The Tribune, Chandigarh, India

	Haryana Tourism to step into luxury resort segment Mahendragarh Fort to be high-end resort under PPP mode Pradeep Sharma Tribune News Service Chandigarh, July 9 Haryana Tourism, which successfully pioneered highway tourism in India, is all set to make forays into the luxury resort segment with the Haryana Government reviving the project to convert the historical Mahendragarh Fort into a palace resort under the public-private partnership mode. To be patterned on the model of the Neemrana Fort Palace of Rajasthan, India’s oldest fort palace which was restored in 1980s, the Mahendragarh Fort will don a new look soon — a development which will go a long way in boosting the economy of the backward district of Mehendragarh, sources told The Tribune here recently. Speaking to TNS on the sidelines of a press conference in connection with the two-day Mango Mela at Pinjore Garden from July 7, Vijai Vardhan, Financial Commissioner and Prinicipal Secretary, Tourism, said the Deputy Commissioner concerned had been asked to work out certain legal formalities for the transfer of the property. “After that we will start the modalities for the appointment of a consultant for setting up the palace fort in collaboration with the private sector,” he added. In fact, a proposal to convert the fort into a resort was mooted by Haryana Tourism about two decades ago. However, a reported dispute between the Tourism Department and the Forest Department over the acquisition of land for the construction of the road held up the ambitious project. Recently, the authorities concerned had constructed the 20-km road to the fort from Mahendragarh giving a filip to the move to have a luxury fort palace. The sources said given the grandeur and décor of the fort, the property had all the ingredients of being a five-star resort, promising the unparallelled experience of living in the royal past.This, coupled with just 130-km distance from New Delhi, could provide the tourists an ideal weekend getaway. Built by the Maratha ruler, Tantia Tope, during the 19th century, the fort was renamed as Mahendragarh in 1861 by Narendra Singh, the ruler of Patiala, in honour of his son, Mahendra Singh, and consequently the town came to be known as Mahendragarh. Advantage Mahendragarh fort palace * After Neemrana, it would be the second nearest fort palace from New Delhi * Success of several PPP models in Haryana to speed up the project * Its strategic location will attract private players in the booming state * Basic infrastructure like roads already in place
	7-yr-old undergoes major surgery under govt scheme Bijendra Ahlawat/TNS Rohtak, July 9 A seven-year old boy seems to have become the first beneficiary of the Indira Bal Swasthya Yojna (IBSY) in the district. He was operated upon at the Cardiac Surgery Department of PGIMS here recently for the repair of his heart valve. The health scheme provided the financial help of about Rs 1.5 lakh for the treatment. According to officials concerned, as the scheme launched recently provides treatment to all children upto the age of 18, the 7-year-old patient Sumit hailing from Sonepat district was operated upon for open-heart valve repair surgery. He was detected with a leakage in the heart valve and was required to be operated immediately due to critical nature of the disease. The operation was successful and the patient has been recuperating, said Dr SS Lohchab, who operated upon the patient. This has been perhaps the first-of-its-kind case when such a huge cost benefit has been borne under the scheme. Dr Lohchab, HoD, Cardiac Surgery, said the boy was admitted last month on complaining of severe breathlessness and palpitation. He said there was a gross leakage in his mitral valve and was advised valve repair. According to officials of the Health Department, children from weak financial background who cannot afford costly treatment for complex surgeries including heart operations could avail the benefit under the IBSY scheme irrespective of BPL status.
