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Thursday,
January 3, 2002, Chandigarh, India  
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Tighten intelligence network, state told No power tariff hike proposed BSP set to ‘shed Dalit image’ Consumers wary of new power policy Rs 6.15 crore development project for Morni approved |
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Order on service postage stamps deferred CM for check on quality in road repair Her ‘towering’ personality may put her at beauty’s pinnacle
Three promoted to rank of FC
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Tighten intelligence network, state told Gurgaon, January 2 According to sources, the Union Home Ministry has communicated to the state government the need to tighten its intelligence and security system. The state government has directed the deputy commissioners and all authorities concerned for follow up action in compliance with the Central directive. According to observers such directives from the Centre are issued only at the time of emergency, especially on or before war and is sent to all states. According to reports, almost all of the district administrations in Haryana have swung into action following the communication from the state government. Although the directive of the Centre covers the entire state, some of the districts, especially the ones falling under National Capital Region (NCR) and south Haryana are the most sensitive. Also, the areas bordering Sriganganagar district in Rajasthan, which are closer to Indo-Pakistan border are said to be on the watch list of the Haryana security forces. Gurgaon, Faridabad, Jhajjar and Sonepat districts are said to be under special vigil. The Gurgaon administration has launched a drive as a follow-up action. The Administration is in the midst of issuing a order for stepping up drive to get the identities of the tenants in the district verified. The cut-off date for ascertaining the identities was December 1. The domestic workers and guards could also fall in the ambit. The onus to inform the police lies on the landlords and those who employ domestics. A senior member of the administration said the order would be issued with in 24 hours. The proposed order specifically covers the Mewat area of this district. Of late, Mewat areas falling in Gurgaon and Faridabad districts have proved to be happy hunting ground for the Pakistan’s ISI. Recently the CBI conducted raids in villages of Mewat and seized arms and ammunition. A native of Mewat was caught while carrying arms in Gujarat to be used by terrorists in Jammu and Kashmir. There have been other occasions when Mewat residents were nabbed acting as agents of the ISI and carrying fire arms and explosives. The ammunition
depot of the Indian Force and corporate offices of various multinational companies, are also located here. Also, “Theekri pehra” (night vigil by villagers) will be enforced. The onus for it will lie on the sarpanch and numberdar of the villages concerned. The sources said such measures were likely to be followed in all districts of Haryana. |
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No power tariff hike proposed Chandigarh, January 2 The proposed ARR (annual revenue requirement) for the year 2002-2003, submitted by the utilities to the Haryana Electricity Regulatory Commission, gives the impression that there will no increase in power tariff. The proposal, submitted by the Power Utilities on the evening of December 31 was not accompanied with any tariff application. There is a gap of Rs 110 crore between the expenditure and the earnings of the utilities in the latest ARR . However, instead of asking for an increase in tariff, the utilities proposed the formulation of “regulatory assets” to the commission for managing the shortfall in revenue collection. Asked if the absence of a tariff application in the ARR proposal indicated that there would be no increase in power tariff in 2002-2003, an official of the utilities, said: “We felt that a review of the tariff structure was not
necessary for the time being”. Sources said that since the erstwhile HSEB was split up, three ARR proposals, including the one given on December 31, had been submitted by the utilities to the HERC. The first ARR, submitted for 2000-2001, did not have any tariff proposal as part of it and at that time also the utilities had suggested the formulation of regulatory assets for managing the gap between expenditure and revenue collection. The HERC accepted the utilities’ request and there was no increase in tariff for that year. The next ARR, for 2001-2002, submitted by the utilities was accompanied with a tariff application. The tariff application was examined by the HERC by going through the formal procedures following which it passed its order. Though the utilities did not file any tariff application with its ARR this time, the HERC, after examining the ARR and going through the process of public hearing, may still ask the utilities to review the prevailing tariff structure, an official said. The utilities, too, may submit an application to the HERC later if it feels the need for reviewing the tariff, they add. |
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BSP set to ‘shed Dalit image’ Panipat, January 2 An indication to this effect was given by Mr Ashok Sherwal, president of the Haryana unit of the party, here today. All efforts would be made to give the ticket to the candidate of a majority community which had gone unrepresented in Haryana Assembly, Mr Sherwal said, adding that the BSP would go all alone in the by-election. This is the first time that the party had made a panel of about 15 candidates on the caste basis. The candidate would be selected from among them on January 5 in consultation with the party high command. According to observers, there are about 35,000 Dalits and Punjabis each in the constituency followed by 25,000 Brahmins and 15,000 Muslims. Party sources said the candidate could be from outside the Assembly segment. There is likely to be a race for the ticket between the Punjabi and Dalit lobbies as in terms of strength, they were ahead of the order communities. It may be recalled that in the last Assembly elections held in February 2,000, the BSP candidate, Mr Randhir Chaudhary, was placed third and had secured over 17,000 votes. The Congress candidate, Mr J.P. Sharma, whose death had necessitated the by-election, had won the seat by securing over 20,000 votes. On Mr Chaudhary throwing in his lot with the rebel BSP leader, Mr Aman Kumar Nagra, Mr Sherwal claimed that this would not have any effect on party’s fortunes in the election as the BSP had a committed vote-bank. The BSP was a cadre-based party wedded to a particular ideology and Mr Chaudhary’s departure would hardly have any impact on it, he quipped. In fact, in the wake of changed political scenario in the state, the BSP stood a better chance to win the seat as the public was fed up with the Congress, the BJP and the INLD. Every party had misled the public and failed to fulfil the promises, he said. Mr Sherwal feared
