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Administrative reshuffle
Luxury tax imposed
Only 17 members attend meeting
MC starts encroachment drive
Workers seek new pay panel
Pratibha’s background questionable: Sangwan
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Gurgaon to have cyber crime cell
KU to set up research centre
Kidnapping mystery solved
Liquor vend damaged, 11 held
Dera refuses to comment on Takht verdict
Prize money for panchayats
Mango mela from June 30
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Administrative reshuffle
Chandigarh, June 27 Though Hooda, who announced the reshuffle at a press conference convened to brief the media about the decisions taken by the Cabinet today, said the efficiency, competence and performance of the officers were the sole criteria for their posting, the reshuffle has definitely come as a shock to some of those officers who had good postings in the past because of the influence of their godfathers(or mothers). It is for the first time in the history of the state that the administrative reshuffle was announced by the Chief Minister even before the list of officers to be transferred reached the Chief Secretary. The transfer of the Jakhu couple, though not unexpected, has surprised the bureaucracy. The couple was considered close to Union Minister of State Selja. Shakuntala Jakhu, who has been divested of the charge of Secretary, Town and Country Planning, considered to be a prestigious post, has now been posted as Secretary, Social Security and Women Emplowerment. Her husband, Raminder Jakhu, who was Secretary, Transport, has not been given any posting in the reshuffle. G. Prassana Kumar succeeds him in the Transport Department. Informed sources say the Chief Minister had received a complaint that certain senior officers of the Town and Country Planning Department had purchased land after making a draft master plan. The plan was modified after the land was purchased by them in a district along the G.T. Road. However, before the plan could be notified, a delegation of residents of the area led by a minister, who is the MLA from that area, met the Chief Minister and brought the matter to his notice. It is not known if Shakuntala's transfer has any connection with that complaint. Hooda has also used the reshuffle to ease out an officer, whose posting as Deputy Commissioner after the Congress government took over, raised many a eyebrow. The officer was considered close to the Chautala government. The Chief Minister's office has also been strengthened with K.K. Khandelwal's appointment as Deputy Principal Secretary to Chief Minister(in charge of CM's annoucements). Khandelwal will also be the new Director, Public Relations. An H.C.S. officer will also be posted in the CMO soon. Today's reshuffle is the first instalment. Since certain posts remain vacant and certain officers are without posting, another reshuffle will take place after Hooda's return from Mumbai, for which he left immediately after announcing the reshuffle. Hooda said certain DCs and SPs would also be shifted. If Hooda really wants to give the message to the bureaucracy that he is the boss, then he must ensure that there is no rethinking on today's list. Otherwise, it would send a wrong message. Naseem Ahmed has been made Secretary, Environment. Dharamvir goes as Secretary, Public Health Department. S.P. Sharma gets Health in place of Urvashi Gulati, who goes to the Deveopment and Panchayats Department. Naresh Gulati is the new Secretary, Labour and Employment. L.S.M. Salins gets Food and Supplies Department. Raj Kumar goes as Secretary, Agriculture. Manik Sonewana gets Cooperation. D.S. Dhesi goes to Town and Country Planning. K.K. Jalan will look after the PWD(B&R) Department. N.C. Wadhwa, who conducted negotiations with the Dera Sacha Sauda to extract an apology, will be the new Labour Commissioner. Sri Kant Walgad will be the Administrator, HUDA, Gurgaon, in place of S.P. Gupta, who goes as Additional Coordinator, Investment Promotion Board, Delhi. R.K. Khullar, Director, Agriculture, swaps places with Mehtab Singh, Commissioner, Faridabad Municipal Corporation. J.P. Kaushik, Sarban Singh and Rajiv Sharma will be new Commissioners of Rohtak, Hisar and Gurgaon Divisions, respectively. Avtar Singh will be the Director, HIPA, Gurgaon. Dhanpat Singh goes as Managing Director, Dairy Development Corporation. Anil Malik will be the new Director, Food and Suppies. V.S. Kundu goes as Special Secretary, Jails and Justice. Shiv Raman Gaur and S.K. Monga will be the new Directors of Higher Education and Rural Development, respectively. |
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Luxury tax imposed
Chandigarh, June 27 The new 10 per cent tax will be levied with effect from August 1 next on the hotels charging room rent of Rs 2,000 or more per day. The banquet halls and marriage palaces, which charge Rs 20,000 or more as rent per day, will be covered by the new tax. Facilities like health club, swimming pool and conference hall in the hotels covered by the tax will also be taxable. Luxury tax on hotels is being levied in Tamil
