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Rajiv Gandhi Thermal Power Plant
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Drought Situation
Know Your Roots
Car through CSD
Separate high court for state
D.Ed colleges told to follow guidelines
Scholarship scheme to benefit 8 lakh students
Rainwater harvesting project launched in Gurgaon locality
Monkey menace spreads in Panipat
Industrial projects to boost development in Sonepat
Economic crisis
Hafed to increase warehousing capacity
Birthday party at senior citizens’ home
Grant of additional pension sought
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Rajiv Gandhi Thermal Power Plant
Hisar, August 20 The first unit of the Rajiv Gandhi Thermal Power Plant under construction at Khedar village near here is likely to start generation on the festival although as per the contract’s terms this task was to be completed latest by December 28. V. P. Arora, Chief Engineer, Haryana Power Generation Corporation Limited, said work on the project was going on a war- footing and the commissioning of the first unit could be as early as October. Arora said Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda would visit the plant on August 22 to take stock of the progress.Work on the plant was started after the Hooda government came to power in 2005. The erection of the plant has been entrusted to Reliance. According to Arora, the second unit of the plant is likely to be commissioned by March next year. With the commissioning of the second unit, another 600 mw will be added to the state’s own generation capacity providing much relief to the power scarce state. The plant was rocked by a mishap last week when six workers, including two Chinese nationals, were killed when a steel plate came off a crane during the erection of a chimney. The Chinese nationals were employees of a Chinese company to which Reliance has outsourced the work. Arora said the accident though unfortunate was unlikely to affect the progress of work. A team appointed by Reliance has already reached the plant to probe the mishap. Reliance will transfer the project to the HPGCL after the completion of the work.
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Drought Situation
Fatehabad, August 20 Presiding over a meeting to review the drought situation in the district recently, deputy commissioner CG Rajini Kaanthan told officers of the Water Services Department to provide better irrigation facilities and also ensure that water reached the tail ends of canals and distributaries so that standing crops were not damaged. “We have been providing eight-hour power supply to tube wells in a day, while domestic power to farmers was available for 13 hours in a day,” said the deputy commissioner quoting claims of the Dakshin Haryana Bijli Vitran Nigam Authorities. Rajini advised the Food and Supplies Department to keep a close watch on hoarders and asked them to take strict action against those indulged in hoarding. He also asked secretaries of various market committees of the district to check the stock of foodgrains with all traders so that no one could sell those on the black market. He also told the Animal Husbandry Department to take measures for providing good veterinary services in the district. “We have paddy crop on 75,000 hectares and cotton crop on 88,000 hectares in the district. Directions have been issued to the agriculture authorities to prepare a report of the loss to the crop, if any, due to the shortage of rains,” said Rajini. Ponds have dried up in some villages due to failed monsoon. He also asked officers of the Panchayat and Development Department to ensure proper supply of water to village ponds. Arvind Malhan, additional deputy commissioner, Fatehabad, JK Abhir, SDM, Fatehabad, KM Panduranga, SDM, Ratia, Saish Jain, city magistrate, and several other officers attended the meeting.
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Know Your Roots
Karnal, August 20 The programme, “Know Your Roots”, is aimed at giving exposure to NRIs’ children by direct interface with India’s rich diverse cultures, traditions, religions, languages, moral values and castes and arranging visits to the places of historic, cultural and religious importance. Educating and informing NRIs’ sons and daughters about the history of freedom struggle, strides made by India in different fields and experience in living with Indian families are some other objectives of the programme. “In fact, the programme is an effort to bridge the gap between what these children know about India and what they actually experience after visiting the country,” Pritpal Singh Punnu, chairman, NIFAA, said. He said: “The NRIs’ children are always curious to know more and more about India and have successfully protected their rich cultural heritage and traditions besides scripting numerous success stories with their honesty, dedication and hard work and proved that India is really shining”. “The programme has been launched keeping in view the fact that most of the NRI families periodically visit India mainly for some family function due to which children don’t get enough time to visit different places and know about their importance. As such the programme is designed in such a manner that the children get ample opportunity to visit different places, meet people of different religion and cultures, know about their glorious past and enrich knowledge about India through first-hand experience,” Punnu stressed. As per the itinerary for the first programme, the children would arrive at Delhi on the first day, visit Kurukshetra on the second day and move to Amritsar on the third day to visit the Jallianwala Bagh, Golden Temple, Durgiana Temple and Wagha Border. Visit to Chandigarh and Shimla would mark the fourth day, while the children would visit religious places like Haridwar to visit the Ganga on the sixth day. A meeting with higher dignitaries like President and Vice-President would be organised at Delhi on the seventh day followed by sightseeing in the Capital on the next day. Shopping, farewell party and cultural programmes would be the main engagement on the ninth day and the guests would return to their respective countries on the 10th day. Cultural programmes of the respective states would be presented by budding artists during campfire each day and information about the history of the state, monuments visited and culture of that particular state would be provided during briefing by prominent historians and also by distributing printed material. Photography and videography would be managed by the NGO and every participant would be provided CDs/DVDS of photographs and videos and honoured individually with certificates and souvenirs during the farewell party, Punnu informed.
