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INLD MLAs decide to boycott House
Privilege move against Chautala
NSUI resents CM’s attitude
Villagers block highway
Power bill waiver for schools extended
People not to gain from SEZs: BJP
SGPC to oppose gurdwara panel for state
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Readers’ agony: Lesser pay on promotion
Job guarantee scheme a boon for Sirsa villagers
Governor’s remarks invite criticism
Govt yet to finalise action on Bhalla report 2 Bills for benefit of workers cleared Twenty beneficiaries get cheques
Driver killed in mishap
Man robbed of Rs 2.5 lakh
3 held for threat to shopkeeper
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INLD MLAs decide to boycott House
Chandigarh, March 20 In the aftermath of a noisy showdown between the two sides, two INLD legislators, Gyan Chand and Balwant Singh, were suspended by the Speaker for the rest of the session and the remaining six MLAs present in the house suspended for the day. The INLD retaliated by announcing it would boycott the rest of the session. As soon as the house began its sitting, Om Prakash Chautala, INLD chief, stood up and demanded the withdrawal of the censure motion passed by the assembly yesterday against the INLD. Chautala also demanded an apology from the house for passing the motion. The time was originally earmarked as question hour. Even Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda, normally a cool person, protested against the “disruption” by Chautala. INLD legislators soon trooped into the well of the house and started shouting slogans. Speaker Raghubir Singh Kadiyan at first named Sita Ram and Sushil Indora and signalled the watch and ward staff for their removal. Kadiyan told the remaining INLD legislators that each of them would be given time to speak during zero hour. The request fell on deaf ears. Chautala, who was initially staying put in his seat, also joined his colleagues in the well at this stage. Iswar Singh Palaka and Ramphal Chidana were named by the Speaker subsequently. The remaining four INLD legislators, including Chautala, continued with their protest. Randeep Singh Surjewala, parliamentary affairs minister, moved a motion for the suspension of the four protesting INLD members. The motion was passed but Chautala was not ready to leave the house before having an exchange with the Speaker. What Chautala told the Speaker was not audible but the latter exploded. “A despicable man”, the Speaker was heard saying as he several times asked Chautala to “shut up and get out”. In his absence also the INLD leader loomed large in the house as a question asked by Sher Singh and Jitender Malik on the donations received by the Devi Lal Trust once again brought the “Chautala issue” to centre stage. Surjewala read out a list of government lands sold to the trust besides panchayat lands donated to the trust and similar outfits controlled by the Chautala family. Karan Singh Dalal, Anand Singh Dangi and Shamsher Singh Surjewala of the Congress, Ramkumar Gautam and Naresh Malik of the BJP, Arjun Singh of the BSP and Tejinder Singh Mann, Independent, again had a go at Chautala in the wake of the question. The MLAs went to the extent of accusing the Chief Minister of soft-pedalling with regard to Chautala. Later, Hooda told reporters that the INLD was disrupting the proceedings of the house because it had nothing to say on the budget proposals. The Chief Minister said he had full faith in the CBI, which had been entrusted the probe into the Chautala family’s assets. Parliamentary affairs minister Randeep Singh Surjewala said Chautala wanted to be thrown out before question hour because of the question about the Devi Lal trust. Chautala told reporters that there was nothing wrong in raising an issue in the house before question hour. “It always happens in parliament”, he said. On cash and other assets of the Devi Lal trust, Chautala said the government must take action if any irregularity was detected in the way resources were mobilised for the trust.
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Privilege move against Chautala Chandigarh, March 20 Moving the motion parliamentary affairs minister Randeep Singh Surjewala said it was the height of arrogance on the part of Chautala when he demanded that the entire house should apologise for condemning his conduct in the house yesterday. "Tomorrow Chautala would demand that the entire state should apologise for defeating his party in the last assembly elections," Surjewala added. Seconding the motion, agriculture minister H.S. Chatha said it was an unfortunate day that Chautala had levelled accusations against the presiding officer of the house of which persons of stature like Ranbir Singh and Gopi Chand Bhargava remained members. Pointing to schoolgirls sitting in the visitors’ gallery, Chatha said these youngsters would carry an impression that the house proceedings were worse than cockfights. The debate on the motion gave an opportunity to certain members to raise the Meham mayhem of the early 1990s in the house. Large-scale violence had led to the countermanding of the Meham byelection which was being contested by Chautala. Ram Kumar Gautam of the BJP, who also supported the motion, said Chautala would stab even a friend for his vested interests. The Amir Singh murder case of Meham was an example. Anand Singh Dangi, who had contested against Chautala from Meham, read out from the report of the Saikia Commission, which had inquired into the Meham violence, to say that if various governments had acted on the report Chautala would have been in jail. Those who supported the motion included education minister Phool Chand Mullana, irrigation minister Ajay Singh Yadav, Dharambir Gaba, Anita Yadav, Sukhbir Singh Farmana, Tejinder Singh Mann and Rao Dan Singh. The motion was carried by voice vote. The house later resumed discussion on the budget.
