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Sand, bajri prices to shoot up after SC ban
Minister concerned at demand for separate Haryana High Court
Show-cause notices soon
to Haryana BJP leaders
Class I officers’ cases
to go to Admn Dept
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Move to close shops by 9 pm flayed
3-year-old killed in fire
Three robberies in Ambala, couple injured
6 varieties of Bt
cotton for Haryana
high court
Freedom fighters’ pension hiked
to Rs 3,500
3 get death sentence in murder case
Crops in 3 villages destroyed in fire
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Sand, bajri prices to shoot up after SC ban
Chandigarh, April 12 The ban on mining in the Aravalli range falling in Haryana is already in force. The apex court had imposed a ban on mining activities in the Aravalli range passing through Haryana and Rajasthan on October 30, 2002. The order affected Faridabad and Gurgaon districts of Haryana. The Supreme Court amended its order on December 16, 2002, and allowed mining by those lease-holders who had obtained permission under the relevant Acts. While Haryana did not allow any mining, Rajasthan allowed the resumption of mining activities, giving rise to the presumption that the necessary permission had been obtained by the lease-holders. However, when a writ petition was filed by a
public-spirited person, Ashwani Chobasia, in the Rajasthan High Court regarding illegal mining, the government of that state admitted in an affidavit that all lease-holders had not obtained the necessary permission. The Rajasthan Government informed the court that of a total of 9,982 lease-holders in the state, 1,026 had obtained consent from the state Pollution Control Board. While 3,282 had applied for consent, 5,670 had not even applied for permission. After the Rajasthan Government filed the affidavit in the high court, a contempt petition was moved in the Supreme Court alleging that the state had allowed mining to continue in spite of the apex court’s orders. Amicus curiae Harish Salve contended before the apex court that Rajasthan had lied before it and got the order of October 30, 2002, amended. Counsel for the petitioners, Mr Ranjit Kumar, alleged that the Rajasthan Government wanted to divert forest land for mining purposes on the payment of a specified fee and had invited applications for the same. Mr Salve also informed the Supreme Court that Rajasthan had been bypassing the provisions of the notifications issued on January 27, 1994, by granting mining leases for 1 hectare as the leases for such small areas did not require the mandatory approved Environment Management Plan for carrying out mining operations. The apex court held on April 8 last that instead of initiating any contempt action, it would serve the ends of justice if the (contempt) petition was treated as an interlocutory application seeking directions to check illegal mining, particularly in the forest area of Rajasthan. The court said that pending further directions, “we restrain any kind of mining in the forest area. Further, we restrain mining in any area in the Aravalli Hills falling in the state of Rajasthan, where permission may been accorded after December 16, 2002(when the complete ban order was amended by the court). “ The Supreme Court also directed the government to give particulars of the cases where permission or sanction for mining in 1 hectare or less area had been granted...so that “it would be possible to know the contiguous areas in respect whereof such permission may have been granted.” |
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Minister concerned at demand for separate Haryana High Court
Chandigarh, April 12 Mr Bhardwaj was addressing a function organised by the Punjab and Haryana High Court Bar Association to felicitate him. Before shifting to Delhi, Mr Bhardwaj practised in this High Court for many years. Incidentally, Haryana Chief Minister B.S. Hooda, who spoke just before the Law Minister, demanded a separate High Court for Haryana. He even pointed out that the previous Haryana Assembly had passed a resolution in favour of a separate High Court. Mr Bhardwaj also disclosed that efforts were on to set up a National Judical Council, comprising serving and retired Judges, to deal with complaints against Judges. "We are studying the Canadian and US models to come up with the best possible solution. Out main aim is to ensure transparency," he added. Referring to the fact that it took him almost one year after taking over as Union Law Minister to pay a visit to the High Court, Mr Bhardwaj said "turbulence" in the High Court forced him to keep away from Chandigarh. "The weather is safe now. I am also happy that we have a Judge hailing from Punjab as our Chief Justice," he added. Urging the lawyers to strive to improve their knowledge of law, the minister also asked them to maintain harmonious relations with the Bench. He also observed that in the past few years, the prestige of the High Court had suffered. Earlier, Mr Hooda said efforts were on to set up a family court at Faridabad. He also stated that the recommendations of the First National Judicial Pay Commission had been implemented by Haryana. Punjab and Haryana High Court Bar Association President Anmol Rattan Sidhu urged the Haryana Government to contribute more than Punjab for welfare of lawyers and improvement of facilities here. Chandigarh MP Pawan Kumar Bansal and Bar Association Secretary Munish Jolly also addressed the gathering. Later, interacting with mediapersons, Mr Bhardwaj tried to play down the ongoing controversy over "clean chit" to former Defence Minister George Fernandes in matters relating to defence purchases. "The Attorney-General and the Defence Secretary are working on it. There is no controversy," he claimed. Referring to the large number of vacancies in the High Court, Mr Bhardwaj said he was awaiting the recommendation of names by the High Court so that the vacancies could be filled. Asked about the status of the fast track courts, set up by the previous NDA government, the Law Minister said he was committed to their continuation. |
