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Thursday, July 19, 2001, Chandigarh, India  
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No vendetta behind cases, says Chautala Anand Singh Dangi gets bail Female foeticide: Haryana plans crackdown Special card scheme for farmers launched Poor paddy harvest
likely: Surjewala |
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HUDA amends
building bylaws Govt to provide storage facilities ‘Declare Gannaur paddy-growing area’ Paddy scam: 2
more suspended Villagers
pay heavily for water 3.5 lakh power meters replaced Pehowa gets
Rs 3.08 crore MDU warns students against engg college Missing girl
traced 1 killed, 6 hurt in separate accidents Order on discharge
of effluents
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No vendetta behind cases, says Chautala Kurukshetra, July 18 Citing examples at a press conference held at the residence of the local member of Parliament, Mrs Kailasho Saini, here yesterday evening, Mr Chautala said the police had registered cases against a former Haryana Agriculture Minister, Mr Karan Dalal, and a former Haryana minister, Mr Tejinder Pal Mann, because both of them forcibly grabbed their respective brothers’ property. Similarly, a former Haryana minister, Mr Anand Singh Dangi, was sent to jail after he was declared guilty by the CBI. “Moreover, if the National Youth Congress President, Mr Randeep Surjewala, will loot a shop, will he not be arrested and sued by the police?” Mr Chautala questioned. Reacting to the statements published in some newspapers that the Haryana Government would abolish flat rates being charged from farmers for tubewells in Haryana, Mr Chautala said some mischivous people were busy in propagating such rumours deliberately to tarnish the state government’s image since there was no such proposal to abolish the flat rates being charged from the farmers. Justifying the government’s stand regarding replacement of mechanical electricity meters with electronic electricity meters, Mr Chautala said 35 lakh electronic meters would be installed to check theft of electricity as well as line losses. He said electronic meters were installed in Faridabad circle on an experiment basis which resulted in reduction of line losses from 41 to 16 per cent. Asked to comment on the Vajpayee-Musharraf summit, Mr Chautala said though no solid conclusion had emerged from it, yet he was still hopeful for a solution. Besides Mr Chautala and Mrs Kailasho Saini, the Haryana Agriculture Minister, Mr Jaswinder Singh Sandhu, the Sugar Mills Federation Chairman and MLA from the Radaur constituency, Mr Banta Ram, the Ambala Range IG, Mr Hari Singh Ahlawat, the Deputy Commissioner, Mr Abhilaksh Likhi, and the district police chief, Mr Desraj Singh, were also present at the press conference. |
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Anand Singh Dangi gets bail Ambala, July 18 Counsel for Mr Dangi, Mr Chander Mohan Sehgal, argued that the accused had been granted bail in FIR 3/2000 registered by the Vigilance Bureau, Ambala. He prayed that the accused should be granted bail in this case too which had been received from the Special Judge, Bhiwani. Mr Sehgal further pleaded that the accused had been in judicial custody for the past seven months and had been admitted to hospital for several weeks on account of ill health. The accused was also referred to the PGI, Chandigarh, by a board of doctors of the Ambala Civil Hospital where he was operated upon. Mr A.S. Gupta, Public Prosecutor, opposing the bail application, said that the accused had misused his
position and had allotted land in respect of claims on the forged record of land and misused his position as a minister. He should not be released on bail. The court, after hearing the arguments, allowed the bail application of Mr Dangi on furnishing personal bond of Rs 50,000 with one surety of the like amount. Later Mr Dangi was brought to the Civil Hospital where he was examined by a board of doctors which was constituted by the Civil Surgeon on the direction of the court. The doctors advised him to visit the hospital on July 19 for further investigation. |
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Female foeticide: Haryana plans crackdown Chandigarh, July 18 Mr L C Mittal, Director of the Family Welfare wing of the state government, said that the government had already issued orders to civil surgeons to make registration compulsory for ultrasonography clinics. The clinics would also be asked to maintain a register of patients undergoing ultrasonography tests and record their findings. Moreover, the Health Department would send decoy clients to suspected ultrasonography clinics to ascertain the true nature of their business, Dr Mittal said. Sex determination tests are allowed in certain cases such as if the previous child is physically deformed or mentally retarded or there is a history of a psychiatric ailment in a family. The state government had issued an advertisement some time