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Friday,
December 13, 2002, Chandigarh, India  
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HERC rejects governments’ move CM kicks off MC poll campaign Governor’s nod to casino Bill awaited ADC asked to look into councillor’s complaint Utsav highlights country’s heritage
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Students’ eco-tourism stall at utsav KU students burn VC’s effigy Lecturers’ workload ‘not as per rules’ Five cops suspended for taking bribe Malik to head VB advisory board Insurance co launches operations
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HERC rejects governments’ move Panchkula, December 12 This is for the third time that the Commission has handed over the charge report of an IAS officer, Mr Arun Kumar Gupta, posted as Secretary, to the Chief Secretary, Haryana. In a letter sent to the Chief Secretary on December 11, the Chairman of the Commission, Mr K.S. Chaube, has categorically said the Commission has not made any requisition from the Government of Haryana for the post of Secretary. The letter further states that initially help was sought from the government as the regulations for terms and conditions or services were not framed by the Commission, but they are now in force. “... The applications from the officers of the Government of Haryana could be considered by the Commission for the post of Secretary on deputation basis against the open advertisement and the procedure laid down in the regulations for filling the post of Secretary in HERC... “ states the letter, while returning the charge report submitted by the IAS officer to the Chief Secretary. It may be noted that a 1992 batch IAS officer, Mr A.K. Gupta, posted as Administrator, Panchkula, Haryana Urban Development Authority and Municipal Council, was earlier transferred as Secretary, HERC, by the state government on December 2. However, in a letter fired to the Chief Secretary, Government of Haryana, Mr Chaube had said it is essential for the Commission to work independently of the government, and thus achieve the basic objective of reforms in the power sector. It may be noted that this Commission, which has two members and a Chairman, was created by the state government in order to meet the objective of reforms in the power sector. The letter, sent earlier to the Chief Secretary, specifically states that the commission was created as an independent, statutory, autonomous and quasi-judicial body for distancing itself from the government... “It is therefore important for the Commission to work independently without any support from government except for funding, the provision for which is made in Haryana Electricity Regulatory Act...”, states the letter. It may be noted that initially when this Commission was set up, it had requested the state government for an officer for the post of Secretary on deputation basis for establishing the Commission. However, sources in HERC now say this was never an open ended requisition. |
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CM kicks off MC poll campaign Panchkula, December 12 Mr Chautala today said that his government had spent a sum of over Rs 205 crore for the development of Panchkula, much more than what was spent by his predecessors. Hinting at the Congress MLA from Kalka constituency, Mr Chander Mohan, who is also son of former Chief Minister, Mr Bhajan Lal, he said that even during Mr Bhajan Lal’s regime in the state, he (Chander Mohan ) had not spent so much on the development of this township. The Chief Minister was addressing his party workers at Red Bishop here today. While exhorting his party workers to work hard and establish contact with the people at the grassroots, he said that being a member of the ruling party, it was all the more their responsibility to live up to the expectations of those who had elected them to power. The Chief Minister minced no words by openly admitting that the elections to the Municipal Council here would be a referendum on the ruling party and said that the results of these elections would have a direct bearing on the next Vidhan Sabha elections. The Chief Minister asked the people to elect a leader with an unblemished record and announced a committee headed by Mr K.P. Bhalla for selecting the candidates to be fielded by the party. Later, Mr Chautala also released a book titled “ Vikas Granth “ on the developmental works undertaken in Panchkula. An exhibition highlighting significant achievements of the government made during last 40 months was also put up by the Department of Public Relations. The list of developmental works undertaken in various villages under Sarkar Aapke Dwaar programme was also distributed among people. |
