 |
| Tuesday, April 4, 2000, Chandigarh, India  
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Results of municipal poll Finance Ministers’ panel to
meet in Delhi Power tariff hike may give partial
relief Admn to cancel case against BJP
chief Hooda flays move to set up casino Rewari-Bhiwadi rail plan under
review |
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Power connections to be
regularised Chaitra Chaudas fair begins Lawyers organise protest march HC summons record in Dangi case Free plots for farm labourers
sought Haryana revives scheme Jat Society to set up 2 colleges 4 killed in mishap Project to improve state highways
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Results of municipal poll SIRSA, April 3 — The INLD-BJP alliance recorded a thumping victory in four of the five municipal bodies in the district. The poll for the Dadwali Municipal Committee was not held as its term is yet to expire. The Congress could not reach the double-digit mark. Prominent among the defeated candidates were outgoing president of the Sirsa Municipal Council and Congress-supported candidate Sukhvinder Kaur Gill and outgoing President of the Ellenabad Municipal Committee Kamlesh Sharma. A eunuch, Parkasho made history when she won for Kalanwali Municipal Committee. Of the 31 wards of the Sirsa Municipal Council election to 4 wards was unopposed. The INLD-BJP alliance won 23, Independents 6 and the Congress 2. The winning candidates are Suresh Kuckoo (Ward No. 1), Hardai — Independent (Ward No. 2), Iqbal Singh (Ward No. 3), Prem Lata (Ward No. 4), Vijay Bansal (Ward No. 5), Chandu Lal — Independent (Ward No. 6), Jai Dayal Aneja (Ward No. 7), Krishna Fogat (Ward No. 8) Atma Ram — unopposed (Ward No. 9), Radhey Sham — unopposed (Ward No. 10), Kamlesh Sachdeva (Ward No. 11), Sudesh Batra (Ward No. 12), Leela Dhar Saini (Ward No. 14), Raj Kumar of the Congress (Ward No. 15), Sushil Kumar (Ward No. 16), Shanti Swarup (Ward No. 17, Kapoor Singh — Independent (Ward No. 18), Rajender Ganeshiwala (Ward No. 19), Padam Jain — unopposed (Ward No. 20), Raj Rani (Ward No. 21), Rajender Gujjar — unopposed (Ward No. 22), Sunita Rani — Independent (Ward No 23, Ratan Bala (Ward No. 24), Banwari Lal — Independent (Ward No. 25), Shakuntala of the Congress (Ward No. 26), Manohar Lal — Independent (Ward No. 27), Asha Rani (Ward No. 28), Pardeep Mehta (Ward No. 29), Sushma — Independent (Ward No. 30) and Ram Niwas (Ward No. 31). The winning candidates from the 15-member Ellenabad Municipal Committee are Tiku Ram of the Congress, Chuna Devi, Mahavir Dharm Pal of the Congress, Charan Kaur, Dalip Singh, Sunita, Jagdish Jangra, Kanshi Ram, Saroj Bhagirath Saini and Savita Sihag, Dharamveer Godara, Pawan Kumar, Sham Lal and Geego Rani, from Ward No. 1 to 15, respectively. The winning candidates from the 13-member Kalanwali Municipal Committee are Sheela, Pushpa Narang, Munsha Singh, Parkasho, Kanta Devi, Manju Bala, Surekha Rani, Tota Ram, Sanjeev Kumar, Jeet Singh, Gurcharan Singh, Jaswant Singh and Sukhdev Singh from Ward No. 1 to 13, respectively. The winning candidates from the 15-member Rania Municipal Committee are Dalip Nath, Nidan Ram, Jeeto Bai, Chander Bhan, Varyam Chand, Gopal Das, Sher Singh, Harjinder Singh, Manjeet Kaur, Veerbhan, Prabhjot Kaur, Raj Rani, Sukhvinder Kaur, Hukum Singh and Mahinder Singh from Ward No. 1 to 15, respectively. FARIDABAD: Mr Shiv Charan Sharma was the only candidate to have won of the eight former councillors who contested the electiont to the Faridabad Municipal Corporation held here on Sunday. He won from Ward No 5. His wife Mrs Maya Sharma, won from Ward No 6 which was reserved for women. Notable among the losers are Mr Zile Singh, Senior Deputy Mayor in the erstwhile House from Ward No 7, Mr Ram Kumar Tewatia, Ms Neera Tomar, Mr Ram Saran, Mr Gajendra Pal, Ms Sunita Parashar and Mr Uday Chand. The Bahujan Samaj Party candidate, Mr Chandrika Prasad, won from Ward No 3 (reserved). Mrs Anita Goswami won the poll by the highest margin of 3,381 votes. Three journalists also tried their luck, but only Renu Bhatia could win. The House has 25 seats but the poll was held for 24. REWARI: The following have been elected councillors from various wards of the Rewari Municipal Council: Mr Ram Parasram Sharma (Ward No 1), Mrs Pushpa Devi (Ward No 2), Mr Madan Lal (Ward No 3), Mrs Shakuntala Devi (Ward No 4) Mrs Sanmtosh Pawar (Ward No 5), Mrs Krishna Devi (Ward No 6), Mrs Sushma Rani (Ward No 7), Mr Partap Singh (Ward No 8), Mr Manish Charaya (Ward No 9), Mr Ghanshyam Bhalia (Ward No 10), Mr Dalip (Ward No 11), Mr Satya Narain Yadav (Ward No 12), Mr Shadiram Sharma (Ward No 13), Mr Girish Kumar Bhardwaj (Ward No 14), Mr Vijay Bhushan Narula (Ward No 15), Mr Kishan Lal Saini (Ward No 16), Mrs Suchitra Chandana (Ward No 17), Mr Sanjay Kumar (Ward No 18), Mrs Geeta Devi (Ward No 19), Mr Naresh Kumar (Ward No 20), Mr Harish Chand Arora (Ward No 21), Mr Ram Avtar Chhabri (Ward No 22), Mr Hanuman Singh Chhabri (Ward No 23), Mr Pardeep Bhargava (Ward No 24), Mrs Premwati (Ward No 25), Mr Daulat Ram (Ward No 26) and Mrs Rajbala (Ward No 27). ROHTAK: Twelve women have been elected to the local municipal council for which polling was held on Sunday. As many as 172 candidates had contested for the 31 seats in the council. About 39 per cent of the seats have come to women. Munshi Ram was declared unopposed from Ward No. 17. The winners are Ashok Kumar (Ward No. 1), Kartar (Ward No. 2), Mayawati (Ward No. 3), Anita (Ward No. 4), Jaywanti (Ward No. 5), Sanjay Bedi (Ward No. 6), Pratibha Suman (Ward No. 7), Tej Kaur (Ward No. 8), Navin Kumar (Ward No. 9), Jitender (Ward No. 10), Kishan Singh (Ward No. 11), Jagbir (Ward No. 12), Meenakshi (Ward No. 13), Om Parkash (Ward No. 14), Poonam (Ward No. 15), Ajay Kumar (Ward No. 16), Munshi Ram (Ward No. 17), Dharamvir Tuli (Ward No. 18), Subhash Chander (Ward No. 19), Subhash Chander (Ward No. 20), Seema (Ward No. 21), Krishna Devi (Ward No. 22), Pritam Kaur (Ward No. 23), Kiran Gupta (Ward No. 24), Gulshan (Ward No. 25), Navin (Ward No. 26), Raj Singh (Ward No. 27), Jai Kishan (Ward No. 28), Surender (Ward No. 29), Kelavati Devi (Ward No. 30), and Shiv Kumar (Ward No. 31). While some candidates had contested as Independents, some others were supported by the Congress from outside. The BJP had fielded 19 candidates. FATEHABAD: Candidates owing allegiance to the INLD-BJP alliance emerged victorious in the elections to the local municipal committee, the results of which were declared on Sunday evening. The winning candidates are Sheela Goswami (Ward No. 1), Suresh Kumar (Ward No. 2), Meena Devi (Ward No. 3), Premo Devi (Ward No. 4), Chuni Lal (Ward No. 5), Shikha Mehta (Ward No. 6), Charanjit Sharma (Ward No. 7), Gobind Chowdhary (Ward No. 8), Sushil Narang (Ward No. 9), Mukesh (Ward No. 10), Uhsa Rani (Ward No. 11), Sheela (Ward No. 12), Raj Kumar and Surinder Mukhi were elected unopposed from Ward No. 13 and 14, respectively, Durgash Arora (Ward No. 15), Vijay Kirad (Ward No. 16), Usha Dahiya (Ward No. 17), Satya Pal Bansal (Ward No. 18), and Jagir Singh (Ward No. 19). YAMUNANAGAR: The winners for the local municipal council are Bela Bhola (Ward No. 1), Pawan (Ward No. 2), Ajay Kumar (Ward No. 3), R.K. Sharma (Ward No. 4), Vijay Babbar (Ward No. 5), Sunita (Ward No. 6), Surjit Mehta (Ward No. 7), Sat Pal Dagga (Ward No. 8), Gulshan (Ward No. 9), Indu Behal (Ward No. 10), Mahima Singh (Ward No. 11), Pushplata (Ward No. 12), Sangeet Aggarwal (Ward No. 13), Pardeep Kumar (Ward No. 14), Sangeeta Sharma (Ward No. 15), Ashok Tyagi (Ward No. 16), Om Parkash (Ward No. 17), Satwinder (Ward No. 18), Shakuntala Devi (Ward No. 19), Jasbir Singh (Ward No. 20), Jagdish (Ward No. 21), Jagjit Singh Booter (Ward No. 22), Sat Pal (Ward No. 23), Vimla Rani (Ward No. 24), Charanjit (Ward No. 25), Subhash Chander (Ward No. 26), Kanta Rani (Ward No. 27), Sangeet Singal (Ward No. 28), Naresh Kalra (Ward No. 29), and Arif Hasan (Ward No. 31). Dilbagh Singh was elected unopposed from Ward No. 30. SONEPAT: The Indian National Lok Dal (INLD) and the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) alliance received a big jolt in the elections to the Sonepat Municipal Council the reuslt of which was declared by the Returning Officer, Mr Dharampal, on Sunday evening. According to official sources, the alliance partners which fielded their candidates in all 31 wards, bagged only 11 seats whereas independent MLA Dev Raj Diwan-sponsored candidates won nine seats out of the 21 candidates who contested the elections. The remaining seats were won by the independent candidates. A BJP woman candidate, Ms Madhubala, won the seat (Ward No. 7) by a margin of seven votes only. Mrs Bharpai Chahel, President of the district unit of the Mahila Morcha of the BJP, who contested the election with the support of the INLD from ward No. 31 was defeated and remained in the third place. According to a report
