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Wednesday,
May 30, 2001, Chandigarh, India  
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Haryana
framing policy on harnessing rain water MDU,
KU asked to discourage PG studies in colleges Chahal
panel seeks extension
Dangi case
adjourned |
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DA slab for Haryana staff Ruchika case adjourned Cong men
to felicitate DHBVN sets
up 66 KV substation
Five arrested
on rape charge BJP under
‘compulsion’ to support INLD Temple idols found damaged Murder accused among 2 shot 11,000 pouches of illicit liquor seized Brick-kiln
workers demand higher wages Homage paid to Charan Singh Rise in market fee collection Shopkeeper
shot at
Rs 5
lakh aid to scribe’s widow Police recruitment rally on June 3 Directive
to field officers
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Haryana framing policy on harnessing rain water Chandigarh, May 29 Apart from representatives of the World Bank, including the Principal Operations Officer, Mr Keith
R. A. Oblitas, the Irrigation Adviser, Mr Fernando Gonzalez, and the Senior Irrigation Engineer, Mr Prabir Joardar, experts like the Executive Director of the International Network on Participatory Irrigation Management, Mr J. Raymond Peter, a former Director-General of the Irrigation Commission of Mexico , Mr Manuel Contijoch Escontria, are participating in the workshop. The Chief Minister said it was high time to link all rivers in the country so as to judiciously use their waters as geographical disparities had made certain areas prone to drought while other areas had become prone to floods. In Haryana, too, there were areas prone to floods and drought, he added.. He urged the people to cooperate in the effective implementation of Central Government schemes to clean the Ganga and the Yamuna. Mr Chautala said it was shocking that some people were polluting rivers and canals despite the knowledge that their water would be used for drinking purposes. He said there was a time when people used to keep rivers clean. This was evident from the fact that most of the great civilisations had developed along rivers. The Chief Minister expressed his gratitude to the World Bank for its continued support for improving the irrigation system in the state. He said that although the level of the Bhakra had fallen to a record low in the past 50 years, water for irrigation was being provided to farmers. The Chief Secretary, Mr L.M. Goyal, who delivered the keynote address, said with the growth in population, the per capita availability of water was decreasing. It was high time to introduce legislation to regulate groundwater. He said according to certain experts, the quantum of water now was almost the same as that, available 2,000 years ago, but at that time this availability was only for 3 per cent of today’s population. He said the state government had brought in institutional reforms like the creation of independent operation and maintenance entities. These encompassed all operation and maintenance activities relating to irrigation, canals, flood protection and drainage works. This system had improved the efficiency of this vital sector. The government had also issued comprehensive guidelines for the participation of stakeholders in irrigation management. The Principal Secretary to the Chief Minister, Mr S.Y. Quraishi, said although Haryana had emerged from a deficit to a surplus state in the production of foodgrains, contributing seven million tonnes of wheat and three to four million tonnes of rice to the Central pool every year, the conservation of water had emerged as a major issue. He said 30 per cent of the drinking water supply did not reach its destination whereas 15 per cent of the irrigation water was being lost in transmission. He said it was high time to change agricultural practices and use modern techniques which laid stress on the judicious use of water instead of flooding the fields. Mr Oblitas appreciated the efforts made by the Haryana Government to implement water reforms. While describing water as the backbone of development, especially in a state like Haryana which had an agro-based economy, he said the farmers had largely exploited water and there was need for its careful conservation. He said it was heartening to note that as a result of the creation of water users associations, the area under irrigation had increased by 30 to 40 per cent. He pointed out that there was need to develop a strong partnership among the farmers and the Departments of Agriculture and Irrigation. Mr Oblitas said the water users associations should be helped in such a way that they learnt to help themselves and did not depend entirely on subsidised programmes. The Chief Parliamentary Secretary,
Mr. Ram Pal Majra presented the vote of thanks. |