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Haryana to have VDOs Panchkula, December 12 The Chief Minister, who was speaking at a largely attended sammelan of panches, sarpanches and members of Gram Vikas Samitis of Panchkula district at Yavanika in Sector 5 here said the VDO would deposit power bills of villagers, Distribute old age pension among its beneficiaries and also attend to the work of Panchayat Secretary and Agriculture Development Officer of the Agriculture Department. He would also maintain a record of the development works undertaken in the village and also the future requirements of the village. Mr Chautala also announced that ration depots would be allotted in consultation with members of the panchayats and the anganwadi workers too would be recruited with their consultation. He said a decision had also been taken to give 3 per cent of the stamp duty and registration fee to the panchayats. In case any piece of land belonging to any panchayat would be obtained for any use, its cost would be provided to the panchayat. He said that his government had strong faith in the democratic system and the empowerment of the Panchayati Raj Institutions and constitution of Gram Vikas Samitis was based on his policy of decentralisation of power. Mr Chautala said a decision had also been taken not to demolish those houses which people had constructed unknowingly on panchayat land and they were not creating problem for common man. The officers concerned had been directed to take money in lieu of the house and enable the owner to get its registry done. Assuring the gathering of adequate financial assistance for the rapid development of the rural areas, he also sought their cooperation to make Haryana a top ranking state in the country, as dreamt by Chaudhary Devi Lal. Launching a tirade against the Opposition, especially the Congress by quoting a number of examples to drive home the point that they had been misleading people by raising irrelevant issues, he said they were unable to digest the unprecedented pace of development which his government had achieved in the past 40 months. Therefore, they had chosen to mislead people by making irresponsible statements so as to hamper the pace of development by vitiating the peaceful atmosphere. The Deputy Commissioner, Panchkula, Mrs Satwanti Ahlawat said a number of development projects had been undertaken in the district. She said besides other projects, there was also a plan to set up a 11 KV sub-station to improve the availability of power. |
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Governor’s nod to casino Bill awaited Chandigarh, December 12 Official sources said here it had now been decided that the Principal Secretary of the Excise and Taxation Department or the Sales Tax Tribunal would function as the appelate authority regarding casino proposals. Earlier, at a meeting held here on October 9 in the presence of the Chief Minister, and attended by representatives of the Tourism Department and the Haryana State Industrial Development Corporation (HSIDC), it was decided that the appelate authority would comprise the Chief Secretary, the Principal Secretary to the Chief Minister and a legal expert nominated by the Chief Minister. Sources, however, said the composition of the apellate authority as decided at the October 9 meeting was suggested by the Tourism Department which was at that time acting as the nodal agency for the casino project. However, subsequently the Tourism Department was divested of the responsibility and the Excise and Taxation Department was entrusted with the job of preparing legislation for casinos. The Excise and Taxation Department decided to follow the departmental procedure according to which the Principal Secretary was the appelate authority for excise-related cases while for sales tax related grievances and appeals could be made to the tribunal. For casino proposals also, this procedure would be followed, sources said and added that the requisite notification in this connection would be issued after the Bill was approved by the Governor. The state government had sent 12 Bills and amendments to the Governor on December 3 for his approval. Barring the Bill on casino and the related matter of amendments to the Public Gaming Act, all others had been sent back by the Governor to the respective departments with his assent. This has created some suspence regarding the fate of the casino Bill. Official sources, however, said that the Governor could not possibly disapprove the casino Bill and the related amendment as these were money Bills which needed the recommendation of the Governor for being placed before the House. |
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ADC asked to look into councillor’s complaint Ambala, December 12 A delegation of Municipal Councillors today met the Deputy Commissioner and submitted a memorandum regarding the alleged irregularities. Mr Bimal Prakash in his complaint stated that on December 5, an office-bearer of the Kabadi Traders Association, had met him and apprised him of irregularities at a weighing point. He claimed that a sum of Rs 1500 had been demanded by a Municipal Corporation employee to less weigh-in. He stated that he signed on three to 500 notes and the notes were handed over to the Municipal Corporation employee. Then, he went to the kanda’ and reprimanded the employee. Thereafter, the Municipal Corporation employee returned the money and requested that no action be initiated against him. ‘Later, I learnt that the Municipal Corporation employee along with other employees had held a
demonstration against me and tried to paint a picture of assault. I demand that an inquiry should be held into the incident and strict action be initiated against the culprit, Mr Bimal Prakash stated. |
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Utsav highlights country’s heritage Kurukshetra, December 12 The participation of school children and artistes from the major states of India lent colour to the celebrations.
