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Treasury bench opens debate on Budget
Bhardwaj elected to RS from Haryana
Bandh in protest against trader’s killing,
INLD legislators stage walkout
Farmers get tips on medicinal herbs
Question Hour
1,840 acres encroached by colonisers in Gurgaon
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Major relief to guest teachers
Four killed in road mishap
Wheat import irks BJP, massive rally on March 28
Retd Army officer shoots self, dies
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Treasury bench opens debate on Budget
Chandigarh, March 20 The debate on the Budget was opened by the treasury benches, though conventionally this right goes to the Opposition. When the Deputy Leader of the largest opposition party, the Indian National Lok Dal, Dr Sushil
Indora, pointed out this to the Speaker, Dr Raghubir Singh Kadiyan, the latter tried to justify by saying that he had looked towards him before the debate started but he (Dr
Indora) did not show any initiative to open the debate. The Parliamentary Affairs Minister, Mr Randeep Singh Surjewala, said when the people of Haryana had denied the INLD leader the status of the Leader of Opposition by giving the party only nine members, one short of the mandatory strength of 10 for conferring this status, what could the Speaker do? However, this deviation from a healthy convention was more than compensated when the Leader of the House, Mr Bhupinder Singh Hooda, and Mr Surjewala requested Dr Kadiyan to allow Dr Indora to speak as long as he wanted. Dr Indora spoke for one hour and there were not many serious interruptions from the treasury benches. This was a total break from the unhealthy practice of the Haryana Vidhan Sabha that no opposition leader is given so much freedom. Mr Hooda did point out to Mr Indora that when the INLD was in power, the Opposition used to be gagged by it. Dr Indora said the Budget proposals indicated that the government’s financial management was poor. He said the non-plan expenditure was increasing. While the Finance Minister, Mr Birender Singh, had tried to give credit to Dr Manmohan Singh for initiating financial reforms in the country when he was its Finance Minister, the fact remained that it was the NDA Government which started the process by deciding to introduce value added tax (VAT) and uniform rate of tax. The Congress had, rather, opposed the VAT when Mr Chautala had taken the lead in introducing it in the state, though the INLD had to pay a political price at the elections. Intervening, Mr Hooda and Mr Birender Singh said the Congress never opposed VAT. All it had said was that it should not be imposed in isolation. Mr Shamsher Singh Surjewala (Cong) said Mr Chautala had imposed VAT to “teach a lesson to traders”. When Dr Indora said the per capita income in Haryana had increased because of the policies of the INLD Government and now the Congress would reverse the trend, Mr Randeep Surjewala said the Congress was committed to reducing the income of one particular family. Dr Indora said while allocating funds for several departments, the Finance Minister had not taken care of inflation and had kept the level of funding either at the level of last year or even reduced it. Under these circumstances, no development was possible. He also criticised the Budget for not allocating funds for several prestige projects, like the Rajiv Gandhi Education City or the Rajiv Gandhi Insurance Scheme, announced by the government. Mr Shadi Lal Batra (Cong) said special economic zones
(SEZs) of 20 acres and power plants of two or three MWs should be encouraged to provide a level field to small players also. Mr Dharam Pal Malik (Cong) criticised Mr Ajay Singh Chautala, INLD MP, for threatening a civil war if the canal water was equally distributed in the state. He suggested that maps of all villages should be prepared and the title of rural houses should be determined in a time-bound manner so that litigation could be cut. The INLD members criticised Mr Malik for not raising the issue of unequitable distribution of water when he was the Haryana Congress President and his friend, Mr Bhajan Lal, was the Chief Minister. The debate will continue tomorrow. |
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Bhardwaj elected to RS from Haryana
