New Delhi, May 6
The Planning Commission today approved a Rs 27,072-crore Annual Plan for Haryana. The outlay includes Rs 7,513 crore for state public sector enterprises (PSEs) and Rs 1,559 crore for local bodies to be met from their own resources.

The net State Plan outlay, excluding the PSEs and local bodies, comes to Rs 18,000 crore, an increase of 24 per cent over last year’s Rs. 14,500 crore.

This was finalised at a meeting between Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda and Montek Singh Ahluwalia, Deputy Chairman, Planning Commission, here today.

Hooda said the average economic growth rate of the state in the past eight years had been 9.3 per cent, higher than the growth rate of the national economy.

The state will focus on improvement in health outcomes, universal access to school, increased access to higher education, improved standards of education including skill development and provision of basic amenities like water, electricity, roads, sanitation and housing etc.

The social services sector has been given the highest priority in 2013-14. An outlay of Rs 9,795.12 crore (54.42 per cent of the entire allocation) has been allocated for social services. A sum of Rs 398.40 crore had been set apart for the Women and Child Development Programmes.

The outlay for education, including technical education, will be Rs 3191.83 crore (17.73 per cent). For improving infrastructure in the health sector and for opening medical colleges in the state, Rs 925.69 crore had been earmarked. For augmenting drinking water supply and improving sanitation, Rs 715.78 crore had been provided.

The second highest priority has been accorded to the development of infrastructure of irrigation, power, roads and road transport and projects under the economic stimulus package. A sum of Rs. 965.09 crore had been allocated for power, Rs. 994 crore for irrigation, Rs. 1741.50 for road and transport and Rs. 850 crore under an economic stimulus package. Agricultural and allied activities sector has been allocated Rs. 1325.50 crore to this sector.

Affordable housing for the weaker sections of the society would be provided under Priyadarshini Awaas Yojna . Initially, two lakh families will be covered during two years. Financial assistance of Rs. 90,100 will be provided for the construction of a house. 

Chandigarh, May 6
The BJP-HJC alliance in Haryana is under strain ahead of next year’s parliamentary and state Assembly elections.

In fact, the alliance faces its first major test in the electoral arena in the elections to the seven major municipal corporations in the state next month. With the BJP virtually snubbing HJC chief and MP from Hisar Kuldeep Bishnoi and deciding to contest the MC elections on its party symbol, it is not going to be a smooth road for the BJP-HJC alliance in the run-up to the next year’s crucial elections.

Though publicly both Bishnoi and BJP president Ram Bilas Sharma put up a brave front denying any rift in the alliance yet political undercurrents point to the contrary. The BJP’s U-turn on contesting the MC elections on its party symbol by disregarding “objections” from its alliance partner has not gone down well with the HJC.

Similarly, reports of Bishnoi “cosying up” to the Congress by attending a recent dinner hosted by Congress general secretary and Rajya Sabha member Birender Singh seems to have made the BJP apprehensive about the next political moves of the HJC chief.

The BJP and the HJC had decided to contest 45 seats each in the next Assembly elections and while the HJC would contest the two Lok Sabha seats leaving eight to its senior partner. However, despite repeated assertions by both the leadership, the two parties are yet to formally decide the seats to be contested by them. And the seat-sharing would pose its own set of problems after the MC elections.

Though the BJP is an established political party having sizable presence in the urban areas, its junior partner is still a fledgling party trying to find its feet beyond Hisar, the pocket borough of its founder and former Chief Minister Bhajan Lal.

Even as the BJP leadership swears by its alliance with the HJC, there is a section within the BJP which still reportedly has a soft corner towards the INLD despite past bitter experience with the Om Prakash Chautala-led party. This section still feels that only the BJP and the INLD could provide an alternative to the Congress government as the INLD has a strong presence in the rural Jat-dominated area of the state.

“The INLD-BJP combination could replicate the success of the SAD-BJP model in Haryana in the next year’s assembly elections. However, much will depend on the permutations and combinations in the next year’s parliamentary polls to be held before the Assembly elections,” a senior BJP leader said.

Chandigarh, May 6
Disinterest of Haryana in the girl child is very pronounced and the Census data, released today, vouches for its ‘notoriety’. The child sex ratio in the age group of 0-6 years has been pegged at 834 girls for 1,000 boys in the state, the lowest in the country despite an increase over the last Census. Haryana is followed by Punjab (846) and Jammu and Kashmir (862) in this category.

