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Sunday,
May 20, 2001, Chandigarh, India  
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Chautala pulls out all stops for Kosi
rally ‘Lalkar’ rally to harm Cong: K.M. Hooda Haryana to privatise health sector Procured wheat lying in
open HIGH COURT
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Haryana to seek more fiscal help GJU likely to have engineering college 54 pvt colleges to run new courses Army officer, daughter
save man from goons 8.6% area under tree
cover Beopar mandal flays
hike in power tariff Ex-minister seeks pre-arrest bail Lok Adalat settles 41 bank loan
cases Transformer thefts worry nigam
staff Coop societies supply water CM directs SE to restore water supply Three commit
suicide Ruchika case: order on May 22 2 buried alive as earth caves in Challan presented against ex-minister
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Chautala pulls out all stops for Kosi
rally Faridabad, May 19 Mr Chautala, who had reportedly extended his open support to the demand of creation of “Kisan Pradesh” from the present UP has decided to organise public meetings and rallies in the neighbouring areas with a view to gaining a foothold in the area dominated by farmers. Mr Chautala also announced recently that despite a glut of wheat in mandis, his government would not ban arrival of wheat and other crops in mandis of the state. Local INLD leaders and activists do agree that making a dent in western UP areas was not difficult for a party which had been fighting for the cause of farmers. They claim that thousands of farmers of Mathura and other districts bordering with Haryana had been benefited by the state government’s decision not to ban wheat arrivals from UP and Rajasthan this time. It is reported that Mr Chautala’s move has not only got some favourable response, but it had sent alarming signals to the Lok Dal party led by Mr Ajit Singh. Active involvement of one of ministers and certain MLAs of UP has given a boost to the move of Mr Chautala. Although it is expected that a large number of people attending this rally, could be from Faridabad district, but good attendance could prove a milestone in the INLD’s strategy, commented a political activist. To make the rally a success, senior leaders of the INLD have been camping at Hodal and Kosi towns for the past fortnight and the party leaders have even started making claims for its success. The district administration also appears to be busy in making preparations for the rally although senior officials deny any involvement in it. |
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‘Lalkar’ rally to harm Cong: K.M. Hooda Panipat, May 19 In a press statement issued here today, Mr Hooda who is considered a close associate of the former Chief Minister Bhajan Lal said this rally was without any aim as the HPCC President Bhupinder Singh Hooda did not know whether the rally was against the state or the Central Government or was against the senior leaders of his own party. Mr Krishan Murti Hooda has pointed out that for this rally, an area of about 66,000 square feet was being covered with tents. By taking into account the covered area after leaving the area of about 16,000 square feet for stage, media and other important persons, he indicated that a gathering of hardly around 10,000 persons could be accommodated under the tents. Mr Hooda asked: “Will the HPCC President resign on moral grounds if the attendance at the rally was lesser than the Bhiwani rally which was organised by the former Chief Minister Bhajan Lal.” |
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Haryana to privatise health sector Gurgaon, May 19 According local industrialists in an interactive session between top bureaucrats of the state, organised by the Gurgaon Chamber of Commerce and Industry (GCCI), Mr Quraishi underlined that the state was on the look out for private investors to set up a multi-facility hospital on the pattern of prestigious Apollo Hospital of Delhi. He further said that the state government wants to make Gurgaon the country’s capital in the field of Information Technology (IT) Also the state has decided to augment canal water supply for Gurgaon city in view of the growing water crisis. He further assured the
industrialists of the state, especially Gurgaon, that the government was well disposed towards their grievances and would take all possible efforts to make the state a better place for investors. Earlier the president of the
GCCI, Mr Sunil Sabharwal described the state government’s avowed emphasis on creating a facilitative environment for industries along with
commitment to undertake focused development of related infrastructural
requirement as a “progressive and pragmatic” approach. However, the GCCI criticised the government for its policy on Change of Land Use (CLU). The agenda paper submitted during interactive session stated that obtaining permission for CLU is basic prerequisite which has to be fulfilled by the entrepreneurs setting up industries in controlled area except of course the industrial estates/areas. The GCCI lamented that the problem arises when an entrepreneur wants to set up his industry in an area which already has many industrial units operating but is denied the permission for CLU because the government happens to have generally decided not to issue further permission for it. The Chamber expressed the view that such decisions do not seem to serve any particularly useful purpose and therefore the grant of CLU in such areas should be allowed. Extending the discussion on the issue further it pointed out that there is absolutely no policy with regard to fixation and revision of the CLU and the development charges which also, include External Development Charges
