Samalkha (Panipat), December 11
Owing to the reported official “miscalculation” of distance between Samalkha and Panipat, the state transport department has been accused for overcharging the bus passengers on this stretch, located on the GT Road.

Due to this ‘certified’ slip-up, the department is charged for fleecing the general public for years by falsely adding more distance to their bus travel.

According to the information sought under the RTI by a Samalkha resident in this regard, the NHAI has disputed the claim of the state transport department over the total distance between the bus stands of these two townships located along the NH-1.

The department has submitted in writing that the bus fare from Panipat to Samalkha is Rs 11. While furnishing the detail, the department claimed that distance between the two places is 19 km.

Each passenger is charged at the rate of 50 paise per/km that amounts to Rs 9.50, plus additional Re 1 is charged as toll tax. Though the net fare comes at Rs 10.50, but the department submitted that hence each ticket is charged for a round figure of Rs 11.

Contrary to the claim of the state department, the NHAI maintains that the distance between the two bus stands is 17.49 km. The NHAI is solely responsible for overlooking the GT Road and other national highways passing through the state.

Thus passengers on this route are ‘illegally’ overcharged Rs 1.25 per passenger in an official manner for years said P. P. Kapoor, who had collected the information under the RTI.

Talking to The Tribune, Kapoor, the state convener of the Indian Federation of Trade Unions (IFTU) has demanded a public apology from the state transport commissioner for overcharging the bus passengers within a fortnight.

Sonepat, December 11
Finally the Dahiya Khap Panchayat has taken imitative to try to end a bloody enmity between two groups of Jharonth village, which had claimed five lives during the past five years. However, two others were still missing.

A meeting of the Khap Panchayat, which was presided over by panchayat pradhan Ram Phal Dahiya, was held yesterday at Anaj Mandi Kharkhoda.

In the meeting, Hukam Singh Patwari of Nathan group assured the panchayat that they would abide by the decisions of the panchayat. However, he wanted to know the whereabouts of two missing persons, Kartar Singh and Prem Singh, of his group.

The Khap pardhan informed the panchayat that he met with Dalel Singh of Dalel group in the jail. Dalel told him that he did know the whereabouts of the missing persons.

When Hukam Singh again insisted on his demand, panchayat assured him that it would try its best to find out about the missing persons. However, as there was no one present in the panchayat from the Dalel group, panchayat unanimously resolved to reassemble on December 16 at the same venue.

The panchayat also constituted a five members committee to coordinate with both the groups. Kansi Ram, Mukhtiar Singh, Jai Bhagwan, Ram Phal Dahiya and Inder Singh are the members of the committee.

Deputy superintendent of police Ram Phal Kadian along with other police personnel also attended the meeting. The police has also assured the panchayat to give full cooperation to bring an end to the ongoing bloody feud between 
the families.

It is mentioned that many of the alleged accused in these murders are in judicial custody and three others, including main accused of one group Chand Vir, have been declared proclaimed offenders.

Kaithal, December 11
The United National Progressive Alliance (UNPA) will emerge as an effective third political force on the national scene after the next parliamentary elections and it will form the next government at the Centre. It was stated by INLD supreme and former Haryana Chief Minister Om Parkash Chautala while addressing a press conference here this evening.

Chautala said in the next Lok Sabha polls, the Congress and the BJP would not be able to get mandate from the people as they have lost faith in these parties, and in such a situation, the UNPA would become a natural choice.

Regional parties would continue to play an important role, and even some national parties would have no option but to extend support to UNPA in the formation of government at the Centre, he added.

While commenting on the performance of present Haryana government, Chautala alleged that leaders of the ruling party had become property dealers, and they have no time to solve the problems of common man.

There was disappointment in all sections of society as government had failed to redress the grievances of farmers, traders employees and common man, he added.

He criticised the government for its mismanagement on the power front and said prevailing power crisis had aggravated the problems of the people and long power cuts had paralysed the normal life in the state.

He said the power to be generated from power houses being set up in Haryana would be diverted to Delhi as it would be needed there to ensure uninterrupted supply during the Commonwealth Games (2009-10) to be held in Delhi. There was every possibility that Delhi would be supplied power at the cost of Haryana.