reaching here, as many as 100 ballot papers were found
missing from ward No. 4 at Gohana town and a case was
registered against the presiding officer of polling booth
No. 14 as he was found in a drunken condition while on
duty. |
No party gets majority in
MC poll AMBALA, April 3 — No party could get majority in the Municipal Council elections in Ambala City. Out of the 31 wards, the result of 30 were declared. The result of ward no. 10 could not be declared as 59 votes were found missing during the counting. As per information, the BJP emerged as the single largest party by getting 12 seats. The Congress supported candidates won nine seats, the Nagar Sudhar Parishad (NSP), led by Mr Nirmala Vij, and the INLD combined supported candidates got seven seats, while the independent candidates bagged two seats. The candidates who were declared winners included Ms Suman Kumari (ward-1, BJP), Mr Surender Singh (ward-2, BJP), Ms Parvesh Shashan (ward-3, Congress), Mr J K Bail (ward-4, BJP supported), Ms Kavita Marwah (ward-5, NSP+INLD), Mr Ramesh Chander (ward-6, NSP+INLD), Ms Vimla Sharma (ward-7, Congress), Ms Amisha Chawala (ward-8, Congress), Mr Neeraj Trikha (ward-9, BJP), Mr Rajinder Guddu (ward-11, BJP), Mr Bharat Rattan (ward-12, Congress), Ms Prakash Kaur (ward-13, BJP) Mr Harjit Singh (ward-14,BJP), Ms Swarn Lata (ward-15, NSP+INLD), Mr Vijay Bhasin (ward-16, Congress). Other who were declared
elected included Mr Dharam Pal Chadda (ward-17,
Congress), Mrs Suresh Gulati (ward-18, NSP+INLD), Mr
Inder Pal Pammi (ward-19, Congress, Mr Mohinder Singh
(ward-20, Independent) ,Mrs Poonam Rawal (ward-21, BJP),
Ms Gurpreet Kaur (ward-22, NSP+INLD), Mr Amrit Lal Jain
(ward-23, BJP), Sushil Kumar (ward-24, BJP), Mrs Chander
Mohni (ward-25, Congress), Mr Mohinder Tanwar (ward-26,
Congress), Mr Harwinder Singh (ward-27, NSP+INLD), Mr
Rattan Singh (ward-28, BJP), Mr Ravinder Pamma (ward-29,
NSP+INLD), Mr Raj Kumar (ward-30, BJP), and Mr Ashwani
Kumar (ward-31, Independent). |
Finance Ministers’ panel to
meet in Delhi CHANDIGARH, April 3 — The Steering Committee of the Finance Ministers of the states will meet in Delhi on April 5 to discuss violations by various states of the floor rate of Sales Tax policy. The policy of floor rate was to come into effect from January 1 last. But certain states like Haryana and Bihar, where the Assembly elections were to be held in March, were given exemption. Haryana adopted the floor rates immediately after the Assembly elections. Informed sources say almost all states have violated the floor rate policy in one respect or the other, leading to protests by traders, who are asking their respective state governments to give relaxation in the floor rate on the pattern of their neighbouring states. In order to negate pressure from the traders, various state governments are believed to be of the view that all states should stick to the floor rates. The April 5 meeting is being considered a step in that direction. Himachal Pradesh has violated the floor rate in case of oil cake, tractors, harvesters and attachments, fertilisers, pesticides, raw wool and all kinds of bricks. It has imposed 8 or 4 per cent tax against the floor rate of 12 per cent on several items like weather proofing compounds, fire works, elevators, diesel, marble, preserved food articles, transmission towers, voltage stabilisers, musical instruments, hair oils, synthetic gems, air circulators, naptha, spark plugs, adhesives, PVC articles, motor vehicles other than tractors, oxygen and gas and ACSR conductors. Haryana has not followed the floor rate in case of fertilisers, pesticides, diesel, cattle feed and automobiles. It has also exempted saree falls from the floor rate of 8 per cent. Punjab has imposed 8 per cent or 5 per cent tax on certain goods like glassware, motor vehicles and synthetic gems for which the floor rate is 12 per cent. Delhi has not followed floor rates in case of castings, stainless steel, electronic toys, adhesives, motor vehicles and ACSR conductors. Rajasthan deviated from the floor rate in case of cumin seed, water