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Car through CSD
Ambala, August 20 Earlier, the Army officers had to deposit the amount of the vehicle to be purchased with the CSD depot in Ambala Cantt and the depot issued them the release order. After submitting the release order with the car dealer, the officers got the delivery of the vehicle. As per the new system, after getting the delivery of the vehicle, the army officers will have to report to the depot manger along with the vehicle and a representative of the dealer. After checking the documents, engine number and chassis number of the vehicle, the depot will issue them a sale deed document and then only the officers will be allowed to drive their car. The Army officers have to face a lot of harassment while completing the formalities of the newly introduced system. Most of the Army officers, even from Haryana, prefer to purchase vehicles from Chandigarh as the rate of sales tax is 2 per cent less there than in Haryana. Chandigarh does not have any CSD depot that is why the Army officers belonging to Chandigarh generally come to the Ambala CSD depot for purchasing vehicle through the CSD. Around 35 retired and serving Army officers, including a serving Major from Kargil, went to Chandigarh yesterday to purchase vehicles after getting the release order from the CSD depot, Ambala. The depot issued them a “Rahdari” slip, which they have to get stamped from the sales tax barriers at Dappar (Punjab) and Dhulkot (Haryana). Col Jaswant Singh (retd), a resident of Chandigarh, said the officials of sales tax barriers detained them for two hours and refused to put stamp on “Rahdari” paper. They had to further stay in the CSD depot for hours to complete the formalities. He said the situation was very humiliating for an Army officer. Other Army officers also expressed annoyance over the new system. Meanwhile, regional manager of the depot Lakhwinder Singh refused to comment on the matter. According to information, the depot has been facing an acute shortage of officials, which led to delay in the completion of formalities.
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Separate high court for state
Rewari, August 20 Reiterating his demand at the annual conference of Chief Ministers and Chief Justices of High Courts in New Delhi recently, Hooda sought bifurcation of the existing Punjab and Haryana High Court into two separate high courts for Punjab and Haryana, respectively, by dividing the existing premises, judges and staff in the ratio of 60:40 as was done earlier for the Civil Secretariat and the Vidhan Sabha infrastructure. Describing the acceptance of the above demand in the existing circumstances by the Union government as a remote possibility, Naresh Chauhan, a senior advocate of the Rewari region and convener of the ‘Nyay Aap Ke Dwar Abhiyan’ (campaign for justice at your doorstep), said certain factors blurring the feasibility of the demand needed urgent consideration. Simultaneously, he went on to say that some purposeful and valuable options available to us under the circumstances also needed our positive attention. He said: “When it has been clearly mentioned in Article 214 of the Constitution that there shall be a high court for each state, then Haryana, too, is fully entitled to have its separate high court”. Simultaneously, citing precedents of Rajasthan and Uttar Pradesh in which high courts had been functioning, respectively, in Jodhpur and Allahabad, which were not the state capitals, Chauhan pointed out that in the same way Haryana also could set up its high court at any place throughout the state irrespective of the fact whether it was its capital or not. Coming to the crux of the problem, he said the Chief Minister’s insistence on bifurcation of the existing Punjab and Haryana High Court into two separate high courts for Punjab and Haryana needed analytical consideration in the backdrop of the circumstances which led to the creation of the Punjab and Haryana High Court in 1966. He said in total pursuance of section 29 of the Punjab Reorganisation Act, 1966, a common high court was created in 1966 for Punjab, Haryana and Chandigarh to be called the High Court of Punjab and Haryana. Quoting from jurist Rajinder Sachar’s article “High Court: looking back”, published in The Tribune dated December 9, 2005, Chauhan stated that but immediately thereafter, both the state governments wanted separate high courts. “As a consequence, the Central government came out with the announcement that as the future of Chandigarh was yet to be decided and in case separate Punjab and Haryana high courts were to be constituted, it would give jurisdiction over Chandigarh to the Delhi High Court, which had come into being in 1966”. Subsequently, when Sardar Gurnam Singh, the then Chief Minister of Punjab as well as Rao Birender Singh, the then Chief Minister of Haryana, realised the delicacy of the matter, it was conveyed to the Central government that till the future of Chandigarh was decided, there should be a common high court for Punjab and Haryana, which has continued since then. Drawing the Chief Minister’s attention to such factual position, Chauhan has stated that the demand of bifurcation of the existing Punjab and Haryana High Court, though politically precise and sound, lacks constitutional tenability as long as section 29 of the Act exists in its present form. He has also pointed out that if the state government provides a location other than Chandigarh to the Union Law Ministry, it would weaken Haryana’s claim over Chandigarh. He has mentioned that the most feasible and appropriate option available to the government was to seek the creation of a bench of the Punjab and Haryana High Court somewhere in Haryana, for which a provision exists in section 36 (2) of the Act.
