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| Thursday, September 28, 2000, Chandigarh, India   
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Public service byelaws put into No buyers for PR 103
paddy Contraceptive pills
in short supply INLD “misusing”
anti-pollution board Proper division of
canal water sought |
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Sirsa college to
host youth fest GJU teachers
begin dharna
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Public service byelaws put into cold
storage HISAR, Sept 27 — Municipal bodies in Haryana have consigned most of the public service byelaws into the cold storage, thereby losing revenue and at the same time endangering public safety and health. Inquiries by The Tribune reveal that at present these bodies are only implementing those byelaws that give them administrative clout. Consequently, the byelaws which cast corresponding responsibilities on them in terms of public service have been all but forgotten. Despite being in existence for more than 50 years these byelaws are not being enforced fully for the past three decades or so. Most of the byelaws were framed originally by the British bureaucracy in public interest and were amended from time to time in public interest. A classic example of how these bodies have ignored byelaws to cover up their lapses is the non-implementation of the Haryana Municipal (Registration and Proper Control of Dogs) byelaws, 1976, which makes registration and licencing of pet dogs mandatory for their owners. These byelaws owe their current redundancy to the failure of the municipal bodies to control stray cattle. Under the Haryana Municipal (Ownerless and Stray Cattle byelaws), 1976, the municipal bodies are required to impound ownerless animals found straying within the municipal limits and dispose them as per law. Since no municipal body could control such animals, the officials found it impossible to enforce the byelaw requiring registration and licencing of pet dogs. Over the years the number of pet dogs and other animals in the state has crossed the three lakh mark, all of which continue to be without proper registration. Since these byelaws were consigned to the cold storage the registration fee fixed in 1976 continues to be Rs 10 and renewal fee a modest Rs 5. Even at these rates the municipal bodies in the state are collectively losing about Rs 40 lakh a year in revenue. In addition, stray as well pet dogs continue to threaten public health. That this has boosted sales of anti-rabies vaccine in the state is another matter altogether. Likewise, Haryana Municipal Betel byelaws restrict the sale of betel leaves, raw or with condiments and seasonings, for eating or chewing to licensed premises. Such premises are required to provide a covered spittoon, a covered container for disposal of refuse and a glass showcase for display and storage of betel leaves. In practice, however, thousands of shops and rehris continue to sell betel leaves without a licence. No serious attempt has been made by any municipal body to enforce the law. The local bodies are losing several lakhs a year which would have accrued to them by way of licence fees. Lakhs of hawkers continue to sell different articles all over the state without obtaining a licence from the municipal body concerned. The Haryana Municipal Hawkers byelaws prescribes a fee of Rs 10 a year for hawkers selling cloth and Rs 5 for those hawking other goods. According to official sources, even this fee is not revised. The municipal bodies could earn several crores a year by enforcing the law. This would also help in checking the quality of goods, especially fruits and vegetables. If the municipal bodies enforced that law governing pasting of bills and posters, walls and public buildings would look much tidier. Under the relevant byelaws no poster or handbill can be pasted anywhere but on public notice boards to be erected for the purpose. However, since no local body has erected such boards for decades posters continue to be pasted all over the towns illegally. A senior municipal official told The Tribune that since the municipal bodies did not dare check political parties from defacing the walls, officials chose to ignore the byelaws altogether. Under the law only one poster can be pasted at each notice board on payment of a fee of Rs 5 for 15 days. If the law were to be enforced political parties alone would have to pay several crores to the local bodies. |
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No buyers for PR 103
paddy FATEHABAD, Sept 27 — As a result of the indifferent attitude of the government procurement agencies here paddy growing farmers in the district find themselves at the receiving ends. Though almost one week has elapsed since the government agencies started purchase not much of paddy is being procured by the agencies. Farmers who have been
camping in the grain market with their produce have been waiting since days for the procurement of their paddy. In most cases they are being cold-shouldered by the agencies’ officials. In many cases, the farmers have had to resort to distress sale of their crops. The worst sufferers are those farmers who had sown the PR 103 variety of paddy. The agencies simply refuse to purchase this variety on the ground that it is an inferior variety. The agencies argue the realisation of rice from this variety is not more than 60 kg per quintal. As the agencies demand 67 kg of rice per quintal of paddy from the millers no rice sheller owner of the district, the agencies contend, is ready for custom milling of this variety. The District Food and Supplies Controller in a letter faxed to the Director, Food and Supplies, today wrote that more than 70 to 75 per cent of paddy crop arriving in the local grain market was of the PR 103 variety. He has further written in his letter (ACH-2K-4556 dated 27.9.2000) that pin-point of the rice of this variety is defective and the realisation too is low hence the rice millers have been refusing to mill this
