Chandigarh, August 21
The Punjab and Haryana High Court has made it clear that it was not in favour of dislodging “poor families” for providing amenities to “big industrialists” without ensuring their rehabilitation.

The significant observations by a Division Bench came in connection with the acquisition of land around Dharuhera in Haryana.

The Bench asserted: “We see no reason or justification in uprooting the poor families to extend facilities to big industrialists or urbanites of Dharuhera without first adjusting/re-locating the petitioners by way of allotment of suitable plots in the residential sector of Dharuhera, which is adjoining their acquired land”.

The admonishment of sorts by the Division Bench of Justice Surya Kant and Justice Surinder Gupta came on a bunch of petitions filed against Haryana and other respondents by Lekh Ram and other petitioners.

The petitioners had challenged notifications dated March 30, 2012, and March 26 this year, issued under Sections 4 and 6 of the Land Acquisition Act for acquiring their land with residential houses constructed on it.

Appearing before the Bench, their counsel told the court that the petitioners, belonging to the marginalized sections of society, constructed diminutive dwelling units outside the abadi-deh of Kharkhara village near Dharuhera. But, their houses were acquired for “regulated development” of Dharuhera township.

Referring to the final development plan, the Bench observed the land was earmarked for public utilities, including water works, disposal of solid waste and power sub-station for Dharuhera. On adjoining land, there was a proposal to develop a residential Sector.

The Bench asserted: “In these circumstances, this writ petition is disposed of with a direction to the respondents to either shift the site of public utilities and release the residential houses of the petitioners from acquisition as per the government policies dated October 26, 2007, and January 24, 2011, and/or allot them alternative plots in the residential sector of Dharuhera, without which none of them shall be dispossessed. Let the respondents take an appropriate decision within a reasonable period”.

Sonepat, August 21
Heavy rain during the last one week has inundated crop on thousands of acres in 12 villages of Gohana subdivision in the district. The accumulated water had damaged most of the standing crop.

The farmers of these villages had urged the administration for speedy dewatering from the waterlogged fields. The affected villages included Rindhana, Dhanan, Butana, Issapur Kheri, Banwasa, Gangana, Jagsi, Katwal, Lath, Kheri Damkan and Joli.

In these low-lying areas, the standing paddy crop had been submerged in 2 to 4 feet water. The farmers had expressed apprehensions that if the accumulated water was not drained out, it would damage not only the kharif crops, but also render the land useless for the rabi crops.

Deputy Commissioner Chander Shekhar had directed the authorities of the department concerned to take all measure for early dewatering from the area.

Executive Engineer of the Irrigation Department at Gohana AK Jain said the department had already started draining out water from 30 points in the area and the process for installing 10 to 12 additional pumping sets at different places was in progress to ensure timely pumping out of the accumulated water.

Rohtak, August 21
Waterlogging in various parts of the city after heavy rain in the past 48 hours seems to have failed to move the authorities as some of the parts still marooned. These include the National Highway No-10, residential areas and majority of the parks in the city.

The highway had been under water for the past three days and the situation is likely to remain same for another couple of days as no measure has been taken by officials to drain it out," claimed Deepak, a student of MD University here.

He said while it had been a source of inconvenience to the commuters, the stagnation of water has resulted in damage to the road which had been laid recently.

"The movement of vehicles on the wrong side due to waterlogging has also increased the chances of accidents as thousands of vehicles pass from here daily", said Surender, a resident of the Asthal Bohar locality.

The rainwater has also left several parks and residential colonies flooded. These include the main Mansarover Park located in the heart of city, Devi Lal Park in Sector-1 and almost all parks in the town, resulting in problem to the regular visitors.

Mansarover Park, renovated with funds of several crores recently, have exposed the claims of the authorities concerned as the water has failed to drain out even after 24 hours, said Om Prakash, a retired teacher. One of the pumps installed here had not been functioning, he added.

The water in majority of the parks located in the HUDA sectors has left no space for walk or play for the children, said Yoginder Dahiya, a resident of Sector- 2. The stagnating water in open plots and parks had turned into a breeding centre for mosquitoes, he added. No official including the Deputy Commissioner and the authorities of the Municipal Corporation was available for their comments in this regard.

