and other benefits. It has also imposed restrictions on the quantity to be supplied by the steel producers. The sources say the new SAIL policy will not only adversely affect the development and growth of the SSI sector but would also hit the viability of the SSICs. It was decided that the MDs of the four corporations would meet the Union Secretary, Steel, and the Chairman and Managing Director of SAIL to highlight the pitfalls enshrined in the new policy. The sources say since the four states are land-locked, these are heavily dependent upon the SSI sector for their industrial development. The meeting also expressed concern at what it called the increasing bias of SAIL in favour of big traders and market operators. The already existing price structure is not very favourable to the SSI units which need the support of the SSICs. The new policy will prove further detrimental to the interests of the SSI sector. The big players will monopolise the market and squeeze the SSIs. The sources say concern was also expressed at the meeting over the “lack of transparency” in working of the field officers of SAIL which did not pass on routine information like availability of material and periodic price changes to their largest customers (SSICs). The field officers, however, were quick to pass on this information to big private parties. In a decision of far-reaching consequences, the meeting agreed to have uniform policy packages of raw material supplies in the region. The corporations of the four states should work for achieving a uniformity in prices and they should create and wider customer base for their own long-term survival.
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Power cuts
bane of Sonepat SONEPAT, April 19 — Most parts of the city remained without power for about three hours yesterday paralysing normal life. Essential services like water supply, telephones and hospitals were the worst hit. The supply of power was disrupted around 3.30 p.m. and restored around 6.10 p.m. The cause of power failure was not known as officials of the Uttar Haryana Bijli Vitran Nigam (UHBVN) were not available in their offices. Though the UHBVN has not imposed any power cut on the urban and rural consumers but the local authorities are enforcing in the routine in the city. The supply is switched off for an hour or so by interval in each area daily to meet the power quota allocated to the Sonepat operation circle by the UHBVN. This is despite the fact that 220 kv grid power substation has already been commissioned. The authorities had been claiming that with its commissioning there would be no power cut in the city and the adjoining areas. Meanwhile, unannounced
power cuts, low voltage coupled with the rise in day
temperature has made the life of resident miserable.
Officials of the UHBVN the residents alleged are
indifferent to their complaints. An official of the
UHBVN, when contacted by this correspondent, today
brushed aside the complaints about his subordinates not
attending the complaints. |
HC
dismisses Home Secy’s bail plea CHANDIGARH, April 19 — Holding custodial interrogation to be necessary, the Punjab and Haryana High Court today dismissed UT Home Secretary N.K. Jain’s anticipatory bail plea. Pronouncing the orders, Mr. Justice K.S. Kumaran observed in the open court: “Counsel for the petitioner, of course, contends that though there is no material allegation in all the complaints, in my view, these matters require thorough investigation and for this purpose, custodial interrogation is necessary. Resultantly, this petition fails and is dismissed”. Upholding the Additional District and Sessions Judge’s order dismissing Jain’s anticipatory bail plea, Mr. Justice Kumaran observed: “On going through the order, I find that the Sessions Judge pointed out three incidents which call for serious investigation and where the custodial interrogation of the petitioner is necessary”. The Home Secretary, it may be recalled, was apprehending arrest in a corruption case registered by the CBI on April 6 following a statement by a Superintendent in the Chandigarh Administration, K.B. Goel. It was alleged that Baljit Singh, appointed as assistant secretary by the petitioner for a “material consideration”, was reverted to his parent post after he failed to “pay the entire amount”. It was added that driver Amarjit Singh, appointed as inspector without required qualifications “at the instance of K.B.Goel”, was reverted after “the balance amount in instalment was not paid”. It was further alleged that bus conductor Balbir Singh, dismissed from service while on probation in 1993 on the allegations of misappropriating fare money, was ordered to be reinstated by the petitioner for a “material consideration”. Today, seeking the grant of anticipatory bail, counsel for the petitioner contended that Jain’s arrest was not required. He stated that Jain, after returning from leave on April 10, had joined in the investigations. The investigating agency had, moreover, taken certain documents into its possession after searching his house. Counsel also stated that
there was nothing in any of the reports to connect the
petitioner with the alleged crime. Further, the
petitioner’s name was not mentioned in any of the
complaints. He added that K.B. Goel’s statement also
could not be used against the petitioner. |
RJD leader
demands refund ROHTAK, April 19 — Mrs Swaraj Lamba, former national president of the mahila wing of the Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD), who tendered her resignation from the party recently, has demanded that the ‘money’ she had given to the party fund be returned and has even threatened legal action against the party. Speaking to newsmen here today Mrs Lamba, who was also president of the Haryana unit of the RJD, said her husband, who was a US citizen had sent a legal notice to Mr Laloo Prasad Yadav and other party leaders. Claiming that she was threatened and asked to give Rs 10 lakh as contribution before the recent Assembly elections to be allotted the party symbol. She also alleged that the wife of a senior RJD leader threatened a person close to her. She said her decision to quit the RJD was final and she would not hesitate to haul the RJD supremo to court for the financial loss suffered by her. She said she was cheated by party leaders who backtracked on their promise to nominate her for a Rajya Sabha seat.
