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| Saturday, December 23, 2000, Chandigarh, India   
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Top
priority to recovering dues Time fails
to heal their wounds Haryana wants grain movement speeded
up Haryana amends rules on
age Yamunanagar
to privatise civic amenities Farmers
forced out of occupation |
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Samba case 8 booked
for power theft Tuteja is
Fatehabad MC chief Empowering the cop at the
top Clinics
allowed use of govt incinerator CM implicating rivals:
Hooda ‘Holiday
week’ Awadh-Assam
Express to run up to Bhiwani
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Top priority to recovering dues FARIDABAD, Dec 22 — The state government has reportedly directed its officials to accord ‘top priority’ to realising pending power bills. While extending the last date for submission of bills without surcharge, the government has launched a campaign to inform the people that it will not give free power. The Chief Minister, Mr Om Prakash Chautala, has at various occasions, including the ‘sarkar aapke dwar’ programme held here yesterday, clearly stated that it is impossible to carry out development programmes in villages unless people pay their power bills regularly. “Uproot electricity poles from villages not paying power bills and put these in those where there is no such complaint,” he is reported to have said. At several occasions during his speeches he has emphasised the message to the people that sooner or later they will have to pay for power. In Faridabad district alone, different villages owe the government Rs 3 crore in power arrears. According to experts, the carrot and stick approach of the government can be termed as successful. The Chief Minister at a function here on December 20, claimed that his government had been able to realise pending bills amounting to about Rs 500 crore in the past one year, through persuasion. It is reported that the authorities have adopted a stern approach to wards ‘stubborn’ consumers. According to official sources, the Haryana Vidyut Prasaran Nigam (HVPN) has disconnected 50,000 power connections across the state in the past about a year. It is learnt that the state government has decided to keep those officials in its ‘preference list’ who come up to its expectations in this matter. In several districts, Deputy Commissioners and other officials have been visiting ‘problem’ villages regularly to give the recovery progamme a momentum. The vigilance cell of the HVPN is being activated to check power thefts. Power officials have been warned against ‘corruption’ and ‘organised power thefts’, by the Chief Minister himself. |
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Time fails to heal
their wounds DABWALI, Dec 22 — The kith and kin of those who perished in the fire tragedy that took place in this town on December 23, 1995, are yet to come to terms with their loss. Mr Kirpa Shanker Bhadani, who lost nine members of his family in inferno that took place at Rajiv Marriage Palace where the annual function of the local DAV School was being held, said the tragedy would not be forgotten by generations to come. He pointed out that four residents of the town who had suffered same mental disorder had committed suicide. Victims undergoing medical treatment alleged that the government was doing little for their medical expenses. Some of the victims had not been paid reimbursement of their medical bills, said Mr Prem Chabbra, treasurer, Dabwali Fire Victims Rehabilitation Trust. He said the trust had submitted a memorandum to the Chief Minister, Haryana, Mr Om Prakash Chautala, for making arrangements for jobs for those victims whose limbs had been amputated. Mr Pardeep Kumar, SDM, Dabwali, said Mr Abhay Chautala, MLA, Rori, would preside over the function which would be organised here tomorrow to pay tributes to the fire victims and all rehabilitation measures announced at that function. |
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Haryana wants grain movement speeded
up Chandigarh, Dec 22 — The Haryana Government has urged the Centre to speed up the lifting of grain from the state. Official sources here said that the Chief Minister, Mr Om Prakash Chautala, today faxed a strongly worded message to the Union Food Minister, Mr Shanta Kumar, for speeding up the movement of grains. While last year approximately 3.32 lakh MT of grain (rice as well as wheat) was being lifted from Haryana every month, the corresponding figure this year had been 1.90 lakh MT, the sources said, adding that the problem was particularly acute in the case of rice. A major reason for the impasse in the movement of rice is believed to be the southern states’ reluctance to purchase rice from outside following the increase in rice production in these states. The sources said that the state government would be getting about Rs 400 crore from the Centre as reimbursement once the grain, stockpiled in the godowns of the state, was lifted. The state government had diverted funds earmarked for other projects for the purchase of paddy during the procurement season. Consequently, these projects were also suffering as the reimbursements were not coming within the expected timeframe. Moreover, unless the rice and wheat stockpiled in the godowns were moved, it would also create a problem of storage space for wheat when its procurement would start in March-April. Like paddy, the wheat crop is also expected to register bumper production this year in Haryana. Preparations for the procurement of wheat have already begun in the state. While last year a record 45 lakh MT of wheat was procured by government agencies, this year the procurement target had been set at 48 lakh tonnes, the sources said. The state government has reportedly decided to enhance the storage area by having plinth