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NSUI resents CM’s attitude
Bhiwani, March 20 Addressing a press conference here today, state general secretary Kuldip Bhardwaj said he never desired any post of profit in the state government but fulfilling demands of students was their prime objective. He alleged that Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda used the NSUI only as a milestone and was now neglecting the students' body. He said the then NSUI president, Minakshi Natrajan, had appointed him as general secretary of the state body with the approval of Congress chief Sonia Gandhi and during the past 10 years he worked with dedication for the party and raised issues pertaining to students. "Two years back, when Hooda took charge, he had hoped the Chief Minister would not overlook students’ interests,” quipped Bhardwaj adding that the Chief Minister was ignoring office-bearers of the NSUI.
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Villagers block highway
Ambala, March 20 Angry with the slow pace of the search operation, the villagers decided to block the highway. They gathered at the river bank, walked to the highway and blocked traffic there at about 2 pm. This threw traffic out of gear for more than an hour. There were long queues of vehicles on both sides of the highway. The villagers refused to budge and were persistent with their demand that the search operation be intensified. The windscreen of a Punjab Roadways bus was broken by the people. The blockade was lifted only after an assurance by officers that their grievance would be looked into. The plan of the district administration to turn the course of the river at the point where Manjeet was drowned does not seem to have had the desired
result.
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Power bill waiver for schools extended
Bhiwani, March 20 A spokesman of the nigam said here today that the facility would give relief to government schools facing financial constraints. As per the extended facility, the DHBVN would waive the delayed payment surcharge on electricity bills outstanding against the schools as on February 28, 2007. To avail themselves of the facility, the schools shall have to liquidate all outstanding dues up to April 30, 2007, along with payment of current bills up to March 31, 2007. If any school is not able to clear the out standing dues up to April 30, delayed payment surcharge shall be levied as heretofore. All government schools which were defaulting on February 28 can avail themselves of the benefit of waiver of surcharge by liquidating the arrears and current bill payment up to April 30, 2007. |
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People not to gain from SEZs: BJP
Panipat, March 20 Addressing a press conference at the local party office, Mann said the state government should "learn a lesson from ill results of the SEZs". On his party's stand on the Nandigram episode, he said the state BJP had formed a committee on the issue and it would also hold discussions on it at a meeting on March 21. He said the farmers who had suffered crop loss in the recent hailstorm and rain in different pockets of the state should be given a compensation of Rs 10,000 per acre.
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SGPC to oppose gurdwara panel for state
Kurukshetra, March 20 A decision to this effect was conveyed by Avtar Singh to reporters at a press conference on the premises of gurdwara Chhevin (sixth) Paatshahi situated in the Haryana Sikh Mission office here today. Addressing the press conference, Mr Avtar Singh and Mr Radhuvir Singh Virk, senior vice-president, SGPC, said a meeting of the SGPC general body had been convened in Amritsar on March 29 to decide next course of action. Both leaders had threatened the Haryana government the SGPC will oppose separate gurdwara parbandhak committee for the Sikhs of Haryana. They alleged the Congress-led Haryana government was trying to divide the Sikhs. They claimed the SGPC was an institution of Sikhs in the whole world and nobody would be allowed to interfere into Sikh religious matters. Opposing the formation the of HSGPC, both leaders claimed there were 18 lakh Sikhs in Haryana but only three lakh of them were demanding separate HSGPC. When asked about providing Ravi-Beas waters by Punjab to Haryana the SGPC chief said the water issue was government issue while theirs was a religious issue. Meanwhile, the office-bearers of the HSGPC (Ad hoc), including Jathedar Jagdish Singh Jhinda, member SGPC and president, HSGPC (Ad hoc) as well as Jathedar Didar Singh Nalvi, member SGPC and general secretary, HSGPC, in a joint statement here today demanded the executive committee of the SGPC at a meeting here today and its general body meeting to be held on March 29 in Amritsar, instead of opposing the formation of separate HSGPC, should express faith in Haryana Sikhs by resolving to support the formation of the HSGPC. In another resolution, the HSGPC (Ad hoc) office bearers demanded the SGPC should given up charge of Haryana gurdwaras by giving Haryana gurdwaras’ charge to the HSGPC (Ad hoc) on the Baisakhi day of April 13. In the remaining four unanimous resolutions, the HSGPC (Ad hoc) thanked the Haryana Government for passing a resolution for the formation of separate HSGPC under Section 72 of the Punjab Reorganisation Act, 1966 presented by Mr Nirmal Singh, MLA from Naggal (Ambala) constituency in Haryana Assembly on March 15, 2007. The HSGPC (Ad hoc) condemned the Indian National Lok Dal (INLD) MLAs for walking out from the Assembly in protest against the said resolution on the same day. The HSGPC (Ad hoc) also condemned the SGPC and the Akali Dal (Badal) government for opposing the formation of separate HSGPC at a meeting and the Haryana Vidhan Sabha, respectively. The HSGPC (Ad hoc) clarified the Haryana Sikhs would support the Haryana government’s claim on Ravi-Beas waters.
