Chandigarh, May 4
The recent proceedings in a public interest litigation filed before the Punjab and Haryana High Court, in December 2004, has brought forth the Haryana government’s contradictory stand on the issue of auction of mining sites in the Morni-Pinjore Forest Division and the alleged illegal mining thereof.

The deputy conservator of forests, Morni-Pinjore Forest Division, Pinjore, had asked, vide letter dated May 9, 2005, the deputy commissioner, Panchkula, to take immediate steps to stop the mining in areas falling under the forest division and to cancel any auctions of mining sites thereof.

It was asserted in the letter that though the mining department had auctioned the land for mining under the forest division area but according to Section 4 of the Land Preservation Act, 1900, such mining work or levelling of land and digging of soil in the said area was grossly illegal and punishable.

The deputy conservator had categorically asked the deputy commissioner to ensure the compliance of the Act and take necessary steps to check the growth of mining mafia.

The copy of the aforesaid letter was placed before the court by the petitioner on May 2, 2007, to highlight the contradiction in the affidavit filed by a mining department official.

Interestingly, in his affidavit, dated March 9, 2007, filed before the court, P.K. Sharma, mining engineer, Deparment of Mines and Geology, Haryana, sought time to demonstrate that land claimed to be under the forest area was not a forest land at all, implying that mining and auction of mining sites was completely legal and in accordance with the established norms.

Importantly, this assertion of the mining engineer is in glaring contradiction to the aforesaid letter written by the deputy conservator of forests unambiguously stating that mining was being done in the areas falling under the forest division and was thus illegal.

The mining engineer also stated in his affidavit that the mining had been allowed up to the depth of 10 feet only (in the case of riverbed mining) and excavation could be carried out only in the middle of the river bed after leaving the area adjoining the river bank.

It was further stated in the affidavit that the state government in order to ensure that the river mining did not adversely affect bridges, had imposed a ban on the excavation of minerals, up to 1 km upstream and 500 metres downstream around the bridge over Ghaggar river.

The PIL claimed that according to a notification, dated November 28, 1997, the land in question (area lying to the north of the metalled and unmetalled road connecting Chandigarh, Panchkula, Ramgarh, Raipur Rani, Naraingrh, Sadhaura, Bilaspur, Chhachhrauli, Dadupur up to the Yamuna river, near Nathanpur and Lakur villages) fell under Morni-Pinjore Forest Division.

The court has fixed July 9 as the next date of hearing.

Rewari, May 4
INLD supremo and former Chief Minister Om Prakash Chautala has asserted that the formation of a Third Front will be a viable alternative for both the Congress and the BJP.

Addressing a press conference here this morning, he said the outcome of the UP Assembly poll would facilitate its speedy emergence on the political scenario of the country.

He asserted a Third Front was needed since people were fed up with the policies of the Congress and the BJP. He said a similar situation was now prevailing like the one in 1977, when the Janata Party humbled the Congress at the hustings and came into existence. The same thing was repeated in 1989, when the newly-formed Janata Dal forcefully replaced the Congress.

He said a Third Front would be formed comprising various regional parties.

The INLD supremo alleged that the Congress had been functioning like a dictatorial outfit and the policies dictated by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, finance minister P. Chidambaram and deputy chairman Planning Commission Montek Singh Ahluwalia, would spell disaster for the country.

Flaying the Congress for using the CBI as a tool against its political adversaries, he said UP Chief Minister Mulayam Singh Yadav, Tamil Nadu Chief Minister Jayalalithaa, former Bihar Chief Minister Lalu Prasad Yadav, BSP supremo Mayawati and he himself were all facing the CBI proceedings.

He added a mid-term Lok Sabha poll was imminent as the Congress-led UPA government was fast approaching its ouster.

Describing the en masse exodus of Bhajan Lal’s supporters as an internal matter of the Congress party, Chautala said it would certainly be conducive to the INLD which was going from strength to strength with each passing day.

Hisar, May 4
The decision of Dakshin Haryana Bijli Vitran Nigam (DHBVN) to enroll panchayats as its franchisees for discharging several of its duties, including meter reading, bill issuance and collection, maintenance of distribution network and arrear recovery may face problems.

Sources said the scheme might meet the same fate as that of an earlier plan under which the management of government primary schools in the state was entrusted to panchayats. The scheme had proved a failure.

The new DHBVN scheme provided for the appointment of gramin vidyut pratinidhis (GVPs) by consenting panchayats. They would be ITI-trained electricians. The nigam would reimburse their salary to panchayats at the rate of Rs 4,500 per GVP per month.

One GVP would be posted in a village having up to 500 connections. In case of villages with more than 500 but less than 1000 connections, the panchayats would hire two GVPs. Villages with more than 1000 connections would have three GVPs. The sources said the GVPs’ recruitment of would be the first hurdle. Not all villages had ITI-trained youths, who could take up the job in their own village.

Former Haryana power minister Sampat Singh said one GVP in a village would find it impossible to cope with all duties. Taking the meter reading, issuing the bill, collecting the bill amount and maintaining the entire distribution system in the village was not a one-man job, he added.

He said the franchisee system envisaged in the Electricity Act 2003 was supposed to be implemented for a cluster of villages or even bigger units by outsourcing the job to professionals. It was not feasible to implement it in one village with a lone GVP.

Senior engineers said without the backing of the established system, it would be impossible to check power theft and other line losses.

The nigam planned to offer franchise to NGOs, in case panchayats failed to opt for the scheme, officials doubted whether it would be possible to implement the scheme where in some panchayats were having the franchise, while in others franchise was given to NGOs. As such too, no NGO could hope to implement it just for one village, they said. 

Chandigarh, May 4
The Haryana government has issued transfer and posting orders of one IPS and two HPS officers.

