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| Wednesday, January 19, 2000, Chandigarh, India  
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Notice to Haryana on octroi
abolition Ex-minister, IAS officer's bail
plea fails CEO reviews poll arrangements Chautala to contest from Rori Vote fearlessly: Chautala Party probables start campaign MLA's leave plea dismissed |
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Instruments’
industry in doldrums IGP warns women against foeticide Interior roads cry for repair Sonepat rocked SDM’s son succumbs to bullet
injuries
Hike in revenue receipts Bid to rob bus conductor
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Notice to
Haryana on octroi abolition CHANDIGARH, Jan 18 — The constitutional validity of the Haryana ordinance dated November 1, 1999, abolishing the levy and collection of octroi by municipalities in Haryana was challenged by Mr Hari Ram and 41 other employees of the Palwal Municipality in the Punjab and Haryana High Court today. A Division Bench comprising Mr Justice G.S. Singhvi and Mr Justice J.S. Narang issued notice of motion to the state of Haryana and others for February 8, which was accepted by the state Advocate-General. It was argued by the petitioners' counsel that vide 73rd and 74th Amendment of the Constitution, part IX and IX-A had been incorporated into the Constitution providing that panchayats and municipalities in India be made institutions of self-Government which had been given constitutional status. The Constitution provided for appointment of Finance Commission, within a year of the commencement of the 1992 amendment. The same had to be reconstituted after every 5 years. Under Article 243-Y, the Finance Commission was required to review the imposition of taxes and duties by the state and in what ratio they would be apportioned between the state and the municipalities. The commission was also to recommend which taxes and duties were to be levied by municipal committees. The recommendations were required to be placed before the legislature. Counsel submitted that the commission had not recommended the abolition of octroi, which was the main source of income of the municipalities. The result was that municipal committees would not be able to discharge their constitutional functions and obligations. It was contended that the state had no power to abolish the levy and collection of octroi. It was also contended that due to the abolition of octroi, the petitioners had been retrenched and sent to other institutions. Dairy
owners' plea dismissed A Division Bench comprising Mr Justice V.S. Aggarwal and Mr Justice M.S. Gill today dismissed a writ petition filed by the Dairy Development Association, Jalandhar, a society of persons engaged in milk dairies, who had challenged the notice regarding shifting of milk dairies outside the city. They had challenged the notice on various grounds and the operation of the notice had been stayed earlier by the High Court. While dismissing the writ petition the Judges observed that the scheme prepared for shifting the dairies was to ensure hygiene and health and could not be described as illegal. It was also no case of discrimination. Taking
stock of totality of circumstances, the Judges found no
ground for quashing the impugned notice. They directed
that the stay order earlier granted would stand
automatically vacated after three months and advised the
petitioners in the meanwhile to take benefit of the
scheme. |
Ex-minister,
IAS officer's bail plea fails ROHTAK, Jan 18 — The anticipatory bail application of former minister, Mr Sri Kishan Dass, and the then Deputy Commissioner, Mr Anil Kumar, who have been charged with misutilisation of official position and misappropriation of funds, has been rejected by the Additional District and Sessions Judge, Mr M.S. Sullar. Mr Manmohan Goyal, son of Mr Sir Kishan Dass and Mr R.K. Garg, Executive Engineer, HUDA, have also been named in the FIR registered by the state Vigilance Bureau here on December 31, 1999. Their bail application, too has been dismissed by Mr Sullar. The vigilance bureau has registered a case under Sections 406, 409, 420, 467, 468, 471 and 120-B of the IPC and Section 13(I) of prevention of Corruption Act against Mr Sri Kishan Dass, Mr Anil Kumar Mr Manmohan Goyal and Mr R.K. Garg. The former minister has been accused of misusing his official position in pressurising HUDA to acquire 130 acres of land situated opposite his farmhouse and factory with the intention of increasing its value. The land has been acquired for the development of industrial area. The Vigilance Bureau has alleged that the government funds meant for carrying repair of roads damaged by the floods in 1995-96 have been misappropriated by the former minister and the then Deputy Commissioner. It is alleged that an amount of Rs 11.40 crore out of total allocations of Rs 13.35 crore for the five cities of Bhiwani, Hisar, Sirsa, Panipat and Rohtak, was misutilised in Rohtak town at the behest of Mr Sri Kishan Dass, then Town and Country Planning Minister. In the remaining four cities only Rs 2.05 crore was. The HUDA engineer, the
FIR said, had raised the amount of 87 estimates in
connivance with the minister's son, Mr Manmohan Goyal,
and the then Deputy Commissioner in an illegal manner. |
CEO
