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Tuesday,
May 8, 2001, Chandigarh, India  
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Publicity
assistants face bleak future
Haryana pushes 37
officers to Centre No
coordination, complain farmers |
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Wheat scam: IAS officer’s bail plea dismissed Cong MLA
alleges purchase scandal Cong
contests CM’s claim on procurement BKU to
launch indefinite fast Four killed, 5 hurt in bus-car collision 15 hurt in
clash over land Three auto
thieves held Nanda MDU
court member Factory
making spurious drinks in Hansi 95 cases
settled at Lok Adalats Jeep
driver, boy die in mishap
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Publicity assistants face bleak future Karnal, May 7 Times were when during the days of a joint Punjab the FPAs were the backbone of the government’s political intelligence and liaison with the masses. During the days of the late Mr Partap Singh Kairon a practice was in vogue whereby these officials used to send secret reports directly to the Chief Minister on the performance of even Deputy Commissioners of the district. The posts of FPAs then were excadre posts. They were recruited from among freedom fighters, and artists of repute, social workers and good orators who could establish instant direct rapport with the masses. But after the formation of Haryana the FPAs suffered a downslide in the eyes of the powers that be. Today, the situation has come to such a pass that they are the victims of the “mechanisations of the babus in the secretariat” as one of them dejectedly told this reporter. Inquiries made by this reporter from official sources reveal the promotion rules framed in 1997 had clearly laid down that “superintendents with five years of experience and belonging to the district cadre with graduate as qualification”, would be promoted to the post of DPROs. The superintendents working at the state headquarters did not fall in this category. But in the latest game for seeking promotions, some superintendents working at the state headquarters are reportedly trying to provide new interpretation to the clearly laid down rules. They are reported to be manoeuvring to get promotions under the same rule and as a result the regular promotions of the field staff is lingering on. As per information gathered by this reporter, the plea advanced by these superintendents is that they are holding gazetted posts while the APROs (assistant public relations officers) are working on non-gazetted posts. The APROs on the other hand point out that it was not their fault. They had been representing to the government since decades that as even the posts of block development and panchayat officers are gazetted in the field the APROs, who are near equivalent to them, should also be declared gazetted officers. The APROs, are promoted from among the FPAs. It is being pointed out that all APROs are in the senior scale. If their posts are declared gazetted, it would not add any new financial burden on the state government. But if the government is keen to continue its discrimination it has the advantage of provisions in the rules whereby relaxation could be given while making promotions from lower cadres in special cases. It is learnt that in the Director of Public Relations’ Office, a lobby is propagating that this rule may be applied to all and sundry. If one looks into the background of the FPAs, some of whom are working as APROs today, the FPAs were confirmed during the joint Punjab days on October 5, 1972, by an order of Mr J.S. Sidhu, the then Additional Director of Public Relations, 20 of them got confirmed in Punjab while their counterparts in Haryana, numbering 45, remained in line for promotion till 1992 and were confirmed only after a long struggle. The state government also framed rules then for the promotion of FPAs to DPOs, APROs and finally DPROs. The state government had framed rules in 1976 amending the 1975 rules of promotion. It contained a provision that FPAs with 10 years of experience and graduation as qualification would be promoted. They irony is that even under this rule, no FPA has been promoted to the post of DPRO in accordance with the provisions of this rule. Interestingly, in 1988, the rules of promotion framed in 1975 were again amended by an order issued on November 28, 1988, through a gazette notification. In this FPAs were excluded from promotion and instead district publicity organisers were included. Even after the passage of this amendment no district publicity organiser has been promoted as DPRO thereby indicating total stagnation. In fact promotions in the Public Relations Department have been made as per the fancy of the powers that be from time to time. Of course, FPAs were given a chance of promotion under rules framed on October 4, 1985, to the post of APROs. But this was limited to FPAs who were graduates only. Inquiries show that on occasions 12 FPAs had officiated as DPROs in various districts. How the clerical cadre sitting in the secretariat works to their advantage has come to light. Recently, a case was sent to the government for sanctioning more than 12 posts of superintendents at the state headquarters. It is learnt that initially the sanction was not given as the number of assistants working were not as per norms required for promotion as superintendents. After that a fresh representation was made whereby it was stated that FPAs were equivalent to assistants and 45 of them were added to the list to complete the norm for sanction of posts of superintendents. The irony is while FPAs deny that they were ever equivalent to assistants as they were not recruited in any clerical cadre. The government went ahead with it and the file which was routed through the Director, Public Relations, to Commissioner, Public Relations, the Principal Secretary to the Chief Minister and the Chief Secretary, ultimately got the nod. The creation of new posts is likely to incur an annual expenditure of Rs 20 lakh. While the government continues to do this the APROs promoted from among FPAs are still awaiting their regularisation. |
