‘Delay’ of assent to Casino Bill ‘upsets’ CM, Cabinet
Ravi S. Singh
Tribune News Service

Gurgaon, February 13
The Haryana Governor, Babu Parmanand, so far has not given his assent to the Casino Bill and the Bill amending the Public Gambling Act,1867 — a Central statute passed by the Haryana Assembly.

Both Bills were passed by the Assembly more than three months ago and the Council of Ministers hoped an early assent of the Governor.

Quarters in the government see a cold war between the offices of the Chief Minister and Raj Bhavan.

According to sources, the appointment of Pro-Vice- Chancellor of Kurukshetra University, Dr Dhara Singh Hooda, by Babu Parmanand reportedly without consulting Chief Minister Om Prakash Chautala is one instance of lack of cordiality in the relationship between the two. Dr Hooda is said to be related to Mr Kishan Singh Sangwan (MP) from Sonepat parliamentary constituency, who joined the BJP after quitting the INLD. Mr Sangwan is a critic of Mr Chautala. Although Babu Parmanand made the appointment in his capacity as Chancellor of the University and for it he is not bound constitutionally to act on the advice of the Council of Ministers, the Chief Minister is said to be unhappy over the development.

The state Cabinet is likely to decide tomorrow to abolish the posts of Pro-Vice-Chancellors of all four universities of the state. The Cabinet may decide to this effect and recommend it to the Governor for the promulgation of an Ordinance, to be ratified by the state Assembly later. The posts were created vide a statue of the state Assembly and could be abolished only by its authority.

The Governor not giving assent to the Bills is reported to have upset the Chief Minister and his Council of Ministers. Opposition parties had alleged that the government passed the Bills in great haste. Opening of Casinos is also being opposed by social and non-government organisations. The state aims to earn revenue from Casinos. Hotel and tourism industry in the state has supported to the concept of Casino.

The amendment to the Central statute, the Public Gambling Act, would enable the state to allow baiting and gambling as they were part of the state subject. The Casino Bill relates granting of licenses for opening Casinos in the state.

According to provisions of the Constitution, the Governor has the powers to respond on a Bill submitted to him for his consideration in the following manner.(1) He may declare his assent to it, in which case, it would become law at once;or, (2) He may declare that he withholds his assent to it, in which case it fails to become a law; or, (3) He may, in case of a Bill other than a Money Bill, return it for reconsideration by the State Legislature, with a message. If the Legislature again passes the Bill with or without amendments, and again present to the Governor, the Governor shall have no other alternative than to declare his assent. (4) He may reserve the Bill for the consideration of the President.

The President, in case a state Bill, which is not a Money Bill, is sent to him by the Governor for his consideration, may (1) (a) give his assent to it, withhold his assent to it, or (b) return it to the State Legislature with a message for consideration. In such an eventuality the State Legislature must reconsider the Bill within six months, and if it is passed again, with or without amendments, it must be again presented, direct to the President for his assent. But he is not bound to give his assent, even though the Bill has been passed by the State Legislature, for a second time. According to sources, Babu Parmanand will send the two Bills to the President for his consideration. 

Chautala rejects wheat MSP
Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, February 13
The Haryana Chief Minister, Mr Om Prakash Chautala, today disapproved of the minimum support price (MSP) of Rs 620 per quintal of wheat announced by the Union Government and called for a fresh look at the MSP in the larger interests of the farming community.

In a statement issued here, Mr Chautala said the Centre should not have retained the MSP at Rs 620 because farmers were hard pressed due to the drought and they had to use an additional quantity of inputs, which increased the cost of production.

Mr Chautala said he would meet the Prime Minister, Mr Atal Behari Vajpayee, and urge him to enhance the MSP for wheat and at least give a one-time special drought relief of Rs 20 per quintal as was done in the case of paddy.

CM assures steps to check corruption
Our Correspondent and PTI

Hisar, February 13
Haryana Chief Minister Om Prakash Chautala said today that his government would take steps to check corruption in the state.