reviews poll arrangements SONEPAT, Jan 18 — The Chief Electoral Officer of Haryana, Mr Bhaskar Chatterji, reviewed the poll arrangements for the forthcoming Assembly elections with the district officials at a meeting held here yesterday. Mr Sudhir Rajpal, Deputy Commissioner, Mr K.P. Singh, SSP, Sub-Divisional Magistrates of Sonepat, Ganaur and Gohana and various other officials attended the meeting. Mr Chatterji directed the officials to take effective steps to ensure free and fair assembly elections in the district. He stressed on the need for preparing duty list of the polling staff and arranging a pre-election rehearsal well in time, besides proper coordination among various official agencies in the district. Mr Chatterji said electronic voting machines (EVMs) would be used for the first time in the Haryana and directed officials to educate the electorate on the proper use of the machines for casting their votes. He also directed the
police officials to take steps to check the activities of
the anti-social elements and prevent them from disturbing
the election process. |
Chautala
to contest from Rori CHANDIGARH, Jan 18 — The Haryana Chief Minister, Mr Om Prakash Chautala has declared that the Speaker of the Haryana Assembly, Mr Ashok Kumar Arora, will file his nomination papers from his traditional constituency of Thanesar on February 2. The Chief Minister will accompany Mr Arora to the office of the Returning Officer. It may be recalled that
the BJP had included Thanesar in the list of those
constituencies the party wanted to contest on its symbol
in alliance with the INLD. |
Vote
fearlessly: Chautala AMBALA, Jan 18 — The Haryana Chief Minister, Mr Om Prakash Chautala, while addressing the people of Naggal constituency said that the Naggal Vidhan Sabha seat must be won by the party candidate. He was addressing party workers at PWD rest house here this evening. The Chief Minister said that this could be done only if the people of the constituency supported the party candidate unitedly and whole heartedly. A golden opportunity had come to them to win this seat, and if they missed it, they would never succeed to get it in future, Mr Chautala added. While removing the apprehensions of fear by a ‘politician’ of this constituency, Mr Chautala assured the people that “gundaism” would not be tolerated at any cost and they should not be afraid of anybody so far he was in the chair of Chief Minister. He advised them to work earnestly for the party candidate and vote fearlessly in the ensuing Vidhan Sabha elections to be held next month. He also appealed to people not to commit a mistake which they had done during the last Vidhan Sabha elections. The people of the area also assured the Chief Minister that any candidate recommended by him for this constituency would be supported by them without any consideration. Mr Chautala further said that it was very difficult to serve the people as Chief Minister but he had accepted the challenge given to him by various circumstances. He also said that he had a keen desire to serve the people of the state who had suffered a lot during the last more than eight years. The present election was very vital and after a new government headed by him was formed, he would spare no effort to work for the development of the state, serve the people honestly, remove their grievances and bring Haryana on the top of the map of the country, the Chief Minister added. As regards the selection
of candidate for this seat, the Chief Minister left the
choice to the people of the area and added that anybody
recommended by them would be party candidate and
reiterated that once a candidate was recommended by them,
it became their moral duty to support him, thereby
enabling him to win the seat with a thumping majority,
the Chief Minister added. |
Party
probables start campaign REWARI, Jan 18 — Though nominations for the Assembly poll will start from January 27, electioneering has already been launched by candidates of various political parties in this constituency. The Congress candidate, Capt Ajay Singh Yadav, addressed his first election meeting in Rajiv Nagar here on Sunday. Mr Sheo Lal Singh of the
HVC carried out door-to-door campaign in various wards of
the town on Sunday. An independent candidate Mr Vijay
Somani addressed several election meetings in various
wards of the town as well as 12 villages in last one
week. The BJP under whose quota Rewari falls, is yet to
announce its candidate. |
MLA's
leave plea dismissed CHANDIGARH, Jan 18 — The Supreme Court today dismissed a special leave petition (SLP) filed by the BJP MLA from Gharaunda, Mr Ramesh Kashyap. This was stated here by the Additional Political Adviser to the Haryana Chief Minister, Mr Dharambir Singh. Mr Kashyap had filed the SLP against the orders of the Punjab and Haryana High Court, declaring Mr Ramesh Rana of the INLD as the winner from the Gharaunda constituency in the 1996 elections. Mr Kashyap was declared elected in 1996 by 11 votes. His election was challenged by Mr Rana, who had demanded a recount of votes. After the recount, the court declared Mr Rana elected with a margin of over 100 votes. However, the apex court had stayed the operation of the high court orders after Mr Kashyap filed the SLP. Though the BJP MLA was allowed to participate in the proceedings of the Assembly, he was denied the voting right. With the dismissal of Mr
Kashyap's SLP, the BJP's bargaining power vis-a-vis the
INLD on the issue of seat-sharing in the ensuing
elections has suffered a setback. |
Instruments’
