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Friday,
June 1, 2001, Chandigarh, India  
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Dacoity
case: CBI raids MLA’s house Haryana plan to generate employment VCs review
statutes of varsities INLD
workers ‘took part’ in Hooda rally Rain
damages uncovered wheat |
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Gujjar for
probe into revenue pilferage Rs 1,500
cr land scam alleged Kaithal
municipal councillor attacked Pollution
by industrial units unabated House tax
arrears: MC may initiate legal action Health
Dept launches drive in Panipat Girls
take the lead again Scheme on
girl child redesigned CITU backs protest by
workers Taskforce on water to be set up Scheme for private bus
operators BSNL
appoints 5 nodal officers Agitating
workers garner support Railways staff stage dharna Woman
kills son, self
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Dacoity
case: CBI raids MLA’s house Faridabad, May 31 Mr Bhatia, whose whereabouts are not known for the past about a month is ‘wanted’ by the CBI. A criminal case under various Sections of the IPC had been registered by the special CBI court at Ambala recently, on a complaint of Mrs Mamta Arora, wife of Ashok Arora, Editor of a Hindi daily here. It had been alleged that the accused including the MLA and some of his kin, had swooped over the office of Mr Arora and ‘committed’ a dacoity besides threatening to kill him. It is learnt that on directions of the Punjab and Haryana High Court the special court of the CBI at Ambala registered a case in this connection. Mr Bhatia failed to appear in the court on May. The court had also issued non-bailable warrants against him recently. |
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Haryana
plan to generate employment Chandigarh, May 31 The state government has decided to set up a “Technology Mission on Employment”, which will be asked to formulate an action plan to generate employment in the private sector for the jobless youth of the state. The issue of setting up the technology mission was first discussed at a meeting held here in the first week of April. Subsequently, another meeting was held here yesterday when it was decided that it would be headed by Mr S.Y. Quraishi, Principal Secretary to the Chief Minister, who would be its chairman, while Mr Sandeep Garg, OSD, Manpower and Planning, would be the member-secretary. “It will be set up very soon and a notification in this regard will be issued sometime in June”, official sources said. The sources said the technology mission, with participation from the Health, Rural Development, Education, Technical Education, Industry, Animal Husbandry, Information Technology, Agriculture and Labour and Employment Departments, would study the job requirements in private sector companies and industrial units and suggest various steps for preparing the local youth for such jobs. “For instance, the state government offers various incentives to investors for setting up their units in Haryana but in lieu of that the state does not get any long-term benefit. Once the technology mission is given shape, the state government may make it mandatory for industrial units to give a certain number of local youth skilled and unskilled jobs in their establishments”, the sources said. On the other hand, the technology mission would play a pivotal role in preparing the local youth to suitably fit into such openings, they added. The sources said the technology mission would primarily deal with vocational training institutes, including ITIs, and suggest modifications in what was being taught, which would help the students adapt to the latest requirements. The mission would also study the course structures of schools, colleges and universities and recommend how the students could be better prepared to respond to the needs of the job market. The technology mission would also attempt to prepare unemployed youth and those from the poor strata of society on how to properly utilise the soft loans offered by the Government of India under various schemes for generating employment. The idea to prepare the local youth for better utilisation of soft loans given by the Union Government has prompted the state government to rope in departments as diverse as IT and Animal Husbandry, in the Technology Mission. State government jobs have been kept out of the ambit of this exercise since vacancies are seldom available in the state government, the sources said. While official circles are, by and large, appreciative of the idea of the technology mission and feel that it would produce results if carried out sincerely, the Opposition parties may see the move as a ploy by the Haryana Government to silence those who criticised government steps to retrench the staff of
Confed, the Spinning Mill at Hansi, the canteen at Haryana Bhavan in Delhi and the like. The state government had earlier reserved 25 per cent of the jobs in the group C and D categories for retrenched employees, besides relaxing the maximum age for applying for government jobs for such employees. Criticism, nevertheless, had kept pouring in from the Opposition against the “inhuman steps” of the Chief Minister, Mr Om Prakash Chautala.  |
