The Tribune, Chandigarh, India

	CM's bonanza for HCS officers Tribune News Service Chandigarh, July 13 The Haryana Chief Minister, Mr Om Prakash Chautala, today announced a bonanza for Haryana Civil Service (HCS) officers. Mr Chautala, who was speaking at a conference of HCS officers held in Karnal this evening, said he would implement a decision taken by his Cabinet in 1991, just before the State Assembly was dissolved. At that time the Cabinet had approved a supertime scale of Rs 5100-6300 (old scale as per Fourth Pay Commission) for 10 per cent of the total HCS cadre strength. However, the Chautala Cabinet, which in a meeting on March 27, 1991, in which the HCS decision was taken, also recommended the dissolution of the State Assembly at that meeting. After the fresh elections, the Congress government was voted to power. The HCS decision remained unimplemented for 12 years. According to information received here, Mr Chautala said it was painful for him that the decision taken by his Cabinet in 1991 had remained unimplemented for so long. He said his government would now give the supertime scale of Rs 16,400 to Rs 20,000, which corresponded to the old scale of Rs 5100 to 6300, to the HCS officers who had completed 17 years of service. The President and the General Secretary of the HCS Officers Association, Mr Rohtash Singh Kharab and Mr Lajvir Singh, respectively, also demanded that their existing scales of Rs 8000 to 13,500 (entry point), Rs 10,000 to 13,900 (after five years), Rs 12,000 to 16,500 (after 10 years) and Rs 14,300 to Rs 18,300 (after 15 years) should be rationalised. They said these should be available to the HCS officers after completion of four years, eight years and 12 years of service, respectively. They said under the Fourth Pay Commission, the HCS officers were entitled to the selection grade of Rs 4100 to 5300 after 12 years of service. However, the Fifth Pay Commission, they said, had done injustice to them by increasing the admissible length of service to 15 years. Mr Chautala accepted the HCS officers' demand. The Chief Minister also partly accepted the demand of the association to increase the cadre strength of the HCS from the existing 240. He said while he could not commit to increase the cadre strength to 323, but it would certainly be increased to 300. The association also demanded that its members should be given the designation of joint secretaries and special secretaries on the pattern of other 16, including Punjab. Mr Lajvir Singh pointed out that in Assam, Nagaland and Mizoram members of the state civil services were given the designation of even secretaries. At present in Haryana the highest designation an HCS officer can get is that of Deputy Secretary. He urged the Chief Minister to recommend to the Centre that the quota of the state civil service in the Indian Administrative Service should be 50 per cent instead of 33.25 per cent. He said already three states, including West Bengal and Uttar Pradesh, had made a similar recommendation to the Centre. He also demanded that the government should frame the Haryana Civil Service Rules because even after 37 years of the birth of Haryana, the HCS officers were being governed by the Punjab Civil Service Rules, 1930.