paddy. The farmers and the dealers, however, contest the claims of the DFSC. They say not more than 20 per cent of the paddy arriving in the grain markets is of the PR 103 variety. They further add that there is no rule restraining the agencies from procuring this variety of paddy. The farmers allege the agencies have been avoiding procuring paddy on one pretext or the other. The Deputy Commissioner, Mr Anil Malik, who visited the local grain market today and yesterday to oversee the procurement operations, was confronted by the complaining farmers. Mr Malik talked to the Senior Regional Manager, Food Corporation of India, and Director, Food and Supplies, Haryana in this regard yesterday but the agencies have still not started the purchase of PR 103 variety. When contacted, Mr Malik said he hoped to find some solution to the problem soon. He said the agencies could not procure the crop which was below the specifications prescribed by the government. He said the government procurement agencies had procured 5739 metric tonnes of paddy in this district till last evening. This, he said, was against 1627 metric tonnes of paddy procured by the private agencies. He said the interests of farmers were of paramount importance to the administration and it would do everything needed to safeguard their interests. He assured that the procurement operations would be completed smoothly. FARIDABAD: While paddy procurement has started in all mandis in the district and neighbouring areas there are certain problems associated with the process which have not only been a reason for concern for the farmers but have attracted the attention of the authorities and the procurement agencies as well. One of the main hurdles that has resulted in harassment and financial loss to the paddy growers in the recent years had been excess moisture level in the paddy brought to the mandis. The authorities concerned have contacted several farmers and their sources to advise them to bring the paddy in the market after getting it dried up to the required level. It is reported paddy with the moisture level of 18 per cent or less had been the standard level for procurement as the yield of rice from such paddy is good and most of the buyers, including the government agencies and the rice sheller owners, prefer this. The District Food and Supplies Controller, Mr Virender Dahiya, said the agencies in the district had procured more than 50 metric tonnes last year. He said while the total arrivals in the district had been around 75,000 metric tonnes last year perhaps it was for the first time that these agencies had come in a big way to help the farmers to sell the crop which was bumper in nature. This year the arrival of the paddy crop in the district is likely to be around 90,000 metric tonnes. |
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Contraceptive pills
in short supply CHANDIGARH, Sept 27 — The Haryana Government’s Health Department is feeling concerned about the reluctance by people to use condoms. According to official figures, about 50 per cent of the 3 million married couples in Haryana are effectively protected by one or the other contraceptive method. While about 33 per cent of those protected have undergone sterilisation, 10 per cent are protected by the IUD (intrauterine device). Six per cent of the couples use condoms and only 2 per cent use oral pills. While in the urban centres people do purchase fancy designer condoms available in the market, these are not preferred by ordinary people there and by villagers, who need to adhere to the family planning norms. “The family planning programme puts emphasis on the spacing method, but what we see is that the maximum number of people come for sterilisation after already having three or four children and it defeats the whole purpose of our programme”, Dr Satish Kalra, Director in the Family Welfare wing of the state’s Health Department, said. For pills or condoms, one needed a little bit of initiative like collecting condoms from the health centre or having the pills at the appropriate time, which probably puts off people, he said. Last year, there was reportedly a further drop in the number of condom users due to the short supply of the item. Out of 31.7 million condoms allocated to Haryana by the Union Government, only about 16 million could be eventually sent due to some problems with the manufacturers, Hindustan Latex Ltd Mr M.L. Ranga, Health Minister of Haryana, also raised the issue during a meeting of Health Ministers convened by the Union Health Ministry in Delhi last month. Whether it is due to Mr Ranga’s protest or for some other reason, there has not been any let-up in the supply of condoms this year. The Union Government allocated 25 million condoms to Haryana this year, out of which 19 million have already reached the state. Nevertheless, this year, too, the state Health Department has got a problem on hand. There is stated to be a massive short supply of oral contraceptive pills this year. Such shortage, according to officials here, creates obstacles in the promotion of the method. The number of births in a woman’s lifetime was 6.7 in Haryana in 1971. This has now come down to 3.4, but still the fertility rate in Haryana is more than the all-India figure of 3.3. The birth rate per 1,000 population in Haryana is 27.6 annually, which, too, is above the national average of 26.4 . A population stabilisation programme, recently adopted by the Haryana Government, envisages bringing down the fertility rate to 2.7 in 2002 and 2.1 by 2010. Similarly, the birth rate would be attempted to be brought down to 23.5 by 2002 and 21 by 2010. The action plan for the implementation of the programme naturally puts a lot of emphasis on external methods of contraception such as the use of condoms and oral pills. The Health Department is reportedly expecting about 20 imported condom vending machines from the Centre. These will be installed in front of factories and in the marketplace in rural as well as urban areas for easy access. Such efforts, along with the stress on female education and the campaign to get across to people the benefits of having a small family, may be able to gradually lead more and more people to adopt the spacing method, Health Department officials feel. |
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INLD “misusing”
