Chandigarh, March 22
Pressure is slowly building on Haryana Finance Minister Ajay Singh Yadav to quit following his alleged indictment by a three-member committee set up by the Supreme Court.

Though the main Opposition parties like the Indian National Lok Dal and the BJP have not yet spoken on the issue, the Haryana Janhit Congress of Kuldeep Bishnoi and the state unit of the BSP have demanded Yadav’s resignation.

The committee, comprising two Chief Justice of the High Court and a High Court Judge, was set up by former Chief Justice of India KG Balakrishnan in what has come to be known as the “cash-at-judge’s door” case.

A bundle containing Rs 15 lakh, allegedly meant for Yadav’s sister Nirmal Yadav, who was a Judge of the Punjab and Haryana High Court at that time, was delivered at the house of another judge by mistake.

The CBI, which has filed a charge sheet against Justice Yadav, has alleged that the money was to be used by the Judge and her relatives for buying land in Himachal Pradesh. In a statement here yesterday, president of the state BSP Naresh Saran said the three-judge committee had indicted Ajay Singh Yadav for allegedly influencing witnesses. He said either Yadav should quit the Haryana Cabinet on his own or Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda should drop him. Saran said if Hooda failed to take action against the minister, it would be presumed that he was shielding the corrupt. In a separate statement, Bishnoi said it was clear from the inquiry report of the committee, that the role of the minister was suspect in the case. Under the circumstances, he had no moral right to continue in the Cabinet. Either he should quit on his own or the Governor should sack him. The HJC leader accused Yadav of adopting doublespeak on the land acquisition policy. Bishnoi said that Yadav had remained silent when farmers’ land was acquired for the Reliance SEZ. Now when the land belonging to his favourites was being acquired, he was protesting against his own government.

Bishnoi said if Yadav was genuinely concerned about the farmers, he should hold dharnas in the state to protest against the land acquisition policy. 

Chandigarh, March 22
The Punjab and Haryana High Court wants to know from Haryana the steps taken to ensure unobstructed movement of trains during the Jat reservation rally.

The Bench of Chief Justice Ranjan Gogoi and Justice Kanwaljit Singh Ahluwalia has asked the state to spell out the extent of success in achieving this objective.

The direction came after the Bench, on perusal of a petition filed in public interest, gathered the impression that the movement of trains had been affected during the agitation.

The Bench also asked the petitioner to inform the court the extent to which the running of the trains had been affected, if any train had been cancelled or the route changed.

The directions came during hearing on a petition filed by the Chandigarh-based Consumer Awareness Group Society.

The NGO said the agitation by the Jat Arakshan Sangharsh Samiti on September 13 last for reservation under the OBC category had witnessed violence and loss to private and public property worth crores.

It sought directions to the DC and the SP to ensure that adequate security arrangements were in place to prevent violence.

Chandigarh, March 22
The Punjab and Haryana High Court has made it clear to the Haryana Principal Secretary (Urban Development) that “suitable steps” need to be taken to avoid the generation of unnecessary litigation. The direction came on an “avoidable” case filed by the Rohtak Municipal Corporation.

Virtually passing strictures on the corporation, Justice LN Mittal also brought the civic body’s functioning under the Principal Secretary’s scanner by directing the forwarding of the order’s copy to him.

Justice Mittal also observed that the corporation had sided with “the other party” in a plot-sale controversy.

Taking up the appeal filed by the corporation against Rani Devi and three others, Justice Mittal asserted that: “It is surprising that the corporation filed the first appeal as well as the instant second appeal without claiming to have any title or interest in the suit plots.

“It is apparent from the conduct of the corporation that it is siding with the other private party, which is adverse party of the plaintiff (Rani Devi and others).”

The four were legal heirs of Nar Singh Dass. His purchase of two plots had resulted in rounds of civil litigation with another party.

Justice Mittal asserted that: “The corporation has no concern with the round of litigation, although it is also a party to the same. When there is no interim order in the regular second appeal, there was no reason for the corporation for not sanctioning the building plan of the plaintiffs’ predecessor merely on the ground of pendency of the second appeal.

“By not sanctioning the plan on this ground, the corporation has openly but without bias sided with the other party.

“This is highly unfortunate and uncalled for on the part of the appellant.”

Dismissing the petition in limine or “at the threshold”, Justice Mittal described it as without merit, completely misconceived and frivolous.

Before parting with the judgment, Justice Mittal asserted that: “A copy of the order has been sent to the Principal Secretary, Urban Development, Haryana, for taking appropriate action against generation of such unnecessary litigations by the corporation and also for taking some suitable steps to avoid such unnecessary and avoidable litigation in future.” 

Chandigarh, March 22
Rapping the state of Haryana for passing on its responsibility of paying compensation to the kin of accident victims under Rajiv Gandhi Parivar Bima Yojna to an insurance company, the Punjab and Haryana High Court has ruled that the state will always be duty-bound to ensure implementation of its schemes.

Also directing the insurance company to forthwith release the compensation of Rs 1 lakh along with 9 per cent interest, Justice Ranjit Singh has also made it clear that not releasing the amount will invite contempt proceedings.