	SHOs to be part of anti-ragging panels Ravinder Saini Jhajjar, July 9 With the new academic session in higher education institutes set to begin this month, the Haryana Police is all geared up to cope with ragging. According to fresh strategy embarked upon by the Rohtak Range Police covering four districts- Rohtak, Jhajjar, Sonepat and Panipat, the college authorities will not only have to form an anti-ragging committee before beginning of the session but also have to include SHOs/ police station incharge of their area concerned in the committee to deal effectively with the menace. A communiqué in this regard has recently been shot off to all district police chiefs from the office of the Inspector General of Police (IGP) of the Rohtak Range to execute the strategy in a time-bound and efficient manner. In the communiqué, IGP Alok Mittal has directed the police chiefs to ask all educational institutes to constitute anti-ragging committees by appointing SHO/Incharge of police station as its members. “The police chiefs have also been asked to form anti-ragging committees at district level separately in liaison with the educational institutes to carry out surprise visits to the institutes to take stock of the precautionary measures being followed by the college authorities to tackle ragging,” said Mittal while talking to The Tribune. The committee led by district police inspector would also deal with those complaints regarding ragging which would be lodged by students directly. Besides, the committee would keep in touch with the students to boost their moral besides getting information about roguish students of the institutes, the IGP added. “The police chiefs have been directed to send a Deputy Superintendent of Police (DSP) to the educational institute immediately on getting information about any ragging incident,” said Mittal, adding that to spread awareness among junior students, the educational institutes had been directed to display billboards and flexes urging the senior students to shun ragging. “The best way to cope with ragging is to make every student aware of the ill-effects of ragging and the punishment it may attract,” said Mittal.
	Encroachments on panchayat land fail to move authorities Bhanu P Lohumi Tribune News Service Karnal, July 9 About 25 acres of panchayat land, including the village pond and phirni (ring road), have been encroached upon by over 24 persons in Chakda village, 30 km from here, but the authorities concerned are indifferent to the illegal possession on the village common land. Lambardar of the village Jaspal Singh Mann is fighting a lone battle for getting the land freed from the illegal possession of these influential persons since 2006 and has procured information about the encroachments and the people involved through the RTI, but there has been no action. Mann said according to the information provided by the office of the District Development and Panchayat Officer (DDPO), former sarpanch Hazur Singh had admitted that the village phirni, the pond and panchayat land had been encroached upon by some villagers, but he avoided taking any step against the defaulters. The encroachments on panchayat land were creating impediments in taking up welfare works and the ring road around the village could not be constructed as the land had been encroached by people, Mann said, adding that even the size of the village pool had shrunk from 17 acres to eight acres. The common grazing land for the village cattle had been auctioned at times with the alleged connivance of sarpanches but no money was charged from persons having illegal possession of the panchayat land, he said. Demanding an inquiry against the two former sarpanches, Narlap Kaur (2000-2005) and her husband, Hazur Singh (2005-2010), for "misuse" of funds and "non-performance" during their tenure, Mann has sent repeated complaints to the BDO, the DDPO and the DC and urged them that the encroachments on the village land should be removed so that the land could be utilised for bona fide purposes. Even the BDO, Nissing, wrote five or six letters to the present sarpanch, Lukhwinder Kaur, to get the encroachments removed, but nothing has been done till date. In February this year, the Director and Joint Secretary, Development and Panchayats, Haryana, directed the DDPO, Karnal, to initiate action against encroachers according to law and submit the report within four weeks, but nothing has been done so far.
	Van for women cops to check eve-teasing D.R. Vij Kurukshetra, July 9 To check eve-teasing incidents in the town, district police chief Rakesh Kumar Arya equipped the policewomen with a van at the district police headquarters here recently. Arya told mediapersons that the incidents of eve-teasing, including chain snatching, were increasing near Brahamsarovar and Sannihit Sarovar here day by day. To check such incidents and to provide security to women folk, policewomen equipped with the van had been deployed near these sarovars, he added. He further said besides keeping a watch around the sarovars, the policewomen would also keep a vigil on the activities of anti-social elements around schools, colleges, coaching centres, markets and bus stands where they are generally found involved in eve-teasing. The van would patrol in the busy areas in the morning and evening and would nab eve-teasers, he added. Arya hoped that it would control crime up to some extent.
