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March 28, 2003, Chandigarh, India
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BUILDING
CORRUPTION New Delhi, March 27 The CBI claimed to have seized Rs 44 lakh in cash, several incriminating documents, one Maruti van, two computers, liquor bottles and locker keys from their houses and offices. The sleuths also seized a Tata Qualis in which two officials tried to escape. Rs 3.70 lakh was found in the vehicle. The agency has filed two cases of corruption against DDA officials following raids against them. The CBI also registered cases under various sections of the Prevention of Corruption Act 1988 and Section 120-B of the IPC against the DDA Vice-Chairman, the Commissioner (Land Disposal), the Commissioner (Planning), the Director (Land), and five other private persons. The officials are accused of entering into a conspiracy with the DLF Universal Ltd to show favour to the latter. This is the first time that raids were carried out against the top brass of the DDA, the country’s largest urban building authority. Agency sleuths simultaneously swooped down on the residence and offices of Mr Sharma and another senior DDA official, Mr Jagdish Chandra, and carried out searches, which have allegedly yielded information relating to financial irregularities. (Mr Sharma was appointed DDA vice-chief a few months ago.) Besides the Vice-Chairman, the CBI conducted raids on the offices of the Commissioner (Disposal), the Commissioner (Planning) and the Director (Land), the CBI sources said. The CBI has of late been carrying out special anti-corruption drives all over the country. The raids, which started in the wee hours, continued till late evening on both the offices and residential premises of several top officials of the DDA. The offices of the organisation’s top brass have been sealed. The sources said there were some cases of assets disproportionate to the known sources of income and a final picture would emerge only after the searches end. The CBI has alleged that the officials had entered into a criminal conspiracy with some private builders of DLF Universal by accepting illegal gratification from them. A deal was struck between the DDA Vice-Chairman and the builders. The builders agreed to pay a whopping Rs 1.10 crore, which was to be shared by various top officials of the DDA. The first floor of the DDA headquarters, which houses the offices of several top officials, and the Land Revenue Department has been sealed. Many of the DDA officials, including employees, who turned up to attend office were stopped at the gate by the security personnel and were informed that a CBI raid was on. The employees had to wait outside the building along with a large number of members of the public who had come there for personal work. The searches followed allegations of corruption, forgery and possession of disproportionate assets. Efforts to contact DDA officials for their comments on the raid did not fructify. Confirming the raids, DDA spokesperson Neemo Dhar said searches were being conducted on the residential and official premises of some officials of the department. The spokesperson refused to further disclose any details, saying, “I have no other details apart from these.” As the news of the raids spread in the Capital, hundreds of curious onlookers thronged the offices of the DDA in Vikas Sadan in South Delhi. People said they were not surprised as most of them had to bear the brunt of these officials while dealing with them on property related matters. |
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VAT from April 1: Sheila Dikshit New Delhi, March 27 The proposed implementation of VAT in the Capital had evoked widespread protests from traders. The industrial units and markets had observed a shutdown earlier this month. Ms Dikshit was talking to reporters after inaugurating the 20th Bhagidari Workshop (Citizen-Government Partnership) that has been organised by the Deputy Commissioner (Revenue) of West, North-West and South-West districts and the Bhagidari Cell of the Chief Minister’s Office. The workshop will conclude on Saturday. All states except the NCT of Delhi, Himachal Pradesh and Arunachal Pradesh have geared up to implement VAT from April 1 following the Centre’s nod for the requisite legislation. In the case of the NCT of Delhi, political consideration in the face of the impending Assembly elections later this year has overshadowed economic rationale. The introduction of VAT, which is a multi-point sales tax with set-off for tax paid on purchases at the preceding stage, was postponed twice since the states were not ready with their draft guidelines. Presenting the Budget for the year 2003-2004, Finance Minister Mahinder Singh Saathi had on Tuesday said the government would try to make suitable amendments to the legislation before introducing VAT in the NCT of Delhi. “It is unlikely,” Mr Saathi had said, “that the legislation could be introduced in its present format. We would consider modifying the proposals of the new tax regime so that they are acceptable to the trading community.” According to the Finance Minister, Delhi’s status as the Capital and a centre of trade would be factored in before introducing the new tax regime. Expressing solidarity with the traders, he said the government was concerned about the likely impact on trade in general and the consumer in particular. “The legislation,” he said, “will not be introduced by sacrificing the interests of the trading community.” Discussions would take place in the near future so that outstanding differences could be removed and certain modifications accommodated. |
