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State Youth Cong to gherao
No-trust move against MC chief passed
’62 Rezangla martyrs remembered
2 get 7-year term in dowry death case
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Prestigious sugar mill may not be functional
HUDA to refund money to 34,000 applicants
CM to seek cut in rate on Central loans
Implement pension scheme, say retd teachers
Conclave of Railway employees held
Contempt notice to DGP Malik
Exam centre changed
Fencing by Army opposed
Deen Bandhu Smriti Yatra
270 students donate blood
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State Youth Cong to gherao Assembly on Dec 1
Chandigarh, November 19 Besides senior Haryana Congress leaders, Mr Janardan Dwivedy, AICC general secretary in charge of party affairs in the state; and Mr Ashok Gehlot, AICC general secretary in charge of the frontal organisations, would address the rally. He said the Youth Congress had also requested two Union Ministers belonging to Haryana, Ms Selja and Rao Inderjit Singh, to address the rally. Mr Surjewala said the youth of the state was extremely distressed, angry and ready to revolt against the “corrupt regime of Mr Om Prakash Chautala and the corrupt administrative system”. “It is a valcano ready to erupt anytime,” he warned. He alleged that the Haryana Public Service Commission and the Haryana Staff Selection Commission had become “dens of corruption, sleaze and nepotism”. He went on to allege that these organisations symbolised the “bankruptcy of ideas” and “centres of designed Lok Dalisation of the bureaucracy of administration”. He accused the Chairman of the Public Service Commission, Dr K.C. Bangar, of having surpassed the deeds of the former Chairman of the Punjab Public Service Commission, Mr Ravi Sidhu. Mr Surjewala said the Haryana Congress had accepted the demand of the Youth Congress to order an inquiry into the affairs of these organisations as well as the selections made by them after coming to power. He alleged that certain appointments made on the recommendations by these bodies had shaken the conscience of the people. He said the Youth Congress would prefer an inquiry by the Vigilance Department but would not insist on the form of the inquiry. He alleged that the services of 42,000 employees were terminated by the Chautala Government. These included about 23,000 ad hoc or daily-wage employees who were appointed either by the Congress or by the HVP. An overwhelming majority of them had completed 240 days’ service, after which they should have been regularised. The Chautala Government, he said, also retrenched about 10,000 employees of five boards or corporations. The Haryana State Electricity Board, which had now been trifurcated into three companies, also retrenched over 6,000 employees. Besides, Mr Surjewala said a large number of school teachers and police constables were also thrown out of their jobs. He said the Chautala Government, which was now on a recruitment spree, had abolished about 50,000 sanctioned posts in various posts. In the Irrigation Department alone, 10,000 sanctioned posts were abolished. He alleged that the recent recruitment spree was an attempt by the ruling party to befool the people because the new appointments were being against ex-cadre posts which were unsanctioned. |
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No-trust move against MC chief passed
Hisar, November 19 On counting, all 22 votes were found to be in favour of the no-trust move and against Mr Goel. Hence, the no-trust move was passed. Earlier, the court of Mr Ajay Tewatia, Civil Judge (Senior Division), allowed the counting of votes. However, Municipal Councillor Anand Sharma and Congress MP Jai Prakash filed a petition in the District and Sessions Court and sought to stay the counting of votes. The court referred the matter to the court of the Additional District and Sessions Judge, Mr Raj Kumar Tewatia. After listening to the arguments of both sides, the judge refused to provide any interim relief to the petitioners. Following this, the ballot box was taken to the council office where the votes were counted. The councillors, who had participated in voting, were present at the time of counting of votes. The meeting was held under the observation of the local commission appointed by the court. After all the votes were found against Mr Goel, several councillors, including Shobha Nehru, Ajmer Dhanda, Veena Jhamb and Shantanu Malik, raised slogans to celebrate their victory. These councillors were instrumental in the formation of a joint front and had been making efforts for ousting the council chief. They expressed satisfaction over the passing of the motion and said development projects in the town would now be resumed. Meanwhile, SDM Pradeep Kumar Dagar, who is also the presiding officer of the Municipal Council, said Mr Jai Prakash did not cast his vote at the court today. The court had yesterday allowed the MP to cast his vote. |
