M A I N   N E W S

Haryana to scrap 2-child norm for panches
Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, July 21
The Haryana Government today decided to abolish the two-child norm for members of the panchayati raj institutions.

The decision was taken by the state Cabinet when it met under the chairmanship of the Chief Minister, Mr Bhupinder Singh Hooda, here. An ordinance would be issued to omit Section 175(q) from the Haryana Panchayati Raj Act, 1994, retrospectively from January 1, 2005. This section provided that no person having more than two living children, could be a sarpanch or panch of a gram panchayat or a member of a panchayat samiti or zila parishad or continue as such.

Talking to newsmen after the Cabinet meeting, Mr Hooda said the Union Ministry of Panchayati Raj had consistently been asking the state government to reconsider the two-child norm. It felt that the norm resulted in social distortions like giving children in adoption, forced abortion and the non-registration of births.

The Cabinet decided to set up a women’s university at Khanpur Kalan in Sonepat district. The university would be named after Bhagat Phool Singh, who set up the Khanpur Kalan Gurukul for girls in that area. It would be a teaching-cum-affiliating university. Mr Hooda said its Vice-Chancellor and Registrar would also be women. It would facilitate women in the field of higher education with special emphasis on information technology, computer education, medical sciences, bio-technology, environmental studies, technology and management studies.

Initially, it would be a residential university but after reviewing its progress after a few years, the colleges for women at present affiliated to Maharshi Dayanand University, Rohtak, and Kurukshetra University, Kurukshetra, would be affiliated to this university.

The Cabinet also approved an additional Rs 14.70 crore to the Higher Education Department to set up this university during the current financial year. The Governor, Haryana, would be its Chancellor. An ordinance would be issued soon, Mr Hooda said.

The Cabinet decided that instead of giving jobs to wards of those employees who died in harness, the last salary drawn, including dearness allowance, would be paid to the distressed family for a number of years, depending upon the age of the deceased employee.

It would be for 15 years from the date of death of the employee if he was below 35 years at the time of his death. This assistance would be for 12 years or till the date the employee would have retired from government service, whichever is less, if the employee at the time of his death was between 35 years and 48 years of age. Similarly, this assistance would be for seven years or till the employee’s retirement, whichever was less, if he had attained the age of 48 years.

The family of the deceased would be eligible to receive family pension as per the normal rules only after the period during which it received the financial assistance. If, the family had been occupying a government house it would continue to retain the house on the payment of the normal rent or licence fee for one year from the date of death of the employee.

Ex-gratia assistance of Rs 25,000 would be provided to the family of the deceased employee within 15 days of his death so as to enable the family to meet the immediate needs.

To check illegal mining, the Cabinet approved the Haryana Minerals (Prevention of Illegal Mining, Transportation and Storage) Rules, 2006.

In a large area of the state, particularly along the Yamuna banks, persons from across the river indulge in illegal mining and the administration is unable to check their activities. A writ petition is also pending before the Punjab and Haryana High Court in this regard.