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H A R Y A N A |  |
 Thursday, May 13, 1999 |
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VC told to withdraw
suspension orders |
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14 power
stations stay shut World Bank pats Haryana Hathnikund barrage nears
completion Haryana wants wheat movement
speeded up Grievances panel 'not serving
purpose' Electricity from gas by May-end Father, son killed over land
dispute Govt has failed on all fronts:
Sampat Threat to Bansi Lal govt 'not
over' |
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VC told to withdraw
suspension orders ROHTAK, May 12 — While the new academic session is yet to begin, Maharshi Dayanand University authorities and the non-teaching employees seem to be heading for a "confrontation" on the issue of the suspension of an official over the controversy of grant of extension to an employee appointed on contract (ad hoc) basis, recently. The Non-Teaching Employees Association of the university, which had observed a token strike yesterday in protest against the suspension of a Superintendent of the Establishment branch by the Vice-Chancellor on Monday, decided to continue their strike up to lunch for the second day today. They were demanding withdrawal of the suspension order. The decision to continue the strike today was taken at a gate meeting of the employees held this morning. The non-teaching employees are agitated over the manner in which the Superintendent, Mr Khale Ram Verma, had been placed under suspension. A spokesman of the Scheduled Caste and Backward Class Employees Welfare Association alleged that Mr Verma was being victimised as he had failed to oblige the Vice-Chancellor in carrying out his orders of granting extension to an employee appointed on ad hoc basis. He claimed that Mr Verma had highlighted the lacuna in the appointment and had appended "notes" on the file which displeased the Vice-Chancellor. He claimed that the appointment of the particular candidate had been in violation of the roster norms of appointment as the post against which he was appointed was meant for a candidate belonging to the reserved categories. The Maharshi Dayanand University Teaching Association (MDUTA) and Dr Ambedkar Teachers Front have also criticised the suspension and expressed concern over the functioning of the Vice-Chancellor. Both the associations have expressed solidarity with the non-teaching employees and have demanded a check on the ad hoc appointments made by the Vice-Chancellor. The Vice-Chancellor Lt. Gen (retd) O.P Kaushik, however, denied the charges and has claimed that Mr Verma had been suspended because he had failed to carry out official orders and indulged in indiscipline. He added that he had not violated any norm of appointment in this particular case. Mr Kartar Singh, president of the Non-Teaching Employees Association, said the union, which met this noon decided to give three days time to the Vice-Chancellor to explain whether the controversial post was meant for the reserved or general category candidates. He said the employees would again hold a gate meeting on Monday next to chalk out a strategy on the issue. He, however, added that the employees had decided to resume work in the post-lunch session. The authorities have denied that the employees had been on strike in the pre-lunch session today and claimed that work in the administrative wing had been normal. The other issue which
had been causing resentment among the non-teaching staff
had been the delay in the payment of salaries in view of
the financial crunch. |
14 power
stations stay shut CHANDIGARH, May 12 — Power situation continued to cause worry to the northern region despite some relief due to better weather conditions. Today alone there was a loss of 2383 MW as 14 thermal and hydroelectric units were down. Haryana power department sources here said that certain units were down as per scheduled maintenance, but some were down due to sudden faults. There had also been over drawl from several power stations. According to a fact sheet on the latest situation. Dadri's 200 MW unit was down due to generator fault and would be up for generation on May 25. Dehar's with 165 MW power station was having annual maintenance and was expected to generate by June 11. There was a tail race problem at 132 MW Bairasul project. It is not clear when the unit would start generation. The same was the position with Chamera with 180 MW Punjab's Ropar thermal plant's 210 MW unit was down for maintenance and is expected to start generating power by tomorrow. There was annual maintenance going on at Guru Nanak thermal plant's 110 MW unit. This Bathinda-based power station would also come up on stream by May 15. The PTPS unit at Panipat with 110 MW was having what the power engineers call "refurbishment" and is expected to generate by the end of July. Kota-based 210 MW thermal unit was having annual repairs and another 210 MW unit at the same place has developed leakage in its boiler tube. But these units are expected to start generation by the end of May. There was capital maintenance going on at the RAPP 110 MW unit and would be in working condition any time. Water leakage was the reason in this atomic power station located at Kota. There was water leakage at Salal, which has the capacity to generate 115 MW. Lack of boiler licence renewal had shut down 210 MW Singrauli station. Boiler tube leakage had shut down two other stations-Annapara and Guru Nanak Dev thermal plants with 210 MW capacity each. Most of these units would start producing power in the next couple of days. Haryana yesterday
