Sirsa, March 18
Despite the revelations by WikiLeaks, Chautala considers Prime Minister Manmohan Singh an honest person who is surrounded by “wily politicians.” Talking to TNS here today, he said the cash-for-vote phenomenon was not new. He said the ruling party had not done this for the first time. The Narasimha Rao government had done so in the nineties and in Haryana, Bhupinder Singh Hooda had “purchased” MLAs to form government in 2009.

Chautala alleged that the Congress had been working for the benefit of big corporates and using their money power to save its government whenever the need arose. He alleged that the Hooda Government had acquired 76,516 acres of land in Haryana in the past six years in the name of 94 special economic zones (SEZs). The SEZs, he said, had now been selling the land thus acquired for Rs 20 lakh per acre for more than Rs 1 crore per acre.

To a query, Chautala said while his party favoured OBC quota for the Jats, it wanted other castes to be given jobs on an economic criteria.

Chautala said after the nuclear accidents in Japan, he saw no good reason for setting up a nuclear power plant at Gorakhpur in Fatehabad. He said the INLD was the first to oppose the Gorakhpur plant, fearing radiation and the party’s apprehensions had proved true after the Japan incidents.

“When developed countries are discarding nuclear power, India wants to set up nuclear power projects in the country to please the US, which wants to sell its obsolete technology to us,” the former Chief Minister alleged.

Sonepat, March 18
The Malik and Dahiya khaps have announced their support to the ongoing agitation of Jats for reservation of jobs at the Centre. Addressing a press conference at the Gohana Press Club today, Malik Khap chief Baljit Singh Malik said the social and educational plight of the Jats in Haryana, Uttar Pradesh and other states was not any better than that of the Ahirs and Gujjars who had been granted the OBC status.

Justifying the “Rail roko” stir by the agitating Jats, Malik said every citizen had the right to protest in a peaceful way for redressal of grievances.

“The Gurnam Singh Commission and the Mandal Commission had recommended OBC status for the Jats but the same was denied to the community for political considerations,” he said.

Dahiya Khap chief Pratap Singh also announced support for the Jat agitation after a meeting of the prominent persons of the khap at Sisana village.

“The Jats have been forced to agitate to get their legitimate demand accepted by the Central Government, “ he said.

Jind: A team of doctors today tended on Jat protesters on an indefinite fast after they complained of nausea and diarrhoea. Meanwhile, the number of persons on a relay fast has reached eight with three more, including a three-year- old boy, joining the protesters today.

The size of the tent sheltering the protesters has been increased to accomodate more protesters.

The local Senior Medical Officer (SMO) checked the state of health of Ishwar Singh of Matlauda and Chandi Ram of Dhamtan who have been fasting for the past four days.

Meanwhile, the Chief Minister, who was in Rohtak this morning, issued an appeal to the protesters to end the agitation as it had caused severe inconvenience to thousands of commuters and a loss to the Railways as well as the state government.

He said his government supported their demand for job quota in central jobs and had recommended the same to the Union Government. The matter was likely to be resolved soon.

He asked the protesters to withdraw the agitation in the larger interest of the people and the state.

The Chief Minister also announced that no Holi celebrations would be held this time in view of the death and destruction in Japan .

Meanwhile, the Indian National Lok Dal chief, Om Prakash Chautala, has expressed support for the Jat demand .

Chautala said while his party favoured OBC status for the Jats, it wanted other castes to be given jobs on an economic criteria. — TNS

Chandigarh, March 18
The Haryana Government has protested strongly to the Union Ministry of Environment and Forests (MOEF) for its recommendation to the President to quash the charge sheet against a member of the Indian Forest Officer, Sanjiv Chaturvedi, who had alleged that the state government was harassing him.

Chaturvedi had objected to the use of a wildlife sanctuary for transportation of material for the construction of the Hansi-Butana link canal and the setting up of a herbal plant by the Forest Department on a piece of land, which he said, belonged to a private person.

The state government had charge-sheeted the officer and an inquiry was ordered against him. On his representation, the MOEF constituted a committee, which recommended the quashing of the charge sheet against him as well as a CBI inquiry against certain state officials, including the Chief Minister’s office, the then Forest Minister Kiran Choudhry and the then Secretary, Forests, Keshni Anand Arora.

In a letter to Minister of State Jairam Ramesh, Haryana Forest Minister Ajay Singh Yadav has caste serious aspersions on the committee, say sources. Yadav has written that there was no office order from the Union Ministry to constitute the committee.

It was a “simple note” which stated that AK Srivastava, Inspector-General of Forests (Wildlife) would inquire into Chaturvedi’s representation and Shelly Ranjan, IFS, would assist him.

Yadav urged the Union Minister to institute an inquiry into the quashing of the charge sheet, especially the “tone, tenor and contents” of the inquiry report and “review of the matter accordingly as per the law”. Casting aspersions on the methodology adopted by the committee, he said though the committee’s report mentioned the cross-examination of the Principle Chief Conservator of Forests, Haryana, Dr Parvez Ahmed,the latter had denied that he was ever examined.