Chandigarh, March 20 Mr Bhardwaj, who had filed his papers on Thursday, was elected unopposed. The 68-year-old victorious candidate, a native of Rohtak district of Haryana, had earlier served four terms in the Rajya Sabha as a representative of Madhya Pradesh. According to the affidavit submitted by him to the Returning Officer, the net value of the assests of Mr Bhardwaj and his wife exceeds Rs 2.3 crore. He also possesses firearms. Mr Bhardwaj has more than Rs 50 lakh in savings accounts and deposits in four separate bank accounts in New Delhi. His wife has more than Rs 17.9 lakh in two savings accounts in two banks in New Delhi. The cash in the possession of Mr Bhardwaj is, however, only Rs 10,000.His wife has Rs 5,000 in cash. Both Mr and Mrs Bhardwaj maintain accounts in Citibank . In addition, Mr Bhardwaj has invested Rs 22,00,000 in Savings Bonds and Government of India Relief Bonds. His wife has invested Rs 35,00,000 in NHB Capital Gains Bonds. According to the declaration, Mr Bhardwaj's Toyota Corolla H2 pearl white car is worth Rs 10,75,565. He had made a down payment of Rs 5,00,000 for the car and the remaining amount he got financed from a Gurgaon-based finance company. The Union Law Minister has a gun and a .32-bore revolver, besides a computer and a fax machine. He does not have any gold or jewellery though his wife has gold ornaments worth about Rs 3 lakh. Mr Bhardwaj has more than 48 bighas of agricultural land in Nazafgarh in New Delhi. The current market value of the land is stated to be Rs 65,00,000. He also has a house on the agricultural land and the market value of the farmhouse has been declared as Rs 24,00,000. His share in ancestral agricultural land in Garhi Sampla in Rohtak has been valued at Rs 10,00,000. Mr Bhardwaj's wealth tax and income tax returns are up to date. In deference to the Election Commission's guidelines, Mr Bhardwaj used a private vehicle to come to Chandigarh for filing his papers. He again used a private vehicle when he came to Chandigarh during the scrutiny of the papers on Saturday. |
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Bandh in protest against trader’s killing, 5 held
Kaithal, March 20 On the call up the Beopar Mandal all shops and business establishments were closed and a procession was organised. Work in the courts also remained suspended against the killing. Procession was peaceful but the police was deployed at vulnerable points. Mr Bajrang Dass Garg, President, Haryana Beopar Mandal led the procession. Protesters were demanding arrest of those involved in the murder of a ply wood dealer Narinder Arora who had been receiving threats for Rs 50 lakh as ransom. Mr Naveen Jindal MP also reached here and went to the residence of the deceased to console the family. Later he told reporters this evening efforts would be made to arrest the killers of Mr Arora. It is learnt the businessmen who had been receiving threatening calls for extortion called on Mr Jindal who called the DC and the SP to the rest house and directed them to arrest those involved in the murder and who had been issuing threats to businessmen. Meanwhile the police arrested three persons and brought two others on production warrant from Karnal jail suspected to be involved in this murder. SP Navdeep Singh Virk said that out of the five, the police has got remand of Surinder Geong and Anil of Gurana (UP) the court sent three others — Sube Singh and Mahabir residents of Barsikri and Sanni of Thol in judicial custody. The police announced cash reward of Rs 50,000 for vital information leading to the arrest of Baljeet Singh of Barsikri who escaped from police custody while being produced in a court at Ambala and is allegedly involved in this murder. A delegation of 31 members comprising Mr Surinder Madan, Mr Kailash Bhagat and Mr Bajrang Dass Garg left for Chandigarh to apprise Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda of the incident. A crowd gathered outside the CIA staff building here this evening where Surinder Geong and another accused Anil was being interrogated by the police. The crowd demanded the accused be handed over to it. The police was deployed to maintain law and order. |
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INLD legislators stage walkout
Chandigarh, March 20 Mr Malik had attracted the government's attention to damage caused to crops by frost and untimely rain. The INLD notice was about damage caused by frost, and sought a special girdwari to assess the damage and waiving of abiana. The INLD insisted that its notice should be taken up separately and staged a brief walkout when the Speaker refused to entertain its demand. In his answer, the Revenue Minister, Capt Ajay Singh Yadav, said regular girdwari of the rabi crops was going on and would be completed by March 31. Following the assessment of damage the government would take a decision regarding the waiving of abiana, Captain Yadav said. He added that the state government had issued directions to cooperative institutions and the district administrations not to resort to coercive steps for the recovery of dues. |
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Farmers get tips on medicinal herbs