consumed 343 lakh units, and there was no overdrawl from
the system — the northern grid, Mr Ranjit Issar,
Chairman, HPGC said. There was disruption in power supply
in Narnaul areas due windy conditions. The corporation is
maintaining a balance between the demand and the supply
by adjusting to the power requirements in each of the two
zones. |
World Bank
pats Haryana CHANDIGARH, May 12 — The World Bank has appreciated the steps taken by the present Haryana Government to improve the irrigation system through the World Bank aided Rs 1858 crore Water Resources Consolidation Project (WRCP). A four-member World Bank delegation, headed by Mr Geoff Spencer, which had an aerial survey of Hisar and Sirsa areas besides visiting Hathnikund barrage and the Haryana Irrigation Research and Management Institute, Kurukshetra, called on the Chief Minister, Mr Bansi Lal, here today. Mr Spencer expressed satisfaction at the pace of work of the irrigation projects. He accepted the request of the state government to extend the six-year long WRCP project by at least one more year to expand its scope by undertaking the construction of the Hisar-Ghaggar drain, besides other irrigation projects. Mr Spencer, who also interacted with the farmers at Kurukshetra the other day, said the farmers appeared satisfied with the formation of water users' associations as they were prepared to pay partly the expenditure of maintenance of water courses. He pointed out that despite spending Rs 630 crore so far, the state had a balance of Rs 900 crore. The Chief Minister informed Mr Spencer that although the WRCP was initiated 1994-95 for a period of six years his government increased the expenditure to speed up developmental works. He said state government would endeavour to maintain the smooth flow of its share of funds to fully utilise the services of the World Bank. Mr Spencer agreed to include in the project the construction of 'Sinchai bhawan' and a 'Sinchai colony' at Kurukshetra for the state irrigation department. The Chief Secretary, Mr
Ram S. Varma, said the state government would not like
floods to damage the area. It was because of this reason
that the Hisar-Ghaggar drain had now been conceived.
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Hathnikund
barrage nears completion YAMUNANAGAR: Construction on the Hathnikund barrage is on the verge of completion . A team of engineers, various type of modern machinery and about 1000 workers are working round the clock to make Chief Minister Bansi Lal's dream come true of completing this prestigious project before June 30 this year. All top officials of the Haryana Irrigation Department are doing personal monitoring of the activities at the Hathnikund barrage and tackling each problem/hurdle coming in the way of its completion. Each material being used in the construction of this barrage is tested at approved laboratories. On completion the Hathnikund barrage will replace the old outlined structure at Tajewala Headworks and hence, the persistent danger of destruction and damages of canal supplies will be mitigated. The major benefits from the construction of the Hathnikund barrage in the modernised regulation mechanism by providing electrically operated gates and gearing at this new barrage will minimise leakage of water and will ensure efficient and regular withdrawal of authorised shares of water. A power house of 16 mw capacity will be constructed on the fall available on the new hydel channel which will off-take from the Western Yamuna Canal link channel. A highway bridge has been constructed over the barrage which will boost transport means and business between Haryana and Uttar Pradesh, improving the economy of the area. It may be added that a beautiful lake will take shape upstream of the new barrage enhancing the ecology and environment of the area. Landscaping at the barrage site is under process. It will provide an attractive tourist spot. Construction of the Western Yamuna Canal (WJC) link channel at the Hathnikund barrage will help in drawing additional water for about two months depending upon its availability in the Yamuna. Mr S.P. Thosar, Works Manager of Hindustan Construction, told The Tribune that they had a good working experience in Haryana. He was sure of completing the work before the June 30 deadline, as desired by the Chief Minister during his visit to Hathnikund site on February 2. He said the entire team
of the HCC was committed to working round the
clock in spite of natural calamities like floods on
different occasions, the major one being on August 2,
1997 when 11 persons were trapped as the coffer dam was
washed away. He claimed the HCC had never compromised on
quality despite the accelerated progress at site. |
Haryana
