Haryana rejects package for cane growers
Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, September 10
The Haryana Government today rejected the package announced by the Centre for sugarcane growers. The Chief Minister, Mr Om Prakash Chautala, informed the House that “the package is not acceptable to us if it carries conditions as reported in newspapers, though we have yet to receive official information from the Centre regarding the package”.

Intervening during the reply to a call-attention motion moved by Capt Ajay Singh Yadav, Mr Sher Singh, Dr Raghbir Singh Kadian, Mr Shadi Lal Batra, Mr Jai Prakash Barwala, Mr Jitender Malik and Mr Dharambir(all Congress MLAs), Mr Chautala said it had been reported that about Rs 84 crore would be given to the state as a loan which would carry an interest of 4 per cent and would have to be paid back in 15 years. Moreover, the package envisaged that the states accepting it would abolish the state advisory price of the cane. Since this condition would adversely affect the canegrowers of Haryana, the government could not accept the package.

Mr Chautala said he had brought this matter to the notice of the Prime Minister, Mr Atal Bihari Vajpayee, during the Srinagar meeting of the National Development Council. Mr Vajpayee, he said, had promised to look into Haryana’s apprehensions about the package.

The Congress members asked Mr Chautala to withdraw support from the NDA if the Centre continued with its “anti-farmer” policies. Mr Chautala retorted that his party would continue to support the NDA till the Congress and Congress grass were finished from the country.

The entire Opposition walked out and boycotted the rest of the proceedings for the day in protest against the unjustified rejection by the Speaker of its adjournment motions.

As soon as question hour ended, the Congress members were on their legs, wanting to know the fate of their adjournment motions and call-attention motions. The Speaker, Mr Satbir Singh Kadian, however, wanted Capt Yadav to read the notice of his call attention motion.

Later while talking to newsmen in the press lounge, Mr Bhajan Lal, Mr Bhupinder Singh Hooda and Capt Yadav, (all Congress leaders) alleged that the Speaker had acted in an arbitrary manner in rejecting their adjournment motions. 

Haryana Assembly okays 10 Bills
Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, September 10
The state government today paved the way for a new security force on the pattern of the Central Industrial Security Force (CISF).

The assembly today passed 10 Bills, including the Haryana State Industrial Security Force Bill, 2003, for raising an industrial security force. Explaining the objective of the Bill, it was stated that at present a large number of police personnel were deployed for the security of autonomous bodies and industrial units. The creation of the Haryana State Industrial Security Force (HSISF) would ease the pressure on the state police. The expenses on deployment of the HSISF would be debited to the accounts of banks, PSUs, boards and corporations and private concerns etc.

The house also passed the Haryana Legislative Assembly (Facilities to Members) Amendment Bill, 2003. The bill provided that a House-building loan of Rs 12 lakh could be sanctioned for purchasing a flat in a cooperative group housing society by a legislator member. The Bill also increased the car loan advance of legislators to Rs 6 lakh from Rs 4 lakh. This would create an extra burden of Rs 2 crore on the state exchequer, the financial memorandum attached with the Bill said.

Mr Ram Bhagat, an independent MLA, pleaded that an MLA should be allowed to draw the advance more than once in his tenure in case the legislator repaid the first advance. Chief Minister Om Prakash Chautala agreed to the suggestion and said the necessary amendment to the Bill would be carried out in the next session.

The assembly also passed the Haryana Local Area Development Tax (Amendment) Bill, 2003, to increase the rate of LADT from 10 per cent on petroleum-based fuels to 20 per cent.

The assembly also passed the Haryana Urban Development Authority (Amendment) Bill, 2003; the Haryana Municipal Corporation (Second Amendment) Bill, the Punjab Entertainment Duty (Haryana Amendment) Bill, the Punjab Scheduled Roads and Controlled Areas Restriction of Unregulated Development (Haryana Amendment) Bill, the Punjab New Capital (Periphery) Control (Haryana Amendment) Bill, 2003; and two appropriation Bills.

The bills were passed by voice vote. Nobody from the Opposition was present as they had walked out in protest against the Speaker’s rejection of the adjournment notices given by them.

Finance Minister Sampat Singh told newspersons later that various concerns had been asked to give their requirements for the proposed Haryana State Industrial Security Force. The feedback had projected a requirement of 5700 personnel for the force. However, the strength of the force could be further increased as some of the organisations were yet to send their requirements.

