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Friday,
August 22, 2003, Chandigarh, India  
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Chautala
scoffs at Advani’s suggestion CM’s visit leaves many disappointed HUDA’s
legal cell posts lying vacant Private
sector ‘should fund’ HAU research Several private schools face closure Health care project work assessed |
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Hooch
tragedy toll rises to six CPM holds
rally at Rattia Two cases
of murder reported 7 dacoits
get 5-year jail term Memo
submitted to Governor
Bridge damaged, traffic diverted
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Chautala scoffs at Advani’s suggestion Chandigarh, August 21 “We shall articulate our views if the Union Government calls a meeting to discuss the issue. But my observation is that the suggestion about holding a simultaneous poll is unconstitutional”, Mr Chautala told newsperson here. According to the INLD supremo, Mr Advani’s suggestion would entail the dissolution of State Assemblies before the completion of their full term to pave the way for simultaneous elections. Most states would not agree to the Advani formula, Mr Chautala contended. About Mr Advani’s contention that holding
simultaneous elections would cut down the poll expenses, Mr Chautala said such issues could be discussed with the Union Government. Mr Chautala said his party would continue to extend support to the BJP-led NDA Government at the Centre since there was no alternative. He said an alliance between the BJP and the INLD for the forthcoming assembly poll in Rajasthan could not be ruled out. Though the relations between the INLD and the BJP had deteriorated in Haryana, he was still ready to induct BJP members into his Cabinet, Mr Chautala declared. About the SYL canal, the Chief Minister said the state government had submitted a plan for completion of the canal following a directive from the Supreme Court the state
government had urged the court to ask the Centre to assign the job to the Border Roads Organisation. About the Governor asking the Cabinet to reconsider its decision on the premature release of four murder convicts, Mr Chautala indicated that the Cabinet would again recommend for their release, saying that granting mercy to criminals was a constitutional right of an elected government. Convicts were also set free by Mr Bhajan Lal and Mr Bansi Lal during their tenures as Chief Ministers, Mr Chautala added. Around 24,000 vacancies were available in various government departments. People were also being recruited as gram vikas purush, gram raksha purush and van vikash purush. |
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CM’s visit leaves many disappointed Panchkula, August 21 Most of the offices in
Panchkula wore a deserted look as the officers were busy with the CM’s visit.
Even though Mr Chautala had left by 11 in the morning, most officers preferred
to be away and repeated calls at their offices drew the same response from their
Personal Assistants — “He is away for the CM’s function.” In the Mini
Secretariat here as well as in Haryana Urban Development Authority (HUDA)
office, most of the officers were not available till after lunch. Mr Chautala
was in town to inaugurate the athletics stadium in Sector 3 Sports Complex, new
motel wing of Red Bishop Tourist Complex, and to lay the foundation stone of a
sports hostel for men and women. The new motel wing of Red Bishop Tourist
Complex has been constructed at the cost of Rs 61.20 lakh. As many as 12 air
conditioned rooms have been constructed in the new wing, including two executive
suits and a family suit. With this, the total number of rooms had increased to
26. The sports hostel for men and women will be constructed by HUDA in Sector 3
at a cost of Rs 78 lakh. Among others present on the occasion were the Town
and Country Planning Minister, Mr Dhirpal Singh, former Minister Kanti Prakash
Bhalla, MC President, Seema Chaudhary, Deputy Commissioner Satwanti Ahlawat and
Superintendent of Police, Ranbir S. Sharma. |
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HUDA’s legal cell posts lying vacant Panchkula, August 21 While the Deputy District Attorney , Mr R.S. Sathi, has been placed under suspension since August 8, the other officer in the legal cell, Mr Kuldeep Kumar Kataria, was transferred to Rohtak almost one month ago. Mr Sathi was placed under suspension after he was indicted by the HUDA authorities for failing to defend HUDA properly in a resumption case of an industrial plot in the court. With no legal officer to take care of appeal works, the HUDA authorities in the Panchkula zone are unable to prepare their cases. As a result,
allottees from Ambala, Karnal, Jagadhri, Kurukshetra, Kaithal, Panipat and Panchkula, who have filed appeals with the HUDA Administrator, Panchkula zone against resumption or fines for delayed payment of installments, are simply being given the next date of hearing. A
harassed plot holder from Kurukshetra, on condition of anonymity, informed TNS today that he had come all the way to Panchkula for a hearing in an appeal against resumption proceedings of his plot in Karnal, only to be told that his next date of hearing was fixed two months from this day. “I wonder why the authorities cannot give any other DDA or ADA additional charge for Panchkula zone, so that work does not suffer, “ he said. Sources in HUDA inform that 190 cases are pending before the Administrator, Panchkula zone, mainly for appeals against fines for delayed payment of installment or resumption