(EDC), Internal Development Charges (IDC), and Scrutiny Charges. The Chamber expressed the view that since the objective of the government was to promote industrialisation it is difficult to understand why mere administrative formalities and processing work such as scrutiny and grant of CLU certificates
should involve any significant financial payment by the entrepreneurs. It suggested that a token processing fee should be charged for this purpose and they should not be treated like a source of revenue. The GCCI took objection to the manner of imposition and recovery of maintenance charges for the units by HSIDC and described it “arbitrary”. Making a point that the HSIDC’s action has created a controversy-especially in local Udyog Vihar it urged for a uniform policy for levying the maintenance charges and, since the cost of provision of basic facilities/amenities and beautification have already been recovered by the HSIDC while selling the industrial plots, it should not be again demanded. Other issues in the agenda paper include, Sales Tax and disbursement of pending subsidies due to industries. From the side of the bureaucrats present who shared the dais include Mr Raj Kumar, Excise and Taxation Commissioner, Dr Harbaksh Singh, Managing Director, HSIDC, Mr Ram Niwas, Director, Industries, Mr Alok Nigam, Chief Administrator, Haryana State Agriculture Marketing Board, Mr N.C. Wadhwa, Director Town and Country Planning and Mr Krishan Kumar, Managing Director and Haryana Agro Industries Corporation.
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Procured wheat lying in
open Ladwa (Kurukshetra), May 19 Mr Ved Parkash Singhla, president of the Ladwa Grain Merchants Association, told The Tribune today that 10,000 metric tonnes of wheat was lying in the market. The procurement agencies had not bought a grain during the last three days. The uncertain weather conditions is adding to the woes of the farmers. The market is still receiving about three thousand metric tonnes of wheat daily. Basically, this wheat is being brought from Uttar Pradesh and Uttaranchal as the prices available in Haryana are higher. The traders here blame the announcements of the Haryana Chief Minister, Mr O.P. Chautala for this messy state of affairs. While the Chief Minister had repeatedly told the farmers of Uttar Pradesh and adjoining states that all wheat taken to the grain markets in Haryana would be bought, the officials of the procurement agencies are shying away. The acute shortage of gunny bags has further added to the worries of the traders. Mr Singla said the markets were already full of unlifted stock. The wheat purchased by the FCI was still not lifted. In fact, there has been colossal damage to wheat lying in the open in various markets and in temporary godowns of the FCI and Hafed. A random survey undertaken by this reporter showed that 90 per cent of the procured wheat was lying in the open. It has suffered four rainy days during the past fortnight. Lakhs of wheat bags could be seen lying uncovered in the open in Ladwa, Babain, Shahbad and Kurukshetra. Lakhs of quintals of wheat bags are lying
uncovered in the open adjoining to Sant Ishar Singh Academy near Pehowa. Reports from Guhlacheeka, Kaithal, Kalayat and Narwana grain markets tell the same tale. The grain is also lying uncovered in Dhand and Pipli where the biggest godowns of the FCI in Haryana are located. The rain has led to increase in the moisture content of the wheat. Traders say the grain in the bags may turn black. In Karnal market, wheat lying in the open has started swelling. In some other areas a foul smell has started emanating near the godowns. But who will assess this loss? A number of traders interviewed by this reporter in the above said grain markets rued over the situation. They were upset that while on one hand, people in Orissa, Eastern Uttar Pradesh and parts of drought-hit Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan were not getting sufficient food, here the agencies were allowing it to rot. In fact the government was engaged in gloating over its procurement targets, but nobody says a word about proper storage and lifting, the traders say. A visit to the markets also showed that there was hardly any arrangements for drinking water for the farmers. There was lack of bathrooms both for the labourers and the farmers. Grain merchants say that if the wheat was not quickly lifted from the markets and arrangements for its storage were not made, there would be huge loss. |
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HIGH COURT Chandigarh, May 19 In his petition before Mr Justice Jawahar Lal Gupta and Mr Justice N.K. Sud of the High Court, Mr Jai Parkash Yadav had earlier alleged that a complaint was filed by the brother of an INLD leader regarding the school having improper educational facilities after the authorities decided against providing free education to his and his relative’s six children. The complainant, Mr Yadav had added, was close to the MLA. Seeking directions to the District Education Officer not to conduct inquiry against the school, the petitioner had added that the same had already been conducted thrice but nothing adverse was found. Taking up the petition, the Judges observed: “Reply has not been filed despite opportunity. The Director of Secondary Schools Haryana is directed to appear and explain why reply has not been filed”. The judges also fixed May 28 as the next date of hearing in the case.
