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Excise Policy
Samjhauta Blasts
Rana Shokat Ali, a Pakistan national who lost his four children in the Samjhauta Express blasts last year, attends a special prayer in memory of the victims at the Mehrana graveyard near Panipat on Tuesday.
— Tribune photo by Ravi Kumar
Janhit Cong opposes big fish in retail
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Stories from Haryana towns falling in the
National Capital Region are put in
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Bangar for CBI probe into HCS selections
Action against two officers approved
For land, Nanocity Haryana woos farmers with big bucks
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Beer, country liquor to cost more
Tribune News Service
Chandigarh, February 19 The excise policy was approved at a meeting of the state cabinet here today. Later, Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda and excise and taxation minister Birender Singh jointly addressed a press conference to explain the main features of the policy. All these days, Indian Made Foreign Liquor (IMFL) was being sold in the state in three kinds of bottles, i.e., 180 ml, 375 ml and 750 ml. From April 1 this year, when the new policy would take effect, IMFL would be available also in bottles of various other sizes like 500 ml, 700 ml and even miniature bottles like the ones served on international flights. The state government also decided to change the name of “ahatas” as permit rooms. “We shall also ensure cleanliness and some basic facilities in these places,” Birender Singh said. The government decided to reduce the number of vends in the state to 3,800 from the existing 4,000, but pushed up the target of collection of revenue from excise to Rs 1,440 crore from Rs 1,350 crore of 2007-08. The system of payment of 80 per cent licence fee in eight instalments was revised to nine instalments. The last date for depositing the fee was changed from 15th of each month to 20th of each month. The policy also allowed imported liquors to be sold through canteen stores’ department to facilitate defence personnel. An assessment fee of Rs 200 per bottle, however, would be levied on imported liquors sold in army canteens. It was decided that a hologram would be affixed on country liquor (CL) bottles to prevent smuggling and adulteration. For maintaining quality, 25 per cent of the free quota of country liquor would be allowed. It was also decided to abolish permit fee of rupee one per bulk litre on ethanol. Wine and imported foreign liquors would be allowed to be sold in departmental stores located in shopping malls. Government agencies, according to the policy, would try to provide space for running of vends in urban areas of Gurgaon and Panchkula at reasonable rates in pre-fabricated structures. The licence fee of bars in four-star and above category hotels was fixed at Rs 10 lakh. Bar timings could be extended by two hours on payment of additional fee of Rs 5 lakh and round-the-clock operation of bars would be allowed on an additional payment of Rs 10 lakh. Licensees shall be allowed to open ice bar on annual fee of Rs 1 lakh. The earlier timings of sale hours in vends from 8 am to midnight would be revised to 9 am to midnight. Annual licence fee for personal possession of liquor was reduced to Rs 200 from Rs 500. A lifetime licence for possession of liquor could be obtained on payment of Rs 2,000. The total number of IMFL bottles that could be kept by a licence holder was increased to 108 from the existing 72. Sub-vends would be allowed at a flat rate of Rs 50,000 and Rs 25,000, respectively, in case of vends with licence fee of more than Rs 10 lakh and licence fee of Rs 10 lakh and below. Discretion in fixing of licence fee in re-allotment was removed and a system of periodic 5 per cent reduction in the licence fee would be introduced. No liquor vend would be allowed in Kurukshetra, Thanesar (except Pipli along side national highway) and Pehowa in the policy for the year 2008-09. Every licencee would be required to keep vend closed on the Republic Day, Independence Day and the birthday of Mahatma Gandhi. Dry days would be observed on direction of the Election Commission of India or State Election Commission in the eventuality of any election in Haryana or in an adjoining state. Vends would be continued to be allotted through lottery system to prevent any one party from monopolising the business.
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For victims’ kin, all buried under official apathy
Vishal Joshi Tribune News Service
Mehrana (Panipat), February 19 According to the aggrieved families, the government goofed up while handing over the bodies of the victims. Two Indian families claimed that though their family members appeared in the list of the dead, the government failed to trace their bodies. The affected families blame the officials for doing injustice to those lying in the graves. Three families, including one from Pakistan, were here this afternoon to pay tributes to the departed souls, who were buried at Mehrana graveyard located on the Panipat-Rohtak road. A total of 29 victims, including 23 unidentified bodies, had been buried here. Mohammed Javed, a resident of Gaya, Bihar, claimed that despite repeated DNA tests, he could not find the body of his brother Mohammed Shabbir Ahmad. As many as 11 members of his brother’s family (all Pakistani nationals) perished in the tragedy. “In the absence of technical confirmations of their deaths, we have been denied their death certificates. The officials are not even ready to give us in writing about the actual position,” he alleged. Similar is the case for Mohammad Zakir, who lost his parents in the incident. He along with his parents, hailing from Bijnour, had boarded the train for Pakistan to meet their relatives across the border. Though Zakir survived, his father Haji Mohammed Sadiq is still missing. Showing injury marks, a tailor by profession, Zakir said despite promise, he had not been given any job in the Railways. “I cannot continue my work and have to avoid direct sunlight due to severe burns,” he added.