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VAT, no gain: Loss of Rs 40,000 cr New Delhi, March 27 “Every two consignments out of the five moved from the NCR through the network of transporters is unaccounted and involved in tax avoidance,” said the survey by the Indian Foundation of Transport and Research and Training. The foundation carried out the survey on the operations of goods booking transport companies and their relationship with the trading community. “The introduction of VAT is likely to minimise the opportunity of large-scale tax avoidance and therefore is the reason for opposition to the tax reforms agenda of the Centre and state government,” the survey said. Stating that the transport associations had given a call to go on strike from April 14 on the issue of VAT, Mr S. P. Singh, senior fellow of the foundation, said the silent majority was being bulldozed by a powerful and resourceful lobby to deflate VAT implementation. “The state governments must fully train their task force to work for smooth shift to VAT regime from outdated sales tax/trade tax system. VAT will not only minimise tax avoidance, but will create a common market and break the ‘unholy alliance’ of transporters-traders who are working in tandem to cause distortions in trade and commerce in the country.” |
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VAT
may harm plastic manufacturers of Haryana Faridabad, March 27 The president of the FPA, Mr Charanjit
Sachdeva, said here today that as the present rate of tax on plastic
items in Haryana at 12 per cent is higher in comparison to tax in
Chandigarh (2 per cent), Uttar Pradesh (3 per cent) and Delhi (4 per
cent). Plastic manufacturers and traders here would not be benefited
by VAT, if it comes into force in Haryana alone, he added. He said
the reports so far indicated that Delhi, Punjab and Rajasthan
governments were in no mood to implement VAT from April this year. He
said if VAT came into force in states like UP and Rajasthan, then the
rate of tax on plastic items in Haryana should also be brought down to
only 3 per cent. The cloth merchants and traders of the district are
also up in arms against VAT. The ‘Kapra Beopar Sangh (cloth traders
association) members staged a rally in protest against the imposition
of VAT at Palwal town on Wednesday. They alleged that VAT was
detrimental to the interests of cloth traders and could lead to
several problems, if implemented. They submitted a memorandum to the
state government through the local authorities. Meanwhile, the chief
of the Small and Medium Entrepreneurs Committee of the PHD Chambers of
Commerce and Industries, Mr Rajiv Chawla, has said that the
‘issues’ concerning the interests of the FPA would be taken up at
a higher level. He claimed that VAT could be beneficial to the
business and trade, if it was implemented simultaneously in all the
states especially in northern region at least. The tax structure for
all products and items should be similar and provide equal
opportunities to everybody in all the states. He maintained that all
the confusion and fears of the community should be done away with and
‘hurdles’ removed in a proper manner. |
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Transport
Nagar for whom? Trucks are all over Panipat, March 27 Transport Nagar was established with the aim of shifting all transport offices, their godowns and trucks from the city. Not only that old transporters did not move out, many newly formed transport companies also opened their offices in the city. This has resulted in congestion and traffic jams most of the time at the Veterinary Hospital road, Sanjay Chowk, the Gita Mandir road and the service lane from Gohana road to the bus stand. It all began with the Veterinary Hospital road where some transport companies opened their offices. Afterwards, the Gita Mandir road, the Swastika road and now the Baba Ganga Puri road adjacent to the Sanoli road have also been encroached by transporters, hampering the smooth flow of motor traffic and movement of pedestrians. Trucks are parked on these roads most of the time. Moreover, the service lanes on the National Highway (G. T. Road) are still a nightmare for three-wheelers and small vehicles, which have to go zig-zag at three-four locations to wriggle out of the jams caused by stationed trucks. These trucks occupy the roads especially after the office hours, but nobody bothers. Though some traffic personnel try to take action against companies whose trucks are parked in service lanes for loading and unloading, particularly in the morning and evening rush hours, the owners of these companies allegedly hand over duplicate registration certificates and other papers. It is being boasted by these transporters even in the open that within an hour, the traffic personnel would surrender their papers. Transporters also allege they pay “suvidha shulk’ to “everybody”. Then, how can they take punitive action? A scooterist, who happened to be harassed by traffic cops, said that if the SP undertakes a surprise checking, it will be found that it is the innocent and poor persons, who cannot offer gratification, who are being challaned and their vehicles impounded. At the same time, not even a single truck of any transport company parked in the service lanes was challaned. |
