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H A R Y A N A |  |
 Sunday, February 7, 1999 |
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Haryana Budget draws more
flak CRPF
cop convicted for murder |
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Cooperative
societies to be interlinked Award
for Jain Dairy
project sanctioned Date
extended |
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Haryana Budget draws more flak CHANDIGARH, Feb 6 — The Haryana Congress Legislature Party which followed the Haryana Lok Dal (Rashtriya) in boycotting the Budget session in the state Vidhan Sabha has in an open letter to the Finance Minister, Mr Charan Dass Shorewala, described the Budget as anti poor, anti-agriculture and anti-rural development. While more than 40 per cent of the state's resources have to come from the Centre, it was too early to rush through the Budget without the final approval of the Planning Commission. Mr Randeep Surjewala, a spokesman of the CLP, today said the farm labourers were living in extreme poverty. The agricultural production had either remained static or increased marginally. The production of wheat was 73.39 lakh tonnes in 1997-98 which was close to the production of 72.97 lakh tonnes in 1994-95. A major reason for this was the inability of the state government to pump out flood waters from the fields. As a result of this, wheat cultivation could not be done over 7 lakh acres of land. Cotton production had declined alarmingly. Production of cotton had come down from 14 lakh bales in 1997-98 to 8.63 lakh bales in the current year. Similarly, he said, production of sugarcane had also come down from 8 lakh tonnes last year to 7.20 lakh tonnes. It was because of the government's apathy that sugar-mills had been allowed to charge carriage and handling charges from the farmers. The rural debt was estimated around Rs 5500 crore. While the rural development and cooperative banks were indulging in profiteering at the cost of farmers and labourers, these banks were getting 12 per cent per annum interest towards service charges , reflecting inefficiency and incompetency of the government. While crops over an area of 7 lakh acres were damaged in October last on account of unseasonal rains, more than 3 lakh acres of land was still effected. The government, he said, had failed to give any compensation to the farmers. While the Congress was not
opposed to production of power by private sector, the
state government had indulged in reckless and
directionless privatisation of production, transmission
and distribution. He said Haryana was drawing less share
of water from the Bhakhra system to the extent of 1600
cusecs, leading to non-availability of water at the tail
ends. The law and order situation in the state had
touched the lowest ebb with 657 murders, 265 rape cases,
409 kidnappings, 4604 thefts and 1991 thefts of vehicles,
besides 66 cases of dacoities and 204 incidents of
snatchings between April 1 last year to December end last
year. Between May, 1996, and December, 1998, 580
prisoners had escaped from the police custody. The
situation, Mr Surjewala said, was deplorable. |
Killing at Ambala railway station CHANDIGARH, Feb 6 — Mr R.C. Bansal, Additional Sessions Judge, Ambala, today convicted Om Parkash, a CRPF constable, on the charge of murdering his senior, Company Havaldar Major Hira Mani with his service rifle. He also convicted him under the Arms Act. The judge sentenced the convict to undergo imprisonment for life for the offence under Section 302, IPC (murder) apart from paying a fine of Rs 500. In default of payment of fine, he was ordered to undergo further rigorous imprisonment for three months. As for his conviction under Section 27 of the Arms Act, he was sentenced to rigorous imprisonment for three years, apart from paying a fine of Rs 300. In default of payment of fine, he was directed to undergo further imprisonment for two months. Mr Bansal held: "All the sentences shall run concurrently." According to the prosecution, a CRPF company (no D-86 BN) whose in charge was Inspector Sham Lal set out on a journey from Kohima on July 19, 1996, to Amritsar. On July 24, 1996, at about 8.30 p.m. the company reached Ambala cantt station by Delhi-Kalka passenger mail. The company disembarked at Ambala Cantt at platform no 6-7. The entire arms and ammunition was collected in a temporary armoury. The prosecution added that Surinder Singh constable along with K.C. Ramu, Narinder, S.S. Panwar, D. Malik and accused Om Parkash were detailed on duty to guard the ammunition at the Ambala cantonment station. Om Parkash told Major Hira Mani that he was not feeling well and, therefore, he was unfit to perform duty. However, Hira Mani told him that since the duty had already been fixed, he should discharge it. This was followed by an exchange of hot words between the two. The prosecution pleaded
