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Tuesday, January 15, 2002,
Chandigarh, India  
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Colonies:
minimum area rule may go Balenos for ministers 36 HIV cases detected Kiran
would rather be a Sarpanch KU post
bone of contention |
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KALKA DIARY Govt
suspends 2 doctors Tuitions:
action against 2 teachers Preparations
for elections underway: Barnala
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Colonies: minimum area rule may go Chandigarh, January 14 Official sources said that the state urban development policy, which was awaiting the Chief Minister’s approval, proposed that there should not be any cut-off area on the land to be used for setting up a housing colony. “At present the government gives permission for housing colonies if the area is 100 acres or more. As a result, new colonies are coming up at Gurgaon only where the plots are very expensive and can be purchased by affluent persons only”, the sources said. They said that under the new policy, it had been suggested to abolish the minimum area requirement for housing colonies, to ensure effective participation by private parties. According to the sources, under the existing system only big real estate firms such as Ansals and DLF can set up colonies. However, once the policy is liberalised, even middle-rung firms will be able to set up housing colonies and cater to the needs of middle-income and lower-income groups. The phenomenon of illegal colonies (according to an official estimate, at least 600 unauthorised colonies exist in Haryana at present) is also believed to be linked with the government stipulation of 100 acres as the minimum area required for a colony. Officials here are of the view that there will be no more unauthorised colonies after the new policy is formally cleared by the government. The sources added that there were also other steps proposed under the new urban development policy to check the future growth of unauthorised colonies. It has been proposed that the purchasers of plots will have to acquire a no-objection certificate (NOC) from their respective municipal corporations to apply for power, water and sewer connections. The new policy will make it mandatory for the Power Utilities and the Public Health Engineering Department to extend their services to the houseowners after the submission of the NOC. Similarly, the registration of a plot also will not be done unless the developer can show the licence obtained by him from the government. Under the new policy a fund, the Urban Infrastructure Development Fund, is proposed to be set up. Money for this purpose will be generated from the licence fee which will come from the realtors. It has also been proposed that the fee charged for the conversion of land from agricultural to residential purposes will go direct to the respective municipal committees to be used by them. |
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Balenos for ministers Chandigarh, January 14 There will be still three cars left and the state government is reportedly yet to decide what to do with the extra vehicles. However, giving a Baleno to Mr Bhajan Lal, Leader of the Opposition, who, according to protocol, has the status of Cabinet Minister, has been ruled out. “Any way Mr Bhajan Lal travels by his Mercedes E class and he will not be using the Baleno if we give one to him”, remarked a minister. “Mr Bansi Lal, when he was the Chief Minister, took away the official car of Mr Chautala who was the Leader of the Opposition at that time”, he added. The ministers of the Chautala-led government had brought up the issue of having luxury cars for themselves with the Chief Minister during a Cabinet meeting in October. Subsequently, there was a proposal to buy Opel Astra cars for the ministers. Later the proposal was dropped and it was decided to buy Balenos manufactured at the Maruti unit in Haryana. Earlier, the government withdrew the Contessa and Cielo cars being used by the ministers as an austerity measure and replaced these with Ambassador cars with a lot of fanfare. While the Finance Minister, Mr Sampat Singh, was stripped of his official Mercedes, as part of this drive, Mr Chautala himself could be frequently seen cruising by in the white Mercedes earmarked for the Chief Minister. The acquisition of the Balenos, costing about Rs 7.5 lakh each, may trigger off a protest by the Opposition as well as employees sacked by the state government as part of its “right-sizing” exercise. |
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36 HIV cases detected Ambala, January 14 According to information, the blood bank receives blood units through voluntary donors, blood donation camps besides others. The sources said blood of some voluntary donors was also found HIV positive. Sources added that the persons found HIV positive were not told about the disease as per the guideline issued by the National AIDS Control Society. The facility of Voluntary AIDS Counselling Centre in the blood bank could have helped to disclose the disease to such persons. At present this facility is available in the blood banks of Panchkula, Rohtak and Karnal, Recently, the Haryana AIDS Control Society had decided to open such centres in Gurgaon, Faridabad and Hisar. According to information, the Haryana AIDS Control Society has been planning to launch a statewide awareness campaign against AIDS. The government has, for the first time, appointed an IAS officer as Project Director in the society to make it effective and result oriented. |
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Kiran would rather be a Sarpanch Hisar, January 14 Ms Bedi, who had come here to participate in a convention on women empowerment organised as part of the National Youth Festival being held here, said this was because she wanted every youth in the country to take interest in rural development and that was possible only if they led at the grassroots level. She said if India had to progress at a fast pace it was necessary to have young, honest and hardworking leaders at the
village level. They understood the needs better and could visualise and then supervise development works in their villages. Later in life as they gained experience and insight, they could provide leadership at higher levels. This would also help eradicate social evils like dowry and purdah. It would also translate into universal literacy and even proper education, she added. Ms Bedi said the position of women in the Indian society had improved a lot over the years, but there was a lot more to be done. To accomplish this it was necessary that women were educated properly. Only then would they be able to fight for themselves and be treated as equals. Once women achieved that level, they would by themselves improve the society in general. Admitting that Indian society was male dominated, she said women were equally to blame for this. This disparity could easily be removed if evils like dowry and purdah were eradicated. Basically Indian women were trained to run households rather than make careers for themselves. As against this there was too much emphasis on educating men. Parents must change their outlook to correct this imbalance, she added. Ms Bedi said lower-ranking women officials in the police faced several problems due to the working of the police and the emergence of the single family system. The police worked in single shifts and women officials did not have the support of the kind that was available under the umbrella of the joint family. This caused them much hardship. |