Taking up a bunch of three petitions by Sunita and other petitioners, Justice Ranjit Singh asserted that: “The prayer in the writ petitions is for issuing direction to the respondents to pay the claim of the petitioners under Rajiv Gandhi Parivar Bima Yojna….

“The state of Haryana introduced the scheme on April 15, 2008. As per this, citizens between the age of 18 and 60 are covered for insurance cover of Rs 1 lakh, which is payable on account of accidental death.

“For implementing the scheme, the government had signed a memorandum of understanding with Reliance General Insurance Company Ltd for one year with effect from March 28, 2008, on certain terms and conditions. The income tax payee and employees are excluded from the scheme.”

Justice Ranjit Singh added that the petitioner’s husband died on July 7, 2008, in a tubewell accident. The petitioner, accordingly, applied for payment under the scheme. A nodal officer, after scrutinising the document, sent the case on June 22, 2009, for making payment. Since then the petitioner has been visiting the office of the respondents, but so far amount has not been released. The nodal officer has clearly averred in the reply that the case of the petitioner was sent for disbursement of the amount, but the insurance company had failed to respond and make the payment. The officer, accordingly, pleads the court to take action against the insurance company. The plea is not without basis. It is seen that fault lies with the insurance company, who despite having entered into an agreement with the state is not standing by the commitment made with it.

“The state cannot simply pass on its responsibility by sending the claim to the insurance company. It will always remain duty-bound to ensure implementation of the scheme formulated by it.”

Allowing the petitions, Justice Ranjit Singh added that each petitioner should also be entitled to costs of Rs 10,000. 

Karnal, March 22
Manjeet Singh, a II-year student of Bachelor in Mass Communication at Kurukshetra University, was seriously injured when he was allegedly shot at by two motorcyclists last night.

Manjeet had gone to his village at Shekhpura. The incident took place when he was on the way to his village from Gharaunda after getting the petrol tank of his car refilled.

When he reached near the Manikpur Railway gate and came out of the car, two unidentified youths on a motorcycle opened fire at him and fled from the spot.

Expressing shock at the incident, he said he was fortunate that one of the bullets pierced through his leg while the other hit the car.

When he reached the village, he was immediately rushed to the trauma centre at the Civil Hospital, Karnal.

SP Hamid Akhtar visited the trauma centre and said investigations were in progress and all efforts were being made to identify the culprits.

Meanwhile, the police booked a teacher of Hindi at Government Senior Secondary School, Bahri, Ram Bhagat, under Sections 294, 354 and 120-B of the IPC for eve teasing and recording obscene conversations with girl students and making CDs to blackmail them. The police also booked water carrier Pushpa for aiding the teacher in his ignominious acts.

The complaint was lodged by villager Vinod following an initiative taken by another teacher of the school. The said teacher had been keeping a tab on Ram Bhagat and came to know that he was blackmailing the girls.

She somehow got hold of his mobile phone, downloaded the conversations and informed the principal and the villagers.

Irate villagers reached the school and demanded action against the accused. Finally, the police registered a case. In charge of the school Raj Kumar said he had received a complaint about the conduct of the teacher and sent to the higher authorities. Block Education Officer Veena Kathpalia confirmed that the complaint had been received and said strict action would be taken if the teacher was found guilty in the inquiry. 

Khukhrana (Panipat), March 22
Legal hurdles crossed, residents of this dusty village will, finally, be shifted to a pollution-free zone. The Punjab and Haryana High Court has quashed a petition filed by owners of land identified by the government for shifting the entire village population. The owners had challenged the land acquisition for the purpose.

The High Court had directed the state government to shift the entire village to a pollution-free area after the local residents filed a petition in 2007. The local administration initiated a move to acquire 55 acres in Sodhapur village on the Assandh road, but faced resistance from some land owners.

In the meantime, the residents continued to face health problems due to the pollution caused by the thermal power plant. Most complained of asthma, tuberculosis and other respiratory diseases.

It was widely believed that the power plant had contaminated the water in the area, causing skin diseases among many.

Dr Sohan Lal, president of the Khukhrana Sudhar Samiti, which had moved the High Court in 2007, said initially the plant was a source of pride for the residents. Later, it turned into a pollution monster with a total of eight units consuming over 22,500 tonnes of coal everyday.

Experts say about 35 per cent of the total coal burnt at the plant gets converted into ash. Earlier, the plant authorities would sprinkle water, an effective way to keep pollutants under control. But with more and more ash being generated here each day, it became almost impossible for the authorities to fight the ashes.

While several well-off residents have already shifted to Karnal, the court decision comes as a major relief for those unable to shift because of meagre means.

Rohtak, March 22
State Information Commissioner Meenaxi Anand Choudhary, acting on an appeal filed by local resident Pawan Bansal, has directed the State Public Information Officer-cum-IGP (Personnel) and the first appellate authority-cum-Additional DGP (Administration) to appear before it on May 19.

