Sonepat, June 10
The old saying “where there’s a will, there’s a way” is appropriate for the residents of Nahri village, who have making arrangements to meet the drinking water need of the village since 1997.

Nahri, one of the prominent villages in the district, had, for long, the problem of drinking water, as the sub-soil water in the village was brackish and not fit for consumption. The womenfolk had no option but to fetch water in earthen pots from distant fields.

The former village sarpanch, Inderjit Singh Dahiya, said the problem was brought to the notice of the Public Health Department on several occasions, but when nothing concrete was done, the villagers decided to make their own arrangements to overcome the problem in 1997.

After the collection voluntary donations from every family, submersible pumps were installed in the sweet water zone fields and underground pipes were laid to provide water to every household in the village.

In order to ensure proper water supply, the villagers had constituted six committees whose role was to monitor the water supply and collect the minimum water charges of Rs 125 from every household. The collected amount is used for repairing the supply system and to pay 12 youths employed by the committees for manning the system.

"We used to make at least two rounds a day to the fields to bring drinking water to our homes. It was difficult," recalled Raj Kumari, a village elder. Amita, another village, said, “Now, we get water supply twice a day. It is a great relief to the womenfolk.”

Kartar, Ravinder, Rajnish, Krishan, Devanand and Dharambir, members of the committees, said they were working on no-profit, no-loss basis and the initiative had not only solved the drinking water problem in the village, but had also given employment to 12 youths. 

Faridabad, June 10
Long power cuts are back in the city. With the temperatures hovering around 45 degrees Celsius during the day, outages step up the heat, literally.

“Power cuts are imposed during night, making causing inconvenience to many,” local resident Raj Kumar said, adding that in the past 24 hours, more than a dozen cuts had been imposed. “Such is the heat that food items in refrigerators decayed due to lack of adequate coolness.”

Rakesh Kumar, a resident of Sector 17, said the heat wave had made nights sleepless. “There were four to five cuts last night between 9 pm and 2 am,” said Kailash Sharma another resident.

Power cuts have hindered the supply of water. “The lack of adequate supply of power has affected the water supply as the majority of households depends on electric water motors,” said Pradip Kaushik of Sihi village located near Sector 8. In this situation, inverters were of no help as they not charged fully, he said.

“The situation in the non-domestic sector, including the industrial areas, has turned worse with non-consistent supply for the past fortnight,” claimed Ramneek Prabhakar of the Manufacturers’ Association, Faridabad.

He said the majority of small and medium industrial units in city were dependent on generators.

A spokesperson for the Dakshin Haryana Bijli Vitran Nigam (DHBVN) claimed that the shortage of supply in some parts could be due to load shedding and unauthorised extension of power load.

Claiming that there was no scheduled power cuts in the region in the past couple of weeks, he said the Power Department had ensured a daily supply of more than 23 hours a day. 

Karnal, june 10
Two persons died due to heat wave in the district today. Several people have been reportedly shifted to city hospitals due to heat stroke.

Dr Rajiv Gupta of Amritdhara Hospital said 50-year-old Lakha Singh of Munak village, who had a heat stroke, was admitted to the hospital on Sunday. He died yesterday due to high fever.

In another incident, the city police found a body of a youth near Ramlila Ground this afternoon. The initial investigation revealed that he also died of heat stroke.

The weather department of the Central Soil Salinity Research Institute (CSSRI) said that Karnal today experienced 45.5°C, the second hottest day of the season. Monday was the hottest day of the season with 46.3 °C.

Scorching heat has forced people to remain indoors for past several days. Power cuts and water shortage in many areas have further added to the miseries. — TNS

Chandigarh June 10
Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda has decided to implement the "Mukhyamantri Mahila Nirman Shramik Samman" scheme under which Rs 5,100 would be given to registered women construction workers for purchase of clothes, shoes, sanitary napkins, kitchen utensils, rubber mattress etc. Earlier, Rs 1,000 was paid to such women workers.

Presiding over the 11th meeting of the Haryana Building and Other Construction Workers' Welfare Board here today, Hooda announced incentives for the welfare of building and other construction workers. The financial assistance admissible to a registered worker on account of maternity benefit had been increased from Rs 5,000 to Rs,30,000 in addition to Rs 1000 per month as nutritional supplement for six months. The assistance under the Kanyadaan Scheme had been raised from Rs 31,000 to Rs 51,000 for marriage up to two daughters.