that the accused pointed his SIR towards Hira Mani and
fired a shot towards him, who tried to hide himself
behind cots. However, Om Parkash later fired three to
four more shots which hit the company Havaldar. The
deceased was taken to Civil Hospital, Ambala cantonment,
where he succumbed to his injuries. |
HVPN raids some, spares some BHIWANI, Feb 6 — The Haryana Vidyut Parsaran Nigam (HVPN) is playing hide and seek with the local industrialists, most of whom have been found indulging in theft of power. The vigilance wing of the HVPN has been conducting raids on the industries here since December 28 last to detect theft of power but in a haphazard manner giving the impression that the action is politically motivated. Officials descended on the town on December 28 and returned to Chandigarh after three days on December 31, came again on January 6 and returned to the HVPN headquarters on January 10. The third time they arrived on January 20 and left after three days without completing their assigned duty. Perhaps, the raiding party was providing opportunities to the defaulters to rectify the faults. After a lapse of a week these officials again raided the industries and left for Chandigarh on Friday. Among the 200 odd industries located in sectors 21 and 26 here, nearly 100 have so far been raided. Most of them have been charged with theft of power. The department has imposed a penalty of over Rs 55 lakh, of which Rs 32 lakh has been recovered. The modus operandi of stealing power is uniform. Tamper with the counter-gear while keeping the seals intact. A few have been drilled holes from the top of the meter without tampering with the meter seal and with a thin wire reverse the meter reading. Can such tamperings with meters be done without the connivance of the HVPN officials is the million dollar question. The department did register criminal cases against one dozen officials, including three SDOs and five junior engineers of its operation wing. But none of the officials from the M and P and A.D.B. Departments, who have okayed these meters after checking at the mill gate, have been held guilty. Nearly 30 industrial units have been locked by their owners for fear of raids and the department has pasted notices on the gates asking proprietors to open the locks failing which these would be opened forcibly. So far no one has responded to these notices. Mr D.S. Nehra, president, Bhiwani Industries Association, said the actions of some industrialists has earned a bad name for the whole fraternity. He proposed to convene a meeting of the association members to seek a pledge that they would not indulge in such unfair means in future. Strangely industrial units
owned by an influential politician of the town have not
been checked by the HVPN officials, though all units in
their neighbourhood have been raided and charged with
power theft. The HVPN has registered cases against 22
industrial units only. |
Cooperative societies to be
interlinked FATEHABAD, Feb 6 — For their smooth functioning, cooperative societies throughout the country will be interlinked through a computer network. This was stated by Mr Surender Kumar Jakhar, President of the Indian Farmers Fertilisers Cooperatives Ltd. (IFFCO) at Serverpur village in the district today. Mr Jakhar was here to inaugurate a community centre build by the IFFCO at a cost of 3.7 lakh. He said the organisation had bagged commendation certificates from the BVOI and the ISO in the field of fertiliser marketing and for providing better service to farmers. The Deputy Commissioner, Mr V. Raja Shekhar, thanked the IFFCO Chairman for building the community centre at the village and assured that the administration would develop it into a rural mini-secretariat, where all village-level government officials would hold their offices. He hoped that the community centre would facilitate the villagers in the day to day official works. The IFFCO Director and the local HVP leader, Mr Parhlad Singh Gillankhera, read the memorandum of demands given by the villagers of the area. The Deputy Commissioner accepted most of these demands. Mr Parhlad requested the Deputy Commissioner to supply fertiliser directly to the societies instead of the earlier practice of supplying it through the Hafed. This would enable the farmer to make profit. Mr P.S. Marwah, Director,