constructed by private parties which will be used for storing wheat for which the proprietors of the plinth will be paid by the government. The sources said that the Haryana Warehousing Corporation would shortly issue advertisements inviting tenders from private parties for the construction of plinth area for storing of 26 lakh MT of wheat. Despite the additional storage area, there would be a problem in the storing of wheat unless the stocks of rice and wheat were cleared soon, the sources said. Importantly, the lack of storage space is not the only problem looming large over the impending wheat procurement operations in the state. Sources said that the ST-38 form was posing a problem for the arrival of gunny bales needed for storing wheat. The state government has reportedly placed orders for the supply of 1,80,000 gunny bales from Calcutta. Normally these bales are sent by train but this year, due to the unavailability of railway wagons, a large quality is being sent by road. Personnel of the Prohibition Excise and Taxation Department (PETD) are demanding the ST-38 form from trucks carrying the bales, it is learnt. While the Food and Supplies Department has asked the PETD to exempt the trucks carrying gunny bales from the stipulation, the PETD has reportedly sought time for examining the issue. |
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Haryana amends rules on
age CHANDIGARH, Dec 22 — The Haryana Government today amended the Punjab Financial Rules, Volume I, dealing with the age of government employees. A notification to this effect issued by the state Finance Department here stated that the date of birth of a government employee, the declaration of age made at the time of entry into government service,
"shall be deemed to be conclusive unless he applied for the correction of his age as recorded within two years from the date of his entry into government
service." Whenever it is proposed to consider the application of the employee for the correction of his age within a period of two years from the date of his entry into government service, the same could be considered by the government in consultation with the Chief Secretary. The notification further added that in cases where such applications had been made after the stipulated period and were proposed to be accepted, the same “shall be considered on the recommendations of the Administrative Department and the Chief Secretary in consultation with the Finance
Department.” However, the government reserved the right to make a correction in the recorded age of a government employee at any time against the interest of that employee when it was satisfied that the age recorded in his service book or in the history of service of the employee was incorrect and had been incorrectly recorded with the object of giving some unfair advantage to him. The notification added that when a government employee, within the period allowed or at a later stage, made an application for the correction of his date of birth as recorded, a special enquiry should be made into all available sources of information, such as a certified copy of entries in the municipal birth register, university or school age certificate,
“Janm patries” or horoscopes. Whenever the application is supported by certified copies of entries in the municipal birth register, village chowkidara register or police station records, the applicant would be required to submit details of the birth entries relating all to his brothers and sisters born of the same parentage in order to establish that the entry really pertains to the applicant. |
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Yamunanagar to privatise
civic amenities YAMUNANAGAR, Dec 22 — The Yamunanagar Municipal Council, one of the biggest in Haryana, has decided to privatise civic amenities in the city. According to a resolution passed in a meeting of the municipal council, initially two wards out of 31 would be given to private contractors. Mr B.L. Bishnoi, Executive Officer of the council, said here today that such a resolution had been sent to state government for approval. He added that after getting the approval, the tender would be called shortly. He said all the infrastructure would be provided by the contractors themselves. Mr Bishnoi said at present there were 420 safai karamcharis in the council and nearly 100 posts were lying vacant. He said in the meeting it was resolved that all the industrial units whose turnover was more than Rs 1 crore each would give one per cent as a development charges to the council which would help in enhancing income to the council. He said the proposal had been sent to the Haryana Government for recommendation. He said it was also decided to charge Rs 20 on each sugarcane bag. It has also been decided to charge Rs 200 for truck, Rs 100 from tractor-trolley and Rs 25 from Rehra carrying wood as development charges. He said it had also decided to charge Rs 10 from cable operators for each connection. All the resolutions had been sent to the state government for approval, he added. |