Computer firm case The Principal Chief Conservator of Forest and the Managing Director of Haryana State Electronics Development Corporation were directed by the judges to appear before them on May 28 on a petition filed by a computer firm. Pronouncing the orders on the petition by Panchkula-based Bhatia Computers, the judges observed: “The respondents have not filed any reply despite opportunity. The counsel for the state of Haryana states despite reminders, no response has been received. We direct the principal Chief Conservator of Forest and the MD to appear in the court”. In their petition, the organisation had earlier sought directions to the respondents for allotting work for computer branch in the office of the Chief Conservator of Forest to the lowest bidder. |
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Haryana to seek more fiscal help Chandigarh, may 19 Mr Naseem Ahmad, Financial Commissioner and Secretary, Agriculture, Haryana, told Mr Ojha that the state should be compensated for the loss of production of gram and mustard crops due to the drought situation. He said out of the total unsown area of 2.38 lakh hectare, 0.59 lakh hectare pertained to mustard and 1.79 lakh hectare to gram. He said the production loss of mustard came to 0.84 lakh tonnes and that of gram to 1.69 lakh tonne (assessed on the basis of productivity levels achieved in 2000-2001). If the total value of these two crops was calculated on the basis of their minimum support price (Rs 1200 per quintal for mustard and Rs 1100 per quintal for gram), the farmers of the state suffered a total loss of Rs 286.70 crore on account of unsown area under mustard and gram in the wake of drought during rabi, 2000-2001. Moreover, wheat crop, to the extent of 80 per cent over an area of 5478 hectare, withered for want of moisture in Morni tehsil of Panchkula district due to drought. The total loss of production over the area was 10,785 tonne which would have cost Rs 6.58 crore if calculated at the minimum support price of Rs 610 per quintal. Mr K.C. Sharma, Financial Commissioner and Secretary, Public Health, Haryana, urged the representative of the Agriculture Ministry to sanction Rs 22 crore immediately for improvement of drinking water supply schemes in Jhajjar, Mahendragarh, Rewari, Rohtak and Bhiwani districts. He said problem of drinking water was acute in 600 villages in these districts covered under the desert development programme. Earlier, the Central Government team, accompanied by Mr B D Dhalia, Financial Commissioner and Secretary, Rural Development, Haryana, toured Rohtak and Sonepat districts to take stock of damage caused to the crops by rain and hailstorms. In the meeting held here today, which was presided over by Mr A.N. Mathur, Financial Commissioner and Secretary, Finance and Revenue, Haryana, the Central team reportedly assured the state government that financial assistance would be released shortly to assist the affected farmers. The Central team also appreciated compensation already being given to the affected farmers at the rate of Rs 2000 per acre by the state government. Today’s meeting was also attended by the Deputy Commissioners (DCs) of nine affected districts, namely, Sonepat, Rohtak, Rewari, Panipat, Kaithal, Jind, Hisar, Jhajjar and Gurgaon. The DCs raised the issue of hardships being faced by agricultural labourers, who lost mandays due to the unexpected rains and hailstorms.