Though the sex ratio in the 0 to 6 years category in 2011 has shown an improvement over the 2001 data, going up from 819 to 834, it is a way below compared to that of the country with a sex-ratio of 919 girls for 1,000 boys. In rural areas, it has increased to 835 from 823 and in urban from 808 to 832.

In this category, the sex ratio is lowest in Mahendergarh (775), followed closely by Rewari (782), Gurgaon (787) and Sonepat (798). Mewat with 906 has the highest sex ratio in the state though it fares rather badly on the literacy front and more so when it comes to female literacy.

Haryana Directorate of Census Operation Vinod Babbar said the sex ratio had increased from 861 in the 2001 Census to 879 in 2011. In rural, sex ratio had increased to 882 from 866 and in urban from 847 to 873. The overall sex ratio of India stood at 943.

However, though the sex ratio has gone up, the results are nothing to write home about. Barring Mewat and Fatehabad where the sex ratio is 907 and 902 respectively, it is below 880 in 10 of the 22 districts in the state. The sex ratio is lowest at 854 in Gurgaon, which scores highly when it comes to literacy. Sonepat is a close second at 856 and Jhajjar with 862 is in the third spot.

According to the data, the literacy rate has increased to 75.6 per cent in 2011 from 67.9 of 2001. The female literacy increased to 65.9 per cent from 55.7 per cent. In rural areas, female literacy increased to 60 per cent from 49.3 per cent and in urban area to 76.9 per cent from 71.3 per cent.

Gurgaon scores top position with 84.7 per cent, Mewat has the lowest literacy rate in the state with 54.1 per cent. When it comes to female literacy, the two districts maintain their position, with Gurgaon and Mewat having a literacy rate of 78 and 36.6 per cent respectively.

Babbar said the work participation rate had decreased from 39.6 per cent in 2001 to 35.2 per cent in 2011. In rural, it had decreased from 42.9 per cent in 2001 to 36.4 per cent. However, in urban it had increased to 32.9 per cent from 31.5 per cent. The cultivators had decreased from 36 per cent in 2001 to 27.8 per cent in 2011. As per the 2011 Census, the final population of Haryana is 2,53,51,462 persons consisting of 1,34,94,734 males and 1,18,56,728, registering a decadal growth of 19.9 per cent.

The density of population has increased from 478 persons per sq. km in 2001 to 573 persons per sq. km in 2011. The proportion of urban population has increased to 34.9 per cent from 28.9 per cent of the 2001 census. The urban area of the state is only 4.46 per cent of its total area, he said.

He said the Scheduled Castes population had increased to 51,13,615 from 40,91,110 in 2001. 

Gurgaon, May 6
The Haryana Backward Classes Commission (HBCC) today conducted public hearing here for inclusion/non-inclusion of Muslim Jats (Mula Jats), Goswami or Gosain and Gayana castes into the list of backward classes in the state.

HBCC chairman Justice KC Gupta said the commission would submit its report regarding the matter within two months. He pointed out that some time ago, the commission had recommended the inclusion of Bishnoi, Jat, Jat-Sikh, Ror and Tyagi castes residing in the state into Special Backward Classes.

Today, representatives of these castes supported their case for inclusion into the Backward Classes while members from other castes objected to their inclusion into their block of the Backward Classes.

The representatives of Mula Jats claimed that since their status was similar to that of Hindu Jats and Jat-Sikhs, who were already included into Special Backward Classes, so they may also be included into Backward Class category of reservation.

The representatives of Goswamis said Gosain and Goswamis were the same and were mainly settled in Jind, Hisar and Mewat districts. They contended that their main occupation was to help people in conducting prayers in temples, which was now usually done by pandits. Hence, as they have lost their primary source of income, they may be included in the Backward Classes.

Gurgaon, May 6
Union Home Secretary RK Singh has stated that religious fundamentalism is a big threat for the nation. Educated youths being roped in by terror networks was also a cause of concern for all , he added.

RK Singh, who was addressing a national seminar on counter-terrorism at the National Security Guards (NSG) campus at Manesar today, said contrary to earlier perception, fundamentalist terrorism was not limited to the poor and illiterate sections of society.

"Many of the terrorists have been found to be highly educated, which has dispelled the notion that spread of education would be effective in checking the menace," he said, adding that local shelters of terrorists were a big concern for the security forces.

Top officials of the paramilitary forces, government agencies and defence experts attended the seminar.

The Home Secretary remarked that India was not as lucky as the USA and European countries as "its neighbouring country is an epicentre of terrorism." He pointed out that the country had witnessed a considerable growth in terrorism-related fatal casualties.