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Women’s Sports
Sirsa, August 20 Women players from all administrative blocks of Sirsa participated. Toppers and runners-up of all events will be playing for the district in the state-level sports meet to be organised shortly, said the organisers. Arshdeep of Sirsa came first in the 100-m sprint event.Poonam (Rania) came second while Kavita (Ellenabad) was adjudged third. Sweety and Manju, both from Sirsa, were first and second, respectively in the 200-m race. Nathusari Chopta’s Sudesh came third. The 400-m race was also won by Sirsa’s Monu and the second position too went to Sirsa’s Renu. Suman (Ellenabad) got the third position. Harjinder, Dimpi and Monu, all from Sirsa scored the first three positions in the 800-meters. Sirsa’s Savita and Rekha got the first two positions, respectively, in the 1500-m race, while Ellenabad’s Maina came third.Savita and Dimpi of Sirsa got the first two positions in the 3000-m race, while Nirmala from Rania got the third place. Arshdeep and Neetu of Sirsa got the first two positions, respectively, in the javelin throw, while Sukhi from Ellenabad got the third position.In the discus throw competition, Sarabjit Kaur and Suman from Sirsa achieved the first two positions, while Sharmila from Rania got the third position. In the hammer throw ,too, Sirsa’s Rakhi came first, while Seema and Satbir Kaur got the second and third positions,respectively. Dabwali’s Manju won the long jump event, while Sirsa’s Ashudeep and Rania’s Poonam got the second and third position, respectively. The team from the Rania block defeated the team from the Chopta block to win the Kabbadi event. The Sirsa block defeated the Badagura block to win the Volleyball event while in the Handball event, Sirsa defeated Ellenabad.Sirsa also won the Basketball event by defeating the Dabwali block.
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Roadside parking inconveniences commuters in Rohtak
Rohtak, August 20 Half of the road is occupied by trucks and containers carrying building material causing inconvenience to hundreds of vehicles passing from here daily. The road leading to Beri town in Jhajjar district is also an access to several villages located in the area. “There had been chaos and traffic snarls on this passage daily, especially during peak hours, due to the parking of heavy vehicles on the road,” claimed Manoj Kumar, a resident of Sundana village in the district. He said about 30 minutes of commuters get wasted due to the traffic jam and hurdles caused on this route in the morning and evening hours. While it is stated that the location of a plant to make building and road material near Sunarian village had been the main reason behind the parking of trucks which carry raw and finished material to and fro from this point, the authorities had not provided any alternative parking site for the vehicles. It may be recalled that a bypass connecting the Delhi Road to the Hisar Road had been under construction which would be providing access to the national-level institutions, including the Indian Institute of Management (IIM), National Biotechnology Institute and a few other campuses, coming up on this road. “The government should widen the road in use at present to avoid inconvenience to the commuters and to check the possibility of accidents on this stretch,” said Ajit Singh, a resident of Garnavathi
village.
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D.Ed colleges told to follow guidelines
Chandigarh, August 20 A sum of Rs 18,400 had been notified as fee for the first or second year of D.Ed course from the current academic session. The prescribed fee would be charged in four quarterly installments and it would be received only through bank accounts. A spokesman for the department said if any institution was found violating these orders, it would be liable for de-recognition and other appropriate action under the law. He said Maharshi Dayanand University, Rohtak, and Kurukshetra University, had also been asked to inform all these institutions to strictly enforce the government decision dated June 23, 2009. The official said the government had also submitted an undertaking in this regard to the High Court. He said the universities would not only enforce the fee structure but also ensure that affiliation and counselling of the students for admission to the colleges should be made contingent upon strict adherence to the notified structure and compliance of other conditions of affiliation. The spokesman said it was noticed that some colleges were demanding higher fees from new students of first and second year of D.Ed course, which was not according to the instructions already issued by the department. Also they had been demanding fees in lump sum rather than on a quarterly basis and some colleges had not yet applied to the universities for affiliation, he added.