The officer has directed the officers to give their written comments on the appeal, with a copy to the appellant by April 4.

Pawan Bansal had sought information on the formation, powers, logistic support and finances of the State Task Force in April last year, a month after its members, including its head ASP Ashok Sheoran, were caught on camera allegedly trying to extort money from a Panipat jeweller. The jeweller committed suicide later.

The now disbanded STF of the Haryana Police was constituted to nab hardened criminals.

It was later found indulging in “extortions”.

Under the provisions of the RTI Act, Bansal had submitted an application to know whether the government was considering handing over the case to CBI. He had sought to know when and on whose orders the force had been constituted.

The applicant also sought to know as to who had ordered the constitution of the STF, the authority it was supposed to report, its operational area and details of the STF office.

Bansal had asked whether the then SP of Hisar had written to the DGP regarding the alleged unlawful activities of the STF in Hisar and if so, sought a copy of that letter and details of any action taken thereafter. 

Sonepat, March 22
Joining the activists of the Akhil Bhartiya Jat Arakshan Sangharsh Samiti at Chhatehra village near the Delhi-Ambala rail track, the state president of the Mahila wing of the samiti, Nirmala Dahiya, said today she would go on a fast from tomorrow.

Besides the activists of the BKU (A) led by its state president Shamsher Singh Dahiya and state general secretary Jag Mohan Malik, a number of women from different villages participated in today’s dharna at the village. The district president of the samiti, Mahender Singh Mor, said their demand for OBC status could be met only if the Backward Classes Commission was reconstituted.

He asked the CM to write to the Centre on the issue. A number of police personnel, including para military forces, have been deployed around the dharna site as well as the national highway.

Chandigarh, March 22
The High-Powered Plot Allotment Committee constituted by the Haryana Government has cleared allotment of industrial plots for 28 projects of large corporate houses and multi-national companies. This involves an investment of Rs 2,500 crore in various industrial estates developed by the Haryana State Industrial and Infrastructure Development Corporation (HSIIDC).

Haryana Industries Minister Randeep Singh Surjewala said these projects would generate employment for 9,000 persons directly. The allotments have been finalised for various projects in the IMT Manesar, Growth Centre, Bawal, IMT Rohtak and at Industrial Estates at Rai, Gurgaon, Kundli and Bahadurgarh.

“While these projects will lend depth and range to the industrial scene in the state, the entrepreneurs investing their funds in Haryana would be the ultimate gainers, getting an opportunity to grow in a state whose economy has exhibited much resilience during the global recession,” the minister added.

The projects sanctioned encompass diverse fields such as computer hardware items, fabrication units, automobile components, shoes and footwear, fabric and garments, pharmaceutical ingredients, ready-to-eat cereals or foods, milk processing unit, news designing and printing unit and bearings manufacturing unit.

Some of the leading names setting up projects include Hero Motors Limited of Hero Group, Multicolor Steels, Shreeamuji Infrastructure and Projects, Amtek Auto, Premier Melamine, Rockhill Home Fashions and Samridhi Biotech among others. 

Panipat, March 22
Cabinet Minister for Labour and Employment Shiv Charan Lal Sharma said here today that the government would expand the base of the ESI hospitals to reach out to maximum number of labourers in the state.

The minister, who was here to preside over a function organised by the State Labour Welfare Board (SLWB) to distribute 183 bicycles amongst the working class, said effective measures were being taken to ensure that besides opening new ESI hospitals in various parts of the state, the existing ones were expanded so that health care facilities could be provided to more labourers in the state.

He said new ESI hospitals were being set up in Gurgaon, Faridabad and Ambala, while those in Panipat, Yamunanagar and Rohtak were being provided with additional facilities. He said measures were also being taken to make certain that any industrialist having a work force of more than 10 employees got the ESI cards of labourers made or face action as per the law.

He said Haryana was the first province in the nation to implement a labour welfare policy. The minister also called upon the industrialists to follow the directives issues by the government for the welfare of the labourers, as they were the backbone of any business house and it was the moral responsibility of the employers to take care of their well being.

The Labour Welfare Board has made a budget provision of Rs 13.60 crore for 2010-11, out of which Rs 8.30 crore has already been spent.

Sonepat, March 22
A man was allegedly beaten to death with sharp-edged weapons and lathis here on Sunday. Four others were injured, two of them seriously, in the incident.

The deceased has been identified as Rajbir, son of Mange Ram, sarpanch of Sitawali village. The accused have been identified as Surender, Sajjan, Devender, Nanha, Mauzi, Dilbagh and Manjit of the same village.

The incident took place when Rajbir tried to intervene when the accused were beating up Sandeep and his father Madan of the same village.

The victim along with Sandeep and Madan were brought to the Civil Hospital here, but the doctors declared Rajbir brought dead. On the complaint of Sandeep, a case has been registered against the accused, who absconded after committing the crime.

In another case, a widow, Santosh, and her son Manjit of Murthal village were seriously injured when a group of four armed persons entered her house on Saturday and allegedly opened fire at them. The injured were referred to the PGIMS, Rohtak.