Hisar, March 20 Dr Katyal was speaking after inaugurating a training programme on cultivation of medicinal and aromatic plants, processing and marketing organised by the medicinal, aromatic and underutilised plants section of the university yesterday. Farmers from all over the state are taking part in this five-day training programme. Highlighting the importance of medicinal herbs, the Vice-Chancellor asserted that these were in great demand not only in the country but also all over the world. He said instead of mono-crops, the farmers should raise these as inter-crops along with various field crops. “It is a great opportunity for the farmers and they should avail it by concentrating more on their quality aspect,” Dr Katyal said, emphasising that these herbs would acquire natural quality only if they were grown in conditions akin to their natural habitat. He also stressed on the need of developing processing and marketing facilities in the state. The Vice-Chancellor observed that to make such training more meaningful, the farmers should also be involved as trainers. This would not only give them an opportunity to share their experiences with fellow participants but would also provide a lead to the scientists for research. The HAU Director of Research, Dr R.K. Malik, in his presidential address, expressed concern over the required information about cultivation of medicinal plants not reaching to the farmers. He said the scientists should see for the gains in proportion to the money being spent on the researches. The Dean, College of Agriculture, Dr S.S. Dahiya, and Head, Department of Plant Breeding, Dr R.S. Waldia, also spoke. |
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Question Hour
1,840 acres encroached by colonisers in Gurgaon
Chandigarh, March 20 More than 14 acres belonging to panchayats had been paved by various companies and used as thoroughfares by the companies as well as villagers. Besides, 143 cases regarding encroachment on panchayat land by individuals were pending in various courts. This was stated by the Chief Minister, Mr Bhupinder Singh Hooda, in a written reply to a starred question asked by a Congress MLA, Mr Karan Singh Dalal, that came up during question hour in the Assembly. Mr Randeep Singh Surjewala, Paliamentary Affairs Minister, replying on behalf of the Chief Minister to the supplementary questions asked by the MLA, said all cases of encroachment had been referred to various courts. He assured Mr Dalal that if the latter gave any suggestion, the government would take it into account. He added that appropriate measures would be taken for expediting the decisions in these cases. The INLD legislators plugged their ears and protested noisily when Mr Surjewala was giving the answer. They said they would not like to hear anything from a Minister whose name had figured in the Volcker controversy. Mr Surjewala retorted that the INLD MLAs were holding their ears in apology because many of these encroachments took place when the INLD was in power in the state. The Chief Minister came to Mr Surjewala's rescue and said if the INLD had to boycott anyone facing corruption charges, they must boycott their leader, Mr Om Prakash Chautala. Replying to Independent MLA Naresh Yadav's question on the misappropriation of Red Cross funds in Mahendragarh district, Ms Kartar Devi, Social Welfare Minister, said no such case had come to light. Mr Yadav, however, said that crores of rupees raised by organising functions for the Red Cross had been usurped by a top official of the district administration of Mahendragarh. Mr Yadav said other MLAs from Mahendragarh and its neighbourhood were also aware of the goings-on in the district. The official was also taking bribes for giving NOCs to petrol stations, he alleged. He displayed some cards with no serial numbers allegedly sold by the official for the functions. Ms Kartar Devi then asked the MLA to give a complaint in writing. “The matter will be probed”, she said. In his written reply to a starred question asked by a Congress MLA, Mr Chhatar Pal Singh, the Chief Minister said 10 officers who had been suspended during the Chautala regime had been reinstated by the present government. Four of the officers were from the IAS, two from the IPS, three from the HCS and one from the HPS. |
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High Court Our High Court Correspondent
Chandigarh, March 20 Giving this direction, the Division Bench comprising Mr Justice J.S. Khehar and Mr Justice S.N. Aggarwal also disposed of the petitions filed by Mr Balraj, guest teacher working at Government Middle School, Butani (Jind) and 711 other guest teachers of various subjects. In their petition, Mr Balraj and others had prayed for quashing the decision of the Haryana Government to do away with their services in order to replace them with fresh hands, again on contractual basis. The petitioners are being paid on period-basis or daily basis ranging from Rs 45-80 per period depending upon the subject. On the plea of counsel for the petitioners that they could not be replaced by contractual/daily-wage employees but only by permanent employees, the Bench asked the Secretary, Education, Haryana, Mr R.S. Gujral to be present in the court. Asked to explain the rationale behind the government move, Mr Gujral said these appointments were of temporary, contractual nature and could be done away with when not required. However, the Bench was not fully satisfied with the reply and directed that the petitioners be allowed to continue till permanent appointments are made.