The so-called cross-examination was not signed by Dr Ahmed. Describing the report as “one-sided”, Yadav said in his four-page letter that it was authored by a junior officer.

The copy of the report sent to the state, he said, was not signed by Srivastava and, hence, the state had serious doubts about the contents of the report.

Yadav wrote that the state government did not agree with the findings and recommendations of the committee, though it had implemented the order on quashing the charge sheet against Chaturvedi.

Yadav said if the MOEF had allowed the inquiry against Chaturvedi to continue, it would have been proved that instead of “being a whistle blower as being projected in the media, it is an attempt to cover his own misconduct.”

He also accused the MOEF of committing an illegality by treating Chaturvedi’s representation as a “memorial” under Rule 25 of the All-India Services (Discipline & Appeal) Rules, 1969.

Chandigarh, March 18
In a mini-administrative reshuffle, the Haryana Government today transferred 14 IAS officers with immediate effect. Raj Kumar, Financial Commissioner and Principal Secretary (FCPS), Urban Local Bodies, has been posted as FCPS, Cooperation, vice Manik B Sonawane, who becomes FCPS, Science and Technology, relieving SS Prasad.

SC Chaudhary, FCPS, Public Health Engineering Department, becomes FCPS, Public Works (Building and Roads) Department, vice SS Dhillon, who goes as FCPS, Town and Country Planning and Urban Estates, vice KK Jalan, who has been posted as FCPS, Irrigation and Urban Local Bodies.

Vijai Vardhan, FCPS, Printing and Stationery and Archeology and Museums, goes as such to Renewable Energy Department relieving Madhusudan Prasad. Vardhan will also be FCPS, Environment Department, relieving P Raghvendra Rao.

Shashi Bala Gulati, Director-General, Technical Education, has been posted as Special Secretary, Forests Department, against a vacant post. RR Jowel, Transport Commissioner and Special Secretary, Transport, becomes Director and Special Secretary, Urban Local Bodies, and Project Director, Swaran Jayanti Shehri Rozgar Yojana and State Urban Development Society, vice Mahavir Singh, who has been posted as Director and Special Secretary, Employment, vice MP Bansal, who goes as Commissioner, Hisar division, vice Avtar Singh.

Avtar Singh will replace Shashi Bala Gulati in the Technical Education Department. He also becomes Director and Special Secretary, Environment, vice Balbir Singh Malik, who becomes Transport Commissioner and Special Secretary, Transport. TL Satyaprakash, Director and Joint Secretary, Industries and Commerce and Mines and Geology, will also work as Director, Supplies and Disposals, in addition to his present duties.

Kaithal, March 18
The construction of latrines in the houses of below poverty line (BPL) families should be completed by June 30 and the above poverty line (APL)families should also be encouraged to construct toilets so that the district could earn first position in the sanitation programme launched in the state.

This was stated by Naveen Jindal, MP, while presiding over the meeting of officials of the district vigilance and monitoring committee here yesterday.

Jindal also directed the officials to make proper arrangements for disbursing financial help to beneficiaries under the Janni Suraksha Scheme and Kanya dan schemes launched by the government.

He warned that official laxity would not be tolerated and stern action would follow against any official found guilty. These instructions were given by the MP when a Kalayat resident raised the issue of delay in disbursal of money to beneficiaries under these schemes pointing out that in some cases it took more than a year for the grant to reach the beneficiaries.

Jindal also took stock of the distribution of 100-yard plots to Dalit families as per government scheme . DDPO Mohinder Singh Tanwar informed that 15,933 beneficiaries had been allotted plots in 190 villages of this district.

Naveen Jindal directed ADC BB Kaushik to get the construction of kitchens under midday meal scheme completed at the earliest .

The ADC informed that as many as 1,848 self-help groups were working in the district. The MP said that self-help groups of youths should consist of seven members from BPL families and three from APL families . He also asked the XEN, Guhla, to get the work of Dandoata bridge completed at the earliest. The MP also directed the officials to install display boards carrying details of development works and the schemes under which the project had been executed.

Gurgaon, March 18
Deputy Commissioner PC Meena today inspected the construction works on the Kundli-Manesar-Palwal (KMP) Expressway and pulled up the representatives of DS Construction (DSC) company, the concessionaire, for slow pace of work.

Dissatisfied with the pace of work on the project, Meena told the company staffers to pull up socks and ensure its timely completion. The company claims that the 53-km-long Manesar-Palwal stretch of the e-way will be completed by April 30 and the remaining part by the end of this year.

Meena, along with a team of officers, started the inspection from Panchgaon Chowk on National Highway No. 8.

MK Banerjee from the DSC urged the Deputy Commissioner to get their right of way cleared by getting some buildings demolished. The DC promptly directed Manesar tehsildar Balraj Dangi to do the needful.

Meena further said the concessionaire should take possession of the complete space of the right of way without any further delay.

Later, the team proceeded towards Farrukhnagar, where no construction was going on, barring one or two points.