proceedings initiated against the allottee of a plot/ booth/ shop-cum-office/showrooms etc. These appeals are taken up twice a week-on Tuesday and Thursday, and on an average 10 to 15 appeals are taken up on each of these days. The Joint Director, Legal, HUDA, Mr O.P. Godara, when contacted by TNS, said the problem would be resolved by the next week. “ Today I have issued posting order of the seniormost ADA in the department, Mr C R Narwal, for Panchkula zone,” he said. Other than this, almost no work has been carried out by the Anti- Encroachment wing of Estate Office, Panchkula, for the past fortnight, leading to a number of fresh encroachments all over the township. While Naib Tehsildar Bachchan Singh and Patwari Gurnam Singh were placed under suspension in May earlier this year for giving no-objection certificates to some property dealers for selling off almost 850 square yards of land, already acquired by HUDA. The other patwari in the Estate Office, Pritpal Singh, who was hired on a contract basis, was relieved after his contract expired. No other officer has been deputed at their place, leading to encroachments all over the township. Even the kanungo in the Estate Office was on leave for almost a fortnight. It was only after he joined duty today that some illegal hutments in Sector 14 here were removed. |
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Private
sector ‘should fund’ HAU research Hisar, August 21 The Directorate of Research has identified these emerging problems which call for a shift in government policies and support for networking of the university, industry, the private sector and farmers. Because of these challenges, the focus of future research at HAU is on “sustainability and competitiveness” in agriculture. The university has also identified “distortions” in the soil-plant-animal-human equation due to ‘deficiencies’ of essential nutrients and trace elements in the soil. HAU has proposed to the state government an approach to diversification to save the depleting natural resources and make agriculture sustainable and profitable. The Director, Research, Dr B.S. Dahiya, says the university has recommended that to save future agriculture and small and medium farmers, who constitute 53 per cent of the total farming families — 66 per cent of the state’s population — it is imperative to introduce incentives and disincentives to support diversification. Also, at least 3 per cent of the state gross domestic product (GDP) should be diverted to research against the present 1.3 per cent. This is imperative as agriculture contributes 33 per cent to the GDP. Since the private sector too is in a direct or indirect manner of beneficiary of agriculture, Dr Dahiya says it should be made mandatory for this sector to provide at least 10 per cent of its net profits to fund research at HAU. The third source of funding research is the market fee realised by the Haryana Mandi Board. At least 2 per cent of that must be diverted to strengthen agricultural research to solve the problems. Agriculture in Haryana has peculiar problems given its diverse agro-climatic zones. Of the state’s 66 per cent population dependent upon agriculture, 30 per cent depends on livestock alone, rather than crop husbandry, for its earnings. There has been farm mechanisation but animal power still remains an important source of draught power, particularly on the small, and medium-sized farms. Yet, the state funding to animal husbandry is meagre. The acute deficiency of micronutrients in the soil has now begun to affect the animal and human health, leading to physiological disorders in both. “Soil sickness” due to nutrient deficiencies is further compounded by soil “erosion” caused by wind (12.5 per cent), water (8.4 per cent) and seasonal waterlogging (10.5 per cent). There are also normal soils with salty patches (11.5 per cent). HAU’s underground water quality map of Haryana presents a dismal picture. Dr Dahiya says that 55 per cent of water is of poor quality, 37 per cent is of good quality and 8 per cent is of marginal quality. In nearly half of the state, where underground water is of poor quality, the water table is rising at the rate of 10 cm to 30 cm per year for the past two-and-a-half decades. This poses a threat to the sustenance of agriculture. A statewide survey in July, 2002 showed that the average water table in Rohtak was 4.84 metres whereas in Mahendragarh it had fallen to 25.73 metres. In an area of 2,308 sq. km in Haryana, water was three-metre deep due to which soil was losing its fertility and cultivation potential. “This calls for rainwater harvesting as the state will fall short of water. It would need 34 million acre foot (MAF) good quality water for irrigation by 2005, whereas, the present availability is 18.8 MAF”, it says. Consequently, a large species of plants and trees are becoming extinct. Haryana also faces the menace of insects and pests. In cotton there were 30 insects and pests between the years 1920 and 1940, of which 9 were of serious nature, whereas, now the number was 162 of which 15 posed a serious threat. This is true of other major crops as well. Cotton consumes the maximum plant protection chemicals — 52 per cent to 59 per cent. In fact, the use of plant protection chemicals and fertilisers has led to the toxicity of the soil, water, air and even milk. Dr Dahiya favours the use of “organic matter and bio-agents” to step up the production of organic food and foodgrains and enrich the soil. “Haryana produces nearly 22 million tonnes of organic waste, which is not being recycled to benefit soil fertility and crop production. There is need for appropriate technology, which is cost-effective and profitable, for adoption by farmers”, he maintains. |
