 |
| Wednesday,
December 27, 2000, Chandigarh, India   
|
Haryana gets tough with power
pilferers Cong to launch stir from Jan
3 Haryana to allot industrial
plots Govt to spend more
on education Runaway businessmen on the
rise Computerised
Railway counter opened |
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
Chautala hails
PM’s scheme
Haryana police
transfers Honest SDO
transferred Haryana releases pension
arrears
Thieves strike again Woman found
murdered Doctor booked for
carelessness Arrest of ex-MLA’s
son stayed
|
|
Haryana gets tough with power
pilferers CHANDIGARH, Dec 26 — The Haryana Government today decided to tighten the noose around the necks of those residents who indulge in power pilferage The Chief Minister, Mr Om Prakash Chautala, who reviewed the functioning of Power Utilities, asked the employees to keep their houses in order as consumers should not be expected to bear any undue burden for laxity or inefficiency on the part of power
utilities. He said the observations of the Haryana Electricity Regulatory Commission about the level of line losses being about 41 per cent revealed that for almost a decide now the transmission and distribution losses had been hidden at the cost of public exchequer. Mr Chautala said four units of a special task force would be created by the power utilities with the coordination of the Police Department to check power theft. These units of the police task force would be stationed at Panchkula, Hisar, Gurgaon and Rohtak. Also criminal cases would be registered against those found guilty of power pilferage. Those officials who connive with others for such a corrupt practice would invite strict disciplinary action for which the punishment could lead to dismissal from service. The Chief Minister said it had been decided in principle to release only metered connection in future. He also directed the Power Utilities to take steps to reduce transmission and distribution losses to acceptable levels (16-17 per cent) in the shortest time possible. He said they should strive to reduce line losses by at least 5 per cent in the coming year. As a measure to detect theft and reduction of line losses, he directed the installation of meters for all categories of consumers in the state by December next year. He said bulk meters
would be installed at all subdivisions to keep an eye on supply and distribution of power. Stern action would be taken in those cases where there would be a bigger gap than the prescribed norms between supply and distribution of electricity. Mr Chautala also ordered the posting of two or three more Superintendents of Police in the Vigilance Cell so as to strengthen it in view of the new action plan. He said voluntary disclosure scheme would be introduced to enable consumers to disclose their load of power themselves as it would enable the power utilities to provide better service to consumers. The Chairperson of Power Utilities, Mrs Meenaxi Anand Chaudhary, said as a result of the austerity measures, especially in administrative and establishment setups, expenditure had been reduced by Rs 3.70 crore during 1999-2000. She said the aggressive measures adopted to check wasteful expenditure included a ban on fresh recruitment. Besides, no vacancy would be filled despite the fact that on an average 1,000 employees retire every year. A prorate cut had also been enforced on administrative and general expenses, she added. |
|
Haryana Cong to launch stir from Jan
3 CHANDIGARH, Dec 26 — The Haryana Congress today announced that it would launch a state-wide agitation in protest against the hike in power tariff and other “anti-people” policies of the Chautala Government from January 3. The President of the Haryana Congress, Mr Bhupinder Singh Hooda, told newsmen here that after holding dharnas and rallies at the district headquarters and headquarters, a state-level rally would be held which would be addressed by the party supremo, Mrs Sonia Gandhi. He said the party would also gherao the state assembly on the opening day of the Budget session. He said dharnas and rallies would be organised at Kurukshetra, Sonepat, Ambala and Panipat on January 3, and at Karnal, Hisar and Mahendragarh on January 5. The remaining 12 districts would be covered on January 10. Mr Hooda was briefing newsmen after the first meeting of the 37-member committee constituted by the party to consider the hardships of farmers. He alleged that since Mr Om Prakash Chautala took over as Chief Minister in July, 1999, there had been an increase of 45 per cent in the power tariff. He said besides protesting against the power tariff hike, the party would also highlight at its rallies various issues raised in Parliament by Mrs Gandhi concerning farmers. The Congress leader criticised the linking of release of development grants by the Haryana Government with the payment of outstanding electricity bills in the rural areas. He claimed that the Chautala Government had directed that the payment to be made to the farmers by the sugarmills should be deposited in