Chandigarh, March 19
After Union Minister Selja and Gurgaon MP Rao Inderjit Singh, it is the turn of Selja loyalist and Rajya Sabha MP Ishwar Singh to fire a salvo against the Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda-led Haryana government.

Organising a Jagrukta rally in Gulha on March 24 to create an awakening about their rights among the ‘development-starved’ people of 28 villages of the area, Ishwar Singh insists that is the only way to get the government to act and that it would be a show of strength for the CM-baiters. He said the rally would be addressed by Selja and MP Birender Singh. Hooda had not been invited to address the rally, he said.

“I have deliberately decided to keep the Chief Minister out for the simple reason that demands of this area have not been addressed. This pocket of 28 villages, lying between the Ghaggar riverbed and Punjab, is devoid of any kind of development. There is no hospital in the area and I had to plead for the upgrade of the only government school to senior secondary level at the time when other districts are getting colleges and universities,” claimed the MP.

Maintaining that the cluster of these villages did not even have a bank and or a bus route, Ishwar Singh said they were virtually untouched by development. “I visited their area a few times and repeatedly wrote to the Chief Minister, asking for facilities. The only response that I got was that the demands were being considered. However, despite following up their cause with letters and reminders to the CM’s office, no action has been taken,” he said.

The MP said given the ‘indifferent’ attitude of the government to the plight of the villagers, he decided to organise this rally. Stating that the cluster of villagers had expressed their keenness to be merged with Punjab, on which they are dependent for crop-sale and other business, the MP said he had decided against inviting the CM, keeping the ‘public sentiment’ in mind.

“When the Chief Minister has done nothing for the people, it is pointless inviting him and putting forth the demands of the people at a rally. This rally cannot be a platform to publicise what has been done in the state when gross injustice is being meted out to these people. I have only invited Selja and Birender Singh to the rally,” he added.

New Delhi, March 19
The Supreme Court today took Haryana to task for filing an appeal in a case relating to lack of space and other infrastructure facilities in an industrial training institute (ITI) in Ambala.

“What to talk of ITIs when some of the courtrooms in the Supreme Court are smaller than many district courts and over crowded. Advocates often have to struggle to get in,” a three-member Bench headed by Justice RM Lodha remarked.

“What should we do in such situations?” the Bench asked Additional Solicitor General Harin Raval and Additional Advocate General Manjit Singh Dalal, who sought an order for closing down the ITI run by the Sarthik Education Trust for having lack of space and other facilities.

When the ASG contended that the ITI did not have even basic amenities such as toilets, the Bench questioned the state’s track record in providing civic facilities.

“As a state, what are you providing to the citizens in terms of sanitation, health care and education,” the Bench, which included Justices J Chelameswar and Madan B Lokur, questioned.

The apex court said Haryana was trying to treat the ITIs as if these were IITs, the premier higher education institutions of the country, by setting such standards for them.

Before taking any action against the ITIs, the state should consider various aspects such as availability of such training facilities and the unemployment problem in the area, said the SC.

Even the judiciary was struggling with the problem of shortages of judges and support staff and as such the state should not crib much about minor shortcomings in institutes that offered “only basic training” in skill development and generated self-employment, it said.

“If wishes were horses, even beggars would ride,” the Bench remarked in order to drive home its point that it is, which conducted one-year diploma courses, could not be expected to meet exacting standards.

The state had no right to unnecessarily knock at the doors of the SC just because it had resources, financial and human or the fact that the apex court was close-by, the Bench noted.

The state had come to the SC challenging an October 18, 2012, verdict of the Punjab and Haryana High Court. The HC had quashed a government order issued on the recommendations of an expert committee, asking the ITI not to admit students for the academic year 2012-13. The HC order had come on an assurance given by the institute that it would overcome the shortcomings by December 31, 2012.

The SC also rapped the state for filing the appeal in January without verifying whether the ITI had upgraded its facilities by December 31. The Bench dismissed the appeal but granted liberty to the state government for approaching the HC after checking the present facilities at the ITI.

Chandigarh, March 19
Sparing a thought for traffic congestion against the backdrop of a spurt in the vehicular population, the Haryana government has allowed stilt parking for plots measuring six marlas and above.

While the stilt parking would be allowed for all licensed colonies and plots granted changed of land use (CLU), it would not be allowed for farmhouses, official sources said.

The decision to allow the stilt parking for six marla (151.75 sq meter) and above plots seems to have been taken in the wake of a recent decision by the Department of Town and Country Planning amending Rule 49 of the Punjab Scheduled Roads and Controlled Areas Restriction of Unregulated Development Rules, 1965, which increased the height of residential building from 12 m to 14.5 m.

On the need to allow stilt parking, a senior official said it was the result of the increasing parking problem in urban zones. “Due to an increase in vehicle population, congestion and bottlenecks are created which affect overall traffic. These traffic bottlenecks, in turn, create noise pollution and endanger human lives,” stated the official.

Under the new policy, the stilt height measuring 2.4 m below the roof beam will be allowed in case of residential plots.