	Admn orders covering up of manholes Tribune News Service Faridabad, July 9 The district administration has ordered covering of manholes and filling up of sewer pits, borewells and wells which are not in use to avoid any untoward incident. The order issued by Faridabad Deputy Commissioner Balraj Singh comes into force with immediate effect. HUDA, MCF, Public Health and Public Works Department, SDMs concerned and the Agriculture Department have been directed that holes and pits dug up at the time of laying projects be filled up immediately. In the order, the DC referred to the recent mishaps in the state on account of pits and borewells. He also cited an order of the Supreme Court which enjoined filling up the holes and pits. The DC also directed the department heads in Faridabad that prior permission be taken from his office for allowing installations of tube wells and submersible pumps.
	‘Road domination’ campaign held Our Correspondent Kaithal, July 9 A special “road domination” campaign launched in the state on the instructions of Haryana Director General of Police Ranjeev Dalal was held in Kaithal. Giving this information, Naripjit Singh DSP Kaithal said that the campaign started from June 26 and would continue till July 10. Nakas had been set up at various points in the district and mobile and foot patrolling was being undertaken to keep an eye on the movement of criminals and other anti-social elements. All vehicles were being checked. Naripjit Singh said that MS Mann, ADGP, Law and Order and SP Kuldip Singh were monitoring the campaign held from June 26-July 10. He said that the campaign had a deterrent effect on the movement of criminals. It is learnt that Mohd Akil, IGP, Law and Order, in a communique addressed to the commissioners of police , Ambala , Gurgaon and Faridabad and all the district SPs had instructed the staff deputed in this campaign not to cause any harassment to women and children during this campaign.
	DAV commemorates 125 yrs of existence Kaithal, July 9 In the past 125 years, the DAV institutions had made a very constructive and meaningful contribution to the field of education and this trend will continue in the coming times too. This was stated by Poonam Suri, President DAV college managing committee, New Delhi while speaking as a chief guest at a function held in OSDAV Public School in Kaithal on Wednesday. The principals and teachers of DAV institutions from various parts of the state were present. Suri said that quality and carrier-oriented education was being imparted to the students. Special emphasis was laid on character building and making the students good citizens, she added. She inaugurated the newly constructed DAV primary section building in Sector 20 HUDA here Suman Nijhawan Principal and Regional director and Vijay Sabharwal Manager DAV institutions welcomed the chief guest. The chief guest gave away awards to students who made outstanding performance in Class XII and X exams . The students who had got admission in MBBS , IIT and qualified in AIEEE competition were also honoured on this occasion. — OC
	Revised sports calendar released Sushil Manav Tribune News Service Sirsa, July 9 The Haryana Secondary Education Department has revised the sports calendar for 2012-13. Narwana, a subdivisional town, has also been selected to host the games this time. A spokesperson for the department said as per the new updated and modified sports calendar Football Pre-Subroto Cup Inter-School Games for boys’ under 14 and 17 years age group and for girls’ under 17 would be organised from July 25 to 27 at Rewari. Pre-Nehru Hockey Inter-School Games for boys and girls under 17 and boys under 15 would also be held from August 3 to 5 at Shahabad, Kurukshetra. Swimming, diving and water polo games for boys and girls under the age group of 14, 17 and 19 would be held from August 3 to 6 at Karnal. The district will host baseball tournament for girls under 14, 17 and 19 years category, judo for boys and girls under 14, 17 and 19, football for boys under 17 and archery for boys and girls under 14, 17 and 19 from August 7 to 10 this year. He said a baseball