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Friday,
May 2, 2003, Chandigarh, India  
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SC no to Haryana in mining case Prohibition: another panel may be set up FATEHABAD POLL
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Fires cause havoc in district NDRI simplifies fish breeding technique Houses, shops razed in demolition drive
HIGH COURT Labourer killed over argument Protest over murder of abducted boy MC starts cleaning
drains Question
paper set outside the syllabus
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SC no to Haryana in mining case New Delhi, May 1 Rejecting the plea by Haryana Government counsel Mukul Rohtagi and Neeraj Jain for an interim order in this regard, a Bench comprising Mr Justice Y.K. Sabharwal and Mr Justice H.K. Sema said, “You want the court to come to the aid of the state to legalise something without having anything on record.” While reserving its order on public interest litigation (PIL) on the issue of the alleged illegal mining in Faridabad and Gurgaon areas, the court said the project, for which about Rs 80 crore had been received from foreign countries, had been going on for the past nine years but the state had failed to put material about it on record. Haryana’s counsel had sought an interim direction to the state’s forest and revenue departments for conducting a survey of the area to determine which land fell within the panchayat’s jurisdiction and which belonged to private parties. “Who knows how much plantation has been done and how much money spent? The state has carried out the plantation work without preparing the records,” the court observed, adding, “It has become a lucrative business. Whether the money has been properly spent or has been pocketed by someone else, there is nothing to show it.” The court said at this stage no interim direction could be issued for demarcation of land as it would amount to putting nearly a burden of Rs 10 crore on the state exchequer for the “fault” of forest and revenue officials. |
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Prohibition: another panel may be set up Chandigarh, May 1 The issue came before the Cabinet, which met here today under the chairmanship of the Chief Minister, Mr Om Prakash Chautala. According to informed sources, the Cabinet authorised the Chief Minister to take appropriate action in this regard. The move to appoint another commission has come after the first commission, the Chehal Commission of Inquiry, ended in a fiasco. After the Chehal Commission had submitted its report, the Punjab and Haryana High Court quashed its appointment, which was challenged by Mr Bansi Lal on the plea that there was not enough material before the Cabinet when it had appointed the commission. The sources say a retired High Court Judge (not of the Punjab and Haryana High Court) was in the office of the Chief Minister today after the Cabinet meeting. The sources say the retired Judge is settled in Chandigarh. When contacted, the Chief Minister neither confirmed nor denied the proposal for setting up the new commission. He said: “Jab kuchh hoga, aapko pata chal jayega.” He laughed when asked about his meeting with the retired Judge. The legal opinion is divided over the government’s move. A legal expert claims that there is a Supreme Court judgement against the appointment of two commissions to enquire into one issue. Perhaps to circumvent this legal hurdle, the proposal to appoint the new commission envisages in the terms of reference, which are, the sources say, otherwise identical to those of the Chehal Commission. The new commission will now be asked to enquire if the Bansi Lal government had taken any measure to compensate the state for the loss in the excise revenue incurred by it on account of the prohibition and if any measure had been taken to provide alternate employment to those who lost their livelihood because of the closure of the liquor trade. Of course, the other terms of reference of it will be more or less as that of the Chehal Commission. |
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FATEHABAD POLL Fatehabad, May 1 Mr Mehta announced his decision in the presence of mediapersons and supporters at his residence today. Mr Abhey Singh Chautala, a son of the state Chief Minister, Mr Sampat Singh, Haryana Finance Minister, Mr Ashok Arora, Transport Minister, Mr Subhash Goyal, Minister for Urban Development, Additional Press Secretary to the Chief Minister Mr Vinod Mehta and a large number of INLD workers were present. Mr Paramjit Singh Malhotra, another Congress leader, also joined the INLD with Mr Mehta. He said he was feeling suffocated in the Congress and termed his decision of joining the INLD as homecoming. Meanwhile, the Haryanavi Punjabi Sabha, has supported the