Nadu, Karnataka, Kerala, Rajasthan, New Delhi, UP, Himachal Pradesh, Andhra Pradesh and
Maharastra. The rate of tax may be increased up to 15 per cent. The Cabinet reduced VAT on compact fluorescent lamps
(CFLs) and tubes from 12.5 per cent to 4 per cent. It also reduced VAT on spares and parts of railway coaches, engines and wagons from 12.5 per cent to 4 per cent with effect from April 1. It decided to bring members of families of those Central Para Military Forces
(CPMF), who were killed in operations from June 15, 2001 to March 4, 2005, under the ambit of the scheme to give ex gratia grant to the family members of the
CPMF, killed in terrorist activities, war and IED blasts. The facility was withdrawn by the Chautala government in 2001 but was restored by the Hooda government from March 5, 2005. The decision would benefit 44 such cases to the tune of Rs 1.10
crore. The Cabinet enhanced the water rates for brick making and construction work from Rs 250 to Rs 500 per 2,500 cubic ft. However, there will be no increase in the rates for water for drinking and irrigation purposes. It was also decided to fix water rates at Rs 250 per 2,500 cubic ft for water supply in bulk and also in case of industries, power plants and other bulk users. It also amended Rule 13.17 (2) of Punjab Police Rules, 1934 to enhance the grading of annual confidential reports
(ACRs) of police personnel from the existing three categories to five categories, which would be outstanding, very good, good, average and below average. The police rules relating to recruitment were also amended. According to the amended rules, constables would be appointed on the recommendations of selection boards constituted by the director-general. At present, the minimum educational qualification is 10+2 for both general and Backward Class category and matric for the Scheduled Castes, Scheduled Tribe and Ex-servicemen category. Also, the total qualifying marks in the physical efficiency test for constables’ recruitment shall be 15 instead of nine only at present. The Cabinet amended the Haryana Civil Services (Punishment and Appeal) Rules, 1987 to streamline the disposal of disciplinary proceedings and conduct of enquiries against the delinquent officers or officials. The decision was taken in view of the judgement of the Punjab and Haryana High Court delivered in the Jatinder Singh versus Haryana of August 3, 2006. |
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Only 17 members attend meeting
Ambala, June 27 The no-confidence motion fell as the minimum number of municipal councillors required for the meeting did not turn up. After emerging from the meeting, Neelam stated that she was happy with the development. "I will continue to serve the people as I have been doing in the past," she said. The rebel Congress municipal councillors turned up for the meeting, despite a whip issued by the District Congress Committee president, directing them to abstain from the voting process. The rebel Congress councillors who were present include Ajay Walia, Riya Ratra, Dimple Mittal, Nisha Goel, Omkar Nathi and Roop Chand. Bharatiya Janata Party councillors were also present at the meeting. Indian National Lok Dal councillors were conspicuous by their absence. Even though INLD councillors, led by Hira Lal Yadav, had signed an application seeking a no-confidence motion against Neelam, they did not turn for the meeting. The absence of the five INLD councillors meant that the quorum fell short exactly by five councillors. While at least 22 councillors were required, only 17 turned up for the meeting. Presiding officer and city magistrate Sushil Kumar barred mediapersons from covering the meeting, without giving any reasons for the same. Sushil even went to the extent of asking for a police force to forcibly evict mediapersons from the room. However, he later relented following protests from mediapersons and councillors. Ambala Cantonment MLA D.K. Bansal strongly condemned the move against the media. "There must be transparency in governance. The presiding officer was not within his rights to ask mediapersons to leave the room," he said. Former Ambala Cantonment MLA Anil Vij stated that the authorities concerned must take note of the attempt to muzzle the media. "The move to bar the media from the special meeting is clearly unconstitutional. We demand that the city magistrate be transferred," he said. BJP district spokesman Raj Singh stated that it was for the first time that any presiding officer had asked mediapersons to not cover such an important meeting. "BJP municipal councillors who were present in the meeting had supported the media and even offered to walk out if the media was forced to leave," he said. |
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MC starts encroachment drive