industry in doldrums AMBALA, Jan 18 — The scientific instrument industry here has been facing crisis as the demand of its goods has been decreasing in the country. Several entrepreneurs connected to manufacturing units for a long time are shifting into other areas of business. One of the reasons of this downtrend is the tough and unhealthy competition among entrepreneurs. The Ambala cantt scientific instrument industry was established nearly 100 years ago and is known not only in India but all over Asia for scientific instruments. There are nearly 1,000 tiny, cottage and small-scale industrial units, giving employment to over 10,000 persons. The industry is engaged in the production of optical instruments, glassware, mechanical instruments, microscopes, biological models, charts, laboratory furnaces, ovens and incubators. Maximum units are in the civil area of Ambala Cantonment. There is only one industrial estate which is having 60 units working in a planned manner as it was developed by the HSIDC. During the past decade, a large number of scientific instrument production units started in different states, raising tough competition for the Ambala industry. Many units in Ambala are unable to hold stock due to shortage of finance and space. The quality has been taking a back seat as the industry is unable to employ qualified persons, who could help in the research and development in the units. Nearly two decades ago Instrument Design and Development Centre was established by the state government to provide technical assistance to the entrepreneurs. The centre is now fighting for its survival. It has increased the charges for providing assistance, which can not be afforded by a small unit. During the past several years, China, Taiwan and Korea have not only entered the trade but also seriously affected the Indian market in a big way by supplying scientific instruments at cheaper rates. There is a sufficient demand of quality instruments in Bangladesh, Nepal, Sri Lanka, Singapore, USA, Malaysia, Kuwait, Ethiopia, Indonesia, Kenya, Japan and Germany. Big institutions invite global tenders. The quantity of every item remains very large and delivery period is limited. For submitting a tender, a handsome amount is to be deposited which is not possible for every entrepreneur. Mr Giyan Chand Aggarwal, President, Scientific Apparatus Manufacturers Association (SAMA), demanded that a Haryana Government marketing centre should be established here so that the Ambala instrument industry could improve the quality of production. Mr M.S. Tandon, President, Ambala Scientific Apparatus Manufacturers Association (ASAMA) is of the view that financial institutions, especially nationalised banks should advance funds to the instrument industry liberally, in particular the tiny cottage and small-scale industrial units up to Rs 4 lakh instead of Rs 2 lakh without any collateral security at a concessional rate of 12 per cent interest. Mr N.C. Jain, Chairman, Haryana Exporter Association, demanded that an industrial area should be established by the HSIDC for Ambala industrial units. The exporters should be given 2 per cent incentive of FOB value on their exports so that they could be able to face competition from foreign companies. He also urged the government to construct a conference hall-cum-exhibition centre at Ambala so that products made in industries could be displayed there. The local MLA, Mr Anil
Vij, said scientific instrument industry of Ambala cantt
should be provided every facility on a priority basis by
the government. This industry is the real industrial
identity of this place. “I will pressurise the
government to declare the cantonment area as industrially
backward”, he added. |
IGP warns
women against foeticide SONEPAT, Jan 18 — Dr John V George, IGP, Rohtak Range, said here yesterday that only in 15 per cent cases of murders, the accused were convicted and sentenced which resulted in the common man's lack of faith in the system. In a majority of such cases, the parties entered into a compromise, which led to the acquittal of the accused in the courts. Dr George expressed these views while presiding over a function organised by the police in connection with the mass contact campaign, on the premises of Malviya Shikhsha Sadan here. Prominent doctors, educationists, sociologists, politicians, mediapersons, writers and poets participated in the function. Dr George said unless a feeling of security and sense of justice was created in the minds of the affected families, no law could be enforced effectively to bring the accused to book. He deplored the fact that liberal provisions of the law were being misused in conducting foeticide. He described the act as a 'sin' and demanded awakening among the people to oppose it. He advocated strict action against the couples and doctors who resort to this practice. He appealed to women to fight for economic freedom and oppose foeticide under the duress of their families. He called upon the police to take strict action against those forcing women into committing foeticide. Dr George urged the doctors to adopt the norms of the World Health Organisation and the Indian Medical Association. Mr Pawan Bansal, journalist, Mr K.P. Singh, SSP, Dr Pradeep Mukhi and Dr Uma Mittal were among the speakers. The speakers from
Jankidas Kapur Public School bagged the police trophy. |
Interior