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MDU, KU asked to discourage PG studies in colleges Rohtak, May 29 The government feels that colleges are primarily meant to conduct under-graduate classes and are not equipped to deal with PG teaching which is required to be conducted in the university departments. However, 58 PG courses in different subjects have been started in the past in 15 different colleges in the state. Results of PG courses show a near
absence of quality with a majority of the students either failing or showing low results. Most of the teachers of PG courses are not actually qualified to teach PG students, the government told the authorities of the universities while advising them to discourage the PG studies in colleges. Stressing on the restructuring of honours courses, the government said honours
courses in their present form were not serving much purpose. Both universities needed to take immediate steps to reformulate the design and content of the honours courses in order to make them truly useful. The government has thus advised the universities that till this exercise was put into practice, honours courses being presently run in 50 subjects should be cut down to about one-fourth of the present number. This is necessary in view of the fact that the number of students appearing in the annual examinations for different honours courses was small and the results quite discouraging. The government told the universities that considering the entire picture in totality, the admissions in colleges should be regulated. The total intake of students in government colleges should be fixed between 70,000 and 75,000 (the present enrolment is 73,000). College-wise and faculty-wise seats should be fixed as per the availability of staff and other physical infrastructure. Furthermore, the admissions in colleges should be made strictly on merit and no discretion should be exercised in this regard. The reservation policy of the state government, however, would continue to be followed, the universities have been told. The government has further advised the universities that failed students should not be re-admitted in colleges. Similarly, students having compartment in plus 2 should not be allowed admission in colleges. However, both these categories have the option of pursuing further studies through Distance Education Programmes and, therefore, would not be put to any disadvantage by non-admission in colleges. The government stressed that there was a need to phase out such subjects which have lost relevance in the present scenario. Resultantly, such subjects should be consolidated in fewer colleges every year on a gradual basis. Simultaneously, new courses which have a high job potential such as commerce, computer science, and other IT-related courses etc should be encouraged and introduced at selected colleges in urban areas. The government has, as a matter of policy, decided that 100 per cent teaching faculty should be provided in rural colleges on priority basis and vacancies of lecturers should be absorbed in urban colleges which have the resources and the wherewithal to engage the retired faculty at the rate of Rs 5,500 per month. The government has also decided that the general education colleges in the state should be encouraged to position themselves as specialised institutions so that they could develop as centres of excellence in selected fields. Both the private and government colleges would be encouraged to identify their area of strength. |
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Chahal panel seeks extension Chandigarh, May 29 Since the inquiry commission was set up by the Haryana Government in December, 1999, it has been given three extensions. Its present term will expire on June 6. Sources in the commission claimed that the completion of the inquiry was being delayed as the lawyers representing respondents were seeking time because they were busy with other cases. The commission has so far visited nine districts, namely Jind, Kurukshetra, Bhiwani, Narnaul, Fatehabad, Sirsa, Panipat, Rohtak and Gurgaon. Notices issued by the commission to Mr Surinder Singh, former MP and son of Mr Bansi Lal, who was the Chief Minister during the period under scrutiny, and Mr Ganeshi Lal, BJP leader and minister in the Bansi Lal-led Cabinet, triggered off a furore with the INLD’s political rivals, as well as the BJP, which is supporting the INLD government from outside, accusing the Chief Minister, Mr Om Prakash Chautala, of settling political and personal scores in the name of probing liquor smuggling. While denying that the commission was being used for the purpose of witch-hunting by the state government, the sources said that while most of the evidence submitted in the form of affidavits by the general public was about the scene of liquor smuggling and anti-social elements’ involvement in the racket, there were specific charges against Mr Surinder Singh and Mr Ganeshi Lal