In the residential plots, the ramps shall be permitted within the zoned area, depending upon the feasibility. The ramps shall not be allowed for going into basement of plots having an area of less than one kanal, the new policy said.

Moreover, to check the misuse of the parking premises, an undertaking will be obtained from the individual plot owner by the coloniser/department that the stilt parking would not be used for any purpose other than parking. However, in case of industrial buildings, the stilt height of a minimum of 2.75 m and maximum of 6 m would be allowed. This maximum height of stilt has been kept in view of the height of single axle truck that can be easily parked below the stilt.

Meanwhile, the basement can also be allowed as per the structural requirements, planning point of view and requirements of the owner in both the residential and industrial plots.

In the industrial buildings, the basement not exceeding the maximum permissible zone on ground floor and intended to be used for parking, services and storage shall be allowed, provided it satisfied the public health and structural requirements.

New policy on stilt parking

* For residential areas, the stilt height of 2.4 m allowed

* For industrial areas, stilt height from 2.75 m to 6 m permitted

* Basements also allowed, depending upon structural requirements

* Ramps permitted within the zoned area depending upon the feasibility 

Kurukshetra March 19
As many as 7,535 bags of wheat worth Rs 4 lakh have been found missing from the Confed godown situated at Barara Road at Shahabad Markanda, 25 km from here.

A complaint to this effect has been lodged with the police by the local Confed manager, alleging that Confed storekeeper Amarjeet Singh has stolen the bags of wheat.

The police has registered a case in this connection. 

Gurgaon, March 19
The Gurgaon administration has detected a major bungling in the preparation of the below poverty line (BPL) lists in the district. Of the around 45,000 BPL persons in Gurgaon, 9,000 have been found to be non-existent or ineligible.

The exercise of re-examining the BPL lists was carried out following the directions of the Punjab and Haryana High Court as well as in view of the numerous complaints received by the district authorities in this regard.

Deputy Commissioner PC Meena said 9,000 odd names had been deleted from the BPL lists of the district.

However, there is something more than what meets the eye. Of the 9,000 names deleted from the BPL lists, only around 3,000 were of ineligible or non-deserving persons.

On the other hand, as many as 6,000 persons, whose names were there on the BPL lists, were found to be fake or non-existent. They exist only in the BPL lists. Let alone the question of drawing undue benefits from the government, these persons did not even have their BPL cards made.

According to sources, the hidden purpose of getting fake names entered in the BPL lists may be to use the entries for getting voter-identity cards made.

This points towards a much bigger scam and a thorough investigation is required to get to the bottom of the matter.

The DC said show-cause notices had been issued to the Haryana Ex-Services League, which conducted the survey to identify the BPL families as well as the government officials whose duty was to cross-check the lists provided by the surveyors.

“As many as 13 government officials, including certain senior ones, have been issued notices to explain their stance in this regard,” maintained Meena.

Strict action would be taken against those found responsible for the serious lapse and bungling, he stated .

The DC claimed that all persons whose names had been deleted had been given an opportunity to be heard and the names of only those persons who failed to turn up even after public notices or could not furnish evidence of their eligibility were struck off.

Stating that the Haryana government had delegated the responsibility of making the BPL cards to the deputy commissioners, Meena said the BPL cards of the persons fulfilling the eligibility criteria were still being made.

Meanwhile, proceedings were on to recover the money from the ineligible persons who had got undue benefits from various government departments on the basis of their BPL cards.

Chandigarh, March 19
Coming down on the Hooda government, the main Opposition INLD today reiterated its demanded for an inquiry by a sitting Supreme Court judge into land acquisition in the state since 2005.

Addressing a press conference here today, Abhey Chautala and Ashok Arora, MLA and state INLD president, respectively, said only an inquiry by an SC judge could bring out the truth, particularly in the wake of the indictment of the Hooda government over land acquisition by the recent report of the Comptroller and Auditor-General (CAG).

Recently, Parliament was rocked by the questionable land deals of Robert Vadra in Haryana and the state government’s role in facilitating the deals. CAG too has not only taken notice of these brazen deals but also made adverse comments, the INLD leaders alleged.

During the recent Budget session of the Vidhan Sabha, the CAG report was not tabled on the last day, depriving legislators of the opportunity to raise important issues mentioned in the report.

The INLD leaders mentioned several adverse comments made by the CAG. These include lands release cases where a senior cabinet minister of Haryana, a family member of the Congress President and a leading realty developer were involved.

Chautala alleged that the CAG had also found fault with the handling of the concessionaire of the KMP Expressway. Despite repeated delays, the clause for imposing 0.01 per cent per week delay penalty amounting to Rs 17.88 crore had not been imposed. The project that should have been completed in February 2009 was still nowhere near completion, he alleged.

Besides, CAG report also castigated the government over the issue of Reliance SEZs in Gurgaon and Jhajjar, Chautala added.

Hisar, March 19
A petrol pump owner in Hisar town has started an exclusive fuel-dispensing unit for women from 9 am to 6 pm. Durga Dass Banwari Lal Petrol Pump of Indian Oil situated near Town Park in Hisar not only has a separate dispensing unit for women, even the job of filing petrol is performed by a salesgirl.