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Four killed in road mishap
Kurukshetra, March 20 The victims were returning to Ladwa from Shahabad last night after attending a religious function when the mishap occurred, killing Amit (25), Nigam (21), Sachin (25) and Manish (36) on the spot, Superintendent of Police Sanjay Kumar said. The two injured have been hospitalised. Amit and Nigam, students of Indira Gandhi National College, Ladwa, were to receive their bachelor’s degree in the convocation today, he said. The function has been postponed. The police said three persons sustained injuries in an accident involving a private bus going from Delhi to Jalandhar and a tractor-trailer near Umri village, 3 km from here, this morning.
— PTI |
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Wheat import irks BJP, massive rally on March 28
Ambala, March 20 Talking to mediapersons here, Mr Subhash Barala said the BJP was going to hold a major demonstration at Matka Chowk in Chandigarh on March 28 to protest against the decision to import wheat. Mr Barala said importing wheat was unfair to farmers adding that the imported wheat was going to cost Rs 950 to Rs 1050, while in India it was being bought at the rate Rs 650 per quintal only. He said leaders, including Mr Vinod Pandey, Mr Harjit Singh Grewal and Mr Om Prakash
Dhankad, would participate in the demonstration at Matka Chowk. Mr Barala said while the Congress government had provided financial help and jobs to the family members of those who died in Kandela, similar facilities should also have been extended to the affected farmers in Bhiwani, Karnal, Mahendragarh and Fatehabad. He rued that farmers had suffered losses due to frost yet no compensation had been announced by the government. He said though the Hooda government had waived power bills of defaulters, it should also give relief to the farmers who had regularly paid their power bills. The former Ambala MP, Mr Ratan Lal Kataria, said the national pride had been hurt due to the Congress government's decision to import wheat. |
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District court orders on web soon, says Justice Goel
Ambala, March 20 The Punjab and Punjab High Court Judge, Mr Justice Adarsh Kumar Goel, inaugurated the lok adalat. Cases from Panjokhra, Mandhaur, Garnala, Barnala, Tundla, Tundli, Khatauli, Kalarheri, Janaitpur and Dhankaur villages were taken up in the lok adalat. A total of 287 cases were taken up. Mr Justice Goel observed that justice was a basic right and efforts should be made to ensure its speedy dispensation. He said the rural lok adalats were being run as a pilot project since January this year. He said the lok adalats had been held in various areas, including Ismailabad, Karnal, Bhiwani and Rohtak. Mr Justice Goel said the orders of the district courts would soon be available on the website. He added that interim as well as final orders would be available and preparations were on for implementing the project. He said a facilitation centre would also be established so that the status and the next date of the case could be easily ascertained. Mr Justice Goel said rural lok adalats would go a long way towards reducing the pendency of cases. People would gain since they would not have to spend money in the legal process and justice would be given promptly, he concluded. |
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Retd Army officer shoots self, dies
Ambala, March 20 Lt-Col Suresh Chand Malhotra (retd), 64, committed suicide by firing a shot from his licensed pistol. Superintendent of Police Rajbir Deswal said Lt-Colonel Malhotra was ailing for the past couple of months. The family members have told the police that Lt-Colonel Malhotra was unhappy over the ailment and quite fed up. The Colonel is survived by his wife, two sons and a daughter. One of his sons is in the Army. A postmortem was carried out today. |
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