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KU post bone of contention Karnal, January 14 Eight candidates had appeared for the interview. The executive committee is scheduled to justify the selection of a candidate at a meeting to be held this month. Although the name of the selected candidate has been kept secret so far, KUNTEA fears that an outsider is being brought in. KUNTEA staged a demonstration three days ago in protest against the decision of the selection committee. Employee leaders feel the appointment of an outsider on such a vital post will block their chances of promotion, besides violating promotion norms. On earlier
occasions, only a seniormost officer of the university had been promoted to this post. Inquiries by The Tribune show that the four incumbents, including Mr J.P. Aggarwal, Mr Babu Ram Gupta and Mr K.K. Kathuria were from the employees cadre. Even the officiating Controller of Examinations, Mr Romesh Sharma, is a promotee from the employees cadre. The post of Controller of Examinations was advertised in August. Eight candidates had applied for the post. Fifteen years of administrative experience — eight years as Deputy Registrar or an equivalent post — was one of the requisites. It is learnt that out of the eight candidates, only one possessed experience in educational administration. As the post of Controller of Examinations is purely an administrative post, KUNTEA leaders maintain that only an insider should have been given the chance. It is being alleged that no screening committee was formed to ascertain the eligibility. Even the synopsis of qualifications was not provided to members of the selection committee. Political pressure was being exercised on the authorities to select a candidate, they allege. KUNTEA has threatened to launch an agitation in this regard. |
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KALKA DIARY Kalka, January 14 After the transfer of eye specialist from here, no substitute has come for the last many months. Mr Vijay Bansal, former chairman, Market Committee, in a statement said that the night service at the Primary Health Centre, Pinjore, has been discontinued. This PHC has been serving the needs of the residents of Raitan and Doon areas of this subdivision. During emergencies at night, they run from pillar to post in search of medical aid. Mr Bansal says that this PHC is located on the highway and it can be very useful for accident victims. Since this highway is an accident-prone area, this PHC will come in handy in providing first aid to the victims. The night service in the PHC should be restored immediately in public interest, Mr Bansal
said. NOT VIABLE: INLD district general secretary Dwarka Dass said here that the broad gauge railway line proposed between Kalka and Parwanoo will not be economically viable. He made this observation following the statement of Mr Shanta Kumar, Union Food & Civil Supplies Minister. Mr Dass alleged that the future of the industrial unit at Parwanoo is not so bright. Some industrial units have already closed down and some are on the verge of closure. In a number of units, workers have been retrenched. He suggested that instead of wasting government money on this project, the authorities should sanction a railway line between Kalka and Bharatgarh, which will be useful for three States — Haryana, Himachal Pradesh and Punjab. This will also help reduce unemployment in this
area. TRAFFIC SAFETY: The police in Parwanoo are observing Traffic Safety Week. The general public are being educated about the general traffic rules to be observed. Pamphlets regarding traffic rules and general information are also being distributed. Those violating traffic rules are also being challaned. A campaign to blacken the half portion of head lights of vehicles is also being undertaken by the
police. EX-CM’S CLAIM: The former Chief Minister of Himachal Pradesh Virbhadra Singh has said that in the next Assembly elections, the Congress would defeat the ruling BJP-HVC combine and form the government. He told this correspondent, while he was on his way from Shimla to Baddi, that in the coming elections the Congress would secure 60 out of 68 seats. He said that elections in Himachal Pradesh would be fought on the directions of Mrs Sonia Gandhi. Her orders will be obeyed and given due respect by all Congress workers, he said. Asked whether Mrs Stoke will be the next Chief Minister, he said that it will be decided by the high command. On the speculation of Mr Sukh Ram’s entry into the Congress, he said that the Congress will be weakened in the State if that happened. The high command will not take this risk, he
said. D-NET LINK: Kalka and all the villages in this subdivision have been connected with D-Net services. The local Tehsil office is the centre of D-Net where people can use this facility with the help of computers. To spread awareness among the people, a demonstration of D-Net service was held at Block Samiti office. Commissioners of municipal committee, sarpanches, panches and a number of prominent citizens were present. District Development and Panchayat Officer Rajesh Jogpal inaugurated it while SDM Kalka Sushil Sarwan presided over the function. Tehsildar M. Marhia and SMO Civil Hospital, Dr R.M. Chauhan highlighted the benefits of his D-Net
service. WATER SHORTAGE: Kalka is in the grip of water shortage. The Public Health Department has failed to supply sufficient quantity of drinking water to the residents. Water supply is erratic and there is no time schedule for the supply, allege the residents. The pressure is also so low that water does not reach the upper floors. The centrally located Kurari Mohalla is worst affected. |
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Govt suspends 2 doctors Chandigarh, January 14 The paramedical staff of the PHCs at Ujha, Ugrakheri and Bapoli, located in Panipat district, have also been placed under suspension. The state government has also charge-sheeted the Chief Medical Officer, Panipat, for allegedly failing to regularly inspect any CHC or PHC. Action against the doctors and the paramedical staff was taken after Mr M.L. Ranga, Haryana Minister of State for Health, made a surprise visit to these centres and found them absent from duty without prior intimation though their attendance had been marked. |
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Tuitions: action
against 2 teachers Chandigarh, January 14 She said that Mr Ranjit Singh, teaching mathematics, and Mr Sandeep Garg, chemistry lecturer, were found giving tuitions to students at their residences by a special team of the department. |
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Preparations
for elections underway: Barnala Ambala, January 14 Mr Barnala, who was going to Punjab, has stopped over at the PWD rest house, Ambala Cantonment. He said, “Electronic voting machines will be used in the elections.” He said the Tehri dam project would start generating electricity from 2003. |
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Registration
of marriages Chandigarh, January 14 |
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Ban order Yamunanagar, January 14 |
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