Govt owes Rs 132 cr to HVPN
Private consumer cries foul
Raman Mohan

Hisar, March 6
Can a government be above the law? Unfortunately, in the case of Haryana it is so going by the arrears of taxes and power bills it owes to local bodies and power utilities for the past decade or so. While private consumers continue to be booked for evading taxes, the government has spared itself of the rod.

Enquiries by The Tribune reveal that the government owed Haryana Vidyut Prasaran Nigam Limited Rs 132.77 crore at the end of March 2000, by way of unpaid bills. Likewise it owes an estimated Rs 5 crore to different municipal bodies in the state on account of house tax. The arrears have not been cleared for years together.

The government also happens to be the single biggest defaulter in both cases. In the case of power bills arrears, its share comes to over 10 per cent. The arrears have been growing at an alarming rate. In 1998 the total of arrears, including those due from private consumers, stood at Rs 758 crore. It grew to Rs 986 crore by March, 2000. The government dues have risen proportionately.

In the case of house tax the government’s arrears amount to around half of the money spent by municipal bodies on development. For instance, the amount of arrears of house tax in the case of Hisar town alone stood at around Rs 20 lakh in 1998. Most of the amount has been due for 15 years or more.

The amount does not include interest and penalties. If these were taken into consideration, the amount could swell to double the current figure. In that case the realisation of these dues would have taken care of the entire allocation for development works by the Hisar Municipal Council for the current fiscal.

Surprisingly, even the Haryana Urban Development Authority which leaves no stone unturned to recover dues from plot holders is also among the defaulters in several districts. In Hisar alone it owes Rs 3.5 lakh by way of arrears of house tax, making it one of the highest defaulters.

It is learnt that Deputy Commissioners and Superintendents of Police outnumber the defaulters in other categories in both cases.

The arrears pertain to official residences and in many cases even their offices. The list also includes various other senior government functionaries and their offices, including those of the PWD.

Enquiries also reveal that unlike in the case of private consumers no serious attempt is ever made to recover the arrears from the government’s own officers and offices. Whenever the discrepancy is pointed out in audit reports, the officials shoot off a letter to the offices concerned or at best write to the Divisional Commissioner. The Commissioner in turn asks the departments concerned to look into the matter and the arrears continue to mount.

Officials said on condition of anonymity that most of the departments were starved of funds. So the payment arrears was no consideration at all. An official justified non-payment of dues, saying it was a futile exercise because after all it was government owing money to itself. He, however, agreed that going by the rulebook, the officials concerned should be booked.

The government’s own conduct has affected its credibility. The current all-out campaign to recover power dues from private consumers and farmers has been criticised by the public on this very count. The common refrain is that the government must itself show the way. At present, it is just doing the opposite.

Last year, when the power utilities launched their recovery campaign, a vast majority of health centres and hospitals went without power, their supply having been disconnected on account of non-payment of bills. However, it was restored shortly afterwards and no dues were recovered.

CAG pulls up PR Dept
Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, March 6
The Public Relations Department of the Haryana Government has been pulled up by the Comptroller and Auditor-General (CAG) for releasing advertisements to local and regional papers without the concurrence of the original advertiser. The CAG’s report, tabled in the state Assembly yesterday, said that Haryana Power Generation Corporation (HPGC) Limited incurred avoidable expenditure of more than Rs 12 lakh on advertisements in local and regional newspapers released by the Director, Public Relations (DPR).

According to the CAG’s report, there are standing instructions of the state government that the Chief Public Relations Officer (CPRO) of the company fowards all its classified and display advertisements to the DPR for publication in newspapers. While forwarding the advertisements to the DPR, Haryana, the company invariably recommends the names of newspapers for publication of each advertisement keeping in view the nature of the advertisement and the area of its publicity.

It was also mentioned in the report that in 1994, the CPRO of the erstwhile Haryana State Electricity Board (HSEB) pointed out to the DPR, that though the names of newspapers for publication of each advertisement were mentioned in the forwarding letters, the DPR included local and regional newspapers besides the recommended ones. The publication of advertisements in local and regional newspapers was of little consequence, as it did not bring a proper response and entailed extra expenditure. Accordingly, the DPR was requested not to change the recommended list of newspapers for the publication of advertisements.