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Show-cause notices soon
to Haryana BJP leaders
Rohtak, April 12 According to sources, the party’s three-member disciplinary panel headed by former Haryana BJP chief Atam Parkash Manchanda is preparing the notices based on preliminary probe into the charges. These are likely to be despatched early next week. The panel is looking into about a dozen complaints. Immediately after the poll, there was a spate of charges of this kind by various candidates. The party leadership took the matter seriously and the BJP general secretary in charge of Haryana, Mr Shiv Raj Singh Chauhan asked the Haryana BJP chief, Mr Ganeshi Lal, to set up a committee for the purpose. After the committee was constituted, the complainants were asked to submit written complaints. This brought the number of complaints down to 12 from the initial figure of about 30. Included among those against whom such charges have been levelled are several heads of district units and a few general secretaries. The matter was discussed during a meeting of the party held here last month to analyse the party’s poor performance in the Assembly election. It was decided that such indiscipline should not go unpunished as it would encourage others in the next poll. The sources said the party leadership had concluded at this conclave that sabotage by party leaders was one of the major factors that contributed to the party’s defeat. Those who had levelled such charges included former MP Sudha Yadav, Mr Randhir Kapriwas of Rewari, Mr Rajpal Antil of Sonepat, Mr Om Parkash Nain from Uchana, Mr Prithvi Singh Yadav of Narnaul, Mr Manish Grover from Rohtak and Meena Chaudhary of Meham. It is not known whether all of them have followed up their verbal complaints by sending written complaints as demanded by the disciplinary panel. |
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Class I officers’ cases
to go to Admn Dept
Chandigarh, April 12 Stating this here today, an official spokesman said only some specific cases of Classes I and II officers would be sent to the Chief Secretary (General Services Branch-I) in future. For instance, if an officer had been issued a charge sheet under Rule-7, the case would be sent to the Chief Secretary. Or, the cases in which any disciplinary action or court case was pending against the officer. Such cases would include those casting doubts on the integrity of an officer reflected in the Annual Confidential Reports (ACR) of the past 10 years. He said in such cases, the copies of the record of having conveyed adverse remarks to the officer concerned and the
decision taken should also be attached to the case. In those cases where the overall evaluation of the ACR was either downgraded or upgraded should be sent to the Chief Secretary. The borderline cases should also be sent to
the Chief Secretary, he added. |
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Move to close shops by 9 pm flayed
Fatehabad, April 12 The
district police chief, Mr Bhim Singh, had ordered the closure of all
shops by 9 pm after convening a meeting of various traders’
organizations on April 9.It was held to discuss means to check the
activities of anti-social elements in the district. After discussing the
matter with them, he announced that all shops in the town should be
closed by 9 pm so that the anti-social elements could not take a refuge
in dhabas, eating joints, restaurants and teashops. The police ensured
the enforcement of orders from the same evening. Cops on patrol duty
threw away cooked dal from a dhaba to ensure the orders. The town
these days looks like a curfew -bound place. Movement on roads is
reduced to minimum with all shops closed. Police jeeps blowing loud
siren can be seen moving in market. Even tea stalls on the bus stand are
not allowed to operate after the deadline. Drivers, conductors and bus
passengers, who travel in night buses, cannot find a cup of tea when the
buses stop at the local bus stop. The decision of the police has
evoked mixed response here. While women have welcomed the decision and
said that it would help curbing bootlegging and activities of goons
elements in the town, owners of dhabas, eating joints, restaurants,
teashops and pan shops have castigated the move. The dhaba and
restaurant owners organised a meeting here yesterday and demanded that
their shops be allowed to operate till 11.30pm in night. They said that
while the police allowed liquor vend to remain open till 11 pm, its
enforced the closure of tea shops at 9 pm. |
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3-year-old killed in fire
Kohliwala (Chhachhrouli), April 12 A fire tender from Yamunanagar reached the spot after about three hours. At the time of the fire, only small children were in the area as the men and women were away on their work at different stone crushers situated along the Yamuna. Three-year-old Nirdosh, who was reportedly sleeping in his hut, was burnt to death. Another three-year-old girl received serious burn injuries and was later referred to a hospital in Yamunanagar. The exact cause of the fire was yet to be known, but it is suspected that splinters from a chullah caused the fire. The fire has rendered more than 400 persons, including children shelterless. Later in the day, a truckload of relief material was sent by the district administration. Earlier, on
April 12, hutments were reduced to ashes and a woman sustained serious burn injuries in the fire. As per information available, the fire started at around 10.30 am and the cluster of hutments were reduced to ashes in no time. A hut dweller, Reshwati, told The Tribune that an amount of Rs 5,000, which she and her husband had saved and kept in the hut, were also burnt. Similarly, all goods and even the weight machine kept in the shop of Mr Ajmer Singh was destroyed. Most of the labourers whose hutments were burnt down today lost cash as they keep the money in huts. Bhoo Devi, who lost Rs 600 in the fire said: “For poor people like us, our huts are our banks”. Before the fire tender could reach the spot, villagers had doused the fire. Villagers had pressed into service water tankers. A tubewell near the hutments came handy to the villagers to control the fire. Villagers and owners of stone crushers reached there for the help of the affected families. They also brought food, blankets and other necessary items to help the victims. There are several clusters of hutments in the block and fires takes place almost every summer. Of late, there has been a demand of a fire tender by the villagers. The Deputy Commissioner, Mr R.K Rao, admitted that the area required a fire tender and promised that the administration would take a step in this regard soon. He said the district