pumps, earth moving machinery, building materials, silk fabrics, synthetic gems and motor vehicles. Uttar Pradesh did not introduce the floor rate in case of goods like raw wool, deoiled cake, electronic goods, castings, saree falls, transmission towers, PVC articles and motor vehicles. Meanwhile, the Haryana Cabinet yesterday in principle approved a new tax which will be known as the Local Area Development Tax (LADT). A committee of officers headed by the Principal Secretary to Chief Minister, Mr Vishnu Bhagwan, has been constituted to work out the modalities and the items on which the new tax would be imposed. An official spokesman said here today that LADT would be imposed on those manufacturers who avoided paying sales tax in Haryana by transferring their goods as consignment transfer, though they used infrastructure of the state for their manufacturing activities. A survey of 11 big industrial houses was conducted by the Excise and Taxation Department recently. It was found that on an average a big industrial house paid tax only on 32 per cent of its business while transferring 68 per cent of its business to the other states by way of consignment transfer. LADT would be imposed on raw material used by these manufacturers which would be off set against the Sales Tax paid to the state. The rate of LADT is yet to be worked out. The spokesman said LADT would be imposed in such a manner as not to vitiate the industry-friendly climate created by the new industrial policy of the Chautala government. The Cabinet yesterday approved a controversial proposal to rationalise the House Tax assessment procedure as part of the Chief Minister’s "commitment on the floor of the House". The House Tax would now be calculated on the pattern of the Faridabad Municipal Corporation, which has generated a lot of heat in that town during Mr Bansi Lal’s regime. It is estimated that the civic bodies would get an additional revenue between Rs 25 crore and Rs 30 crore per annum as a result of the new House Tax assessment procedure. It is said that even unbuilt residential and commercial plots would now be subject to the House Tax. The spokesman said the plots were already covered by the House Tax. He said the new procedure would eliminate the element of discrimination and corruption. The spokesman said the government had reduced the incidence of taxes by widening the tax base with a view to improving the financial position of the municipal bodies. A new fire tax has been imposed which will be 1 per cent of the annual assessed House Tax. One-time municipal tax would be charged on motor vehicles. Every new driving licence would be subject to Rs 100. Electricity in the urban areas would be costly by 4 paise per unit. Various categories of establishments would have to pay tax between Rs 1000 and Rs 2500 per annum. Meanwhile, two Haryana
Congress MLAs, Capt Ajay Singh Yadav and Rao Narinder
Singh, have described the new taxes as discriminatory and
anti-urbanities. They said if the government wanted to
impose such taxes it should have brought the proposals in
the Budget session of the House, which, they said, was
misled by the government by presenting a tax-free Budget. |
Power tariff hike may give
partial relief CHANDIGARH, April 3 — The Haryana Cabinet’s decision to increase power tariff for the urban consumers and also to impose new taxes on various others heads, such as motor vehicles, driving licence etc., will only give partial relief to the municipal committees who are reeling under severe fund crunch following the abolition of octroi, official sources said. Talking to this reporter a Cabinet Minister also conceded that the revenue generated from the steps, approved at a Cabinet meeting yesterday, would only enable the Local Bodies Department to meet its establishment charges. For carrying out development works the municipal committees would need additional funds for which provisions were yet to be made, he said. Sources in the Local Bodies wing, however, said that even for meeting establishment charges, the revenue mopped up from the latest measures would not be enough. While an estimated Rs 30 crore was expected to be generated from the new taxes, the total requirement of the Local Bodies Department as its annual running expenditure was approximately Rs 85 crore. For carrying out development works, the