• Man sentenced to 7 years' RI
• Drama festival from Jan 14
• Rs 45 lakh fraud detected
• Two killed in accidents

Blue bulls damage crops
From Vimal Sumbly
Tribune News Service

HISAR, Jan 11 — Farmers in southern Haryana are faced with a strange situation due to the phenomenal rise in the population of the blue bull, commonly called nilgai. The blue bull has been damaging standing crops worth crores of rupees every year.

Since hunting is banned in Haryana and the blue bull is protected under the Wildlife Act, the farmers are in a fix as how to tackle the problem.

Dr R S Dalal, senior scientist in Haryana Agricultural University, and his student Gautam have initiated research on the issue.

Dr Dalal says the state (Haryana) does not have much forest area. Massive agriculture has contributed to the decline in the forest area. This has forced the wild animals like blue bull to find other places and they move into the fields.

Quoting an earlier study, Dr Dalal said the loss caused to the standing crops in some areas is as much as 50 per cent. It can go even up to 100 per cent if the group (blue bulls) invading an area is bigger.

The districts mostly effected by the blue bull menace are Rohtak, Jhajar, Hisar, Sirsa, Bhiwani and Mahendergarh. The farmers, in order to keep the animals away have resorted to dangerous and deadly techniques.

Although religious feelings do prevent them from killing, desperation leads them to resort to such cruel methods. It has been found that the farmers have been laying out live electric wires around their fields. This has not only killed so many blue bulls but have also cost some human lives.

The issue has also raised Bishnois up in arms against those farmers resorting to this method. A few months back a 'mahapanchayat' was organised by the Bishnois in a Fatehabad village after two animals were killed by a live wire. The 'mahapanchayat' imposed a fine of Rs 51,00 on the two accused Ram Kumar and Bhola Ram after they admitted to having laid the wire.

In a more tragic incident, two young sons of Prithvi Singh Jamu died, when they unknowingly touched the wire laid down by their father for the blue bull at Badopal village of Fatehabad district. A seven-year-old boy was electrocuted in a similar way at Chaudharywas village near here.

Most of the farmers are not in favour of killing the animals in such a cruel way, but they want some way out to get rid of this menace. Dr Dalal and Gautam have found during the research.

Dr Dalal expressed doubts over taming this animal. He said their population has overgrown. Moreover, their food habits have also changed. While earlier, they used to feed on ordinary vegetation in the forest land, now they feed on wheat, gram, barley and other crops.

House of Lok Dal leader fired upon
Tribune News Service

GURGAON, Jan 11 — Unidentified persons opened fire at the residences of the President of the Gurgaon unit of Indian National Lok Dal (INLD), Mr Gopi Chand Gehlot and another person at Jharsa village past midnight, terrorising the residents of the city in the process.

Although no one was injured in the two incidents,the development has come as a major source of embarrassment to the police. The other person,whose vehicle was fired upon at his residence,happens to be a close relative of the Sarpanch of the village,Mr Khazan Singh.The two houses where the incidents took place are few metres from each other and occurred within a span of less than five minutes of each other.

The police has registered cases and initiated investigation.

Two theories are doing the rounds in the city.One is that Mr Gehlot had personally launched a campaign against the recent spate of crimes in Gurgaon.With Mr Gehlot being a prominent member of the principal opposition party in the Haryana Vidhan Sabha,his campaign allegedly caused some pressure on the police.

Incidentally, the crime graph has shot up in the recent past with a large number of incidents of robbery, theft, snatching and lifting of vehicles being reported in parts of old Gurgaon.

Although the police has intensified its vigil in the form of night patrolling,the anti-social elements appear to be undeterred. Some residents said that the police would have to change its style of patrolling. One suggestion is that the patrolling which is made known to the public through sirens, should be supplemented with silent vigil as the criminals slip into nooks and corners on being alarmed by sirens and come out after the patrol teams go away.

Steps for crime-free Panchkula
From Our Correspondent

PANCHKULA, Jan 11— Acting on the directive of the Haryana Chief Minister, Mr Bansi Lal, to make the township "crime-free" the local police has initiated a number of steps.

The help of the residents welfare associations of different sectors is being sought to achieve the aim. Besides, a requirement of at least 100 more police personnel has reportedly been placed before the government.

