tribuneindia... Haryana

H A R Y A N A

Sunday, July 26, 1998

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Pollution control board
simplifies rules
CHANDIGARH, July 25 — The Haryana Pollution Control Board today announced measures to simplify the procedure of consent management for industry. The board had taken this step with a view to avoiding unnecessary harassment to any industry.

State board for temples sought
GURGAON, July 25 — The campaign for constituting a board in Haryana to manage and develop temples and historical places got a boost today with the All-India Brahman Mahasabha lending support to it.

Resentment over tardy road repair
KAITHAL: Resentment prevails among residents of this town and other parts of the district over the delay in starting road repair.

Holiday for panchayat elections
CHANDIGARH, July 25 — The Haryana Government has declared public holiday on July 28 in all the public offices and institutions under the Haryana Government located in the blocks where gram panchayats byelections are to be held on that day.
Gang of vehicle thieves busted
ROHTAK, July 25 — The police claims to have busted a gang involved in snatching vehicles at gunpoint with the arrest of five of the members.

Rs 5-cr scheme for Sonepat

Dhaba owners ‘stealing’ power

P.K. Aggarwal

Cong to mobilise people

Demand for fair-price shops

DSP sentenced

Pollution control board
simplifies rules
Tribune News Service
CHANDIGARH, July 25 — The Haryana Pollution Control Board (HPCB) today announced measures to simplify the procedure of consent management for industry.
Mr M.L. Tayal, Administrator of the board, said the board had taken this step with a view to avoiding unnecessary harassment to any industry and at the same time to maintain a balance between development in trade and industry and protection of the environment in the state.
He said henceforth industrial units would apply for consent to establish (NOC) directly to the head office instead of the regional office on the prescribed form along with the necessary documents. The necessary documents had been reduced from 13 to seven. These two included scheme for pollution control including ETP, APCM and hazardous waste management, if applicable; site plan or layout plan (not applicable in case of industry located in approved industrial area); project report, memorandum of article of partnership deed; NOC fee; flow chart and manufacturing process and necessary affidavits.
He said that on submission of NOC application to the head office, the board would decide the case within seven days. The statutory period prescribed for this was four months. The permission from the Irrigation Department would also be required for discharge of effluent into rivers, canals drains etc. The NOC so granted would be valid for a period of two years which would be extended for another one year at the discretion of the board or till the time the unit started its trial production, whichever was earlier. Till now the NOC used to be valid for one year. In case of stone crushers, it would be valid for nine months, whereas for specific projects like power plants, fertilisers, refineries etc, it would be valid up to four years, to be extended for another one year at the discretion of the board or till the time the unit started its trial production. In a major departure from the previous practice, no extra fee would be charged for extension of NOC.
He said that the units which were beyond 17 categories of highly polluting, 19 categories of polluting and additional polluting categories having capital investment of up to Rs 1 crore would apply for exemption letter to the regional officer and he would issue the letter at his own level.
The procedure regarding grant of consent to operate had been divided in two parts — consent to operate for trial production and consent to operate for regular production. The industrial units would apply for consent to operate for trial production to the concerned regional office of the board. The regional officer, after verification, would issue consent to operate trial production for a period up to one to three months depending on the stabilisation time required for ETP or APCM. He would issue consent within seven days. This too was a major departure from the current practice whereby such consent was being issued by the head office. There would be no requirement of analysis report for consent to operate for trial production as pollution control measures needed some time for stabilisation. In case the regional officer failed to decide the application within seven days for trial production, the consent would be deemed to have been given.
He said that after first consent, new units were required to obtain consent to operate within the expiry period of first consent which would be granted by the head office after technical scrutiny. The regional officer would submit the consent application complete in all respects to the head office within seven days from the date of receipt. The head office would decide the cases within 21 days and in case any incompletion or shortcoming was found the same would be conveyed within 15 days to the unit. Inspection of the units would be done only once a year by two officers of the regional office after giving advance notice of at least 15 days.
In another significant departure from the existing system wherein period of consent to operate is limited to one year in case of every industry, he said that the period for grant of consent had been redefined for each category of industry under the Water and Air Act. The period of consent for stone crushers and hot mix plants would now be one year, for 17 categories of large, medium and SSI units and other large and medium industries and additional pollution industries five years and industries having no trade effluent or units having no air emissions or units where ETP or APCM is not required it would be 10 years.
The unit would be required to deposit fee for one, two , five and 10 years as applicable. In case the industry was not willing to pay consent fee for two, five or 10 years it would be at liberty to apply for consent for lesser period. In case consent was granted for more than one year the unit would get the samples of effluent and emission tested at least once a year and submit the report to the head office.