The CAG’s report said that during the scrutiny of records for the years 1997-98, 1998-99 and 1999-2000, it was noticed that out of 462, 463 and 276 advertisements released by the HSEB/HPGC, 144, 215 and 79 cases, respectively, were publicised by the DPR in local and regional newspapers in addition to the newspapers recommended by the board/company. This resulted in additional payments of Rs 12.17 lakh by the board/company. Till June, 2000, the company had not sorted out this issue with the DPR.

The matter was reported to the company and the state government in May, 2000. Their replies had not been received till September, 2000, the report by the CAG stated.

Cable operation shut down during PM’s rallyTribune News ServiceChandigarh, March 6All cable TV operators in Kurukshetra town were ordered to close down operations by the authorities in an apparent bid to maximise attendance at the Prime Minister’s rally in the holy town.Several cable operators of Kurukshetra rang up The Tribune office here to complain that they were forced to switch off at around 11 am and could resume their operations only at 1.45 pm with the result that the live telecast of the Prime Minister’s engagements in the town by the DD could not be viewed by those interested.

Dismissed officer moves Defence Ministry
Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, March 6
A Colonel, who was dismissed by a general court martial on charges of corruption and intent to defraud while posted at the Equine Breeding Stud (EBS) Hisar, has moved the higher authorities against the verdict.

In his statutory petition forwarded to the GOC-in-C Western Command, the Chief of Army Staff and the Ministry of Defence under Section 164 of the Army Act, the petitioner, Lt-Col S.K. Sarangi, has contended that he was only following the procedures already set in place by his predecessor.

The GCM, which concluded at Faridkot in February, had held the petitioner guilty on four of the seven charges of intent to defraud by wrongfully indenting medical supplies amounting to several lakhs of rupees.

It is interesting to note that during the hearing of the charges, the petitioner’s Commanding Officer, Col S.A. Tonapi of 100 Field Regiment had not recommended disciplinary action against him. In the entire gamut of “failure or lapses, the petitioner had an insignificant role. The gravity of his omissions and commissions is far less as compared to the charges levelled against him. It may be more appropriate to take administrative action instead of convening a court martial,” Colonel Tonapi had commented.

While Colonel Tonapi had recommended counselling or censure on two of the charges, the other charges were recommended to be dropped altogether or not to be pressed further.

After a lull of two and a half years, the petitioner was attached with another unit and fresh proceedings were initiated. A summary of evidence recorded by Col Sushil Kumar of 16 Artillery Brigade had recommended that the officer be tried by court martial.

Counsel for the petitioner, Capt Rajneesh Bansal (retd) said that the petitioner was a medical officer and not directly involved in indenting medical supplies from the Armed Forces Medical Supply Depot, Delhi (AFMED). Of the 48 “unlinked vouchers” for medical supplies discovered by local audit authorities, 33 bore the signatures of veterinary officers forged by a jawan. Nine bore the signatures of the petitioner while six were those of his predecessor. The jawan, Swr S.Jayakumar, who used to collect stores from the AFMED, was later sentenced to three years’ rigorous imprisonment.

Captain Bansal has maintained that no opportunity was given to the petitioner to defend himself actively, and nor were witnesses examined by the defence during the trial. He has further contended that being the Station Quartermaster Dafadar, Swr Jayakumar was responsible for filling out details of the medical stocks and project requirements and these were countersigned by the petitioner in good faith. The petitioner was posted as officer in charge (OIC) of the veterinary laboratory as well as OIC troops, but was only performing an additional task of looking after the medical veterinary store.

The petitioner has also claimed that had monthly stock-taking boards been convened as required, the discrepancies would have been found earlier. He added that no discrepancies were found after Swr Jayakumar was posted out from the EBS. Pointing out that it was the petitioner himself who had reported forged indents to the authorities, the counsel has also contended that there was no charge of connivance with the accused jawan against the petitioner.

All Haryana distilleries now closed
Yoginder Gupta
Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, March 6
With the closure of Ashoka Distillery at Hathin in Faridabad district, all five distilleries in Haryana are now closed for alleged failure to take anti-pollution measures.