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Janhit Cong opposes big fish in retail
Chandigarh, February 19 Stating this here today, media in charge of the party Ran Singh Man said recently a delegation of small shopkeepers and rehriwalas met party chief Kuldeep Singh Bishnoi and apprised him of the dangers posed to their existence by the entry of big fish in the retail market. Man said, after the meeting, Bishnoi decided if the government failed to come out with a rehabilitation plan for those who had been affected adversely with the entry of big companies in the retail market within two weeks, the Janhit Congress would take to streets and lock up retail stores of big companies. Bishnoi had already directed the office-bearers and other active members of the party to prepare themselves for a long struggle ahead in this regard. Wants MP booked in kidney case
Hisar: Hundreds of activists of Kuldeep Bishnoi’s Haryana Janhit Congress (BL) staged a demonstration here on Tuesday seeking the registration of a criminal case against Congress MP Jai Parkash for his alleged involvement in the kidney racket. They were led by former Rajya Sabha member Ramji Lal and former Haryana minister Hari Singh Saini. Party leaders said more than a week had elapsed since the “kidney king”, Dr Amit, was linked to Jai Parkash. However, no probe had been ordered. |
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Screening of ‘Jodhaa Akbar’ stalled
Ambala, February 19 There was a heavy deployment of the police after the incident. Earlier, members of the Rajput Sabha tore posters of the picture at Indira Chowk, Ambala Cantt, and raised slogans. They later held a procession to mark their protest. Three theatres in Ambala are screening the movie. All three theatres later stopped the screening of the movie. |
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Bangar for CBI probe into HCS selections
Chandigarh, February 19 Bangar alleged that the record of the commission produced before the Punjab and Haryana High Court, which is hearing a PIL filed by Congress MLA from Palwal Karan Dalal against the selections, had been tampered with. By whom and at what level? To find out this, he said, he supported the demand for a CBI inquiry as demanded by two successful candidates, Jagdeep and Kuldhir Singh, in writ petitions filed before the court as well as by the petitioner in his PIL. While Jagdeep is the husband of Bangar’s niece, Kuldhir is a son of the then political advisor to former Chief Minister Om Prakash Chautala, Sher Singh Badshami. However, Bangar did not clarify whether the CBI should go into only the issue of “tampering of record” or into the entire selection. Bangar said “maps”, which were compulsory questions, had been removed from the answer sheets of the two candidates. The inspection of their answer sheets had revealed that they had been awarded marks for five questions, while they had attempted only four questions. However, Bangar admitted that the record was sealed when he was the chairman of the commission and his counsel was present when it was opened in the court. When asked under these circumstances how anybody could tamper with it, he said that was why the CBI inquiry was required. In justifying the awarding of higher marks in interview to those who scored less marks in the written examination and less marks in interview to those who scored more marks in the written examination, Bangar had a dig at the judiciary also. He said the two tests were completely different in nature. While the written examination tested one’s bookish knowledge, the interviews tested various aspects of one’s personality. Batting forcefully for his team, he produced lists of candidates of various examinations conducted by the Punjab and Haryana High Court and the Delhi High Court. Quoting from these lists, Bangar said it was not unusual for a candidate scoring higher marks in the written examination, getting lower marks in the interviews. He said two girls, Mona Pruthi and Sonia, who made to the IAS after they were not selected in the HCS, did so six years after they sat in the HCS examination. “In these years, they could definitely improve their knowledge and intellect,” Bangar, who described himself as an “international scientist” argued. He said there were no cuttings in the marks of individual questions and their total as indicated on the index page of every answer sheet. Cuttings or alterations in the marks inside the answer sheets were rather a quality of a fair examiner, he said.