Rewari, December 11
Additional Sessions Judge Surender Kumar has sentenced Purshottam (40) and his two brothers - Brij Lal ( 51) and Udai Singh (33) - to rigorous imprisonment for life holding them guilty of the double murder of Renu, wife of Purshottam, and her four-year-old son Arun at Hans Nagar Colony here in April 2002.

The judge has also imposed a fine of Rs 6,000 on each of the three convicts. The judge has acquitted Santra Devi, wife of convict Brij Lal, and her son Dil Raj giving them the benefit of the doubt. The verdict was announced by the judge here yesterday.

After being done to death, the bodies of Renu and her son Arun were thrown on the railway track here to give them the shape of accidental deaths by the accused.

The Government Railway Police, Rewari, which recovered the bodies from the track here on April 20, 2002, closed the case after treating them as accidental deaths.

However. things took a U-turn when Prahlad Singh, father of Renu and resident of Faridabad, made a complaint alleging that it was a case of double murder.

The evidence of Pawan, another son of Renu, led to the conviction of the accused.

Rewari, December 11
Owing to alleged omission of poor and deserving families and inclusion of undeserving affluent families in the recently prepared BPL list, things are virtually on the boil in various villages in the district.

Members, including women, of aggrieved families of Buroli village, 16 km from here, made a representation to deputy commissioner Chander Prakash here yesterday, complaining that the survey team had done injustice to them by ignoring them while enlisting well-to-do families in the BPL category.

Aggrieved residents of Parkhotampur village also made similar complaints alleging that acting at the behest of dominant elders of the village, the surveyors had incorporated affluent families while discarding poor deserving families from the BPL list.

Seeking an impartial probe into the racket, they stressed the need for a fresh and fair survey.

The deputy commissioner assured them that while their grievances would be addressed, transparency would be ensured in the preparation of the BPL list.

Earlier on Sunday, uproarious scenes were witnessed at a meeting of the gram sabha in Nahar village, 30 km from here.

Levelling allegations of nepotism and unfairness on the team of surveyors, members of the aggrieved families asserted that the list was unacceptable to them.

They warned that if the list was not appropriately amended, they would be compelled to launch an agitation.

Yamunanagar, December 11
Haryana Governor A.R. Kidwai today stressed the need for imparting quality education to students and exhorted parents to send their wards to school so that they could get good education.

Kidwai was addressing a gathering after inaugurating a health fair organized in Taharpur village, Yamunanagar. He said for the progress and prosperity of society, it was imperative to give more thrust to education since through education poor people could enhance their social and economic status.

He said new avenues for progress had been opened in the state for employment generation. The government was also committed to the development of villages on a par with urban areas. He stressed the need for imparting technical education to students so that the state could make rapid progress in the future.

Kidwai said India had emerged as a leading country in the world by making rapid progress. Haryana was one of the most developed states in the country and the credit went to the government.

He said every citizen in the state was getting the benefit of health facilities on the doorstep. Referring the Delivery Huts Scheme being implemented by the state, he said the benefit of this ambitious scheme had reached every section of society.

Expressing concern over female foeticide, the Governor said it was a blot on society and sought the cooperation of the people in eradicating this evil.

Earlier, Kidwai flagged off three vehicles provided by the Shivalik Development Board, the National Blindness Committee and the Zila Red Cross Society. These vehicles would cater to the needs of the people on the doorstep.

Union minister Kumari Selja said during the 11th Five-Year Plan, special thrust would be given to education, health and rural development schemes. Under the rural health mission scheme, health services were being strengthened in rural areas throughout the country. She said a scheme had been launched by the government for providing plots measuring 100 square yards to the Scheduled Castes and the people living below the poverty line.

She said that the government was committed to the welfare of all sections of society. Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda had announced a number of schemes for the welfare of these communities at a rally in Karnal recently.

