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| Sunday,
April 22, 2001, Chandigarh, India   
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NSC rate may go up by 1 p.c.
Haryana
seeks Rs 607 crore relief Delay in
purchase of wheat irks farmers |
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Rs 600 cr
aid for HVPN Rs 25 cr for 2nd phase of Kandi
project Open sale
of spurious drugs on Improvement
trusts in 5 more cities Tension in
villages along Yamuna Khurshid
lays stone of girls hostel Security
guard suspended Robbers
loot 60,000 at gunpoint
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NSC rate may go up by 1 p.c. Shahabad (Kurukshetra), April 21 These two proposals are among the recommendations of the Reserve Bank of India made to the Ministry, Mr Sinha told mediapersons. He refused to comment on the per cent of increase in interest rates for senior citizens saying the RBI had not suggested percentages for senior citizens, who are above the age of 65. But on NSCs and other long term deposits the ministry was considering a 1 per cent to 1.50 per cent hike, he said. Interest on bank deposits had been reduced in this budget affecting the resources of senior citizens living off interest earnings in the evening of their lives. When asked about the stock market fiasco, he said what and how it had happened was unfortunate , however, the future was bright. The “feel good factor” experienced by the industry after the Budget will be back as the happenings since then have been temporary in nature. Coming back to the RBI suggestions he said no bank will be allowed to accept shares as “security” to lend money. Mr Sinha said he expected a debate in Parliament on the Finance budget. “It will not be passed on the lines of the Railway Budget passed yesterday,” he said. March had been really bad in collection of taxes, Mr Sinha admitted when asked about the shortfall in collection of taxes. “Things will look up,” he claimed while adding that the figures of the shortfall were being compiled and would be out soon. On the role of the Congress, Mr Sinha said the party was now demanding a Joint Parliamentary Committee (JPC) to probe into the “tehelka tapes”. The Congress was offered several “ways of” dealing with the controversy. We had suggested the setting up of a JPC and also a discussion in Parliament but the Congress refused and a commission of enquiry was then set up. Earlier the Finance Minister, who was accompanied by the Union Minister of state for Surface Transport Maj-Gen B.C. Khanduri (retd), and Haryana Chief Minister , Om Prakash Chautala, opened a 382-metre long bridge over the Makanda river. This is a part of the construction of the Delhi—Ambala highway. The new two-lane bridge is in addition to the existing two-lane bridge across the river thus facilitating one way traffic on the busy Ambala-Delhi highway. Vehicles coming from the Delhi side will use the new bridge. The bridge is the first of its kind in the country, engineers of the construction company, informed Mr Sinha. At a small public rally at the site, Mr Sinha assured “all states which are experiencing drought like conditions will be given special assistance in running a programme named food for work”. Under this scheme Haryana will also be helped and the Chief Secretary Mr L.M. Goyal, has been asked to come to Delhi on Monday with proposals Speaking on the Kisan Credit Card scheme , Mr Sinha said about 1.24 crore cards had been issued till February this year. In this budget a free insurance policy had been introduced for all card holders. This entailed a provision of Rs 50,000 in the case of death of a farmer and Rs 25,000 in the case of a disability. On development in the road sector Rs 6,000 crore collected through cess imposed on petrol and diesel were being utilised solely for roads. Maj-Gen Khanduri said Rs 1000 crore and Rs 2,500 had been earmarked for state roads and rural roads, respectively. |
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Haryana seeks Rs 607 crore relief Chandigarh, April 21 A memorandum was presented by the Chief Minister to the Union Finance Minister, Mr Yaswant Sinha, who was here today to attend the “Business Meet Conference” organised by Dainik Jagran. The state government demanded Rs 352 crore for providing relief to the farmers whose crops had been damaged due to excessive rain and Rs 10 crore for damage to the standing crop due to hailstorm. A sum of Rs 244.30 crore was sought for employment generation programmes of rural agricultural labourers and Rs 1.43 crore towards state share of deferment of cooperative loans. The state also asked the Union Government to ensure conversion of short-term loans to medium-terms loan through Nabard. The memorandum stated that nine districts of state — Sonepat, Rohtak, Rewari, Panipat, Kaithal, Jind, Hisar, Jhajjar and Gurgaon — had been affected by hailstorm and rains in March and April. About 56,848 acres of cropped