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Scholarship scheme to benefit 8 lakh students
Chandigarh, August 20 Disclosing this, Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda said the scheme which had already been implemented, would cost the government more than Rs 133 crore in 2009-10. This amount would be disbursed among eight lakh students all over the state. More than 1.05 lakh boys and 1.06 lakh girls from BPL families and more than 3.01 lakh boys and 2.88 lakh girls of backward classes (A) would benefit from the monthly scholarship scheme in the current fiscal. The scholarship money would be disbursed every quarter. The amount for the first two quarterly instalments is being deposited in the banks by the school education department. Under the scheme, boys studying in classes I to V would be given Rs 75 each every month and girls would get Rs 150 each; boys of classes VI to VIII would be paid Rs 100 each and girls of same classes would get Rs 200 each; and boys of class IX to XII would get Rs 150 each and girls Rs 300 each. The boys and girls studying in the science stream in classes XI and XII would be given Rs 200 and Rs 400 each per month, respectively.
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Rainwater harvesting project launched in Gurgaon locality
Gurgaon, August 20 The project is expected to be completed in two months. The initiative is part of Coca-Cola’s practice of fostering public-private partnerships for taking up community development projects. Those present at the launch function included Ashok Vashisht, vice-president, HARWA; MK Sardana, executive member, HARWA; Jyoti Sharma, president, Force; SR Sehrawat, consultant hydro-geologist, Gurgaon; and Praveen Aggarwal, general manager, CSR & sustainability, Coca-Cola India. Vashisht said, “With the growth that Gurgaon is witnessing, water needs to be managed better. This project is an excellent example of public-private partnership. I hope that this project becomes an example for others to collectively find a sustainable solution to water problems and replicate this model”. Sharma affirmed, “Our fresh water resources are limited. However, every citizen of the country can make a difference through responsible behaviour with increased awareness. It is imperative that each building, school, market, hotel etc adopt rainwater-harvesting structures that would redirect rainwater into the ground. We already have examples of some resident welfare associations in Delhi that have utilised RWH techniques to their advantage.” Virendra Pal Singh Kandhari, managing director, Enrich Agro Foods, mentioned, “Water conservation and environment management requires a participative and collaborative approach. Each stakeholder in society must contribute to the best of his ability for environment conservation”. Scientific studies have revealed that groundwater in Gurgaon has fallen by about 2 m since 2006, and it is apprehended that the city may run out of groundwater by 2017. Such projects are set up with an aim to replenishing the groundwater and preventing water scarcity in the area. The company in partnership with NGOs, central and state groundwater authorities, RWAs, market associations and schools has installed close to 400 rainwater-harvesting structures across the country. In Gurgaon, the company and its bottling partners have joined hands with several stakeholders for the cause of water conservation. The company has already undertaken more than 29 structures in the city creating rainwater harvesting potential in excess of 3,600 lakh litres. Another 20 RWH structures are in the pipeline in partnership with several NGOs and communities.
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Monkey menace spreads in Panipat
Panipat, August 20 Monkeys can be seen occupying most of the localities in the city. Residents have repeatedly approached the civic authorities, but till date no measure has been initiated to check this nuisance. Monkeys move in groups and destroy whatever comes their way, including cable and telephone wires, clothes and other belongings of the residents. The problem has attained alarming proportions. Recently, simians forced two women to jump off their terrace. Both women were hospitalised with fractured legs. According to Naresh Yadav, a resident of Sanoli road, it has become a major problem to hang clothes in the open. “Monkeys have created panic among the residents who feel scared while venturing out of their houses. They have even bitten some persons, including a school student, in the past few days. He said the residents had complained to the MC authorities, but they passed the buck by saying that it was the duty of the forest or wildlife department to apprehend monkeys. Monkeys mostly target women and schoolchildren. Hundreds of monkeys can be seen loitering around houses, streets and markets across the city. The residents are a peeved lot because monkeys often jump over the walls and enter their compounds. There are several cases when monkeys slipped through the iron grills and entered the kitchens. A number of them have mastered the art of opening the refrigerator. Even if they do not consume most of the articles kept in the refrigerator, they destroy all of them. The residents are mainly worried about the security of their children. Rakesh Sharma, a resident, said monkeys often descended on their compound and fiddled with water taps. “Whenever they come in our compound, We lock the door and stay indoors for the fear of being bitten,” he said. The authorities have been maintaining that they could not harm the monkeys under a law. They could either sterilise the trapped monkeys or leave them in forests. However, people feel that monkeys are finding it difficult to stay in jungles due to the large-scale cutting of trees, so even if they are left in the forests, they would return to the city.