	Plant 1,000 saplings, get job: CM Karnal, July 13 Expressing concern over the reckless cutting of trees by people on account of growing urbanisation, industrialisation and for commercial purposes, Haryana Chief Minister Om Prakash Chautala said today that to give thrust to afforestation in the state, it had been decided to give government jobs on a priority basis to those educated unemployed youth who would successfully plant 1,000 trees. Making this announcement after inaugurating the 54th state-level van mahotasava here, where he also planted a sapling of Bahera (Terminalia Bellirica), a medicinal plant, Mr Chautala said the over-exploitation of forests and other natural resources had created an imbalance in the environment throughout the world. He said the government was determined to make the plantation programme a “people’s movement”. He said over the past three years the forest cover had grown by 790 square kilometres in the state. He expressed satisfaction that during this period as many as 10 crore saplings had been planted and of which 90 per cent had survived despite harsh climatic conditions like the last year’s drought in the state. Mr Chautala said this year the Forest Department had been directed to have a total plantation target of 4.5 crore saplings, out of which 2.5 crore saplings would be distributed to farmers free of cost. The Chief Minister said a massive programme to involve school students in environmental activities had been started by forming 2,300 eco-club in all government schools in the state. “Thrust is also being given to the development of medicinal plants for which purpose a herbal park over an area of 200 acres has been set up at Chuharpur village in Yamunanagar district,” he said. — PTI
	Govt not vindictive, says Ajay Chautala Our Correspondent Fatehabad, July 13 Mr Ajay Singh Chautala, MP from Bhiwani parliamentary constituency has accused the Congress leaders of “doublespeak” on the issue of corruption. Mr Chautala was talking to mediapersons at the PWD Rest House here yesterday. The Deputy Commissioner, Dr R.B. Langyan, and senior INLD leaders Mr Ram Raj Mehta and Ms Krishana Poonia were present on the occasion. Reacting to the charges of vindictive attitude levelled on the government by Congress leader Dura Ram in response to the vigilance case against his brother Dwarka Prasad, Mr Ajay Singh said it was paradoxical that when Punjab Chief Minister Amarinder Singh acted against Akali leaders in Punjab, the Haryana Congress leaders lauded his efforts as a cleansing exercise, but when the State Vigilance Bureau (SVB) acted against Congress leaders in Haryana, they cried hoarse that the government was vindictive. He said he was not aware of the facts of the case registered against Mr Dwarka Prasad, a nephew of former Chief Minister Bhajan Lal, but there was no question of the government acting on political motivation or out of vindictive attitude. He said law would take its own course and the government had nothing to do with it. He said the Congress was now left without any issues and it was only for that reason that its leaders had been levelling baseless charges against the INLD government.
	15,000 scavengers yet to get relief Manoj Kumar Tribune News Service Chandigarh, July 13 There are over 15,000 scavengers in Haryana who have yet to get any financial or technical assistance under the Centre’s programme to rehabilitate the scavengers throughout the country. The programme had been launched by the Narasimha Rao Government. According to information, there were 36,362 scavengers in the state as identified by survey, as against 531 in Punjab, 4,757 in Himachal Pradesh and 4,150 in Jammu & Kashmir. The state has so far received Rs 18.37 crore assistance to rehabilitate the scavengers and to provide them training for other profession. Parliament has already declared it a priority to abolish the age-old practice of carrying human waste on head by a section of scheduled classes. Under the rehabilitation programme, the National Safai Karamcharis Finance and Development Corporation (NSKDFC) is providing term-loan assistance for all-round socio-economic upliftment of sweepers, including scavengers and their dependents. The corporation is providing assistance for projects costing up to Rs 5 lakh with the rate of interest charged at 3 per cent from state agencies, which in turn charge 6 per cent interest from the beneficiaries. According to a senior official of the state Scheduled Castes Finance and Development Corporation, the state has so far provided vocational training to over 5,500 persons and over 15,000 scavengers have been rehabilitated under the plan. However, he admitted, there were over 15,000 families which were still involved in this work. There were hundreds of villages in the state where the human waste was still being carried in baskets. In fact, the official said the state government was indifferent to ameliorate the socio-economic conditions of the lower classes due to political reasons. An evaluation study conducted by the Economic and Statistical Organisation on “impact of incentives to promote education among Harijan/ economically weaker sections’ students” has also revealed that due to prejudices among state officials, the wards of these sections were not getting adequate financial assistance available under the various schemes. It included free uniform, stationery and scholarships. The state has also failed to avail itself of financial assistance from the Centre for education and self-employment of the wards of the scavengers. The NSKFDC is providing education loans up to Rs 3 lakh to the wards of scavengers. It also sanctions up to Rs 75,000 per year to the students for pursuing professional and technical education.
