M A I N   N E W S

Haryana hikes bus fares
Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, August 16
The fare of Haryana Roadways buses is being increased. The state Cabinet, which met here today, decided to increase the fare by 5 paise per passenger per kilometre. According to the Cabinet decision, the existing rate of Haryana Roadways to charge 40 paise per passenger per km will be increased to 45 paise per passenger per km.

The decision will particularly affect those who will travel long distances by Haryana Roadways buses. For instance, someone travelling the 250 km between Delhi and Chandigarh by a Haryana Roadways bus will have to pay Rs 12.50 more for a ticket once the step comes into effect. Small-distance travellers, who have to travel often for business purposes or otherwise, will also find the increase unpalatable.

An official statement, which announced the Cabinet decision, said fares of the other types of services like the delux buses would also be increased using the same formula.

The statement said the hike had been necessiated by the increase in the operational expenditure of Haryana Roadways (HR). Increase in the cost of fuel, rise in the amount of premium paid to the insurance companies by the roadways and payment of dearness allowance to the employees had all contributed to the rise in the operational expenditure, it said.

The decision was criticised by Mr Bhupinder Singh Hooda, Leader of the Opposition, who said increase in the bus fare by 12.5 per cent was a shocking step. He said the government did not incorporate the proposal in the budget presented in the Assembly. The decision of the Cabinet without approval of the Assembly was an indication of the arbitrary method of the state government’s functioning, Mr Hooda said.

The Cabinet also approved a proposal of the Revenue Department to allot a piece of land measuring over four acres at Battour village to Mr Harbans Lal of Samlehri village of Panchkula district free of cost. Mr Harbans Lal’s father Mr Sheo Ram, a jawan in the Indian Army, had died during the Indo-Pak war in 1965 and a decision was taken on February 7, 1968, to allot 25 acres of land to Mr Pannu Ram, father of the deceased. However, Pannu Ram died before the land could be handed over to him. Since the dependants of the soldier were minor, they could not pursue the case and no further action was taken regarding the matter.

However, following an application from Mr Harbans Lal, the Deputy Commissioner of Ambala sent a proposal to the government for the allotment of land to the deceased soldier’s family. The government considered the proposal sympathetically and decided to allot four acres, one kanal and one marla free of cost to Harbans Lal, the statement stated.

The Cabinet also approved an amendment in the Allocation of Business Rules, 1974, of the Archives Department. According to the amendment, the department could undertake survey and acquisition of public and private records of historical, political, administrative, economic, religious, social and cultural value. It will preserve old records on scientific line and hold exhibitions to inculcate archival consciousness among the general public.

The department would also provide research facilities to the bonafide scholars. It would also undertake establishment matters relating to officers and staff under its administrative control except matters allotted to the General Administration Department.

Another amendment in the Allocation of Business Rules, 1974, relating to the Department of Archaeology and Museums, which was approved in today’s Cabinet meeting, laid down that the department would undertake maintenance, conservation and preservation of protected monuments, sites and remains.