candidature of Mrs Swatantra Chowdhary, this was stated by the sabha president, Mr Sant Kumar. The Haryana Vikas Party secretary general, Mr Surender Singh, on Thursday assured that the party would withdraw all ‘anti-traders’ decisions of the INLD government, if voted to power. He was addressing traders during the election campaign of the HVP nominee, Mr Prahlad Singh Gillankhera. The Congress nominee, Mr Dura Ram, on Thursday visited the local judicial complex and sought votes from lawyers. Dr Virender Siwatch, Mr Sunil Chowdhary, Mr Tek Chand Midha, Mr Vijay Chowdhary and a large number of Congress workers accompanied him. The CPM nominee, Mr Krishan Swaroop, today filed his papers. The CPM nominee went to the mini secretariat in a procession and submitted his papers. The party organised a rally at Ambedkar Park. The BJP on Thursday said that the party would decide its poll strategy after taking local workers into confidence. Mr Bharat Bhushan Midha, president of the local unit of the party said the party would soon convene a meeting of party workers in this regard. Meanwhile, Mr Baljit Singh Johal, would be the party candidate for the Fatehabad Assembly elections and file his papers tomorrow. A report from Phagwara said the name of Mr Johal was finalised by the Akali Dal (Amritsar) chief, Mr Simranjit Singh Mann. |
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NCP announces
nominee for Fatehabad poll Karnal, May 1 The newly appointed president announced that the NCP would participate in the Fatehabad byelection. He said Mr Ram Swaroop Sailani, an advocate of Fatehabad, would be the NCP’s nominee for the poll. |
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Fires cause havoc in district Ambala, May 1 According to information available, nearly 95 per cent of these fires have been caused by short-circuits, which can be attributed to the careless attitude of the Haryana Vidyut Prasaran Nigam (
HVPN). The fires are generally caused by sparks, which fall from the wires joining the electric poles. The rising temperatures and strong winds in the summer months leads to the rapid spread of these fires, thereby causing large-scale destruction of crops. The farmers, who fight all odds to nurse their crops for six months, are the worst affected. Loose wires passing over their fields are the main culprits. Even though the state government had last year directed the HVPN to tighten all loose wires, but the fire incidents this year only indicate that the authorities concerned have not done much in this regard. However, a senior official of the
HVPN, when contacted, maintains that the work of tightening all loose wires in the district was handed over to a contractor, but the 18 fire incidents, right in the beginning of the season, raises doubts about the working of the
HVPN. Shaken by mass destruction of crops in flames last year, the farmers are only keeping their fingers crossed this time. The statistics for last year reveal that 710-acre of wheat were destroyed in these fires in the district. Nearly 90-acre of wheat was reduced to ashes in a major fire which engulfed the fields in Shahpur village, near here, last year. The figures for this month reveal that standing wheat crop worth lakhs was engulfed by flames in a major fire which broke out in Tharva Majri village in Naggal constituency. Farmers in the village pointed out that they had verbally apprised certain leaders and officials of the HVPN about the condition of the wires, but their pleas fell on deaf ears. The story of havoc caused by fire in the district does not end here. Six acres of standing wheat crop was burnt in Jangoli village, three acres in Senghata village, 3.5 acres in Rattanheri village and 1.5 acre in Udaipur village. Besides this, sugarcane crop in about 4 acres in Naraingarh village, another 10 acres in the nearby villages of
Adhoi, Tharva Majri and Kaserla were also destroyed. Large quantity of straw husk and stubble was also burnt. This includes 15 acres of stubble and 25- quintals of husk in Teja Mori village, five acres of stubble in Adhoi village, 50 quintals of husk in Kaserla village near Barara and another 25 quintals in Muzaffra village. Fire officer of Ambala Cantonment fire station, Mr A.K Sharma, maintains that the incidents of stubble and straw husk catching fire have declined following the district administration orders putting a ban on burning them in the fields. Mr Sharma added that last year they were attending nearly 3-4 calls per day during this season but this year the fire calls have been much lesser as compared to last year. Sources reveal that before the firemen and tenders swing into action, farmers themselves battle out the flames by switching on their tubewells and digging the land around the fields. However, the ongoing destruction of crops only makes the helpless farmers wonder why no lessons were learnt from last year. Other questions which remain unanswered are as to why the HVPN authorities do not put their own staff to check the work done by the contractors to avoid such fires. What is the check the senior officers of the Nigam, based at Panchkula, exercise on checking the functioning of the staff here. If stringent steps are not taken to put the loose electric wires in order, the district would continue to be in the grip of these short-circuit fires. Meanwhile, another short-circuit fire in one of the suites of the Kingfisher tourist complex, on the GT road, led to loss of about Rs 1 lakh. The fire which was reportedly caused due to
