The Tribune, Chandigarh, India

	Hooda to be new Jat face of Congress? Yoginder Gupta Tribune News Service Chandigarh, July 30 The Congress seems to have decided to project the Haryana Chief Minister, Mr Bhupinder Singh Hooda, as its “face” before the Jat electorate of Western Uttar Pradesh and Rajasthan where the elections are due in a year or so. In the past the party had been banking on the former External Affairs Minister, Mr Natwar Singh, and the former Union Agriculture Minister, Mr Bal Ram Jakhar, to woo the Jat voters in the two states. Since Mr Jakhar has become the Governor of Madhya Pradesh, he cannot participate in electorate politics. Mr Natwar Singh is facing a probe for his role in the oil for food racket in Iraq. With the departure of the two heavy-weight Jat leaders from the political scene, there is a vacuum in Jat leadership within the Congress. The Congress high command seems to have turned towards Haryana to fill this vacuum. Earlier, the party had nominated a former President of the Haryana Congress, Mr Shamsher Singh Surjewala, as the Chairman of the All-India Kisan-Khet Mazdoor Congress, a front organisation of the party which deals with the problems of farmers and agriculture labourers. Now Mr Hooda has been called to test the waters in the Jat-dominated western Uttar Pradesh. He will be the chief guest at a rally to be organised by the Congress in Jhijhana town of Muzaffarnagar district on August 1. The rally is being described as the first of the series of rallies to be organised by the Congress as run-up to the next year’s Assembly elections. Mr Hooda will not be the first Jat leader from Haryana to woo the voters of the western Uttar Pradesh, which is the pocket borough of the former Prime Minister, the late Mr Charan Singh, and his son, Mr Ajit Singh. Before the last Assembly elections, the INLD supremo, Mr Om Prakash Chautala, had made forays into this part of the northern state in a big way in a bid to establish his leadership and to dislodge Mr Ajit Singh. His rallies were well attended, but the results were grossly disappointing. His bitter attacks on Mr Ajit Singh, instead of eroding his base, helped him in putting up a good show at the hustings. The Jats of western Uttar Pradesh, who had been a bit disenchanted with Mr Ajit Singh, rallied behind him as they did not want “Hamara Choudhry Sahib Ka Chhora” to be humiliated by “paar wallas”, as the UP Jats call their brethren across the Yamuna in Haryana. Another reason for Mr Chautala’s failure in western Uttar Pradesh was that its inhabitants are closer to the Deswali Jats of Haryana rather than the Bagri Jats, the community to which the INLD leader belongs. Incidentally, Mr Charan Singh, whom the Jats of western Uttar Pradesh virtually idolise, was married in Sonepat district of Haryana. Sonepat falls in the Deswal Jat belt. It is another matter that Mr Chautala did not cut much ice with the Bagri Jats of Rajasthan also after his failure in western Uttar Pradesh. While the Jats in northern India are generally perceived to be anti-Congress, those in Rajasthan are an exception. In the desert state, the Jats have traditionally been with the Congress. Mr Hooda will have to avoid attacking Mr Ajit Singh as his criticism can be counter-productive for the Uttar Pradesh Congress. It will also be too pre-mature to criticise Mr Ajit Singh or his party, the Rashtriya Lok Dal, which is partner in the Mulayam Singh government. Mr Ajit Singh is known for his mercurial temperament and it is not necessary that he will continue his alliance with the Samajwadi Party of Mr Mulayam Singh during the next Assembly elections also. The possibility of his aligning with the Congress cannot be ruled out. Therefore, even the Uttar Pradesh Congress President, Mr Salman Khursheed, who has invited Mr Hooda to the Muzzaffarnagar rally, may also not like him to launch an attack on Mr Ajit Singh so early in the campaign when the battle-lines are still to be drawn. In the last elections, the Congress had used the services of another Jat leader from Haryana, Mr Birender Singh, former President of the state Congress and presently the Finance Minister. The results were not encouraging.
