Wednesday, January 16, 2002, Chandigarh, India





National Capital Region--Delhi

THE TRIBUNE SPECIALS
50 YEARS OF INDEPENDENCE

TERCENTENARY CELEBRATIONS
H A R Y A N A

Chautala govt, Oppn hail verdict on SYL
Chandigarh, January 15
Even as the Haryana Government and the Opposition today welcomed the Supreme Court verdict on the construction of the Sutlej-Yamuna link canal (SYL), politicians of the state also tried to outdo each other claiming credit for taking the issue to the judiciary.

Mining policy under threat
Chandigarh, January 15
Haryana Chief Minister Om Prakash Chautala’s well-conceived new mining policy is under threat of being sabotaged in the two districts of Faridabad and Gurgaon, the main centres of mining in the state.

BJP encouraging US interference: CPM
Fatehabad, January 15
The CPM Politburo member, Mr Sita Ram Yechuri, today cautioned the BJP-led NDA government of inadvertently internationalising the Kashmir issue.

Woman murdered, son arrested 
Ambala, January 15
A woman was done to death in a bungalow located on Alexander Road, Ambala Cantonment, late last night. It’s the third murder this fortnight.

AMBALA DIARY
ADC warns strict action against absentees

Ambala
The issue of government officials and employees being absent during duty hours was brought into sharp focus during a surprise raid conducted by Additional Deputy Commissioner, Mr Mahinder Kumar.



YOUR TOWN
Ambala
Chandigarh
Kurukshetra
Sirsa


EARLIER STORIES
 

Nominations for Yamunanagar seat from today
Chandigarh, January 15
The notification to fill the Yamunanagar assembly seat, a vacancy caused due to the death of Mr J.P. Sharma, will be issued tomorrow. The same day the filing of nominations will also begin which will last till January 23.

BJP nominee for Yamunanagar
Chandigarh, January 15
The BJP has decided to field a new face from the Yamunanagar Assembly constituency, which will witness a by-election on February 21 next.

BPL families get pink, yellow cards
Sirsa, January 15
To uplift the standard of life of people living below poverty line (BPL), 52,914 families have been identified in the district, the district administration has issued pink cards to 8,388 families and yellow cards to 42,806.

SBI organises customer relation programme
Ambala, January 15
The State Bank of India, Ambala city, organised a customer relation programme on the bank premises here today which was presided over by Mr Rajinder Kakkar, Chief General Manager of the Chandigarh Circle.

Jagmohan visits Kurukshetra
Kurukshetra, January 15
The Union Minister of Tourism, Mr Jagmohan, visited religious sites of Kurukshetra today. He went through proposals of the district administration regarding the promotion of Kurukshetra as to pilgrimage destination.

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Chautala govt, Oppn hail verdict on SYL
Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, January 15
Even as the Haryana Government and the Opposition today welcomed the Supreme Court verdict on the construction of the Sutlej-Yamuna link canal (SYL), politicians of the state also tried to outdo each other claiming credit for taking the issue to the judiciary.

Hailing the SC verdict, Mr Om Prakash Chautala, claimed in a statement here that his father, Devi Lal, during his tenure as the Chief Minister, filed a civil suit in the Supreme Court on April 30, 1979, praying that the Punjab Government be directed to complete the SYL within a period of two years.

Mr Chautala further claimed that the policies of the Congress had always been anti-farmer as part of it the Congress government had withdrawn the case in 1982. He said he had persuaded the Centre in February 1991 that the construction of SYL canal be handed over to the Border Roads Organisation. However, the Congress government which subsequently came to power at the Centre did not let the proposal materialise, Mr Chautala alleged.

Mr Chautala also criticised former Chief Ministers, Bansi Lal and Bhajan Lal for not being able to complete the canal. Stating that the judgement by the SC was a historic one, he said the repair of the part of the canal falling in Haryana would be taken up immediately on a war-footing so that the parched tracts of southern Haryana got water without further delay.

Meanwhile, Mr Shamsher Singh Surjewala, former chief of the Haryana unit of the Congress, said the digging of the SYL canal started in 1982 when he was Irrigation Minister of the state. “I am the happiest man today as the court verdict is in Haryana’s favour”, Mr Surjewala said. He claimed that the petition on which the Supreme Court gave its landmark order was filed by the Congress in 1995.

The HPCC President, Mr Bhupinder Singh Hooda, also lauded the judgement. He, however, accused Mr Chautala of not “having moved even a finger” for settling the issue out of court with Punjab as initially directed by the apex court.