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Industrial projects to boost development in Sonepat
Sonepat, August 20 Besides the old industrial areas in Murthal, Bahalgarh and Sonepat, new industrial areas in Kundli, Rai and Barhi are being developed on a priority basis by the Haryana State Industrial and Infrastructure Development Corporation (HSIIDC) and the Haryana State Agricultural Marketing Board (HSAMB). Talking to the Tribune, deputy commissioner Ajit Joshi informed that about 1,000 acres in Kundli was being industrialised with mostly steel, chemical and pharmaceutical units. After setting up around 1,350 industrial units in the first phase of the Rai industrial zone, spreading over 582 acres, the HSIIDC has finalised the second phase proposal to cover 362 acres with infrastructure development process likely to commence within four months. A unit of the Container Corporation of India, Asia’s biggest effluent treatment plant, a food park and a 25-acre special economic zone are the main features of the Rai industrial zone. The DC disclosed the Barhi industrial zone, near Gannaur, was being developed in three phases. Infrastructure development for setting up 480 units in the first phase had been completed and the construction of around 210 units had already been completed, he said, adding that preference was being given to dyeing units because of sweet groundwater availability in the area. Joshi said the state government had sanctioned the second phase of Barhi zone for industrialising 330 acres and a proposal to develop the third phase of this zone was in the pipeline. A project to set up a vegetable and fruit market with state-of-the-art facilities over 5,000 acres at an estimated cost of Rs 500 crore by the HSAMB was also being executed, he added.
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Economic crisis
Kurukshetra, August 20 “We need to cooperate instead of competing in the rat race of unhealthy competition for minimising the impact of the so-called global financial crisis”, said Professor Goel who made a strong case for “glocalisation (think globally and act locally). “To cope with the effects of the global crisis,we need to become shock proof with higher emotional quotient (EQ) including, patience, motivation of self and others, empathising and not sympathising with one and all”, opined Professor
Goel.
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Hafed to increase warehousing capacity
Chandigarh, August 20 Before the commencement of the next Rabi season, Hafed will have covered godowns to the tune of 9.25 lakh MTs and 13 lakh MTs of open plinths. While stating this here recently, a spokesman for Hafed said a modern Hafed complex and retail outlet recently constructed by Hafed in the market adjoining Sir Chhotu Ram Chowk, Rohtak, was inaugurated recently by Rohtak MP Deepender Singh Hooda. He said Hafed had 8.45 lakh MTs of covered warehouses and 12 lakh MTs of open plinths. The 7,500 MT godown constructed by Hafed at Rohtak was part of the 78,000 MT new covered storage capacity to be added by Hafed to the existing warehousing capacity this year. Thus, before the commencement of the next Rabi season, Hafed would have covered godowns to the tune of 9.25 lakh MTs and 13 lakh MTs of open plinths. He stated that in addition to this, Hafed had a plan to construct a double-storeyed modern warehouse complex at Gurgaon. Hafed had also constructed the first floor of its existing warehouse at Vashi, Mumbai, thus increasing its capacity from 20,000 sq. ft. to 40,000 sq. ft. At present, Hafed was holding 33 lakh MTs of foodgrain stocks, including wheat, rice, bajra and mustard seed.
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Birthday party at senior citizens’ home
Fatehabad, August 20 Batra is also a progressive farmer of the area. The group of educational institutions headed by him runs a postgraduate degree college, a college of education, a polytechnic and an institution of computer applications. “I never celebrated my birthday publicly and the event usually remained limited to family members. This time, my son and daughter-in-law suggested that I should celebrate my birthday with senior citizens in Baghban,” said Batra. The birthday was celebrated in a simple manner. Sumitra Arya, a noted scholar of Sanskrit and Vedas, recited “shalokas” regarding long and healthy life. Batra cut his birthday cake and hosted a simple lunch for the senior citizens.
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Grant of additional pension sought
Hisar, August 20 RC Barmun, president of the association, said most of the affected pensioners were originally recruited in joint Punjab of which Haryana was a part. They were allocated to Haryana in 1966 when the state came into being. The Punjab government extended the benefit to its pensioners who retired from the service several years ago. However, those allocated to Haryana have been denied the benefit for years
together. He said had these pensioners not been allocated to Haryana, they would have retired from the Punjab government service and got the benefit of additional pension.
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