	Rally held against Hooda govt Tribune News Service Ambala, July 30 A protest rally was organised by the Sangharsh Vahini to protest against the anti-people policies of the Bhupinder Singh Hooda government. The rallyists passed through different areas of the Cantonment and they raised slogans against the government. They demanded that the hiked rates of water should be rolled back, power cuts should be brought to an end They also demanded a CBI inquiry into the Agrofed scam. The rally culminated at Sadar Bazar chowk where a major demonstration was held. The demonstrators were led by Sangharsh Vahini president Hira Lal Yadav. Mr Yadav said the UPA government was responsible for the sharp hike in prices of essential commodities. He said the rate of commercial water had been increased from Rs 80 to Rs 1000 per month which has adversely affected the small businesses. He said frequent power cuts had affected the livelihood of traders, manufacturers and households. Referring to the Agrofed scam, Mr Yadav said the youth had been misled into the Agrofed scam. He said a free and fair inquiry should be conducted and it would be unfair to point fingers at anybody till such time investigations into the case are not complete. Mr Brij Anand, Mr Ajay Jain, Mr Ram Singh Chanalia, Mr Omkar Singh, Mr Mukesh Tank, Mr Vinod Kumar, Mr Navin Yadav and Mr Rajesh Kumar were also present.
	Kiran Chaudhary highlights govt’s green drive Our Correspondent Rewari, July 30 The Haryana Government has launched a massive afforestation campaign which would play an instrumental role in raising the forest cover in the state from 6 per cent to 10 per cent by the year 2010. This was stated by the Minister of State for Forest and Tourism, Mrs Kiran Chaudhary, at a press conference here yesterday. Describing the rapid depletion of the forest cover, growing urbanisation and the ever-increasing population as baneful for the ecological system, she said the government was making all-out efforts to enlist the cooperation of the masses, particularly women and schoolchildren in this campaign. Making a mention of Rs 286-crore project, which was being funded by the Japanese International Development Bank, she informed that the constitution of village-level committees was in progress which would make the project, envisaging conservation of forests and economic uplift of the people, a success. Besides while self-help groups of women were also being constituted, schoolchildren too were being roped in extensively for augmented afforestation. She went on to say that schoolchildren in all districts of the state would be deployed to plant one sapling each in their respective road areas adopted by them for the purpose. Simultaneously, the critics of the SEZs also came in for sharp criticism by Mrs Chaudhary who showered praise on the Chief Minister Mr Bhupinder Singh Hooda asserting that the establishment of the SEZs would usher in total transformation of the state in the years to come. Panipat: The vulture breeding centre at Pinjore will release the first bird in the wild in 2010 as the breeding of the endangered species was going on successfully and the environment would be free from veterinary medicine diclofenac by then. This was revealed by Ms Kiran Chaudhary, Forest and Environment Minister, Haryana, here on Sunday. Ms Chaudhary, while talking to mediapersons stated that the veterinary medicine diclofenac had been banned last month. She said 10 per cent of the total area in the state would be brought under forest cover by 2010, from the present 6.6 per cent.
	Govt to provide free education to Prince Haldheri, Kurukshetra, July 30 The Haryana Government will provide free education to Prince. The government will also develop Haldera as a model village. The state government has already given a grant of Rs 2 lakh to the boy’s. family. This announcement was made by Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda, while addressing a gathering of villagers here today. On reaching the village, the Chief Minister first visited the family of Prince and inquired about his health. Ram Chander, father of the boy, informed Mr Hooda that his son was in good health and the injury on one of his fingers was healing. The Chief Minister described Prince as “a brave child of Haryana”. The Chief Minister said developmental works involving an investment of about Rs 20 lakh would be implemented in the village so as to give it a facelift. The Chief Minister also announced cash awards for all those who had made significant contribution in saving the life of Prince. He announced to give a cash award of Rs 51,000 to Anil Sharma, who had brought out the child from the well. He also announced a reward of Rs 51,000 each workers of the nearby sugarmill as they had made an improvised device which played a vital role in the rescue operation. He also announced to give Rs 11,000 each to Ram Karan, Jaswant, Capt P.K. Upadhya, and Surinder Kumar. A reward of Rs 21,000 was also announced for Assistant Sub Inspector Amar Nath. Mr Hooda lauded the contribution of all those who had played a vital role in the rescue operation and said the spirit of the villagers and all those involved in the operation had no parallel in the world. He said the whole nation and people stood by Prince and their prayers were answered. Earlier, the working president of the Haryana Pradesh Congress Committee, Dr Ram Prakash, Agriculture Minister H.S. Chatha and Shahbad MLA, K.L. Sharma appreciated the initiatives taken by the Chief Minister to save the life of a child belonging to a poor family. — OC