anti-pollution board CHANDIGARH, Sept 27 — The Haryana Krishak Samaj (HKS) has alleged that the state Pollution Control Board is being used by the ruling INLD for collecting money and harassing its political adversaries. In a press note issued here today, Mr Satpal Kaushik, general secretary of the HKS, criticised the board for closing down four distilleries in the state which, he said, had resulted in thousand of workers becoming jobless. The closure of the distilleries would have a far-reaching impact as the step would also adversely affect sugar mills in the region. Sugarcane growers, too, would face problems in getting their payments from the mills, the statement alleged. The HKS also said that paddy farmers in the state were resorting to distress sale of their produce because of the “defective” policy of the state government. Bags of potatoes, numbering a few lakhs, were also lying in cold stores for which the farmers had to pay Rs 80 for each bag, the statement said, adding that the market price for a bag of potatoes was only Rs 70. The statement said that both the Punjab Chief Minister and his Haryana counterpart kept pretending they were the friends of farmers and labourers. But the people of Punjab and Haryana had already seen through this game. The HKS urged the Governors of the two states to intervene and take steps against the “anti-people” policies of the Punjab and Haryana Governments. |
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Proper division of
canal water sought ROHTAK, Sept 27 — The Haryana Guru Ravidas Samaj Mahasabha has appealed to the Chief Minister, Mr Om Prakash Chautala, to ensure an equitable distribution of canal water in the state. Mr Ram Mehar, president of the mahasabha, in a letter written to the Chief Minister said the farmers whose fields were located at the tail-ends were facing an acute shortage of canal water for irrigation throughout the year. The problem was aggravated further when farmers in the upper reaches of the channels resorted to unauthorised means of drawing water from the channels. He demanded that the administration should allow a sanctioned number of outlets in the canal from head to tail. Mr Mehar further said the problem of allowing extra discharged at the heads of minors was very common in the state. He claimed that at least 500 cusecs of canal water could easily be saved if the malpractices of allowing extra discharges at the heads of minor and unauthorised outlets in the channels were checked. This additional water, could easily meet the demands of farmers in southern Haryana, he added. |
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Sirsa college to
host youth fest FATEHABAD, Sept 27 — Government National College, Sirsa, will host this year’s zonal youth festival of Kurukshetra University. Mr R.K. Sehgal, principal of local Government College for women, said here today that a decision to this effect was taken at a meeting of college principals of the zone held at DN College, Hisar, yesterday. Mr Sehgal, who is a member of the organising committee of the youth festival, said 24 colleges of the zone would participate in the festival to be held in the mid of November. He said special emphasis was laid at the meeting to make sure that only persons of proven integrity were appointed judges so that no college had to complain about the contest. |
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GJU teachers
begin dharna HISAR, Sept 27 — Teachers of Guru Jambheshwar University today began a dharna in front of the university teaching block to press their demand for the arrest of four youths who allegedly assaulted Mr Kuldeep Bansal, reader in applied mathematics, on September 25. The teachers also took out a procession on the campus and submitted a memorandum to the Vice-Chancellor. Mr Narsi Ram Bishnoi, president of the GJU Teachers Association, said there was resentment among the teachers and students over the inadequate security arrangements on the campus. He said the agitation would continue till the arrest of the accused. He threatened that teachers would be forced to lock the administration block of the university and boycott the counselling scheduled for September 30 and October 3 if their demand was not met. |
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PCO owner robbed FARIDABAD, Sept 27 — Three armed youths looted some cash and valuables from a PCO at Ballabgarh town in the district last night. According to a report, the youths came to the PCO at Chawla Colony at 11 p.m. One of them took out a country-made revolver and asked the PCO owner, Mr Vinod Mittal, to handover the cash and other valuables to them. They took about Rs 1,000, two wrist watches and a gold chain from the PCO owner and a customer sitting there and fled away. |
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39 injured in
bus collision SIRSA, Sept 26 — In a road accident on the Masitan road in Ellenabad subdivision of the district 39 persons were injured, 10 of them seriously. According to the information received here, a Haryana Roadways bus had a head-on collision with a private bus near Masitan along the Haryana-Rajasthan border. The driver of the Haryana Roadways bus, Sahib Ram, is among the 10 seriously injured persons and has been referred to Rohtak Medical College. The impact of the collision was such that the three passengers on the front seat could be extricated only after breaking the body of the bus. |
3
die in accidents FARIDABAD, Sept 25 — Three persons were killed in three separate incidents in the district during the past 24 hours. According to sources, while two persons died in a road mishap another was killed in a rail accident. A resident of Fatehpur Taga, identified as ‘Hamdani’ was crushed to death on the national highway last night. Radhey Shayam was overrun by a vehicle near Anangpur village. Sanjay of Delhi was killed after he fell from a running train near Ballabgarh station last evening. |
| ‘Follow path shown by Maharaja Agarsen’ CHANDIGARH, Sept 27 — The Haryana Chief Minister, Mr Om Prakash Chautala, today greeted the people on the occasion of Maharaja Agarsen Jayanti, which falls tomorrow. In a message, Mr Chautala described Maharaja Agarsen as a crusader who tried to create a new social order. He urged the people to follow, in letter and in spirit, the path of equality and mutual understanding shown by Maharaja Agarsen and make Haryana a model state. |
| Cattle insurance to help 10,000
farmers CHANDIGARH, Sept 27 — Haryana today claimed that it was the first state in the country to have introduced the cattle insurance scheme. The scheme, implemented by the recently constituted Haryana Livestock Development Board, would benefit about 10,000 progressive cattle breeders and farmers. A subsidy of Rs 20 lakh would be given under the scheme as 50 per cent of the premium was paid by the government.
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