ago inviting applications from clinics for conducting sex determination tests within the parameters of the law. However, even though thousands of such centres have sprouted all over the state, only two clinics have reportedly applied for authorisation from the government. Back in 1996 the government had asked the civil surgeons to conduct surveys of various private ultrasound centres in their districts and book the defaulters for violation of the Pre-natal Diagnostic Technique (Regulation and Prevention of Misuse) Act. However, no one could be booked under the Act due the to absence of any complainant. Reports regarding female foeticide were received from Jakhal (Faridabad) and Mahendragarh, following which investigations were conducted at clinics but the charges could not be substantiated for want of evidence against the violators. “Since using the ultrasonography method for diagnostic purposes is a legally approved medical practice, it is not possible to take action against the erring doctors unless there is a complainant”, Dr Mittal said. He, however, felt that the latest strategy of the state government to have all ultrasonography clinics listed and monitor their activities might succeed in checking the menace of female foeticide. They did not want to involve the police in the campaign at this stage, he added. Significantly, Haryana, with its sex ratio of 861 females for 1,000 males, as per the latest census, has one of the worst sex ratios among the major states of India. While the decline in the female - male ratio (it was 865 females for 1,000 males in 1991) is believed to be an indication of female foeticide in the state, infanticide is also suspected to be in practice in Haryana. A senior official pointed out that only 16 per cent of the deliveries in the state took place at hospitals or other medical institutions and consequently the chances of female infanticide were very high. |
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Special card scheme for farmers launched Yamunanagar, July 18 Mr Sharma further said Punjab National Bank had 22 branches in the district and the farmers could get the benefit of the withdrawal of cash under the scheme from any of these. Moreover, a simple interst of 11.50 per cent would be charged from the card holders and documentation was very easy and would be valid for the next 12 years. The facility would be used in the shape of cash credit limit and pay interest at the rate of saving bank account. No billor quotation was required to be produced under the scheme. He further said the purpose of the scheme was to bring the farmers out of the clutches of money lenders. The facility call also be utilised for expenses on education of children, medicine and purchase of household goods. He told bankers to make concerted efforts to cover all eligible farmers during the span of three years as desired by the Union Finance Minister. Mr B.S. Malik, Additional Deputy Commissioner, appealed the farmers to take advantage of the scheme. He urged them to utilise the facility in the form of cash credit and not as term loan. Mr V.J. Mattoo, Senior Regional Manager, Punjab National Bank, said as per the directions of the Union Finance Minister, 48,402 krishi cards would be sanctioned in three years and against that 29,448 farmers had already been issued the cards. As such, the remaining 18,954 farmers were to be nenefited from the scheme in the span of three years. Mr Mattoo also inaugurated the premises of Lead Bank Office at Model Town here. The scheme prepared by Lead Bank Office had been formulated for 546 villages of the district wherein extension agencies like Agriculture, Horticulture, the Revenue Development, Block Development and panchayat officers had been assigned the job to help the farmers in obtaining the benefit of the scheme. |
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Poor paddy harvest
likely: Surjewala Chandigarh, July 18 Mr
Surjewala, who led a seven-member delegation to Raj Bhavan and presented a memorandum to Babu Parmanand here today on various problems faced by farmers in the state, claimed that there was proper rainfall only in Yamunanagar, Ambala and Panchkula districts. “There was no monsoon in the central and southern districts. The lack of rain has affected paddy cultivation. In some areas standing paddy has started withering,” the former PCC chief alleged in a press conference which followed their meeting with the Governor. He also alleged that adequate power and irrigation water were not being supplied to the farmers to cope with the crisis. “There was no water in canals from June 15 onward. Only recently had water been released in the canals,” Mr Surjewala said. He alleged that the Centre and the state government were conspiring against the paddy farmers in the name of diversification of crops. The Centre’s failure to announce the minimum support price