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Several private schools face closure Karnal, August 21 There are 442 private aided primary, middle, high and senior secondary schools in the state that are being run by various non-government organisations. Out of these, 206 high schools were upgraded as senior secondary school in the past few years. The state government has claimed that the new rules will help regulate eduction in all non-government school, promote better organisation and development of school education, streamline the process of admissions & fee structure, have a uniform code of service conditions for employees, provide adequate infrastructure facilities and regulate the procedure of grant of affiliation to non-government schools. However, the Haryana Aided Schools Management Association has criticised the government’s decision to include already recognised private aided schools within the framework of these rules. Mr Shikhar Chand Jain, president of he association, said: “The state government should have framed separate rules for purely private and private aided schools keeping in view of their role in imparting education for the past several decades. As per the norms, a primary aided as well as private school should have at least 0.5 acre of land both in the rural and urban controlled areas. A middle school should have 1.5 acres of land in rural and 1 acre in urban controlled areas. In the case of secondary and senior secondary schools, the minimum requirement is 2.5 acre and 2 acres, respectively. As most of the existing schools could not meet these norms for buildings, Mr Jain said the government should give relaxation to the already existing permanently
recognised schools so that education did not suffer. The association asked the government to review its decision lest the management committees of aided schools should be forced to shut down their schools, affecting education in the state. It has been made mandatory under Rule-38 if the Haryana School Education Rules, 2003, for all private and private aided schools to seek fresh recognition after fulfilling the norms laid therein. There is confusion among the management committees whether these have to seek fresh recognition or not as under Section 2 (1) of the Haryana School Education Act, 1995, an ‘existing school’ means a recongised private school, which is in existence at the commencement of this Act. The Act came into force on July 20, 2001. Mr Jain claimed all private aided schools were in existence at the time of the commencement of this Act and were recognised and, therefore, needed no fresh recognition. Moreover, the private aided schools have already been permanently recognised under Article 212/213 of the Haryana Education Code, which regulates educational institutes of the state. |
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Health care project work assessed Ambala, August 21 The Deputy Commissioner,
Mr D.D. Gautam, presided over the meeting. Mr Gautam said that according to a
directive, the earning from the Health Department hospitals and health centres
would be deposited in the district health and family welfare samiti instead of
the treasury. He said the money would be utilised for the maintenance of
hospitals and improvement of health services. Mr Gautam said different
societies like the Leprosy Society, the Blindness Control Society, the Malaria
Society, the TB society and the AIDS control society have been brought under the
District Health and Family Welfare Samiti. He said a sum of Rs 70 lakh has been
spent on the improvement of services. He said the projects under the European
Commission include repair of health equipment, the enhancement of delivery zone
in Civil Hospital and maternal care in health centres of Naggal, Shahzadpur and
Kurali. Among others, MLAs Mr Anil Vij, Ms Veena Chibber, Civil Surgeon, Dr
Avinash Sharma, Mr YP Das, Dr Jaidev, Mr Bharat Bhushan Jain and Mr Rameshwar
Prasad were present. |
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Hooch tragedy toll rises to six
Rohtak, August 21 Five persons had died and 12 were taken ill, many among them seriously, after allegedly consuming spurious liquor at Juglan village in Hisar district on August 18 night. Ramphal, who along with nine others, was rushed to the PGIMS here yesterday, died today. The condition of Madan, son of Sher Singh, Pal Singh and Madan, son of Heera, continued to be serious. PGIMS sources said six victims of the tragedy were recovering. HISAR: The prime accused in the case relating to the death of six people of Juglan village after consuming spurious liquor has been arrested, a top police official said. A case under various sections of the IPC and Excise Act had been registered against Kuldeep and others on the basis of a complaint lodged by the Sarpanch of the village, Hisar Superintendent of Police O.P. Kadian, said. Kuldeep has been sent in police remand for five days by the Judicial Magistrate.