	INLD has ‘cordial ties’ with BJP Our Correspondent Ambala, July 13 The Haryana Finance Minister, Mr Sampat Singh, said the INLD had cordial relations with the BJP as it was its alliance partner in the state. Talking to mediapersons after attending a meeting of the District Grievances Committee here today, he said his party had similar relations with the NDA at the Centre. When asked whether the alliance with the BJP would be continued in the next Assembly elections also, he said Chief Minister Om Prakash Chautala would take the decision in this regard. Criticising HVP chief Bansi Lal, the minister said his statement that statues of Devi Lal would be demolished if he came to power was very unfortunate. The HVP should think twice before issuing such insulting statements against Devi Lal, he said. Replying to a question, he said the Haryana Congress was a divided house. He said the people in the state had rejected the Congress for its “anti-people” policy. Referring to the arrest of two former ministers by the state Vigilance, he said these were not made on the basis of political vendetta. He said the campaign against corruption would continue in the state. The Finance Minister said the state government was taking all necessary steps to enhance the production of power. He said the second unit of the Panipat thermal plant had been completed within a record time. He said the INLD had always supported the move of interlinking of various rivers of the country. He said water should be distributed in a proper manner among all states to fulfil their needs.
	Misuse of yellow card: action against ZP member Our Correspondent Fatehabad, July 13 The district administration has initiated proceedings for the removal of Ms Pasho Devi, a zila parishad member, for the alleged misuse of “yellow card” obtained by her to show herself to be below poverty line. She has described the action against her as politically motivated. According to sources, the District Development and Panchayat Officer (DDPO), Fatehabad, has written to the Director, of Panchayat Department, to remove her from membership. The sources said the member had been accused of availing facilities under the “yellow card” for BPL cases though she owned a car, a pucca house and 35 kanals of agricultural land. She had also been accused of obtaining a house loan in the name of a relative and appropriating the amount for the construction of her own house. Ishwar Singh, a resident of her Nagpur village, had given a statement, accusing her of taking bribe from him for getting a grant under government scheme.
	Kurukshetra to have 300-cr hospital Our Correspondent Kurukshetra, July 13 A Rs 300-crore hospital will be constructed at Kurukshetra on the pattern of the PGI, Chandigarh. The Union Health Minister has granted permission to this proposal in principle. Stating this here today, the Haryana Health Minister, Dr M.L. Ranga, said it was decided at a meeting held in Delhi yesterday between the Union Health Minister, Ms Sushma Swaraj, and the Haryana Chief Minister, Mr Om Prakash Chautala. He said a Central Government team would conduct a survey here very shortly for the selection of a site measuring about 50 acres for this purpose, as Mr Chautala had agreed to provide land at Kurukshetra for the construction of the newly proposed hospital. Talking about the help being rendered by the European Commission, Dr Ranga said Haryana had received a grant of Rs 17 crore to cover all districts in the state under RCH scheme. Earlier, only rural areas had been covered under the scheme but now the scheme has been extended to the urban areas too. Referring to the construction of trauma centres in Haryana, Dr Ranga said the approval for the construction of trauma centres at Karnal, Sirsa, Rewari and Palwal had already been granted. Out of these the trauma centres at Karnal had already been started while the grant for the construction of such centres at Sirsa and Rewari had already been released. However, grant for the trauma centre at Palwal, would be released next year. Similarly, a sum of Rs 600 crore had been granted by the World Health Commission under the External Aided Programme on Punjab pattern to cover all health facilities in the state. To further extend the benefit to the patients out of medicine purchases in the state, Dr Ranga said the state government Health Department had circulated a rate list of 250 medicines prescribing cheap rates, almost equivalent to the purchase price. This would minimise the rates upto 25 per cent of those quoted by the branded companies. Dr Ranga said the visits by the medical representatives calling on doctors on duty during hospital hours, had been banned. Meanwhile, both, the state Health Minister, Dr Ranga, and the Transport Minister, Mr Ashok Kumar Arora, who jointly inaugurated the Kurukshetra Blood Bank at HUDA, Sector 17, here today, expressed gratitude to the Chief Minister for getting approval for the hospital here.