Opposition allegation not unfounded
Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, September 10
The Haryana Opposition’s allegations that their motions are rejected by the Speaker in a mechanical manner do not seem to be unfounded.

The Vidhan Sabha Secretariat today informed Capt Ajay Singh Yadav, Deputy Leader of the Congress Legislature Party, and other members in writing that the Speaker had rejected their call-attention motion on the need for a university in southern Haryana.

The ground on which the motion was rejected and was conveyed in the letter makes an interesting reading. The letter says that the call-attention motion on opening a new university has been rejected because “the power of release of life convicts at a premature stage is a constitutional power of the Governor under Article 161 of the Constitution of India. Therefore, the matter cannot be raised under a call-attention notice.”

Obviously, there were many red faces in the Vidhan Sabha Secretariat.

CM’s phone bill totalled 13 lakh
Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, September 10
Two statements on the telephone bills of ministers and the electricity bills of the Deputy Commissioners were laid in the state assembly during question hour today in reply to unstarred questions by Opposition MLA Karan Singh Dalal.

According to the statement on telephone bills, more than Rs 13 lakh was spent on account of phone calls made from Chief Minister Om Prakash Chautala’s office and residence during 2001-02. In the previous year, more than Rs 14 lakh was spent, the statement added.

Mr Sampat Singh, Finance Minister, was the next to make the maximum use of his office and residence phones. While more than Rs 8.73 lakh was spent on account of his phone bills in 2000-01, his telephone expenses came to over Rs 7.64 lakh in 2001-02. Mr Risal Singh, Minister of State for Social Welfare, had the lowest bills of Rs 1.42 lakh and Rs 1.36 lakh in 2000-01 and 2001-02, respectively.

The total expenditure on phone bills of the 11-member council of ministers was over Rs 46 lakh in 2000-01. The amount was slightly lower in 2001-02.

The electricity bills of the Deputy Commissioners also revealed some staggering figures with the Deputy Commissioners of Ambala topping the list with an expenditure of more than Rs 1.60 lakh on account of power consumption in his residence-cum-camp office in 2001-02. Next on the list was the Deputy Commissioners of Gurgaon whose residence consumed power worth Rs 1,54,229 in one year. The lowest consumption — Rs 13,066 in one year — was in the Bhiwani Deputy Commissioner’s residences.

Mr Dhirpal Singh, Revenue Minister, however, ruled out fixing any limit on the electricity bills of the Deputy Commissioners.

The starred questions, which were answered by the Chief Minister or other ministers during question hour, failed to generate much heat. In reply to a question asked by Independent legislator, Anil Vij, Mr Dhirpal Singh, who is also holding the portfolio of Town and Country Planning, said some illegal constructions and encroachments had taken place in Sector 6, Panipat. While these constructions were being removed, action could not be taken in some cases due to stay orders, Mr Dhirpal Singh said.

Mr R.S. Bisla, an Independent MLA, said the state government should consider making alternative arrangements for poor labourers from UP and Bihar who were bearing the brunt of its anti-encroachment drive. The Chief Minister indicated that no encroachments in the urban areas would be tolerated, adding that illegal constructions in panchayat lands would be legalised if the owners paid up the price of the land to the panchayat concerned.

Responding to Mr Karan Singh Dalal, Mr M.L. Ranga, Minister of State for Health, said 360 persons had died of cancer in the past three years. While the maximum number of deaths, 117 in three years, occurred in Rohtak, no case was reported from Panchkula and Fatehabad, Mr Ranga said.

Families await rescued girls
Tribune News Service

Faridabad, September 10
While the authorities are still to arrest the main accused of the girls trafficking racket operative in the Mewat region of the state, the Social Welfare Department has been maintaining silence about the ways and means to rehabilitate and sending back the rescued minor girls to their home states.

The SSP of the Kamrup district in Assam has sent a second letter to the authorities concerned to help sending back one of the girls aged 14 years and presently lodged at Nari Niketan in Karnal district to her father residing in a village in Kamrup district. It was stated that the father of the girl was a poor labourer and could not afford to make all arrangements for getting his daughter back.

ShaktiVahini, an NGO based here and which had been instrumental in tracing and rescuing these girls, has also received a fax communication from the Assam police and it has decided to write to the Chairperson of the Social Welfare Department for appropriate action.

But it is alleged that the department has been maintaining a stoic silence about the measures needed to be taken.