Ambala, August 21
Two months after the matter pertaining to grabbing of the government land by a former Zila Parishad (ZP) chief came to light, the district administration and the local civic authorities today pulled down the illegal building.

Former Zila Parishad chairman Braham Pal Rana had allegedly grabbed 1,100 square yards of government land in the Palika Colony, which was allotted to him as government accommodation, after he became the ZP chief seven years ago.

However, Rana somehow managed to get the same piece of land leased in his name for a mere Rs 2 per year. He brought down the government house, which existed there and started constructing a building of his own at the leased space.

Local BJP MLA Anil Vij raised the matter after which the local administration swung into action. The then Deputy Commissioner Shekhar Vidyarthi ordered the sealing of the building, besides the suspension of two employees of the building wing of the municipal corporation. These employees had been instrumental in approving the building plans and leasing out the land to Rana.

The administration had issued two notices to Rana after which the Deputy Commissioner ordered the demolition of building on August 13. The enforcement wing of the Ambala Municipal Corporation brought down the illegal building today.

Gurgaon, August 21
The decomposed body of a woman was found in the tool compartment of a school bus here today.

Policemen inspect the tool compartment of the bus where the body of a woman was found in Gurgaon on Wednesday. Tribune photo: Sayeed Ahmed

The victim, identified as Priya, was working as a domestic help at a paying guest accommodation in Gurgaon. She had been reported missing since Monday.

The driver of the bus lives in Gurgaon village and used to park the bus near his place after school hours. The bus remained parked there for three days due to holidays at the school.

When the driver was taking the bus to the school today, it broke down on the way. The driver saw the body as he opened the tool compartment. A case has been registered and the body sent for a post-mortem examination.

Gurgaon, August 21
Women professionals in the corporate world may be rubbing shoulders with their male counterparts here but those at the helm of affairs in local governance bodies are still kept confined within the four walls of their homes.

The modern character of the city notwithstanding, even elected women representatives here are represented by male members of their families at house meetings, social events and other public platforms.

The situation is not peculiar to rural local bodies and panchayati raj institutions like village panchayats but also civic organisations like the Municipal Corporation of Gurgaon.

Husbands, sons, brothers-in-law and other male relatives of the elected women members not only attend house meetings and make crucial decisions on their behalf with impunity, but also put their signatures on official record.

“The prevailing situation not only defeats the very purpose of reservation for women representatives, but also makes a mockery of the system,” says Gurgaon Municipal Councillor Nisha Singh, who has been raising her voice against making relatives “represent” women representatives in an illegal and unreasonable manner.

Thanks to the efforts put in by Nisha and other assertive women councillors like Seema Pahuja, Sunita Kataria and Rama Rani Rathee, some of the elected representatives have started attending the house meetings themselves.

“When we were elected to the corporation, we were surprised to see husbands, sons and other male relatives of women councillors attending meetings and signing attendance record on their behalf.…we objected to the trend and persuaded the women members to come to the meeting themselves,” asserts a woman councillor.

Initially, some women councillors started coming for the meetings but left soon after signing the attendance sheet. On being cajoled, some of them have started participating in the discussions.

Chandigarh, August 21
The Kalayat Assembly segment seems to be emerging the new hotbed for Congress politics with contenders queuing up to stake their claim for this seat a month after Congress leader Tejinder Pal Mann’s death.

Former minister Mann had unsuccessfully contested the 2009 Assembly election from this de-reserved seat. He was also the president of the Kaithal DCC.

The vacancy has brought Congress men face-to-face in this Jat-dominated constituency which is represented by INLD MLA Rampal Majra. If Mann’s son, Ranbir Singh, is hoping to step into his father’s shoes, senior Congress man and former MP Jai Prakash, better known as JP, is keen on contesting the 2014 election from Kalayat.

Former MLA Satwinder Rana, who represented the Rajound Assembly segment before it was abolished following delimitation, is another name doing the rounds though he claims to have lost interest in the seat.