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VCs review statutes of varsities Rohtak, May 31 CABE was constituted by the Centre to examine the report of the Gnanam Committee to analyse the authorities of various bodies and committees of the universities in India. The CABE report was submitted to the Union Education Ministry in April 1992 but it took almost a decade for the Centre to seek the opinion of the state government and the universities. After the state government received the report from the Centre, the Governor-cum-Chancellor of the universities in Haryana asked the Vice-Chancellors to review the statutes of the universities with particular reference to various committees and bodies. Although the discussions at today’s meeting were inconclusive the Vice-Chancellors were unanimous in their conclusion about the need to amend the constitution of different bodies to improve and streamline the functioning of the universities. The Vice-Chancellors today devoted most of the time on the size of the universities court because this was one body about whose composition the Gnanam Committee and CABE have differed. While the committee suggested that its size should be of 100 members CABE has recommended that it should comprise only 50 members. CABE has also agreed with the recommendations of the Gnanam Committee that the court (Senate) may review the broad policies and programmes of the university and may make suggestions for the improvement and development of the university. It should not be the supreme governing authority and should have no powers to make statutes or approve the budget. The Gnanam Committee and CABE also agree that the executive council (Syndicate) should be the principal executive body of the university to coordinate and monitor the functioning of various sub-systems in the university structure. It should be the executive administrative and financial authority with statute and Ordinance making powers about university authorities/bodies/committees/officers as also administrative and financial matters. The executive council, however, should not have the power to approve the academic ordinances regulations passed by the academic council except where they have major administrative or financial implications. Both the Gnanam Committee and CABE have recommended that the title of the executive council (Syndicate) in the university organisational structure needs to be reviewed. It may be re-styled as the Board of Management. The Board of Management should be accountable for what happens in the university and it should not be possible to sidetrack it in moments of crisis, the recommendations say. The membership of the executive council (Syndicate) should not exceed 15. The government representatives or nominees on the Board of Management should be limited to not more than one-third of its total size. Half of the remaining members should be from academics viz college Principals, teachers, university teachers and the remaining from other fields such as industry, agriculture and trade, academics from other universities or national laboratories etc. Not more than one-third of the board members should be represented in the court. The Vice-Chancellor, Maharshi Dayanand University, Maj Gen B.S. Suhag (retd), said the next meeting of the Vice-Chancellors would be held on June 18 at Haryana Agriculture University in Hisar. Besides General Suhag, Mr R.S. Chaudhry, Vice-Chancellor, Kurukshetra University, Mr Vinay Kumar, Vice-Chancellor, HAU, and Mr R.S. Chauhan, Vice-Chancellor, GJU, attended the meeting. Mr S.P. Sharma, Secretary to Governor, Haryana, was also present. |
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INLD workers ‘took part’ in Hooda rally Panipat, May 31 Mr Bhajan Lal was talking to mediapersons here at the PWD rest house. Commenting on HPCC president, Bhupinder Singh Hooda’s rally at Panipat on May 20, Mr Bhajan Lal said the Haryana Chief Minister, Mr Om Prakash Chautala, had directed INLD supporters to take part in the rally and a large number of INLD workers had attended it. Mr Bhajan Lal, who is the Leader of the Opposition in the Haryana Assembly, criticised the Chautala government and said the law and order situation in the state had worsened and the government was functioning in an
autocratic manner. “The elected representatives (MLAs) do not have any say in the government and a majority of them are feeling suffocated,” he remarked, adding that the ultimate sufferer were the people for whom it was difficult to approach the Chief Minister to get every little job done. Pointing out that incidents of crime were increasing rapidly and murders had become a routine affair, Mr Bhajan Lal observed that if the Chautala government
continued for three years, the condition in the state would be similar to those in Bihar. When asked about his differences with the HPCC president, Mr Bhajan Lal said the Congress was a mass-based political party and slight differences among the party leaders were very common. Such kind of differences could be traced in every political party and in every state. The former Chief Minister also visited the residence of Pritam Ahuja who was shot dead by three assailants on May 23 to condole his death. He was accompanied by about hundred of party workers. |
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Rain damages uncovered wheat Kaithal Wheat procured by state and Central Government agencies could not be lifted and was soaked. It will not be possible to unpack the heavy stocks and dry it. It was to be lifted and sent to godowns and plinths hired by the procurement agencies, but the authorities were caught unawares by the sudden showers. Lakhs of gunny bags have also been damaged. At the new and old grain markets here, representatives of some agencies were making arrangements for lifting the stocks. Similar reports have been received from Cheeka, Pundri, Dhand, Kalayat and other mandis and purchase centres. Some government agencies had hired private open plinths for stocking wheat as covered godowns were already full with last year’s stocks. Wheat lying uncovered on wooden stacks suffered substantial damage. At some places representatives of procurement agencies had not cared to cover the stocks with polythene or tarpaulin sheets whereas some were still waiting for the supply of sheets. Polythene sheets covering old wheat stocks were badly torn. At a private plinth on the Jind road, about three lakh bags of wheat purchased by Haryana State Warehousing Corporation were lying uncovered. Other plinths also presented the same scene. Most of the stocks lying in the open may rot making it difficult for the government to dispose these of. A team of high-ranking officers from various government agencies arrived here to take stock of situation and prepare estimates of the damage. The Deputy Commissioner, Mr Phateh Singh Daggar, also visited mandis and directed the officials to take necessary steps. According to estimates, about 6 lakh mt wheat has been procured by various government agencies. The 5.14 lakh mt left-over stocks of previous years are posing a problem as few covered warehouses are available for the wheat procured during the current season. |