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Big
landlords like Northern Rly must New Delhi, March 27 It is no accident that both these institutions own huge tracts of land and have very viable operational units in Tughlakabad in South district where the water table has fallen to between 35 and 40 metres due to over-extraction. The Indian Air Force has residential areas and airbase in this segment and the Northern Railway has one of the largest marshalling yards in northern India here. The IAF has woken up to the looming disaster in and around Tughlakabad and has installed four trenches and recharge wells to be able to catch the runoff during the rainy season the potential of which is estimated to be nearly 18,200 cubic metres. The Northern Railway is as yet dormant. The IAF has also decided to set up recharge systems at Rajokri and Faridabad within the NCR and Subroto Park on the outskirts of the Delhi Cantonment on the way to the airport. But, inexplicably, the Directorate-General of Defence Estates has not gone beyond contemplating water harvesting in the Nicholson Ranges and the Shankar Vihar Complex although the Cantonment Board has jurisdiction over the second largest slice of the NCT (42.79 sq km) after the 1,397 sq. km under the Municipal Corporation of Delhi and marginally larger than the NDMC area. Within the Delhi Cantonment, the daily consumption of water is 436 litres per capita and half of this is drawn through tubewells from groundwater sources. If the Dhaula Kuan flyover project does establish the feasibility of introducing water harvesting within its catchment, which lies on the periphery of the Delhi Cantonment, there is no reason why similar experiments cannot be undertaken within the military perimeter as well. The Northern Railway has substantial real estate in about a dozen locations within the NCT, the largest being the residential colonies at Kishanganj and Shakurbasti. Queries about plans for water harvesting within its jurisdiction have met with stony silence. The Delhi Government has made it mandatory that all new structures within the NCR must incorporate water-harvesting schemes in their plan layouts. However, the full utilisation of approximately 475 million cubic metres runoff during the monsoons will not happen unless existing establishments also introduce water harvesting methods in the areas within their control. Given that there is only very tardy progress in that direction, especially among the larger landholders within the NCR, the government ought to nudge them to conform to the need of the times. |
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CRIME
SPIRAL Ghaziabad, March 27 The car used in the kidnapping was found in a jungle in Manki village but there was no trace of the doctor or the kidnappers. Dr Sethi was abducted at 8 am from the Sikri road under the Modi Nagar police station. Senior police officers are combing the entire jungle following the recovery of the car. Dr Atul Sethi and his wife Dr Manju Kherwal have a clinic on the Sikri road and another in Mohiuddin in Meerut. Dr Sethi had reportedly just returned after paying his electricity bill when five masked men forcibly pushed him into a car near his house and then sped away towards Kalechheena village. Soon after getting information, the Modi Nagar police swung into action. SSP Chander Prakesh and SP (Rural) Anil Kumar and CO Modinagar rushed to the spot. According to eyewitnesses, the criminals had fired a few shots in the air to terrorise the people moving about on the road. They also threatened a pan-seller to keep his mouth shut or he would be killed. The police, who are clueless, say no ransom call has been received yet. |
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DAY
OF MISHAPS New Delhi, March 27 Though Mohan Lal (42) and Azim (35) were rushed to GTB Hospital, they were declared brought dead by doctors. The third injured, Vijay Kumar, was rushed to a general hospital. He is fighting for life in the intensive care unit, a Delhi Fire Service spokesman said.
Two killed as container overturns on TSR Two persons were killed and two others injured when a container overturned on a TSR near Tughlakabad Extension this afternoon. The deceased were identified as Madan Sharma and Shyam Sunder. The injured have been admitted to the AIIMS where their condition is stated to be serious. The container was going towards Tughlakabad Depot when it overturned on a TSR that was moving on its side. Two passengers of the TSR died on the spot. A case of rash and negligent driving has been registered, the police said.