short-circuting in an air-conditioner spread in no time. In another recent fire in a general store, goods worth Rs 4 lakh were gutted. Here too, a short-circuit led to the fire. |
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NDRI simplifies fish breeding technique Karnal, May 1 Dr Nagender Sharma, Director, NDRI, said at a press conference today that a major scientific intervention had been achieved in advancing the sexual maturity and breeding of culturable fish in captivity under field conditions in a farmer’s pond. From April 10 till date, about four crore fish spawn were produced from 180 pairs of carp, catla, rohu and mrigal speeres. According to Dr Sharma, the scientists from the institute and a farmer, Mr Multan Singh, joined hands for the project. He said about 12,000 fish farmers and 125 fish seed producers from Haryana and Punjab would benefit from the new technology. Dr Sharma maintained that the technique had been simplified by the scientists so that even a farmer could practice it. A team of fisheries scientists from Brazil had visited the NDRI during 1998 and were impressed by the simplicity of the technique. Culturable carp breed once a year on the onset of monsoon when rivers and canals are flooded. Brazil was the first country to develop a technique for hypophysation in 1934 and India succeeded in induced breeding of Indian major carp in 1957 at Bhubneswar. According to the scientists, Mr Sultan Singh was imparted training in induced breeding during 1989 at the NDRI. In 1992, Mr Sultan Singh was imparted training in circular breeding pools and hatchery. He was the first fish farmer of Haryana to construct circular breeding and hatchery pools with technical assistance from the NDRI. The State Fisheries Department provided him Rs 50,000 as a subsidy for the purpose and he took a loan of Rs 1.5 lakh from land Mortgage Bank, Nilokheri. Mr Sultan Singh has been declared the best fish farmer and fish breeder by the Haryana State Fisheries Department more than once. |
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Houses, shops razed in demolition drive Yamunanagar, May 1 To protest against the drive, women blocked the Yamunanagar-Jagadhri highway. The Subdivisional Magistrate, Ms Renu Phulia, and the DSP (headquarters) reached the spot and pacified the mob, following which the jam was lifed. Thirteen plywood and peeling factories were demolished yesterday. The operation started from the Booter colony, near Kansapur village, around 10 a.m. The colony is mostly inhabited by the lower middle class and the poor, who have constructed their houses after taking loans from banks and financial institutions. As residents saw the fleet of police vehicles, women and children started shouting slogans against the district administration and the police. They alleged that they had not been served any notices and their houses were not on the list of houses to be demolished. It may be mentioned that two years back, the department has also demolished number of houses, mostly belonging to the poor. Later, the demolition squad went to the Radaur road and the Mamidi chowk where six shops were demolished. When contacted, Mr Vijayendra Kumar, Deputy Commissioner, said any new construction, which was in the violation of rules and regulations, would not be allowed to come up. He said residential, industrial and commercial units would have to comply with the norms set up by the authorities concerned. Mr Sat Pal Kaushik, secretary, Haryana Pradesh Congress (I) while condemning the district administration, said the action would lead to frustration among the people. He appealed to the Governor of Haryana to intervene and come to the rescue of the people. Meanwhile, according to a press note issued by the Public Relation Department, Ms Gurmeet Kaur, District Town Planner, said the razed structures had been constructed in violation of the Urban Area and Controlled Area Act. Owners of these unauthorised structures had been asked to remove encroachments within six months through legal notices, but they did not comply. She said the demolished shops had been constructed in violation of the Controlled Area and Scheduled Road Act and owners of these unauthorised shops had also been served legal notices six months back. She clarified that the owners of these shops had given in writing that they would remove the unauthorised constructions within a month. She said all encroachments in the district would be removed and appealed to the people not to encroach upon public land and observe rules. |