Yamunanagar, June 27 A team of the MC warned the shopkeepers in the morning to remove all encroachments made by them on their own or else goods would be impounded in the afternoon. However, the team did not touch permanent structures erected by shopkeepers. Several shopkeepers had raised permanent sheds and platforms outside their shops on public land. An official of the MC said the entire area would be cleared in the coming days of all encroachments and it would be beautified. Several shopkeepers and residents are also demanding that the lane opposite to SP’s office should be made one-way for traffic during the peak hours to avoid congestion on the road. |
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Workers seek new pay panel
Hisar, June 27 The demand was made at a zonal dharna organised here today by the sangh to press their demands. Hundreds of government employees from Hisar, Bhiwani, Fatehabad, Jind and Sirsa participated in the dharna. Chief Poonam Chand Ratti said the leaders of the employees had held five rounds of talks with the Chief Minister on their longstanding demands but the government had not acceded to any of these. He said the Hooda-led government was following the anti-employees policy of the Chautala regime. The government, he said, had not filled any of the vacant posts in government departments. Ratti announced that the sangh would organise district-level protests on July 19 to highlight the demands. This would be followed by a state-level demonstration in front of the Vidhan Sabha in Chandigarh on August 9. Sangh general secretary R.C. Jagga said the government was in the process of winding up all public welfare departments. No fresh recruitments were being made because of which power, water, education and health services were being adversely affected. He said the new Pension Bill was against employees’ interests and it was only because of the left parties’ pressure that the UPA government had been unable to push it. |
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Pratibha’s background questionable: Sangwan
Ambala, June 27 Talking to mediapersons here today, Sangwan said Pratibha had become the presidential candidate for the UPA simply because of her loyalty to the Gandhi family. "It is clear that in the entire process, the Left seems to have forgotten its ideology," Sangwan said. Sangwan stated that independent candidate Bhairon Singh Shekhawat had a spotless career spanning five decades. "Shekhawat has earned respect across the political spectrum. He has rich experience appropriate for the stature of a president. We have appealed to all the persons in the electoral college to cast their vote wisely," he said. Sangwan added that even though the Presidential arithmetic did not seem to be in their favour, they were confident of victory. "During the NDA’s tenure, we had proposed Dr Kalam’s name and he has shown the country that he was the right person for the post," Sangwan said. The MP said the move of the Shiv Sena was unfortunate and it showed signs of regionalism. |
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Gurgaon to have cyber crime cell
Chandigarh, June 27 A spokesman for the Police Department said it had become necessary to establish a cyber crime cell in view of fast development, industrial growth, rapid urbanisation and increase in population in the national capital region. Once in place the cell would be able to cope up with the problems of cyber crimes in this area which could instil a sense of security among the general public. He said the government had sanctioned 14 posts for this cell which included two DSPs, two inspectors, two SIs, four ASIs and four head constables. So far, the police in the region find it very tough to deal with cyber crime in the absence specialised training. "Cyber crime basically includes any criminal activity that uses a computer either as an instrumentality, target or a means for perpetuating further crimes”, says a senior police officer. The national capital region (NCR) has seen a steady growth in cyber crime over the past few years, though the Haryana Police finds it hard to deal with the situation. The setting up a cyber crime cell is believed to be a brainchild of Haryana DGP R S Dalal. The proposed cyber crime cell, sources said, will also monitor the progress of investigations in such offences besides providing them with expert views and assist them in legal matters coming under the IT Act 2000. The department will have its own advisory council on cyber crime and it is looking at including members from the private sector, IT department and police officials of the rank of SP to IG. |
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KU to set up research centre
