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‘Dr Horror’s Confession’
Economic Survey
Arms Licence
Chautala, Bishnoi slam budget
Villagers lock up substation
Deficient rain dominates question hour
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High Court
Met Sonia twice on RS nominee: Birender
Now, wheat scam in another jail
Unskilled school workers draw a pittance
Bag-snatching Case
Exhibition on historical
Jawan cremated
Revenue records on the doorstep
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‘Dr Horror’s Confession’
Faridabad, March 18 According to district police chief Alok Mittal, the team members already in the CBI net, had conducted about 30 kidney transplants in Faridabad in 1998 at house no. 420 in Sector 21 A. Mittal said Dr Amit-Dr Upender duo started their kidney racket from this residence, which they took on rent towards the end of 1997.They had also hired house no. 745 in Sector 14 where they used to keep patients for pre-surgery medication. Immediately afterwards, Dr Upender set up Sadbhavana Hospital in Ballabgarh, near here, and Dr Amit shifted his base to Gurgaon. Mittal further said the team had conducted about 250 transplant operations. According to him, the information was based on the confessions of Dr Amit, Dr Upender and some of their team members whom the district police had procured on production warrant. The district police was probing the deaths of three Turkish nationals who were alleged to be patients of the accused. The three foreign nationals died between 2003 and 2005. As per certificates issued by Dr Upender in two of the deaths, the reason cited was cardiac arrest. Mittal said the police had now found that a female Turkish national was involved in the racket and was acting as procurer for the team. The police said Umesh, driver of Dr Amit, one Yashpal, claimed to be running a pharmacist store here, and one Dr Jeevan were also agents of the two doctors in the racket. The police chief said as Turkey was the “catchment” area for the accused, Dr Amit had planned to set up a hospital in that country as well as in Kathmandu. With regard to the female from Turkey, Mittal said, she used to charge $22,000 from each patient and give $15,000 to Dr Amit. |
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Economic Survey
Chandigarh, March 18 It said the area under wheat and paddy crops crossed over 53 per cent of the total cultivated area in the state in 2007-08. “Though, efforts have been made to break the dominance of the wheat-paddy rotation, no significant achievement has been made in this regard so far,” the survey said. The report said area under commercial crops such as sugarcane, cotton and oilseeds fluctuated every year. The area under cotton fell by 9 per cent in 2007-08 compared to the previous year. The survey, however, added that wheat and paddy crops played a major role in pushing up agricultural production in the state. The production of rice was likely to be 36 lakh tonne in 2007-08 and that of wheat 105 lakh tonne, it said. The survey also noted farmers’ preference for high-yielding varieties of various crops and the consequent increase in the use of chemical fertilisers. The consumption of pesticides, however, showed a decline to 4,000 tonne in 2007-08 from 4,600 tonne in 2006-07. Though agriculture sector continues to occupy a significant position in the state’s economy, its share in its GDP is steadily declining. The composition of GDP at constant (1999-2000) prices revealed that share of primary sector, which included agriculture and allied sectors, had gone to 22 per cent in 2006-07 from 32 per cent in 1999-2000, the report said. The share of manufacturing sector in the GDP had gone up to 30 per cent in 2006-07 from 29 per cent in 1999-2000. Tertiary sector, which was a combination of different services like trade, transport, banking, public administration, education, health and the likes, also witnessed increase in its share in the GDP. Its share rose from 13 per cent in 1999-2000 to 17 per cent in 2006-07. The per capita income in Haryana at current prices was estimated at Rs 49,038 in 2006-07 as against Rs 41,988 in 2005-06 showing an increase of 17 per cent during the current fiscal. The revenue receipts of the state government, according to the survey, got maximum contribution from sales tax (Rs 7,832 crore or 58 per cent of the total receipts), followed by Rs 1,780 crore from stamp fee and property registration charges, Rs 1,343 crore from the state’s share in central taxes, Rs 1,320 crore from state excise and the rest from other taxes and duties. |
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Arms Licence
Gurgaon, March 18 Deputy commissioner, Gurgaon, Rakesh Kumar today said as per the copy of the passport of Soha, available with the district administration, her date of birth is October 4, 1978, and when the arms licence was issued to her in 1996, she was not eligible to hold the license. At that time her age was 18 years and one month whereas for holding an arms license, one should be of minimum 21 years of age. According to the deputy commissioner a rifle no. 91501 was entered in her licence and her father was appointed retainer of the rifle on January 7, 2000. It is alleged that the rifle was recovered from Mansoor Ali Khan Pataudi in the black buck poaching case. He said since the offence occurred in Jhajjar district, a report had been requisitioned from the Jhajjar SP and only after that, a two-week show cause notice under Section 17(3)(D) of the Arms Act would be served to Soha that why her arms licence should not be cancelled. He said her licence number was 1/DM/G/NOV-1996 and it was renewed in 1998, 2003 and 2005 after taking reports from the police. While replying to a question pertaining to missing of original application file, the DC said he would inquire the matter himself and an FIR would be lodged in this regard. |
