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CPI plans to spread influence
Kaushik’s inclusion in panel
raises eyebrows
Cabinet clears Justice Garg probe commission
BJP protest against power cuts
Shortage of power temporary, says official
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high court
DC orders re-survey of drainage system
Woman held, pistol, cartridges seized
Two booked for beating up, duping man
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CPI plans to spread influence
Gurgaon, August 4 Though the public posture of the CPI leader, Mr Gurudas Dass Gupta, over the agreement reached between the management of the HMSIL and its striking employees can be described as negative, insiders say the Left parties consider the agreement as their “victory” and as a climbdown by the management under the pressure mounted by the Central and State Governments on it. The Left parties feel that the two governments themselves came under tremendous pressure following the brutal lathi-charge by the police on the agitating Honda employees here on July 25 in full media attention. The Left was able to exert influence over the Central Government as it is dependent upon the support of the former. Publicly, Mr Gupta has expressed dissatisfaction with the judicial inquiry ordered by the Haryana Chief Minister, Mr Bhupinder Singh Hooda. The CPI leader has demanded that the inquiry should be conducted by a sitting Supreme Court Judge and not a retired High Court Judge, notwithstanding the reluctance of the judiciary to spare a sitting Judge for conducting such inquiries in view of the huge arrears of cases pending in various courts. The sources say the Left parties are now trying to reopen the five-year-old Maruti chapter. The Left leaders allege that the Maruti management had retrenched about 150 employees and another about 2200 staff members were “forced” to opt for
voluntary retirement scheme. Former Maruti trade union leaders allege that the Chautala Government had committed “atrocities” on the retrenched Maruti employees, who had been agitating peacefully. The police, they allege, ensured that the employees’ agitation did not spread. Rather, they were forced to abandon their agitation. The leaders also say that since the workers had been agitating peacefully, the media also did not highlight their grievances in the manner it made the Honda
episode virtually a national issue. Now the CPI and its labour front, the All-India Trade Union Congress (AITUC) have come forward to support the
retrenched Maruti employees. According to Mr J.K. Walia, a former leader of the Maruti Udyog Workers Union, a delegation the former Maruti employees led by Mr Gupta met the Prime Minister, Dr Manmohan Singh, yesterday. The delegation included Mr D.L. Sachdeva, General Secretary of the Haryana unit of AITUC; and Mr Mathew Ibrahim, a former leader of the Maruti Union. The delegation reportedly briefed Dr Manmohan Singh about the five-year-old Maruti dispute and how the employees could not get justice under the NDA and Chautala Governments. A memorandum was also given to the Prime Minister, in which a history of the Maruti dispute was given. Dr Manmohan Singh was told that on October 12, 2000, the Maruti management stopped the employees from entering the company
premises and asked them to sign an undertaking. When the employees refused to sign the undertaking, they were not allowed to enter the company
premises with the help of the Haryana Police. When the stalemate continued, the company summarily dismissed over 100 employees. However, later the company agreed to withdraw the undertaking but refused to take 24 employees back on its rolls. In total about 150 workers, including office-bearers of their trade union, were dismissed on the basis of “bogus and fabricated” charges. In 2002, the then Haryana Government deregistered the employees’ union. The memorandum also protested against the practice of employing workers on contract in Maruti Udyog. It alleged that the ratio of permanent workers and contract workers in Maruti is as high as 1:5. Moreover, it also alleged that the contractors were for the namesake only because the contract workers were functioning directly under supervisors and managers of the company. The working hours were also increased in violation of what the law stipulated. The efforts of the Left to increase its influence in the industrial belt of Gurgaon is causing concern to industrialists here. |
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Kaushik’s inclusion in panel
raises eyebrows
Chandigarh, August 4 General Kaushik, during his tenure as the VC of MDU, had landed in major trouble on the issue of an irregular appointment. Worse, he was accused of using “intemperate language” while corresponding with the Governor of Haryana, who is also the Chancellor of the university. General Kaushik, when he was the VC of MDU, had on March 26, 1999, issued an order that Mr K.C. Dadwal, Deputy Registrar (Colleges), would officiate as Dean, College Development Council (DCDC), in addition to his other duties. This order was found unlawful by the Governor and annulled. The Registrar, in pursuance of the orders of the Chancellor, issued a directive stripping Mr Dadwal of his additional charge. But General Kaushik, in another order, cancelled the order issued by the Registrar. Mr Mahavir Prasad, who was the Governor of Haryana then, had taken exception to General Kaushik’s action, which amounted to challenging the authority of the Chancellor. Earlier General Kaushik, when he was asked to explain why Mr Dadwal had been asked to officiate as the DCDC, asked the Governor to refrain from interfering in the day-to-day affairs of the university. “I do not want to make your position as the ultimate authority in matters regarding the university controversial. However, you have no constitutional or statutory rights to interfere in the day-to-day working of the university”, General Kaushik wrote to the Governor. Understandably the reply shocked the Governor. The Governor then sent a notice to General Kaushik whom, he found, “patently unfit to continue in the office of Vice-Chancellor”. General Kaushik wrote a lengthy reply to this notice. The Governor referred the reply to the Education Department. The