Kurukshetra, June 27 Sources said the proposed centre would be the first of its kind in the state. KU has proposed to provide both archival and non-archival facilities for the project, which would come up as an extension to the existing on-campus museum named Darohar. Sources said the state-level committee constituted to celebrate the anniversary of the war fought against the East India Company in 1857 had motivated the KU to set up an exhibition and research centre. Chairman of the Department of History Prof Raghuvendra Tanwar said Haryana had played a key role in the historical event of 1857. He said some of the battles fought by the British on Indian soil were actually fought against the people of Haryana at Kharkhoda, Narnaul, Rohtak, Hansi, Munh and Rupraka in Mewat besides other places. The research centre would focus on the role of region’s contribution in the freedom struggle of 1857 with a special emphasis on Haryana. The centre would also provide updated research facility for in-house and visiting scholars. For the library section, KU has also planned to source the required library materials from various national and overseas archives. It has planned to display a comprehensive collection of newspapers of the 19th and 20th century published in Hindi, Urdu and English with microfilming reading facility. Prof Tanwar said the exhibition would have a documented collection of significant events in the freedom struggle with special focus on Haryana. The exhibition centre would have four wings, which would show paintings on historical scenes, restoration of paintings from 1857-1947 era and assorted artifacts, weapons associated with the struggle of 1857. Similarly, there would be a special provision for research scholars in the research facility and a separate conference hall. |
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Kidnapping mystery solved
Fatehabad, June 27 The police has also recovered arms and ammunition and a car used in the commission of crime. In a written press release issued here today, SP Saurabh Singh said SI Om Parkash lodged an FIR with the police on June 15 that Naresh Jain did not return home after morning walk on
March 14. When he contacted the family members of Jain, they refused to divulge anything in this regard, but he came to know
from his sources that some unidentified persons had kidnapped Jain. Saurabh Singh further said that yesterday inspector Sant Kumar, nabbed Jatinder and Rajesh of Rakhi village
of Hisar district, while they were conspiring to commit a robbery. When the police interrogated them, they revealed having kidnapped
Naresh Jain. They also revealed that they released Jain after getting a ransom of Rs 13 lakh from his family. Naseeb, an accountant with Jain's firm, handed over the ransom amount to the accused. The accused revealed that one Raj Singh alias Pallu was known to them for some time and he introduced his accomplices Monu, Jaswant
and Joginder to them and they planned to execute kidnapping of Jain for ransom. They revealed that Pallu, Monu and Jaswant kidnapped Jain and demanded the ransom amount by calling Naseeb, an accountant of Jain. After negotiations the accused agreed to set free Jain for a ransom amount of Rs 13
lakh. |
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Liquor vend damaged, 11 held
Rewari, June 27 They demanded closure of the liquor vend asserting that it had vitiated the environment in the village. But when the vendor remained indifferent to their demand, the infuriated women reportedly barged into vend and vehemently threw away over 400 bottles of liquor on the road smashing them into pieces. The Kasaula police somehow pacified the agitating women. On a complaint made by the liquor vendor, Ranbir Singh, the police has booked Premwati, Vidya Devi, Maya Devi and eight other women on the charge of rioting, trespassing and causing damage to the vend. A case under Sections 147, 149, 452 and 427 of the IPC has been registered against the women. |
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Dera refuses to comment on Takht verdict
Sirsa, June 27 After a meeting of the high-level dera committee in the dera headquarter to discuss the Akal Takht verdict, the dera spokesman, Dr
Pawan, said nothing was clear about the verdict nor we received any communication. The management would decided the next course of action only after getting official communications in this regard.
— TNS |
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Prize money for panchayats
Chandigarh, June 27 While stating this here yesterday, deputy chief minister Chander Mohan said the first prize had been increased from Rs 2 lakh to Rs 3 lakh. The second prize would be of Rs 2 lakh as against Rs 1 lakh. The third prize had been increased from Rs 50,000 to Rs 1 lakh. The amount of district level awards has also been increased. The amount of first district level prize has been enhanced from Rs 25,000 to Rs 50,00 while the second prize will be of Rs 25,000 as against Rs 10,000.
— TNS |
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Mango mela from June 30
Chandigarh, June 27 While stating this here yesterday, Haryana agriculture minister Harmohinder Singh Chatha said this was the 16th mango mela, which would be organised at Pinjore. The mela, which has become an annual affair, is organised to welcome mango, considered the king of fruits. |
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