State board for temples sought
Tribune News Service
GURGAON, July 25 — The campaign for constituting a board in Haryana to manage and develop temples and historical places got a boost today with the All-India Brahman Mahasabha lending support to it.
The chairman of the mahasabha, Mr M.R. Sharma, said here that a board was necessary considering the fact that there were large number of historical sites and temples in the state. He lamented that the successive governments in the state had been apathetic to the cause.
According to him, the government had constituted separate boards, like the ones to manage temples in Beri (Rohtak) and Mansa Devi in Gurgaon and, the one for Kurukshetra on account of public pressure. However, what is required is statewide board to manage all temples and historical sites, he added.
He further said the board should be brought under the direct supervision of a ministry, created specifically for it. The existing boards could be used to impart education on the cultural heritage of the country, the Vedic way of life and our ancient literature.
He congratulated the state government's move to upgrade the site at Sheetla Mata temple here.
Mr Sharma, who was the Political and Press Adviser to former Chief Minister Bhajan Lal said the Bhajan government had once considered the setting up of the board.
Referring to the controversy on the provision in the Constitution for the reservation for the Scheduled Castes and Tribes, he said the Brahman Mahasabha was firmly opposed to further extension of time to continue with the policy. He lamented although the Constitution had provided for the reservations for 10 years, the policy was continued for 50 years.
The Brahman Mahasabha has joined hand with organisations of various castes to oppose any possible move to further extend the reservation period. The extended period comes to an end next year. According to him, the representatives of the organisations have already met on the issue. They will be meeting again on August 2 in Delhi to prepare a strategy to jointly oppose move to extend the period for the reservation.
Mr Sharma said if reservation was necessary, it should be only on the basis of economic status of the beneficiary.

Resentment over tardy road repair
From Satish Seth
KAITHAL: A lot of resentment prevails among the residents of this town and other parts of the district over the delay in starting road repair work.
Urban and rural link roads have not been repaired for a long time and motorists and scooterists find it difficult to drive any type of vehicle on them. The cost of vehicle maintenance has increased manifold as the vehicles continue to suffer damage as the result of big potholes and ditches at a number of places. The position is so grave that many two-wheelers, cycles and even rickshaws get stuck in the potholes causing injuries particularly to women, old people and children.
Most of the rural roads connecting the village to the district headquarters, Kaithal, are in bad shape. Neither the Public Works Department (B&R) nor the Haryana State Agriculture Marketing Board’s construction wing has undertaken repair work despite persistent demands to the higher authorities, including the Chief Minister.
Similarly roads connecting Kaithal with Karnal, Jind, Patiala, Pehowa, Kurukshetra and Khanauri (Punjab) are getting from bad to worse and remain full of potholes. Paucity of funds and officials' indifferent attitude have adversely affected road conditions.
The town’s civic body has undertaken repair work on a limited scale depriving a majority of the population of good quality roads. In the interior of the town the marketing board and the civic body have repaired two or three roads. The use of concrete in place of bitumen and gravel is a positive sign and has been welcomed by the public. But still many other roads remain unrepaired.
Frequent diggings by the Departments of Telecommunications and Public Health without any follow-up action has worsened the situation. Choked sewers and poor drainage are causing extensive damage to roads, but the department concerned is hardly doing anything.
In the meantime, estimates worth Rs 55 lakh for repair of urban roads sent to the HSAMB, Panchkula, which were awaiting clearance, have reportedly been sanctioned recently. But it will take more time as tenders have to be called, then approved by the higher authorities and ultimately works allotted.
These works cannot be started now due to onset of the monsoon with the result that the miseries of the people will continue for several more months and they will have to face problems such as potholes and ditches. Though road repair work started in March, only two or three roads have been repaired till now.
People living in different localities of Kaithal town and rural people expressed great resentment over the state government’s apathy in taking steps to improve road conditions. Some residents said they had voted for Mr Bansi Lal two years ago, hoping that he would provide a better road infrastructure in the state. Poor road conditions are a glaring example of the failure of this government, they added.

Holiday for panchayat elections
Tribune News Service
CHANDIGARH, July 25 — The Haryana Government has declared public holiday on July 28 in all the public offices and institutions under the Haryana Government located in the blocks where gram panchayats byelections are to be held on that day.
The blocks where public holiday will be observed on July 28 include Sadhaura, Radaur, Chhachhrauli and Jagadhari in Yamunanagar district, Kalanaur, Rohtak, Sampla, Meham and Lakhan Majra in Rohtak district, Jhajjar, Bahadurgarh, Matanhal and Beri in Jhajjar district, Rewari, Jatusana, Nahar and Kholi in Rewari district, Ballabhgarh, Palwal, Faridabad, Hodal, Hathin in Faridabad district and Ratia, Fatehabad, Tohana, and Bhuna in Fatehabad district.
A holiday will also be observed on that day under Section 25 of the Negotiable Instruments Act, 1881.
Public holiday has also been declared on August 10 in all the public offices and institutions under the Haryana Government located in the blocks where gram panchayats byelections are to be held on that day. These blocks are Kaithal, Kalayat, Guhla and Pundri in Kaithal district, Bhiwani, Dadri-I, Dadri-II, Tosham, Kairu, Bawani Khera, Badhra, Siwani and Loharu in Bhiwani district, Pehowa, Babain, Shahbad, Thanesar and Kurukshetra in Kurukshetra district, Karnal, Gharaunda, Nissing, Indri, Assandh and Nilokheri in Karnal district, Uklana, Narnaud, Hissar-II, Agroha, Hansi-I, Hansi-II and Barwala in Hisar district and Pinjore, Barwala and Raipur Rani in Panchkula district.
A holiday will also be observed on that day under Section 25 of the Negotiable Instruments Act, 1881.