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Readers’ agony: Lesser pay on promotion
Rohtak, March 20 Selection grade and the pay scale of a reader are the same, but those given grade without higher designation get two advance increments. So, those promoted as reader get lower salary. This is not the recommendation of the UGC, but the interpretation of Haryana’s insensitive bureaucracy which justifies lower salary for promoted teachers vis a vis those denied promotion on the ground that eight years down the line promoted teachers may get another promotion. This is despite the fact that the UGC has issued clear-cut instructions in this regard. This issue has been raised by universities and their teachers from time to time. However, in a recent response Maharshi Dayanand University here has been warned by the Education Department not to raise this issue again.Strangely, this anomaly was removed in the case of teachers of Haryana Agricultural University, Hisar, in 2005. However, this benefit is being denied to teachers of other Haryana universities. Dr Rajinder Chaudhary, president of the MDU Teachers Association (MDUTA), said the bureaucratic insensitivity was compounded by the indifference of the vice-chancellors. In the case of MDU, despite repeated written assurances, promotion cases were moving at a snail’s pace. This denial of legitimate dues on due date, he said, was not only demoralising,but also did irreparable damage to teachers’ career prospects. Selective processing of promotion cases disturbed the seniority of teachers. As a result, some got a windfall and became deans or heads, while others were denied their due as a consequence of delayed interviews. Those denied their due on account of delay in processing of their individual cases might never get another go at these posts.It had already happened in few cases,he said. Moreover, a teacher denied promotion cannot apply again for one year. While officially the bar on applying afresh is for only one year from the date of denial of promotion, but when interviews are delayed, teachers stand to lose two to three years, he added.
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Job guarantee scheme a boon for Sirsa villagers
Sirsa, March 20 Thanks to the National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (NREGS), there is a marked improvement in the socio-economic situation of the villages in the. Sirsa is one of the two districts of Haryana selected for the implementation of the Central scheme. "Apart from getting good food, we are now in a position to save some money for the rainy day," asserts Angrez Kaur, a resident of Kotli village. Her views are endorsed by Bindia, Pappi, Shanno Devi and Joginder, who are engaged in digging of a pond on the village land. What do they plan to do with this additional income? "We will utilise it for educating our children so that they have a bright future," maintains Shanno Devi. Due to the easy availability of work for all, a number of village women have started working as labourers to supplement their family income. The timely payment of due wages is also a big attraction for them. It is pleasant to note that the authorities concerned have taken care of even the smallest conveniences of the villagers working as labourers on these projects. For instance, a woman has been employed for looking after the children of the women labourers while they work. Another person has been given the job of serving water to the workers. Yet another youth of the same village has been engaged as employment assistant. Facilities like first-aid and refreshment for kids have also been provided for. In fact, the daily work routine has become an enjoyable occasion for a happy get-together for the village residents. With no pressure on the villagers, they are free to work at their own will. An interaction with the villagers working here reveals that most of them used to work as farm labourers during the harvesting season or daily wage earners prior to the launch of this scheme. "But in normal course, there is no surety of getting work; and even the payment of wages is delayed many a time," points out a village youth. The situation is more or less similar in Panihari, Musaiwala and Sikandarpur, which are among the 300 odd villages where various developmental activities are being undertaken as part of the scheme. These include digging ponds ( "johads"), strengthening of village streets and link roads, apart from other such works. Deputy commissioner V.Umashankar said the wages of those employed under the scheme would now be deposited in their bank accounts. "The idea behind the move is to promote the habit of saving money among the village residents," he observes. All in all, NREGS, along with another Central scheme, the Rashtriya Sam Vikas Yojna, is all set to change the face of Sirsa district.