Addressing a ‘sarkar apke dwar’ programme at Satrod village, near here, he said the state government was committed to make Haryana a corruption-free state. He said action would be taken in this regard if any complaint against any official, along with an affidavit and proper evidences, was proved to be correct.

He also asked sarpanches and panches to ensure proper use of funds sanctioned for development projects by the state government. He warned that action would also be taken against the panchayat found guilty of irregularities.

Mr Chautala said the government had decided to remove all encroachments from panchayati land. The government would not sanction any grant to those villages which were not paying their power bills in time. Funds would not be sanctioned for the development of unapproved colonies in urban areas, he added.

He said the government would clear all pending applications for new tubewell connections by March 31. The government had upgraded 350 schools during the past three years and there was a proposal to upgrade 275 more schools in the next two years. He claimed that 33,000 development works had been completed during the past three years.

Earlier, the Chief Minister inaugurated a boys hostel building and a school building at the Guru Jambheshwar University (GJU) here and Satrod village, respectively.

Mr Sampat Singh, Finance Minister, Mr Bahadur Singh, Education Minister, Mr Subhash Goyal, Local Bodies Minister, Mr Puran Singh Dabra and Mr Ram Bhagat Sharma, legislators, were also present on these occasions.

FATEHABAD: Mr Chautala on Thursday said the state government was taking steps to help more and more women to come out of their household and become equal partners in the development of nation.

Speaking after laying foundation stone of a Rs 5.63 crore college building at Bhodia Khera, near here. He instructed the authorities to get the construction of the college building complete within a period of 11-months.

The Chief Minister also presided over a “sarkar aapke dwar’ programme at Bhattu Kalan in the district. Representatives of 54 panchayats met the Chief Minister in the open darbar and presented memoranda of their collective demands.

Centre grants 1.36 cr for Ladwa
Our Correspondent

Kurukshetra, February 13
The Union Ministry for Urban Development and Poverty Alleviation has sanctioned Rs 1.36 crore under the Integrated Development of Small and Medium Town (IDSMT) scheme for Ladwa town in this district. The town will get a facelift under the scheme.

This was disclosed by the Deputy Commissioner, Mr Abhilaksh Likhi, after visiting sites where the IDSMT scheme will be executed in the town. He said the main aim of the scheme was to slow down the migration from rural areas and smaller towns to big cities by the development of selected small and medium towns, which were capable of generating economic growth and employment. The Deputy Commissioner visited the site near the bus stand where the Ladwa Municipal Committee proposes to construct 20 shops under the IDSMT scheme.

He inspected the Market Committee office, the municipal committee office, the police station and the sub-tehsil office. The Deputy Commissioner also inspected the work on four-laning of the road from Gurdwara Chathi Patsahi to Subash Chowk.

Kurukshetra girl wins talent search exam
Our Correspondent

Kurukshetra, February 13
Shubhangi Arora of Gita Niketan Awasiya Vidyalaya, here, has won the first position in the Haryana State Talent Search Examination organised by the State Council of Educational Research and Training (SCERT), Gurgaon.

The result of the examination, held in December 2002, was declared recently.

The Principal of the school, Mr Rishi Goel, said Faridabad district had topped in the state. As many as 46 students, out of the total 95 successful candidates, were from the district, he said adding that Kurukshetra district had secured second the position with 28 successful candidates.

Mr Goel said five and three candidates from Hisar and Rohtak districts, respectively, two each from Mohindergarh, Gurgaon and Rewari districts and one each from Karnal, Panipat, Panchkula and Jhajjar districts had qualified the test. He said 20 out of 28 candidates selected from Kurukshetra were from Gita Niketan Awasiya Vidyalaya, five were from Aggarsain Public School, Kurukshetra, two were from S.M.B. Gita Senior Secondary School, Kurukshetra, and one was from D.A.V. Public School, Kurukshetra.

The National Talent Search Examination (NTSE) is a national-level programme, conducted by the National Council of Educational Research and Training (NCERT), New Delhi, to select talented students at the school level and provide them with facilities like scholarships and grants so that they can pursue higher studies.

