Chandigarh,January 24
Against the backdrop of about 2.87 lakh defective electricity meters in the state, the Haryana Electricity Regulatory Commission(HERC) has cracked the whip on the power distribution companies to replace these meters by April 30 .

In the event of the power meters remaining defective for four months or more after April 30, the SDO/XEN concerned would have to pay from their pockets to compensate the power consumers, an HERC order has said.

Asserting that the replacement of defective electricity meters was the responsibility of the power discoms and not consumers. The order passed by HERC chairman RN Prasher and members Ram Pal and Rohtahs Dahiya(members) said the licensees (distribution companies) had beeb mandated to supply power only through correct meters under the Electricity Act, 2003.

Regretting that the discoms had made no effort to clear the backlog of defective meters, the order said it was a source of revenue loss for licensees on account of improper billing and improper measurement of power supplied. It also resulted in misuse and wastage of power, the order said.

The commission ordered that after April 30, the SDO/XEN concerned would have to pay Rs 50 per defective meter per fortnight for the domestic supply while the penalty for non-domestic supply connection would be Rs 125. And for industrial connection, the penalty would be Rs 25 per kW/kVA per meter per fortnight.

It warned that the penalty would be recovered every month from the pay of the officers concerned and it would continue to the recovered till the replacement of defective meters. The power distribution companies have been asked to send a monthly action taken report to the commission.

There were 1.54 lakh defective meters in the DHBVN areas of jurisdiction and 1.33 lakh in those of the UHBVN.

After April 30,2013, if any power meter is found to be defective for a period of four months or more, the SDO/XEN concerned will be penalised personally.The penalty amount shall be recovered every month from the pay of the officers

— An HERC order

Ambala, January 24
With the state power utilities deciding to the introduce the Punjab model to cut down the aggregate transmission and commercial (AT&C) losses, three village panchayats in this district today passed a resolution to adopt the said model.

The sarpanches of Sular, Ahema and Bhari villages which are supplied power from the 11 KV Ahema feeder today met Devender Singh, Chairman and Managing Director of the state power utilities, and submitted a copy of the resolution.

Under the proposed model, all power meters in the three villages would be shifted out of the premises to curb cases of power theft. This model had proved to be big hit in Punjab with engineers saving 233 lakh units by shifting meters outside the premises. The model had also helped Punjab engineers in improving voltage and reliability, besides bringing down the damage rate of distribution transformers.

Devender Singh said the upgraded system would help minimise interruptions in power supply, improve voltage, eliminate the problem of overloading and minimise supply- related complaints. Field officers had been asked to prepare a detailed project report within a week.

Superintending Engineer RK Sharma stated more than 1o villages being supplied power from the Mardon Sahib village feeder had assured to pass similar resolutions.

Chandigarh, January 24
The Haryana Health Department has issued guidelines and taken steps to prevent the spread of H1N1 swine flu as 31 cases have so far been reported from the state during the current year.

A spokesman of the department said here today that nine cases had been reported from Karnal district, followed by four each from Kurukshetra and Fatehabad, three each from Hisar and Sirsa, two each from Yamunanagar, Kaithal and Panchkula and one each from Rohtak and Ambala districts. Till yesterday, nine deaths had been reported from five districts-- three in Kurukshetra, two each in Karnal and Sirsa and one each in Hisar and Gurgaon. He said Civil Surgeons had been issued guidelines for making separate isolation wards or rooms in hospitals and ensure that linen, blood pressure apparatus and thermometer were separately available in the isolation room. Also, dedicated physician, nurses, and paramedical staff should be available for this isolation area. Large oxygen cylinders, pulse oxymeter and portable x-ray machine should be available in the isolation ward.

All Civil Surgeons had been directed to identify the nearest government or private heath institution with ventilator facilities. As ventilator facilities were available at Rohtak, Agroha, Sonepat and Gurgaon, the Civil Surgeons had been directed to tie up even with private health institutions for providing ventilator facilities for the patients referred by government institutions. All district units had been provided with adequate quantities of personal protection equipment kits and virus transfer medium kits, N 95 masks, triple layer masks, medicines like oseltamivir, antibiotics and other medicines.

Instructions had also been issued to rapid response teams for investigation of H1N1 positive cases. These had been directed that if there was any suspected or positive case, the information should be given telephonically immediately to the state surveillance unit. They should visit that particular area and conduct house to house survey immediately. During survey, if any suspected case is detected, they should take a throat and nasal sample and give Tamiflu tablets.The follow-up of such patients and their contacts should be done till double the seven-day incubation time of swine flu.

Fatehabad, January 24
Additional District and Sessions Judge LN Jindal, who heads the special court set for the speedy trial of crime against women in the district, today sentenced a youth to life imprisonment for raping a minor girl.

The victim’s father had lodged a complaint against Sat Pal and his wife Raj Kaur after his daughter did not return from school on May 12, 2011, and it was found that the accused had lured away the girl. The police later arrested Satpal on May 27 and recovered the girl from him. The medical examination of the victim confirmed rape.

A case under Sections 363 and 376 (Abduction and Rape) was registered against the accused.

The victim’s father alleged that some time ago, when Sat Pal’s wife was pregnant, the accused had requested him to send his daughter to his house for doing domestic chores.

He said his daughter remained there for nearly three months and on May 12, 2011, when she had gone to school, the accused enticed her away.