The Supreme Court, according to a government release, has directed the Punjab Government to construct and complete the SYL in its territory within a year. In case of Punjab’s failure to take up the work, it will be the responsibility of the Union Government to complete the Punjab portion of the canal within a year thus paving the way for Haryana to get its share of the Ravi-Beas waters.

Mr Sampat Singh, Finance Minister said , “Our agricultural output would go up substantially and drinking water problem in southern Haryana would also be taken care of once the canal is completed”. Mr Chautala, meanwhile, has called upon people to celebrate the order by illuminating their homes and public places.

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Mining policy under threat
Yoginder Gupta
Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, January 15
Haryana Chief Minister Om Prakash Chautala’s well-conceived new mining policy is under threat of being sabotaged in the two districts of Faridabad and Gurgaon, the main centres of mining in the state.

The policy brought rich dividends when he put several mines to auction instead of allotting them to his favourites in an arbitrary manner. This was one policy of Mr Chautala with which even his diehard opponents could not find fault.

But now it is facing sabotage from certain unscrupulous persons operating in the mining districts. If in Faridabad the policy is under pressure from those who successfully participated in the auction of the mines, in Gurgaon district, the threat is from those who were allotted mines by the previous governments as a measure of patronage.

One salient feature of the policy is that if a lessee takes out minor minerals in excess of the dead rent settled through auctions, he would have to pay additional royalty to the Department of Mines and Geology.

According to sources in the mining industry, certain persons who were given the mines on lease through auctions are pilfering sand in a big way. The modus operandi is to overload the trucks in which the minerals are taken away from the mines. Normally, a truck is allowed to carry a nine-tonne load. However, the trucks are loaded far in excess of the permissible load. While royalty is paid on about 12 tonnes, the trucks carry sand weighing over 35 tonnes.

The sources say in order to make a fast buck certain successful bidders are evading royalty and accepting the payment for minerals under the table. This unhealthy competition in evading royalty and taxes, the sources say, is a self-defeating exercise. Since the market demand is more or less static, those enjoying official patronage are able to sell minerals without the payment of government dues.

They have the edge over the less fortunate lease-holders. Ultimately, if this practice is not checked, the sources say, relatively honest lease-holders or those with less clout will have to close shop, putting the new policy under strain.

On the other hand in Gurgaon district a politician(not belonging to the INLD, but who has cultivated influential persons in the ruling party) is evading royalty in a big way by adopting a similar modus operandi as has been adopted by the unscrupulous lease-holders in Faridabad district.

Such is the extent of evasion by the Gurgaon politician, whose wife is a partner in the firm which holds the lease of a mine, that the mines which were recently auctioned in the district are yet to start operations. The activities of this politician, the sources say, will harm Mr Chautala’s policy in the long as well as short run in the sense that many a lease-holder may prefer the forfeiture of the mines along with the security amount rather than operating the mines. 
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BJP encouraging US interference: CPM
Our Correspondent

Fatehabad, January 15
The CPM Politburo member, Mr Sita Ram Yechuri, today cautioned the BJP-led NDA government of inadvertently internationalising the Kashmir issue.

Talking to mediapersons here today, Mr Yechuri said the way senior ministers of the Atal Behari Vajpayee Cabinet had been bee lining towards the USA, they had been, in a way, inviting US interference in the bilateral matters of India and Pakistan. Mr Yechuri, and CPM MP Hanan Molla, were here to inaugurate the three-day state convention of the party.

Mr Yechuri said the CPM was of the view that the only way to fight terrorism and to stop cross-border terrorism was to use diplomatic means to alienate Pakistan internationally and put pressure on it to act against the terrorist outfits operating from its land. But the BJP was trying to brand CPM leaders as less patriotic. He alleged that the BJP government was creating a war hype only to influence Assembly elections in UP and Punjab.

Asked whether his party was satisfied with the steps the Indian Government had taken and whatever steps Pakistan President General Pervez Musharraf had taken against terrorists operating from that country, Mr Yechuri said that the Centre needed was to keep its diplomatic offensive against Pakistan. He said war was not a solution to the cross-border terrorism.

Later addressing a well-attended rally at the local grain market, Mr Yechuri accused the NDA government at the Centre of ignoring the interests of the farmers at the behest of the WTO, IMF and the World Bank. Terming these three institutions as a “trimurti” that was responsible for ruining the economy of the country, Mr Yechuri said these organisations had made India an economic slave. He also accused the Congress of being a follower of wrong economic policies. He said the Left had joined hands with the like-minded parties to form a front that would provide an alternative to people so that they could get rid of the Congress and the BJP.