tournament for girls under 14, 17 and 19, judo for boys and girls under 14, 17 and 19, football for boys under 17 and archery for boys and girls under 14, 17 and 19 would be held from August 7 to 10 at Sirsa. Similarly, badminton and table tennis games for boys and girls under 14, 17 and 19, boxing for girls under 17 and 19 and softball for girls under 14, 17 and 19 would also be held from August 7 to 10 at Bhiwani. He said wushu, kick boxing and Tang-Ta martial art for boys and girls under 19, sky martial art and taekwondo for boys and girls under 14, 17 and 19 and weightlifting for boys and girls under 17 and 19 would be held from August 17 to 20 at Gurgaon. Kabaddi and yoga games for boys and girls under 14, 17 and 19 would be organised from August 17 to 20 at Kaithal. He said games like baseball, wrestling, basketball and yoga for boys under 14, 17 and 19 and jumping rope for boys and girls in the under 19 category would be held from August 22 to 25 at Hisar. Handball and fencing for boys and girls under 14, 17 and 19, wrestling for girls in the under 19 category and yoga for boys under 14, 17 and 19 would also be held from August 22 to 25 at Nawana. Similarly, football for boys under 14, 19, boxing for boys under 14, 17 and 19 and cricket for girls under 19 would be organised from August 28 to 31 at Rewari. Hockey for boys under 14, 17 and 19 and cricket for boys under 19 would also be held from August 28 to 31 at Sonepat. As per the revised calendar, throwball and kho-kho for boys and girls under 14, 17 and 19 and cricket 20-20 for boys and girls under 19 would be held at Panipat from October 3 to 6. Similarly, athletics, softball, skating, volleyball, net ball and football for boys and girls in various age groups would be organised from October 3 to 6 at Yamunanagar and Rohtak. Tournaments for gymnastics, dodge ball, lawn tennis, chow kwonogdo, kabaddi and kho-kho would also be organised in different age groups from October 9 to 12 at Ambala and Narnaul. The spokesperson said kabaddi, athletics, hockey, cycling, rifle shooting for boys and girls in various age groups would be organised from October 16 to 19 at Kurukshetra and Shahabad. Games of basketball, football and volleyball for boys and girls would be conducted from October 26 to 29 at Karnal whereas tug-of-war, circle kabaddi and cricket for boys and girls in different age groups would be organised at Jhajjar from November 6 to 9. He said ball badminton and shooting ball for boys and girls under 19 would be organised from November 6 to 9 at Panchkula.
	Sirsa babus indifferent to people, says DCC chief Sushil Manav/TNS Sirsa, July 9 A ruling party functionary has accused the bureaucracy of adopting a high-handed attitude and functioning to the detriment of the common people. Sirsa District Congress President (DCC) Malkiat Singh Khosa is not happy with the functioning of bureaucracy in his district. The DCC president feels that the bureaucracy is functioning in an unbridled manner and some officers did not pay heed to people or the functionaries of the ruling party. Khosa, known for his proximity to the AICC secretary and Sirsa MP Ashok Tanwar, aired his views at a meeting of party workers in Ellenabad town recently. Several party workers, sarpanches and panchayat members of the area attended the meeting in Agarawal Dharamshala of the town. He said he was making a list of such officers and would send a report to Haryana Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda. “I have been receiving a number of complaints from my workers, who allege that many government officers do not listen to the grievances of people and are functioning in an autocratic manner,” the DCC president said. Khosa said Hooda himself was very particular that the officers should attend people properly and mitigate their grievances at the earliest. Khosa also castigated the INLD for misguiding villagers on the issue of power and water scarcity. He said the delay in the arrival of monsoon and failure of pre-monsoon rains had caused a shortage of water and electricity, but the INLD has been misusing these natural conditions to mislead people.