administration could not help the victims to rebuilding their huts, but would provide all possible material help like blankets and utensils. No political party takes interest in providing civic amenities to these labourers as they do not have votes, complained the victims. |
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Three robberies in Ambala, couple injured
Ambala, April 12 The first incident took place in Bank Colony in the Mahesh Nagar area. Seema, and her younger son, Sameer, were at home. Around 9 pm, Seema went to a neighbour’s residence. Around that time three youths armed with pistol entered the house. They brandished the pistol and asked Sameer to hand over the valuables present in the home to them. When Sameer feigned ignorance, they tied him up and put him in the bathroom. About half an hour later, Sameer’s elder brother, Sahil, reached home. He was also threatened with dire consequences. But, the youths failed to get anything. Meanwhile, Seema returned. The youths threatened her that her son’s would have to bear the consequences if she refused to comply to their diktat. Thereafter, the youths decamped with gold ornaments and cash. The second incident took place in Shivpuri colony in Ambala City. Bhakra Beas Management Board employee Tejinder Singh, his wife, Inderjeet Kaur, and youngest son, Prince, were sleeping in a room while his two other sons were sleeping in another room. Around 1.30 am, two robbers, with their faces covered, entered the room. The robbers assaulted Tejinder Singh and Inderjeet Kaur. The couple sustained serious injuries. On hearing noise, Prince got up. He was also hit on the back by a rod. The robbers then snatched away gold ornaments. Thereafter, a hue and cry was raised by the sons. Inderjeet Kaur was not keeping well for sometime and the assault aggravated her health problem. Tejinder Singh and Inderjeet Kaur were rushed to the Civil Hospital, Ambala City, from where they were referred to the PGI, Chandigarh. The third incident took place in Regiment Bazar, Ambala Cantonment, this morning. Armed robbers struck at the residence of a retired Air Force personnel, Mr Mulk Raj
Wasan. Mr Wasan had gone to fetch milk around 6 am. While his wife was performing
‘puja’, his son, Rajeev, was in his room. Rajeev is suffering from kidney ailment. The robbers entered the first floor residence of the Wasan’s brandishing pistol. They threatened Rajeev and his mother with dire consequences. They locked them up in a room. Then they decamped with Rs 50,000 and gold ornaments. The Superintendent of Police, Ambala, Mr Rajinder Singh, said investigations were on. “The modus operandi in the Ambala Cantonment and Ambala City incidents are different. A country-made pistol was used in the Ambala Cantonment incidents and both the Ambala Cantonment incidents seem to have been carried out by the same persons,” he said. |
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6 varieties of Bt
cotton for Haryana
Chandigarh, April 12 Mr Dhanpat Singh, Director, Agriculture, Haryana, told TNS that the Genetic Engineering Approval Committee, constituted by the Union Government, had accorded permission for the
commercial cultivation of the seeds, namely RCH-134 Bt, RCH-317 Bt of the Rasi Seed Corporation, MRC-8301 Bt and MRC-6304 Bt of the Mehyco Corporation and Ankur-651 Bt and Ankur-2534 Bt of the Ankur Seed Corporation. He said the seeds would be made available to the farmers through the sale outlets of government agencies like Hafed, the Haryana State Seed Development Corporation and the Haryana Land Reclamation Development Corporation and also through authorised private dealers of the Rasi Seed Corporation, the Mehyco Corporation and the Ankur Seed Corporation. |
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Death sentence
Our High Court Correspondent
Chandigarh, April 12 Both had moved the High Court against the orders of the District and Sessions Judge, Hisar, who, on May 31, 2004, had found them guilty of having brutally murdered Mr Punia and seven other members of his family. The police had arrested Sonia, Sanjiv and three others on the suspicion of having murdered Mr Punia and other members of the family. The District and Sessions Judge, Hisar, while finding Sonia and her husband guilty as charged, had acquitted three other accused.
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Freedom fighters’ pension hiked
to Rs 3,500
Chandigarh, April 12 The Haryana Chief Minister, Mr Bhupinder Singh Hooda, said no Indian could compensate for the sacrifices made by the freedom fighters of the country. He said it was for the first time after 1998 that an enhancement had been made in the pension of freedom fighters. In 1998, the pension was increased by merely Rs 400 per month. |
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3 get death sentence in murder case
Sonepat, April 12 It is learnt that Lakhan and his sons, Mahender, Suresh, and Satbir were working in their fields when they were attacked by the convicted persons on December 1, 2001. In the attack, Lakhan and Mahender died on the spot whereas Suresh succumbed to his injuries in the PGIMS, Rohtak. |
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Crops in 3 villages destroyed in fire
Panipat, April 12 |
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Computer parts stolen from college lab
Yamunanagar, April 12 |
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Tax on halwais abolished
Chandigarh, April 12 |
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