The police with the help of the NGO had recovered four minor girls from two villages of the Hathin area in the district in the last week of June this year and had also rescued a 16-year- old girl again on September 1. But the authorities failed to arrest Mehboob, one of the main accused, on that day, who fled away along with a 13-year-old girl also brought from Assam.

Mehboob has reportedldy fled to Rajasthan, as per police sources, with the girl, but his exact whereabouts are unknown.

Meanwhile, the authorities have launched an ‘awareness’ drive about the problem in the Hathin area. A police-sponsored seminar programme held yesterday saw senior officials from various departments giving lectures on social values and evils. The programme named as “Samaj Mein Nari Ka Sathan” (place of woman in society) was held at of Utawar village in the Hathin area.

INLD Beopar Mandal cell chief to take up
VAT issue with CM
Tribune News Service

Panchkula, September 10
The President of the Indian National Lok Dal Beopar Mandal cell, Mr Niranjan Lal Bansal, has said he would appeal to Chief Minister Om Prakash Chautala to defer Value-Added Tax (VAT) in the state, till the time it was implemented all over the country.

Mr Bansal, who is also Chairman of the Haryana Warehousing Corporation, was talking to mediapersons here recently after holding a meeting with traders of Panchkula. He said he was touring various mandis in the state and had received a negative feedback from traders on VAT.

There was resentment against the implementation of VAT as it had not been implemented in the neighbouring states of Punjab, Himachal Pradesh, New Delhi and Rajasthan. Moreover, ignorance persisted about VAT and its provisions had not been understood by traders and lawyers, he said.

Mr Bansal said so far he had visited 87 mandis in the state and met traders and heard their grievances. He said the INLD government, ever since it had come to power, had fulfilled its promises made to traders — be it release of grants to Agroha Medical College, reducing market fee, abolition of octroi and Inspector Raj.

Earlier, representatives from various traders associations of Panchkula met Mr Bansal and urged him to ask the government to withdraw VAT. Mr Satish Gupta, Chairman of the local unit of the Haryana Chamber of Commerce and Industry, said while the neighbouring states of Himachal Pradesh and Uttaranchal and Jammu and Kashmir, was giving sops to industry by declaring a 10-year excise and income tax holiday, the Haryana Government was not doing much to promote industry.

Mr B.B. Singhal, president of the District Chemist Association, and Mr Sat Pal Gupta, District Pharmaceutical Distributors Association, apprised Mr Bansal of their problems.

Man murdered in Mund village
Tribune News Service

Asandh (Karnal), September 10
A 22-year-old man has allegedly been murdered by a few persons at Mund village in the Asandh subdivision of Karnal. The police has registered an FIR under Sections 302 and 307 of the IPC. However, no one has been arrested so far.

According to the information available at the district police headquarters, the incident took place at 3 a.m. today. Ramesh Kumar was sleeping on the roof of his house when some persons attacked him with sharp-edged weapons.

He died on the spot while his brother, Suresh Kumar, managed to escape into the fields. Even an attempt was made to murder him but when villagers got up after he shouted for help, the assailants fled away.

Police sources further said an attempt was made to loot the two brothers by some persons’ a few months ago but two dacoits were caught by them and handed over to the police. One of the dacoit was killed during the scuffle with them and the villagers, the sources said. “The attack on the brothers could be an incident of revenge by the dacoits”, a police official said. However, the police was yet to draw a conclusion about the motive behind the murder.

Meanwhile, the villagers again gathered in the morning and blocked the traffic on the Mund-Asandh road for few hours. They were demanding the arrest of the assailants. However, the traffic has been restored, the police sources added.

Woman sarpanch determined to get back
grazing land
Rahul Das
Tribune News Service

Ambala, September 10
Where men have failed, a woman sarpanch is determined to succeed and she may well set an example for other women panchayat members to emulate.

The woman sarpanch of Salarheri village, Ms Saroj Bala, has taken up cudgels to get back grazing land of the village which had been distributed among villagers.

Talking to Chandigarh Tribune, Saroj Bala said, in 1991, the panchayati land was distributed among villagers. The process is referred as “takseem”. “When ‘takseem’ took place, the cattle grazing land was also distributed,” she said.

In 1992, objections to the “takseem” of land was raised and the matter was brought to the notice of the then Commissioner, Ambala division. “The Commissioner, Ambala division, in 1995, stated that the “takseem” should be cancelled,” she said.