Teachers’ impasse continues
Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, February 13
The agitating school teachers of Haryana today said that they were not interested in giving any representation to the ministerial committee headed by Finance Minister Sampat Singh.

Mr Kul Bhushan Sharma, general secretary of the Haryana Rajkeeya Adhyapak Sangh (HRAS), said that the committee had been given the power only to address the grievances of individual teachers affected by the policy of rationalisation.

“But we find that fixing of teacher-student ratio as 1:60 instead of the previous system of 1:40 unacceptable,” Mr Sharma, who was sitting beside three other teachers on a hunger strike in front of the 30-Bays building here in protest against the policy of rationalisation, said. Though there were only four people at the site today, the rally by the teachers slated to take place on February 17 would be a big one, he asserted.

Mr Phul Kumar Petwar, president of the HRAS, who was observing an indefinite fast at the site in protest against rationalisation, was removed by the Chandigarh Police yesterday and put in a hospital. “We do not want to ignore the agitation. We will like to listen to them and address their problems. But so far we really do not know what their demands are”, a senior official of the state government claimed.

The official added that if the agitators did not want to talk to representatives of the Secondary Education Department, they could approach the committee headed by Mr Sampat Singh. The first meeting of the committee took place here on Tuesday and the next was scheduled to take place on February 19.

Mr Kul Bhushan Sharma and his colleagues said that they would hold negotiations with the state government only if they were invited for this purpose. “ We have been holding a demonstration here for more than two weeks,” they said.

Government sources, meanwhile, claimed that among the teachers, who were shifted to other schools when they were found to be surplus as much as 75 per cent had already joined where they were shifted. The demonstration by a “handful” of teachers had not affected the day to day work in the schools, the sources claimed.

‘Kar seva’ at police station?
Sushil Manav

Fatehabad, February 13
You must have heard of people offering labour during construction work at a religious place. But ever heard of people offering labour for construction work in a police station? This can be seen here at the local city police station where the construction of a part is being done after pulling down the old building. And what is interesting about this ‘kar seva’ is the fact that those offering labour are followers of a religious sect, in the thick of controversies due to several reasons recently.

The followers of the sect have been performing ‘kar seva’ at the construction site ‘religiously’. Even the meals of the ‘kar sevaks’ come from a canteen manned by the sect. The sect followers, it may be recalled, were involved in an altercation followed by a brawl, with volunteers of an NGO recently. The NGO, through a signature campaign, had been demanding a CBI probe into the affairs of the sect. The police had booked 14 members of the NGO, including three women, under various sections of the IPC and its members had been complaining that the police acted in a partisan manner in the case and while doing investigation ignored injuries inflicted on their members by the sect followers.

It may be recalled that police officials had first tried to take the services of rickshaw pullers for the construction of the building and had allegedly made them work without any wages. It was only when the rickshaw pullers approached the Deputy Commissioner that their miseries came to an end. Police officials, however, denied that ‘kar seva’ of sort was being done at the police station and said labourers had been engaged for the work.

Bhajan condemns atrocities
Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, February 13
Mr Bhajan Lal, chief of Haryana Congress, today strongly condemned the atrocities committed on the people of Dalit community at Harsola village in Kaithal district on Tuesday.

While urging Governor Babu Parmanand to take note of the incidents of attacks on Dalits, Mr Bhajan Lal said that the state government must take strict action against those who had perpretated the atrocities on Dalits.

In a separate statement, Mr Karamveer Singh, president of the Haryana unit of Confederation of SC, ST and BC Organisations, also demanded severe action against the guilty.

Ensure Dalits’ safety: Cong
Our Correspondent

Yamunanagar, February 13
The Haryana Congress has demanded the intervention of the Governor to ensure the protection of the Dalit samaj in Haryana. Mr Sat Pal Kaushik, secretary of the state unit of the party, said here today that the culprits of the Harsola (Kaithal) violence should be brought to book so that no such incident was repeated.