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Haryana
pushes 37 officers to Centre Chandigarh, May 7 The officers included in the list are those from the 1984 to 1992 batches of the IAS. Haryana has a quota of 40 officers who can be on deputation with the Centre. However, at present only three officers are on deputation. The Chief Minister, Mr Om Prakash Chautala, who recently decided to fill the vacancies, himself made the selection of the officers to be sent on deputation and the list was faxed to the Union Ministry of Personnel today, sources in the state government said. The Ministry of Personnel is likely to appoint these officers in various ministries or departments after completing the set procedures. Although the list does not include the so-called ‘‘heavyweights’’ in the bureaucracy or officers holding important positions, it has created panic in the state bureaucracy, especially among promoted officers. In fact, Haryana cadre officers have always shown their reluctance to go on central deputation at the junior level. The government is now trying to send those officers out of the state who had already been sidelined by the Chautala government. Mrs Saroj Siwatch, daughter of a former Chief Minister, Mr Bansi Lal, Mr Shiv Raman Gaur, who worked as OSD of a former Chief Minister, Mr Bhajan Lal, and Mr J.P.S. Sangwan, a close relative of the BJP MP from Sonepat, Mr Kishan Singh Sangwan, figure in the deputation list. The 1989 batch and 1990 batch officers have the heaviest inclusion. Eighteen officers of these two batches have been included in the list. Interestingly, the list includes five officers who have worked as Deputy Commissioners under the Chautala government. The other officers in the list are Mr S.S. Prasad, Mr R.P Chander (1984 batch), Mr P. Raghavendra Rao, Mr P.K. Mahapatra, Mr G.S. Sarot, Mrs Jayawanti Sheokand (1985 batch), Mrs Rajni Shekhari Sibbal, Mr V.S Kundu, Mr M. Kithan (1986 batch), Mr Avtar Singh, Mr M.P. Bidlan (1987 batch), Mr D.R Dhingra, Mr H.S Rana (1988 batch), Mr Vivek Joshi, Mr Mahaveer Singh, Mr S.R Gaur, Mr J.P.S. Sangwan, Mr Krishan Kumar, Mr P.C Bidhan, Mr Lal Singh, Mrs Saroj Siwatch, Mr P.R Bishnoi (1989 batch), Mr Sudhir Rajpal, Mrs Sumita Misra Singh, Mr Anand Mohan Sharan, Mr Raja Shekhar, Mr Balraj Singh, Mr Anand Sharma, Mr H.P Chaudhary, Mrs Satwanti Ahlawat, Mr S.P Gupta (1990 batch), Mr Ashok Khemka, Mr Sandeep Garg, Mrs G. Anupama, Mr R.K. Rao, Mr J.P. Kaushik (1991 batch) and Mr D.P.S. Naggal (1992 batch). It is yet to be seen how many of these officers will be picked up by the Central Government. Sources in the government say that there is a shortage of officers at the levels of Deputy Secretary and Director in the Central Ministries. So they all have a fair chance of getting a posting in Delhi. At the same time, the Central Government may prefer directly recruited IAS officers instead of the promoted ones. |
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No coordination, complain
farmers Faridabad, May 7 Mr Chautala who enquired from the farmers about the problems faced by them reportedly assured them that every bag of wheat brought to the mandis would be procured by the agencies and the state government. The farmers told the Chief Minister that there had been an unnecessary delay in the procurement and lifting of wheat from the mandis. They reportedly complained that the officials and other parties involved in the procurement process had been blaming each other and there was hardly any coordination among various agencies. Farmers of Hodal, Palwal, Hassanpur and Mohna have already registered their complaints about the shortage of gunny bags at these mandis and the delay by various agencies in clearing the space at procurement spots. Due to lack of space at mandis, farmers have started unloading and keeping wheat at any open space available near the mandis. According to reports reaching here, several farmers have been forced to keep their produce in the open on the side of the main roads, awaiting their turn to reach the mandis. As a result, hundreds of quintals of wheat has either been damaged or is likely to be damaged either by stray animals or inclement weather. According to an arhtiya at Ballabgarh, pigs and cows had become a threat to the wheat lying in open there. Several farmers have been forced to guard their produce for five to seven days before their turn. The authorities concerned claimed that a large number of 2.5 lakh gunny bags had arrived from Kolkata by a special train. Of these, about 22,500 and 21,500 gunny bags have been dispatched to the Hodal and Hassanpur mandis, respectively. About 21,000 bags have been rushed to the Mohna mandi. Meanwhile, the total procurement of wheat so far in the district has gone upto 3,81,364 tonnes. Of this 3,80,858 tonnes has been purchased by various agencies. This is about 2,00,000 tonnes more than the total purchase made last year. HAFED has purchased 1,00,056 tonnes, FCI 98,977 tonnes, Haryana Agro Industries 97,827 tonnes, District Food Supply 52,002 tonnes and Haryana Warehousing Corporation 31,966 tonnes so far. |