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Governor’s remarks invite criticism Ambala, March 20 Malik said Haryana came into being on November 1, 1966, on the recommendations of the Shah Commission. Eventhough the report had recommended Chandigarh to be a part of Haryana, the state was deprived of the city and areas of Kharar tehsil, he claimed. He said the Haryana Government must safeguard the interests of the state.
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Govt yet to finalise action on Bhalla report Chandigarh, March 20 This was stated in the action taken report (ATR) presented in the assembly here today along with the report of the commission headed by Justice K.S. Bhalla. The commission concluded that there were no justified circumstances and the whole exercise of raising the HSISF was done hurriedly for the appeasement of voters for political gain. The recruitment was made hurriedly, observed the commission. Regarding the terms of reference on financial loss caused to the state exchequer, the commission came to the conclusion that loss was caused due to acts of commission and omission. Former Chief Minister Om Prakash Chautala, former finance minister Sampat Singh and former DGP M.S. Malik were held responsible for the loss. The commission answered term numbers 1 and 4 in the negative for want of proof. While term number 1 was on whether the legislature was misled on the necessity of the HSISF, term number 4 related to the role played by extraneous factors in the selection and recruitment of the members of the force. The ATR said since the report was received recently, the action required had not been finalised as yet. It said legal advice of the law department and the advocate- general was being obtained with regard to the liability and action required to be taken against the former Chief Minister and the former finance minister. Former DGP Malik had been already chargesheeted under a major penalty clause for his alleged role in the matter, the ATR said and added that further action, if any, would be taken against Malik after legal advice on the Bhalla report was received. The report, the contents of which had appeared in The Tribune on March 17, was presented in the assembly at the very last moment. Responding to the demands made by MLAs on Monday for the tabling of the report, Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda had promised that it would be presented in the house on Tuesday. The government's inability to chalk out an action plan on the basis of the report, however, can attract some criticism tomorrow from members of the house. Chautala and Sampat Singh, when asked about the findings of the Bhalla commission, said the central government had been continuously urging the states to raise their own industrial security forces.
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2 Bills for benefit of workers cleared Chandigarh, March 20 The Punjab Industrial Establishments (National and Festival Holidays and Casual and Sick Leave) Haryana Amendment Bill, 2007, seeks to enhance the fine to be imposed on employers violating the provisions of the act. The Punjab Labour Welfare Fund (Haryana Amendment) Bill, 2007, aims at augmenting the resources of the labour welfare fund used for the benefit of labourers and their dependants. The Haryana Local Area Development Tax(Amendment) Bill, 2007, clarifies certain provisions of the original act in view of a Supreme Court
judgement.
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Twenty beneficiaries get cheques Kaithal, March 20 As many as 68 beneficiaries were also handed over cheques amounting to Rs 10,000 each under the rashtriya parivar yojna. Speaking at the function, Kataria said under the Rajiv Gandhi parivar bima yojna there was a provision to pay Rs 1 lakh to provide family members of any person who died in an accident or became permanently disabled in the 18 -60 age group. He said this scheme was introduced in the state in April 2006. He added that during the current financial year 86 persons had been granted Rs 84. 50 lakh under the scheme. Giving details about the rashtriya parivar yojna, Kataria said only families under the BPL were entitled to receive the benefit and the age of the deceased should be between 18 and 64 years.
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Driver killed in mishap
Jhajjar, March 20 Jagminder was at the wheel in the car and died on the spot. The driver of another car was injured in the collision. |
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Man robbed of Rs 2.5 lakh
Panipat, March 20 Two motorcycle-borne youths hit his bike and as he fell down, they snatched his bag containing cash and sped away. —
TNS |
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3 held for threat to shopkeeper
Sonepat, March 20 In protest against the attempt of alleged accused to make collections forcibly, the main market of Gohana remained closed for more than two hours and Civil Road was blocked by the people. However, the SDM of Gohana reached on the spot and persuaded them to lift the blockade. According to information, the youths reached the shop of Sushil Jain in the main market around 10 am and demanded Rs 5,000 from him in the name of their “akhara” (wrestling ground). When Sushil Jain refused to pay the amount, he was threatened by them with dire consequences. — OC
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