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’62 Rezangla martyrs remembered
Rewari, November 19 Paying homage to the martyrs, Lt-Gen Shantanu Chaudhary, Vice-Chief of Army Staff, who was the chief guest, said the battle of Rezangla had virtually no parallel in war history worldwide. He asserted that all 114 jawans and officers of the Rezangla battle ought to have been awarded the Param Vir Chakra posthumously, like those 18 British soldiers, who had been awarded the Victoria Cross for their valour and sacrifice, quelling the Zulu rebellion in South Africa in 1836. He said the Zulu rebellion now looked like a petty version of the battle of Rezangla. The Company Commander, Major Shaitan Singh, had been awarded the Param Vir Chakra while eight JCOs and jawans of the company had been awarded Vir Chakra. The General said he wanted the samiti to set up, with Army assistance, a pre-recruitment institute here to ensure optimum participation of Ahir jawans in the armed forces. He appreciated the Haryana Government for implementing certain measures for the benefit of ex-servicemen and their dependants. He said efforts were on to bring the variant compensation on a par, now being paid to dependants of battle casualties. He stated that the Army had established direct contact with managements of private companies like Tata, Mahindra and Reliance, which had been providing employment to thousands of recently retired servicemen annually. He said the Army Welfare Education Society, which had opened 116 Army public schools in the country, had set up a dental college at Hyderabad, a hotel management institute at Bangalore and an Army law school at Mohali. The Vice-Chief of Army Staff presented a cheque for Rs 1 lakh on behalf of the Army Headquarters to Col Ranbir Singh Yadav (retd), chairman of the Rezangla Shauriya Samiti. A total of 117 war widows of the Ahirwal region were honoured. Earlier, General Chaudhary and others laid wreaths at the Rezangla War Memorial here. He also addressed a press conference at the PWD Rest House here. Replying to a query regarding troop reduction in Jammu and Kashmir, he said the Union Government had discussed the matter with top Army officials and sought their concurrence prior to the above announcement. He said if there was any flare-up in militancy, the option of recalling troops lay open. Replying to another question, he expressed the hope that the Indo-Pak dialogue for a peaceful settlement of the Kashmir issue as well as other issues would fetch positive results. To another query pertaining to the demand for an Ahir regiment in the Army, he stated that the did not see any possibility of the formation of any caste-based regiments in the future. |
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2 get 7-year term in dowry death case
Bhiwani, November 19 According to the report, the panchayat had intervened to settle Santosh, but she had to stay with her parents for the next three years. She added that on July 7, 2000, Jai Phool Singh took her away with him to Siswal and next day, a person from Bhurawas village informed them at Salhawas village that Santosh had committed suicide by hanging herself. The report said when they reached Siswal and examined the body, they suspected that she had been murdered. Ompati lodged a report against the victim’s husband, mother-in-law Shriya and Sister-in-law Bala. The judge acquitted Bala for lack of evidence and held the other two accused guilty of murder. |
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Prestigious sugar mill may not be functional
Paniwala Mota (Sirsa), November 19 Poor crop yield in the past three years in the land “unfit” for the crop has put a question mark on the life of the multi-crore project. Information gathered by this correspondent revealed that the sugar mill, inaugurated in January 2001, has little scope for cane crushing this season. The MD of the mill, Mr Satbir Singh, said it was uncertain if crushing at the mill would take place this season due to bleak chances of crop arrival. On the issue of poor response shown by farmers in growing the crop, insiders blame the state government for not taking farmer-friendly steps and term it as a mere political gimmick. According to experts, the land in the district and adjoining areas, including Fatehabad, is not fit for sugarcane. But owing to the pressure to create a votebank in the home district of the Chief Minister, Mr Om Prakash Chautala, had initiated the project to please farmers, said a district official. Another official said in the past three years the mill authorities had got sugarcane mainly from Meham and other parts of the state, besides the adjoining Abohar, Fazilka and Bathinda belt in Punjab. Though the crop was earlier grown in the district, the same was discontinued due to lack of irrigation water. Another factor given by the officials is lack of motivation to encourage farmers to grow sugarcane. The mill MD said it was, perhaps, felt that if once the mill came up, the farmers would start growing sugarcane. He also said the soil in the area was more suitable for cotton as it needed less water for irrigation than sugarcane. |
