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Monday,
June 24, 2002, Chandigarh, India  
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Mullana residents block traffic
CM’s foreign tour a ‘damp squib’ Industrialists want tax reforms |
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| Insurance scheme for school kids Chandigarh, June 23 The Haryana Government has introduced a personal insurance scheme for students of Classes I to XII, school teachers and non-teaching staff. 1 killed, 20 hurt as bus falls into drain
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Mullana residents block traffic
Ambala, June 23 The traffic was blocked at Mullana which led to a traffic jam. Traffic was thrown out of gear after a large number of people came onto the road demanding that proper power supply should be ensured in the Mullana area. The traffic jam took place about 25 km from Ambala Cantt. The residents raised slogans against the state government and demanded that their grievance should be redressed at the earliest. Mr M.K. Ahuja SDM Ambala, the XEN Power, went to the spot to defuse the situation. The angry residents tore down boards of the state government that claimed having brought about prosperity in the state. They said that despite repeated requests, power supply had not improved in the area. The residents used tree trunks to block the busy road. Sensing the mood of the people, an INLD leader, who was caught in the jam, took off the INLD flag from the vehicle rod. Mr D.D. Gautam, Deputy Commissioner, Ambala, said the traffic jam in Mullana was opened after about an hour. The SDM and the XEN have rushed to the spot and they are looking into the matter, he said.
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CM’s foreign tour a ‘damp squib’ Fatehabad, June 23 Mr Bansi Lal ridiculed that while on the one hand, Mr Chautala had been touring various countries to attract foreign investors, on the other the existing investors were fleeing from the state as the government had failed to provide them an atmosphere conducive to trade. He said for the industry to prosper, the government had to provide proper facilities, but in Haryana, even the existing industrialists were being harassed. He asked that in a state where extortions and murders for ransom had become routine, who could think of investing one’s money? The former Chief Minister said he had evolved a slab system for providing power to farmers at subsidised rates. On May 13, 1998, he increased the number of slabs from three to four and decreased the flat rates by Rs.13 per HP as compared to the rates settled by the Bhajan Lal government. He said his government also waived the surcharge, penalty and interest on the pending power bills and provided an opportunity to the farmers to pay their bills in four instalments. But he alleged that the Chautala government instead of waiving pending power bills as per its pre-poll promises, withdrew all facilities provided by his government and enhanced the power tariff for tubewells by 60 per cent. The HVP chief strongly criticised the state government for allowing its own followers and try to grab the land belonging to Dera Bhuman Shah near Sirsa by altering the revenue records of the land. He alleged that the government had done grave injustice to the Kamboj community and promised that his government would look into case and restore the land to its rightful owners. He warned the officers concerned that the matter would be inquired into thoroughly once his government came to power and those found guilty would not be spared. Later, addressing a well-attended rally here this afternoon, Mr Bansi Lal levelled a number of accusations against the Haryana Chief Minister, Mr Chautala. He alleged that the state of lawlessness that prevailed in the state today was of the making of Mr Chautala and his political mentor, Devi Lal. Mr Bansi Lal alleged that it was Mr Chautala who misled the farmers and instigated them not to pay their power bills during his regime. Now when Mr Chautala himself was the Chief Minister, the trouble created by him was boomeranging on him. Mr. Bansi Lal alleged that the way farmers had been resorting to steps like roadblocks and causing damage to the public property, they had learnt it all from Devi Lal and Mr. Chautala. He said till 1997, Haryana was such a peaceful state that even women could roam freely during nights but now incidents of murder, highway robberies, bank robberies and other organised crimes had become a daily routine. He objected to the naming of various parks and other establishment after the name of Devi Lal in the state and alleged that the former Deputy Prime Minister had done nothing worthwhile and hence did not deserve this honour. He announced that the first thing he would do after assuming power would be to remove to all statues of the former Deputy Prime Minister from all over Haryana and replace these with the