The Haryana State Pollution Control Board (HSPCB) had last year closed four distilleries — Associated Distillery, Haryana Organics, Frost Falcon and Haryana Distilleries. However, no action was taken against Ashoka Distillery.

This led to a spate of allegations of various nature against the political leadership and the board, particularly in view of reports that certain distilleries were owned by either relatives of or persons close to the former Chief Minister, Mr Bhajan Lal.

An environmentalist, Mr Sat Pal Kaushik, who is also the general secretary of the Haryana Krishak Samaj, alleged that these distilleries had been closed as an act of political vendetta.

The matter was taken up by the Supreme Court, which constituted on January 23, 2001, a three-member committee to take a decision with regard to the operation of the distilleries in Haryana.

The three-member committee took the help of technical experts who recommended specific requirements for waste water treatment and disposal.

Following these recommendations, the Chairman of the Central Pollution Control Board, Mr Dilip Biswal, last month directed the HSPCB to take the necessary action against Ashoka Distillery under Section 33A of the Water (Prevention and Control of Pollution) Act, 1974.

Acting on these directions, the HSPCB yesterday ordered the closure of Ashoka Distillery.

Sources in the HSPCB deny the allegations that the board had shown any favour to Ashoka Distillery by not ordering its closure earlier.

The sources say while the other four distilleries had opted to purchase additional land for treating the polluted water before releasing it for irrigation, Ashoka Distillery had said that it would install additional equipment like the digester system and the trickling filter. It said it was not in a position to purchase additional land.

They say Ashoka Distillery was given 18 months to install the additional equipment. The time was to expire on June 30, 2001, and, therefore, the HSPCB could not take action against it before that. The other distilleries had not purchased additional land before the expiry of the time given to them to do so. The board, the sources say, had to order their closure.

60 villages not to celebrate Holi
Our Correspondent

Hisar, March 6
Residents of more than 60 villages of Hisar and Bhiwani districts have decided not to celebrate Holi in protest against inadequate water supply in the area.

Mr Ram Pratap Malhan, president of the Sangarsh Samiti, said here today this decision had been taken by the mahapanchayat of these villages which was held at Kanwari village recently. He said the mahapanchayat had also decided to file private complaint in a court against the police officials who lathicharged agitators at Bawani Khera village last week.

Mr Malhan said farmers had been facing acute shortage of water for irrigation for the past many years. The state government had failed to provide even drinking water to these villages. He said there was great resentment among farmers of the area against the Chautala Government over this issue.

He said the farmers had suspended their agitation two months ago when Mr Ajay Chautala, MP, promised them that the government would ensure sufficient supply of water. However, this did not happen.

Mr Udai Chand, president of the Deen Bandhu Chotu Ram Kisan Maidoor party, extended support to the agitation. He demanded that the government should ensure equitable distribution of water in different parts of the state. He alleged that Mr Chautala was discriminating against many areas.

Poor water supply affects Rabi crop
Our Correspondent

Sonepat, March 6
Standing rabi crop, including wheat, have started to wither away in Gohana subdivision and elsewhere in the district on account of inadequate power and water supplies for the past few months. If this situation persists, the production of wheat will be adversely affected.

Many farmers alleged that repeated announcements made by the Chief Minister regarding canal water at the tail-end villages and regular power supply in the agricultural sector had proved false as canal water had not been released in most of the distributaries and minors for the past 40 days. This has led to resentment among farmers.

Farmers of several villages in Gohana subdivision are planning to launch an agitation against the failure of the authorities concerned to ensure regular supply of power and canal water to the tail-end villages.

Gheraos of the power substations and offices of the Gohana water service division will be part of the agitation. The farmers alleged that they did not get canal water even during the rotation period and frequent power cuts had added to their woes. They added that the Uttar Haryana Bijli Vitran Nigam (UHBVN) was supplying power for only six hours and hence they were not able to irrigate their land properly.

Meanwhile, officials of the Irrigation Department have failed to fill the ponds with the canal water in the villages in spite of the Deputy Commissioner’s order. This had led to the shortage of drinking water for the cattle in most of the village.