“Ours is the only petrol pump in Haryana after Gurgaon where such an arrangement has been made for women,” said Manoj Garg, owner of the petrol pump.

“Some days ago, I came out of my office and noticed two college-going girls who had come to get petrol for their Scooty surrounded by four or five boys. The boys had come to the petrol pump for teasing them . I decided to install a separate machine for women and apprised of my decision to the oil company’s managers,” Garg said.

He said though the machine was installed last month, the real problem was finding a sales girl to handle the dispensing unit.

Finally, he found one sales girl and his separate dispensing unit for women is now fully functional.

Gurgaon, March 19
Even as thousands including members of state and national labour unions gather in city for a maha rally tomorrow state government continues to be curiously indifferent to the increasing labour woes

Even as all auto majors, including Maruti-Suzuki plant and Hero, wait with baited breath as their labourers walk across the city tomorrow demanding their rights, the city administration or the state government is yet to come out with any concrete solution for worsening industry relations.

“ The state economy is being adversely affected. First Maruti, now Hero, the conflicts in the plants would result in making the existing units unviable while no new investment will flow into the belt to the detriment of local population. Some of the automobile units have already set up their expansion plants outside the state feeling pressure from trade unions,” said Assocham secretary-general DS Rawat .

The threat however has still not caught the government’s attention.

The state government has stayed away from the wage tussle which has hit Hero Motocorp sales.

“We had approached the local authorities and spoken to several ministers to break the deadlock but all that we have got is an assurance that the police is on the job and the Maruti violence will not be repeated ,” said a Hero Motocorp official .

The union shares the same view as Bhim Rao, general secretary of the Hero Motocorp Union, says: “ The government was very nice when it acquired our lands. They promised to change our fate but today when we struggling to get two square meals for our kids, it is least bothered. We have knocked at every door but all that we get is a threat against going the Maruti way. Our demands are justified and the government should step in and get us our due.”

Hero employees want a pay rise of Rs 15,000 a month, spread over three years. The management is reluctant to go beyond a rise of Rs 7,500-9,000 a month. The rally tomorrow will also be attended by the ‘victimised’ workers of Maruti Suzuki. 

Fatehabad, March 19
The police has registered a case of assault, criminal trespass, rape and criminal intimidation after a widow from the minority community alleged that she was raped under coercion by a man for several months and making her pregnant.

A case under Sections 323, 452, 376 and 506 of the IPC has been registered against Joginder, a resident of Marh village in Fatehabad.

The 45-year-old victim alleged that the accused has been raping her for the past seven months under threat.

The victim's husband had died some years back.

She alleged that she tried to make her persecution public several times, but every time the accused muzzled her voice under threat of liquidating her and her son.

The woman alleged that she was four months pregnant now due to the repeated rapes by the accused.

She narrated her plight to some other women of the village. Later, some villagers accompanied her to the police station, where she lodged her complaint.

Ambala, March 19
A fast track court in Ambala has awarded 31 years of imprisonment to a fake baba, Sanjay Kherwar, alias Shailender Puri, in a rape case.

Pronouncing the order here today, special Judge Vimlesh Tanwar sentenced seven-year conviction to the culprit for kidnapping, 10 years for rape, two years for criminal intimidation, two years for cheating, 10 years under the PCSAA and a fine of Rs 10,000. All would run concurrently.

According to the prosecution, on December 18, 2012, a case under Sections 376, 363, 419 and 506 and the Protection of Child from Sexual Assault Act (PCSAA) was registered against the baba. The baba had abducted a minor student of class 11 of Ugala village and later raped her.

A few days later, the police had arrested the baba and recovered the girl.

It was revealed that the fake baba had already been sentenced to a life term in a murder case in Kanpur and that he had managed to escape from police custody.

After escaping, he had shifted to Barara and changed his name from Sanjay Kherwar to Shailender Puri.

He used to organise religious functions at Shiv Mandir in Barara.

The victim came in his contact during her visit to the temple. 

New Delhi, March 18
The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA) today gave its approval for the four-laning of the Rohtak-Hisar section of the national highway No 10 in Haryana under the National Highways Development Project (NHDP) on a build, operate and transfer (BOT) basis.

The project is estimated to cost Rs.1310.55 crore, including Rs 351.30 crore towards the cost of land acquisition, resettlement and rehabilitation and other pre-construction activities.

The total length of the Rohtak-Hisar section of the national highway No 10 will be 98.81 kilometres.

Chandigarh, March 19
SN Vashist, DGP, has appealed to the people, especially women, girls and their guardians, to reach out to the police for help if anyone tries to sexually exploit them, molests, passes a remark or disturbs them by any other means.

They should bring it to the notice of the nearest police station, he said.

He said that the facilities of women helpline number 1091 and women Police Control Room (PCR) had been started in the state to ensure quick police assistance. These facilities are available in all districts.

Women and girls often hesitated in giving information about the crime to the police due to the fear of social stigma. The recent cases of suicide by girls in Hisar and Yamunanagar were examples where police should have been informed, Vashist said