large scale misuse of official machinery by the Chautala-led government. If this happened the party would approach the Election Commission, he said. When asked whether the formation of the Lok Janshakti Party (LJP) by the Union Coal Minister, Mr Ram Vilas Paswan, would divide the Dalit vote-bank, Mr Sherwal stated that the LJP was a marginal player in the national politics and had been propped up by the Congress and the BJP.
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Consumers wary of new power policy Rohtak, January 2 As per the policy, interest and surcharge on outstanding bills would be waived and consumers asked to pay only the original bill according to their convenience. Senior officers in the district and the ruling INLD functionaries on Monday visited the ‘problem’ villages to educate consumers about the new policy and persuade them to pay current bills. Encouraged by the response to the new scheme, the INLD yesterday launched a political offensive to isolate those who had been provoking farmers against the payment of the bills. Prominent persons belonging to the ‘problem villages’ were invited for a meeting with Mr Dhir Pal Singh, Town and Country Planning Minister, here to sort out the problem to the satisfaction of consumers and HVPN officials. Mr Dhir Pal Singh, claimed that the new policy was the only workable solution to the waxed problem. He advised defaulting consumers not to miss the opportunity and start a new chapter on New Year day. Village leaders, appreciating the new policy, blamed HVPN officials also for the present situation. They told the minister that HVPN officials never visited consumers for actual meter reading thereby forcing them to default in the payment of bills. The employees had not even distributed the bills among the consumers. The Deputy Commissioner, Mr Anil Malik, assured that current bills would be distributed in a week’s time and HVPN officials would hold camps in their respective villages to rectify the faulty bills. The district administration has, meanwhile, decided to launch a special campaign against ‘kundi’ connections. Mr Dhirpal Singh said certain leaders were misleading the farmers for their ‘personal’ gains. Among those who attended the meeting were Capt Inder Singh, MP, Mr Balwant Singh Myna, Mr Balbir Singh Bali, both MLAs, and Mr Dharam Pal Chairman, Zila Parishad. |
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Rs 6.15 crore development project for Morni approved Chandigarh, January 2 The meeting approved an ambitious action plan of Rs 6.15 crore to undertake various development works in the area during 2002-03. A Public Health Department project will assure supply of drinking water from Tikkar Taal to 556 hamlets of the area. The department would also make functional seven-deep handpumps at a cost of Rs 11.20 lakh in this month. It was decided at the meeting that all vacancies in the Departments of Education, Animal Husbandry and Health in the area would be filled expeditiously. Mr Chautala said the Union Tourism Minister, Mr Jagmohan, who visited Sirsa on Monday last, had assured that his Ministry would finance the proposed magnificent tourist resort project of the state government at Tikkar Taal in the Morni area of Panchkula district. He directed the Commissioner and Secretary, Public Works Department (Buildings and Roads), to strengthen the only road to Tikkar Tal. He said the bridges on small brooks should be constructed without any delay. Adequate drinking water should also be provided in all villages falling under the Shivalik Development Board. He said developmental works should also be taken up expeditiously under the "Food for Work" programme in the areas falling under the board. He said apart from the Minor Irrigation and Tubewells Corporation(MITC), private parties should also be involved in the boring of deep irrigation tubewells. He asked the MLA of Ambala city, Mrs Veena Chhibber, to submit a project for the development of Baldev Nagar camp, especially the roads of the area. The chairperson of the power utilities, Mrs Meenaxi Anand Chaudhary, said electricity would be provided to the unelectrified hamlets of the Morni block in this calendar year. Solar lanterns were being popularised in the Morni area for domestic lighting. The Commissioner, Ambala division, Mr Maha Singh, said a Rs 100.62-crore project had been submitted to the Union Government for seeking assistance from the International Fund for Agricultural Development, Rome, for the integrated development of the Shivalik area. The Chief Secretary, Mr L.M. Goyal, said there would not be any dearth of foodgrains under the Food for Work programme. Therefore, the resources under the programme should be used to the maximum for rural development in the area. EOM
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Order on service postage stamps deferred Ambala, January 2 The Chief Post Master General, Haryana Circle, Mr T.R. Sharma, said at present government organisations, semi-government autonomous organisations and universities were using service postage stamps for sending their communications by post, a release said. He said the department had earlier decided to discontinue the printing of service postage stamps and substitute them with public postage stamps. The department received some representations against the proposed move. Mr Sharma said now the department had decided to defer the implementation of the orders for the present and has allowed use of service stamps to the authorised users. However, the users have also been given option to use public postage stamps on official correspondence as per their convenience.