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HIGH COURT Chandigarh, May 1 In one of the petitions, taken up by the Bench comprising Mr Justice S.S. Nijjar and Mr Justice Hemant Gupta, Ms Krishna Devi of Rattangarh village in Karnal district had earlier sought directions for quashing a notification issued on November 19, 1984, vide which the place where the buildings were situated was declared Additional Controlled Area. Her counsel had contended that the final development plan for the place was approved by Haryana and other respondents 18 years after the issuance of the impugned notification. This, counsel had contended, was against the provisions of law. |
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Labourer killed over argument Kurukshetra, May 1 According to the complaint lodged with the police by the murderer’s friend, Begu Mahento, five friends — Kishori Lal, Shivaji Mahento, Vinod Mahento, Ratan Dev Mahento and Begu Mahento — residents of Madhubani in Nepal had come to the sugarcane fields of Mr Pratap Singh Saini and were staying in a tubewell room in the fields. After dinner, Shivaji Mahento asked his friends to settle their accounts and divide the money among themselves, but Kishori Lal argued that the accounts would be settled after finishing the work, which annoyed Shivaji Mahento. Around midnight, when they were sleeping in the tubewell room, Shivaji Mahento woke up and allegedly murdered Kishori Lal with a sharp-edged weapon. Kishori Lal died on the spot while the other three, who woke up, were attacked and injured by Shivaji Mahento. By the time Mr Saini, who was informed by Vinod Mahento, reached the spot, Kishori Lal was dead. With the help of the police, Ratan Dev Mahento was rushed to a hospital here while Vinod Mahento and Begu Mahento were admitted to the government primary health centre at Babain village, near Prahladpur. A police party reached the spot and inspected the scene of the crime. The police registered a case under Sections 302, 323 and 324 of the Indian Penal Code and efforts were on to arrest the culprit. |
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Protest over murder of abducted boy Kurukshetra, May 1 The villagers belonging to various villages, including Ajrani, Ajrana, Dhurala and Jhansa, raised slogans and demanded the arrest of the abductors, who had demanded a ransom of Rs 3 lakh. According to information, Mr Dharam Chand’s son, Sumit, a Class I student, was abducted from Ajrani village on April 25. Sumit’s relatives were threatened not to inform the police. Relatives informed the police and staged a dharna in front of the Jhansa police station on April 29. After identifying the body, it was sent to the local L.N.J.P. Hospital for post-mortem examination. The Jhansa SHO, Mr Ram Singh, said a case had been registered under Section 364-A of the IPC. The traffic, which was diverted to the Thanesar bypass and the Sunderpur bypass, was restored only after the DSP (Headquarters) assured the villagers of timely action. |
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MC starts cleaning
drains Ambala, May 1 More than 100 labourers were employed to take out the “malba” from the drains and then load them on tractor-trailers for disposal. The acting president of the council, Mr Suresh Garg, who supervised the operation, said the shopkeepers and the public cooperated in their efforts by keeping their shops closed till noon. Mr Garg disclosed that these drains, which had not been cleaned for the past 20 years, got choked during rainy season, as a result of which all low-lying areas got flooded. This could lead to the outbreak of an epidemic, hence the council was giving priority to the cleaning of drains before the onset of monsoons. Sources reveal that the drains could never be cleaned due to the encroachments by shopkeepers. |
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Question
paper set outside the syllabus Hisar, May 1 Prof P.N. Luthra, Head of the English Department, Dayanand College, Hisar, said due to this several students at Hisar and Fatehabad could not take the examination. Teachers and students have urged the university to announce a new date of examination and set the question papers according to the new syllabus.
UNI |
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Promoted Chandigarh, May 1 |
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