	DISTANT EDUCATION Bombay IIT opens nodal centre in Sonepat BS Malik Sonepat, July 9 The Indian Institute of Technology (IIT), Bombay, has opened its nodal centre of distance education at DCR University of Science and Technology, Murthal, to train teachers for the promotion of the research activities in the institutions of higher education in this region. This was stated by the Vice-Chancellor of the university, HS Chahal, while presiding over the closing ceremony of the two-week Indian Society for Technical Education (ISTE) workshop on “Introduction to Research Methodology” on the university premises recently. “Research is the most urgent need of the country and to promote it, teachers in the higher education faculties are to be trained,” he said and added that this facility would greatly benefit the teachers as well as the research scholars of the institutes of the higher education in the region. Reiterating that the university will provide every assistance for research studies, the VC announced that on the pattern of IIT, Delhi, a modern audio-video room facility would be provided in a room in the new teaching block of the university so that the university lecturers could record their lectures. He also stressed the need to deliver lectures through the on-line system and said that these kind of exercises could help the students of those colleges where there was scarcity of faculty. The students could listen to lectures on view software. The workshop coordinator, Darshna Hooda, said this distance education workshop was inaugurated by the Union Human Resources Minister, Kapil Sibal, and around 8,600 teachers at 168 remote centres in the country participated in it. As many as 30 faculty members of different universities participated in this Murthal university workshop, she added. She stated that IIT, Bombay, would provide 100 Akash Tablets-2, which were processing devices, at every remote centre in the country.
	BRANCHLESS BANKING Company opens 5,000 accounts in Sirsa villages Sushil Manav Tribune News Service Sirsa, July 9 Financial Inclusion Network and Operations (FINO), a company working to develop branchless banking infrastructure, has so far opened the accounts of 5,000 beneficiaries in the rural areas of Sirsa district. The account holders are getting banking services at their doorsteps and nearly 2,000 workers are getting wages under the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme through these accounts. In a report released in 2005-2006, the Reserve Bank of India mentioned that over 45 per cent of adult Indian population did not have a bank account or have access to banking services. It further suggested bringing these financially excluded people under the formal banking system through the Financial Inclusion Plan. The plan was to provide banking services to each village having population more than 2,000 by March 2012. The RBI chose the bank-led model for financial inclusion leveraging on technology. The bank-led model refers to the provision of banking service at the bank branches as well as through their business correspondents (BCs). Appreciating the challenges involved in operating only through bank-branch model, the Reserve Bank permitted banks to employ BCs to ensure easier access to banking services in rural and semi-urban areas. “This led to the formation of FINO in 2006. Gradually becoming the largest business correspondent in the country serving 50 million customers in 26 states through 31,000 transaction points,” said a spokesperson of the company. The central bank encouraged the information, communication and technology (ICT) model, which would enable banks to circumvent the barriers of geography and ensure efficient financial inclusion. Ever since the start of the plan in 2006-07, more than 100 million no frills accounts had been opened across the country by FINO and other BCs in association with various PSU and private banks, the spokesperson added. No Frills Accounts as defined by RBI is a savings bank account that requires no minimum balance and has relaxed KYC norms with a maximum balance limit of Rs 50,000. Towards this, the state of Haryana has made some encouraging strides. Out of the 21 districts, FINO has got a mandate to open No Frills Accounts (NFA) in 17 districts partnering ICICI Bank, Union Bank of India and Oriental Bank of Commerce Since the start of this mandate, over 53,000 NFAs have been opened in these districts covering 132 villages. While some of the account holders are already doing transactions, rest all will be able to do so by the end of June 2012 through the biometric smart cards. This facility opens a completely new world of banking for the poor people, not linked with banks earlier. The facility allows them to save, withdraw and remit money. These people will also have access to other utility services such mobile recharges, bill payments, PAN Card, railway ticket booking through FINO Bandhu network. “In Sirsa, in addition to over 5,000 people who will benefit from access to banking services, FINO also disburses MNREGA payment to almost 2,000 beneficiaries,” he said.