The Chief Minister also announced a scholarship ranging from Rs 3,000 to Rs. 15,000 per year for the children of beneficiaries right from class I instead of class IX earlier. He also increased the pension being given to eligible beneficiaries from Rs 500 to Rs1000 per month which would be in addition to the Old Age Allowance.

Hooda said now driving licence, voter card, ID or Aadhaar card, ration card, passport or PAN card would be accepted as age proof for registration of workers as beneficiaries of the board.

Kurukshetra, June 10
State BJP president Ram Bilas Sharma today said they were preparing a “charge sheet” having details of 10 years of failures and scams under the incumbent government. He was speaking to mediapersons at Parakeet, Pipli.

Sharma said, “A committee under the leadership of Ambala MLA Anil Vij has been formed and very soon, the BJP would release a charge sheet carrying details regarding the Congress government's misdeeds over the past 10 years.”

He accused the Hooda Government of selling 72,000 acres of farming land to property dealers. He said, “The 10-year Hooda regime saw exploitation of all sections of society. It will be remembered for property dealing by government functionaries, depriving farmers of their land and extending benefits to corporates. It has sold 72,000 acres to property dealers on cheaper rates.”

The BJP leader said, “With an unbridled bureaucracy, Hooda has been a failure on all fronts, be it crime, social indicators or governance.”

He said another committee had been formed to prepare a vision document, which would be presented before the people of the state in the form of a manifesto for the Assembly elections under the chairmanship of former state BJP president Ganeshi Lal.

On being asked about the chief ministerial candidate for the Assembly elections and the BJP-HJC alliance, he said, "The BJP’s central leadership will decide on the chief ministerial candidate. The BJP and the HJC are still together and a decision regarding the future of this alliance will also be taken by the central committee.” He also gave a punch line for the Assembly elections, saying, “Delhi hui hamari, ab Chandigarh ki bari.”

Panels set up

Besides forming a committee to make the charge sheet, the BJP has formed a panel to prepare the manifesto for the Assembly elections under the chairmanship of former state BJP president Ganeshi Lal 

Jind, June 10
Haryana Congress heavyweight and Rajya Sabha member Chaudhary Birender Singh has denied reports about his meeting with BJP president Rajnath Singh last evening but it's a cause of worry for the Congress, which is struggling to put its house in order after the recent drubbing in the parliamentary elections.

Chaudhary has been vocal against Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda and repeatedly demanding change of leadership in Haryana before the Assembly elections. He is reportedly under pressure from his supporters to look for other political options, where he could get due respect and work more effectively for the state's welfare.

“It is all media's creation. Why would I meet Rajnath?” said Chaudhary Birender Singh when contacted over phone. However, he confirmed that his supporters from across state have been pressurising him to look for other political options. Last evening, there were media reports that Chaudhary had met the BJP chief in New Delhi to discuss his political future.

Chaudhary, who has won MLA elections five times from Uchana from this district and lost the last elections to Om Parkash Chautala, has been repeatedly criticising Hooda for "inadequate" development of Jind district.

On June 7, he held a closed-door meeting with his supporters in Uchana and reportedly took feedback from them. Last month, Chaudhary had also announced that he would take up the cases of his 25 supporters for tickets in the forthcoming Assembly elections. 

Jind, May 10
Residents of Lajwana Khurd village blocked the Rohtak-Jind national highway, alleging that the Julana police was shielding three persons involved in a murderous attack on a farmer. The farmer died at the PGI, Rohtak, on Monday evening after battling for life for 39 days.

The protesters first allegedly tried to set a Haryana Roadways bus on fire but when passengers resisted, they pelted stones on the bus and broke its windowpanes.

"The accused are roaming free and threatening the family of the deceased," alleged a protester.

Following a dispute over agricultural land, Sukhbir and some other unidentified persons had allegedly attacked his brother Jasvir while he was sleeping on April 30. Jasvir suffered serious injuries and had been lying unconscious at the hospital since then.

“As many as 39 days have passed and the victim has died, but the police are not taking action as they have taken money from the accused. There is utter lawlessness in our area as policemen only try to mint money," alleged another protester.

Jind Superintendent of Police Anil Dhawan said they were trying to clear the road but the protesters were not ready to talk. 