The Chief Minister, while addressing a rally at the inauguration of a housing colony of the Haryana Vidyut Prasaran Nigam (HVPN) last month, had advised senior police functionaries to make the township "crime-free".

Recently, a meeting of the residents welfare associations of Sectors 16, 17 and 18 had been called by the police. The Superintendent of Police, Mr Alok Mittal, said the residents had been urged to identify the entry points to their respective sectors.

Apart from plugging the unauthorised entries in the sectors, which the police believes are a safe passage for anti-social elements, the welfare associations have been advised to depute watchmen at the main entry points. Unlike the earlier practice the associations have been asked to have a chowkidar for every 50 houses.

The police has conducted a survey of the number of plots, houses constructed, houses under construction and total number of watchmen engaged in the entire township.

Police officials say against the requirement of at least 300 watchmen only 150 are doing the job which means more houses per watchman. According to sources in HUDA, there are over 9,000 constructed houses and more than 2,000 houses under construction.

Sources in the police say there is an additional requirement of at least 100 police personnel, which includes head constables and constables. The additional policemen, if and when provided, will be deputed as part of patrolling parties. At present, there are 110 policemen who are on regular patrol duty.

Gymkhana Club secy quits
Tribune News Service

PANCHKULA, Jan 11 — The honorary general secretary of the local Gymkhana Club, Mr R.D. Garg, a retired IAS officer of the Haryana cadre, has resigned from his post following ordering of an inquiry into the club affairs by the Chief Administrator, HUDA, Mr P. Raghavendra Rao.

According to informed sources, Mr Garg submitted his resignation yesterday after he was virtually told by the HUDA top brass to do so. His resignation has been accepted with immediate effect and Mr Rao has asked the Estate Officer, HUDA, Panchkula, Mr N.K. Singla, to officiate as the honorary general secretary of the club.

The sources say for a long time several members of the club had been making written complaints to the state government about the functioning of the club, including financial irregularities. But no serious effort was made to look into these.

The Deputy Commissioner, Mrs Saroj Siwatch, too, received a number of complaints which, the sources say, she referred to the C.A. HUDA, who asked the Additional Deputy Commissioner, Mr Anurag Aggarwal, to hold an inquiry.

Mr Aggarwal and the SDM, Panchkula, Mr Rajbir Singh, visited the club premises a few days ago and seized the record.

The members' complaints include favouritism on the part of the club management towards certain category of members. They also alleged that despite instructions from the HUDA Administration no steps were initiated to grant fulltime membership to private persons who continue to be treated as "visitors", while officials have been accorded the membership.

They also allege that the honorary general secretary stopped inviting four representatives of private members to the executive meetings. With the HUDA officers too, busy with their office work to pay attention to the day-to-day functioning of the club and in the absence of the representatives of the private members, the club was being run as a personal fiefdom.

The club has also been denied exemption from paying income tax by the Income Tax Department, with the result that it has been burdened with huge tax arrears.

The members also alleged that the club premises was used by 'influential' persons for their private functions without the payment of adequate charges.

The sources say though the inquiry is likely to be completed by next week, prima facie it has been found that several complaints have substance.

Meanwhile, it is learnt that a supervisor of the club, Mr Sohan Lal, has been placed under suspension.

Follow retrenchment laws, officials told
By U.K. Bhanot
Tribune News Service

CHANDIGARH, January 11— The Haryana Government is understood to have taken a serious view of the avoidable huge payments being made to workers retrenched by the authorities, mainly on account of non compliance of the mandatory provisions of law. The state exchequer was being unnecessarily overburdened.

Expressing concern and warning the officials concerned , the Chief Secretary Mr R.S.Verma, has told the heads of departments and Commissioners of various divisions in the state to strictly comply with the provisions of the Industrial Disputes Act , particularly with the conditions precedents to retrenchment of workmen as per Section 25 F of the Industrial Dispute Act,1947. The state government's warning is particularly relevant in the case of departments like Forest , Public Health and Public Works ( B&R) which retrench and employ large number of workers on temporary basis every year. The carefree attitude of certain officials lands the State Government in trouble and gives rise to court cases. Although this does not entail much burden on the government , the provisions are equally relevant for the industry which also needs to follow the desired procedure for retrenchment of workmen.