department said that since the post of DCDC was meant for academicians, Mr Dadwal, who was from the administrative cadre, should not have been appointed to that post. The department also held General Kaushik guilty of using intemperate language while writing to the Chancellor. The department made these observations on October 20, 1999. Earlier, the Governor had directed in February, 1999, that General Kaushik would not discharge any function as the VC in view of a fact-finding inquiry by the Home Secretary into various allegations levelled against him. This directive, however, could not be implemented in view of a stay order from the court. The state government paid Rs 25 lakh to a Delhi-based lawyer in connection with this case. It is not clear whether the Home Secretary could submit his report before the retirement of General Kaushik in February, 2000, from the office of VC. The Governor apparently did not seek legal recourse to hasten General Kaushik’s removal since his retirement was shortly due in any case. The Congress government in the state played an active role in the induction of General Kaushik into the selection committee. While his name was formally decided at a meeting of the Executive Council of KU, it was the government nominees at the meeting who proposed and seconded his name. |
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Cabinet clears Justice Garg probe commission
Chandigarh, August 4 The commission would also inquire into the role of any extraneous factor in the incident and whether the force used by the police was justified or excessive. It would also probe whether any other means were available to the police for controlling the mob. The Cabinet, which met under the chairmanship of the Chief Minister, Mr Bhupinder Singh Hooda, decided to reserve 50 per cent of the posts in direct recruitment to various teaching categories in schools for those candidates who had passed matriculation and higher secondary from schools located in the rural areas of the state. The reservation would be 50 per cent of the reservation already existing in each category. “Teachers often absent themselves from duty in village schools. We want to change that phenomenon”, Mr Hooda said. The Cabinet approved a proposal of the Education Department to have functional integration of the Departments of Primary Education and Secondary Education so as to improve the supervisory structure. According to the proposal, all government primary schools located on the campuses of middle, high and senior secondary schools would be made part of those very schools under the direct supervision of their respective heads. Primary schools, which were not located on the campus of any other school but were in the same village, would also be brought under the control of the head of the middle or high or senior secondary school in the village. The remaining primary schools and independent middle schools would be under the control of the Block Education Officers. At the state level, the administration would also be restructured and the directorates would be functionally integrated. The integrated directorate would be called the Directorate of School Education. The post of Director, Secondary Education, would be redesignated as Commissioner and Director-General of School Education. The posts of Director, Primary Education, and State Project Director, Sarv Shiksha Abhiyan, would be redesignated as Additional Commissioner, Schools. The Cabinet also decided to provide fiscal and non-fiscal incentives to the ancillary units that would be set up at the proposed petrochemical hub in Panipat. It was decided to provide interest-free loans quantified at 50 per cent of the tax paid on the sale of goods to be produced by the ancillary units for seven years from the start of commercial production. It was also decided to exempt such units from the payment of Local Area Development Tax on capital goods like plant and machinery and maintenance spares. Also, 20 per cent rebate would be given on the cost of land as applicable in the industrial policy. Such units would also be exempted from the payment of electricity duty for a period of five years from the release of the electric connection. The Cabinet decided that 5,000 acres would be developed with all basic amenities for the setting up of the proposed petrochemical hub. It was learnt that Indian Oil Corporation’s move to invest Rs 5,000 crore in two mega projects in Panipat prompted the government to think of attracting ancillary units. The Cabinet decided to fill 31 posts of Civil Judge (Junior Division) through a selection committee. The committee would consist of three judges of the Punjab and Haryana High Court nominated by its Chief Justice of whom the seniormost would be the chairman. While the Chief Secretary and the Advocate-General would also be members, the Legal
Remembrance, Haryana, would act as secretary of the committee. The Cabinet further decided that the last pay drawn by the judicial officers in the state would be taken as emoluments for the purpose of pension. The pension would be commuted at a rate of 50 per cent of the pension with restoration after 15 years. The Cabinet accepted the report of the Shetty Commission, which had recommended the modification of the pay scales of certain posts of non-judicial staff of the subordinate courts. The Cabinet decided to fix at Rs 65000 per draw the rate of lumpsum in lieu of tax in respect of the weekly lottery and also decided to omit the rate fixed for the daily lottery. The decision would be effective from April 1, 2003, with a rider that no refund of any amount of lumpsum, already paid, would be made on account of the reduction or omission of lumpsum rates. The state government would amend the Haryana Value Added Tax Rules, 2003, to make the decision effective. |
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BJP protest against power cuts
Ambala, August 4 Addressing the activists, Mr Ratan Lal Kataria said during the election, the Congress had promised to work for the welfare of the
