Chandigarh, March 30
The Haryana cabinet today granted ex post facto approval to allow the exclusion of 34 posts of civil judge (junior division) from the purview of the Haryana Public Service Commission by ignoring the views expressed by the commission.

The cabinet also approved an amendment to the Punjab Civil Service (Judicial Branch) Rules, 1951, for the constitution of a selection committee for the recruitment of civil judges (junior division).

A reference under Article 317 (1) of the Constitution of India for the removal of the chairman and members of the HPSC had been already made to the President of India by the state government.

Earlier, 31 posts of civil judge (junior division) were taken out of the purview of the commission and filled up through a selection committee. The committee included three judges of the Punjab and Haryana High Court nominated by the Chief Justice. The existing 34 posts of civil judge (junior division) will be filled in the same manner.

The cabinet, which met under the chairmanship of Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda here, also decided to increase the existing strength of members of the Haryana Staff Selection Commission (HSSC).

As a result of the amendment, the HSSC will have nine members, including the chairman. At present, the commission consists of six members and the chairman in addition. The strength of the HSSC was increased to nine in view of the enhanced workload entrusted to it by the government by transferring to it recruitment work earlier carried out by the HPSC.

The cabinet also decided to amend the Punjab Police Service Rules, 1934, to increase the quota for the direct recruitment of outstanding sportspersons, both male and female, in the police force.

Following this decision, 3 per cent of the posts of inspector would be filled by direct recruitment from among sportspersons who are the recipients of the Arjuna Award, winners of gold or silver or bronze medals in the Olympics or gold medal winners in the Commonwealth or Asian Games in events which also feature in the Olympics. Similarly, 3 per cent of the posts of sub-inspector would be filled by direct recruitment from among outstanding sportspersons.

Chandigarh, March 30
T.C.Gupta, awaiting orders of posting, was today made the chief administrator, Haryana urban development authority (HUDA), relieving S.S. Dhillon.

The Haryana government also gave additional charges to various officers to fill the places of officers deputed as election observers by the Election Commission of India.

Hardeep Kumar has been given additional charge of special secretary, irrigation department, during the election duty of S.K. Gulati.

Ram Niwas has been given additional charge of director, consolidation of holdings, director, land records, and special secretary, revenue and disaster management and consolidation departments, during the election duty of S.K. Goyal.

K.K. Khandelwal has been given additional charge of director, employment, during the period of election duty of Krishan Kumar.

Shashi Bala Gulati will hold charge of director and special secretary, social justice and empowerment and welfare of Scheduled Castes and backward classes, in addition to her present duties during the election duty of Roshan Lal. R.R. Jowel will hold additional charge of managing director, dairy development cooperative federation, during the election duty of Devender Singh.

S.C. Jain will hold additional charge of director and special secretary, development and panchayats, during the election duty of Shiv Raman Gaur.

Anil Kumar will have additional charges of managing director, Haryana Scheduled Castes, finance and development corporation, and managing director, Haryana backward classes and economically weaker sections kalyan nigam, during the election duty of R.P.Chander.

H.S. Rana will have additional charge of excise and taxation commissioner and special secretary, excise and taxation, during the election duty of Arun Kumar.

Chandigarh, March 30
The Haryana cabinet today approved the rules framed under the Haryana Private University Act, 2006, for setting up self-financed private universities in the state. The rules will be known as the Haryana Private Universities Rules, 2007, and will come into force from the date of publication in the gazette.

The cabinet also approved a proposal of the education department for leasing out 75 acres to Kurukshetra University for 30 years at a rate of Re 1 per year for setting up a postgraduate regional centre at Jind.

The cabinet also decided to allot over 23 kanals belonging to the Government Livestock Farm, Hisar, to two private organisations at a market rate of Rs 12 lakh per acre fixed by the deputy commissioner. The Sagar Samrat Shiksha Society of Hisar will be allotted 8 kanals for the construction of a hostel and dharamshala. The remaining land will be given to the Punjabi Welfare Society , Hisar, for the construction of a senior secondary girls’ school, a maternity hospital, a hostel and an auditorium.

The cabinet also approved the sale of land measuring over 8 kanals to DAV Centenary Public School, Nilokheri, for Rs 24.20 lakh. The management of the school had requested the government for this piece of land for use as a playground and extension of the school. The land was sold on the condition that it would not be utilised for commercial purposes and 10 per cent of the seats in the school would be reserved for poor children who would be provided education free of cost.

Chandigarh, March 30
The Haryana cabinet today approved a proposal of the finance department to enhance the validity period of payment orders from 10 days to 30 days by amending the Punjab treasury rules and subsidiary treasury rules.

As outstation cheques or bills take more than 10 days in transactions in banks or treasuries, frequently such instruments are presented a second time to treasury officers for revalidation leading to unnecessary paper work. Today's decision will give relief to people receiving payments from the government, an official press 
note stated.