The Governor inaugurated a cultural panorama in Sri Krishna Museum. It provides information about important tourist destinations and pilgrimages of India with a special focus on Haryana. The national tourism segment lays emphasis on the India heritage highlighting world heritage monuments like the Taj Mahal, Sun Temple at Konark and Mahaballipuram. The second segment devoted to pilgrimage tourism includes the 48 kos bhoomi of Kurukshetra and the historical temples in it spread over the districts of Karnal, Panipat, Jind, Kaithal and Kurukshetra. The third section which is the cynosure of all eyes depicts various historical, cultural and archaeological sites of India. This has been arranged by the Department of Culture and Tourism of the Union Government. The section known as incredible India throws light on important places of tourism with special emphasis on the infrastructure available. The third section deals with the archival and archaeological exhibits of Haryana depicted through photographs of various sites. The beautiful gate designed by Sri Krishna Museum with ethnic motifs is the brainchild of Mr Rajesh Purohlt, curator of the museum. The theme of the state-level exhibition is development activities of Haryana. The main section here is of archaeology and museums. It shows the archaeological findings of Kunal (Fatehabad) which is a pre-harappansite dating back to 5000 years. Pots and terracotas, copper images and implements are the main attractions. This section also includes the statues of Mahatma Buddha and Vishnu found from Kosali in Jhajjar district which dates back to the 12th century. The section dealing with the Harappansite of Banawali (Sirsa district) has an interesting collections of coins, utensils etc. A collection of old coins from Karnal relating to the period of King Mohammad Shah, the grandson of Aurangzeb who ruled in 1738 is also on display. The archives section throws a new light on a significant incident of the struggle for Independence. It depicts a telegram dated May 10, 1857, showing that the revolt of 1857 for the Independence of the country started on May 10 from Ambala much before the dates given in history that the revolt had started from Meerut. It also includes the revolt incidents which happened in Thanesar in 1857. It also provides information to the visitors that during the 1887 solar eclipse in Kurukshetra, over three lakh pilgrims had taken a bath in the holy sarovars of Kurukshetra. Another section deals with the imprisonment of the late Devi Lal which started in 1930. There are sections which throw light on the progress of Haryana made in the field of industry, transport, agriculture, fisheries, milk production and procurement, PWD (B&R), horticulture, forest development and welfare schemes. There are enclosures which throw light on the activities of Arya Samaj, Braham Kumaris and Sehaj Yoga. Competitions by school children in rangoli, collage making, mehndi, clay modelling, sanjhi jhanki, pot decoration, flower show, embroidery and fancy dress drew a large number of visitors. Folk songs and dances like baradi, Bhojpuri songs, padwani, thangta, Gujarati Raas, pawoda, kuchchamani khayal and raas of Uttar Pardesh also drew
crowds. |
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Students’ eco-tourism stall at utsav Kurukshetra, December 12 Students have put up an educational stall at the Utsav which attempts to generate awareness among the masses on presenting natural resources and avoiding use of non-biodegradable products. According to the tourism students of the university college, after use neither can these bags decomposed nor re-cycled. Hence, become a threat to environment. Developed countries are now using other
alternatives like paper cloth bags. Ant in India almost 10 crores polybags are used everyday, demanding the ecology. An interesting feature of the stall is hand-made paper bags, which are being made by the students themselves. These colourful bags are of different sizes. The principal of the University college, Mrs, Chand Dutta has congratulated the tourism faculty and students for their efforts. |
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KU students burn VC’s effigy Kaithal, December 12 They were protesting under the banners of Jakrook Chhatar Morcha and Students Federation of India against the decision of the university to cancel the admission of students who had got admission to B.A. (I) but not cleared the compartment examination of plus two. The DSP, Mr Amir Singh Sabharwal, and SHO City, Mr Ram Chander Rathi, along with a heavy police force rushed to the site of the protest. The student leaders said the MDU authorities had allowed the students one more chance to clear their plus two compartment. They demanded the acceptance of their demands, release of the arrested students and withdrawal of cases registered against them in connection with the present agitation. The students of colleges here and elsewhere in the district have been boycotting their classes for the past more than three weeks to lodge their protest. |
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Lecturers’
workload ‘not as per rules’ Sirsa, December 12 A spokesman of the association, Mr Rajinder Jindal, said here today that the new allocation of work per week under the new structure was unjustified. He alleged that senior officials of the department were abolishing posts by showing these as surplus though allocating a higher workload per lecturer. Besides, recommendations had been made to appoint lecturers on payment per period against the vacant
posts. The association demanded that the workload for lecturers must be fixed according to the AICTE guidelines. |
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Five cops suspended for taking bribe Ambala, December 12 According to sources these police officials had nabbed two persons at Ambala Cantonment railway station on December 5 who were carrying charas to deliver it some where in Punjab. The police officials allowed them to go after taking some money from them. The culprits were again nabbed by the Railway police in Punjab. They told them that they had paid a huge amount of money to the police at Ambala Cantonment. The police brought the matter to the notice of Superintendent of Police, Railways at Ambala. Police sources said after an inquiry the guilty police officials were put under suspension. The SP, Railways, could not be contacted after repeated attempts to get the official version. |
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Malik to head VB advisory board Chandigarh, December 12 Other members of the board are Mr R.R. Sheoran, Engineer-in-Chief, PWD (B&R); Mr Yudhvir Singh, Additional Excise and Taxation Commissioner; Mr B.D. Arora, Chief Accounts Officer, Accounts Training Institute; Mr S.P. Tyagi, Senior Accounts Officer, Transport Department; and the District Attorney of the bureau. The Vigilance Bureau IG will act as its Member-Secretary. Other functions of the board will be to collect, assimilate and correlate information on various irregularities, malpractices and misuse of official machinery in various public offices and boards and corporations. |
Insurance co launches operations Ambala, December 12 Mr Sood said the company offered a choice of insurance plans, including endowment assurance, money back, term assurance plan, loan cover team assurance and single premium whole of life. |
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