Any worker who completes 240 working days in a year is governed by the rules which require a set procedure to be followed in the event of retrenchment, says Mr Hardeep Kumar, Commissioner for Labour, Haryana.

The fresh warning to the heads of departments follows unpleasant developments in the form of failure of SLPs (special leave petitions ) filed in the court in retrenchment cases because of the eagerness of certain officials to effect retrenchment without following the proper procedure laid down in the Act to escape adverse notice by the higher authorities because of the financial crunch being faced by the government.

The relevant part of the Act says: "No workman employed in any industry who has been in continuous service for not less than one year under an employer shall be retrenched by that employer until:

"The workman has been given one month's notice in writing indicating the reasons for retrenchment and the period of notice has expired, or the workman has been paid in lieu of such notice, wages for the period of the notice;

(b) the workman has been paid at the time of retrenchment, compensation which shall be equivalent to 15 days' average pay (for every completed year of continuous service) or any part there of in excess of six months; and

"(c) notice in the prescribed manner is served on the appropriate Government (for such authority as may be specified by the appropriate Government by notification in the official gazette)."

The fact that the Labour Department is overburdened with court cases is clear from the statistics released by it. The department conducted 561 inspections, launched 363 prosecutions and obtained convictions in 321 cases for effective implementation and enforcement of labour laws during the fortnight ending December 15 last. A sum of 1.22 lakh was recovered as fine imposed by various courts. Also, a sum of Rs 1.47 lakh was recovered from various industrial establishments on account of unpaid accumulation of wages during the same period.

Irrigation staff flay shifting of office

YAMUNANAGAR, Jan 11 — Shifting of the 'Yamuna Water Service Circle' from Jagadhri to Hisar has caused resentment amongst employees here.

According to highly placed sources the 'Yamuna Water Service Circle' (YWSC) is being shifted en-block to Hisar. 24 employees including 5 women and one handicapped person have been affected. When the employees met The Tribune's reporter here today they alleged that 7 couples had been affected by the order although it is a priority not to touch couples.

It is learnt that a carrier channel is to be constructed by the Irrigation Department in district Hisar to carry water to Rajasthan. To facilitate this the entire circle has been shifted to Sidhmukh Construction Circle No 2, Hisar.

The Rajasthan Government has deposited money for construction of a channel passing through district Hisar and Fatehabad to carry Bhakra canal waters to Rajasthan.

The employees said that the education of their children will be jeopardised if they shift in mid-session. They added that there was no logic for shifting/closing of this circle as sufficient flood protection works in this vicinity had recently been approved by the flood control board.

Moreover, the water services division, Dadupur and two divisions with drainage/flood control works are functioning under this circle.

These projects, being executed under World Bank Assistance will be completed in June, 2000.

They appealed to the Chief Minister and their local MLAs to defer the proposal.

Holiday home for kids coming up
From J.P. Bhardwaj

GURGAON: Surrounded by Aravali Hills and Damdama Lake, children's holiday home is coming up here. This home, named after Indira Gandhi, is likely to be ready in three months on 15 acres of land provided by the Damdama gram panchayat free of cost to the Indian Council for Child Welfare. A sum of Rs 2.15 crore has been spent on this project.

Mrs Sonia Gandhi, president of the All-Indian Congress Committee, laid the foundation stone of this project on September 22, 1994.

Last month Mrs Gandhi visited this place to acquaint herself with project. She is keen on the project being expedited.

The trust has constructed five clusters for children, a dining hall and amphitheatre for entertainment as well as conference hall. The amphitheatre can accommodate 150 children.

The main object of this project is to invite the children in the 5-10 year age group from various states to educate them regarding Indian culture and communal harmony. The main object is for children to be able to exchange views on customs, traditions, culture and other activities OF the one state to the children of another state.

The project was started during the tenure of Mr Bhajan Lal, Chief Minister.

Initially the project had a deadline of two years but due to the non-cooperation of the state government and district administration, the project would take as much as five years.

According to reliable sources, no minister nor any district officer has visited the project so far. Neither has the Haryana Vidyut Prasar Nigam provided power.

Last year all the children who were given bravery awards on Republic Day visited the holiday home. The award winners are expected this year as well.

Ved Pal to head COSAMB
Tribune News Service

CHANDIGARH, Jan 11 — Mr Ved Pal, Chairman of the Haryana State Agricultural Marketing Board, has been unanimously elected Chairman of the National Council of State Agricultural Marketing Boards (COSAMB) at the general body meeting of COSAMB in New Delhi.