Rohtak, June 10
Former Haryana minister Subhash Batra has urged the Union Government to constitute a special investigation team (SIT) to probe corrupt practices prevalent during the successive tenures of Bhupinder Singh Hooda-led Congress regime in the state.

“Rohtak, the hometown of Chief Minister Hooda, has topped the state in shady land deals involving the CM’s near and dear ones, large-scale corruption in developmental projects, degradation of reputed local educational institutions and collapse of the law and order machinery,” the former minister said here today.

Batra, who also heads the Akhil Bharatiya Punjabi Jagriti Manch, alleged that certain persons close to Hooda had made crores of rupees through unfair means during the past few years. Batra said he would disclose the names of these persons and the value of property made by them.

“Crores of rupees have been siphoned off from development funds meant for the area,” he said, adding that the people of the state were fed up with the functioning of the Congress government in Haryana and would teach it a lesson in the coming Assembly elections.

The former minister stated that Haryana Lokhit Party president Gopal Kanda had conceded his demand for fielding Punjabi candidates from at least 25 constituencies.

Asserting that all options were open before the manch, he said a five-member committee had been formed to assess the political choices before them.

The Punjabi leader conceded that he was in touch with certain top leaders of the BJP and the INLD, and would take the final decision on the political course after due consultation with his supporters.

Chandigarh, June 10
The Haryana Government has decided to penalise the erring colonisers who have not completed the allotment of EWS plots or flats in licensed colonies as specified in the licence conditions as well as in the guidelines issued from time to time. Besides, a policy has been formulated for composition of the violations committed by delaying the allotment of EWS plots or flats .

A spokesman said the colonisers who had not completed the process of allotment within the scheduled time but up to December 31, 2012, were required to make one-time payment of Rs 1 lakh, Rs 50,000 and Rs. 25,000 per colony for hyper/high, medium and low potential zone, respectively, as the composition charges.

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

However, after June 30, 2014, if the process of allotment was not completed with the scheduled time , composition charges at the rate of Rs 1 lakh, Rs. 50,000 and Rs. 25000 per colony per month for hyper/high, medium and low potential zone, respectively, would have to be paid from the due date up to which process of allotment was to be completed as per the terms and conditions of licence or building plans till the date of compliance.

He said if the refundable earnest money was not refunded before December 31, 2012, composition charges equivalent to 10 per cent of the total refundable earnest money that remained with the coloniser beyond six months from the date of draw of lots for delay of each one year or a fraction thereof, would be charged. The coloniser would be required to refund the earnest money to the applicants along with 15 per cent interest for the period beyond six months from the date of draw of lots and up to the date of actual payment.

Chandigarh, June 10
Four months after the Punjab and Haryana High Court directed the State of Haryana to consider those PhD candidates who had not passed the national eligibility test (NET) for the post of assistant professors, a vacation Bench has extended the benefit to all candidates with PhD degrees and not just to the earlier petitioners.

“Once this court has held that as per the UGC guidelines, the candidates with PhD degrees were eligible for consideration, restricting the benefit only to those who have approached the court would have been a travesty of justice, more particularly when the process of selection is yet to be initiated,” Justice Mahesh Grover and Justice Jaspal Singh ruled.

The Bench said: “It would be in the fairness and fitness of things if all persons having PhD degrees are granted the benefit of Rajeev's case, provided they file an application positively within a week from June 9…. No further application for extension of time will be entertained….

“The Haryana Public Service Commission (HPSC) will positively initiate the process of selection after a lapse of seven days from June 9 as directed with a clear mandate that no further application of similar kind will be entertained.”

The ruling came on two petitions filed against the State of Haryana and other respondents by Sumitra Bishnoi and other petitioners through counsel Ashish Chaudhary.

The controversy raised was somewhat settled earlier when similarly placed candidates approached the high court with a similar grievance. Holding PhD degrees, they wanted to be considered for the post of assistant professor.

The UGC had made NET mandatory for the post, but relaxation was contemplated in the case of Ph.D. degree holders. Dealing with the matter in the case of Rajeev and others on February 19, the high court had directed: “Those candidates who have not passed the eligibility test but have the PhD degree to their credit be considered for the post of assistant professor.” For the purpose, 10 days’ time was granted.