Since the seat falls in Kaithal district and Mann was backed by Haryana PWD Minister and Kaithal MLA Randeep Singh Surjewala, Kalayat is of interest to him as well. Sources maintain that a local Congress man belonging to the Surjewala camp, is the front-runner for the post of DCC president.

Haryana Pradesh Congress Committee president Phool Chand Mullana said the decision to appoint a new DCC chief had been taken in consultation with Surjewala.

“We have finalised his appointment in consultation with the local minister as immediate arrangement to fill the vacancy. However, the recommendation will go to the Congress top brass for approval. It will be announced shortly,” Mullana claimed.

To prove his claim over Kalayat, Ranbir Mann has decided to hold his first rally in memory of his father on August 24.

“I am interested in contesting the next election from Kalayat. I am in touch with all those who matter in the Congress. The rally will be addressed by MPs Deepinder Hooda and Naveen Jindal as also Haryana minister Randeep Singh Surjewala,” he said.

JP said: “I, too, will make efforts to secure party ticket from Kalayat. Sources say that his brother, Randhir Singh, also a former MLA, is already politically active in Kalayat and watching JP’s interests.

Karnal/Kurukshetra, August 21
Former Chairman of the National Commission for Minorities Tarlochan Singh, who addressed Sikhs deprived of their land in the Pehowa area on Sunday, has reacted sharply to the statement by Haryana Finance Minister Harmohinder Singh Chattha that he was misleading people of the state.

He said Sikh farmers were totally dissatisfied with the steps taken by the state government.

In a letter addressed to Chattha, who is also MLA from Pehowa, Tarlochan said: “You represent the constituency and people look up to you, but during my visit I found that there is total resentment among them. They are totally dissatisfied with the steps already taken by the state government.”

Pointing the non-cooperative attitude of panchayats, he said the simple way to help the uprooted Sikh farmers was to give powers to the Deputy Commissioner concerned to extend the lease of the land, which had been in their possession for the past 50 years.

Urging the state government to bring legislation to help these people, Tarlochan said the government, which had done so much for big industrialists in SEZ zones, had the powers to bring forward legislation.

He asked Chattha to take up the case of displaced Sikh farmers and their families with the state government.

In another letter addressed to National Minorities Commission’s Chairman Janab Wajahad Habibullah, Tarlochan said more than 3,500 Sikh farmers tilling the land for the past 50 years had been ousted in Haryana. He said in the absence of a State Minority Commission in Haryana, he visited these villages and found their condition to be miserable.

He also apprised NHRC chairman KG Balakrishnan of the pathetic condition of these Sikh farmers.

Tarlocan said these farmers had turned this barren land into a lushgreen fertile area. The state government, in spite of clear advice by the Supreme Court to provide alternative land to farmers in such cases, had done nothing for these Sikh farmers.

He said the police from Kaithal and Kurukshetra districts was arresting these farmers by registering false cases and ousting them from their homes. Even electricity connection to their villages had been cut off, he added.

Panchkula, August 21
A CBI court today dismissed the bail plea of Panipat MLA and former Transport Minister O P Jain in the Karnal sarpanch's murder case.

Sources said the bail had been rejected on the grounds that Jain could manipulate evidences against him.

It was recently when Jain moved the bail application. The court had also issued fresh summons to Haryana MLAs Zile Ram Sharma and Om Prakash Jain and his personal assistant Rajinder to be present on August 29 in the last hearing after they were charge-sheeted by the investigating agency. Sharma is the MLA from Karnal while Jain is from Panipat.

Karam Singh, former sarpanch of Kambopura village of Karnal, was found dead on June 7, 2011, a day after he had lodged a complaint against the MLAs for allegedly duping him and his relatives of Rs 13 lakh with the promise of providing them government jobs. The CBI had also raided their residences in Panipat, Karnal, Chandigarh and Panchkula.

It was stated that initially the police had tried to pass off the murder as suicide even though 58 injury marks were found on the body of Karam. A week after the death of Karam, the police had recovered the body of Chamel Singh, a key witness in the case, on June 15, near a Karnal police station.

