Hisar, January 3
Hue and cry over ongoing sealing campaign notwithstanding, commercial activities continue in private houses belonging to certain IAS officers of the district.

One of these officers even served as the Administrator of HUDA, which has been entrusted with the sealing of commercial establishments in residential areas. At present, this officer is posted Deputy Commissioner.

This officer’s house (120, Sector 15-A, Hisar) has been rented out to a nationalised bank for the past several years in violation of rules. The bank authorities disclosed the monthly rent (in five figures) was collected by Mr Bansal on behalf of the officer.

In initial phase of HUDA’s ongoing sealing drive, water connection to this house was cut. Then, a brick-wall was constructed at the entrance of the house.

However, an investigation today revealed the brick-wall had been dismantled partially and the bank was functioning though sign board bearing the bank’s name had been removed from outside.

When HUDA Estate Officer, Dr Jai Krishan Abhir, was apprised of the matter, he asserted the site would be checked and appropriate action taken against the owner of the property. Dr Abhir admitted commercial activity in HUDA residential sector even after sealing was illegal.

He said videography of all sealed premises would be carried out and legal proceedings under the contempt of court initiated against the violators .

This is not an isolated instance of high officials using private houses for commercial purposes. Another house belonging other senior Haryana-cadre IAS officer in the same HUDA sector is being used for commercial purpose.

The officer has maintained before HUDA authorities he had rented out his house for residential purposes, but the tenant was using it for commercial purpose. Still another residential property in the sector houses a government office.

Chandigarh, January 3
The Haryana Government will take its information technology (IT) initiative to the people by setting up 1,263 IT kiosks that will handle common services.

The biggest beneficiaries of the E-Disha Ekal Seva Kendras will be the rural masses who will no longer have to travel long distances for common services.

These Common Service Centres (CSCs), 1,159 of which will be set up in the rural areas, will help governance and education, health, entertainment and other possible government and private services. The CSCs will be developed through a public-private partnership model to encourage economically sustainable models for social development.

“It will be a one-step collection centre for many services. Our target is to make the CSCs fully functional during 2007. People will be able to make payments of electricity and water bills online from home”, Dr Dalip Singh, Secretary, Public Health, had said recently at the launch of the Haryana Public Health Department website.

Urban areas in the state will have 104 CSCs. These will include some model CSCs that will showcase the concept. The Haryana State Electronics Development Corporation (HARTRON) has been identified as the State Designated Agency for implementing the CSC scheme in Haryana.

A senior government official said: “The Government of Haryana in its endeavour to improve the quality of governance and enable the delivery of government and other services on the doorstep of citizens in Haryana has already invited public and private enterprises to participate in the CSC scheme as Service Centre Agencies (SCAs) for establishing and operating 1,159 rural CSCs and 104 urban CSCs to be called E-Disha Ekal Seva Kendras.

The SCAs will be required for developing, designing, operating and maintaining the entire E-Disha Ekal Seva Kendra network and ensuring reliable linkages with the Statewide Area Network (SWAN). To ensure that only sound parties come forward to make this IT venture a success, the state has allowed participation by only those companies whose annual turnover has been at least Rs 10 crore over the past three financial years.

According to officials, some E-Disha centres are already functioning in the state, but these have no IT connectivity as yet and their role is limited to that of collection centres. But with the coming up of the CSCs, the E-Disha Ekal Seva Kendras will become a one-step shop that , apart from providing services, will also provide cost effective, high quality video, voice and data content. The CSCs proposed to be introduced in Haryana will be similar to the e-sampark centres being run in Chandigarh.

Chandigarh, January 3
Sixty-eight SEZs are in the pipeline in Haryana but it is unlikely that the opposition to the SEZ projects by rebel Congress MP from Bhiwani, Mr Kuldeep Bishnoi, will sparkle any brighter in 2007 than the attempts made by him last year on this front.

After all, it is one thing to organise gatherings of disgruntled Congress workers and another to lead an agitation of farmers. And that too when the farmers are not particularly unhappy to sell their lands to private developers for a large sum or allow the government to acquire their land in lieu of a hefty compensation.

“Farmers are not at all upset with the SEZ projects coming into the state. The youngsters are also quite excited”, said Mr Ram Kishen, a former Sarpanch of Bhatla village falling in Hansi tehsil of Hisar district.