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Farmers forced out of occupation NUH (Gurgaon), Dec 22 — Thousands of farmers have been forced out of agriculture while a large number of bovines have died due to shortage of water in Mewat. The scarcity has often led to unusual situations in Mewat with cattle, dogs, cats, rodents and human-beings going to the same village ponds. Chief Minister Om Prakash Chautala threw an Iftar party on Wednesday for the Mewatis. His assertion on the occasion that his government had done more than what other parties in power had done for the area of Mewat, failed to convince the denizens. A visit to some of the villages in the immediate neighbourhood of Nuh, the nerve-centre of Mewat’s politics, namely Adbari, Jogipai, Kheda, Salahedi and Namak Ferozepur, revealed acute shortage of water, both for drinking and irrigation purposes. It was the same story at Hassanpur and Ganaudi. Thousands of farmers have been forced out of occupation. The reason being that this monsoon there was hardly any rainfall. In fact, there was scanty rainfall during the two preceding monsoons. Consequently, a majority of the ponds and the makeshift reservoirs have gone dry. The residents are dependent primarily on rains for irrigation. Till date Mewat does not have any credible scheme to water the fields. Political personalities only pay lip service to the plight of the people. The situation is pathetic. Most water-taps have run dry. Men and women trudge a few kilometres to spots to collect water. A woman in a queue in Kaurali village said she had walked about 9 km. The problem has been accentuated as a major portion of the area has brackish sub-soil water, unfit for human consumption. Areas falling in the foothills of the Aravalis have potable water. But the available water does not suffice for all villages. The government has connected the villages with these purple patches through underground network of pipes. But boosters are not maintained well. These also need to be augmented. Moreover, the erratic supply of power has made the entire infrastructure a farce. In such a situation private parties are having a field day. Households with means have dug pits which serve as makeshift reservoirs. In such a situation, an initiative by the Mewat Development Agency (MDA) to stem the rot has come as a silver lining for the residents. The MDA is said to have told the state government that the only solution to the malady is in transforming saline water into sweet water through installation of desalination plants. It is learnt that the MDA has submitted a proposal for implementing the project in some select villages. |
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Samba case PANCHKULA, Dec 22 — For an officer who has spent two decades proving his integrity and innocence, the Delhi High Court’s verdict exonerating officers accused in the infamous Samba spying case has reopened a door of hope. Capt N. D. Sharma, a local resident who was among those whose services were terminated in 1980 on charges of spying, can now look forward to finally getting justice and all his dues. Though after much struggle, the Army issued him a certificate in 1987 stating that his services had been satisfactory, the presidential order terminating his services was not reversed. A writ filed by him in the Delhi High Court in 1980 against his dismissal only resulted in a portion of his gratuity being restored. Planning to move the high court again after Thursday’s verdict of quashing the Army orders dismissing seven officers, Captain Sharma says: “Similarly situated officers should be granted all benefits and compensation given to other officers.” Hailing from an Army family and having fought in the 1965 and 1971 Indo-Pak wars, he is still bitter about the manner in which the Army authorities went about the entire case, the treatment meted out to the officers and the social stigma they had to live with. Recalling the events, Captain Sharma said that on the evening of January 21, 1979, a large number of officers serving in 168 Infantry Brigade, including him, were arrested without any reason being given to them. “After three days, when the authorities concerned were asked why such treatment was being meted out to them, we were told that there were some allegations against us, but nothing was given in writing,” he said. There were 21 Army officers in custody. After about five months, the interrogation started. “One of the interrogation officers clearly said that they were innocent, but they could not let them go free because if they did so, the higher ups feared retaliation. ‘Take it for granted that the minimum will be withdrawal of the pleasure of the President’, an officer had said”, Captain Sharma claimed. Thereafter the prosecution witnesses were brought in. One of them stated that he was harassed and kept without food for days, and told that he would be sentenced to 10 years’ imprisonment if he did not write whatever was dictated to him. “This is recorded in the summary of evidence,” Captain Sharma said. Also on record, he said, was the statement of the main witness, Captain Rana, who, after breaking down, had stated during the recording of the summary of evidence that it was all a “drama written, directed and enacted by Military Intelligence”. He had also stated that MI had threatened that he would be shot at as if he was trying to escape. Besides this, Captain Rana was also told that his wife and younger sister would be assaulted in front of him. “Under such circumstances, I had no option but to write whatever was being dictated by MI,” Captain Rana had stated during the summary of evidence according to Captain Sharma. “Three months after this episode, on January 22, 1980, all of a sudden I was called to the office of the battalion’s commanding officer and handed over the letter withdrawing the President’s pleasure, stating that I had been dismissed from service,” Captain Sharma said. “Later on the dismissal was converted into termination of service,” he added. “At that point I accepted it because I wanted to get out of illegal custody and thought that I could take legal recourse,” he said. He moved the Delhi High Court in 1980. |
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8 booked for
power theft HISAR, Dec 22 — Officials of the Dakshini Haryana Bijli Vitran Nigam (DHBVN) raided several houses in the town and nearby villages on Wednesday evening and detected many cases of power theft. On a complaint of the officials, the district police registered cases against Jai Singh, Ram Richh Pal, Hoshiar Singh, Surender Singh, Sita Ram, Bhoop Singh, Dhoop Singh and Rajesh Kumar, all residents of Satrod village. The officials also lodged FIRs against Mool Chand, Anand Kumar, Dilbag Singh and Prem Singh, all local residents, and Raghuvir Singh of Jakhod Khera village in this regard. A Nigam spokesman said the campaign against the power theft would continue in the future too. |