Citing the example of the terror attack on Mumbai in 2011, Singh opined that media professionals should be more cautious in dealing with tricky situations which might pose a potential threat to security.

NSG Director-General Arvind Ranjan pointed out that terrorism was adopting various forms and terrorists were making full use of the latest advancements in science and technology. They employed modern gadgets in their operations, which necessitated the devising of new means by the security forces to counter terrorism.

Bhiwani, May 6
The Haryana Public Health Engineering Department has prepared a master plan of Rs 200-crore for making adequate arrangements of drinking water in Badhra and Jhojukalan areas of Bhiwani.

This was stated by Public Health Engineering Minister Kiran Choudhry here today while addressing villagers after laying the foundation stone of water works at Dagdauli village, Bhiwani.

She said the water works, costing Rs 2.44 crore, would be completed by December.

The Lift Irrigation Project, which had given a new life to the farmers of southern Haryana, was the result of Bansi Lal.

She said by following the path of Bansi Lal and her late husband Surinder Singh, she wanted to permanently resolve the problem of shortage of drinking water in the area.

She said Member of Parliament from Bhiwani-Mahendergarh Parliamentary Constituency Shruti Choudhry had got approval of various projects with the help of the Central Government for the benefit of southern Haryana.

It was because of the persistent efforts of Shruti that hailstorm had been included in the list of natural calamities, she said.

Charkhi Dadri SDM Gaurav Kumar, Superintending Engineer of the Public Health Department VS Dagar and several other prominent persons were also present. 

Bhiwani, May 6
Facing criticism from the public and its representatives for a plethora of rapes in the recent days, the Bhiwani police today clarified that it acted swiftly whenever a complaint of assault against women came before it.

Putting the facts straight as per the police perspective in a case where two Dalit gang-rape victims approached the Delhi police for lodging an FIR for sexual assault on them in Dhanana in Bhiwani, the SP Simardeep Singh said the victims never approached the local police with their complaint.

“The moment we received a communication from the Delhi police, we registered an FIR and recorded their statements. We also conducted their medical examination and later arrested all four accused,” the SP said.

Simardeep Singh clarified that the women had met the local police before the incident and not after the crime.

Bhiwani - Mohindergarh MP Shruti Choudhry had written a letter to the SP expressing her concern and anguish over this case.

Regarding another gang-rape in Badesara village, where two police men are among the six accused, the SP said after fairly investigating the case, the police had arrested two persons.

“The police did not find any evidence against the two police men and two others, whom the victim has named in the complaint,” he said.

He said the police was sensitive towards the victims of rape. He would not allow any innocent person to be framed in a false case at any cost.

Kurukshetra, May 6
District police chief Rakesh Kumar Arya has laid stress on launching a special campaign to curb crime in the district.

He was addressing the Station House Officers, branch in -charges and Deputy Superintendents of Police at an anti-crime meeting held at the Police Lines here recently.

He directed them to visit the rural and urban areas and prepare the lists of criminals and drug-smugglers. He also asked them to prepare the lists of tenants and servants and verify their credentials.

He said as per the orders of the DIG, the police employee who succeeds in nabbing any proclaimed offender would be rewarded.

He also appealed the public to cooperate with the police in nabbing the criminals.Talking about the crime against women and children, Arya said women and child desks were already functional at all police stations to attend the complaints of women and children so that quick action could be initiated against the culprits. — OC

Jhajjar, May 6
Stern action as per rules will be taken against private schools in the state that are not giving free of cost admissions to below poverty line (BPL) children under the Right to Education (RTE) Act.

This was stated by Education Minister Geeta Bhukkal here while talking to representatives of various social organisations, who submitted a joint memorandum to her where they demanded implementation of the RTE Act effectively. They also demanded initiating action against those schools which were deliberately violating the Act.

The minister said notices had already been issued to several private schools which were not abiding by the provisions of the Act. “We will not hesitate to cancel recognition of such schools if they do not give admissions to children of economically weaker sections,” Bhukkal said.

She said it was mandatory for private schools to give admission to children belonging to BPL families and also to display their list under the Act.

She said to ensure admissions of children of BPL families in private schools, district level committees had been constituted under the chairmanship of deputy commissioners (DCs) in this regard. The Superintendent of Police and the district education officer were the other members of these committees, she added.

Bhukkal said the state ranked first in the country in terms of implementation of the RTE Act and Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda had already urged the representatives of private schools regarding admission of such students in their institutions.