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HUDA to refund money to 34,000 applicants
Panchkula, November 19 A decision to this effect was taken at a meeting of the authority, chaired by the Chairman of HUDA and Town and Country Planning Minister, Mr Dhirpal Singh, today evening. It has been decided that a public notice be issued by the authority, offering to refund money to the applicants, because of HUDA’s inability to hold the draw of lots because of litigation. Well placed sources in HUDA informed TNS that the public notice by HUDA will also offer the applicants to wait for the decision of the Punjab and Haryana High Court, so that a draw of lots can be held later. It may be noted that the draw of lots for residential plots in the Shivalik foothills in MDC Sectors 2 and 6 was held up because of the “Save The Sukhna” petition pending before court, restraining HUDA and UT Administration from carrying any development in the catchment area of the lake. Thus, HUDA has decided not to go ahead with the allotment, till the High Court decision. The proposed Sector 1 MDC, which could have come under the “catchment area”, has already been declared an entertainment sector by HUDA and recreational facilities have been planned for it. HUDA authorities have submitted before the court that no construction, disturbing the ecological balance, would be allowed in Sector 1. HUDA proposes to develop the prestigious Sectors 2 and 6 in MDC as low-density urban area with plenty of open and green spaces . The money, deposited as a Fixed Deposit in a bank, is getting HUDA a collective monthly interest of around Rs 2. 60 crore (at 7 per cent rate of interest, Rs 31.90 crore is the collective annual interest), or a daily interest of around Rs 9 lakh. So far HUDA has netted a profit of over Rs 18 crore as interest on the earnest money of the applicants. Senior officers say that it has also been decided that no interest will be refunded to the applicants at this stage. As per the rules, the housing authority is supposed to hold the draw of lots till six months from the date the scheme is floated. Its been seven months since the scheme was floated on April 5, 2004, but HUDA has decided that no interest would be paid to the applicants who demand their refund. The scheme for the Sectors 2 and 6 in MDC was floated by HUDA , with 165 residential plots in Sector 2 MDC, and 372 plots in Sector 6 MDC being offered under this housing scheme. As many as 5943 applications have been received by HUDA for the plots (of size two kanal, one kanal and 14 marla) in Sector 2 MDC, and 27,850 applications were received for plots (of size 1 kanal, 14 marla and 10 marla) in Sector 6 MDC. |
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CM to seek cut in rate on Central loans
Chandigarh, November 19 This demand will be made by Chief Minister Om Prakash Chautala at a meeting with the Planning Commission in Delhi tomorrow. The meeting has been convened by the commission for the mid-term appraisal of the 10th Five Year Plan. Mr Chautala, will also tell the commission that despite the recent recruitment spree launched by the Haryana Government, the percentage of expenditure on salaries is expected to go down during 2004-05. Official sources say due to the right-sizing process launched by the state government in the past three years, the expenditure on salaries has come down from 43.12 per cent of the revenue receipts during 2000-01 to 36.84 per cent during 2003.04(revised estimates). It would further go down to 35.45 per cent in this financial year according to budgetary estimates. Haryana will inform the commission that it is now filling only those posts which are absolutely necessary, though employment had been provided to about 50,000 persons in the recent years. The sources say the commission has fixed 7.9 per cent average growth rate of gross domestic product(GDP) for the entire plan period for Haryana as compared to 8 per cent for the rest of the nation. Haryana had already achieved the growth rate of 5.2 per cent in the first year of the plan(2002-03). It expects to achieve overall growth rate of 7.5 per cent for the second year. The state is confident that it would exceed the targeted growth rate of 7.9 per cent. The share of the primary sector is continuously decling in the state GDP whereas the share of the secondary and tertiary sectors is increasing, indicating good health of the state’s economy. The sources say, Mr Chautala, will urge the commission to ask the Centre to take up several projects to ease vehicular movement in the state in view of the ban imposed by the Supreme Court on plying of heavy inter-state traffic through Delhi. The projects include an express highway on the western periphery of Delhi from Kundli to Palwal through Jhajjar, Farukhnagar, Gurgaon and Sohna. Another express highway on the eastern periphery of Delhi connecting Faridabad-Noida-Ghaziabad-Kundli would also be demanded. The other traffic projects which, Mr Chautala, wants to be taken up by the Centre are a flyover at Badarpur on the Delhi-Faridabad road, an elevated highway at Panipat on the GT Road, and the four-laning of the Delhi-Bahadurgarh road. He will argue that since most of the traffic on these highways is headed towards the national capital, it is the responsibility of the Centre to reduce congestion on these roads in Haryana. |