As on November 15, the Haryana Government was in receipt of 68 applications for setting up SEZs. An overwhelming number of applications are for setting up the zones in the National Capital Region (NCR) area. The zones are proposed to cover a total area of more than 1.3 lakh acres. While some of the applicants are yet to be in possession of the lands identified by them, the applicants for small SEZs are mostly already in possession of land. Since none of the big projects are likely to get going this year, the fallout of the SEZ experiment is going to take a while to manifest.

Meanwhile, the debate on SEZ would undoubtedly continue. Some of the criticisms of the SEZ projects, however, do not hold true as far as Haryana is concerned. For instance, one criticism of the projects is that the farmers are being given poor compensations for transferring their land to industrial biggies for making mega bucks. Well, the developers of SEZs and owners of industrial units inside SEZs will undoubtedly like to earn profits, but the landowners of Haryana too are getting a handsome price for their land.

On the issue of employment generation, one must take note of the apprehension being expressed from certain quarters about existing industries relocating themselves in the SEZs and thus shifting the place of employment of workers rather than creating fresh employment. This is a legitimate fear. The export -oriented units will find it hard to resist the tax holidays and the exemptions from duty and service tax offered in the SEZs.

According to rules framed by the union government, 25 per cent area of an SEZ will have to be utilised for setting up manufacturing units. The definition of manufacture include floriculture, viticulture (cultivation of grapes) and pisciculture. The remaining area can be used for residential purpose, schools, hotels, hospitals and other social and entertainment facilities. While the residential buildings will not provide any sustainable source of employment, hotels, schools, hospitals and other such things do generate employment and can no way be cited as unproductive investments.

Chandigarh, January 3
Come February and the Haryana Chief Minister, Mr Bhupinder Singh Hooda, will make forays into the territory of an arch rival to celebrate the completion of two years of his regime .

Sirsa, stronghold of INLD supremo and former Chief Minister Om Prakash Chautala will be the venue of the celebration of the second anniversary of the Hooda regime. The Chief Minister will address a rally there on February 25 for which the preparations are already afoot. “The rally will be remembered for its massiveness”, said Mr Bajrang Dass Garg, president of the Haryana Pradesh Byapar Mandal, who is also Chairman of Confed.

The rally at Sirsa is aimed at giving a warning to Mr Chautala who is trying to shake off the memory of the drubbing he got in the last Assembly elections. The INLD has been able to organise some decent gatherings at various places this year, including Rohtak, home district of the Chief Minister.

Of the five MLAs from Sirsa district, three are from the INLD. While the leader of the INLD in the Assembly, Mr Chautala (who has not attended a single session of the present Assembly), is himself an MLA from the Rori segment of Sirsa district, the Deputy Leader, Mr Sushil Indora, also represents the Ellenabad constituency falling in Sirsa.

The Congress has two MLAs from the district, including Mr L. D. Arora, Industry Minister. Then there is Ms Selja, Union Minister and a native of Sirsa, who chose to fight from the Ambala Lok Sabha seat instead of Sirsa to avoid sabotage by the rival Congress faction. Mr K.V.Singh, Officer on Special Duty to the Chief Minister, and Mr Ranjit Singh, Deputy Chairman of the State Planning Board, both members of the Devi Lal clan, are also working to make the rally a success.

Recently the CM also addressed a rally at Balsamand village in the Adampur Assembly segment. The Balsamand event, peppered with sops announced by the Chief Minister, was intended to give a message to rival Congress leader, Mr Bhajan Lal, and his son, Mr Kuldeep Bishnoi.

Importantly, the first anniversary celebration of the government was also organised at the strategically important Hisar, home district of Mr Bhajan Lal. The Balsamand programme was retaliation against the subsequent build up by the Bhajan Lal camp. Now it is Mr Bhajan Lal’s turn to organise a rally at Rohtak.

The rallies organised by Mr Chautala in Rohtak district had apparently prompted the Chief Minister to choose Sirsa for the anniversary celebrations. Last year the CM had announced that the second anniversary would be celebrated at Panipat. It is being claimed now that since the laying of the foundation stone by the Prime Minister of the elevated highway at Panipat turned out to be big event, the venue of the anniversary celebration was shifted to Sirsa.

If the flavour of politics this year was major politicians invading each other’s bastions, next year too is going to start on the same note.

Chandigarh, January 3
The Haryana Government has urged the Union Government to give it a special grant for strengthening the security system in the National Capital Region(NCR) in lieu of the loan being provided to the states falling within the ambit of the NCR.