Satheesh Balan, ASP, Panipat, has been posted as ASP, Ferozepur Jhirka, in place of Naveen Kumar, who has been posted as DSP, Palwal.

Parveen Kumar, DSP, Palwal, has been posted as DSP, traffic, Karnal, against a vacant post.

Chandigarh, May 4
Haryana is looking forward to brand new buses that will make travel in the state quick and comfortable.

The government has taken a decision to add 3,500 to 4,500 new buses to its existing fleet during the 11th Five Year Plan. Once implemented, it will meet the demand of people to increase frequency and add routes.

The fleet to be added will include fuel-efficient CNG buses as well as several AC and de luxe buses.

Chandigarh, May 4
That the rules regulating the functions, powers of inquiry and investigation and financial and administrative powers of the lokayukta of Haryana are yet to be notified despite 15 months having passed since the office was restored is ample evidence of the government’s apathy to fully empower this important office.

The office was restored in the state in January with much fanfare after a five-year hiatus during the previous INLD regime headed by Om Prakash Chautala. However, it is increasingly appearing to be merely a cosmetic step. Officialdom, a tribe that loves to cater only to people who wield power, has been showing marked indifference when it comes to answering queries coming from the lokayukta’s office.

Justice N. K. Sud , lokayukta of Haryana, it is learnt, has told the chief secretary about the delay by officers in responding to queries made by him. The delay, it is learnt, is witnessed particularly when the questions relate to probes against civil servants. After repeated complaints made by the lokayukta in this regard, the chief secretary swung into action and passed instructions on Wednesday warning officials of disciplinary action against them if they did not answer promptly to correspondence from the lokayukta’s office.

There may not be any tangible improvement on this front immediately as the delay can be always justified by citing the set procedure followed in the movement of government files. It is another matter that files move astonishingly fast when the subject matter of the file is of interest to some political bigwig.

The Haryana act, paving the way for the appointment of a lokayukta, itself has put constraints on the powers of the office as it gives the lokayukta only the power to recommend action on a case brought before him. It is not binding on the government to implement the step recommended by him. As many as 150 complaints have been received by the lokayukta of which 75 have been disposed of. The lokayukta’s office here has no clue regarding the action taken by the government on the the recommendations of the lokayukta.

Yamunanagar, May 4
More than 60 children of Mukand Lal Public School here, who were returning home after school in a bus of JMIT (a part of Mukand Lal institutes), were chased by some persons on bikes and a car, who wanted to ‘settle scores’ with the bus driver. They chased the bus and hurled stones and iron rods on the vehicle, which caused heavy damage to its windowpanes and door.

The driver, however, maintained equanimity and kept driving the bus on different roads of the town to save himself and children.

Children in the bus kept crying and shouting for help. In this daring attack children, however, escaped unhurt. Several of them were taken to some doctors later as they were ‘too shocked’.

Principal of MLN College Dr Ramesh Kumar, who reached the spot, said that two children were given first aid.

Sources said that the bus started as usual from the school at Sarojani Nagar at around 2 pm for Radaur as most of the children were from there.

As soon as the bus started the goons came after the bus. They were reportedly carrying batons and rods. Bus driver Uday Kumar sensed trouble and instead of going towards Radaur he turned the bus towards city police station. However, the goons in car blocked the movement of the bus near the bus stand. They threw stones and batons on the bus damaging several windowpanes.

The driver turned the bus and started driving it towards Jagadhri. When the driver saw cops near the Kanhaiya Chowk on Chandigarh - Roorkiee highway he stopped the bus. Spotting the cops the culprits sped away in the opposite direction.

Children were later taken back to school again from where they were sent to their homes.

The driver said that the goons wanted to attack him because recently he had mediated in a group clash.

School principal S. Batla said that the reason behind the attack could be known only after the accused were arrested. The registration number of the car had been noted down and forwarded to the police. Police sources said accused had been identified and police had started raids to arrest them. 

Dhanura Jatan (Kurukshetra), May 4
Eighty-year-old Gur Devi finally saw her son’s body this evening when it was brought from Germany today. Somi Chand’s body arrived at Delhi this morning and it took nearly four hours for the family members to complete the paperwork at the IGI Airport.

Somi Chand was found dead in his room at Düsseldorf in Germany on April 11 but the German authorities had refused to hand over the body to his family in India because the documents recovered from his room had revealed that he was not Somi Chand, but Brato, a Portuguese.

The Tribune had first reported the matter.

Somi Chand’s wife Angrezo Devi, who was in no position to talk, had seen her husband 14 years ago when he had left the country.

The deceased’s son, Ajay, performed the last rites this evening. Thousands of people were present during the cremation.

The family had to spend 3,050 Euros (Rs 1.72 lakh) to bring the body here. The family members said Somi Chand had suffered a cardiac arrest. “It took us 21 days to prove that the deceased was Somi Chand,” said Vijay, the deceased’s nephew.

The family members said had they not acted promptly, the Germans would have cremated the body.

The deceased’s brother, Mam Chand, said the family’s German friends had helped them bring the body here.

Ambala, May 4
Two youths were arrested after they attempted to rob a scooterist at gun-point near Tepla village on the Jagadhari road yesterday.

The incident took place when the scooterist, who works for an Ambala City based shopkeeper, was going from Saha towards Ambala Cantt. He was followed by two youths traveling on a motorcycle near Tepla village. One of the motorcyclists showed a country-made revolver and he snatched the bag containing cash.

Khushi Ram, who works at the Naraingarh Haryana Roadways terminus, noticed that something was wrong and he tried to chase the youths who were on the motorcycle. The youths entered Tepla village where they were surrounded by villagers.

Police officials arrested the youths Lal Chand and Gurjeet alias Johnny. One country made revolver and two live cartridges have been recovered from them.