Mountain caves in, two killed Faridabad: Two labourers were killed and several others injured after a mountain caved in during mining at Sirohi village in the district here on Wednesday. The deceased, identified as Sanichar Mangli (32) and Aslam (26) from Bihar, were among others who were engaged by a contractor to mine stones from the mountains. The injured have been admitted to a private hospital and the condition of five of them is reported to be serious |
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CM for rural development to check migration Sonepat, March 27 He also announced that illegal encroachment of the gram panchayat, public and Municipal lands would be removed at all costs by the government. The state government, he said, would provide potable water to all the villages on “priority basis” if the gram panchayats deposited 10 per cent of the cost. Mr Chautala also declared that all the roads would be repaired, and new electric lines installed at those places where there were no lines. Iron poles would be replaced by concrete electric poles. Besides this, he promised to provide all basic amenities to the people in rural areas so that the migration from rural to urban areas could be effectively checked. He said that the state government would open the sports stadium to encourage sports activities in the state. Steps have also been taken to improve the standard of education in the schools and colleges and to provide all the basic facilities to the students studying in them. The state government, he said, has already introduced English language from Class 1 and computer education from Class VI in the government schools. This system, he said, has proved successful as more and more students are taking to computer education in the schools. He said the government would make all efforts to supply computer in each school of the state. Mr Chautala appealed to the people not to be misled by the false propaganda of the Opposition parties against him.
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SPECIAL FOCUS ON ROHTAK Rohtak, March 27 She said that although the accused were arrested by the police, no action had been taken against the ‘erring’ police officials. Narrating the harrowing incident, Ms Alaria said that a few days ago, a Dalit woman was dragged out of her house by miscreants in Kharkara village. The woman was taken to the fields and gang raped. However, the police did not register the case under ‘appropriate’ sections. The Samajwadi Party leader charged the police officials with harassing the rape victim and pressurising her to reach a compromise with the rapists. She stressed that the authorities should take strict disciplinary action against both the police officials as the duo was still trying its best to hush up the case. She said she had informed the Samajwadi Party president, Mr Mulayam Singh Yadav about the shameful incident and several party MPs were likely to participate in the agitational programme on April 1. A memorandum would also be submitted to the Governor through the Deputy Commissioner, Rohtak to protest against the new house tax policy and implementation of the Value Added Tax system, she added. |
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Jat
Mahasabha lashes out at Chautala New Delhi, March 27 The spokesperson of the mahasabha, Mr Tara Chand Mor, said that Mr Chautala had declared in public meetings that Jats will be included in the reserve category in Haryana as soon as a similar decision is taken in Rajasthan. He added that this promise is yet to be implemented, though states like Delhi, Madhya Pradesh and Himachal Pradesh have already implemented the same. The working committee of the mahasabha that met here today decided to stage a mass protest in Haryana on the reservation issue if Mr Chautala did not agree to their demands. |
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Mini
bus owners flay
stopping of STA permits New Delhi, March 27 President of the association K. L. Sharma said the grounding of mini buses would affect the livelihood of an estimated 25,000 men and their families. He cited the absence of route permits and harassment by authorities concerned as the other outstanding problems. Secretary G. C. Garg in turn said the government should not decide the routes unilaterally. Routes as short as four kilometres have been allocated to the mini buses which, Mr Garg claimed, were not profitable as the distance could be covered on foot. |
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Now, railway tickets at
your doorstep New Delhi, March 27 The service has been made available to passengers in Delhi, Ghaziabad, Gurgaon and Noida apart from Mumbai, Chennai, Bangalore and Kolkatta. According to the general manager, AFL Group, “the strong national network, fortified by close customer interface has enabled us assist Indian Railways realise their dream mission to bring about a global experience in customer satisfaction.” |
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Prohibitory
