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At press meet, CM ducks tricky queries
Cong: Abhey utterances false, motivated
Sampat Singh charged over fuel surcharge
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Dist Welfare Officer booked for fraud
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At press meet, CM ducks tricky queries
Chandigarh, January 28 That Hooda has learnt to duck and dodge uncomfortable volleys while mastering the art of dropping“uncomfortable” ones in the opponent’s court was amply clear as he gave straight answers to not-so-direct questions. It seems he has picked up the skill from his love for tennis, returning just the right shot to catch his rival off guard. But mediapersons are not rivals, and he said that in so many words. Striking instant rapport with mediapersons at the onset by addressing them as “kalam ke sipahi”, Hooda said his club visit was a homecoming of sorts. In jest, Hooda urged a journalist from a Punjabi daily to question him in Punjabi and replied to the query in Punjabi. On a government job to the captain of women’s hockey, Hooda said such jobs were being offered as per the policy of the government . “If she wants a job, we will take care of that,” heremarked. On a report about trouble in “his” under-construction house near Goa, the Chief Minister denied the same and said no resolution was passed by the panchayat on his property. Asked to comment on the Ruchika case, the Chief Minister said the law was taking its own course and the state government would take appropriate steps. He paid tributes to Lala Lajpat Rai on his birth anniversary, maintaining that his family and that of Lala Lajpat Rai’s had strong ties. Meanwhile, the Haryana Sikh Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee has welcomed the notification on Punjabi as the second language. In a statement, working president Didar Singh Nalvi said the Sikhs in Haryana would always remember Hooda for the same. The legislation to accord Punjabi the status of second language was passed by the assembly in 2004, when the INLD was in power. However, the notification was held up all these years for reasons best known to the powers that be. Nalvi had met Hooda and the Governor along with HS Hanspal, member of the National Minorities Commission, last month to urge them to notify Punjabi as the second language. Nalvi said the Hooda government’s acceptance of their demand on Punjabi had given them hope that soon their other two demands, creation of a separate committee to manage Sikh gurdwaras in Haryana and constitution of a state minorities commission, would also
be met. |
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Cong: Abhey utterances false, motivated
Chandigarh, January 28 A congress spokesman said: “After winning the election, instead of showing sobriety, which democratic traditions demanded, the Chautala family is back to its favourite
game of levelling false allegations.” The spokesman alleged that the INLD had spent about Rs 100 crore
on the election and now was shamelessly accusing the Congress of having purchased votes. He said Chautala’s claim that he would present 1,000 affidavits to the EC in support of his allegation
was a mere stunt to grab newspaper headlines. |
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Sampat Singh charged over fuel surcharge
Chandigarh, January 28 In a statement here today, Sampat Singh urged the Haryana Electricity Regulatory Commission (HERC) to reject the power companies’ request to levy fuel surcharge on consumers. Uttar Haryana Bijli Vitran Nigam and the Dakshin Haryana Bijli Vitran Nigam had recently requested the commission to allow the surcharge to recover a sum of Rs 1547.73 crore spent on buying power during 2008-09. Sampat Singh, Congress MLA from Nalwa, said the fuel surcharge adjustment (FSA) should be exposed to public scrutiny as was the practice while deciding the annual revenue requirement (ARR). This, he said, would ensure transparency and answerability in the power corporations.The consumer had the right to know whether the companies were buying the power judiciously or wasting their money. He said under the Electricity Act, 2003, power tariff should be determined by the commission after public participation. But in case of FSA, no such hearing had been held on the plea that the surcharge was being imposed to recover additional costs. The Congress leader said FSA had become a way to pass on the cost of power purchased by companies to the consumers. Sampat Singh said had the companies been filing true ARR, there would have been no need to revise the power tariff. The companies had purchased 2,800 million units of power at an average rate of Rs 6 per unit in 2008-09, which was why fuel surcharge had been sought. Ironically, only 40 million units at an average of Rs 5 per unit had been proposed in 2009-10. This was a glaring example of the companies’ intention to suppress the costs in the ARR, he elaborated. The Congress leader said the distribution companies’ proposal would make electricity costlier by 61 paise per unit, if total recovery was allowed in a year. |
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Locals stave off demolition
Sirsa, January 28 Its meeting with the district authorities over the encroachments remained inconclusive after hundreds of residents held demonstration and gave memorandum to the authorities. The ASI team led by Dr GN Srivastava, Deputy Superintending Archaeologist, ASI, Chandigarh Circle, is camping here for implementation of the orders of the Punjab and Haryana High Court regarding demolition of unauthorised houses on this site of archaeological importance and will meet the authorities again tomorrow. Over 1,000 houses have been constructed on the “Ther Mound”, a centrally protected monument, under the provisions of the Ancient Monuments and Archeological Sites and Remains (AM and ASR) Act, 1958. Uncertainty hogged the fate of residents of this mohalla ever since the district authorities pasted notices on prominent walls of the locality asking the residents to vacate their residences within 15 days of the notice. Earlier, residents had refused to accept notices, forcing the authorities to paste these on the walls. Though there were over 1,000 houses in Ther Mohalla having a population of over 10,000, notices had been served only to 437 houses, which are located on the top of the mound, protected under the Act. “The construction raised by you is in contravention of the provisions of Rule 8(1), sub-rule 1 of Rule 19 (1) and Rule 33 of the Ancient Monuments and Archaeological Sites and Remains Rules, 1959, and sub-section (1) of Section 19 and clause (1) of sub-section (1) of Section 30 of the AM and ASR Act, 1958,” said the notices issued by the ASI, Chandigarh Circle. The notices asked the residents to vacate their residences and remove structures made by them in contravention of the rules, otherwise they would be evicted as per the law and all expenses of removal of structures would be recovered from them. Deputy Commissioner Yudhvir Singh Khyalia said certain issues needed further clarification and hence the meeting had been postponed till tomorrow. He confirmed there were specific orders of the high court for removal of unauthorised structures from the mound. |
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Dist Welfare Officer booked for fraud
Karnal, Jaunary 28 A case under Sections 406, 409, 419, 420, 465 and 120-B of IPC has been registered on a complaint by Jagtar Singh, director, Welfare and Women empowerment. The director has alleged that the officials had misappropriated funds allocated for payment of old age and widow pension and embezzled a sum of Rs 71.61 lakh. They did not give away funds to those eligible, did not make verification for the same and forged documents, thus swindling government money. The other accused are GS Chauhan, audit officer, Sanjay Kali Raman, treasury officer, audit team of office accountant-general, Rajinder Singh, section officer, Mehindro Devi and Gulshan Kumar, a clerk. |
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Chandigarh, January 28