Subsequently, some candidates approached the high court for the similar benefit by placing reliance on the judgment in Rajeev's case. But the Single Judge dismissed the petition, while asserting that the Division Bench did not want to delay the selection process and “minimum leverage was given and that, too, till March 1 to the petitioners in Rajeev's case”.

Taking up the issue again, the Bench, headed by Justice Grover, added that the foremost concern of the court was to prevent delay due to belated attempts by affected persons. But, so far the commission had not formalised the process and the last date for submitting applications was June 10. If the process had not been concluded, the HPSC could not have justifiably restricted the benefit only to writ petitioners.

Jind, June 10
It’s an endless wait for a tubewell connection for nearly 300 farmers in Jind district. More than three years after they completed the formalities for a connection under a state scheme and submitted the fee to private contactors hired by the Haryana Power Department, their fields are still dry.

The lucky few who got connections after much effort alleged that Power Department officers have been using substandard material such as transformers, electricity poles and wire at the time of installation in connivance with private contractors.

The Power Department launched a self-finance scheme in 2009 to provide tubewell connections to farmers and outsourced the work to six contractors in Jind district. The contactors, allegedly in connivance with senior Power Department officers, deputed their agents to many villages.

These agents don’t exist on paper, but have been collecting Rs 1 lakh to Rs 1.50 lakh per connection and using substandard material at the time of installation.

“Senior Power Department officers are not acting against contractors and their agents as they take money from them. In the absence of a fixed amount for a connection under the self-finance scheme, these agents are looting farmers,” said Bharti Kisan Union district president Mohinder singh Ghimana, here while showing RTI information, he has procured from department.

In Jind alone, there are 250-300 farmers who have paid Rs 1 to Rs 1.50 lakh each to the agents of these contractors, but are yet to get tubewell connections. Their repeated letters to Haryana Chief Minister, Haryana Vigilance Department and Power Department officers have failed to see any action.

Farmers and BKU leaders alleged senior Power Department officers were taking a commission of Rs 2,000 per transformer and clearing substandard quality transformers for installation. Field staff do not visit any site and are focusing on allegedly minting money and clearing files by sitting in their respective offices.

“The department has installed thousands of tubewell using substandard material in Jind district, but no action has been taken. We will launch an agitation if the Jind DC and other authorities fail to act,” said Ghimana.

Jind Deputy Commissioner Rajiv Rattan did not answer a call to his mobile phone. The Jind Superintendent Engineer confirmed a delay in connections, but did not give a satisfactory reply on the use of substandard material.

Jind, June 10
Khaps and farmers’ leaders of Haryana held a meeting at Jat Dharmshala here today to send a reminder to the BJP leadership to meet their demands.

After meeting they wrote a letter addressed to the Centre for meeting their demands, including implementation of Swaminathan Committee recommendations, availability of loan at lower rates and supply of quality seeds at subsidised rates.

Besides, khap leaders demanded amendment to the Hindu Marriage Act to ban marriages in the same gotra and same villages, as they claimed such alliances were not only spoiling brotherhood, but also creating law and order problem in the state.

Tek Ram Kandela, national convener of the Sarv Khap Panchayat, clarified that khaps supported inter-caste marriages, and opposed same-gotra marriages. “Since the Act legalises same-gotra marriages and leads to problems in society, the khaps seek an amendment to it,” he said.

“If the Centre fails to fulfill the demands, a mahapanchayat will be organised at Jantar Mantar, Delhi, to announce the future course of action,” Kandela added.

Ambala, June 10
Abiding by the directions of the Punjab and Haryana High Court, the Ambala Juvenile Justice Board has set a "record" of sorts by disposing of all pending cases.

About eight months ago, there were about 151 pending cases and 72 new cases were put up before the board.

Kuldip Singh, member, Juvenile Justice Board, said as per the Juvenile Justice Act's Section 14, inquiry is to be completed within a period of four months. He said till date, there had been no four-month-old case before the Juvenile Justice Board, Ambala, and the pendency of cases was nil, which was being considered to be a record of its own.

Principal Magistrate and member of Juvenile Justice Board Mohit Aggarwal said even as the board was holding hearings only once a week at the observation and special home in Ambala, efforts were being made to ensure that there were no pending cases of juveniles.

He said under the guidance of Ambala District and Sessions Judge Harnam Singh Thakur, the Juvenile Justice Board was actively working to implement the Juvenile Justice Act, 2000.