— UNI, PTI |
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CPM holds rally at Rattia Fatehabad, August 21 Addressing people, Mr Inderjit Singh, state secretary of the CPM, said the adverse effects of implementation of the policies of globalisation, privatisation and liberalisation have started coming to the fore. He alleged that the NDA government at the Centre had been adopting these policies at the instance of the WTO, the World Bank and the IMF. He said in the areas known for good agricultural production, the lives of farmers had become miserable. Mechanisation of agriculture had snatched opportunities of employment from land labourers. He said poor farmers had been forced to sell their landholdings due to heavy debts and had been adding to the long list of landless farmers. The CPM leader also criticised the state government for increasing bus fares in the state and said the hike would hit the poor the most. The party also presented a memorandum to the SDM. |
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Two cases of
murder reported Hisar, August 21 According to the police, Partap Singh, a resident of nearby Rawalwas village, died on the spot today when Karmvir Singh, also of the same village attacked him with a sharp-edged weapon over a dispute. The police has arrested Karmvir Singh. In another incident, Fateh Singh (70) was killed in Jakhod Khera village near here last night. According to the police, Fateh Singh was sleeping in front of his house when an unidentified person attacked him with a sharp-edged weapon. He succumbed to his injuries on way to a hospital. The Sadar police have registered a case in this connection. |
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7 dacoits get 5-year jail term Hisar, August 21 According to the prosecution, Anil, Rajbir, Kashmir Singh, Sunil and Pala, all residents of Dhandur village and Rajesh Kumar and Ramniwas, of the nearby Patan village, were planning to loot a petrol station in the local industrial area last year when a police team, on a tip-off, nabbed them. The police had also seized arms from this gang. Meanwhile, the Additional District and Sessions Judge, Mr D.S. Sheoran, today sentenced a person to 10 years of imprisonment for killing his wife. According to the prosecution, Nirmala Devi, a local resident, was married to Krishan Kumar of the nearby Puthi Mangal Khan village, four years ago. After the marriage, her in-laws had started harassing her for not bringing sufficient dowry. She was murdered by her husband two years ago. The police had registered a case against her husband and brother-in-law Surender Kumar on the complaint of the victim’s father, Mr Phool Singh. The court had earlier acquitted Surender Kumar of the charges. |
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Memo submitted to Governor Chandigarh, August 21 The memorandum stated the decision to affiliate the colleges of Bhiwani district with the new university was devoid of any logic. Around 26,000 students of the district would be affected by the decision. The state government’s claim that college students normally did not need to go to the affiliating university for any work was false, the memorandum said, adding that students had to make repeated trips to the university to clear the anomalies about their results. The colleges of Bhiwani district were earlier affiliated with the MDU, Rohtak, which was not far from Bhiwani. The delegation, led by Mr Kamal Singh, a former president of the students Union of Vaish College, Bhiwani, urged the Governor to take steps so that the Bhiwani colleges could retain their affiliation with the MDU, Rohtak. |
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Illegal structures demolished Ambala, August 21 The demolition drive started in the morning. The Duty Magistrate, Mr
Subhash Mehta, Municipal Council, Ambala Sadar, EO Mr K.K. Jain, MC secretary
Virendra Sharma were present. The Municipal Council staff was accompanied by
police personnel. The drive was carried out peacefully amid residents expressing
their resentment over the drive. The Municipal Committee used JCB machines to
raze the unauthorised constructions. An encroachment at Ahluwalia building was
demolished while a shop at Cross Road No. 2 was razed to the ground. A railing
set up by a doctor at Sikri Kar Mohalla was removed and another railing by a
nationalised bank in Sadar bazar was also removed. An unauthorised boundary wall
in Rangiya Mandi was razed. Two-day notice was given to a Shivpuri residence,
who built his house over a drain. |
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Bridge damaged,
traffic diverted Kaithal, August 21 Senior officials rushed to the spot and ordered the repair of the bridge. According to official information, the bridge would be opened to traffic tomorrow. |
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Simultaneous Lok Sabha,
assembly elections