roads cry for repair FATEHABAD: All interior roads of the town need repair. Be it the old D.S.P. road, Basti Bhiwan road, Thana road, Dharamshala road, Sanyas Ashram road or Rattia Chungi road, all roads are in bad shape. Big potholes have developed as these roads have not been repaired for a long time. As a result driving has become a nightmare. People have been making complaints about the pathetic condition of the roads, but to no avail. Poor sanitary conditions is another problem which is a cause of concern to local residents. Due to apathy of the authorities concerned, almost all colonies of the town are in bad condition. The reason is that safai karamcharis of the Municipal Committee rarely clean these lanes. Repeated requests by the local residents in this regard have fallen on deaf ears. * * * The District Red Cross Society is setting up a de-addiction and rehabilitation centre at Fatehabad. According to Mr Anil Malik, Deputy Commissioner, and president of the District Red Cross Society, the central government has already given its approval. The centre would start working from January, 2000. The centre will have an annual budget of Rs 10 lakh. Mr Malik has appealed to the local residents to help the administration in its endeavour to free the addicts from the drug menace and motivate them to contact the society for de-addiction. The D.C. said that the society was also making efforts to set up a home for the aged, a handicapped rehabilitation centre and an AIDS awareness centre in the district. The District Election Office has begun preparing voter lists for panchayat, panchayat samitis and zila parishads under the Panchayati Raj Act. The final publication of these lists would be completed by February 25, 2000. According to the District Election Officer-cum-Deputy Commissioner, Fatehabad, the work on the lists began on November 9, 1999 and all persons who attain the age of 18 on January 1, 2000, would become eligible to be included in the voter list. Mr Malik said that the lists were being prepared keeping the Assembly voter lists published on July 21 as the basis. He said while the Assembly voter lists were prepared by treating the Assembly constituency as unit, the panchayat, panchayat samitis and Zila parishad voter lists were prepared by treating wards as a unit. * * * The vegetable market here is in a very bad shape. It is situated in a very congested place in the heart of the town. Due to lack of sanitation, the market gives a disorderly look. Heaps of garbage, filth and rotten fruits and vegetables can be seen littered. Bad smell fills the area. Surprisingly, a new vegetable market was constructed on the Hisar road which has been waiting for its occupants for the past three years, but no efforts are being made by the authorities concerned to shift the market to its new place. * * * The grain market of the
town is another problem for the local residents. The
market is too small to meet the requirements of the town
and the surrounding areas. The small size of the market
is exposed during the crop season, especially the wheat
season. During the wheat season; not only the market is
packed to the full, but the roads surrounding the market
are also packed with the crop. The other problem is its
location. When the market was constructed, it was almost
outside the town. But due to fast development of new
colonies the market has now come in the middle of the
town. This causes a lot of problems for the local
residents. Tractor-trailors cause traffic jams near the
Bhattu road bus stop and outside the main bus stand.
Residents demand that the grain market should be shifted
to some area outside the town. This will also end the
problem of space. |
Sonepat
rocked SONEPAT, Jan 18 —
The city and its adjoining areas were rocked by a mild
earthquake around 10.30 p.m. last night. The tremors
lasted a few seconds. Windows and doors rattled. However,
no loss of life or property has been reported from any
part of the city and elsewhere in the district. |
SDM’s
son succumbs to bullet injuries SONEPAT, Jan 18 — Kapil Kumar, 19-year-old son of Mr Dharampal, SDM, who had sustained bullet injuries by a revolver, succumbed to his injuries at Jaipur Golden Hospital in Delhi yesterday. According to a report,
the body of Kapil Kumar was cremated in his native
village in Jind district in the presence of a large
number of people. The police believe it to be a case of
suicide. |
Hike in
revenue receipts CHANDIGARH, Jan 18 — Haryana has recorded an increase of 13.49 per cent in its revenue receipts till December during the current financial year as against an increase of only 1.75 per cent during the year 1998-99. While stating this here
today, the Additional Political Secretary to Chief
Minister, Mr Dharambir Singh, said the Chief Minister, Mr
Om Prakash Chautala, had announced certain relaxations to
rationalise the tax structure. The increase in revenue
receipts were a result of these steps, he stated. |
Bid to
rob bus conductor ROHTAK, Jan 18 — Three youths opened fire in a Haryana Roadways bus near Pakasma village last night and attempted to snatch cash from the conductor. While no one was injured, the culprits were able to flee. According to police sources the bus, belonging to Sonepat depot, was coming to Rohtak. When it reached near Paksama crossing at about 8.30 p.m. three youths stood up and one of them opened fire in the air to scare the conductor and passengers. It is reported that they
tried to snatch the hand bag of the conductor Sultan
Singh but did not succeed. However, they got down when
the bus slowed near the village, about 15 km from here.
The police has registered a case in this connection. |
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