The court has also imposed a fine of Rs 10,000, besides awarding him life imprisonment.

The court treated the detention period of Satpal’s wife as the sentence undergone.

Sirsa, January 24
A youth was allegedly attacked for stopping eve-teasers from passing lewd remarks on girls outside a school in Sirsa town.

The victim, Purshotam, who is working with the District Rural Development Agency here, alleged that despite his complaint, the police has not registered an FIR so far.

“I stopped some youths, who used to harass girls coming to a school near my residence in Noharia Bazar some time ago. I even informed the police after making a video of their conduct from my cellphone. However, the police later allowed them to go after they apologised for their conduct,” Purshotam said.

He alleged that when he was returning home after dropping his children to school, two youths attacked and injured him.

“I brought the matter to the notice of the city police immediately, but no FIR has been registered so far,” he said.

However, city SHO Suresh Pal said the youth had not met him so far.

“I was busy since morning in connection with the final rehearsals of Republic Day and a congregation in Dera Sacha Sauda,” the SHO added.

Sonepat, January 24
In a gang-rape case of a minor girl of Gohana, the police today claimed to have arrested all the six accused. It has also filed a chargesheet in the court within 47 hours of receiving the complaint.

A police spokesperson said the case was registered under the Prevention of Child Sexual Offence (PCSO) Act, 2012, and under various Sections of the IPC in the city police station on Tuesday.

The spokesman said in an another case of molestation and threat to the life of a minor girl of Anwali village by a man of the same village on January 21, the accused was arrested and a chargesheet was submitted in the court within 15 hours of registering a case under the PCSO Act.

Similarly, after receiving a complaint of misbehaviour with a widow of Khewra village by a man of the same village yesterday, the police not only nabbed the accused but also submitted a chargesheet in the court today.

Kurukshetra, January 24
Harvinder Singh, a resident of Pehowa, was killed on the spot when a truck hit the motorcycle he was riding near Teekri village yesterday.

The driver of the truck, Balbir Singh, a resident of Malhira district, Hamirpur, Himachal Pradesh, has been arrested and charged under relevant sections of the IPC.

Chandigarh, January 24
The Haryana government has issued transfer and posting orders of nine IAS officers with immediate effect.

Ramendra Jakhu, Additional Chief Secretary, Transport and Civil Aviation Departments, has been posted as Additional Chief Secretary, Forests and Wildlife Department.

Hardeep Kumar, Principal Secretary, Sports and Youth Affairs and Animal Husbandry and Dairying Dept, has been posted as Principal Secy, Transport and Civil Aviation Departments vice Ramendra Jakhu. P Raghavendrra Rao, Principal Secretary, Urban Local Bodies Department, has been given additional charge of Principal Secretary, Women and Child Development Department vice Dheera Khandelwal. PK Das, Principal Secretary, Science and Technology Department, has been posted as Principal Secretary, Animal Husbandry and Dairying Department vice Hardeep Kumar.

Shashi Bala Gulati, OSD, Manpower Planning and Secretary, Rajya Sainik Board, has been posted as Principal Secretary, Fisheries Department vice Amit Jha. Mhathung Kithan has been posted as Principal Secretary, Archives Department. He has also been given additional charge of OSD, Manpower Planning and Secretary, Rajya Sainik Board vice Shashi Blala Gulati. Dheera Khandelwal, Principal Secy, Women and Child Development Dept, has been posted as Principal Secy, Science and Technology Dept vice PK Das. Amit Jha, Principal Secretary, Fisheries Department, has been posted as Principal Secretary, Sports and Youth Affairs Department vice Hardeep Kumar.

Brijendra Singh, Managing Director, Haryana Warehousing Corporation and Director General, Technical Education, has been given additional charge of Director General, Medical Education and Research. — TNS

Chandigarh, January 24
The Department of Women and Child Development, Haryana, has constituted child welfare committees (CWC) and juvenile justice boards (JJB), in addition to district child protection societies in each district of the state to ensure that rights of children are protected and children in need of care are given due facilities.

While stating this today, Director General and Special Secretary of the Department Sumita Misra said Haryana had incurred Rs 5.60 crore to ensure institutional arrangements in every district for child protection services.

She said the state government had constituted a selection committee headed by a retired Judge, Justice IP Vashisth, to select chairpersons and members of the child welfare committees and juvenile justice boards.

Each CWC would comprise a non-official chairman and four non-official members. A sum of Rs 66.77 lakh had been released to various districts for functioning of the CWCs during 2012-13, she said.

She said the department had also released Rs 70.49 lakh for juvenile justice boards set up in each district under the Juvenile Justice Act. Each such board would have two social workers, who would be non-official members and the Chief Judicial Magistrate would be its chairperson, she added.

Chandigarh, January 24
The government has issued guidelines for veterinary diploma courses conducted by private institutions in the state.

A spokesman said all private institutions would follow the procedure and guidelines laid down by the College of Veterinary Sciences, Lala Lajpat Rai University of Veterinary and Animal Sciences Hisar, to maintain uniformity and ensure high quality of training. He said the academic standards with respect to quality and strength of the faculty and minimum essential infrastructure such as laboratories, sports grounds, computer laboratories, multi-facility laboratories, teaching animal farms and clinics would be governed by the College of Veterinary Sciences, LLRUVAS, Hisar. — TNS