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Composition of 2 Assembly panels assumes significance
Hooda asked to appear in court on April 16
Scribe, cops booked for ‘extortion’
Sampat for White Paper on sacked staff
HAU bags bio-tech project
British PM to visit India
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Army men beat up contractor, his son
Uncle held for boy’s murder
3 students missing from Sonepat
Murder accused’s son ‘killed’
Varsity blamed for not conducting practicals
8 pvt schools get notice
Courts’ annual inspection done
Interview for Director’s post put off
Cabinet panel on dissolved civic bodies
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Composition of 2 Assembly panels assumes significance
Chandigarh, March 16 The first meeting of the new Haryana Assembly will commence here on March 21. The government was initially of the view that the Assembly would meet for two days. However, it has been now decided to propose that the
Assembly session should be held for three days. A final decision regarding the length of the session of course will be taken at a meeting of the Business Advisory Committee headed by the Speaker. Various Assembly committees, including the COPU and the PAC, are also slated to be constituted during the meeting of the Assembly. During the Chautala regime, the COPU as well as the PAC were always headed by ruling party MLAs, which was considered an outrage on parliamentary propriety. The COPU reviews the functioning of commercial undertakings of the state government. The PAC’s job is to look into the working of the revenue-earning and other departments of the state government. In most of the states as well as in the Lok Sabha, the COPU and the PAC are headed by Opposition members. A majority of the members of these bodies are also usually from the Opposition. This, however, was not the case in Haryana during the previous regime. Mr Hooda, who has become a member of the Lok Sabha on four occasions, has promised to restore the dignity of various institutions that was lost during the tenure of his predecessor. The COPU and the PAC, too, fall in this category and ideally now Opposition MLAs should be allowed to chair both bodies. However, there is a catch here. The Comptroller and Auditor General’s (CAG) reports relating to the civil and revenue departments and commercial undertakings for the year 2003-2004 will be presented in the House in the coming session. The period covered in the reports fall in Mr Chautala’s tenure as the Chief Minister. In fact, the COPU and the PAC of the last Assembly were particularly sloppy in holding their meetings. As a result of the sloppiness there had been a huge backlog of discussion on CAG reports by these two bodies. Four reports on commercial undertakings from 1999-2000 onwards, four reports on revenue-earning departments for the same period and four reports on civil departments also of the same period await discussion by the members of the two Assembly committees. A majority of these reports cover the period when Mr Chautala was the Chief Minister. There is a mass of information in these reports about “irregularities” by the previous regime. But the question is, if the two Assembly committees are stuffed with opposition INLD members, will they look into the CAG’s observations on their own government in right earnest ? |
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Hooda asked to appear in court on April 16
Panchkula, March 16 Seeking directions for exempting Mr Hooda from personal appearance, his counsel, quoting various judgements, argued that the “court should be liberal in exempting highly-placed public functionaries”. He added they had not moved the application for exemption on grounds that Mr Hooda was Chief Minister but because he had important matters of the state to deal with since the government was new. Rejecting this argument, Dr Geeta Grewal’s counsel maintained that exemption could not be given to the Hooda family since they had not appeared in court even once since the case had started. Both Geeta and her counsel submitted before the judge not to grant personal exemption to the Chief Minister. In reply to this, Mr Hooda counsel’s said the complainant’s lawyer was trying to mislead the court. “This is not true because Mr Hooda had appeared personally before the court when his bail application came up for hearing,” he added.
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Scribe, cops booked for ‘extortion’
Karnal, March 16 According to a spokesman of the Karnal police, Mr Om Prakash, son of Mr Atma Ram, a local arhtiya of Janta Grain Market, in a complaint lodged with the police alleged that Anil Lamba claiming to be a journalist, an ASI, a constable and two other persons knocked on the door of his office last evening. When the arhtiya opened the door, the journalist tried to take his photographs and record his voice. The arhtiya was having liquor in his office with a friend, Mr Ashok Kumar a resident of Hansi Road at that time. “I was frightened as the police personnel present supported the journalist in this act”, he alleged. Later, Ashok came out and intervened which led to heated exchange of words. These were allegedly recorded by the journalist. The journalist and the ASI had collectively demanded Rs 40,000 to keep their mouths shut on the incident, alleged the arhtiya. After paying them the amount, the arhtiya formally lodged a complaint with the police. A case under Section 384 of the IPC has been registered against the accused. |
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Sampat for White Paper on sacked staff
Hisar, March 16 In a press statement issued here today, Prof Sampat Singh said the Congress had raised much hue and cry over the “retrenchment of over 50,000 employees by the INLD government.” He said now that the Congress had come to power in the state, it should explain its stance on the reinstatement of the “sacked” employees. The former minister stated that the Congress had made a mockery of the people’s verdict as instead of the elected MLAs, the party high command was making the crucial decisions on the appointment of Chief Minister and allocation of portfolios to ministers. He said by doing so, the Congress leadership had betrayed the people of the state. |
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HAU bags bio-tech project
Hisar, March 16 Dr Gaya Prashad, the Head of the Animal Biotechnology Department at HAU, said in addition to the monthly package, each student would get Rs 25,000 every year as contingency grant. Apart from this, Rs 30 lakh had been allocated for the purchase of the essential equipment. A committee headed by the HAU Vice-Chancellor would guide the project. The committee would include representatives from the Department of Biotechnology, Government of India, industry, outside experts and faculty members. The course coordinator would be the member secretary. Mr Miglani observed that animal biotechnology had emerged as an important tool for the development of animal healthcare products like vaccines, diagnostic kits and therapeutic products, apart from conservation and improvement of livestock resources. The Vice-Chancellor asserted that the Animal Biotechnology Department of the university already provided DNA-based diagnostic services to the state government for certain infectious diseases of the livestock. Besides, it had initiated research on DNA-based identification of buffalo breeds like Murrah and Nili Ravi, he added.