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Gujjar for probe into revenue pilferage Chandigarh, May 31 Talking to newsmen here, Mr Gujjar alleged that the revenue was being pilfered in the entire state in general and in Faridabad district in particular. He alleged that lucrative contracts were being given to influential persons patronised by the Chief Minister’s family for extraneous considerations. Quoting instances in support of his allegations, Mr Gujjar said the contracts to lift sand from the Yamuna in all districts, starting from Yamunanagar to Sonepat, had been given to a particular firm, allegedly floated by a Haryana Minister and patronised by the Chief Minister’s family, in stage-managed auctions by the Deputy Commissioners. The BJP leader said such contracts should have been given in a transparent manner to earn a higher revenue. Mr Gujjar said a notification was issued on January 8, 2001, under Section 4 of the Land Acquisition Act for acquiring land for Sector 92 of Faridabad. The notification covered a piece of land measuring about 138 acres belonging to the Green Estate and HRE Plot Holders Association. Since then the “land mafia” had been claiming that it had struck a deal with the powers that be for denotifying the area. On March 12, 2001, the president of the association executed a power of attorney document in respect of over 28 acres, the market value of which was around Rs 5.5 crore, in favour of two residents of Punjab. The BJP leader alleged that the Punjab residents were in fact front men of certain politically influential persons of Haryana. He said it was strange that the power of attorney document was executed despite a two-year-old ban on such deals in Faridabad district. He indicated that the power of attorney document in respect of 28 acres was part of the deal to denotify the remaining land. However, he admitted that so far the land had not been released from acquisition proceedings. Mr Gujjar said that the revenue authorities were demarcating the mining area leased out to various persons as directed by the Punjab and Haryana High Court,
which had also ordered a CBI inquiry into the mining operations in Faridabad district. But the authorities were taking the help of surveyors in the employment of mining lessees. Under the circumstances it was doubtful if correct demarcation would be done. He said either the CBI should look into these allegations or the Union Home Minister should get these probed through the agencies under his control. |
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Rs 1,500 cr land scam alleged Gurgaon, May 31 A Congress leader of the district, Mr Khazan Singh yesterday alleged that the higher echelons of the government in collusion with the land sharks and the local administration had perverted the course of law at Bandhwadi village, near here, to effect a land scam worth Rs 1,500 crore. Incidentally, Mr Khazan Singh is also a convener of a voluntary organisation floated by prominent residents of the district. According to him, about 2,600 acres of shamlaat land at Bandhwadi was under dispute with regard to ownership. About 22 persons had moved the court of the assistant collector claiming to be the real owners of the landmore than a decade ago. The then assistant collector had partly upheld the plea of the petitioners on November 9, 1989. The panchayat had appealed in the court of the collector against the decision, who set aside the decision of the assistant collector on December 18, 1991. Interestingly, the INLD government was in power when the then assistant collector had given the award in favour of the petitioners. When the collector had set aside the award the Congress government had taken over. The case was then taken up in the Punjab and Haryana High Court, which directed that the case be heard de novo on its merits. Subsequently, the commissioner asked for the case to be heard all over again. The case kept on moving from one court to another. On February 12, 1992, the Haryana Government through a gazetted notification scrapped Section 2 G(5) of clause 9 of the Village Common Land Act, which was loaded in favour of the petitioners in such cases. While looking into the case afresh the office of the assistant collector again decided partly in favour of the petitioners last year as 1600 of the disputed the 2,600 acres were decided in favour of the petitioners. |
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Kaithal
municipal councillor attacked Kaithal, May 31 According to information, the victim was going to his house for lunch at about 2.30 p.m. on his scooter when three youths with muffled faces, carrying iron rods, stopped him on the State Bank road, opposite the main bus stand and attacked him with rods. The victim was reportedly attacked on the head, arms and legs by the assailants, who ran away after leaving him in a pool of blood. The three reportedly left on a motor cycle. According to some