department would need another Rs 40 crore. However, a few more items were likely to come under the tax net when the details of the Local Area Development Fund were spelt out. It may not be out of place to mention here that the local bodies are not likely to gain much from upward hike in electricity tariff from one paisa to five paise as the entire amount raised from the revised rate will be spent on paying the arrears and recurring expenditures to the power supply authorities. Meanwhile, the state government’s decision to revise some taxes and introduce new ones has also sparked off a political controversy. Haryana Pradesh Congress chief Bhupinder Singh Hooda said when a tax free Budget was presented in the Haryana Assembly last month, he had predicted that new taxes would soon follow. Mr Hooda also pointed out that neither the Chautala led regime had identified and abolished the taxes introduced by the HVP-led government to make up for the losses incurred as a result of the policy of prohibition. Mr Hooda said that in near future more taxes would be imposed and added that a tax-free Budget was presented in the Assembly because the government wanted to avoid criticism from the Opposition. However, answering Mr
Hooda’s attack, Haryana Finance Minister Sampat
Singh said that the new taxes did not figure in the state
Budget as the Local Bodies Department was not ready with
its proposal at that time. He added that he did not think
more new taxes would follow. |
Admn to cancel case against
BJP chief AMBALA, April 3 — The District Administration has decided to cancel the case registered against Dr K D Sharma, President of the local unit of the BJP, on Sunday. The Additional Deputy Commissioner, Mr Mohinder Kumar, said that an official letter had been sent to SP, Ambala, by the local police in this regard. Last night, BJP workers had blockaded the GT Road near Ambala Cant and gheraoed a police post to protest against the registration of a case against their leader. The police had to resort to a lathi-charge on the BJP workers to disperse them and to clear the road. However, the Superintendent of Police, Mr Navdeep Singh Virk, refuted the charges of the BJP that the police had resorted to a lathi-charge on the BJP workers. He told that some car-borne youths, protesting against the registration of the case, had started throwing stones on vehicles on the GT Road last night . The police dispersed them and impounded their car. According to information, the police had registered a case under Sections 323 and 506, IPC, against Dr Sharma yesterday on the complaint of Mr Rajesh, a resident of the Lal Kurti area. Mr Rajesh had alleged in the FIR that Dr Sharma had slapped his father while Dr Sharma refuted this. Dr Sharma had alleged
that some stones were thrown on his car by Mr Rajesh and
others and later he was manhandled by them. He had
alleged that he had also filed a complaint in this regard
but the police did not entertain his complaint. The
dispute was resolved only after the intervention of the
ADC, Mr Mohinder Kumar, last late night. Later, the
police registered a case on the complaint of Dr K D
Sharma against some persons. |
Hooda flays move to set up
casino CHANDIGARH, April 3 — The controversy raised by the shelved Disneyland project of the previous Janata Dal government has raised its head again with a proposal to open a casino by the present Haryana Government. In a statement issued here today the president of the Haryana Congress, Mr Bhupinder Singh Hooda, criticised the Chautala government by saying that its proposal to set up the casino, ‘‘will adversely affect the culture of the state and legalise gambling. He said the proposed fun and fair city with a casino would encourage anti-social activities in the state. Mr Hooda said it had not been stated how the proposed project would benefit the farmers and unemployed youth of the state. He said the new project was a rechristened version of the Disneyland project which Mr Chautala wanted to set up during his earlier stint but had to shelve in the face of stiff opposition from people. He alleged that the project ‘‘smacked of some deal between Mr Chautala and the so-called private sector company with which the project is likely to be jointly set up.’’ He also suspected that
the project might indirectly benefit Mr Sukhbir Singh