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Action against two officers approved
Chandigarh, February 19 Action against Ishwar Singh Lathar, block development and panchayat officer, was taken under Rule 7 of the Haryana Civil Services (P&A) Rules, 1987, for committing lapses during the year 1997-98. The cabinet approved the punishment of stoppage of one grade increment with cumulative effect along with recovery of loss of Rs 74,940 from him. Lathar, the then BDPO, Jhajjar, had purchased medicines out of cattle fair funds at a higher rate and from an unauthorised source by ignoring the orders of the state government. In the same year, he also purchased furniture without any demand from the veterinary department, Jhajjar. The cabinet gave its ex post facto approval to the decision to impose the penalty of compulsory retirement upon Ishwar Singh Dahiya, HCS, as a disciplinary action of under Rule 7 of the HCS (P&A) rules, 1987. It was found during an inquiry that Dahiya had used unfair means in the revenue law paper-II examination held on November 29, 2001, as the answer given by him tally word for word with the textbooks, Acts and manuals. Merger of
departments
The cabinet decided to merge the industrial training and vocational education department with technical education department at the level of secretary and It was also decided to transfer the administrative control of vocational education schemes from industrial training and vocational education department to secondary education department for effective implementation. The decision to merge the two departments was taken to ensure implementation of uniform policies of quality and growth and exploit the mutual synergies. The cabinet also approved a decision of the water supply and sanitation department to transfer its land measuring more than three acres at Paluwas village in Bhiwani district to the forest and wildlife department free of cost for the expansion of mini zoo. The cabinet gave its ex post facto approval to the decision to exempt the Hindi film “Chak De India” from payment of entertainment duty. The cabinet reviewed the annual administrative reports of the consolidation of holdings department for the year 2005-06 and ayurvedic, yoga and naturopathy, unani, siddha and homoeopathic (AYUSH) department for the same year and approved the reports. The cabinet also gave its approval to table the audit report of the Haryana Financial Corporation for the year 2006-07 in the next Vidhan Sabha session. Agri-proposal okayed
The cabinet approved the proposal of the agriculture department to table the amendments made in the Punjab Agricultural Produce Markets Act, 1961, in the next session of Vidhan Sabha. According to the amendment, provision relating to the prosecution of dealers was replaced by penalty provisions up to Rs 10,000 in case of contravention of the provisions of the Act and rules. In case of evasion of fees, penalty ranging from 50 to 100 per cent of the fee evaded would be imposed. Also, a provision was made for charging interest on outstanding dues. The provision relating to appeal revision and review was restructured and rationalised. Bill to repeal
ordinance
The cabinet approved the draft bill to repeal the Haryana State Legislature (Prevention of Disqualification) Amendment Ordinance, 2007 (Haryana Ordinance No 4 of 2007). The office of chairman, Haryana State Administrative Reforms Commission, is on the exemption list of offices of profit held by legislators. Therefore, an ordinance was issued on November 13, 2007, to include the office of chairman, Haryana State Administrative Reforms Commission, in the said list. The bill will be tabled in the coming session of the Vidhan Sabha starting from March 7. |
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For land, Nanocity Haryana woos farmers with big bucks
Chandigarh, February 19 After the project hit a roadblock because of speculation in land prices, the company is now holding meetings with farmers’ groups and offering them remunerative prices for their land. The company has constituted a team of officials, who are meeting farmers in the Barwala-Raipur Rani area of Panchkula and offering them a price of Rs 20 lakh to Rs 22 lakh per acre, depending on the location of land. The officers are also talking to villagers about the Nanocity project, thus warding away all fears of the mega project causing damage to the fragile ecology of this region. The move follows large-scale speculation in land prices here, after the Nanocity project was announced in 2005. A number of realtors, not just from the region, but also from outside, saw this as a perfect investment option. They bought land from farmers here, thinking that they would later sell it to Nanocity Haryana at a higher price. This led to a sharp increase in land prices and prices shot up from Rs 7-10 lakh per acre earlier to Rs 18-22 lakh per acre. The promoters of Nanocity had stopped buying land and decided to wait. They even threatened to change the location of the project, hoping that land prices would come down. Naval Bhatia, managing director of Nanocity Haryana, said, “We are telling the land owners in the region that we shall pay a uniform price for land. Our officials approaching farmers’ groups seems to have worked well and we have managed to buy almost 430 acres in Manak Tabra village. Our team also tells these villagers how the realtors are cheating them and they can sell their land directly to us and get better returns.” Nanocity will be developed in 11,138 acres of land. This most modern city, based on the concept of Silicon Valley in USA, will be developed in two phases. This project will be positioned as the future Silicon Valley of India. This will attract the world’s best educational institutions like Stanford, MIT, Berkeley, Caltech, Harvard, IITs and IIMs. The city would focus on research and development in frontier technologies like Internet software development, biotechnology, nanosciences, embedded software development energy and pharmaceuticals.
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Illegal shops demolished
Yamunanagar, February 19 The constructions had come up in violation of the rules. The team, lead by DTP R.K. Singh, carried out the demolition. R.K. Singh said the building owners had moved an application for relaxation before the director, town and country planning department, but the latter had rejected their plea. |
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1 held for murder
Rewari, February 19 |
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After losing their relatives in the Samjhauta Express blasts a year ago, it is only humiliation at the hands of government agencies that members of at least two families have got so far.