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Wheat scam: IAS officer’s bail plea dismissed Ambala, May 7 The judge has fixed May 17 for the scrutiny of the charge sheet filed by the CBI. The CBI today handed over the copy of challan to Mr Ranga and Mr Tikku. Earlier during the hearing on bail application, Mr Anil Kaushik counsel for Mr Ranga, said that in 1997 a case was registered against his client in Rohtak, in which the high court had already granted him bail. A case containing almost the similar allegations was registered by the CBI in 1998. Mr Kaushik requested the court to grant bail to Mr Ranga. The counsel for the CBI opposed the bail application of Mr Ranga. He stated that the high court had granted bail to Mr Ranga in a case lodged against him in 1997 while the CBI registered a new case against him in 1998. A bail granted in 1997 could not be applicable in the case registered in 1998. The CBI filed the charge sheet in the CBI court on April 18. Mr Ranga surrendered before the court on April 30 and had filed his bail application. He was sent to judicial custody till May 2 by the court. He was again sent to judicial custody and hearing on the bail application was fixed for May 7. Mr Ranga and Mr Tikku were present in the court when the judge ordered the dismissal on their bail application. Mr Ranga and Mr Tikku have been booked under Section 120 B of the Prevention of Corruption Act. Mr Ranga, according to the prosecution, had released wheat against ration depot quotas to the flour mills, while Mr Tikku acted as middleman and “accepted bribe” worth lakhs of rupees as commission. The CBI has further charged that flour mill owners had sent wheat to foreign countries directly as also in the benami deal. |
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Cong MLA alleges
purchase scandal Bhiwani, May 7 In a letter to the Director, Central Bureau of Investigation, he asked him to inquire into the purchase of gunny bags, alleging that the government was involved in a purchase scandal of Rs 50 crore. To elaborate his point, he said the government needed 12 crore bags to pack 60 lakh tonnes of wheat which was being purchased at the rate of Rs 18.56 per bag (one bag each of 50 kg) from specific firms on various interest rates while in the open market this bag was available for Rs 12-Rs13 only. He alleged that the government was purchasing levy wheat from Rajasthan and Uttar Pradesh from particular traders through agents, whereas wheat stocks in the state were piling for want of sale. Old
bardana, he said, bought from rice shellers at the rate of Rs 7 was being sold at Rs 12 per bag. The Congress leader also demanded an inquiry into the settlement of rate for
sarson. |
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Cong contests CM’s claim on procurement Hisar, May 7 Talking to mediapersons after visiting various mandis here and at Sisai he said hundreds of quintals of wheat had piled up in the mandis due to tardy pace of lifting the procured stocks. The shortage of gunny bags had added to the problem and farmers were not getting timely payments. The former minister said officials were harassing farmers by rejecting their stocks on one pretext or the other. He alleged that at first officials reject the stock on the pretext of excessive moisture content and later accept the same stock after extracting bribes from the farmers. Likewise, they delayed procurement citing paucity of gunny bags as the reason. He said farmers were, therefore, forced to stay put in the mandis for two to three days. Later they had to make several rounds of the mandis to get their payment. In many cases, he said, they were not even getting the support price for produce other than wheat. The Congress leader also alleged that officials were discriminating against the farmers on the basis of their political affiliation. While ruling party supporters were being given preference, all others were being harassed. Describing the Chief Minister’s tours of the mandis as a political drama he said the situation was different from what the government was claiming. He warned that unless immediate steps were taken to streamline wheat procurement, farmers were bound to suffer serious losses. |
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BKU to launch indefinite fast Sonepat, May 7 The vice-president of the Haryana unit of the BKU, Mr Braham Singh Dahiya, told mediapersons here today that the fast would be started in each of the affected villages. He said the amount of compensation announced by the state government was inadequate. Mr Dahiya alleged that there had been an acute shortage of gunny bags in the foodgrain markets and purchasing centres in the district. He said alleged that officials of procurement agencies were not buying wheat from the farmers. As a result, they were forced to remain in the mandis for severed days. The BKU leader also urged the state government to grant compensation to the farmers who had lost their crops due to fire caused by high-tension wires. Meanwhile, procurement operations in certain mandis and purchasing centres came to a halt due to the shortage of gunny bags today. |