	6 govt schools sans principals Nishikant Dwivedi Tribune News Service Yamunanagar, July 30 As many as six government senior secondary schools in Jagadhri and Yamunanagar are without principals as the former principals have been promoted as Block Education Officers (BEOs). They have been posted out at schools in rural areas. Similarly, the newly created government middle schools in the district are without headmasters. As per sources in the Education Department, the principals of the six urban secondary schools have been posted to rural areas after they were promoted as BEO. As per the rules, a teacher, after promotion, is posted in rural areas for at least three years. In absence of the principals the affairs of the schools are being managed by officiating principals who have “no powers”. A regular Principal, besides executing administrative jobs of the school also looks after the discipline and writes the annual confidential report of the teachers. About 40 schools (in which primary schools were clubbed) are being run without headmasters. The sources said the reason behind these vacancies were that the teachers had not been promoted to the post of headmasters. No senior official was available for comments. Meanwhile, protest are on to shift the office of the District Education Officer (BEO) at Shaheed Naveen Vaidya Government Senior Secondary School in Model Town here. The DEO office has been asked to vacate the premises of the Working Women Hostel in Sector 18, Jagadhri. All offices were earlier functioning from the hostel. Except for the DEO office, they have already shifted after the Haryana Housing Board objected to it. Some teachers and parents have expressed concern at the move to shift the office to the school. They say that the school is a girls school and shifting of the office there means problems for the students as teachers and other employees of the Education Department hold dharna at the DEO’s office. Teachers have also complained that the school is already short on rooms. The DEO, Mr M.L. Sharma, when contacted claimed that all apprehensions were baseless. He said all teacher unions and teachers have been ordered to visit the DEO office only after 3 pm so that functioning of schools is not affected. He claimed that there was enough space in the school to shift the DEO office there.
	More funds for better healthcare facilities Tribune News Service Panchkula, July 30 To provide better healthcare facilities to people at their doorsteps, the Haryana Government has allocated Rs 502 crore for various schemes under taken by the Haryana Health Department for the current financial year. The government has also increased budget for the department to Rs 80 crore from Rs 64 crore this year. Buildings of nine hospitals, seven community health centers, 41 primary health centers and five sub health centers were under construction. The Haryana Deputy Chief Minister, Mr Chander Mohan, disclosed this while addressing a gathering after inaugurating a sub-health centre in Nada Sahib village near, here today. He claimed that the Government of India under the National Rural Health Mission Programme had also allocated a sum of Rs 749 crore for improving the child healthcare. The main aim of this scheme was to reduce mortality rate among infants. He said under the National Rural Health Mission Programme, an Accredited Social Health Activist (ASHA) would be deputed in every village for providing better health facilities to villagers. The Deputy CM also added that a policy had also been chalked out opening chemist shops in the hospitals to help patients by providing them medicines at genuine rates. He said a sum of Rs 1.86 lakh had been approved for the repair of rooms of Nada Sahib School. Former Secretary of Haryana Pradesh Congress Committee, Mr Vijay Bansal, said that the BCA course would be introduced in Government College, Kalka, shortly while MA classes have already been started in Government College, Panchkula, from this academic session.
	Speed Post delivers forms after due date Sunit Dhawan Tribune News Service Hisar, July 30 A number of students of the district were denied a chance to appear in the state-level Lateral Entry Entrance Test (LEET) for admission to the second year of BE and B.Tech courses due to the alleged negligence on part of officials concerned of the Postal Department in delivering the admission forms in time. The state government had authorised the CR State College of Engineering, Murthal, to hold the test, which was held today. However, many students could not appear in the test, as their admission forms, sent through Speed Post, were not delivered in time. Talking to The Tribune here today, Vivek, Praveen and Manjeet, said they had sent their admission forms from the main Post Office, Hisar, on July 18. The last date for the receipt of forms was July 20. The candidates were assured by the officials concerned that the forms would be delivered at Murthal within 24 hours i.e. on July 19. However, the forms were delivered on July 21, a day after the last date and therefore, rejected. When the candidates did not receive their roll numbers, they contacted the college authorities. They were told that as many as 53 forms were received after the last date, of which 12 were from Hisar district. The authorities, however, expressed their inability to do anything in this regard. The candidates said an aspirant from a village in Bhiwani district, who had sent his form on July 19, had got his roll number and appeared in the test. When the affected candidates approached the Postal authorities, they were told that their forms were dispatched from Hisar on July 18 itself. The officials concerned at Sonepat could not be contacted despite repeated attempts. The candidates are now planning to move court.