Taking serious note of the matter, Meena directed Patoudi SDM GL Yadav to get the ongoing construction works photographed on regular basis and send monthly progress report on the project work.

The concessionaire and the HSIIDC have also appointed a German consultant - SPAN consultancy - for providing independent observation on the construction works.

Independent consultants - RN Kaushik and RK Gaur - from SPAN, who accompanied the Deputy Commissioner’s team, were also apprehensive about the concessionaire meeting the deadline.

The 135-km-long expressway, being constructed at a cost of Rs 1,830 crore, will connect four national highways, NH-1, NH-10, NH-8 and NH-2.

Jhajjar, March 18
An Assistant Sub-Inspector (ASI) of the Haryana police, husband of the sarpanch of Kasaar village here, was found murdered in a farm located along the Noona Majra-Kasar road here today. The deceased, identified as Bijender of Kasaar village, was posted at Jhajjar and was missing since yesterday. Enmity over elections is said to be behind the murder.

The Bahadurgarh police has started investigation after registering a murder case on the complaint of the deceased’s brother, Surender, who has expressed doubts over some co-villagers whose candidate had lost the election of sarpanch wherein Bijender’s wife, Sunita Devi, was elected.

The accused also took away Bijender’s car, Rs 50,000, a gold chain and a ring after committing the crime, the complainant added.

The incident came to light when Bijender’s body was spotted by some villagers. They immediately informed the police which rushed to the spot and took stock of the situation. The body, which bore gunshot injury marks, was sent to the Civil Hospital for a postmortem.

Irked over the incident, a number of people blocked the national highway demanding immediate arrest of the accused. Bahadurgarh SDM Narhari Bangar and DSP Rajeev Deswal reached the spot and persuaded the protesters to lift the blockade, assuring that the accused would be arrested within 24 hours.

Jind, March 18
Having failed to make a breakthrough, the district police has announced a cash reward of Rs 1 lakh for any clue or information on those involved in the murder of a businessman at Narwana about 10 days ago. A delegation of the Haryana Vyapar Mandal had met the Chief Minister and demanded the arrest of the accused persons.

Cloth merchant Lakshmi Narayan of Narwana was shot dead by an unidentified person in his shop at 8 pm as he was preparing to go home.

The killer fired at the trader from close range and downed the shutter of the shop before fleeing. The family members discovered the murder the following morning.

With no witness to the crime, the family and the police have no clue about the murderer. “The district police chief has announced a reward of Rs 1 lakh for any information about the accused. The name of the informer will not be disclosed,” said a police spokesperson.

The police has been working on various theories. “The murder has not only left the trading community in a shock but also exposed the poor functioning of the police,” claimed Ramesh Gupta, a businessman.

Bhiwani, March 18
The second semester examination of Class X (secondary) to be conducted by the Haryana Board of School Education will commence from March 25 and continue till April 6. Giving this information here recently, a spokesman for the board said the examination would be held between 11 am and 130 pm. The candidates would not be allowed to take calculator and mobile phone to the examination centre.

The examination for English would be conducted on March 25 whereas that of Hindi and science and technology would be held on March 28 and 30, respectively. Similarly, the examination for optional subjects, mathematics and social science would be conducted on April 1, 4 and 6, respectively.

Meanwhile, the second semester senior secondary examinations of the Haryana Board of School Education will commence from March 25 and conclude on April 18. The examinations will be conducted between 2:30 pm and 5 pm.

Sonepat, March 18
The police has claimed to have not only recovered the body of a seven-year-old girl of Thana Kalan village from a well in the village fields, but also arrested the alleged accused identified as Raj Kumar of the same village from an ashram near Jharonth village.

The girl went missing on Tuesday evening and the police had registered a case against the alleged accused, who absconded after committing the crime.

According to the police, the accused attempted to rape the girl while she was returning from the fields. Later, he threw her in a deep well and escaped from the spot.

The girl’s body was handed to the family members after a postmortem in the Civil Hospital here and her viscera has been sent to Madhuban for a forensic test to confirm whether she was raped or not.

Panipat, March 18
Sagar (18), a Class XII student of Guru Nanak Public School, was allegedly murdered by persons known to him at the Pachranga Bazaar here yesterday. A large number of residents today shut down their business establishments to protest against police inaction in the case.

Madan Lal Narang, father of the boy, told the police that after his son returned from school, one of his friends came to their house and took him away. After a while, they were informed by neighbours that Sagar was lying unconscious in the street. The family members rushed to the spot and took Sagar to the Civil Hospital where he was declared dead.

The police said the injury marks on the neck pointed to the possibility of the boy having been strangled to death.

Palwal, March 18
The police has failed to nab the miscreants, who entered a shop in the main market here on Wednesday and opened fire on the staff. Representatives of the business community met the district police chief, who assured them that the accused would be arrested.

This was the third attack on shop owner Mahesh Chander. On February 26, some miscreants had demanded money from him. When he did not oblige, the criminals opened fire at him while he was sitting in his shop. However, he escaped unhurt. — TNS