area in 165 villages of these districts was damaged. The extent of damage ranged from 1 per cent to 100 per cent. In many villages the ripened crop had been totally destroyed. The hailstorm affected 2.15 lakh agricultural labourer families who needed immediate employment in order to make both ends meet. They would have to be given employment opportunity at once to mitigate their sufferings. A sum of Rs 244.30 crore was required for generating 323.33 lakh man days in the affected villages by engaging them in labour intensive works like digging and rehabilitation of ponds and other relief work. The state government claimed to have already ordered a special girdawari and sanctioned ad hoc relief at the rate of Rs 2000 per damaged acre where the loss was more than 75 per cent, Rs 1500 per damaged acre where the loss was between 51 to 75 per cent and Rs 1000 per damaged acre where the loss was between 25 and 50 per cent. |
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Delay in purchase of wheat irks
farmers Kaithal, April 21 According to the information available, the farmers blocked traffic at Baba Ladana and raised slogans against Hafed officials over the delay in the purchase of wheat. The farmers alleged that no purchases were made by the government agency after April 12. Hafed was to purchase wheat yesterday, but the delayed arrival of the Hafed staff agitated the farmers, who afterwards staged a dharna on the Baba Ladana-Kaithal road. The District Manager of Hafed, Mr Jai Narain, rushed to the spot and assured the farmers about starting wheat purchase and supply of sufficient gunny bags for packing wheat. Thereupon, the farmers lifted the blockade. |
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Procurement
agencies’ attitude flayed Hisar, April 21 Addressing the Krishi Bachao-Haryana Bachao convention here, they alleged that the procurement in the mandis was not going on properly. The officials were not purchasing even dry wheat on the pretext of moisture content but at the same time they were purchasing wheat with moisture content of influential farmers. They said that farmers had been camping with their produce in the mandis since the last week but the officials were harassing them. There was great resentment among the farmers against the state government over this issue. They demanded that the government should ensure smooth procurement in Haryana without any discrimination. |
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Rain plays havoc with wheat crop Bhiwani, April 21 Mustard crop worth thousands of rupees was burnt to ashes when lightning fell at Sherla village. The All-India Kisan Sabha has appealed to the government to purchase the crop at support price. It alleged in a press note that the farmers were forced to sell their produce at prices less than the support price as the government agencies were dilly-dallying. Similarly barley was being sold much below the minimum support price, it said. Charkhi Dadri is the worst hit. As there are no sheds in the grain market thousands of bags were drenched in the rain. Bags of wheat purchased by the Hafed also met the same fate. The market committee has confirmed a net loss of 3000 bags of wheat. |
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Rs 600 cr aid for HVPN Chandigarh, April 21 A spokesman of HVPN said new transmission schemes at an estimated cost of Rs 300 crore had been presented to financial institutions for loan. The spokesman said the nigam was
consistently engaged in reinforcing power transmission and the distribution network in the state. During 2001-01, five substations were commissioned, the capacity of 41 substations was augmented and 147 km long transmission lines were laid with an investment of Rs 57 crore. About 13 substations were likely to be commissioned within the next six months. Construction work on 44 more was being taken up shortly. The foundation stone of a 132 kv sub-station at Dhamtan Sahib in Jind district would be laid on April 22 and a 132 kv substation in Kariwala in Sirsa district on April 23. A spokesman of the nigam said construction of these substations was being taken up under a comprehensive programme. The system improvement scheme for Jind district worth Rs 31.61 crore had been submitted to the Power Finance Corporation
(PFC) and Nabard for financial assistance. |
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Rs 25 cr for 2nd phase of Kandi
project Chandigarh, April 21 The Agriculture
Minister, Mr Jaswinder Singh Sandhu, said this amount would be
utilised for treating an area of about 10,000 hectares in the Shivalik
foothills of Panchkula, Ambala and Yamunanagar districts. It would
cover about 400 hectares under horticulture plantation, 400 hectares
under farm forestry and 1337 hectares under afforestation. The
minister said the novel two-phased project was aimed at restoration of
fragile ecology with the active involvement of the local community.