	Former MLA threatens stir over Agrofed scam Tribune News Service Ambala, July 30 Former Ambala Cantonment MLA and Vikas Parishad president Mr Anil Vij today said that they would intensify their agitation as the Agrofed scam had not yet been handed over to the Central Bureau of Investigation. Talking to mediapersons here today, Mr Anil Vij said a high level inquiry should be carried out into the multi-crore scam. “A large number of youths have been duped of their hard earned money due to the Agrofed scam,” he said. Mr Vij said they had yesterday received a response to their application submitted under the Right to Information Act, seeking information about the status of a memorandum which was handed over to the Deputy Commissioner, Ambala, in June. “The memorandum has been addressed to the Governor of Haryana. Yet, we have been informed that the Governor’s office has not received the memorandum,” he said. The letter from the State Public Information Officer, Haryana Raj Bhavan, states: “Please refer to your request dated July 19. It is informed that memorandum referred to in your letter under reference has not been received in the Haryana Raj Bhavan so far.” Mr Anil Vij said that this clearly showed that the then Deputy Commissioner Ambala had not forwarded the memorandum to the Governor office for necessary action. “We are of the opinion that this is gross misconduct and wilful negligence. We demand the suspension of the then Deputy Commissioner Ambala,” he said. He said on August 2, they will submit a memorandum to the Commissioner Ambala division seeking inquiry against the then Ambala Deputy Commissioner in this matter. “The Governor must also take cognizance of this issue since a memorandum addressed to him has not been forwarded to him. This shows that the government is making efforts to ensure that the Agrofed scam was not handed over to the CBI,” he said.
	CPM to launch ‘August Campaign’ Our Correspondent Fatehabad, July 30 The Communist Party of India (Marxist) will hold rallies at Panipat, Hisar and Rohtak as part of its ‘August Campaign’, beginning from August 1, Mr Inderjit Singh, state secretary of the CPM, said while addressing mediapersons here today. Mr Sita Ram Yechuri, CPM leader, would address the first rally at Panipat on August 12. Mr Hanan Molla, member of the party’s central secretariat, would address the second rally at Hisar on August 20 and the CPM Politburo member, Ms Brinda Karat, would address the third rally in Rohtak on August 27. Besides these rallies, the party will also organise mass-contact programme at the grassroots level in villages. Mr Singh said the campaign aimed at mobilising people for forming a third political alternative in the country. He said the party would go to the masses on issues of communalism, casteism and the negative role played by the government on the same. The party would also focus on agricultural crisis in the state and apathetic attitude of the government. The suicides by farmers in various states would also be discussed. The CPM leader said strengthening of the public distribution system (PDS), curbs on hike in prices of petrol and diesel, independent foreign policy, reservation for women in Parliament and state assemblies, implementation of labour laws, education, implementation of reservation for OBCs, protection of the rights of dalits and curbs on terrorism would be discussed by the party during the campaign. Mr Singh demanded that the centre should reduce the rates of petrol and diesel by bringing back administrative prices. He also demanded that the centre, which pocketed Rs.77, 800 crore out of a total of Rs 1.26 lakh crore revenue from the sale of petroleum items, should not charge taxes on the increased value of the petrol and diesel, whenever the prices increased.
	5 crore female foetuses ‘terminated’ last year Gurgaon, July 30 As many as 5 crore female foetuses in the country were “terminated” last year, Haryana Health Minister Kartar Devi said today. “It is sad and unfortunate that around 5 crore female foetuses were terminated in India last year,” she said, while inaugurating an alternative clinic in the Civil hospital here. The clinic “Ayush centre” is the first in the state to provide treatment using ayurveda, yoga, unani, siddha and homoeopathy. She further said an MRI machine costing Rs. 5.75 crore had been sanctioned for Gurgaon. She added that around 16 delivery huts in Gurgaon, had been made functional. — PTI
	3 double-murder accused get life term Our Correspondent Rewari, July 30 In a case of double murder of Mahavir Singh, Principal, and Ram Kishan, Lecturer of Government Senior Secondary School, Kund (about 24 km from Rewari ), the Sessions Judge, Mr. R. C. Bansal, has sentenced three accused to imprisonment for life. The accused are — Karambir (28), Rakesh Kumar ( 28 ), and Surender (26 ) — all residents of Mandhoti village of Jhajjar district. Besides, the Judge has also imposed a fine of Rs 6500 on each of the three convicts. The double murder took place on August 2, 2001, when Mahavir Singh, Ram Kishan, Lal Singh (both lecturers) and their three other colleagues, with a bag containing Rs 3,14,054, were going from Rewari to Kund by bus. They were intercepted enroute by three car-borne armed gangsters who snatched the bag from Ram Kishan after shooting him and Mahavir Singh down while injuring Lal Singh in the thigh. The miscreants were later traced and apprehended by the police. Subsequently, the police, which registered a case of murder, attempt to murder, robbery, criminal conspiracy under Sections 302, 307.394, 120-B of the IPC as well as the Arms Act, sent the accused to the court for trial.