banks, which, he said was “dead” against the interests of the farmers. When the farmers could not get payment for their cane crop, how would it be possible for them to make the payment of outstanding electricity bills. This policy, he said, clearly indicated that the INLD Government had decided to recover the outstanding electricity dues forcefully. Such policies, he said, had unveiled the pro-farmer mask from the face of Mr Chautala and this reality had been exposed before the people. He also objected to the decision of the Chautala Government of asking the people to get a no-dues certificate from the power utilities before they are given certain facilities like renewal of ration cards, registration of motor vehicles and property and purchase of fertilisers from government agencies. He demanded that HUDA should acquire farmers’ land only at the market rate. Mr Hooda regretted that while southern Haryana had been hit by drought, the state government was not paying any heed towards it. No special girdawari had been ordered and no compensation had been paid. He alleged that due to his friendship with Punjab Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal, Mr Chautala was maintaining a stony silence on the SYL Canal. He said the Pradesh Congress Committee had given a slogan: “Sasti bijli — pura pani; har haath ko rozgar; achhi shiksha, apni rajdhani.” |
|
Haryana to allot industrial
plots SONEPAT, Dec 26 — The Haryana Government has made available 600 acres of land for the industries being shifted from the non-conforming areas of the Capital following the Supreme Court’s order. According to official sources, this land is situated at Rai in Sonepat district right on the Delhi-Chandigarh National Highway No. 1 which will be used only for small industrial plots. This land has been transferred to the Haryana State Industrial Development Corporation (HSIDC) from the Haryana State Agricultural Marketing Board (HSAMB) in order to meet the increasing demand for industrial plots from entrepreneurs shifting their units from Delhi. The HSIDC, it may be recalled, has been offering industrial plots in as many as five industrial estates — Bari, Kundli Phase IV, EPIP Kundli in the district, Industrial Model Township Manesar and Bawal in Gurgaon district. Most of the plots are above the size of 450 sq metre on ownership basis and all plots are freehold. The Haryana Government has been offering the plots after the decision of the Supreme Court regarding relocation of industrial units from the non-confirming areas. As per the criteria set up by the HSIDC, priority is being given to export-oriented units in the order of their foreign exchange earning, level of employment generation, level of revenue generation for Haryana and quantum of the total investment in the project. Official sources also reveal that of the 800 large-sized plots on offer by the Haryana Government, the HSIDC has sold over 4,000 forms and as many as 1,000 entrepreneurs have submitted their earnest money. So far, the HSIDC has collected over Rs 12 crore alone as earnest money. As many as 50 officials of the state government camping in New Delhi have been conducting on-the-spot interviews. All industrialists will be intimated about their allotment in a week’s time, the official sources said. |
|
Govt to spend more
on education ROHTAK, Dec 26 — Reiterating that the government was committed to making education job-oriented, the Haryana Finance Minister, Prof Sampat Singh, said today that the amount spent on education would be increased from 2.5 per cent to 6 per cent of the annual budget in a phased manner. Addressing mediapersons at Maharshi Dayanand University, the Finance Minister said formalities for the scheme to start computer education at the school level would be completed in two months’ time and it would begin in government schools from the forthcoming academic year. Replying to a question, he alleged that Haryana usually got lesser financial assistance from the Centre as compared to that given to Punjab. However, he claimed that the government exchequer was in a sound state. He said the government was striving to create a conducive environment to set up more industries in the state as government services were not commensurate with the rising population. He said the government would spend more than 64 per cent of the annual budget on improving infrastructure in the state in the current financial year. He said it had been brought to the notice of the government that there were surplus employees in several departments of the state and hinted at retrenchment and closing down of some loss-making boards and corporations. Commenting on the demand of non-practising allowance (NPA) by doctors, he said the Finance Department had approved the proposal but the delay was on account of the inclusion of new points in the proposals by the administrative wing. |
|
Runaway businessmen on the