The first phase of the project, which was carried out during
1990-1999, had been completed successfully. About 46,534 hectares was
treated and the productive potential of the Shivalik area restored.
While in the first phase of the project, he said, as many as 410
villages were adopted to carry out intensive development works,
scattered over an area of about 1,04,184 hectares, the second phase
would undertake various activities for development in about 55
villages. A participatory rural appraisal exercise had also been
conducted to get feedback on the project. This feedback and further
discussions and interactions with villagers would help in preparing a
village action plan. Furthermore, village development committees had
been formed for people’s participation for the effective
implementation of this project. Cost sharing had been made an integral
part of the project for execution of works which would place some
responsibility on the beneficiaries, resulting in their active
participation. This would go a long way in ecological management of
environment. |
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Open sale of spurious drugs on Faridabad, April 21 During the raids conducted by the drug control authorities recently officials have found that the sale of suspected spurious medicinal drugs of leading brands has been going on openly at various places. The authorities seized a large quantity of such drugs from a chemist shop at Dabua Colony here. The officials found that a fake version of the branded drug althrocin was being sold at the shop and at another outlet in DLF area. The test report issued by the Haryana Government laboratory in Chandigarh confirmed that the drug was spurious. The seized drug resembled the original one but the authorities got suspicious after a minute examination of the label. The drug, largely used for curing throat infection, is manufactured by a Baroda-based company. The local authorities have alerted the state drug administration about the possibility of a large-scale racket. Permission has been obtained for taking criminal action against the culprits. According to a drug official, fake versions of another commonly used drug, crocin, are also in the market, besides other leading pain relievers like tetracycline and amclox. Several manufacturers of such drugs are reported to be active in the national capital region (NCR). The district drug officials had nabbed a person at Palwal town about a month ago who was involved in the smuggling of such drugs from Delhi. One of the reasons cited for the growth of illegal activities in this field is the lack of proper infrastructure of the Drug Conrol Department. Although there is a post of Additional State Drug Controller (ASDC) here, phone and vehicle facilities are not available at his office. The one room office given to drug officials here is in a dilapidated condition. The officials have to depend on private vehicles to conduct raids and surveillance operations. While there has been a sharp increase in the number of clinics and chemist shops in the past decade, the Drug Control Department continues to remain in bad shape. |
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Improvement
trusts in 5 more cities Chandigarh, April 21 An official spokesman said the Chairman of the Gurgaon trust would be Mr Ram Niwas Mangla Mr Sat Pal Panchal, Mr Anil Kohli and Mr Ashok Sharma would be its members. Ms Rajni Sachdeva and Mr Dharam Pal Dhillon would be municipality members. The Chairman of the Improvement Trust, Jagadhari, would be Mr Dalmira Ram Saini, while the members were Mr Kiran Gambhir, Mr Anjani Kumar and Mr Sundar Lal. Ms Shamo Devi and Mr Lalit Kumar would be municipality members. The Yamunanagar trust has been reconstituted under the chairmanship of Mr Madan Lal Rawal. The members on the trust are Mr Balvinder
Sharma (Gorkha), Mr Ram Prakash Goyal, Mr P R Chaudhary. Mr Pawan Kumara and Mr Om Prakash will be municipality members. The Chairman of the Kaithal Improvement Trust will be Mr K K Adalkha. The members are Mr Tek Chand Aggarwal, Ms Satinder Shah and Mr Sunder Singh Malik. Mr Om Prakash Narula and Mr Bhagat Ram Saini will be municipality members. The Improvement Trust of Ambala city will have Mr Lal Rameshwar Prasad as its Chairman, Mr Nirmal Vij, Mr Charanjit Singh and Dr Ved Prakash Sharma will be members. Mr Joginder Kumar and Mr Raj kumar will be municipality members. The spokesman said the trusts were being revived for beautification and planned development of the cities in Haryana. |