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GJU likely to have engineering college Hisar, May 19 The university Vice-Chancellor Mr R.K.Chauhan, said yesterday that the inspection committee, comprising Dr S.P.Singh, Regional Director of All- India Council for Technical Education, New Delhi, Prof D.S.Mor from the C.R. State College of Engineering, Murthal and Prof B.S.Sohi of Technical Teachers Training Institute, Chandigarh took a round of library, computer centre, teaching blocks and laboratories of the university. Mr Chauhan said he along with the Pro-Vice-Chancellor Mr
H.K.Verma, the Registrar Mr D.K.Kasnia and deans of different faculties briefed the panel about the university’s development and available infrastructure. They told the committee that there was no engineering college in the region and the university was capable of running such a college as it had sufficient infrastructure. The members of the committee were satisfied with the progress and infrastructure of the university, he claimed. He said the committee would submit its recommendations to the All-India Council for Technical Education and the formal announcement of the opening of the college would be made soon. He said there would be four disciplines in the new college — information technology, electronics and communication, computer science and Bio-medical Engineering. He said the Guru Jambheshwar University would be the first university in the country to start a bachelor degree course in the new stream of bio-medical engineering. After passing the degree in bio-medical engineering, students could get jobs in government hospitals, industry and abroad, he added. Mr Chauhan informed that a committee, consisting of Ms Manju Sharma, secretary, Department of Bio-technology, Government of India, Mr Asis Dutta, Vice-Chancellor of Jawahar Lal Nehru University, New Delhi, and other prominent scientists of the country had already been set up to design the course curriculum of the college. The college would have ultra- modern facilities, he added. The Vice-Chancellor said the admissions to this college would be made through Common Engineering Entrance Test - 2001, except for bio-medical engineering course. A separate entrance test would be conducted for this stream. All students, who have passed plus two examinations with medical and non-medical streams, would be eligible for this new course. |
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54 pvt colleges to run new courses Chandigarh, May 19 The Minister of State for Education, Mr Bahadur Singh, said as a result of the introduction of these new courses, more than 5000 additional seats would be available at the undergraduate and post-graduate levels. He said these courses were largely in areas where the job potential was high such as information technology, computer application, software, technology, commerce with computer application, bio-technology, microbiology, tourism and travel management. The colleges would start running these courses from July. |
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Army officer, daughter
save man from goons Hisar, May 19 Major Ajmel Singh of the EME was returning here from the cantonment along with his daughter Gurmangeet in his car around 9 p.m. when the latter spotted several youths mercilessly beating up a man on the roadside near Satrod village, about 5 km from here. She raised an alarm. The Major stopped his car. While he got out and challenged the assassins Gurmangeet began waving to passing motorists to halt and help her father rescue the villager. Luckily, a few responded. Sensing trouble, the group of goons escaped towards the village leaving a injured hurt man behind. The father-daughter team put him in their car with the help of other motorists and took him to the house of his relatives in the village before resuming their journey back to Hisar. Major Ajmel Singh said the youths had their faces covered. They were carrying hockey sticks and some sharp-edged weapons. The Major said but for the presence of mind of her daughter, he would not have noticed the commotion. Gurmangeet, who lost her mother when she was two, is a brilliant student. She is studying in Class VIII at Army School in Ambala Cantonment. She has already won two scholarships from the Army Head Quarters and has also passed the All-India Talent Search examination at this raw age. She told The Tribune that her and her father’s safety was never on her mind when she decided to help the man out. The father and her daughter visited the village again this morning to know the condition of the injured man. |
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8.6% area under tree
cover Chandigarh, May 19 This has found by the Forests Survey of India. Acacia-Nilotica, eucalyptus and Dalbergia-Sissoo constituted more than 70 per cent of the growing stock of state. More than 50 per cent of the growing stock had been raised by individuals on farm lands. Among the strip forests, roads were found to be best managed. The northern region of the state was having dynamic forestry activity due to fertile plains coupled with more rainfall. The northern region of the state comprising districts of Ambala, Panchkula, Yamunanagar, Kurukshetra, Kaithal, Karnal, Panipat and Sonepat have a tree cover of 12.1 per cent. The southern region comprising Mahendragarh, Gurgaon, Faridabad, Rewari, Rohtak and Jhajjar has a tree cover of 6.3 per cent. The western region comprising Sirsa, Fatehabad, Hisar, Bhiwani and Jind has a tree cover of only 5.1 per cent. Out of the total tree cover, 42.88 per cent are under farm forestry, 18.50 per cent under block plantations, 19.40 per cent under village woodlots, 10.05 per cent under roadside plantations and 1.18 per cent under railway line plantations. Kikar covers the largest area, followed by eucalyptus,
jand, shisham, Israeli kikar, poplar, musquite, jaal, neem, morus, ber, mango, bakain, jamun and khair. The other species cover less than per cent area.