of their being part of the liquor smuggling chain. The sources said that last week the commission had held a two-day sitting at Bhiwani for examining witnesses. Mr Surinder Singh, alongwith his counsel, Mr H.S. Hooda, a former Advocate-General of Haryana, was also present at the time of the cross-examination. There were nine witnesses who named Satpal Pahari and Suresh Dhangaria as being the kingpins in the liquor smuggling at Bhiwani, and alleged that the two were enjoying the protection of Mr Surinder Singh. The sources also said that next month the commission would visit Sirsa to examine witnesses, including those who made depositions against Mr Ganeshi Lal. There were 11 affidavits from Sirsa making a specific charge that one of Mr Ganeshi Lal’s family members was involved in liquor smuggling, they said. The sources added that Mr Bansi Lal had been sent an “exhaustive” questionnaire by the commission on the policy of prohibition and its implementation. Mr Bansi Lal was yet to reply to the questions sent to him at his Delhi address about three week ago, they said. |
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Dangi case
adjourned Ambala, May 29 The case of FIR No 14/2000 of PS SVV Rohtak, which was fixed before Special Judge, Mr Laxman Sharma, today was adjourned till June 5. Former Haryana minister, Mr Anand Singh Dangi, was present in court. A large number of supporters of Mr Dangi had turned up at the Sessions Court in Ambala city this morning. The council for Mr Dangi, Mr Chander Mohan Sehgal, requested the court for taking up the bail application matter today. Mr Dangi requested the Special Judge that the ceiling fan in his cell was not functioning properly. The court directed the Jail Superintendent to make suitable arrangements. An application was moved by Mr Sehgal for implementing the order of Special Judge, Rohtak, in which he had granted Mr Dangi certain facilities of meeting his relatives and supply of food. Mr Sharma directed the Jail Superintendent to continue the same facilities, including allowing Mr Dangi’s wife and children to supply food to him. In another case concerning Mr Dangi, the hearing will take place in the court of the Chief Judicial Magistrate on June 4. |
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DA slab for Haryana staff Chandigarh, May 29 He said now the employees would get DA at the rate of 43 per cent of their basic pay, thus registering an increase of 2 per cent in the allowance. They would get enhanced DA in cash with their salaries for June paid in July 2001. The arrears from January to May would be credited to their general provident fund accounts. He said the rate of DA on unrevised scale of pay would be 257 per cent for those employees drawing a basic pay up to Rs 3,500 per month. Those drawing a basic pay of between Rs 3,501 and Rs 6,000 per month would be given 192 per cent DA, subject to a minimum of Rs 8,995 per month. Similarly, those drawing a basic pay above Rs 6,000 per month would be given DA at the rate of 167 per cent, subject to a minimum of Rs 11,520 per month, he added.  |
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Ruchika case adjourned Ambala, May 29 The admission or denial of documents has been fixed for June 5. Mr Tyagi directed the CBI counsel to submit whether the statements were recorded under Section 161 on June 2. The IO of the case was not present. On May 26, the counsel for Mr Rathore had submitted that the statements of
witnesses were recorded by the CBI but the statements had not been put on record. The CBI counsel submitted that whether the documents being sought to be produced were necessary for the purpose of the case. He said this was not a case of circumstantial evidence but a case of direct evidence. Mr Rathore was present in the court. The CBI had filed a charge sheet in the Ruchika molestation case against Mr Rathore in this court in November last. The CBI had also filed an application with the court for condonoing the delay in filing the challan in the court. On December 5, the court condoned the delay in the charge sheet and took cognisance of the charges against the former DGP. |
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Cong men
to felicitate Hisar, May 29 Addressing a joint press conference here today, Mr Jai Narain Verma and Mr Vijay
Kaushik, former general secretaries of the HPCC, said it was the first time in the history of the Congress that a leader from Haryana had been nominated to the highest election body of the party. They said that it was the most important body of the party after the Central Working Committee