But by then some of the villagers had sold their land to outsiders. The cattle grazing land, measuring about 20 acres, is today worth crores in the market. The proximity of the land to new colonies which are being developed across the Tangri river has further increased the price of the land in that area.

Saroj Bala said about 710 kanal of land was distributed and the cattle grazing land was a part of the distributed land. “in 1999, the then Deputy Commissioner ordered that the “intaqal” of the cattle grazing land should take place in the name of the village panchayat,” she said. “The cattle grazing land is yet to be named after the village panchayat,” she added.

“I am determined to ensure that the cattle grazing land is got back by the panchayat. I have the support of the panchayat members in my endeavour,” Saroj Bala stressed.

The Deputy Commissioner, Ambala, Mr D.D. Gautam, said that he would look into the matter.

Interestingly, there are five women panchayat members in the village including the sarpanch Saroj Bala. Saroj Bala’s husband, Janak Dass, said that his wife won the seat even though it was not reserved for a woman.

2 held in dowry death cases
Our Correspondent

Sirsa, September 10
The District police arrested two persons in two dowry death cases.

A 35-year-old married woman was strangled to death allegedly by her husband in Kussar village on September 7 while a 23-year-old daughter of Lillu Ram of Gorakhpur village, Fatehabad district, was killed allegedly by her parents-in-law and husband at Ludesar village in Sirsa on the night of August 23.

According to information given by the district police chief here today, Naseeb Kaur, sister of Dharshan Singh of Chanderbhan Jaito village in Punjab, was married seven years ago to Lal Chand of Kussar village. Lal Chand was a widower with three daughters and a son. In his complaint lodged with the police, Dharshan Singh had alleged that a widow sister of Lal Chand and his elder daughter used to provoke Lal Chand against Naseeb Kaur. He ill-treated her and often beat her. Dharshan Singh alleged that his sister Naseeb Kaur was killed by her husband. He told the police that on getting information on September 8 when he reached his sister’s house she was dead. The police registered a case under Section 302 of the IPC and arrested Lal Chand.

In another case, a 23-year-old daughter of Lillu Ram married five years ago to Nathu Ram of Ludessar was found dead on 24 August. In his complaint to the police, Lillu Ram accused her in-laws and husband of torturing her for dowry. He alleged that his daughter was harassed so much that either she was killed by her parents-in-law and husband or she was compelled to commit suicide by consuming poisonous pesticides.

On the basis of this complaint the police registering a case under Sections 304 and 34 of the IPC and arrested her husband Nathu Ram and his father Ram Swarup. Nathu Ram’s mother Amarati was also arrested yesterday.

Rail voucher misuse: employees served
charge sheet
Tribune News Service

Ambala, September 10
Railway employees who are allegedly involved in the Army voucher irregularities case now face major penalty charge.

After investigation carried out by the CBI, railway employees who are allegedly involved in the racket of misusing Army Rail travel vouchers will not be allowed to sit on a window where cash transaction takes place.

The case pertains to Patiala railway station, when three years ago, a fraud was detected in military vouchers. The Divisional Commercial Manager, Mr Meena, said employees involved in the case had been transferred. “Preliminary inquiry has found them guilty. Guilty railway employees have been served SF-5 charge sheet,” he said. If charges are proved, the employee faces termination of service. He said the inquiry was first carried out by the Railway Vigilance Department. Then, it was handed over to the CBI. Now, the case has been sent back to the Vigilance Department.

Land lease of complex cancelled
Tribune News Service

Ambala, September 10
The land lease of the multi-crore commercial complex being constructed in Ambala Sadar has been cancelled. The land lease of the property number 180/180 1-13 has been cancelled by the Estate Officer. The lease cancellation notice was served on the owners today.

The lease has been cancelled on the ground that there has been a change of land use. Objections have been raised on the height of the building which apparently exceeds the previous plan. Also, the covered area is more than the sanctioned plan.

The land was given on a 30-year lease on April 1, 1946. On 31, March 1976, the lease had expired. Thereafter, the lease was extended for another three decades. The lease was to expire in 2006. However, Mr Ashwin Sareen, building owner, strongly condemned the decision to cancel the land lease. “This action is illegal since the matter pertaining to the building is already subjudice,” he said.