(MSP) of paddy till date also reeked of a conspiracy, the HKS chief claimed. In the memorandum presented to the Governor the HKS demanded adequate power and water to the farmers, compensation to farmers whose paddy crop was damaged by the inadequate monsoon and fixation of an MSP of Rs 700 per quintal for the grade A variety of paddy and Rs 1,500 per quintal for basmati. Mr Surjewala said they had also drawn the attention of Babu Parmanand to sathi (summer paddy) being sold by farmers to private traders at rates as low as Rs 240 per quintal. The delegation members included Mr Jagdish
Nehra, Mr Tejinder Singh Mann, Mr Nirmal Singh and Mr Chhattar Pal. The HKS also demanded that the rate of interest charged by cooperative banks for giving credit to farmers should be brought down to 8 per cent from the existing 14 to 17 per cent. “ NABARD charges only 4 per cent interest from banks for making funds available to them,” he said. He added that indebtedness was compelling farmers to commit suicide. The state government also had not cleared the arrears of sugarcane farmers, Mr Surjewala said. He added that cotton farmers would have a tough time as the crop had been affected by worms. The Congress leader criticised the state government for the frequent increase in power tariff and alleged that new tubewell connections were being allotted only to rich farmers under a special scheme. He said that new meters were being installed by the Power Utilities Department en masse. “Ordinary consumers are being forced to part with Rs 1,500 as the cost of the meter which is a blow to them,” he said. |
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HUDA amends
building bylaws Chandigarh, July 18 This decision was taken at a meeting of HUDA convened here today under the chairmanship of the Town and Country Planning Minister, Mr Dhirpal Singh. Under the amended bye-laws, it will be mandatory for all plot holders, who construct the building having roof area more than 100 sq m to make the above arrangements. These rules will be applicable in sweet water belts of Haryana where the sub-soil water is depleting continuously and has reached an alarming level. The authority will, however, provide necessary guidelines for the construction of structure for rain water harvesting and conservation of artificial recharge of ground water to the plot holders for the safe implementation of the scheme. As per the assessment made in this regard, it would be possible to conserve upto 1,50,000 litres of water from 1 plot of 14 marla at Panchkula whereas the quantity might be to the tune of 1,00,000 litre in case of Karnal. The authority also approved in principle water bylaws to be implemented in HUDA. These are on the pattern of water bylaws at Chandigarh and adjoining states and are quite comprehensive to take care of all eventualities with penal provisions in case of violations and default. It is decided that public objections will be invited before the final implementation of these bylaws. |
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Govt to provide storage facilities Kaithal, July 18 Addressing a press conference here yesterday, he said Agro, Warehousing Corporation, Hafed, Confed and Marketing Board and even private agencies were being encouraged and the government was prepared to pay the rent for storing the produce. He said godowns were filled to capacity at present due to slow lifting of food grains. On power situation in the state, he said the government had recovered electricity bills worth Rs 650 crore without using any violent method which had been the practice during the earlier regimes. He assured that the remaining bills would also be collected soon. He urged the people to stop indulging in power thefts. He promised to reduce the electricity rates by half if people cooperated in the payment of bills and restrained from indulging in power thefts. On an experimental basis, meters had been installed in one circle at Faridabad and it was found that the line losses decreased by 25 per cent. He said he had been invited by people of western Uttar Pradesh because he sympathised with their cause. |
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‘Declare Gannaur paddy-growing area’ Sonepat, July 18 The demand was made in a resolution adopted at a meeting of the party’s working committee held at Datauli village, about 25 km from here, yesterday. Mr Hans Raj Rana, a leader of the party, presided over the meeting. In another resolution, the committee regretted that the Uttar Haryana Bijli Vitran Nigam (UHBVN) authorities had failed to erect a power substation at Datauli village despite the fact that the gram panchayat of the village had donated six acres of land for the purpose. This, the committee said, had led to a power crisis in the village and its surrounding areas and the people had to live without power during the night. The committee urged the UHBVN authorities to install a separate feader for regular power supply in the village. It also demanded concrete steps to curb power theft in the area. |
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Paddy scam: 2