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Four killed, 5 hurt in bus-car collision Ambala, May 7 Those who died were identified as Mohinder, Des Raj and Sabhya, the girl child. The identity of the fourth person, who is believed to be the car driver, is yet to be established, sources said. The injured included Shamsher Singh and his wife Anyokta, Siri Ram and two boys Rohit and Mohit. While the couple was sent to the PGI, Chandigarh, and the boys were discharged after giving the first aid, Siri Ram, who was first admitted to the Civil Hospital, was later shifted to the PGI, Chandigarh, sources said. The post-mortem examination was not conducted till this evening for want of identification of the dead by their family members, the police said. The ill-fated vehicle was on its way to Delhi from Punjab when it collided with the bus. The passengers in it (Sumo) included a family from the JNU locality in Delhi. Meanwhile, Raksha Devi, wife of deceased Mohinder alleged that her husband had Rs 17,000 in cash with him but only Rs 7,000 was returned to her by the police. She alleged that Rs 10,000, a gold chain and ear rings were yet to be restored to her by the police. However, the police claimed that it had already returned the said amount and ornaments to the woman. Meanwhile, in another accident, 12 persons of a marriage party were injured when the truck they were travelling in over-turned in Mullana last night. The incident took place when the truck going from Dadopur village to Dhulkot turned turtle near Sohana village. About 30 persons were travelling in the truck, 12 of whom were injured. Three of the injured were sent to the Ambala Cantonment’s Civil Hospital. |
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15 hurt in clash over land Sonepat, May 7 According to preliminary reports, the clash took place in the presence of the police when one of the groups set the standing wheat crop on 14 acre, which was disputed land, on fire. Additional police force has been posted at the village. A case has been registered against more than 60 persons on charges of rioting, clashing with each other and arson, etc. Mr Ashok Saini, Deputy Superintendent of Police, Ganaur, who reached the village immediately after receiving information, told mediapersons here today that the situation was under control and the police would act according to the orders of the court relating to the dispute. Meanwhile, enquiries made by the correspondent revealed that the land had been in the possession of Mir Singh’s family for the past 45 years or so, but it was got vacated last year during the anti-encroachment campaign launched by the administration. The land was taken on lease by Hari Singh of the village at an open auction. Thereupon Mir Singh approached the court and got a stay order but Hari Singh was allowed to sow crop on the land. But when Hari Singh started harvesting of the crop, the court announced the verdict in favour of Mir Singh and this was the main reason for the clash. The injured persons were admitted to a hospital and they are stated to be out of danger. According to another report, two youths sustained serious injuries when they were attacked by certain persons at Garhi Brahmanan village, about 3 km from here, yesterday. They were immediately admitted to a hospital. |
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Three auto
thieves held Gurgaon, May 7 In a statement today, the district police chief, Mr Kuldip Singh Sihag, said the three suspects — Fazar Ahmed, Jamshed Khan and Yakub — were intercepted at the local IFFCO crossing by the police. They were en route to Gurgaon from
Meharauli. They were plying on a stolen motor cycle. The three disclosed to the police of their activities leading to recovery of the vehicles. |
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Nanda
MDU court member Faridabad, May 7 The term
will be of two years (2001-2003). He was nominated by the
Vice-Chancellor of the university. |
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Factory
making spurious drinks in Hansi Hisar, May 7 Hisar Range Inspector-General of Police R.N. Chahlia said here today the factory was unearthed in Shanti Niketan Colony, Hansi, during a raid. He said the seizures included 792 bottles of spurious Limca, 600 bottles of Pepsi, 432 bottles of Coca Cola, 144 bottles of Mirinda, and various equipment and a vehicle. He said these drinks were not fit for human consumption. Mr Chahlia said five persons had been nabbed in connection with the seizure of 253 bottles of illicit liquor at various places in the district. The arrested had been identified as Bhan Lal of Nyana, Ram Mehar Pandir of Nehla, Balwant of Baroli and Rajinder of Chamarkhera. In another incident, two persons driving a scooter when challenged fled, leaving behind their two-wheeler, which was stacked with 111 bottles of illicit liquor, he added.
UNI |
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95 cases settled
at Lok Adalats Faridabad, May 7 According to the District and Sessions Judge, Mr Pritam Pal, about 80 cases were settled at the Lok Adalat held at Sector-12 Judicial Complex and 15 case disposed of at Palwal simultaneously on Sunday. |
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Jeep driver, boy die in mishap Hisar, May 7 The police said here today that they were going to attend a marriage at Madhana village. Anil, driver of the Jeep, and five-year-old Ravi Dutt died on the spot. Ranbir, who was seriously injured, has been shifted to Hisar where his condition is stated to be serious. The bodies have been handed over to their relatives after a post-mortem examination.
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