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Tuteja is Fatehabad
MC chief FATEHABAD, Dec 22 — Mrs Sheela Wanti Tuteja of the INLD is the new Fatehabad municipal Chief. In an election for the post held in the municipal committee meeting hall last evening, Mrs Tuteja defeated her Congress rival, Mrs Usha Chowdhary, by five votes. Mrs Tuteja polled 13 votes while Mrs Chowdhary could get eight votes only. Both the INLD MP from the Sirsa Parliamentary constituency, Dr Sushil Indora, and the INLD MLA from Fatehabad, Mr Leela Krishan Chowdhary, exercised their right to vote in the election. Both INLD and Congress supporters had assembled in large numbers in front of the committee hall. The administration had made elaborate security arrangement. The officiating president of the committee, Mr Sushil Narang, proposed the name of Mrs Tuteja while the former president Mr S.P. Bansal seconded it. Mr Chuni Lal proposed the name of Mrs Usha Chowdhary and Mr Mukesh Soni seconded her name. Mrs Tuteja became the first woman to become the Fatehabad Municipal President. After her victory she assured the people that she would work for the better development of the town. Dr Indora announced a grant of Rs 21 lakh from his MP quota for the development activities in Fatehabad. |
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Empowering the cop at the
top AMBALA, December 22 — An amount of Rs 44.20 crore will be spent to make the police more effective in the state. It was stated by the Director General of Police, Haryana, Mr M.S. Malik, here today while addressing a meeting of
SPs, additional SPs and other police officials of Ambala range here today. He said that Rs 22.10 crore had been allotted by the Union Government and the rest would be provided by the state government. He said that by the end of March next year, 463 new vehicles would be purchased and the rest of the amount would be spent on the welfare of police officials, including construction of residences for police personnel. Mr Malik urged police officials to perform their duty with honesty, discipline and manners. He assured them that their problems would be solved on a priority basis. He said that all appeals of suspended police officials would be dispersed within 15 days. He also said that strict steps would be taken to prevent the heinous crimes especially those against women in the state. He said that crimes not only shatter the image of the police, but people also tend to lose confidence in the police. He asked the officials that they could meet him without hesitation for their problems if their problems had not been solved at the district level. The SP, Ambala Mr K.K. Mishra, SP, Yamunanagar, Mr K.K. Sandhu, SP, Panchkula; Mr
C.S. Rao, SP, Kurukshetra, Mr Desh Raj, SP, Kaithal, Mr Prabhat Ranjan Dev and SP Railway, Mr Sudhir Mohan were also present at the meeting. |
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Clinics allowed
use of govt incinerator SIRSA, Dec 22 — In the wake of the notification of Bio-medical Waste Management and Handling Rule, 1998, an important meeting of the Indian Medical Association (IMA) was held here. According to a spokesman of the IMA here yesterday, the meeting was held to discuss the problem of disposal of bio-medical waste of the private nursing homes and hospitals. A proposal to utilise the incinerator installed at the local Civil Hospital was deliberated upon by the members in the presence of the Civil Surgeon. The Civil Surgeon agreed to allow the use of the incinerator on the condition that private practitioners and nursing homes will sort out the problem of transportation of the waste with the municipality and will bear the expenditure on electricity consumed for the purpose. Following this, the Private Practitioners Association has called a meeting to pass a formal resolution to this effect and the issue of the modalities of transportation of bio-medical waste from the clinics and nursing homes to the local Civil Hospital will be taken with the municipality. |
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CM implicating rivals: Hooda ROHTAK, Dec 22 — The HPCC chief, Mr Bhupinder Singh Hooda, told people that he would strike for the fulfilment of their dreams. He was given a warm welcome by his supporters at an “abhinandan samaroh” here yesterday. Addressing the gathering, he alleged the Chief Minister, Mr Om Prakash Chautala, was implicating his political rivals. Mr Sultan Singh, a former Governor and Ms Prasanni Devi and Ms Kartar Devi, former ministers, among others, were present on the occasion. |
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‘Holiday week’ SONEPAT, Dec 22 — The last week of the current month will prove a boon for the government employees in the state as they have to go to their offices only on December 27 and 29. According to official sources, the government offices will remain closed on December 23 (Saturday) and December 24 (Sunday). The state government has already declared holidays on December 25 (Christmas), December 26 (birthday of Shaheed Udham Singh), December 28 (Iid-ul-Fitr), December 30 (Saturday) and December 31 (Sunday). |
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Awadh-Assam Express
to run up to Bhiwani BHIWANI, Dec 22 (PTI) — The Awadh-Assam Express train which runs from Delhi to Guwahati will be extended to Bhiwani from Delhi. This was disclosed by Mr D.A. Anand, DRM, Northern Railway, here today. This decision had been taken after considering the long pending demand of the residents of Bhiwani, he said here. |
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