He stressed that they had not exceeded the plinth area or the height of the building. “There is no change of land use as we have built cinema hall, dance hall, pool room and coffee shops as per the terms and conditions,” he said. “Incidentally, the Haryana government has sanctioned our plan,” he added.

Award has made me more humble, says teacher
Tribune News Service

Ambala, September 10
Teaching is my devotion, says National Award winning teacher Sangeeta Bhatnagar of Kendriya Vidyalaya No.1, Ambala Cantonment.

Ms Bhatnagar was given the prestigious National Award by the President, Dr A.P.J. Abdul Kalam, at a function held recently at Vigyan Bhavan in New Delhi.

Ms Bhatnagar said she had done a number of experiments and innovations in the area of primary education. “Silent sitting, role of music, puppetry in education, dramatisation, conversion of subject matter in singing form, self-compositions and teaching of spellings through games are some of my efforts,” she said.

Ms Sangeeta said she got her primary education at Shimla and passed her matriculation from SD Girls High School, Ambala Cantt. Thereafter she graduated from SD College, Ambala Cantt. “I did my B.Ed. from the Sohan Lal College of Education, Ambala City, and MA in Hindi and English from Kurukshetra University,” she said.

“After I have been given the award, I feel that more responsibilities have come upon my shoulders. I am resolved to perform my duties with more intensity by employing four ‘Ds’ — duty, devotion, discipline and determination,” she said.

Girls students back from Germany with new skills

Hisar, September 10
A 28-member delegation of girl students and teachers from the local Vidya Devi Jindal School has returned from Germany with pleasant memories. The delegation, comprising 24 students and four teachers, was in Germany for two weeks on an international students cultural exchange programme with Modell Schule and Konrad Duden Schule, Obersbergs, Bad Hersfeld, Germany.

The girls, who returned here on Monday, got the opportunity to participate in a concert in the historical church ruins in Bad Hersfeld.

They participated in workshops on dance and presented these items at a cultural programme. The students received applause from the German audience during the show.

Vidya Devi Jindal School Principal Ms Shyama Kriplani feels that such programmes provided a platform for the two nations to interact and come together. — UNI

ITI students’ stir continues

Sirsa, September 10
Students from different colleges and schools here continued their protest for the fifth successive day today over the ‘failure’ of police to apprehend the culprit who allegedly kidnapped, raped and murdered a student of local Industrial Training Institute (ITI) on Wednesday last.

Women police lathi charged the students of the ITI who wanted to come out of the institute to take out a protest procession. Immediately afterwards the police besieged all educational institutions to stop the students from taking out protest processions.

Meanwhile, residents of Neja Dalla village to which the girl belonged staged a protest demonstration in front of office of local Subdivisional Magistrate (SDM) Roshan Lal. The villagers presented a memorandum to the SDM who assured early action in the matter.

Unrest among the student community was prevalent as they were demanding the arrest of the culprit who first allegedly kidnapped the girl and then raped and murdered her on Wednesday. — PTI

BSNL fined Rs 1500
Our Correspondent

Fatehabad, September 10
The District Consumer Forum yesterday imposed a fine of Rs1500 on Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited (BSNL) for its failure to provide service to a consumer.

Mr Balbir Singh Turna, a lawyer, had here complained to the Consumer Forum on May 28, 2003 that he took a new connection from BSNL authorities three years ago, but the authorities did not send bills to his address. When he complained regarding this BSNL disconnected his phone. The forum president Mr. P.C. Gupta, member Mr Balwant Singh Dandiwal, and Ms Seema Saraf, directed the nigam authorities to pay Rs 1500 as compensation to the consumer for failure to provide service.

Bhajan’s move a gimmick, say students
Tribune News Service

Karnal, September 10
The All-India Sikh Students Federation (AISSF) today lashed out at Mr Bhajan Lal, a former Haryana Chief Minister and President of the Haryana Pradesh Congress Committee (HPCC), for his alleged political move to appease the Sikhs by paying obeisance at the Golden Temple last month.

Mr Karnail Singh Pir Mohammad, the president of the AISSF, termed Mr Bhajan Lal’s move as a “political gimmick”.

Car stolen
Our Correspondent

Ambala, September 10
Four youths took away an Esteem car from a driver forcibly at Mulana, 40 km from here, today.

According to the police, the four youths hired the car from Gohana for engineering college at Mulana. When they reached near Mulana in the evening they tied the hands of driver with a rope and they threw him in a field. Later they fled away with the car.