“Several others complaints against private schools have also been probed by the Education Department, where schools have been charged with not entertaining financial backward children,” the minister said. Bhukkal said for imparting qualitative education in government schools in the state, students would be issued a “Shiksha Setu” card. Also, teachers would be provided with diaries to ensure that they reached their respective classes with full preparation, she added.

“Shiksha Setu cards will be report cards of students which will create awareness among teachers and guardians,” she said. 

Hisar, May 6
Dr KS Khokhar, Vice-Chancellor of Chaudhary Charan Singh Haryana Agricultural University (CCSHAU), has got another term in office.

A spokesperson of the university said this decision had been taken in a meeting of the Board of Management (BoM) of the university presided over by Chief Secretary PK Chaudhary in New Delhi today.

The spokesperson said Dr Khokhar's was due to end on June 10 but now he would remain in the VC's till July 15, 2016. Dr. Khokhar, an acclaimed agricultural scientist, had taken over as the V-C of this university on June 10, 2009. 

Kurukshetra, May 6
Sandeep Kumar of Kurukshetra has been sentenced to double life imprisonment for raping a poor Dalit girl. Sandeep's co-accused,Gurmukh Singh, who has not been arrested so far, has been declared a proclaimed offender.

The accused sexually assaulted the girl and were booked under Sections 376 (2) (g) read with Section 34 of the IPC. Life imprisonment was also awarded to the accused for the offence under Sections 3 (2) (v) of the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, 1989.

The convict was also sentenced for the commission of offences punishable under Sections 506 read with Section 34 of the IPC, 1860, and 3 (1) (xii) of the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, 1989.

It is reported that the victim was taken to a hotel at Pehowa by Sandeep on the pretext of giving her a lift to her village on his motorcycle. Sandeep and Gurmukh raped the victim and two other accused, Daler and Pradeep, guarded the hotel room.

However, Daler and Pradeep have been acquitted of the charges framed against them by giving them the benefit of doubt.

Kurukshetra, May 6
A court has awarded life imprisonment to five persons and imposed a fine of Rs 50,000 each on them as they were found guilty of beating a resident of Pehowa, Raj Kumar, who succumbed to his injuries on September 05, 2010.

Additional District and Sessions Judge MM Dhonchak awarded the sentence today. They have been identified as Ram Chander, Sher Singh, Gurdyal Singh, Anuj and Sanju, all residents of Pehowa. The court, however, acquitted Shyam Lal in the case.

Besides this, they have been sentenced for six months imprisonment under Section 323 of the IPC, one-year imprisonment under Section 148 of the IPC and one-year imprisonment under Section 506 of the IPC. If they failed to pay the fine, they would have to undergo a six-month additional imprisonment.

A woman had lodged a complaint at the Pehowa Thana on August 30, 2010 alleging that Ram Chander and others had beaten her husband (Raj Kumar) following which he succumbed to his injuries. 

Chandigarh, May 6
Dharam Pal today got another breather, with the Punjab and Haryana High Court extending the stay on his execution till May 22.

As the case came up for resumed hearing, a Division Bench adjourned the hearing on Dharam Pal's petition for commuting the death sentence to life imprisonment, while directing the continuation of stay orders.

Dharam Pal was to be hanged on April 15 but the hanging was stayed by the High Court. The relief came less than a fortnight after the President rejected his mercy petition filed way back in 1999 in a murder case. One of the grounds taken by Dharam Pal in his petition was that the Supreme Court was already "seized of the matter".

A rape convict, he had later murdered the victim and four members of her family while out on parole in 1993. Drawing a parallel between Dharam Pal and Davinder Pal Singh Bhullar's case, his counsel had on the previous date of hearing elaborated that the apex court was "seized of the matter pertaining to all death sentence convicts, whose mercy petitions were pending with the President".

Referring to Bhullar's case, counsel contended that his argument before the Supreme Court was that he had earned a right to get the sentence converted into life imprisonment due to delay in execution of the death penalty. 

Faridabad, May 6
A B.Com student committed suicide by shooting himself last night. The deceased has been identified as Maneesh, son of Assistant Food and Supplies Officer Subhash Chand.

The deceased's body was found lying in a pool of blood on the roof of his house this morning. A country-made gun was found near his body. There were injury marks on his ear. It is reported that Maneesh went out at 11 pm in the middle of a marriage function of his elder sister at his house. When his family members called him on his mobile phone to know his whereabouts he replied that he was at a party with his friends. He returned late in the night and went on the roof of his three-storeyed house. He generally slept there alone.

SHO Rao Narender said circumstantial evidence suggested it to be a case of suicide. The gun used by Maneesh to kill himself has been recovered.