The cabinet also decided to drop an earlier decision of the government to constitute the Haryana water supply and sewerage board, which was accorded approval on February 22, 1989.

The urban local bodies department had proposed the constitution of the board to take loans from financing institutions. But after the transfer of the work of water supply and sewerage to the public health department, the constitution of the board was no longer necessary.

The cabinet reviewed and approved the annual administrative reports of the rajya sainik board for the year 2005-06, the vigilance department for 2005-06, the jails department for 2003-04 and the irrigation department for 2001-02, 2002-03  and 2003-04.

The cabinet also reviewed and approved the annual administrative reports of the local audit department for 2005-06, the printing and stationery department for 2003-04, the animal husbandry and dairying department for 2004-05 and the excise and taxation department for 2003-04.

Rewari, March 30
A high-level team of the Ministry of Agriculture comprising its two directors J.K. Chaudhary and Sunil Sharan today visited the hail-hit areas of Rewari, Gurgaon, Mewat and Faridabad districts of the state for an on-the-spot assessment of heavy crop losses.

Chaudhary and Sharan, accompanied by deputy commissioner Chander Prakash, zila parishad chairman Satish Yadav and other senior officials of the Revenue Department inspected the hailstorm damaged crops in Khatawali and Dohki villages near here.

The farmers told them that their standing crops of mustard and wheat were flattened by the severe hailstorm which lashed the region on March 12.

They were also informed that crop losses were 100 per cent in all 132 affected villages of the district and about 32,000 farmers' families had been severely affected.

The central team would soon submit its report to the Ministry of Agriculture which would then make recommendations in regard to a financial package for Haryana.

Rewari, March 30
The Rampura police yesterday arrested a young woman Lalita Yadav, wife of Anil Kumar Yadav of Saharanwas village, on charges of fabricating false evidence against her in-laws as well as causing hurt and intimidating them criminally.

She was produced in the court of the chief judicial magistrate who remanded her in judicial custody.

On the basis of a complaint lodged by her father-in-law Balbir Singh Yadav, a case under Sections 195 (fabricating false evidence), 323 (causing hurt), 506 (criminal intimidation) has been registered against her.

It was reported that Lalita of Kheri Khumar village of Jhajjar district was married to Anil Yadav in 1996. Soon afterwards she dragged her in-laws into a case involving dowry harrasment and maintenance allowance, which was still pending.

Since then she had been living separately and was reportedly working as a nurse in a government hospital in the Najafgarh area of Delhi.

Yesterday, she came to Saharanwas village where she allegedly created an ugly scene with her in-laws and then telephonically sought police protection saying that her in-laws were bent upon assaulting her criminally.

But when the police reached the spot, her father-in-law spilled the beans alleging that it was Lalita who had bullied and brow-beaten them furiously.

Following the exposure, she was arrested.

Hisar, March 30
The Hisar police has arrested a most-wanted criminal and four wanted criminals under a special scheme formulated by SSP Arshinder Singh Chawla. As many as 12 notorious criminals had been identified as part of the scheme, titled Criminals To Be Arrested (CTBA).

Working on the CTBA scheme, the district police nabbed the aforesaid criminals in a short time span of March 13 to 30.

Of the arrested persons, the most-wanted criminal is Rajesh of Sisai Bolan village. He had been booked under Sections 302/341 and 120-B, IPC, and was a proclaimed offender.

The other wanted criminals arrested by the police include Ramesh of Baas Badshahpur village, Surjit of Kumharia, Raju, alias Krishan, of Mohalla Ahiran and Mewa Singh of Bithmada village. While Mewa Singh was a parole jumper in a murder case, the others were accused of looting, ransom and snatching.

Meanwhile, the Adampur police today arrested Vinod Kumar of Khabra and Surender of Suli Khera. They were allegedly taking 384 bottles of illicit country-made liquor in a Maruti car. The car has been impounded and liquor bottles seized. A case has been registered.

Sonepat, March 30
Eleven inmates of State After Care Home (Bolster Jail) reportedly escaped from the prison at around 8 p.m. today.

According to information, around 35 inmates attempted to escape from the child prison after attacking warden Sandeep with broken steel glass after the evening player, the time when the main gate of the prison is opened. Some of the inmates, who were brought to the jail after their appearance in the courts, were also among the inmates who attempted to escape. But most of them were overpowered by the jail staff and police personnel.

When contacted, the superintendent of the State After Care Home, informed that 11 inmates — Manjeet, Praveen, Arun, Twinke, Arun, Abhishek, Sunil, Navdeep, Amit, Krishan and Sandeep — have not been rounded up so far. A massive hunt have been launched by the police to nab them.