Mr Hanan Molla, MP, and member of the central committee of the party accused the BJP-led NDA government at the Centre of trying to replace the Hindustani culture with the Hindu culture. He said poverty and communalism were the biggest enemies of the country. He alleged that the NDA government was playing with the religious sentiments of people to strengthen its vote bank. He alleged that the policies of the NDA government were in fact decided by the RSS.

The state secretary of the CPM, Mr Inderjit Singh, lashed out at the ruling INLD in Haryana and said corruption was all time high in the state. He accused the state government of betraying the interests of farmers by first assuring them to waive their power bills and then committing atrocities on farmers demanding the waiving of their power bills.

The state secretary of the Democratic Women Federation of India, Ms Jagmati Sangwan decried the Haryanvi society where a girl child was being denied the right to live. She said it was a matter of shame that the state government had not been able to check crime against women and even small girls were not safe in the state.

Senior CPM leaders like Mr Prithvi Singh Gorakhpuria, Mr Krishan Swaroop, Mr Harpal Singh. Mr Sadanand Solanki, Mr Ram Kumar Bahbalpuria and Mr Phool Singh Sheokand addressed the rally.

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Woman murdered, son arrested 
Tribune News Service

Ambala, January 15
A woman was done to death in a bungalow located on Alexander Road, Ambala Cantonment, late last night. It’s the third murder this fortnight.

Acting swiftly, the district police has managed to crack this case and nabbed the deceased woman’s son.

The Superintendent of Police, Mr Sandeep Khirwar, said that the victim’s son, Surendra, had been nabbed. “We have solved the case with the arrest of Surendra,” he said.

A police official said investigations have revealed that Surendra killed his mother. Apparently, Surendra had attacked his mother, Deywanti, with a piece of wood in their tenement located near a bungalow on Alexander Road. The investigators believe that the attack had been preceded by an argument between the mother and son over some matter.

Surendra had then gone to the local police station and informed them that somebody had attacked his mother. Initially, Surendra had named a person who was known to him and with whom he reportedly had strained relationship.

The policemen had detected loopholes in Surendra’s statement. During questioning, Surendra reportedly admitted that he had struck his mother.

A visit to the spot revealed that there was a pool of blood at the spot where Deywanti had been attacked. The tenement is located a short distance from the main bungalow.

It may be recalled that close on the heels of a woman being murdered and dumped in a bed box on January 8, a man was shot at in broad daylight at Ambala Cantonment on January 11.

Thirtyeight-year-old Ramesh Duggal was shot at point blank range when he was standing outside a billiards room. He was reportedly shot at by two unidentified youths. The two youths are then said to have escaped on a motor cycle. Ramesh Duggal’s six-year-old son was present with him at the time of the incident. On January 8, Sudesh Abrol, wife of a doctor, was murdered in Shastri Colony. She was dumped inside a bed box by the assailants.

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AMBALA DIARY
ADC warns strict action against absentees

Ambala
The issue of government officials and employees being absent during duty hours was brought into sharp focus during a surprise raid conducted by Additional Deputy Commissioner, Mr Mahinder Kumar. As many as 87 officials and employees were found absent from different departments. Mr Kumar said that strict action will be taken against those employees who were found absent.

Incidentally, a few days before this surprise raid, Deputy Commissioner D.D.Gautam said that the employees should be present in the office during office hours and action will be taken if they were found absent. The DC’s warning seems to have worked after the surprise check.

A few months back, Mr Mahinder Kumar had conducted surprise raids and things then had improved. Over the past couple of months, the problem of absenteeism had begun to re-surface again.

LIONS CLUB MEET: The Lions Club Ambala Central organised a service fortnight from December 31 to January 14. Club president Rajesh Batra said that they had tried to inculcate in the people the spirit of nationalism and their responsibility towards the nation.

He said that they distributed blankets to the poor at the Railway station and bus stand. Also, 30 poor students were provided sweaters and 12 scholarships were awarded to needy students.

Among others, Messrs D.S. Mathur, Ashok Mehta, M R Sharma, Rakesh Aggarwal, Rajiv Garg, Jasbir Malhotra, Pawan Gupta, Rajesh Gupta and Ripu Daman were present.

FIRST IN BDS EXAM: Shikha Goel, a student of MM Dental College, Mullan, from Ambala Sadar, has stood first in the first year BDS examination conducted by Kurukshetra University.

SBI CAMPAIGN: The State Bank of India, Ambala Sadar branch held a day-long cleanliness campaign at Nanhera village. With the help of the villagers, the bank staff helped in cleaning up the main roads and drains.