Marketing, Haryana, Mr Mohkam Singh, Regional Manager, Mr
Balwinder Singh Nakai, Vice-President and Mr Mahipal
Singh, Regional Manager, Hisar, also spoke on the
occasion. |
Award for Jain CHANDIGARH, Feb 6 — The "Silver Tiger award", the highest award of Bangladesh Scouts, has been conferred upon Mr L.M. Jain, National Commissioner, Bharat Scouts and Guides, in recognition of his services and contribution for the promotion of Scout movement in India and in Pacific region. The Prime Minister of
Bangladesh, Sheikh Hasina, presented the award to Mr
Jain, who is also Principal Secretary to Chief Minister,
Haryana, at the sixth Bangladesh National Scout Jamboree
held at the National Scout Training Centre, Mouchak,
Gazipur, in Bangladesh. |
Dairy project sanctioned CHANDIGARH, Feb 6 — The women dairy project of the Haryana Dairy Development Co-operative Federation involving an amount of Rs 448.85 lakh had been sanctioned for three years by the Human Resource Ministry, Government of India, which will be implemented in six districts of Haryana, Ambala, Kurukshetra, Jind, Sirsa, Rohtak and Faridabad to raise the socio-economic status of women. A spokesman of the
federation said here today that a workshop on the
"Women dairy project" would be organised at
Ambala on February 17 which would be inaugurated by the
Commissioner and Secretary of the Co-operative Department
and Chairperson of the federation, Mrs Rajni Razdan. |
Award for HAU former scientist HISAR, Feb 6 — Chaudhary Charan Singh Haryana Agricultural University (HAU) here has conferred Lifetime Achievement award on one of its former scientists, Mr Dhani Ram Vasudeva. The award, carrying a prize of Rs 1 lakh and a scroll of honour, was presented to him by the Vice-Chancellor, Prof J.B. Chowdhury, at his native village, Santokh Garh in Una district of Himachal Pradesh. The award was given for Mr Dhani Ram's contribution to the economy of the state. During the tenure of Mr Dhani Ram, wheat production in the state received the much needed boost and rose from 9 lakh tonnes in 1962-63 to 39.91 lakh tonnes in 1980-81. Mr Vasudeva was the pioneer in establishing a full-fledged wheat breeding station for Haryana. During his tenure at HAU, he developed varieties of wheat and barley. Besides scientists from HAU, senior faculty members of Punjab Agricultural University, Himachal Pradesh Agricultural University and senior officials of the state government were also present at the felicitation ceremony. Expressing his gratitude towards the university, the octogenarian scientist said he felt elated that his work had been recognised and acknowledged. He was brought to the dais on a wheel chair. The university also
honoured Mr Laik Ram, a former Agriculture Inspector and
lifetime associate of Mr Dhani Ram Vasudeva. |
"Kranti
padayatra"
enters Fatehabad FATEHABAD, Feb 6 — The "Kranti padayatra" of the Congress led by former union minister and a secretary of All India Congress Committee, Ms Selja, entered Fatehabad district yesterday. She was accompanied by a former Haryana minister, Mr Jagdish Nehra, a former MLA, Mr Bahadur Singh, and HPCC vice-president K.V. Singh and hundreds of padayatris. Dr Vinod Batra, a senior Congress leader, Mr Jai Pal Singh Lali, a secretary of the HPCC, Mr Ram Raj Mehta and Mr Krishan Taneja, members of the HPCC, Mr Arvind Sharma, the block Congress chief, Mr Sucha Singh, Mr Vijay Choudhary and Mr Ashok Garg were among those who received her at Daryapur. Addressing a public meeting, Ms Selja said no section of society was happy with the performance of the HVP-BJP government. She said people wanted a change. The former minister said the BJP government at the Centre too had proved to be a failure. The government, she said, had failed to protect life and property. SHAHABAD: The "Kranti padayatra" led by the Haryana Congress chief, Mr Bhupinder Singh Hooda, MP, was received by party workers and supporters here on Friday. Addressing a public