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Implement pension scheme, say retd teachers
Rohtak, November 19 He said the then Chief Minister, Governor and Finance Minister had stated on the floor of the state Assembly that the scheme would be implemented for both categories of teachers from 1995 itself, but because of a three-year gap in the implementation, college teachers who retired between 1995 and 1998 were denied this benefit. Dr Rathee said implementation of the scheme from 1995 would not burden the state exchequer since it was a self-financed scheme. |
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Conclave of Railway employees held
Ambala, November 19 Later, talking to mediapersons, Mr Yadav suggested that there could be considerable reduction in accidents if there was no division between responsibility and authority. “We need right things at the right time and of right quality,” he said. Mr Yadav said that although there were good norms for the
OBCs, they were not being implemented effectively. “The Railway Minister has granted us many facilities but some railway officers are not giving us those facilities,” he alleged. He said the federation has directed its members to first serve the Railways and then discuss about ones own facilities. Mr Yadav said the interference of the unions in the Railways functioning should be stopped. “No office bearer of the union should be allowed to be on a public dealing seat,” he said. Mr Yadav demanded that the backlog of vacancies for the OBCs must be filled up at the earliest and speedy promotions must be given to the
OBCs. He demanded more to be given to the national commission for the
OBCs. |
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High Court Our High Court Correspondent
Chandigarh, November 19 In his petition, Mr Kumar has stated that as per the July 1 order issued by Mr Justice Swatanter Kumar, the DGP had been directed to inquire into the allegation of the petitioner that false cases had been registered against him on the asking of SP Ranbir Sharma. The inquiry was to be completed in two months. However, the DGP marked the inquiry to an IGP, who further marked it to the Superintendent of Police of Faridabad, who still further marked it to a Deputy Superintendent of Police-level officer. Saying that the DGP had ignored the order of the court, the petitioner has prayed for contempt proceedings against the DGP. |
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Exam centre changed
Chandigarh, November 19 While stating this here today, a spokesman of the Haryana Staff Selection Commission said the candidates bearing the above mentioned roll numbers should reach the new examination centre. The written test would be held on the scheduled date 5, that is November 21, 2004. |
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Fencing by Army opposed
Ambala, November 19 An Army officer said the area being fenced was A1 defence land. “We are only fencing our area,” he added. The President of the District unit of the Congress Committee, Mr Ashok Jain, said he was in touch with the Union Minister and MP, Kumari Selja, in this regard. The leader of the Congress in the Municipal Council, Mr Hira Lal Yadav, opined that the grievances of the people must be heard before taking any action. |
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Deen Bandhu Smriti Yatra Ambala, November 19 It passed through Kuldeep Nagar, Machonda, Shahpur and Mohra before entering Kurukshetra district. A large number of people came to see the personal belongings of Deen Bandhu Chhotu Ram. Among others, MLAs Mr Anil Vij, Mr Jasbir Mallour, Mr Pawan Dewan, Mr Balwant Singh and improvement trust chairman Mr Nirmal Vij were present. The belongings of Deen Bandhu Chhotu Ram have been kept in an open transparent van. The belongings include two chairs, two “modhas”, doors, rugs and a sword.
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270 students donate blood
Kaithal, November 19 Mr Malik said that the donors saved many lives by donating blood. |
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Medical camp
held Ambala, November 19 Those present at the camp were advised avoid STDs and they were explained about HIV/AIDS.
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Ravi Kumar posted SP in Railways
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