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Tension
in villages along Yamuna Sonepat, April 21 According to the reports the farmers of Garh
Mirakhpur, Jhundpur, Tanda and Jagdishpur are apprehending armed clashes with farmers of UP, if the police fails to take immediate and effective steps to defuse the situation. Many farmers alleged that the Haryana police always took action only when major clashes took place between the farmers of the two states. They also pointed out that last year too, the UP farmers had forcibly harvested the crop on the disputed land and taken it away. On the other hand, the police authorities say that they are keeping a strict vigil and will thwart any bid to whip up any clash between the farmers of the two states. |
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Khurshid
lays stone of girls hostel NUH (Gurgaon), April 21 The proposed hostel, to be set up on the premises of the DPSS-managed Mewat Model School, will accommodate 200 girls. It will be set by the Mewat Development Agency from its own funds, and is expected to be ready within 14 weeks. The hostel will be managed by the DPSS. Speaking on the occasion, Mr Khurshid praised the chairman of the agency, Mr S.A. Khan, and the director of the DPSS-managed model school in Mewat, Ms Rosetta Williams Anand, for their efforts to hasten the pace of development in the area. Mr Khurshid said the DPSS was satisfied at the work it had done so far in Mewat, considered to be one of the most backward areas of Haryana. Students of the DPSS-managed model school here staged a cultural programme on the occasion. Incidentally,
the Union Minister of State for Food Processing, Mr Chaobe Singh, was scheduled to be the chief guest on the occasion and lay the foundation stone. He could not make it on account of pressing engagements in
Delhi. However, an industrial adviser of the Union Government, Mr Nayaz Rasul, participated in the programme. The vice-chairman of the DPSS, Mr Narender Kumar, told TNS that his organisation considered Mewat as a laboratory to successfully prove that the level of children in one of the most backward areas of Haryana could be brought on a par with that of their counterparts in metropolitan cities of the country. The local MLA, Mr Hamid Hussain, was also present on the occasion. Later Mr Nayaz Rasul, on behalf of the Union Minister of State for Food Processing, inaugurated the food processing-cum-training centre set up by the DPSS in Kherla village, about 4 km from here. |
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Security guard suspended Rohtak, April 21 The security guard provided to the restaurant owner after extortionists made threatening calls, demanding Rs 10 lakh from him, was not present beside the victim when two youths sprayed bullets, killing him on the spot. Although it is said that Rishikesh had gone to his village in Jhajjar district after taking leave from Vijay Kumar, the SSP considered it as negligence of duty and placed the constable under suspension. The body was handed over to the deceased’s family after a post-mortem examination. The body was subsequently taken to the victim’s native village in Karnataka yesterday for cremation.
UNI |
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Robbers
loot 60,000 at gunpoint Faridabad, April 21 The victim, Mr Rajan Bhatia, who runs a workshop on the Airforce road here, was on his way to his office when three unidentified youths with faces covered stopped him near the Dabua crossing. They snatched the money at gunpoint. It is reported that the robbers also hit the victim with revolver butt before fleeing. Mr Bhatia was in his car along with an employee at the time of the incident, according to a report. A case has been registered, but no arrest has been made. Meanwhile, the police has booked two residents of nearby Karna village on charge of raping a minor Dalit girl of the village. The suspects identified as Rajesh and Sumer have not been arrested so far. |
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