eyewitness, the assailants were hiding in a Tempo parked on the roadside. Mr Sardana, who is a councillor from ward No. 26 was rushed to a nearly nursing home by some shopkeepers. He was given first aid and later shifted to civil hospital at Kaithal. Mr Kamal Choudhry, Chairman of the municipal council, was the first to reach the nursing home. Later a large number of persons, including municipal councillors and municipal employees, reached there. However, though the police was informed about the incident at about 3 p.m. by Mr Choudhry till 4.15 p.m. no official had arrived. Mr Amir Singh Sabharwal, DSP (Headquarters) on being informed by Mr Chowdhry rushed there and took stock of the situation. He talked to the injured councillor. |
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Pollution
by industrial units unabated Faridabad, May 31 Although the authorities announced about two years ago to relocate 300-odd electroplating units situated in Ballabgarh municipal limits, the process of relocation has not started so far. The Haryana Urban Development Authority (HUDA) had announced to give industrial plots to such units in Sector-58, for which about 250 applications were received. However, the work on this scheme is going on at a snail’s pace, according to an official. These electroplating units have been polluting underground water as a majority of them do not have proper effluent treatment plants. The Pollution Control Board had asked these units to have a common treatment plant, but to no avail. The matter was taken up with the Chief Minister, who directed officials to set up a separate zone for such units. According to official figures, Faridabad and Ballabgarh towns have over 650 industrial units which have been causing pollution of one kind or the other. Of these, 23 units have been identified as causing maximum pollution. While 12 such units are located in Faridabad, 11 are in Ballabgarh. There are at least 420 industrial units which have been found to cause “medium” pollution in these towns. The units categorised as a source of low pollution include stone crushers, brick kilns, hospitals and clinics. There are 163 stone crushers, 300 electroplating units, about 300 clinics and over 110 industrial units which have been a constant source of low-level pollution. The Pollution Control Board gave no-objection certificates to 416 units of Faridabad and Ballabgarh which had applied for permission under water pollution norms. Regarding air pollution, about 405 applicants were issued such certificates. According to the Deputy Commissioner, Mr S.C. Jain, 53 no-objection certificates were given last year to applicants who wanted to set up industrial units here. He said it was necessary to get the certificate prior to setting up a factory. He said at least 54 units had set up water treatment plants on their premises last year. Twentyseven units had set up air treatment plants in Faridabad and Ballabgarh during this period, he said. A total of 260 units had so far taken such measures, he added. The Pollution Control Board has also decided to set up “eco-clubs” in about 100 schools of the district to increase awareness among students. For this the board will provide an aid of Rs 1,000 to each school. The board has also earmarked 32 acres in Faridabad for the treatment of poisonous water effluents from various units. Meanwhile, the pollution caused by vehicles on the roads of the town continues to rise. Over 5,000 autorickshaws and a similar number of commercial vehicles, including trucks, continue to emit poisonous fumes. |
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House tax arrears: MC may initiate legal action Panipat, May 31 According to information, the Director, Haryana Urban Development Department, has written letters to the municipal councils and muncipalities in the state to concentrate on the recovery of pending house tax arrears and has asked the authorities to take
strict action against the defaulters. The Panipat Municipal Council has also decided to launch a special drive for the recovery of pending house tax arrears amounting to over Rs 30 lakh with the general public as well as government offices. Under the first phase of the drive the council has finalised a list of about 100 major defaulters who are to pay arrears of more than Rs 20 lakh. As the staff of the local municipal council was busy with the assessment of the new house tax for more than four months, the recovery of pending house tax arrears could not gain momentum. It may be recalled that the Deputy Commissioner at a meeting of the officers recently reportedly asked the officers of the concerned departments to arrange the payment of house tax arrears. |
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Health
Dept launches drive in Panipat Panipat, May 31 The Deputy Commissioner, Mr M.R. Anand, said here yesterday that under the campaign the paramedical staff had been directed to check the drinking water supply systems in the urban and rural areas and ensure that the water was chlorinated and without contamination. In this connection as many as 2,671 water samples were taken, of which only 928 were found without chlorine. The health authorities had been directed to take the necessary steps in this regard. The DC stated that the necessary cholera epidemic notification had been issued under which the medical and paramedical staff of the Health Department have been asked to destroy rotten fruits and other eatables. The staff has also been directed to take samples of food items. Under the family welfare programme, the DC said the department had carried out 44,753 vaccinations of DPT, BCG and measals and tested 84,508 blood samples to detect malaria and dengue in the district, last year. |