more suspended Kaithal, July 18 The officials are Mr J.C. Sharma, AFSO, and Sub-Inspector Suresh Kumar. According to information, the Director, Food and Civil Supplies Department, Haryana, had ordered their suspension on July 11 following their indictment by the state Vigilance Bureau in its inquiry report. |
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Villagers
pay heavily for water Rohtak, July 18 These private water suppliers fleece the villagers, charging between Rs 2000 to Rs 5000 for providing the water supply connection per house and their monthly charges for the water consumption range between Rs 50 to Rs 100. Although Rohtak and Jhajjar districts also form part of the areas covered under the desert development programme (DDP) of the Union Government, the chances of supplying adequate potable water to every house in rural Haryana appears a distant dream. The private water suppliers have installed tubewells in at least 40 villages of Rohtak and in most villages in the Jhajjar district, to tap deeper layers of underground sweet water. They have laid their own pipe-lines in the lanes and by-lanes of a village, without the permission of either the district administration or the village panchayat. The Deputy Commissioner, Mr Anil Malik, said the administration was alive to the problem and was in the process of framing rules and regulations to bring these water suppliers under the control of either the gram panchayat or the Zila
Parishad. |
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3.5 lakh power meters replaced Sonepat, July 18 According to official sources, these meters are being installed in all 13 circles in the state. A few of the subdivisions which have been entirely covered are Panchkula (city and suburban), Sonepat industrial area, Faridabad and Gurgaon. The new electronic meters being installed are tamper proof and record accurate consumption of electricity. The changeover to new meters was necessitated to check line losses and power theft. Official sources said though there were protests against the installation of new electronic meters initially but now the consumers were satisfied with its working and accuracy. |
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Pehowa gets
Rs 3.08 crore Chandigarh, July 18 Claiming this here today, the Agriculture Minister, Mr Jaswinder Singh Sandhu, said out of this amount, about Rs 2.95 crore had already been released from the Haryana Rural Development Fund. The remaining amount would be released shortly. These funds would be utilised for implementing 199 developmental schemes announced by the Chief Minister during the second phase of the “Sarkar Aapke Dwar” programme. |
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MDU warns students against engg college Rohtak, July 18 Dr Dahiya said here yesterday that besides, the institution was yet to get a no-objection certificate from the State Technical Education Board, approval of the All-India Council of Technical Education and fulfil various conditions of the university. He said those taking admission to the institutions would be doing so at their own risk and responsibility.
UNI |
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Missing girl
traced Ambala, July 18 The girl was produced before the SDM, Ambala. The SDM ordered her to be sent to Nari Niketan at Karnal. In the meantime, the parents of the girl reached the SDM office. They filed a bail application of the girl, which was accepted by the SDM. Later she was handed over to her parents. The girl had disappeared from her residence about a month ago under mysterious circumstances. After three weeks, she came back to her house. Later on, she alleged in her statement recorded in a local court that several persons, including a police officer, had raped her. An inspector-level official was also put under suspension in this case. |
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1 killed, 6 hurt in separate accidents Sonepat, July 18 According to reports, the victim was identified as Azad Singh of Garhwal village and the injured are Rajinder and Bijinder who have been admitted to Medical College Hospital in Rohtak. Ram Sarup of Chhichhrana village sustained serious injuries when he was hit by a tractor-trolley near the same village, about 45 km from here, yesterday. In another accident, two drivers were injured when their trucks collided with each other on the Sonepat-Bahalgarh road near the office of the Truck Operators Union. A case has been registered. Nettu, a girl, was injured when she was hit by a Maruti car here yesterday. She is stated to be out of danger. |
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Order on discharge
of effluents Chandigarh, July 18 While stating this here today, the Commissioner and Secretary, Irrigation, Mr Chander Singh, said the order would be implemented with immediate effect. |
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Appointed Chandigarh, July 18 |
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