statues of great freedom fighters and martyrs. The HVP chief accused the INLD leadership of patronising goons for their narrow selfish ends. He said he had not come here to seek people’s vote at this juncture but he wanted people to be aware of what was happening in their surroundings and what they should do under these circumstances. He said before coming to power, Mr Chautala had promised that farmers would get payment of their sugarcane crop within 14 days of supplies to the sugar mills. He had also promised to pay them interest in case of delay in the payment. But now crores of rupees of farmers were due against the sugar mills and no payments had been made for the past four months. In Fatehabad district alone, Bhuna Cooperative Sugar Mills owed more than Rs 12 crore to the farmers. Mr Bansi Lal said if he came to power, he would ensure that the farmers got their payments well in time. The former Chief Minister did not spare the Congress even. Himself an old Congressman, Mr Bansi Lal said the Congress had lost its old meaning now. He said there was a time when the Congress was a party working for the ideals of Pandit Jawahar Lal Nehru and Lala Lajpat Rai but now it had become a victim of infighting. Now Congressmen were out to humble fellow congressmen. Instead of looking into the problems of the general public, they were fighting for power. He also ridiculed the BJP in Haryana and said the position of the BJP in the state was more like gambler who had lost in the gamble. Mr Bansi Lal said his party would waive the 4 per cent entry tax imposed by the Chautala government whenever it came to power. He also promised to waive ST-38 forms. Mr Bansi Lal promised that no house tax would be levied on those who had urban property and were using that for their own use. He also promised to waive the Rs 9,000 per annum per oven tax imposed on the halwais in the state. The HVP Secretary-General Mr Surender Singh, a former minister Mr Kanwal Singh, a former MP Mr Het Ram, the rally organisers Mr Pahlad Singh Gillankhera, Mr Gian Chand Pruthi and Ms Dayawanti Verma also spoke on the occasion. Mr. Pruthi presented a purse containing Rs 2 lakh to the HVP chief on this occasion. |
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Industrialists
want tax reforms Yamunanagar, June 23 He informed that the Centre was moving towards a uniform policy of taxation which would boost industry in the country. Mr Raj Kumar stated that when Mr Om Prakash Chautala took over as Chief Minister of Haryana in July 1999, the revenue collection on account of sales tax and excise was less than Rs 3,000 crore annually, whereas in 2001-02, it rose to Rs 4,300 crore. He assured that this year, there would be an increase of 12 per cent in revenue. He said that in Haryana on 85 per cent goods, taxation was on first point. Mr Vidya Dhar, Officer on Special Duty to the Chief Minister, stated that compliance of taxes in India was hardly 10 per cent while in most of the developed countries, it was 100 per cent. He stated that tax compliance was more important than the tax structure. Mr Bharat Garg, president of the chamber, stated that if taxes in Haryana were reduced or made equal to the other states, efficient industries would thrive here and the number of industries as well as revenue would show a rising trend. Mr G.S. Chawla, general secretary of the chamber, said Haryana was devoid of raw material and also market for finished goods. The state had to rely on import and export. Therefore, if their taxes were more than other states, the state industry could not compete with its counterparts in other states. |
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Insurance
scheme for school kids Chandigarh, June 23 The Minister of State for Education, Mr Bahadur Singh, said here today that under the scheme all beneficiaries would have to deposit Re 1 as premium annually. The scheme had been offered by Oriental Insurance Company Limited. The period of the insurance was up to May 20, 2003, for which the premium had already been paid to the company. He said under the scheme next of kin of the beneficiary would get Rs 25,000 in case of death. A similar amount would also be given to the beneficiary on complete disability, loss of both eyes, hands and legs. A sum of Rs 12,500 would be given on disability of one limb or loss of one eye in an accident. He said in the case of accident, Rs 1,000 would be given as medical expenses to the beneficiary while Rs 250 would be advanced in the case of loss of books during the accident. |
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1 killed,
20 hurt as bus falls into drain Yamunanagar, June 23 All injured persons were immediately shifted to Chhachhrauli Hospital where 50-year-old Ganda Ram, a resident of Kail village succumbed to his injuries. The condition of 16-year-old Ruchi is stated to be serious. |
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