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Girls take the lead again Rohtak, May 31 According to the university, the pass percentage this year has declined as compared to the past four years. The Vice-Chancellor, Maj-Gen B.S. Suhag (retd), said he would find out the reasons for the decline in the pass percentage. One of the major reasons could be strict vigilance during the examinations. The pass percentage for BA I, is 42.31 against 56.66 in 2000, 55.98 in 1999 and 57.52 per cent in 1998. The pass percentage for B.Sc I is 52.52, almost the same as last year (52.86) but is lower by nearly 4 per cent when compared to 1999 and 1998. The pass percentage for B. Com I has declined from 55.96 in 2000 to 46.36 this year. It is, however, higher as compared to 1999 (42.92) and 1998 (44.70). Sushila on AMM College, Bhiwani, has secured first position in BA I by securing 341 marks out of 400 and Savita of GVM College, Sonepat, has got first position in BSc I by securing 427 marks out of 500. Shilpi of VMM College, Rohtak, has got the top position in B. Com I. She got 462 marks out of 600. |
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Scheme
on girl child redesigned Chandigarh, May 31 The Haryana Minister of State for Social Welfare, Mr Risal Singh, said this scheme, which aimed at changing the negative attitudes of the family and community towards the girl child and the mother, had been redesigned to ensure that financial benefits accrued only to the girl child. The Minister said that the post-delivery grant of Rs 500, which was previously being provided to mothers living below the poverty line, would now be given to the girl child. This cash amount, which was earlier paid to the mother of the newly born girl child, would now be deposited in maximum interest bearing schemes like the Public Provident Fund and he National Savings Certificates in the name of the girl child. |
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CITU backs protest by
workers Kalka, May 31 A memorandum given by the union today, to the Labour Commissioners, stated that the management was playing with the rights of the workers. The workers’ union of the factory is affiliated with the CITU. The district president of CITU, Mr Om Dutt Sharma, today held a meeting with the workers and urged them to intensify their agitation. Accusing the management for lay-off, the union demanded Labour Commissioner to personally intervene in the matter to save them and their families of starvation. On the other hand the Managing Director of the Autocomps Factory, Mr Ashish Dutt, told to this correspondent, that the decision of the management to impose lay-off was absolutely right decision. He said before imposing the lay-off, three meetings were held with the workers, but in each meeting the workers did not show any cooperation. He said they had got the permission from the government to apply lay-off, about a month back, but yet they did try their best to convince the workers but to no avail. Therefore, they were left with no alternative but to impose the lay-off. Mr Dutt alleged that some suppliers and some ex-workers were misleading the employees of the factory. He said due to the shortage of working capital, they were unable to procure raw material for whole month’s production. Thus they had requested the workers to observe lay-off by turn, so that all workers were not laid off at one time to which they did not agree, consequently they were left with no alternative and were forced to declare lay- off. He also clarified that all workers had been paid their salary till date. |
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Taskforce
on water to be set up Chandigarh, May 31 A decision to this effect was taken at a meeting of the
heads of various departments. Haryana’s water potential comprises 47
per cent rain water, 30 per cent surface water and 23 per cent ground
water. The state has a demand of 33.65 MAF of water against the
availability of 18.75 MAF. As the state is deficit in water, there is
dire need for its conservation, which can be achieved by launching a
mass movement. |
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Scheme
for private bus
operators Chandigarh, May 31 Also, 8,639 maxi cabs were
issued permits for operation all over the state, the communique said,
quoting a spokes- man of the Transport Department. |
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BSNL appoints 5 nodal officers Karnal, May 31 Five officers of the BSNL have been appointed nodal officers, including Mr V.P.
Manik, SDO (Telephone) for Liberty Group, Mr P.P. Kapoor, SDE (HRD) for United Rice Lands, Mr
M.K. Kaul, SDE (Planning) for the Indian Oil Corporation, Mr Kundan Lal for important subscribers in Karnal and Mr
B.L. Sehgal (Chief Accounts Officer) and Mr I.S. Malik for important subscribers in Taraori and
Nilokheri. |
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Agitating
workers garner support Faridabad, May 31 The agitating employees have now started roping in supporters from municipalities of other districts in support of their stir. They are demanding reabsorption of the 1519 workers ‘sacked’ by the corporation. While supporters from the Bhiwani Municipal Council staged a dharna outside the municipal corporation office here on Tuesday, sympathisers from Mahender Garh district took part in the dharna held yesterday. |
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Railways
staff stage dharna Kalka, May 31 They criticised the government for its anti-employee policies especially privatisation and exploitation of the workers. Their main demands include removal of anomalies of Fifth Pay Commission, reduction in gazetted post upto 50 per cent. |
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Woman kills
son, self Faridabad, May 31 According to information, victim Neetu, wife of Munna, poured kerosene on herself and her son Ambuj and set herself ablaze. Her husband was not present at the time of the incident. The woman was reportedly pregnant. |
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