Badal, son of the Punjab Chief Minister, who had been
allotted prime land in Gurgaon for constructing a
five-star hotel. |
Rewari-Bhiwadi rail plan under
review GURGAON, April 3 — After about five years, the Haryana Government has not only come woken up to the Rajasthan government’s proposal to establish a rail link between Rewari and Bhiwadi, but also proposes to connect Pataudi and the Mewat areas of Taoru and Nuh in this district. The Deputy Commissioner, considered to be behind the government’s move to have a second look at the Rewari-Bhiwadi rail link proposal, today confirmed the plan for expanding the project. If the project is implemented, trade in the northern region, especially in Haryana and Rajasthan is expected to get a tremendous boost. The state government has made the Haryana State Industrial Corporation (HSIDC) the nodal agency to coordinate with the Government of Rajasthan and the Railway Ministry for pursuing the proposal. The Haryana Government is in favour of forming a corporation under a joint venture between the governments of the two states and the Railways on the lines of Konkan Rail Corporation. The new corporation could operate on the concept of build, operate and transfer (BOT) and the revenue could be shared between the three partners. In case the Railways takes the entire financial burden for implementing the project upon itself, then the idea of the corporation could be dropped. The Railways has already done a feasibility report on the initial proposal of the Rajasthan Government and has found it to be viable. The Rajasthan Government had made the proposal with the view to giving a thrust to its industrial centre at Bhiwadi. The industry there is finding it difficult to ship its exports and transport the finished goods to the buyers due to lack of transport facilities. With the establishment of the rail link, the industrial centres at Rewari, Dharuhera, Manesar and Mewat would get a boost. Besides, the project
could decongest Delhi’s old and new railway stations
as the trains coming from areas like Madhya Pradesh and
Maharashtra and going to Punjab and other areas northern
areas can be diverted at the link facility here without
touching Delhi. |
Chaitra Chaudas fair begins PEHOWA (Kurukshetra), April 3 — About four lakh pilgrims took a dip in the Saraswati Sarovar here today on the occasion of the Chaitra Chaudas fair. The three-day fair is celebrated annually to perform rites for the departed souls by the pilgrims. Pilgrims’ most of them Sikhs from the Malwa region of Punjab started converging in this holy town since yesterday. Pilgrims carrying handbags, mostly Jat Sikhs could be seen heading the distance from the Pehowa bus stand to Saraswati Sarovar. After taking a dip each pilgrim offers "pinds" in memory of their departed elders. Hundreds of Pandas sitting at the ghats of the Sarovar could be seen performing the "pind daan" ritual on behalf of the pilgrims. After the "pind daan" the pilgrims could be seen jostling with one another to the cotton threads around the "pret peepal" tree. After that the pilgrims made a beeline to the Rishi Kartekeya temple to offer "sarson oil" there. A large number of pilgrims could also be seen doing "Jala Abhishek" of Lord Shiva in the oldest Prithveshwar Mahadev temple in the town. As there is scarcity of sheltered accommodation in the town, pilgrims in hundreds were lying on dry grass covered verandas of Baba Sharwan Nath School. Pilgrims also offer prayers in the Goddess Saraswati temple. The marked feature of this year’s fair had that the ghats were much cleaner. The renovation work of the Saraswati Sarovar is continuing under the supervision of the Kurukshetra Development Board. The tank had been filled with fresh water. There was tight security on strategic points in the mela area. Women police personnel in strength were deployed at the ghats for women. Divers and swimmers were at hand to respond to any emergency. Special bus services were run by the Punjab Roadways from Patiala, Sangrur, Ambala etc. The Haryana Roadways ran special services from Kaithal, Yamunanagar, Karnal, Kurukshetra and Ambala. The only nuisance were the beggars in the passages leading to the Saraswati Sarovar. Religious and social organisations ran free kitchen services at a number of places. After attending the fair