The Congress leader demanded an inquiry into the incident.

Rathore seeks in-camera proceedings
Our Correspondent

Ambala, February 13
Former DGP of Haryana S.P.S. Rathore, facing trial in Ruchika molestation case in the Special Court of CBI in Ambala has filed an application in the court of Special Magistrate, CBI, Mr Suraya Pratap Singh here today in which he has requested the court to hold the proceeding in this case in-camera.

Rathore in his application, filed through his counsel Ajay Jain, said he had been falsely implicated for an offence under Section 354, IPC. He said he had filed a criminal complaint in 1990 regarding an alleged incident of August 12, 1990 (for which the applicant was facing trial by this court).

He said he had also filed a case under Section 500 against several newspapers that had published false and defamatory news items against him and this case was still pending in the court.

Rathore said in his application that the media had been publishing biased and prejudiced reports containing half-truth and were trying to influence the fair trial in the above case. He prayed the court to order to hold the proceedings of the case in-camera under these circumstances.

A lawn tennis player of Panchkula Ruchika Galotra had committed suicide under mysterious circumstances when Rathore was the president of Lawn Tennis Association. 

HIGH COURT
Direction
Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, February 13
The Punjab and Haryana High Court on Thursday asked Haryana’s Home Secretary to file an affidavit, on behalf of the state, on a petition seeking the transfer of an alleged custodial death case to the Central Bureau of Investigation.

The first information report in the matter was registered under Sections 302, 342 and 341 of the IPC. The case, it may be recalled, pertains to the death of a 23-year-old Shahabad resident. 

Penalty imposed
Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, February 13
The Uttar Haryana Bijli Vitran Nigam has imposed penalty amounting to Rs 12.69 crore upon those consumers for stealing power during the current financial year.

While stating this here today a spokesman of the power utilities, said that more than 1.34 lakh premises of consumers were checked and 12,768 cases of power theft were detected so far during the current financial year.

Haryana Police to hold seminar
Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, February 13
The Haryana police will organise a two-day national seminar on the ‘‘Indian Experiences of Fidyan Attack and Counter Measures’’ at the Haryana Police Academy, Madhuban, from February 14.

Mr M.S. Malik, Director General of Police, Haryana, will preside over the function. Mr K.P. Singh, Director, Intelligence Bureau, will deliver the valedictory address on February 15.

Mrs Neera Singh, wife of Mr K.P. Singh, will inaugurate the extension block of the Haryana Police Public School, Madhuban on February 15. 

Building inspector gets bail in corruption case
Our Correspondent

Ambala, February 13
The Additional Sessions Judge, Ambala, Mr B.M. Bedi, has granted bail to former building inspector of Ambala Sadar Municipal Council, K.K. Verma against whom the state vigilance bureau had registered a corruption case on November 19,2002. Chairman of the council, Shankar Dass, three councillors, former municipal engineer and four shopkeepers were the other persons involved in the case.

The judge ordered Mr Verma to furnish a bail bond of Rs 25,000 and the security of an equal amount. Mr Verma was arrested by the bureau on January 30 and was remanded to judicial custody till February 14.

The bureau had alleged in the FIR that four shopkeepers of Sadar Bazar who were the tenants of the council were granted the permission to enhance the height of the shops and reducing their rent and in this way the chairman and others had hatched a criminal conspiracy to harm the financial interests of the council.

Shandilya removed
Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, February 13
Mr Viresh Shandilya, deputy spokesperson of the Haryana Congress, has been removed from the post with immediate effect. While stating this here today, a press release said that Mr Bhajan Lal, HPCC chief, had taken this decision on finding that Mr Shandilya’s work was not satisfactory.

Sugarcane farmers protest

Karnal, February 13
Farmers, led by Mr Jai Kumar, president of the district unit of the BKU, assembled today at the local Mini Secretariat and raised slogans against the management of Bhadshon Sugar Mill. They also burnt the sugarcane brought by them.

The farmers were agitating for allegedly not being paid the rates of sugarcane fixed by the Haryana Government. PTI