State health minister Kartar Devi said 400 delivery huts had been set up so far in the state. She urged the people to give due regard to the girl child. Parliamentary secretary Krishna Pandit said the health department had been directed to collaborate with the Red Cross in extending health facilities in far-off places of the district so that maximum people living there could take advantage of various schemes of the government.

Oarliamentary secretary Ram Kishan, MLAs Nirmal Singh and Arjun Singh, Ambala zila parishad chairman Brahmpal Rana, superintendent of police C.S. Rao and Yamunanagar district Congress president Zakir Hussain were present on the occasion.

Gurgaon, December 11
A faux pas by a five-star hotel in Gurgaon may land it in trouble as a non-veg soup was served to a vegetarian customer.

A senior consultant with IT and ITeS major IBM Global Services, Amit Jain, who was on a two-day training programme at Bristol Hotel, alleged that the negligence of the hotel has hurt his religious sentiments.

A group of 25 employees of IBM were attending the training programme in the hotel where a wrongly tagged soup served to the officials resulted in a ruckus.

Jain, who drank the non-veg soup, said in their religion, non-veg was “just like dying”. He said when they brought the faux pas to the notice of the management of the hotel, they did not pay heed.

Then they called the police following which the hotel management apologied for the mistake and gave an apology letter. He said they asked the police to take stringent action against the hotel for this act of negligence.

He said he would take up the matter with his organisation. He said it was a corporate programme and hence the company must also take certain steps against the hotel.

Jain has lodged a compliant with the DLF-I police post, though an FIR is yet to be lodged. A police officer involved in the case said they had sought a legal opinion in this case. 

Panipat, December 11
A team comprising senior doctors seized the records of pregnancy-related tests conducted at three private hospitals here this evening.

Panipat CMO S. K. Mangal confirmed to TNS that during the raids it was found that the three hospitals had allegedly not maintained the records in accordance with the mandatory provisions of the PNDT Act.

The hospitals are Madhumita Diagnostic Centre, Dahiya Hospital and Harish Batra Hospital, located in different parts of the town.

Dr Mangal added that the raids were conducted after receiving specific complaints against the hospitals.

He said the hospital managements had been asked to give a reply by tomorrow to a show-cause notice served on them.Further legal action would be taken after completing the investigations.

Chandigarh, December 11
With the sowing of wheat almost over, the allocation of funds under the State Food Security Mission for Haryana is a trifle too late.

Of the total of Rs 17.5 crore sanctioned for this financial year to Haryana under the programme for wheat and pulses, Rs 9.4 crore has been set aside for seed replacement with a view to encouraging the use of high-yielding varieties of seeds and cutting down the use of untreated seeds.

Consequently, the agriculture department is likely to utilise lesser funds than those allocated for seed replacement and divert these to strengthening soil-health systems since the soil in fields is deficient in minerals. The department has even sought additional grants, nearly Rs 1.5 crore, for the extensive mechanisation of farms. The first instalment of Rs 6.2 crore has already been received for various exercises to be undertaken as a part of the mission.

“We are aware that the sowing season is almost over in the state. The funds were allocated to us in the first week of December and working on the seed replacement exercise would have been futile. Instead, we plan to use the funds available to us for educating farmers in the ways of increasing productivity and offer subsidies which will be beneficial to the farmer post-sowing,” said Sumita Misra, director, agriculture, Haryana.

Since the announcement of the mission was made on Independence Day by the Prime Minister, the funds, too, arrived late. Though low seed replacement and the use of untreated seed is an area of concern for the department, the authorities are aiming at increasing the rate of seed replacement from the present 21 per cent to 33 per cent to increase the yield.

However, with 80 per cent sowing already over, the department is now contemplating seeking Rs 3.4 crore for seed replacement and utilising the remaining funds for offering subsidy on micronutrients and gypsum, rotavators and the zero till seed drill.

The National Food Security Mission will be implemented in 12 districts of the state to increase the production of wheat and pulses in areas with low productivity but good potential to increase production.

“The idea of the mission is to encourage the adoption of improved farm practices, promote the use of micro-nutrients, reclaim alkaline soils, mitigate sulphur deficiency and farm mechanisation,” she explained.