	Murthal varsity gets World Bank phase II project BS Malik Sonepat, July 9 The Deenbandhu Chhotu Ram University of Science and Technology, Murthal, has recently been awarded the Technical Education Quality Improvement Programme Phase - II (TEQIP Phase-II) of the World Bank Project. It lays emphasis on research and creating centres of excellence through exchange of students, faculty and research scholars through international linkages. Under the aegis of this, a delegation led by HS Chahal, Vice-Chancellor, with Prof Raj Kumar, Dean, Faculty of Engineering and Technology, and nodal officer of TEQIP; Prof JS Rana, Dean, Faculty of Non-Conventional Sources of Energy and Environment, and coordinator, International Affairs, and Pawan Dahiya, coordinator, TEQIP, visited Germany, Finland, Italy and UAE recently to explore, collaborate and implement, exchange of students, faculty and to strengthen ties for mutual research and development activities for the upgradation of laboratories in the university. Earlier, a joint conference on “Energy Efficient Design of Buildings: Product Solutions” was organised at DCRUST, Murthal, which was a successful event. This project was approved by the Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF), Germany, under the Germany-India: Infinite Opportunities Project during February 2011. Taking it further, a memorandum of collaboration was signed with the University of Applied Science, Detmold, Germany, during this visit to exchange the visit of students and faculty. While in Germany, the delegation also visited the Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry at FRIE University of Berlin and discussed various facilities available with them for the exchange of students and faculty members between two universities. The university had also earlier signed a MoU with Tampere University of Technology, Tampere (Finland) last year. This visit was to strengthen the bondages for future collaborations and held further discussions with the university authorities to work out the modalities. The highlight of these MoU’s will be that Murthal university students visiting these universities will not pay any tuition fee to them. In Finland, the delegation also held wide-ranging talks with Prof Jorma Virtanen, Department of Nano Science, University of Jyvaskyla.
	State to implement evaluation system for admn units Tribune News Service Chandigarh, July 9 The Haryana Government has decided to implement the Performance Management and Evaluation System (PMES) for its administrative departments. The PMES is implemented by finalising the Results Framework Document (RFD) as an agreement between the Minister and the administrative secretary in charge of the department concerned. This was stated by Haryana Chief Secretary PK Choudhery while addressing mediapersons here recently. He was accompanied by secretary, Performance Management, Government of India, Dr Prajapati Trivedi, and Financial Commissioner and Principal Secretary, Finance, Sanjeev Kaushal. Choudhery said: “RFD brings out clearly the vision objectives and goals, both long term and yearly, that the department plans to achieve. The uniqueness of the RFD is that it facilitates transparent monitoring and evaluation on a biannual basis. Since the targets and goals are self-assigned by the minister and the administrative secretary after due prioritisation, it is expected to improve the performance all the departments manifold.” He said it was expected that all the RFDs of the departments of the state would be finalised by the end of September this year. The exercise for the next year would be started well in time so that RFDs were finalised in the commencement of the financial year. On being asked to comment on the necessity of RFD in Haryana, the Chief Secretary said: “The departments concerned will have to define the task or priorities and informed that how to achieve the targets. Focus should not be on the process but on the outcomes. We are trying to address the key issue that administration should not only be efficient and effective but should also be accountable. This exercise will bring a lot of change the way in which the administration thinks and takes action to achieve the targets.” Choudhery said it would not only measure the performance of individual department but also help to take corrective actions to improve the functioning of the departments. Dr Trivedi said Haryana was the seventh state of the country where RFD would be implemented. This is the only state from where the strongest commitment to its implementation has been given by both Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda and the Chief Secretary. Dr Trivedi said: “We are not following any international practice in the implementation of RFD. Our approach is ahead of all other countries and we come out this approach through a large debate. RFD will define what the departments have performed.” He said the Central Government introduced the PMES in 2009-10. It is being followed by 80 departments of the Government of India and about 800 responsibility centres across the country.