at Pehowa, a large number of pilgrims rushed to
Kurukshetra to earn the benefit of a holy dip in historic
tanks there. |
Lawyers organise protest march KAITHAL, April 3 — Members of the District Bar Association organised a protest march here today in support of their demands. The procession comprising about 250 advocates started from the district courts and culminated at the Mini Secretariat where Mr Janeshar Dass, President of the association presented a memorandum to the Deputy Commissioner, Dr Mahavir Singh. They raised slogans against the Prime Minister, Mr Atal Behari Vajpayee and the Law Minister, Mr Ram Jethmalani, for their indifferent attitude towards their demands. They also criticised the inaction by the government against the cops involved in lathi charge on the peaceful protesting lawyers in Delhi on February 24. Meanwhile the relay fast
started by the lawyers entered the third day today. |
HC summons record in Dangi case CHANDIGARH, April 3 (PTI) — The Punjab and Haryana High Court today summoned the record file from the Haryana Government concerning the security provided to the former Haryana minister Anand Singh Dangi. Mr Dangi has filed a writ petition in the high court challenging the withdrawal of his security by the Chief Minister, Mr Om Prakash Chautala, a day after the swearing in of his government after the recent Assembly elections. Mr Dangi has urged the court, while appearing in person, before a Division Bench comprising Mr Justice G.S. Singhvi and Ms Justice Bakhshish Kaur that he was the only witness in the controversial Amir Singh’s mysterious murder case of 1990 and withdrawal of his security immediately after the swearing in of the new government smacks of conspiracy and the ill-will. Even if Mr Chautala restored Mr Dangi’s security shortly after the Bench had served notice to the Haryana Government and SPO Rohtak last month after the filing of this petition, Mr Dangi had sought the CRPF security as he presumes threat to his life. The Bench had directed
the government to produce before them the file concerning
Mr Dangi’s security and adjourned the case to
Friday. |
Power connections to be
regularised HISAR, April 3 — The Haryana Government has decided to regularise electricity connections and lift the ban on releasing new connections in unauthorised colonies built on private land, a spokesman for the Dakshin Haryana Bijli Vitran Nigam (DHBVN) said here today. To regularise unauthorised connections or to get new connections in unauthorised colonies, the consumers would have to deposit regularisation and development charges at the rate of Rs 20 per square yard for a plot below 100 square yards and at the rate of Rs 30 per square yard for a plot above 100 square yards in Faridabad and Gurgaon. In other towns the charges would be Rs 15 and Rs 25 per square yard for the respective sizes of the plots. These charges would be in addition to the normal charges for new electricity connections. However, these regularisation and development charges would be without prejudice to the legal or the illegal status of the colonies vis-a-vis various laws of the state. The collection of these charges would only indicate a provision for electrical connections in these colonies and would not indicate regularisation. The decision would not be applicable to the premises constructed illegally by encroaching on land under the ownership or management or control of the state government, local bodies or any board or corporation wholly or partly owned by the government. The DHBVN adopted the policy in the last meeting of its Board of Directors for implementation in Sirsa, Hisar, Fatehabad, Bhiwani, Mahendragarh, Rewari, Gurgaon and Faridabad. According to the
spokesman, there are a number of colonies existing on
private land where the release of electricity connections
was stopped by the government in 1997. Due to non-release
of connections, residents of these colonies have been
indulging in unauthorised use of electricity resulting in
a substantial loss to the nigam. This has also created an
anomalous situation where some premises in the
unauthorised colonies are receiving authorised supply of
electricity from the DHBVN whereas other premises have
been refused the facility. |
Free plots for farm labourers