(CWC) and Mr Birender Singh was its only member from the north. The CEC had 12 members from all over the country. Mr Birender Singh would represent the entire northern region, including Haryana, Punjab, Jammu and Kashmir, Himachal Pradesh and Rajasthan, they added. They said the panel headed by Ms Sonia Gandhi, president of the party, had been revived after a long gap of 20 years as the CWC was also working as the CEC during elections. They said Mr Bhajan Lal, former Chief Minister and leader of the Opposition, would be the chief guest at the function while Mr Om Prakash Jindal and Mr Jai Prakash, Congress legislators, would be special invitees. All former MPs, MLAs and senior leaders of the party were being invited to the function, they added. They appealed to all party workers to attend the function. |
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DHBVN sets up
66 KV substation Faridabad, May 29 Costing about Rs 3.32 crore, the substation has come up in a record time of four months against the target period of a year, according to Mr V.K. Aggarwal, Superintending Engineer. He claimed that the substation would improve power supply and the overall voltage in Sector 21, 45 and 46, besides Mewla Maharajpur village. Work on another substation of a similar capacity was on at NH-III of NIT area, he said. It was likely to be ready by next month, he added. He said a third substation whose foundation stone was laid in December last year in Sector 31 would be ready by July-end. This would help in providing better supply of power to Sectors 27, 28, 29, 30 and 31 here. Meanwhile, power supply in some of the sectors and residential colonies in the town is reported to be erratic and unsatisfactory. Low voltage and unscheduled cuts have been reported from various sectors and colonies. It is alleged that the complaint centres fail to respond to the queries of consumers during power cuts, especially at night-time. Meanwhile, power supply in Nehru Ground and adjoining areas of NIT here remained cut off for about 10 hours at a stretch today. |
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Five arrested on rape charge Hisar, May 29 Those arrested have been identified as Sanjay, a resident of Mohalla Bagichi, Fatehabad, Dare, alias Raja, a resident of Mohalla Guru Nanak, Fatehabad, Dharampal of Dhaya village, Dara alias Daljeet of Samain and Ramnivas of Nohia. The police said the woman, a resident of Fatehabad, had come to the Civil Hospital where her father was admitted. During the journey two persons Sanjay and Raj met her in the bus. As they reached the hospital, they come to know that her father had been discharged. The police said Sanjay and Raja took her to a quarter in Civil Hospital and raped her. Later they took her to a dharamshala for night stay. As soon as they reached the dharamshala three persons Dharampal, Ramnivas and Dara Singh came in jeep and abducted her forcibly. They took her to the deserted place outside New Anaj Mandi and raped her.
PTI |
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BJP under
‘compulsion’ to support INLD Sonepat, May 29 Talking to mediapersons here yesterday, Mr Kataria said it was the compulsion of the party to support the Chautala government and the party leadership was aware of the harmful consequences which might come out of the state government’s decisions. He said the state party leaders had already drawn attention of the party high command about it by saying that the party was suffering on account of anti-BJP tirade by the Chautala government. He alleged that the law and order situation had deteriorated in the state and demanded that the state government should take immediate steps to improve the situation in the state. Referring to the stoppage of wheat procurement, the BJP leader urged the state government to purchase every grain of wheat brought to the mandis by the farmers. |
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Temple
idols found damaged Faridabad, May 29 The matter was reported to the police but no case has been registered so far. According to reports reaching here, idols at temples located in YC Mohalla, Tularam Colony and Pathwari Mandir were found broken this morning by the devotees. These temples do not have a resident priest and remain open round the clock. Residents lodged a complaint with the police, but no case was registered till late evening. The SSP, Mr Ranbir Sharma, said though unaware of any such incident, he had directed the Hodal police to inquire into the matter and submit a report. |
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Murder
accused among 2 shot Jhajjar, May 29 According to eyewitnesses, three persons wielding pistols opened fire at the victims who were parking their car along the roadside around 3 p.m. They fired several rounds. One of the victims died on the spot while another succumbed to his injuries on way to the PGI in Rohtak. Another person sitting in the car escaped unhurt. The deceased have been identified as Satpal of Mandothi village and Raghunath of Kassar village. Satish brother of Satpal, managed to escape. He told the police that he knew the assailants by face but not by name. The police said Satpal was an accused in the Sunda murder case and was on bail. |