	Samiti for memorial to Punjabis killed during Partition Sushil Manav Tribune News Service Fatehabad, July 9 The Akhil Bhartiya Panchnad Samarak Samiti has reiterated its resolve to set up a memorial in the memory of Punjabis, who lost their lives in clashes while migrating from Pakistan during the Partition in 1947. Several prominent leaders of the Punjabi community, including Ashwani Chopra, president of the Panchnad Samarak Samiti, Swami Ramanand Achayra Hansdev and Swami Dharamdev, both patrons, Dr Ram Ahuja, Dr Markanday Ahuja, Subhash Sudha, Shyam Bajaj, Sangeeta Narula and several others addressed a Punjabi Sammelan at Fatehabad recently. The speakers said over 10 lakh Punjabis laid their lives for the country, but their martyrdom was not remembered anywhere. The speakers said Punjabis were a self-respecting community and they had carved a niche for them in the country after starting from the scratch in 1947. The speakers said the construction of the memorial would begin soon. The Punjabi community, particularly those who migrated from the parts of the erstwhile joint Punjab (now in Pakistan) during the Partition, constituted a significant population of Haryana. The community is settled in almost all major towns and cities of Haryana and in the past 63 years has been able to carve a niche for it. With many of this community settled well in different spheres in Haryanavi society, political aspirations of the Punjabi community have also risen. Efforts have been made on several occasions in the past to raise various organisations of the Punjabi community in Haryana. Panchnad Samiti, floated with the efforts of Ashwani Chopra and Swami Dharamdev, has been striving hard to unite Punjabis on the issue of constructing a memorial for their forefathers. The Samiti had demanded 100-acre land from the Haryana government for this purpose and had organised four sammelans - three at Kurukshetra and one at Haridwar. However, the samiti’s plan did not come through and now the Panchnad Samiti has purchased a piece of 20-acre land on the NH-1 in Kurukshetra for this purpose from its own resources. Local Punjabi leaders Darshan Nagpal, Shalen Bhaskar, Chander Bhan Munjal, Veena Bhayana, Parveen Bhirdana and several other leaders were present. Dharmender Goswami conducted the stage.
	State to provide insurance cover to domestic workers Tribune News Service Chandigarh, July 9 The Haryana Government has decided in principle to bring domestic workers under the ambit of Rashtriya Swasthya Bima Yojana. The Minister of State for Labour and Employment Shiv Charan Lal Sharma, said under this scheme smart card based cashless health insurance cover of Rs 30,000 per annum is provided to a family of five. All pre-existing diseases would also be covered, he added. Apart from the hospitalisation expenses, the scheme would take care of most of the illnesses as well as provide maternity benefits, he said. Transportation cost of Rs 100 per visit with an overall limit of Rs 1,000 per annum would also be given, he added. The government will identify domestic workers who have completed 18 years of age. As per the guidelines under the scheme, a domestic worker is defined as a person who is employed for remuneration whether in cash or kind, in any household through any agency or directly, on temporary or permanent basis, part or full time basis to do the household work, but does not include any member of the family of an employer. For evidence as identification of domestic worker, he or she should have a certificate issued by a registered Resident Welfare Association to the effect that a person is working as a domestic worker in the area, certificate from the employer, certificate from a registered trade union that the person concerned is working as a domestic worker and police verification certificate which certifies that the person is working as a domestic worker. The Central Government would share 75 per cent of the estimated annual premium of Rs 750 subject to a maximum of Rs 565 per family per annum. Additionally, the cost of smart card, estimated at Rs 60, would also be borne by the Central Government. The remaining 25 per cent would be borne by the state government. The insurance company, in consultation with the State Nodal Agency, responsible to implement RSBY would prepare and implement a communication strategy. The state government would identify an agency to register domestic workers and prepare soft version of the data of domestic workers in the format under RSBY as per the prescribed guidelines which are also available at www.rsby.gov.in <http://www.rsby.gov.in>. This data would be forwarded to the State Nodal Agency implementing the scheme.