sought SONEPAT, April 3 — The Haryana Khet Mazdoor Union today urged the state government to allot residential plots, free of cost, to farm labourers in the state. In a press statement issued here, it also demanded the immediate construction of pucca houses in rural areas for providing shelter to the farm labourers. The union also urged the state government to remit all kinds of loans up to Rs 10,000 given by it to the farm labourers as their living conditions had gone worse because of price rise and unemployment. The recent hike in the prices of LPG, kerosene, petroleum products and rationed commodities, it said, had put a great burden on them. The union demanded the immediate withdrawal of the hike in the prices. Mr Daryao Singh Kashyap, General Secretary of the state unit of the union, blamed the Chief Minister, Mr Om Prakash Chautala, for adopting delaying tactics in the conduct of a re-survey of the people living below the poverty line in the state. He said the government should seek help from social and voluntary organisations during the re-survey so that deserving persons were not left out again. He asked the union activists to render all-out assistance to the government as well as government employees who were entrusted with the job. Mr Kashyap also urged the state government to grant more powers to the Panchayati Raj institutions so that they could bring the villages at par with towns. The union leader
disclosed that the union had set a target of 30,000 for
recruiting new workers of the union. |
Haryana revives scheme CHANDIGARH, April 3 — The Haryana Government has revived with immediate effect the scheme announced on June 26, 1987, by the then government led by Mr Devi Lal that 50 per cent trees falling within a distance of three metres from the field boundary would by given to the farmers, It may be recalled that this concession was extended to the railway lines and canal sides on August 10, 1988. However, the scheme was stopped with effect from March 28, 1995, by the then government. The farmers having land
adjoining railway line, roads and canals were agitating
that the trees standing in the last line dividing their
field and roads cause great loss to their crops. The
revival of the scheme would meet their long-standing
demand. |
Jat Society to set up 2
colleges ROHTAK, April 3 — The Jat Education Society here has decided to start two new colleges, including an Engineering College, from the ensuing academic session. Announcing this here today the President of the society, Mr Raj Singh Nandal, said the process of setting up an engineering and an evening college had already been started. While the State Government has given "no objection certificate for the Engineering College which would be named after late Sir Chhotu Ram here, the process of getting affiliation from the All-India Council of Technical Education (AICTE) was under way. The classes would begin in the ensuing session, he added. The society chief declared that it was also ‘trying’ to secure permission for starting professional courses like Bachelor in Ayurvedic Medical Sciences (BAMS). Efforts were being made to reserve some seats in the engineering and other courses for poor and rural background students. Meanwhile, it is
reported that the Chief Minister, Mr Om Prakash Chautala,
would lay the foundation stone of new building having
courses like BBA and BAC, run by the Jat Education
Society. |
4 killed in mishap AMBALA, April 3 — Four persons were killed on G.T. Road near Ambala Cantt today at 1.30 a.m. The deceased were identified as Parminder Singh, Sukhwinder Singh, Ashok Kumar and Pawan Kumar. All the deceased were
belonged to Ludhiana. According to the police, the
accident occurred when the Maruti car in which they were
travelling collided with a truck. The Maruti car was
coming form Delhi and was bounded for Ludhiana. |
Project to improve state
highways CHANDIGARH, April 3 — The Haryana Roads and Bridges Development Corporation will shortly launch an ambitious project to improve state highways. While stating this here
today, a spokesman of the corporation said that the
corporation would spend Rs 217.39 crore to develop and
upgrade state highways. He said HUDCO would provide a
loan of about Rs 174 crore to the corporation which would
be 80 per cent of the project cost whereas the remaining
20 per cent would be borne by the state. |
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