Chandigarh, August 21
Close on the heels of a slew of incentives for the recession-hit realty sector, the Hooda Government has come out with a new composition policy aimed at benefiting those builders, who had defaulted on allotment of plots and flats to the economically weaker sections (EWS) of society.

Under the new policy, the builder concerned would not face penal action and instead would be let off after paying a “one-time” composition fee for “ compounding violations committed in the allotment of EWS plots/flats in the licensed colonies”.

Sources said the builders, who delayed the allotment process but completed the project up to December 31,2012, would have to pay a “one-time” payment of Rs 1 lakh, Rs 50,000, and Rs 25,000 per colony in the high/hyper, medium and low-potential zones, respectively.

Those builders, who failed to complete the allotment process by December 31,2012, would be allowed time up to June 30,2014, after payment of the composition fee.The composition fee for such builders would be Rs 2 lakh, Rs 1 lakh and Rs 50,000 per colony for the hyper/high, medium and low potential zone, respectively.

The Department of Town and Country Planning would get tough with the builders not completing the allotment process by June 30 next year. In this case,the builders would have to shell out Rs 1 lakh, Rs 50,000 and Rs 25,000 per colony per month for hyper/high, medium and low potential zones, respectively.The composition fee would be charged from the due date up to which the allotment process was to be completed as per terms and conditions of the licence and building plans till the date of compliance, sources added.

Under the Haryana Development and Regulation of Urban Areas Act,1975, it is mandatory for the builders to reserve a specified number of plots/flats for EWS and allot them within a specified period.

Chandigarh, August 21
The Haryana Government has decided to honour six hockey players of Haryana who represented Team India, which won a bronze medal in the Junior Women Hockey World Cup Tournament held at Germany.

Amit Jha, Principal Secretary, Sports and Youth Affairs Department, said Rani Rampal, who has been adjudged as “Player of the Tournament” would be given a cash reward of Rs 10 lakh whereas a cash award of Rs 5 lakh each would be given to other players of Haryana who played in the tournament. A reward of Rs 5 lakh would be given to Baldev, the coach of women hockey players of Haryana.

While five players hail from Shahabad, the sixth one is from Hisar. Navjot Kaur, Manjeet Kaur, Navneet Kaur, Rani Rampal and Monika are from Shahabad whereas Poonam Rani hails from Hisar.

Jha said that the State Government has decided to provide better facilities to the players who were undergoing training at Hockey Sports Academy at Shahbad.

A sports hostel would soon be constructed for the players at Shahabad.

Karnal, August 21
The Rs 2,200-crore rail coach factory (RCF) to be set up at Sonepat would start with 400 coaches annually and roll out 1,000 coaches when fully commissioned, Minister of state for Railways Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury said today.

Chowdhary, who was here to lay the foundation stone of a railway under-bridge at Gharaunda, said the rail coach factory would come up on 500 acres and the Haryana Government had expressed its willingness to provide 370 acres “free of cost” for the project.

The under-bridge would be a boon for the population of 60 villages which was facing closure of the highway at the railway crossing every 10 minutes with over 100 trains running on this track.

The minister said plans were being worked out to extend the Delhi Metro to the National Capital Region (NCR) and Meerut. Terming the Bihar rail tragedy as unfortunate, he said that an inquiry committee has been constituted to probe the incident.

Chowdhury said such underbridges would be constructed at other busy places in the state to reduce the number of accidents on railway crossings.

Kaithal, August 21
Additional Sessions Judge RS Chaudhary sentenced Sunil of Kalayat town to seven years’ rigorous imprisonment, besides imposing a fine of Rs 25,000 on him, for culpable homicide not amounting to murder. In the case of the failure to pay the fine, he would have to undergo further imprisonment for one year.

The police said Kuldeep of Kalayat town was sitting at his shop on August 28, 2011. Sunil reached his shop along with his father and other relatives and attacked Kuldeep. Kuldeep’s father, Banarsi, and brother Dhupa intervened to save him. However, Sunil and his accomplices attacked them. Banarsi was rushed to hospital where doctors declared him brought dead.

The police had arrested five persons in the case. While the court acquitted four persons, it held Sunil guilty of culpable homicide not amounting to murder.