wants wheat movement speeded up CHANDIGARH, May 12 — While Haryana appears to have broken all previous wheat procurement records of contributing the commodity to the Central pool, the slow movement of wheat wagons from Haryana to other parts of the country may soon cause concern to the officials concerned. The Haryana Government, says Mr N.K. Jain, Director, Food and Supplies has taken up with the Central Government the issue of wheat movement from the state. It has requested the Centre to take steps to ensure that at least six lakh tonnes to eight lakh tonnes of wheat is moved out of Haryana to deficient states every month at least up to August. The six procurement agencies have together already purchased 37.92 lakh tonnes of wheat out of the total arrival of 38.16 lakh tonnes in the state mandis. Private traders have not shown much interest in the purchases. So far, traders by and large, from outside Haryana have bought only 24,702 tonnes of wheat. So far the Centre has moved only 4.05 lakh tonnes out of the procured wheat in Haryana. Last year, procurement agencies had purchased 31.57 lakh tonnes out of the total arrival of 32.31 lakh tonnes in the entire season. However the agencies put together have bought 26.86 lakh tonnes till this day. The current wheat procurement shows that the state has already overshort even the revised target of 35 lakh tonnes fixed by the Central Government. Earlier procurement target given to the state was only 33 lakh tonnes. Mr Jain says, Haryana may touch 39 lakh tonnes this season, thanks to the good weather conditions which helped in equally good production and healthy grain. As farmers are quite happy with the income from wheat due to good production, nearly 50 per cent of the total estimated production, 80 lakh tonnes of wheat is likely to be brought into the mandis for sale. Earlier farmers used to retain 50 per cent to 65 per cent of their production for both domestic consumption and sale at an opportune time. It is because of the slow movement of wheat that bulk of the procured quantities which have not been stored in the warehouses are lying on the plinths in the open but covered with plastic sheets. Of the total procurement the Food and Supplies Department had purchased 8.25 lakh tonnes (22 per cent), Hafed 13.82 lakh tonnes (36 per cent), Food Corporation of India 6.16 lakh tonnes (16 per cent), Haryana Agro Industries Corporation 2.84 lakh tonnes (8 per cent), Haryana Warehousing Corporation 3.90 lakh tonnes (10 per cent), and Confed 2.9 lakh tonnes (8 per cent). The total wheat purchased by traders is less than 1 per cent. The highest procurement was in 1993-94. The mandis in Sirsa district have accounted for the highest arrivals of wheat — 5.87 lakh tonnes followed by Fatehabad 4.84 lakh tonnes, Karnal 4.21 lakh tonnes, Kaithal 4.16 lakh tonnes, Kurukshetra 3.45 lakh tonnes, Jind 3.78 lakh tonnes, Hisar 2.73 lakh tonnes, Faridabad 2.68 lakh tonnes, Panipat 1.25 lakh tonnes and Sonepat 1.10 lakh tonnes. The Panchkula mandi has recorded the lowest arrival of 5,794 tonnes. Other areas which had less than one lakh tonnes in arrivals included Ambala, Bhiwani, Gurgaon, Narnaul, Rohtak, Rewari, Yamunanagar and Jhajjar. The general arrival in
the state mandis which earlier varied between one lakh
tonnes and two lakh tonnes have now tapered down to a few
thousand tonnes. Yesterday's arrivals were only 16,104
tonnes and these are likely to further come down and
prices may start rising with official agencies' interest
likely to fall in purchases. With letters of credit worth
Rs 2,000 crore distributed among various agencies,
farmers, say the officials, have been made payments
within 72 hours of the purchases. |
Grievances
panel 'not serving purpose' SONEPAT, May 12 — Several complaints about the inadequate and erratic power and water supply, poor maintenance of roads and dumping of stones and other materials along roadsides were discussed at the monthly meeting of the District Public Relations and Grievances Committee here yesterday. Mr P.K. Mahapatra, Deputy Commissioner, presided over the meeting, in the absence of the committee's Chairman, Mr Mani Ram Godara, Home Minister, for the sixth consecutive month. Almost all non-official members expressed concern over the continued absence of the Minister from the meeting and pointed out that this committee was not serving its purpose of redressing public grievances. Some members said that though the meetings were attended by the Deputy Commissioner and heads of all government departments in the district, they had become a mere ritual. In fact, the presence of heads of departments at the meeting disrupts the working of government offices on that day. Complaints from the public are received in the complaint cell of the Deputy Commissioner's office. But most of the time, a complaint is not heard personally by the grievances committee, nor does anyone care to ascertain whether the person making the complaint has been satisfied. A complaint is discussed at the committee meeting and filed after the department concerned has given its version. Though MLAs and MPs are members of this committee , several of them seldom attend its meetings. Earlier , the Deputy
Commissioner disposed of six of the nine complaints
before the committee. |
Electricity
from gas by May-end FARIDABAD, May 12 — Haryana will be richer by 143 mw of power when the National Thermal Power Corporation’s (NTPC) gas-based project at Mujedi, near here, starts generating electricity by the end of May. This is the first unit of the 432 mw project. The commissioning of the unit will be seven months ahead of schedule of January, 2000. The project is being constructed by the NTPC in technical collaboration with Siemens Ag of Germany. A team of 12 German engineers are supervising the project work. NTPC sources said the erection work of all machinery and equipment had been completed. Gas pipeline had been laid up to the project. However, Faridabad will not directly benefit from the project till December as the work on the Palla sub-station is yet to be completed. The power generated from the first unit would be supplied from the Samaipur switchyard to the Haryana grid which would distribute it to the various parts of the state. The 220-kv double circuit transmission lines from Mujedi to Samaipur sub-station constructed by the Power Grid Corporation of India which had laid it has already been connected and test charged by the power grid and the NTPC. The overseas economic cooperation fund of Japan has provided a loan of Rs 700 crore for the project which will supply all power generated at Mujedi to Haryana. The second unit would