Chief Manager Raj Kumar Khosla exhorted the villagers not to use polythene bags since they are non-biodegradable. He informed them about the adverse impact of polythene bags. Village sarpanch Jaswinder Singh appealed to the villagers to keep their precincts and surroundings clean. Messers Sham Sundar Sharma, Om Prakash Sanolia, Mohinder Singh and Hawa Singh were present.

INTER-SCHOOL CONTEST: On the occasion of Swami Vivekananda Jayanti, the Rashtrabhasha Vichar Manch along with Innerwheel Club, organised an inter-school declamation contest at Vivekanda Primary School, Ambala Sadar recently.

Students from nine schools participated in the competition. The winners are: Jyoti (first), Sudhir (second) and Chahat (third). Prizes and certificates were distributed to them. All the participants were also given certificates of participation.

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Nominations for Yamunanagar seat from today
Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, January 15
The notification to fill the Yamunanagar assembly seat, a vacancy caused due to the death of Mr J.P. Sharma, will be issued tomorrow. The same day the filing of nominations will also begin which will last till January 23. While stating this here today, the Chief Electoral Officer of Haryana, Ms Urvashi Gulati, said the scrutiny of the nominations would be held on January 24 and last date for withdrawal of candidature would be January 28. The polling would take place on February 21 and the election process would be completed on February 28.

She said that the ADC, Yamunanagar, would be the Returning Officer and the Block Development and Panchayat Officer, Jagadhri, the Assistant Returning Officer for the byelection.

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BJP nominee for Yamunanagar
Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, January 15
The BJP has decided to field a new face from the Yamunanagar Assembly constituency, which will witness a by-election on February 21 next.

The parliamentary board of the party, which met at the residence of the Prime Minister, Mr Atal Behari Vajpayee, in Delhi tonight, decided to field Mr Ghanshyam Sharma from Yamunanagar to face the Congress challenge. The by-election has been caused by the death of the Congress MLA, Dr J.P. Sharma.

The Secretary of the Haryana unit of the BJP, Mr Pradeep Jain, confirmed the candidature of Mr Sharma. Mr Sharma, a law graduate, is a farmer by profession. An RSS activist, Mr Sharma is the vice-president of the Yamunanagar district unit of the Bharatiya Kisan Sangh. He belongs to Kareda village of Yamunanagar district.

A former Haryana Minister, Dr Kamla Verma, was a strong contender for the BJP ticket. But the party felt that she had played a long innings in the electoral politics.

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BPL families get pink, yellow cards
Our Correspondent

Sirsa, January 15
To uplift the standard of life of people living below poverty line (BPL), 52,914 families have been identified in the district, the district administration has issued pink cards to 8,388 families and yellow cards to 42,806.

This was stated by the Deputy Commissioner, Mr Ankur Gupta, here yesterday. He said the District Food and Supply Department has been directed to issue 25 kg wheat at the rate of Rs 2 per kg on every pink card. Similarly, the department has also been directed to provide 25 kg wheat at the rate of Rs 4.65 per kg on every yellow card.

He said under the integrated child development scheme, 51,552 children had been provided with infant food during the financial year. As many as 12,165 mothers had also been provided nutrition under the scheme, he added. There were 714 anganwari centres working in the district.

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SBI organises customer relation programme
Our Correspondent

Ambala, January 15
The State Bank of India, Ambala city, organised a customer relation programme on the bank premises here today which was presided over by Mr Rajinder Kakkar, Chief General Manager of the Chandigarh Circle.

Mr Kakkar interacted with a cross-section of farmers and other customers to find out if they were facing any difficulty in getting their loans sanctioned at the centre. He further emphasised that the SBI has introduced many new schemes for the benefit of farmers and customers of personal segments.

Loans amounting to Rs 241.29 lakh to 154 farmers under the Kisan Gold Card Scheme, Rs 70 lakh under the Housing Loan Scheme were disbursed on the occasion. Mr Baljit Singh, Assistant General Manager, (Region-1), Haryana, gave details about the latest schemes launched by the bank. The Chief Manager of the bank, Mr A.K. Bhandari, assured the farmers and the customers to provide them best services all the times. The senior officers of local branches of the bank also participated in the function.

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Jagmohan visits Kurukshetra
Our Correspondent

Kurukshetra, January 15
The Union Minister of Tourism, Mr Jagmohan, visited religious sites of Kurukshetra today.

He went through proposals of the district administration regarding the promotion of Kurukshetra as to pilgrimage destination.

The Deputy Commissioner, Mr Abhilaksh Likhi, said a follow up meeting would be held in Delhi to finalise the proposals.

He urged the Union Tourism Minister that Gita Jayanti should be celebrated as a national festival.

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