	Steps to improve sex ratio in state New Delhi, July 9 In a bid to improve the skewed sex ratio, Haryana has conducted 14,186 raids and inspections across the state in 2011-12 against errant clinics conducting sex-determination tests. During these raids, 185 machines were seized and sealed, 336 licences were suspended or cancelled and 108 cases were filed in lower courts and the high court. Stating this, Haryana's Health Minister Rao Narender Singh informed that 30 persons were convicted and licences of four medical practitioners were cancelled. Besides, 1,283 ultrasound clinics were registered with the Health Department. He said between April, 2011, and March, 2012, 36 ultrasound machines were seized and sealed. Besides, 54 show-cause notices were issued with a maximum of 15 in Sonepat and licenses of 49 machines were suspended, he said. Rao said to make villages join the campaign against foeticide, the state had announced Rs one-lakh prize for one village in each district showing the highest sex ratio and Rs 5 lakh for the village showing the highest sex ratio in the state. Incentive of up to Rs 20,000 has been announced by the Health Department for informers in each district to avert illegal activities and residence ID proof has been made mandatory for ultrasound of pregnant women as part of enforcement of the Act, he said. — PTI
	Cotton Theft Racket Sirsa traders irked at slow pace of police probe Sushil Manav/TNS Sirsa, July 9 Cotton industry and those in the trade of ‘white gold’ in Sirsa are piqued at a tardy pace of police investigation into a racket involving theft of cotton worth several lakhs from trucks bound for Wagah border for its export to Pakistan. Sirsa is the biggest producer of cotton in the state, where almost two-third of Haryana’s total cotton is produced and sold in the country and exported to several other countries. Recently, on the complaint of a local exporter, the police had arrested six truck drivers for cheating and breach of trust after it was found that they pilfered large quantities of cotton bound for Wagah border for its export to Surriya Textiles Mills Pvt Ltd, Karachi. A similar FIR involving two trucks was registered at Fatehabad and another involving 14 trucks is pending with Khairpur police post in Sirsa. Later, it was found that it was a racket running for a long time, as the local exporting firm had been suffering huge deductions from the Pakistani firm for difference in weight for long. Mahesh Sharda, whose export firm Deen Dayal Purushottam Lal had sent a consignment, has written to the Director General of Police and other senior authorities alleging police laxity in this case. “I fail to understand why the police has not yet arrested the traders, who have been purchasing stolen cotton from truck drivers for a long when their names have been exposed,” Sharda said. Gurpreet Singh Nagpal, general secretary of the Sirsa Cotton Industries Association, said those who perpetrated such a crime deserved the severest punishment, as they have lowered the image of the Indian traders in Pakistan. “This is a kind of economic sabotage to derail the trade being promoted by the two countries and the higher authorities should bring the guilty to book soon,” Sharda said. Arun Bishnoi, SHO of the CIA police station, Sirsa, who is investigating the case, said the police was trying its best to arrest the traders who purchased stolen cotton from the truck drivers. He, however, said the traders have already deposited the stolen cotton with the police after purchasing it from the market.
	Felling of Green Cover NGO complains to Kurukshetra admn DR Vij Kurukshetra, July 9 An NGO, in a letter addressed to the Deputy Commissioner, Kurukshetra, has requested him to take action against the illegal felling of peepal trees and to ensure safety of other trees in Kuruvan Park, situated on the northern bank of Sannihit Sarovar here. Stating this to mediapersons here recently, Green Earth director Naresh Bhardwaj said soil was removed from the roots of Peepal tree and eight other trees in Kuruvan Park in February-March 2010 under the cover of darkness by unidentified persons. He said the peepal tree had two main stems out of which the main stem was axed down by unknown persons in 2010 while the remaining second stem was axed down illegally on June 29, 2012. Bhardwaj said he had requested the district authorities a number of times to fill up earth near the roots and to protect the green cover, but no action was taken. Three other trees had died, while the remaining ones were dying and the base of the affected peepal and other trees were under extreme threat. He has demanded action against police station in charge, Subhash Mandi, Kurukshetra, for negligence.