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British PM to visit India
Chandigarh, March 16 The UK Trade and Investment is an organisation of the British Government that supports companies in the UK doing business internationally as well as Indian enterprises seeking to locate their units in the UK. Mr Hooda told Mr Lillie that the Haryana Government was planning to set up a National Law Institute, on the pattern of a university, in Rewari. He said there was also a plan to set up an education city on the pattern of Oxford in the state. The state government would provide the necessary assistance to the participating units for the development of the proposed education city on the condition that there would be 25 per cent reservation for students hailing from Haryana. Mr Lillie said that the British Prime Minister would visit India later this year and opportunities of working together would be explored. The Principal Secretary to the Chief Minister, Mr
M.L. Tayal, urged Mr Lillie to constitute a group to interact with the state government for the speedy clearance of projects. |
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Army men beat up contractor, his son
Ambala, March 16 The fracas
took place when a tractor-trailer collided with a motor cycle being
driven by an Army man at KE Line, near the MES power house. While the
Army man escaped unhurt, the motor cycle was damaged. The driver of the
tractor-trailer, who works for contractor Suresh Kumar, ran towards the
contractor’s store located nearby. The Army man and his colleagues
caught him and beat him up. Mr Suresh Kumar and his son Sant Kumar tried
to intervene, but they too were beaten up by the Army men. Mr Sant
Kumar informed other contractors. They were also allegedly manhandled by
the Army men. Mr Suresh Kumar and his son were admitted to the Civil
Hospital, Ambala cantonment. Mr Suresh Kumar said the driver of the
tractor-trailer was returning after delivering a water-tank at the work
site. “After the accident had taken place, the driver was badly beaten
up by the Army men. I rushed to the scene and tried to intervene. I told
them that I was even ready to get the motor cycle repaired, but to no
avail,” he said. He said even as he was trying to pacify the Army
men, they pounced upon him and his son. “Both of us were mercilessly
beaten up by them. The whole incident took place in the presence of an
Army Major,” he said. “Had it not been for some CMP personnel, we
could have died,” an inconsolable Suresh Kumar said. Mr Suresh Kumar
said the Army men belonged to the OMC 2 Corps unit. The unit is located
close to the spot where the accident took place. This correspondent
went to the unit to get the version of the officer who was present when
the fracas took place, but he refused to meet him. However, in the
evening, the Army issued a press note that reads: “On March 16, 2005,
at about 0805 hours at Ambala Cantt, a JCO of an ordnance unit who was
riding his motor cycle met with an accident, with a tractor while
proceeding towards his unit. Though the motor cycle, which was hit from
behind, came under the tractror, the “Meanwhile, as the driver of the tractor
tried to run away, the pillion rider of the motor cycle, who was a
civilian from the same unit, caught hold of him. An MES contractor to
whom the tractor belonged tried to intervene, duly assisted by his son,
and in the process a scuffle ensued. Army officers were sent to the site
to calm flared tempers and settle the matter amicably.” The army
press note further states “The officers took all necessary action to
ensure that the matter did not get aggravated and harmony prevailed. The
injured were taken to the Civil Hospital and treatment administered. The
tractor driver was handed over to the police by the Army authorities.” |
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Uncle held for boy’s murder
Yamunanagar, March 16 It was the forensic report, which led the police to the culprits. One of the uncles, Ran Singh, has been arrested, while the other is said to be absconding. Mukesh had gone missing from his house on January 17. His body with a torn ear and injury marks all over was found lying in the bushes in the village. The father of the child, Mr Surinder, had named his two cousin brothers, Ran Singh and Chander, as possible suspects. The blood samples collected from the spot reportedly matched those of Ran Singh. Ran Singh reportedly told the police that he and Chander had kidnapped the child as they were planning to sacrifice the boy to please the Goddess. The sacrifice was to take place at a temple situated along the Yamuna river. The two could not execute their plan as there was lot of chaos in the village following the disappearance of Mukesh. Ran Singh reportedly told the police that there was no going back for them and they killed the boy. They initially kept the body in their house and dumped it in the bushes a few hours later. |
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3 students missing from Sonepat
Sonepat, March 16 Sources revealed that Deepak Bhardwaj left his house for strolling last week but he did not return to his house. Similarly, Mohit has been missing from his school since March 8 last. An eight-year-old boy Ashok has been missing from his house for the past few days. Three more youths are reported to be missing from the Murthal, Rai and Kundli. Meanwhile, residents of Jhinjhauli village called on the DC Mr Balbir Singh Malik, here today and urged him to direct the police to locate the boys. The DC assured them that he would take necessary steps and direct the police to launch a campaign to trace the missing youths. |
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Murder accused’s son ‘killed’