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CM for check on quality in road repair Chandigarh, January 2 The Chief Minister was reviewing the working of the Haryana State Agriculture Marketing Board (HSAMB), here last evening. Mr Chautala directed the officers to complete the works before the monsoons. He said they should also ensure that the quality of construction was of high standards. The Commissioner and Secretary, Agriculture, Mr Naseem Ahmad, said the HSAMB had repaired 3,680 km of roads at a cost of Rs 135.44 crore till November last. The board also undertook the metalling of 2,654 km rural areas and pre-mix carpeting of 1,826 km at a cost of Rs 192.61 crore. Mr Ahmad said the board earned Rs 139.94 crore during the first nine months of the current financial year as against Rs 119.53 crore during the corresponding period last year, showing an increase of 17.1 per cent. |
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Her ‘towering’ personality may put her at beauty’s pinnacle Ambala, January 2 Divya Jaitly, who passed out from Army School, Ambala Cantonment, is preparing for the finals of Fa Femina Miss India beauty pageant which will take place at Hyderabad on January 19. She will be contestant number 8. Divya (5’ 11”) is currently pursuing her software engineering. Daughter of Col Anupam Jaitly and Principal of DAV Public School, Ambala Cantonment, Ms Dolly Jaitly, Divya said the selection process started in June last year. There were four preliminary rounds which included auditions. “We are 26 girls in the fray”, she said. Divya Jaitly stated, “I believe in natural beauty. One must be a complete woman. Intelligence and what the person says matters in the final,” she added. According to her having a defence background has enabled her to have exposure in life. “Moving from one place to another has taught us adaptability”, she said. She is a district-level badminton player and also has keen interest in other sports like tennis and swimming. She has done well in other beauty pageants also. Divya is May Queen of DSOI Delhi 2001, Miss Army School, May Princess Ambala Cantonment and first runner-up in Miss Global Delhi.
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Three promoted to rank of FC Chandigarh, January 2 Subsequent to their promotion, they will continue to hold their present postings in the rank of Financial Commissioner. Mr Chaterjee will be the Financial Commissioner and Secretary, Town and Country Planning, Tourism and Cultural Affairs Departments. Mr Dharam Vir will be the Financial Commissioner and Secretary, Information Technology and Technical Education, and Mr Chander Singh will be the Financial Commissioner and Secretary, Irrigation Department, and Chairman, Haryana State Minor Irrigation and Tubewells Corporation. The state government has also promoted 10 IAS officers to the super time scale with effect from January 1. The officers are Mrs Rajni Sekhri Sibal, Mr Sanjeev Kaushal, Mr P.K. Das, Mrs Shashi Bala Gulati, Mr Alok Nigam, Mr R.R. Jowel, Mr M. Kithan, Mrs Dheera Khandelwal, Mr N.C. Wadhwa and Mr S.C. Jain. |
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Road Safety Week from Jan 7 Chandigarh, January 2 |
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2 labourers die as bridge collapses
Kurukshetra, January 2 The deceased were identified as Lal Singh, a resident of Moga, and Naresh Singh of a nearby village, they said, adding that the deceased were working on an under-construction bridge when the incident occurred. The police has registered a case. PTI
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