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Beopar mandal flays
hike in power tariff Kaithal, May 19 Mr Garg said the government in the past had increased the power tariffs so much and called for immediate withdrawal of the increased rates. Otherwise small entrepreneurs would be forced to migrate to other states, he added. He alleged that the bureaucracy was responsible for the present situation as it made the laws more complicated and took the decisions which were detrimental to the interests of all sections of society. Mr Garg also criticised the method of calculation of house tax by the municipal committees, calling it illogical and unjustified. |
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Ex-minister seeks pre-arrest bail Narnaul, May 19 Meanwhile, Mr Kailash Chand Sharma has moved an application for bail before the Additional Sessions Judge here, which was listed for notice to the state today. The judge, Mr S.K. Gupta, today adjourned the hearing of the case to May 21. The Nangal Chaudhary police had registered a criminal FIR against Mr Kailash Chand Sharma Mr Radhy Shyam Sharma and his brother on May 15. |
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Lok Adalat settles 41 bank loan
cases Narnaul, May 19 It was presided by Mr S.K. Gupta, Additional Sessions Judge and Mr A.K. Jain, Civil Judge Senior Division and Mr Vijai Singh, Civil Judge Junior Division, Narnaul. At the Lok Adalat, 155 bank loan prelitigation cases were placed by the State Bank of Patiala and Punjab National Bank, out of these 41 cases were settled. The State Bank of Patiala issued notice to 22 loaners and 21 of them came forward and compromised. Speaking on the occasion, Mr S.K. Gupta, Additional District and Sessions Judge, said that the purpose of the Special Lok Adalat was to avoid institution of cases and also to save lawyer’s fee. The PNB’s Narnaul, God Salaha and Nangal Chaudhry branches participated in the Lok Adalat. Mr S.K. Gupta, disclosed that on May 26 during the Large Lok Adalat bank cases will also be taken up along with other Civil, Criminal, Revenue and petty cases on the occasion |
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Transformer thefts worry nigam
staff Narnaul, May 19 During the last one month five transformers were taken away by miscreants in the area of the Nangal Chaudhary power subdivision. Formal FIRs had been lodged by the nigam, but nothing has been done so far in this connection. A gang of thieves struck at village between Raipur and Budhwal on the Rajasthan border tried to take away the transformer installed by the nigam, but an alert farmer thwarted their attempt. Mr R.K. Bali, Superintending Engineer, of the nigam, Narnaul circle told this correspondent over telephone, that during the last one week five transformers were stolen in the Nangal Chaudhary area. Mr Bali said 14 transformers were stolen from Rewari district under the Narnaul circle. Some of the transformer parts were recovered by the Rewari police from a gang. |
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Coop societies supply water Jhajjar, May 19 People in as many as 20 villages have constituted cooperative societies to run home water supply schemes. The schemes are being run successfully in Kanonda, Kulasi, Kassar, Bupenia, Bamrouli, Baharana, Sidipur Lova, Ladrawan and some other villages by these
societies. However, service charges for providing water connection vary village to village ranging from Rs 2000 to 3500 for giving connection and from Rs 40 to 80 per month. It releases around 250 litre water per house in the morning and evening daily. The Pradhan of such a society, Mr Prahalad Chiikara, in Kanonda village informed that they bored a tubewell outside the village and installed a 26 horse power engine. A pipeline for supplying water was also laid. Then they invited people for getting connections, and charged Rs 3500 for laying pipes and Rs 50 per month rent. Now they had more than 20 subscribers. Even individuals has also launched this scheme in some villages finding it more lucrative Jassaur Kheri village, Jai Narain Patwari has launched this home water supply scheme. He has been charging Rs 2,500 for giving connection and Rs 50 per month. So far, 270 houses has got water connection from him. In this way he has collected Rs 6.75 lakhs while the estimated cost of his total set up is not more than Rs 3 lakh. He is also charging Rs 3500 per month with a net profit of not less than Rs 8000. Similar scheme is also being run in Asaudah village by an