Gang of vehicle thieves busted
From Our Correspondent
ROHTAK, July 25 — The police claims to have busted a gang involved in snatching vehicles at gunpoint with the arrest of five of the members yesterday.
The accused were produced in the court today and were remanded to police custody till July 27.
A police spokesman said here today that five armed youths snatched the car of Mr Jitender, a son of the Housing Board Minister, Mr Satya Naryana Lather, on the Rohtak-Jind road on July 23. The police launched a manhunt and arrested Rakesh, alias Sethi (Sampla), Rajender, alias Raju (Uchana), Narender (Gohana) and Dharampal and Jagdish (both of Sampla) and recovered the car from them.
The police seized five country-made pistols and seven cartridges and registered a case under the Arms Act.

Haryana Cong to mobilise people
Tribune News Service
CHANDIGARH, July 25 — Several thousand Congress workers and people from Haryana will participate in the demonstration being organised on July 28 in Delhi, near Parliament House, to protest against the failure of the BJP-led coalition government at the Centre, unprecedented rise in the prices of essential commodities, deteriorating law and order situation in all parts of the country and anti-people policies being pursued by the Central Government. The demonstration will be led by the Congress President, Mrs Sonia Gandhi.
Mr Bhupinder Singh Hooda, President, Haryana Pradesh Congress Committee, said that at a meeting of presidents of Congress committees, office-bearers of the HPCC, state heads of frontal organisations and PCC cells, AICC and PCC members held in Delhi yesterday, Congressmen were directed to mobilise maximum number of people from their respective areas to participate in the demonstration.
They have been asked to reach Ramlila Maidan, Delhi, on 9 a.m. on July 28.

Rs 5-cr scheme for Sonepat
From Our Correspondent
SONEPAT, July 25 — The Haryana Government has drawn up a Rs 5-crore for the development of slum areas in this city.
Mr Kishan Singh Sangwan, an MP of the Haryana Lok Dal (Rashtriya), said here today that another Rs 3-crore scheme had been prepared for improving sewerage in this city. The state government would send these schemes to the central government for approval.
The Union Ministry of Urban Development had agreed to give grants to the Haryana Government for the execution of these schemes in this city.
Mr Sangwan said a new passenger train would be introduced on the Delhi-Panipat section to meet the rush of commuters and other passengers.

Residents demand fair-price shops
From Our Correspondent
SONEPAT, July 25 — Representatives of about 100 villages, including panches, sarpanches, members of the block samitis and the zila parishad held a joint meeting here yesterday and adopted a unanimous resolution urging the state government to open fair price shops in all villages in the district.
It was pointed out that more than 50 villages had no ration shop and people had to go to other villages to get their ration of levy sugar and kerosene. It alleged that the authorities of the Food and Supplies Department had failed to open ration shops in their villages despite repeated representations from time to time. Instead, their villages had been linked with other villages wherefrom they had to get monthly ration of levy sugar and kerosene.
It was alleged that the bulk quantity of levy sugar and kerosene was being sold on the black market by the owners of fair price shops and the ration card holders were being deprived of their monthly quota of these commodities in the absence of any effective check by the DFSC and other officials of the department.
It urged the state government to order a high-level probe into the racket and punish the guilty officials.

Dhaba owners ‘stealing’ power
From Our Correspondent
SONEPAT, July 25 — The HSEB has been suffering a huge revenue loss owing to large-scale power theft by certain owners of dhabas, restaurants and hotels along the GT Road near Murthal.
According to informed sources, some HSEB officials are allegedly in league with these unscrupulous owners and minting money.
A high-level inquiry will help to expose the racket.
Meanwhile, representatives of various farmers’ organisations have criticised HSEB officials for diverting a bulk quota of power to select industries, thereby depriving growers of their share of power for running tubewells.

DSP sentenced
Tribune News Service
CHANDIGARH, July 25 — Deputy Superintendent of Police (DSP) Balbir Singh has been sentenced to three years' rigorous imprisonment and a fine of Rs 5000 by the Special Judge, Rohtak.
Balbir Singh was arrested by the Haryana State Vigilance Bureau in 1992 and has been sentenced for amassing wealth through illegal means.

P.K. Aggarwal
Tribune News Service
CHANDIGARH, July 25 — Mr P.K. Aggarwal, Engineer-in-Chief (Planning), has been posted as Member, Technical (Generation and Projects) in the Haryana State Electricity Board in place of Mr I.L. Arora, who has retired.