orders around MDU exam centres Sonepat, March 27 According to reports, the firearms include the sword, gandasies, lathis, barchhas, kulhari, jellies, knives and such weapons. The order that comes into force with immediate effects and will end till the examinations are over. This step has been taken to maintain peace in and around the examination centres and to check outside interference by rogues and anti-social elements. However, the violation of the order will attract prosecution and punishment under Section 188 of the Indian Penal code. Car robbed at gunpoint:
On receiving the information, the police swung into action and organised ‘nakabandis’ at various places but failed to apprehend the culprits. A case of loot has been registered and further investigations are on. Army recruitment:
The dates are: Jhajjar district (April 2); Rohtak district (April 3); Sonepat and Panipat districts (April 4); and ex-armymen and their wards on April 5. The physical tests of the candidates will be held from 6 am onward in the police lines at Rohtak. Acquitted of murder:
According to the prosecution story, Rajesh was arrested under Sections 302, 307, 148, 149 and 449 of the IPC in connection with the murder of Mr Jai Bhagwan of Ganaur on May 10, 1998 and the police had sent the challan to the court. Vaccination camp:
According to Mr T. C. Alakh, president of the trust, at least 300 children between the age of 18 months and 12 years will be immunised. Their registration will conclude tomorrow. Each injection costs Rs 100, but it will be given free of cost by the trust. |
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NCR BRIEFS Sonepat, March 27 Couple assaulted:
But the husband and wife raised the alarm and a large number of people rushed to the site but the assailants managed to escape under the cover of darkness. The residents also chased them but failed to apprehend them. Both the husband and wife were admitted to a hospital and they are stated to be out of danger. The police have registered a case and further investigations are in progress. A hunt is on to apprehend the culprits. The reason behind the attack is still not known. Sarpanch suspended:
The Deputy Commissioner has placed Mr Om Parkash, sarpanch of Jataula village, under suspension for serious irregularities in the distribution of wheat supplied under the Food for Work programme in the village. This followed an inquiry conducted on the public complaints and found the allegations true and correct, a report says. Rs 25,000 looted from petrol pump:
The criminals came around 2:30 am today and forced salesmen Girish, Vipin and Ashok to open the safe at gunpoint. They took Rs 25,000 out and fled from the spot, Police Circle Officer Prabal Pratap Singh said. When Girish and Ashok resisted them, the criminals hit them with a rod, injuring them. |
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Woman’s murder solved New Delhi, March 27 During interrogation, the suspect confessed to have shot dead Suman Devi. Gayatri Dutt was unemployed and a drug addict. He knew that Suman Devi’s husband had been bed-ridden for 15 years. The suspect tried to befriend with Suman Devi but she repelled his advances. On January 7 this year, he caught the woman near the railway crossing at Azadpur village, which resulted in an argument. While arguing, the suspect shot at her killing her on the spot, the police said. According to the police, his involvement was suspected as he had been absconding from the day of the incident. He came from his hideout yesterday and was arrested after the police were informed by fellow villagers, the police said. |
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Rs 600-crore District Credit Plan Faridabad, March 27 He said this was 18 per cent higher than what was projected in the credit plan of the past year. Out of the total credit, Rs 498 crore had been earmarked for priority sector advances. The plan provides for disbursement of Rs 245 crore to 24,700 farmers in the agriculture sector and the provision for financial assistance of Rs 135 crore to the small-scale industries. An amount of Rs 118 crore had been proposed for other priority sector advances. The plan envisages flow of credit to the tune of Rs 21.5 crore to 6,100 beneficiaries under various government sponsored schemes. Out of the total priority sector credit of Rs 498 crore, share of commercial banks has been Rs 253 crore (51 per cent), District Central Cooperative Bank-Rs 158 crore (32 percent), Primary Agriculture and Rural Development Bank-Rs 45 crore (9 per cent), Gurgaon Gramin Bank-Rs 32 crore (six per cent) and Haryana Financial Corporation-Rs 10 crore (2 per cent). Among blocks, Faridabad block will get Rs 217 crore while the share of
Ballabgarh, Palwal, Hodal and Hassanpur blocks would be Rs 56 crore, 94 crore and 82 crore respectively, and Rs 49 crore have been earmarked for Hathin block. The Regional Manager of Syndicate Bank, Mr
S.K.Puri, AGM, RBI, Mr K R Nair, Mr R S Dahiya, AGM, NABARD were present on the occasion. The district authorities were represented by the Deputy Commissioner and the Additional Deputy Commissioner.
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