It is for the first time that a person from Haryana has been elected Chairman of the apex organisation of all State Agricultural Marketing Boards in the country.

Mr Ved Pal said he would impress upon the Union Agriculture Minister the need for improving the infrastructure in the markets of farm produce, besides rendering financial assistance to different States.

The Managing Director of COSAMB, Mr S.S. Sodhi, said COSAMB was providing information pertaining to agricultural marketing activities of various boards in the country to all its members. The members of COSAMB are also taken to other countries so as to apprise them about the agricultural marketing activities and infrastructure development taking place there so that they may upgrade the developmental activities in their States for enhancing competitiveness of Indian farm products in the world market.

Small savings fetch 587 cr
Tribune News Service

CHANDIGARH, Jan 11 — Haryana had received investment of Rs 587.64 crore in small savings till November last against Rs 374.61 crore during the corresponding period last year.

An official spokesman today said the target for small savings for 1998-99 had been fixed at Rs 840 crore. The collections would pick up at a faster rate during the rest of the period and the target would be achieved, he hoped.

He said the collections during 1997-98 totalled Rs 741.56 crore as against the target of Rs 540 crore. In order to encourage the investors to deposit in small savings schemes, the government had launched an incentive prize scheme known as golden jubilee savings prizes schemes of Haryana which became effective from April 1 last and would continue up to March 31 next. As many as 16,000 prizes had been fixed for this triple draw scheme, he added.

He said the small savings played an important role in augmenting the resources of the State Government. The Union Government sanctioned loan to the State Government to the extent of 75 per cent of the net collections under various small savings schemes formulated by the Union Government. These loans were recoverable from the State Government in 25 years with a moratorium of five years. The Haryana Government had already received a loan of Rs 525.20 crore till September last on the basis of small savings collections which was 90.5 per cent of the investment target fixed at Rs 580 crore for the current financial year. The Government had received loan amounting to Rs 584.03 crore against the budgeted target of Rs 450 crore during 1997-98.

Drama festival from Jan 14
Tribune News Service

CHANDIGARH, Jan 11 — A two-day drama festival is being organised by the Haryana Urdu Akademi and Department of Public Relations and Cultural Affairs at Tagore Theatre here on January 14 and 15.

The festival will be inaugurated by the Haryana Education Minister, Mr Ram Bilas Sharma. The Financial Commissioner and Secretary, Education, Mr Vishnu Bhagwan, will preside over the function. 'Are Shareef Log', a play produced by the Indian People's Theatre Association (IPTA), Saharanpur, will be staged.

On the second day, the Haryana Minister of State for Public Relations, Mr Attar Singh Saini, will be the chief guest. The Director, Public Relations, Mr R.K. Khullar, will preside over the function.

Rs 45 lakh fraud detected
From Our Correspondent

ROHTAK, Jan 11 — The authorities of the HSSIDC have unearthed a fraud of at least Rs 45 lakh by the branch manager of the local raw material depot of the corporation.

According to a complaint lodged by corporation general manager at the city police station, branch manager Krishan Sharma allegedly supplied material to a firm here worth about Rs 18.62 lakh in violation of the guidelines which led to a loss of at least Rs 45 lakh to the corporation.

Two killed in accidents
From Our Correspondent

ROHTAK, Jan 11 — Two persons were killed in two accidents in the district in the past 24 hours.

According to reports, Jagbir Singh, a resident of Bhaini Chanderpal village, was killed when he was hit by a Tata Sumo near the Mokhra village crossing on the national highway yesterday.

In another accident, Balhe Ram of Arya Nagar here was hit by a Punjab Roadways bus near the main gate of the stand here on Saturday.

The victim succumbed to his injuries at the local PGIMS later. A case has been registered.

Man sentenced to 7 years' RI
Tribune News Service

FARIDABAD, Jan 11 — Mr P.L. Goyal, Additional District and Sessions Judge, today sentenced Shiv Charan of Jawahar Colony to undergo seven years' rigorous imprisonment after he was found responsible for the suicide of his wife, Geeta on July 15, 1997.

According to the prosecution, she was being harassed to force her to bring Rs 20,000 in cash from her parents.