rise HISAR, Dec 26 — Haryanavis are losing their lifetime saving by hundreds as cases of high profile businessmen vanishing into thin air overnight with their money are increasing. Over the past year, more than 100 cases have been reported from various parts of the state in which the runaway businessmen vanished with the savings of commonplace as well as well-off families. They had deposited the money with them due to high rates of interest. According to unofficial estimates, the total amount involved is around Rs 100 crore. In the latest case, a seemingly well-to-do cloth merchant surreptitiously sold his whole property here and fled the town last week leaving scores of residents whom he owned over Rs 1.5 crore high and dry. Over the past three years, he had built a reputation for paying
unusually high interest on deposits made by middle class residents here. The interest rate varied from a minimum of 24 per cent to as high as 36 per cent. For three years, he had not only paid the interest in time but also returned the money to depositors. This helped him establish his credentials both among its depositors as well as fellow businessmen with whom he begun to have financial dealings involving lakhs of rupees in black money. Nobody suspected anything till the day he vanished last week. In Hisar alone, about a dozen such cases have been reported in the recent past. Similar cases have been reported from almost every district of the state. However, the people in Hisar, Fatehabad, Sirsa, Ambala, Kurukshetra, Jind, Rohtak, Sonepat, and Panipat, districts are worst hit. Inquiries by The Tribune reveal that in all cases, the modus operandi was the same — pay a high interest, build up credibility and then vanish. People were left with few avenues for investing their savings after the stock market crashed in the wake of the Securities scam. The opportunity to earn high rate of interest lured most of them. However, the interest bubble began to burst sometime ago, as business in Haryana showed no signs of picking up forcing even well intentioned businessmen under heavy debt to flee. Along the way, confidence tricksters too made hay while the sun shone on savings of the common man. It has been found that few of these cases make it to the police records since either the money is unaccounted for or the lenders had given the money without putting the deal in black and white to avoid paying tax on income from interest. |
|
Computerised
Railway counter opened KARNAL, Dec 26 — The Indian Railways has a proposal to lay two more tracks between Delhi and Ambala in order to cope with the increasing rail traffic on the main line. This was disclosed during the inauguration of a computerised reservation counter at the Karnal railway station here today. The counter is the second in the series on this line. A fortnight ago, the Railway authorities had opened such a counter at the Kurukshetra railway station. The counter was inaugurated by Mr I.D. Swami, Union Minister of State for Home Affairs. Mr Swami said action was under way to construct an overbridge on the Kachwa crossing. A footpath for the convenience of the residents of Ram Nagar would also be constructed on the overbridge, he said. Mr Swami said he had taken up the matter of opening a circular road on the Gharaunda railway station which had been lying closed. The road would benefit at least 20 villages of the area. He said he had also taken up the case of halting the Shane-e-Punjab and Sachkhana Express trains at the Karnal station. Already 18 express trains halted at the railway station. Mr Swami asked Railway officers to work towards solving problems of the commuters. Mr Vinod Sharma, Divisional Railway Manager, stated that the computerised counter would benefit the commuters. Earlier, the passengers had to go either to Panipat or Ambala for reservation. He stated that provisions had been made for opening additional counters. The Paschim Express had been provided 24 coaches and many other trains were also being provided the same number of coaches on a priority basis for the convenience of passengers. Mr Jayant Roy, Chief Commercial Manager of the Northern Railway, said modern gadgets were being provided at the computerised counters. Passengers would be able to get tickets for different stations from a single window, he said. Mr H.V. Sharma, Chief Traffic Manager, said a park and a library had been inaugurated today for the convenience of passengers on the Karnal railway station by the Divisional Railway Manager. |
|
Chautala hails
PM’s scheme CHANDIGARH, Dec 26 — The Haryana Chief Minister, Mr Om Prakash Chautala, today thanked Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee for launching the Antyodaya Anna Yojana. This scheme would benefit as many as 7 lakh persons of poorest of the poor families in Haryana. Each such family would be given 25 kg of foodgrain at the rate of Rs 2 per kg for wheat and Rs 3 per kg for rice. The Chief Minister said he had suggested a similar scheme to the Central Government when the states of Rajasthan and Gujarat had been facing drought. He said with the implementation of this scheme not only would the poorest of the poor get enough food at cheaper rates but it would also help in managing surplus foodgrains. He hoped that the movement of the foodgrains from the states would be faster and enough space would be available to store the rabi crops. Mr Chautala also congratulated the Prime Minister for launching Pradhan Mantri Gram Sadak Yojana which would give connect one lakh villages and upgrade five lakh existing roads in the rural areas. Although Haryana had already achieved this mark, yet there had been some stretches in the rural areas which needed to be connected. He hoped this scheme would strengthen the rural road network. |