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11,000
pouches of illicit liquor seized Faridabad, May 29 The liquor, kept in gunny bags in a room at the fields of a nearby village, was seized after a raid was conducted on a tip-off. Around 55 bags containing the pouches were found from the spot. It is reported that four persons, identified as Jagmeet, Upender, Neetu and Manoj, were trying to shift the liquor to some other place when the raid was conducted. The suspects, however, managed to escape. The police also seized around 80 pouches from Rajbir near Hodal town yesterday. Cases have been registered. |
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Brick-kiln workers
demand higher wages Sonepat, May 29 The procession was led by Mr Ram Diya Ratewal, district president of the Brick-kiln Mazdoor Vikas Sangh. They also held a rally in front of the office of the Additional Deputy Commissioner. The sangh criticised the alleged partisan attitude of the Labour Department towards their demands and alleged that the district and police authorities were in league with the brick-kiln owners. They warned that if their demands were not accepted, they would have no alternative but to hold a demonstration before the Chief Minister, Mr Om Prakash Chautala, on June 3. |
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Homage
paid to Charan Singh Hisar, May 29 At a function held on university campus, the Vice-Chancellor, Mr Vinay Kumar, garlanded a statue of Charan Singh while senior faculty members and other officials paid floral tributes to the former Prime Minister. They pledged to follow his ideology. The Vice-Chancellor described him as a great nationalist, economist and well-wisher of the farming community. He said throughout his political career, Charan Singh strived for a national economic policy that would provide for capital investment in agriculture for bringing about the green revolution. The Zamindari Abolition and the Land Reform Acts 1951 conceived and implemented by the former Prime Minister in Uttar Pradesh had been considered to be the best land reforms enacted in India after independence, he observed. |
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Rise in market fee collection Chandigarh, May 29 The Haryana Agriculture Minister, Mr Jaswinder Singh
Sandhu, said the board collected market fee of Rs 79.26 crore during
this period as against Rs 54.36 crore during the corresponding period
last year. The Minister said that it was a remarkable achievement as
the market fee had been reduced from 2 per cent to 1 per cent on 21
agricultural items from January last year. The government had plugged
the loopholes which led to the leakage of market fee. The fee thus
collected would be spent on expanding the market infrastructure to
provide better facilities to farmers. Mr Sandhu said the board had
given approval to the construction of 60 sheds. While the construction
of sheds at 34 places had been completed, work on 26 more sheds was in
progress. With the construction of these sheds, the storage capacity
in the mandis of the state would increase from 5,52,850 metric tonnes
to 7,38,900 metric tonnes. |
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Shopkeeper
shot at Jind, May 29 The police immediately rushed to the spot and laid a naka, but the culprits could not be traced. They reportedly took away some cash from the shop. |
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Rs 5 lakh aid to
scribe’s widow Faridabad, May 29 The president of the sangh, Mr K.B. Pandit, said the aid would be given at a function to be organised soon. He claimed that the sangh had provided Rs 19 lakh so far to the families of journalists after the implementation of the Group Insurance Scheme. He said 500 members of the union had been insured for 2001-2002. The sang had also launched a scheme for providing free legal aid to its members, he said. The state government had been asked to set up a ‘welfare fund’ for journalists in Haryana, he added. |
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Police
recruitment rally on June 3 Faridabad, May 29 According to a press note issued by Mr Ranbir Sharma, SSP, the posts include those of 80 male and five female constables. He said the recruitment, which was earlier scheduled to be held on May 21, was postponed to June 3 by the authorities. He said those candidates who had not applied so far could report at Police Lines on June 3 with an application form and a bank draft for Rs 500 drawn in favour of SSP, Faridabad. |
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Directive
to field officers Chandigarh, May 29 An official spokesman said the government had decided that the
Deputy Commissioners’ darbars would also be held at the subdivision
and block levels. |
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