Karnal, March 16 Mehar Singh, his associate Pala Ram and two other persons had allegedly murdered Jagbir Singh, owner of Lathar Transport Company, on Monday night following a property dispute. Vikram Kumar, son of Pala Ram, had also gone missing since Monday night and the local police was informed by family members. The parents of Vikram had alleged that the other party had kidnapped him. This morning, the police got information that Vikram had been murdered outside Rasulpur village, near here. The SHO of Sadar police station, Mr Baljit Singh, rushed to the spot but found only stains of blood there. The police immediately sealed the area and searched for the body for hours but in vain. The police suspects that the killers might have thrown the body in a nearby canal. The police has registered a case of under Section 364 of the IPC. The police also collected a sample of the bloodstains from the spot and sent it to the State Forensic Laboratory, Madhuban, for chemical examination. |
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Varsity blamed for not conducting practicals
Sirsa, March 16 Talking to The Tribune, a number of the students of science and mass communication blamed the university for playing with their future. At present, the university is offering M.Sc. (chemistry), food technology and environment studies and masters in mass communication. An M.Sc. student complained of indifferent attitude of the university. “We are yet to enter a laboratory. Similar is the case with the departments of environment studies and food technology where students have also not been given any practical training. “We have not conducted even a single practical and don’t know what to do in the exams,” said a number of students. Meanwhile, officials on the campus blamed the previous INLD government for causing delay in different projects through frequent changes at the top. In the past two years, the university has seen four VCs and two Registrars. Students of the department of mass communication complained of non-availability of equipment. “We are being taught TV and radio journalism without any exposure to equipment,” rued a student of first year. Sources say that the department also lacks a sufficient number of faculty members as there are only three teachers. |
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8 pvt schools get notice
Sonepat, March 16 According to official sources, the Education Department had already issued such notices to the owners of at least 20 such schools being run from buildings which were not made as per the norms laid down by the government. This action of the department has caused resentment among the owners of private schools. According to another report, the HUDA administration has also issued notices to the owners of 72 shops which were being run in the residential sectors and housing board colonies in violation of the norms laid down by the HUDA. The owners have been asked to close down their shops within a week or face legal action to be launched by the HUDA. Official sources revealed that as many as 67 shops were located in the housing board colonies whereas five others were functioning from various sectors developed by the HUDA. The HUDA administration has been suffering a huge financial loss on account of these shops as the shops constructed by the HUDA in the commercial areas have been lying vacant for the past few years. As many as 26 shops constructed by the HUDA in Sector 14 alone have been lying vacant. |
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Courts’ annual inspection done
Fatehabad, March 16 The Judge announced that the new judicial complex in the district was almost complete and the courts would be shifted to the new complex very soon. He rejected the plea of lawyers to shift the courts after the construction of lawyers’ chambers only. The District and Sessions Judge, Mr Arvind Goyal, Additional District and Sessions Judges, Mr H. S. Bhangu, Mr Randhir Singh and Mr R. K. Sondhi, Chief Judicial Magistrate, Mr S. C. Garg and Judicial Magistrates, Ms Ritu Y. K. Bahl and Mr Parveen Kumar, were present on the occasion. |
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Interview for Director’s
post put off
Karnal, March 16 A senior official of the board told The Tribune over the telephone that the interview had been postponed due to some administrative reasons. The fresh date of interview would be decided soon, said the official. It may be mentioned that a few scientists had resented the selection procedure of the ASRB and alleged that they were called for the interview at the nick of time as they were not given enough time for preparation. |
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Cabinet panel on dissolved civic bodies
Chandigarh, March 16 While stating this here today, the Chief Minister Mr Bhupinder Singh Hooda, said a decision to this effect had been taken on the persistent demand of people. Mr Hooda said the report of the subcommittee would be examined after the completion of the process of holding municipal elections. |
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Khemka takes over as Kaithal DC
Kaithal, March 16 Immediately after taking charge, Mr Khemka reviewed the panchayat election arrangements which will be held in two phases on April 3 and 9 in this district. The Deputy Commissioner said in a press note that the nomination papers for these elections could be filed on March 18 and 19. |
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New DC of Yamunanagar
Chandigarh, March 16 |
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Transporters’ demands
Kaithal, March 16 |
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