people, but it had made their lives miserable. He said despite tall claims, power supply was very poor. He said under the Congress-led UPA government, power failures, hike in petrol and diesel prices and spiralling prices of essential commodities had hit the people hard. He said due to lack of adequate power supply, industries were leaving Haryana and setting up units in other states. He said the farmers were also adversely affected due to lack of regular power supply. Among others, Ms Veena Chibber, former MLA, Mr Sandeep Sachdeva, Mr Pavitar Singh Bajwa, Dr Sanjay Sharma, Mr Vinod Garg, Mr Bharat Bhushan Aggarwal, Mr Brij Mohan Dhiman, Ms Namrata Gaur and Mr Jagtar Arora were present. |
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Shortage of power temporary, says official
Ambala, August 4 Mr Murari said the grid frequency varied from 48.5 to 49.5 against the standard frequency of 50 cycles per minute. He said power generation units of nearly 5,000 MW were not generating power due to various reasons. These units included 1,000 MW at
NGPC, 500 MW at Singrauli, 500 MW at Rehand, 140 MW at Anta, 210 MW at
Unchahar, 165 MW at Aurya, 200 MW at RAPP, 110 MW at Thermal Bhatinda, 210 MW at Anpara and
Obra, 250 MW at Suratgarh and 195 MW at Kota. He said there were minor technical problems in three power generation units (thermal) of Panipat Two units would resume power generation by evening. The demand for electricity had increased by 25 per cent in the state compared to that of last year. The increase had been due to a scanty rainfall, ongoing paddy season and scorching heat. Power regulations had been enforced to ensure eight-hour power supply to tubewells daily. The state’s overdrawl of power from the grid was 70 lakh units on July 31, he added. Mr Murari said all induction furnaces and rolling mills would be switched off for the next 10 days. Other industries would continue to be switched off from 7 pm to 7 am for the next 10 days. However, a relaxation of 5 per cent on average daily consumption for meeting the essential services based on average consumption of immediate last 12 months would be allowed to the industries. He said the efforts of the Power Utilities were also on to get additional power from Andhra Pradesh and Kerala. The shortage of power was temporary and the regulations would be withdrawn with the availability of more power, he added. |
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Quashing of cheating case sought
Our High Court Correspondent
Chandigarh, August 4 The complainant Tarsem Lal, has accused the duo along with another director, Mr R.C. Gupta, of having taken Rs 4 lakh from him in March last year on the pretext of getting him a job in Kuwait. But, the job was never given. Non-bailable warrants had been issue against them by the CJM. Sometime back, a Panipat court had granted anticipatory bail to Mr Malvinder Mohan, Mr Kaul and Mr Gupta. In their petitions, Mr Malvinder Mohan and Mr Kaul have stated that the case against them was frivolous and abuse of the process of court. They have also claimed that blackmail could be one of the motives behind the complaint. Today, Mr Justice Rajive Bhalla, while issuing notice of motion to the respondents for September 30, stayed further proceedings in the matter till further orders. Petition withdrawn
The Haryana Government today withdrew its petition challenging the order of the Central Administrative Tribunal (CAT), Chandigarh Bench, directing it to allow Mr M.S. Malik, former DGP, to go through the record pertaining to his suspension. During resumed hearing in the High Court, counsel for State of Haryana informed the Bench that Mr Malik has already been charge-sheeted of his alleged involvement in the irregular recruitment of personnel for the now-disbanded Haryana State Industrial Security Force (HSISF). Therefore, the writ was being withdrawn. After hearing both sides, the Bench of Mr Justice H.S. Bedi and Mr Justice Viney Mittal declared the petition dismissed as withdrawn. Kaithal DC’s order
The High Court on Thursday allowed the petition filed by Reliance Petrochemicals, challenging the legality of the order passed by DC, Kaithal, suspending the NOC given to one of its petroleum outlets. The court also heard the version of Kaithal DC Balbir Singh Malik, who had been summoned today. After hearing the parties, the Bench of Mr Justice N.K. Sud and Mr Justice Virender Singh allowed the petition.
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DC orders re-survey of drainage system
Ambala, August 4 Mr N.D. Arora, secretary-general of the federation, said Mr Kaushik ordered a re-survey of the drainage system in Mahesh Nagar for effective drainage during rainfall. He said with regard to stray cattle menace, the DC discussed the issue with the gaushala authorities. Also, Mr Kaushik ordered that the Preet Nagar and Arya Nagar tubewells should be made functional since there was low water pressure. The federation members accepted responsibility for switching on and off streetlights in their areas. The DC has asked the EO, Ambala Sadar, to provide switches at suitable places in consultation with federation representatives. With regard to the Tangri bundh, Mr Kaushik said there was a proposal to raise the level of Panjokhra miner near the Punjab border to avoid flooding of Mahesh Nagar. He ordered the Drainage Department to carry out minor repairs. |
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Woman held, pistol, cartridges seized
Karnal, August 4 According to a police spokesperson, the police personnel nabbed her near Haryana-UP border while she was moving about
suspiciously. An FIR under Sections 25/ 54/ 59 of the Arms Act has been registered against her at Gharaunda police station. The district police also succeeded in nabbing three other suspicious persons from different parts of the district and recovered three countrymade pistols and some cartridges from their possession. |
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Two booked for beating up, duping man
Karnal, August 4 It is learnt that the complainant, Mr Balbir Singh, reportedly paid Rs 4.5 lakh to the accused in three instalments as they had assured him that they would send his son, Deepak, to Canada. However, they neither sent Deepak to Canada nor returned the money. On the contrary, they allegedly thrashed Deepak’s father and threatened to eliminate him when he asked them to return his money on July 19. |
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