Excise auctions from today
Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, March 6
Excise auctions in Haryana will start from March 7 and conclude on March 14. An official spokesman said the new excise policy would ensure the supply of quality liquor at competitive prices.

The liberal excise policy would be accompanied by some tough measures against the illicit liquor trade. A bill to amend the Excise Act would be introduced in the current session of the Vidhan Sabha. It provided for the impounding of vehicles carrying illicit liquor and harsh penalties and punishment. The bill was likely to be passed in the current session and would come into force from the coming financial year.

The Excise and Taxation Department had also been provided with an officer of the rank of Superintendent of Police exclusively for heading a force of nearly 400 police personnel to take effective measures against smugglers and bootleggers. Each district would have an excise cell headed by an Inspector or a Sub-Inspector and would have adequate manpower to tackle this menace.

220 bank loan cases settled
Tribune News Service

Chandigarh March 6
The Haryana Government today claimed that 220 bank loan cases were worked out at the pre-litigative stage at special Lok Adalats held at Rohtak, Sirsa, Hisar, Rewari, Jhajjar and Panchkula recently.

The member-secretary of the Haryana State Legal Service Authority, Mr R.S. Virk, said pending suits and appeals of banks and borrowers were also taken up at these Lok Adalats, wherein 70 such matters were settled.

BSP expels Dalal
Our Correspondent

Sonepat, March 6
The Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) today expelled Mr Raj Singh Dalal, area president of Sonepat, from the party for six years on account of anti-party activities.

Mr Dharampal Bhatia, president of the district unit of the party, told mediapersons here that the party had already given a series of notices to Mr Dalal asking him to keep away from such activities.

He also gave the details of the anti-party activities of Mr Dalal and announced that similar action would be taken against those party leaders who were found indulging in similar activities in the district and elsewhere in the state.

Cong rally ‘befitting’ reply to INLD
Tribune News Service

Faridabad, March 6
A former minister of Haryana, Mr Krishan Murti Hooda, has described the Congress rally at Bhiwani on Sunday as a befitting reply to ruling INLD leaders’ remarks about the standing of the Congress in the state.

In a statement here today, Mr Hooda claimed that the Congress leaders, including Mr Bhajan Lal, had been able to mobilise anti-Chautala forces.

Recruitment rally
Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, March 6
A rally for the recruitment of youths hailing from Haryana into the Assam Rifles will be held at Jind from May 9 to 15.

The Haryana Chief Secretary, Mr L.M. Goyal, asked the district administration of Jind to render all possible assistance to the recruiting team. Candidates reporting before 8 a.m. at the recruitment place on the first day will only be considered for enrolment.

Childless woman killed by in-laws
Our Correspondent

Rohtak, March 6
A woman of Makrauli Kalan village, near here, had to pay dearly for her inability to give birth to a child for 10 years after her marriage. She was allegedly strangled to death by her in-laws yesterday.

Ashok Kumar, brother of the deceased, said in the FIR that his sister Saroj was married to Dharam Raj of Makrauli Kalan village about 10 years ago. He alleged that his sister was often maltreated by her in-laws as she could not attain motherhood after several years of marriage.

He alleged that her in-laws prepared a ground for eliminating her and framed false charges of adultery against her. Later, they strangled her to death.

A case has been registered under Section 302 of the IPC but no arrest made so far.

Train dacoity: two held
Our Correspondent

Ambala, March 6
The Haryana Railway Police has arrested two members of a gang allegedly involved in the train dacoity occurred near the Sandal Kalan railway station, near Sonepat, of February 22. In this incident four persons looted passengers of the NKM at gunpoint.

Mr Sudhir Mohan, SP, Railways, said they had been identified as Surender, alias Sonu, of Kundli and Ajay Kumar of Gannor. The police has also recovered a country-made pistol from their possession.

 Mr Mohan said during interrogation they admitted that they were involved in the incident and they had also looted a motor cycle and ornaments from a house located at Lalheri village adjoining to Gannor in Sonepat district.

Panipat, March 6
With the arrest of a robber, the police claims to have busted a gang of robbers who reportedly struck in four industrial units during the past one and half months.