|
Riding through clear blue skies PINJORE , Dec 26 — It was an unparalleled experience for 30 students of different city schools on the first day of the “Winter School of Adventure” organised by the Durga Das Foundation at Haryana Institute of Civil Aviation, here today.Eyes that watched the graceful touch down of the Ardhara Glider and the Piper Cherokee, a single engine aircraft plane reflected excitement, as the children hopped out from it. Clustered along the runway, the children were impatient to be strapped into the cockpit for a joy ride through the sky. The children, aged between 6 and 13 years, were reluctant to board the space vehicles initially, but once they discovered the glory of soaring in the clouds, their wishes wanted more of it. The glider having three children at a time hovered at a height of over 1,2000 feet for three to four minutes. While a group of three students at a time enjoyed a short ride of 10 minutes. “Their response was good and were really excited during the flight,” remarked Captain Ralhan, pilot of the glider. Though few of the children were apprehensive, others were yelling and waving during take-off and landing, commented Captain G.S. Cheema, Chief Flying Instructor. “It was a brid’s-eye view from the top and the forest, ponds and lush green fields looked so beautiful from the space” were the feelings of Abhijit Nibber, a 10-year-old student. People looked like insects, animals like ants and trains and other vehicles gave an appearance of small toys from the air for Ceapum, a student of Carmel Convent school. “I was a little bit scared, specially during landing,” admitted Ambika, a student of Sacred Heart school. The children would be taken for a night out at the “will-o-the-wisp” camp site in Siswan forest. Besides a bone-fire-dinner, they would be introduced to traversing and repelling. The students would also be taken for tracking on hills of the Kasauli-Subathu area. Apart from
it, horse riding and other entertainment at a Country Club, near
Ropar, are some of the other activities to give children a feeling of
joie de vivre, disclosed Mr Atul Khanna, Director of the foundation. Haryana police
transfers CHANDIGARH, Dec 26 — The Haryana Government has ordered the following transfers and postings in the Police Department today. Mr Kuldeep Singh, SP Panipat, has been transferred as SP, Gurgaon, vice Mr Shatrujeet Singh Kapur, who takes over as SP, Tele-communications relieving Mr Sudhir Chaudhary of additional charge. Mr P. R. Deo, SP, Kaithal has been transferred as SP, Panipat. Mr A. S. Chawla, who was awaiting posting orders becomes SP, Kaithal Mr Sandeep Khirwar S.P Hisar, goes to Ambala vice Mr K. K. Mishra who has been posted as AIG (Administration), Police Headquarters, Panchkula, against a vacant post. Mrs Charu Bali, Commandant, 3rd Bn. HAP, Hisar has been posted as Commandant Ist Bn. HAP, Ambala, vice Mr S. K. Jain, who goes to Hisar in the same position. Mr O. P. Singh SP, S.V.B, Gurgaon has been posted as SP, Jind vice Mr Raj Pal Singh, who becomes SP, Hisar. Mr P. K. Agrawal, who was awaiting his posting orders has been posted as SP/ SVB, Gurgaon. Mr. A.S.Dhillon, ASP, Narnaul has been posted as ASP, Gurgaon. Mr Randhir Singh, DSP, Panchkula, has been transferred as DSP, Nuh, against a vacant post. Mr Ashok Kumar, DSP, (HQs), Bhiwani, goes as DSP (HQs), Yamunanagar. Mr Raj Gopal, DSP, 2nd Bn. HAP Madhuban, becomes DSP(SVB) and Mr Jai Narain Ranga, DSP, (Detective), Rohtak, has been transferred as DSP, 3rd Bn HAP, Hisar vice Mr Tika Ram, who goes to Rohtak as DSP (Detective). |
|
Honest SDO
transferred KURUKSHETRA, Dec 26 — Unearthing gang making unauthorised international calls has cost the honest SDO his posting. The SDO at the local telephone exchange detected a case of heavy revenue leakage from the Amin exchange in December, 1999. Mahesh Dutt, mechanic, was allegedly involved and is facing a charge sheet. In April, 2000, one more case of revenue leakage was detected and the local police arrested Krishan Lal, SDO (microwave) and Som Nath Mehandi (RSA) for making unauthorised international calls from the microwave station in Kurukshetra by diverting Bhadson telephone exchange trunk lines. One of the two is in judicial custody while the other is on interim bail on medical grounds. It is estimated that a loss of Rs 2 lakh to 3 lakh per month was being suffered by Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited in Kurukshetra district because of this racket. It is reported that although, the accused and gangsters offered money and also threatened the SDO who unearthed the scandal to help them for their escape he did not succumb to the pressure. |