individual. The members of the societies and the individuals running such schemes denied having any kind of collaboration with the Public Health Department or panchayats in the villages. Residents of these villages are satisfied with the services and its charges in fact women and boys have heaved a sigh of relief as as now they need not fetch water in pots over their heads or carry cans on bicycles from miles away. However, questions are being raised whether this water is fit for drinking. People complain that samples of the water being supplied is not tested in most of the cases and it could be contaminated, the Pradhan of the society in Kanonda village, however, asserted that they approached the health officials in Rohtak with the sample and got it tested and found it potable and hygienic. The ADC, Mr T.K. Sharma said administration had no reason to intervene in such schemes.
Sirsa, May 19 There were complaints of erratic water supply, supply of hard water or non-supply of water throughout the district. The most affected areas were Ther mohalla, Gowshala mohalla, Bajigar mohalla and Jandwala mohalla. Residents from Ellenabad had complained that they had to buy drinking water. The Chief Minister was hearing grievances at an open darbar at the local PWD Rest House. |
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Three commit
suicide Faridabad, May 19 In another incident, Iqbal, son of Bhopali of Nuh, died after consuming some pesticide. He was admitted to Escorts Hospital where he died this morning. In third such incident, Mahesh (19), working in a factory and a resident of
Feroezpur village near Palwal, reportedly committed suicide by consuming some poisonous substance. |
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Ruchika case: order on May 22 Ambala, May 19 Former Director General of Police, Mr S.P.S. Rathore, was present in the court. The counsel for Mr Rathore, Mr N.D. Sharma from Jaipur and Mr J.S. Kohli, observed that application pertained to whether documents were denied or admitted. They cited a Supreme Court case and two Punjab and Haryana High Court
judgments to buttress their argument. However, the CBI counsel submitted that Section 294 did not provide for production of documents by the prosecution and the accused at this stage. Mr Rathore’s counsel also objected to the presence being marked of the complainant. The CBI had filed a chargesheet in the molestation case against Mr Rathore in the court in November last. It had also filed an application for condoning the delay in filing the challan in the court. On December 5, the court had condoned the delay in chargesheeting and took cognizance of the charges against the then DGP. |
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2 buried alive as earth caves in Kaithal, May 19 According to information,
Amarjit, alias Monu (16), son of Ram Pal, a farmer, and his servant Manga (35) were repairing a 22-foot deep well at the farm when the earth caved in and they were buried under debris. They could not be rescued as nobody was present there when the incident occurred. It was only when the farmer reached there after some time that he found his son and the servant missing. Later he found that the well was full of loose soil following which the bodies of the two were extricated with the help of villagers. The bodies were brought to the local Civil Hospital here for a post-mortem examination. Mr Pirthvi Singh,
DRO, Mr Amir Singh Sabharwal, and Mr Gurbachan Singh Saini, DSP, reached the spot. The Deputy Commissioner, Mr Phateh Singh
Dagar, today announced an ex gratia grant of Rs 50,000 each for the next of the kin of the victims.
Rohtak, May 19 The Special Judge today fixed May 24 for checking the challan papers. The SVB told the Special Judge that the challan against the fourth accused, Mr Anil Kumar, former Deputy Commissioner, would be presented later as he had not been arrested so far. “We will present a supplementary challan as soon as Mr Anil Kumar is arrested”, the SVB told the court.
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