While three crops of wheat, rice and pulses have been identified at the national level for increasing productivity, Haryana has been given the task of increasing the production of wheat and pulses.

“Since we can’t increase the area, the major task before us is to increase the per hectare productivity of the crops. For the purpose we will organise special camps for farmers. We have an elaborate media campaign planned and will open offices in each district for the convenience of farmers,” Misra contended.

Sirsa, December 11
An employee of the Haryana Bijli Vitran Nigam was today caught by the police while taking a bribe of Rs 2,000 here. He was arrested by a team headed by the DSP from the power sub-station near the Sirsa-Barnala road.

Police sources said foreman Jai Kishan had allegedly demanded Rs 5,000 from Rajinder for the installation of a transformer in his village. The foreman had demanded Rs 2,000 as the initial payment and the remaining Rs 3,000 after the completion of the work.

Aggrieved Rajinder had made a complaint to the deputy commissioner in this regard who had constituted a team comprising the DSP and the district revenue officer.

The police laid a trap and sent the complainant to the foreman. As the foreman took the bribe, the police caught him.

A case has been registered against the foreman under the Prevention of Corruption Act. He will be produced in a local court tomorrow.

REWARI: Junior engineer Ajit Yadav and lineman Fatheh Singh of the DHBVN, Dharuhera, were caught while taking a bribe of Rs 5,000 from a farmer, Sat Pal, of Akeda village by a vigilance team at Dharuhera on Monday. Naib tehsildar Sat Roop Sharma acted as duty magistrate during the proceedings.

The bribe money had allegedly been demanded by the DHBVN officials to drop proceedings against the complainant Sat Pal in a case of alleged theft of power at his tubewell in Akeda village.

A case under Sections 7, 13, 49 and 88 of the Prevention of Corruption Act has been registered against the duo.

Fatehabad, December 11
The District Consumer Forum today restrained the Dakshin Haryana Bijli Vitran Nigam from recovering the electricity arrears of a deceased person from his wife.

Dalip Kaur, a widow from Ratia town in this district, had filed a complaint before the forum alleging that the DHBVN had sent her a notice asking her to pay Rs 29,333 which, it alleged, was arrears of bills against her deceased husband Teja Singh, who had died on November 8, 2001.

She had alleged in her complaint that the electricity connection installed in the name of her husband had been disconnected by the power nigam on August 28, 2005.

She applied for a fresh connection, which was installed by the authorities, but they later sent her a notice to pay Rs 29,333. The forum found the demand made by the DHBVN unjustified and has directed it not to recover the same. 

Chandigarh, December 11
Member of Parliament from Rohtak Deepender Singh Hooda has pleaded that the National Capital Region Planning Board (NCRPB) should be allowed to issue Capital Gain Bonds or Infrastructure Bonds, which should be qualified as Capital Gain Exemption Bonds under 54 EC of the Income Tax Act.

The board is responsible for developing the entire national capital region on the lines of the National Capital Territory (NCT) to decongest Delhi.

In a letter addressed to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, Hooda drew his attention towards severe financial hindrances being faced by the NCRPB and also suggested ways to the PM to improve its financial health.

Hooda said the budgetary allocation of the board should be enhanced to at least Rs 1,000 crore, as its annual plan grant at present was only Rs 100 crore. The NCRPB was used for financing basic infrastructure development projects such as building roads, financing human resource development projects such as construction of ITIs, financing projects aimed at improving the standard of living such as provision of water supply, besides meeting its administrative expenses. The Rs 100-crore allocation was too meager to be meaningful.

He said income tax exemption should be restored to the NCRPB on the lines of the National Highway Authority of India (NHAI) and the Delhi Development Authority (DDA).

He said the NCRPB was exempted from paying income tax till March 2002, in accordance with clause 20-A under Section 10 of the Income Tax Act, 1961. With the omission of this clause by the Finance Act, 2002, the NCRPB had become liable for paying income tax with effect from April 2003.

As a result, the NCRPB had to pay back around Rs 35 crore as income tax from its annual plan grant of Rs 100 crore, which affected its financial health badly.