|
Haryana releases pension
arrears CHANDIGARH, Dec 26 — The Haryana Chief Minister, Mr Om Prakash Chautala, today announced the release of second instalment of arrears which has fallen due on revision of pension to pre-1986 and pre-1996 pensioners. The Chief Minister said the total financial implication of pre-1986 pensioners amounted to Rs 14 crore and that of pre-1996 pensioners amounted to Rs 1 crore. He revealed that out of the total sum of Rs 15 crore the first instalment, amounting to Rs 7.50 crore, had already been paid in April, 2000. The second instalment would now be paid to the pensioners in December. |
|
Thieves strike again AMBALA , Dec 26 — Three motorcycle-borne youth looted Rs 4,000 at pistol point from a trader in Ambala city last late night. It is the third incident of this kind in the district within a fortnight. Earlier, on December 19, two youth had looted two liquor shops and one petrol pump at pistol-point at Ambala Cantt on December 22, two motorcycle-borne youths shot dead a trader at Barara after snatching his bag containing cash.According to the police, on Monday three motorcycle-borne youths came at the shop of a bakery in Model Town around 9.30 p.m. at Ambala city. The owner of the shop, Babu Ram, was pulling down the shutter of his shop at that time. Two of the youth entered his shop. One of them had a khukhri, while the other was equipped with a pistol. The youth demanded cash from the shopkeeper and threatened that if he did not hand over the cash to them, they would shoot him. The shopkeeper handed over Rs 4,000 from the day’s sale at his shop. After taking the cash, the three of them sped away from the sight on their motorcycle. The shopkeeper was so afraid that he could neither follow them nor could he note the number of the motorcycle. After the incident, he immediately informed the Model Town police post. The police immediately conducted a raid at some places, but the accused succeeded in disappearing. Meanwhile, the Superinten-dent of Police, Ambala, Mr K.K. Mishra said that a similar modus operandi had been adopted in all the three looting incidents which had occurred in the district during past two weeks, which shows that there was a particular group involved. He said that police stations in the district had been alerted. He expressed hope that the accused would be nabbed soon. Woman found
murdered FARIDABAD, Dec 26 — A 27-year-old woman was yesterday found murdered at a dairy near Saran village in the district. According to information, the deceased, identified as Rajkumari, was living at the dairy along with her husband Ganesh. They were woking as domestic help to Ramvati, owner of the dairy. Rajkumari was strangled to deathwith a rope and her body dumped in the fodder house of the dairy, the police said. The body was found by Ramvati. It is alleged that the woman was killed by her husband, who along with his infant son, were reported to be missing. The police sent the body for a post-mortem examination and registered a case. In another case, the police has arrested five youths, reported to be migrants from Bangladesh, in connection with cases of robbery, assault and looting in residential areas. According to information, the youths
identified as Jamal, Sahdal, Khalil, Abdul and Rustam, were remanded in judicial custody by the court. |
|
Doctor booked for
carelessness FARIDABAD, Dec 26 — A doctor of Government Bhadshah Khan Hospital here has been booked for alleged carelessness in an operation. According to the police, the complainant Dharmender of Sector-18 here alleged that due to carelessness of the doctor, a piece of glass was left in his leg, when it was operated upon by the doctor in 1998. He said this was detected after he started taking treatment from the All-India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) in Delhi. A case has been registered. |
|
Arrest of ex-MLA’s
son stayed KARNAL, Dec 26 — The Punjab and Haryana High Court has stayed the arrest of Mr Vijay Kumar, an advocate and son of former MLA, Mr Ram Piara, in a case registered against him at the Civil Lines, police station here till January 8, 2000. The stay was granted yesterday by Mr Justice K.S. Garewal on a petition filed by Mr Vijay Kumar. The Karnal police had registered a case of alleged extortion against the advocate under Sections 384, 511 and 506 of the IPC on the complaint of a doctor. The judge, however, asked the petitioner to cooperate with the investigating agency. |
 |
| Punjab | Haryana | Jammu & Kashmir | Himachal Pradesh | Regional Briefs | Nation | Editorial | | Business | Sport | World | Mailbag | In Spotlight | Chandigarh Tribune | Ludhiana Tribune 50 years of Independence | Tercentenary Celebrations | | 120 Years of Trust | Calendar | Weather | Archive | Subscribe | Suggestion | E-mail | |