	US varsity offers to expand ties with HAU Tribune News Service Hisar, July 30 Impressed by the contributions made by Haryana Agricultural University (HAU) here towards agricultural development, the leader of the visiting delegation from Maryland University of USA, Dr Ramond J. Miller, Director, International Training Programme, offered to expand the mandate of mutual cooperation between the two universities. Addressing the concluding session at the end of their five-day visit, Dr Miller said integrated pest management (IPM) and forecasting in horticultural crops could also be included in the mandate of memorandum of understanding. Expressing happiness over the agreement of mutual cooperation reached between the universities, the HAU Vice-Chancellor, Dr J.C. Katyal, reiterated that the agreement, to be implemented from the next month, would prove to be a boon for agriculture at large and also for multi-institutional capacity-building. The Vice-Chancellor revealed that the objective of the agreement would be expanded by including basic science research and modernisation of course curriculum etc. in a phased manner. Earlier, the HAU Registrar, Dr R.S. Dalal, took the visiting delegation on a round of the university library, Indira Gandhi Auditorium and Farmers Service Centre, where the visiting dignitaries planted saplings. A cultural programme was also organised in honour of the delegation.
	Kidwai calls for improvement of madarsas Tribune News Service Ambala, July 30 The Haryana Governor, Dr A.R. Kidwai, has called for the introduction of modern education in madarsas. Dr Kidwai was speaking at the third annual meeting of the Haryana Waqf Board, held at Kumari Rukmini Devi memorial hall, Ambala Cantonment, yesterday. “Considerable importance is being given by the government towards improving education in the madarsas,” he said. He observed that after the Partition, political leadership had laid stress on education so that there could be growth of the nation. He said although education was compulsory in the age group of six to 14 years, it has not been effectively implemented. “Education is of paramount importance,” he stated. Dr Kidwai said there seem to be lack of awareness of the various programmes which were being undertaken for the improvement of madarsas. He said the government grant for primary and secondary education was Rs 3 crore now and it was going to be Rs 4 crore next year. He suggested that a nodal centre should be established at Ambala as well as in the Mewat region from where information regarding various schemes for madarsas can be provided. The nodal centre would go a long way in disseminating information. Dr A.R. Kidwai said in this age of globalisation, India was a major attraction for the multinational companies. He said MNCs find investment in India attractive due to the low costs involved. “The target is to make India a developed country by year 2020. With the current economic growth rate, India is set to meet the target,” he said. He said by the year 2050, India would be an economic superpower and it would be on a par with the USA and China. He urged the Muslim community to encourage education in the children so that they too can participate in the growth of the country. Union minister Mr Fatmi pointed out that the education ratio in the Muslim community was lower than the national average. He said that it was important for children to be educated so that they could prosper. Mr Fatmi said the Haryana Government was considering setting up of a madarsa board. He said that meetings had been held with Haryana Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda in this regard. He said technical education was available in Maulana Azad university and such courses were useful. He said vocational training helped in getting employment which in turn improves the quality of life. The Haryana Governor, Dr Kidwai, gave Khwaja Altaf Hussain Hali award, 2006, to noted poet Mr Mahendra Pratap Chand. Dr Kidwai released a book “Mehrab-e-Fun” written by Mr B.D. Kalia. The employees of Haryana Waqf Board, who had performed well, were honoured.
	Turning a blind eye to wastage of money Our Correspondent Kaithal, July 30 Supervisory officers of the PWD (B&R) Department have been turning a blind eye to wastage of public money on projects which hardly provide any relief to the people. The construction of nullahs on both sides of the Kaithal-Ambala road in the town is a glaring example where lakhs of rupees have been spent but the nullahs have failed to serve the purpose as these have not become functional though the construction work was completed several months ago. These nullahs were constructed by the PWD (B&R) Department on both sides of this road to save the road from damage due to accumulation of water during rains. The nullah was not constructed in a straight line. The contractor also cut the approach roads of many residential colonies causing great inconvenience to the people. Later he put prefabricated slabs on the road crossings but due to substandard material most of them collapsed within hours. The matter was brought to the notice the Chief Engineer, PWD, more than a month ago but there has been no change.