start generating power in July and the third of steam by
March, 2000. |
Father,
son killed over land dispute FATEHABAD, May 12 — A dispute among brothers over a piece of land led to the murder of a father and son at Baijalpur village in this district yesterday. The police has arrested three persons in this connection. According to reports, Ratti Ram, Ram Chander and Sheo Ram were three brothers. When Sheo Ram was child he was separated from the family and lost all links with it. In his absence, Ram Chander and Ratti Ram distributed four acres of their ancestral agricultural land among the themselves. But after about 20 years, Sheo Ram suddenly appeared in June 1996. Raja Ram, a cousin of three brothers, came to the village with a person claiming to be Sheo Ram and the latter staked his claim to the ancestral land. Both Ratti Ram and Ram Chander denied his claim and refuted his identity. Cases and counter cases were filed in the court by both the parties and it was slated for hearing on May 25 . The double murder occurred yesterday night when Ratti Ram's son Ram Paul and grand son Bhim Singh were sleeping in their fields. Ratti Ram has charged Raja Ram, his sons Subhash and Ved, Sheo Ram and Maya Pati, wife of Ved with the murder. The Superintendent of police said the police had taken action under Sections 170 and 151 of the CrPC against the parties last month to avert a clash. He said the post-mortem examination report has revealed that Bhim Singh died due to a bullet injury while the viscera of Ram Pal had been sent for chemical analysis. A case under sections
148, 149 and 302 of the IPC has been registered and
Subhash, Ved and Sheo Ram have been arrested. The police
believes that some more persons were involved in the
crime. More arrests were expected soon, the SP added. |
Govt has
failed on all fronts: Sampat HISAR, May 12 — A senior Indian National Lok Dal (INLD) leader and former Minister, Prof Sampat Singh, today ridiculed the claims of the Bansi Lal government of having fulfilled 90 per cent of the promises made by it. Addressing a press conference here today, he said the HVP, in its manifesto, had promised to provide round-the-clock electricity to people within two months of coming to power. But even after three years, the commitment remained unfulfilled. Instead, Prof Sampat Singh alleged, the supply of electricity had been curtailed. In most villages in the stage, there were 12 -hour declared power cuts during the day. The INLD leader accused the government of failure on all fronts. On the economic front, the growth rate had come down to 6.6 per cent from 8.83 per cent during last year. He alleged that the government had sharply reduced the grants for welfare schemes. The previous year's allocation was Rs 2368.65 crore, while only Rs 2090.27 crore had been allocated for the social services sector this year. Similarly, for the development sector the government had allocated Rs 2130.66 crore this year against Rs 2539.56 crore during the previous year. The government had
imposed heavy taxes on the farmers of the state, he
further alleged. The total land revenue collections at
the time the Bansi Lal government took over amount to Rs
1.31 crore only, while the targeted estimates for the
land revenue for 1999-2000 have been put at Rs 7.16
crore. |
Threat to
Bansi Lal govt 'not over' PANCH GAON (Gurgaon), May 12 — Former Chief Minister, Mr Bhajan Lal today said that the threat to the stability of the Bansi Lal government was not over. Talking to newsmen here, Mr Bhajan Lal said the Bansi Lal government had become "unpopular". It had failed on all fronts, he added. When asked if had taken a dissident minister and an MLA of the HVP to the residence of the President of the Congress, Ms Sonia Gandhi, he evaded a direct reply saying he wanted to keep some political developments a secret. He lamented that the chief of the INLD, Mr Om Prakash Chautala, was unpredictable. The Bansi Lal government would have been toppled had Mr Chautala worked according to a strategy. He declined to go into details on the issue. To a specific question he said he would contest from the Karnal Lok Sabha constituency, from where he was elected in the last poll. However, he said he would like to contest from an assembly constituency if there were simultaneous parliamentary and assembly elections in the state. Earlier, speaking at a function of schoolchildren, held under the banner of the Sanjay Gandhi Memorial Trust, Mr Bhajan Lal said he was making efforts to become the Chief Minister of the state for the fourth time. Mr Bhajan Lal was the chief guest at a prize distribution function in connection with a quiz contest of school- children. Ms Sonia Gandhi is the chairperson of the trust. Among the speakers were a former MLA, Mr Mohan Lal Pipal and a leader of the Indian Youth Congress, Mr Pradeep Zaildar. Earlier, he was felicitated by his supporters at Rajiv Chowk. Significantly, except for a former Rajya Sabha MP, Mr K.L. Poswal, no senior leader of the Congress turned up at Rajiv Chowk or at the function in which Mr Bhajan Lal was the chief guest. Mr Bhajan Lal began his
schedule in Gurgaon with a visit to the residence of the
president of the All-India Brahmin Mahasabha, Mr Mange
Ram Sharma. |
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