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Prisoner
hangs himself AMBALA, April 19 — A prisoner lodged in Ambala Central Jail committed suicide here on Tuesday night. According to a police report, the deceased, Rajbir Singh, was sentenced to life imprisonment and was lodged here in Central Jail. He belongs to Kaithal district. He hanged himself inside the premises. The reason for the suicide could not be established. According to jail authorities, a post-mortem was conducted at the Civil Hospital, Ambala City, and the body was handed over to his relatives.
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2 workers
die of asphyxiation REWARI, April 19 — Anil Kumar and Mintu, sanitation workers with Haryana Urban Development Authority (HUDA), died of asphyxiation while attempting to clear a choked sewer line in Sector 3 here last evening. Anil was the first to enter the underground sewer line and collapsed almost immediately. Mintu, who followed him, met the same fate. Later Mr Fateh Singh Dagar, ADC and senior police officials reached the spot and with the assistance of police jawans got the bodies out. The city police has
registered a case of criminal negligence against Mr
Ranbir Singh JE HUDA and his Munshi, Bhoop Singh. |
3
engineers suspended HISAR, April 19 — The Haryana Government has placed under suspension the services of three engineers after the breach in the Balsamand Minor canal on April 16. Sources said the executive engineer, Mr S.P. Ghulati, the Assistant Engineer, Mr K.R. Sihag, and the Junior Engineer, Mr V.P. Garg, were held responsible for the breach in the canal. The three engineers were responsible for construction of the siphon that led to the breach. The material used in the construction of the siphon was alleged to be of substandard. Hundreds of acres of land was inundated by the breach.
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STD lines
down for 9 hours ROHTAK, April 19 — The town’s STD phone lines were down for nearly nine hours yesterday due to a technical snag in the telephone exchange. This problem caused a huge financial loss to the Telecom Department as well as PCO operators of the town. Mr Jagdish Kapoor, president, Rohtak PCO Operators’ Association, in a faxed message to the Union Minister for Communication, Mr Ram Bilas Paswan demanded a high-level probe into alleged irregularities prevailing in the local Telecom Department. It is learnt that E-10 B link of the exchange had not been functioning properly from the first week of the month reportedly due to excessive humidity. The telecom authorities have failed to rectify the fault so far. The General Manager,
Telecom, could not be contacted for comments. |
Four held
in dowry case SIRSA, April 19 — A young man died and two others were injured in an accident near here today. According to information, six persons were going to Abhoar from Gohana in a Maruti car when it overturned while avoiding to hit a tractor trailer. Rakesh died on the spot. Meanwhile, in another incident the district police arrested Jaswant, his mother Surjeet, his father Avtar, and younger brother Harbhajan under Sections 498-A and 506, IPC, on a complaint of dowry harassment. According to the police,
they were arrested on the complaint of Amarjeet
Kaur’s father Joginder Singh of Rania. |
Expulsion
of woman in labour to be probed ROHTAK, April 19 — Dr S.B. Siwach, Director, Post Graduate Institute of Medical Sciences has constituted a two-member committee to investigate into the affairs in which a seven-month pregnant woman in labour was made to leave the hospital by the doctor concerned on Monday last. The woman delivered a premature-baby in a three wheeler outside the hospital. The Tribune highlighted the incident yesterday. Dr Siwach has directed
the committee, comprising Dr Sunder Lal and Dr Krishna
Sangwan, to submit its report at the earliest. |
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