The Haryana Chief Secretary, Mr Prem Parshant, said here today that the state government had forwarded a scheme of Rs 177 crore to the Union Government to strengthen security in the NCR on the pattern of Delhi.

He said the Haryana Chief Minister, Mr Bhupinder Singh Hooda, raised the matter at the NCR Board meeting held recently. Mr Hooda also pleaded for making a comprehensive policy for the smooth growth of the NCR. He said Haryana had to pay Rs 111 crore more for the metro rail to be extended to Gurgaon.

Referring to the incident in which children in a Karnal school fell ill after taking the mid-day meal, he said an inquiry would be conducted by the Deputy Commissioner, Karnal. Besides, samples of the raw material and cooked material had been taken to ascertain the facts.

Chandigarh, January 3
The Haryana Health Department has decided to adopt the concept of the Indian Public Health Standards (IPHS) to provide quality care and help in monitoring and improving the functioning of the Community Health Centres (CHCs) in the state.

The Haryana Health Minister, Mrs Kartar Devi, said here today that with the launch of the National Rural Health Mission, steps had been taken to further improve the functioning of the CHCs.

She said a number of services had been assured under the IPHS for the CHCs. 

Rohtak, January 3
The district police is celebrating Traffic Safety Week even though no attempt is being made to ease chaotic traffic conditions in Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda’s hometown.

As part of the celebrations, the police organised a seminar on traffic safety today. However, as the seminar proceeded, traffic in the town’s busiest areas continued to move at a snail’s pace in the absence of any traffic policeman regulating it. Even where traffic cops were present, they were basking in the sun.

Traffic conditions in the town have been difficult for years because of 10,000-odd three-wheeler scooter-rickshaws (TSRs) that ply on the town’s roads, paying no heed ,whatsoever, to traffic rules. Most of the autos are those which are banned in Delhi because of the pollution these cause.

Traffic conditions have been made more difficult with roads dug for laying underground pipes for water supply, sewerage or drainage of stormwater. Almost the entire town has been dug up. No thought was given to alternative traffic routes before the roads were dug for solving some of the town’s perennial problems like flooding.

Development projects underway, including, railway overbridges, have also added to the traffic woes.

The administration tried to regulate traffic last January and provided different routes for TSRs. Special points were fixed to pick up and drop passengers. However, owing to the pressure of rehri owners who dot the two sides of the roads and the TSR owners , the scheme was withdrawn even before it was fully implemented.

Since then the police has turned a blind eye to traffic violations, especially those involving the TSRs and maxi cabs. As a result of this, vehicles coming from Delhi and Hisar take about 30 to 45 minutes to steer clear of the town - a distance of less than 5 km.

Rohtak, January 3
The district is likely to produce a record wheat crop this year with the area under wheat going up by 7,000 hectares this year and dense fog over the area helping it grow to bumper proportions.

The area under wheat this year is 95,000 hectares compared to 88,000 hectares last year. The increase is at the cost of mustard which has shrunk this year to 20,000 hectares compared to 29,000 hectares last year.

Officials of the state Agriculture Department attribute the fall in area under mustard to heavy losses over the years due to pest infestation and lower returns. Another crop which lost acreage is barley which has shrunk to 21,00 hectares as against 25,00 last year.

Gram has also lost favour with the farmers with this crop covering only 29,00 hectares this year compared to 36,00 hectares last year.

Officials say there is no paucity of chemical fertilisers as the department is maintaining a healthy stock of both DAP and urea. The department has advised farmers to buy inputs like seed and fertilisers from authorised outlets of reputed companies and to obtain valid receipts. In case any dealer refuses to issue receipts, the matter should be reported to the agriculture officials.

Meanwhile, the district administration has started gearing up for procurement arrangements. The number of procurement centres is likely to be increased to help farmers. Besides, arrangements will be made for speedy procurement, lifting and payments, officials said. — TNS

Ambala, January 3
A few trees were allegedly cut in a hotel located on the Staff Road today.

Residents complained to the Municipal Council, Ambala Sadar officials about the matter. The residents alleged that the trees were cut in clear violation of norms. However, Mr Rajinder Tayal, who is one of the partners in the hotel claimed only barren trees were cut.

Executive Officer Municipal Council Ambala Sadar K.K. Jain said, “We have sent a recommendation to the police for registration of a case in this regard. The Forest Department is going to be intimated about it,” he said. — TNS