meeting, Mr Hooda stated that the HVP-BJP government had
failed on all fronts. He further stated that a mid-term
poll was likely to be held in the state at any time and
claimed that the Congress would emerge a winner. He
called upon the workers to attend the Jind rally on
February 13. |
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Date extended SONEPAT, Feb 6 — The Haryana Vidyut Prasaran Nigam (HVPN) has extended the last date for the "surcharge waiving-off scheme" to February 28. According to official sources, those who fail to pay up the arrears outstanding against them by the last date would face power disconnection. The scheme was initiated
to boost the recovery of power bill arrears. During the
pendency of the scheme, if a defaulter receives a current
electricity bill which is to be paid before February 28
then that would be the last date for depositing the whole
amount. |
Probe into kerosene distribution SONEPAT, Feb 6 — The Haryana Government has ordered an inquiry into the alleged irregularities in the distribution of kerosene by certain depot holders in connivance with the officials concerned at Ganaur a subdivisional town in this district. According to official sources, it has deputed Mr Satbir Kulria, Deputy Director in the Food and Supplies Department, for holding a thorough probe into the scandal. This step has been taken following complaints about the alleged blackmarketeering of about three lakh litres of rationed kerosene by certain depot holders, depriving ration card holders of their monthly quota of the commodity. Official sources revealed that Mr Kulria visited Ganaur yesterday and found that the allegations were true. The inquiry officer
assured that action would be taken against the erring
depot holders and the officials concerned. |
Bail plea rejected FARIDABAD, Feb 6 — Mr P.L. Goyal, Additional District and Sessions Judge, yesterday rejected the bail application of Jamidar Pandit of Ballabhgarh who had helped three persons open a fake bank account. According to the prosecution, three fixed deposit receipts each were issued in the name of Bhikhari Sahai, Nanak Sahai and Roop Narain Sahai by Union Bank of India, Faridabad. These deposits were made by the court after recovering compensation in a case under the Motor Vehicles Act. The FDRs were mysteriously removed from the custody of the nazir of the court. During investigation it was found that Lovkesh, Suresh and Shiv Kumar presented the pay orders in Union Bank of India which disbursed the amount in the savings bank account which was opened by the three in the name of Bhikhari Sahai, Roop Narain Sahai and Nanak Sahai in Punjab National Bank. They also withdrew Rs 1.50 lakh from the account which was established from the photographs of Lovkesh, Suresh and Shiv Kumar obtained by Punjab National Bank. It was also found that Jamidar Pandit had identified these three persons while opening the fake account. Mr Goyal dismissed the
bail application of Jamidar Pandit stating that he was
also instrumental in the conspiracy in opening the fake
account. |
Constable dismissed AMBALA, Feb 6 — The DIG Ambala range, Mr Resham Singh, has dismissed constable Inderjit Singh from service. The DIG said here today that Inderjit Singh had taken a government vehicle to Nivarsi village in Kurukshetra district without any permission on September 26 night. Some villagers caught hold of him and also damaged the vehicle. A case was registered
against him at the Ladwa police station. |
Governor calls for movement to save
nature KURUKSHETRA, Feb 6 — The Haryana Governor, Mr Mahabir Prasad, here today called for launching a movement to save nature and environment. The Governor said this after inaugurating a three-day national seminar on geomorphology and environment, organised by the Indian Institute of Geomorphologists and Kurukshetra University in Senate Hall. He called upon the government and the people to oppose underground blasts. He expressed concern over the killing of animals and birds. He asked geomorphologists to popularise the planting of trees at the grassroots level. The Governor warned the
people not to play with nation and maintained that
tragedies like landslides at Pithoragarh and Chamoli,
earthquake at Latur, tornadoes in Gujarat and floods in
various parts of the country were the result of man's
effort to play with nature. |
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