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Chautala, Bishnoi slam budget
Chandigarh, March 18 He said this move would adversely affect the middle class, which was already reeling under rising prices. The INLD leader said no relief was given to the peasantry, traders, employees and younger sections
of society. He said the increase in the revenue receipts was due to the nationwide rise in real estate prices and the new taxation system - VAT initiated by the INLD government. Haryana Janhit Congress leader Kuldeep Bishnoi said the budget presented today was “an exercise
in deception”. While the finance minister announced that scholarship would be provided to poor BPL girl students on the pattern of the assistance given to girls belonging to the Scheduled Castes, no budgetary provision had been made for this purpose, Bishnoi said. Bishnoi said the finance minister had also failed to announce any welfare steps for women, senior citizens, ex-servicemen and other needy groups. Congress leaders, including Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda were, as expected, all praise for
the budget. Haryana Pradesh Congress Committee president Phool Chand Mullana said the Scheduled Castes sub-component of the Plan for 2008-09 of 21.55 per cent was the highest ever in the history
of Haryana. Hooda said the budget was in “consonance” with the policies of the Congress. No new tax had been imposed; instead tax concessions were announced, he said. Minister for forests and tourism Kiran Choudhry thanked the finance minister for presenting “a women-oriented budget”. |
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Villagers lock up substation
Jind, March 18 They also staged a demonstration outside the substation for about four hours before officials persuaded them to remove the lock and lift the protest. This was the second such protest in the district in the past one week over the shortage of power supply. According to information, hundreds of residents of Kharakbura, Sapakheri, Gasokalan, Khurd and Tarkha villages falling under the Uchana block of Narwana subdivision assembled at the substation and locked its gate. They told the officials, who later reached the spot, that the total duration of power supply in the area had been reduced to mere three hours in a day against the announced duration of over eight hours by the Uttar Haryana Bijli Vitran Nigam (UHBVN). |
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Deficient rain dominates question hour
Chandigarh, March 18 Raising the matter during question hour, he said the falling level of rainfall presented an alarming situation and had become a permanent feature. He sought to know if the agriculture department had got in touch with the meteorological office to know if the monsoon had changed its course or urged the agriculture university to come up with solutions to counter the paucity of rainfall. Agriculture minister Harmohinder Singh Chatha said the rainfall had been deficient with rain during the monsoon falling by 46 per cent in 2007-08 and the winter rain down by 93 per cent. The minister said despite the deficient rain, the state had been able to achieve the highest foodgrain production of 147.63 lakh metric tonnes during 2006-07. However, Surjewala, dissatisfied with the reply, said the department had made practically no efforts to bail out farmers. Karan Dalal sought to know if the government was promoting diversification in view of the shortage of rain. The minister said he was in favour of reducing the area under paddy, but farmers could be weaned away from paddy only if they were assured better returns. Parliamentary affairs minister Randeep Singh Surjewala expressed concern over the falling water table in the state and said previous governments had taken no concrete steps to recharge the groundwater. To a question about construction of roads, one of which was announced by a minister, the public works minister, Capt Ajay Yadav, said an announcement did not necessarily translate into a guarantee that the work would be done. He said after any announcement, the department studied the feasibility of the project and informed the Chief Minister about its viability. The issue of the “land exchange” by Rajya Sabha nominee Ram Prakash in Kurukshetra was raised by Sushil Indora in the House. To this, the parliamentary affairs minister said the matter had been investigated and it was found that the panchayat wanted to exchange its land which had a problem of waterlogging and had 13 electricity poles. He demanded that a report on all land “gifted” to the Devi Lal Trust during the Chautala regime be tabled in the House.
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Met Sonia twice on RS nominee: Birender
Chandigarh, March 18 He was responding to a question pertaining to the nominations to the Rajya Sabha and his support to Ishwar Singh. He said he recently met UPA president Sonia Gandhi not once but twice. Asked if the meetings had anything to do with the Rajya Sabha nominations, he said in a lighter vein, “The Parliament election is nowhere near”. He asserted that he met the UPA chairperson with regard to Ishwar Singh’s nomination to the Rajya Sabha, adding that “In politics, you have to see a project to the very end.” He maintained that it was creditable that of the five members in the Rajya Sabha, two belonged to the Scheduled Castes and the Backward Classes. On Chautala’s remark about his “value having risen” since March 15, the day candidates filed their Rajya Sabha nomination, he said his value did not rise or fall according to the thinking of others. “I decide my own political course,” he said.
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Now, wheat scam in another jail
Panipat, March 18 According to sources, a team, led by chief probationary officer Raj Kumar, raided Bhondsi jail in Gurgaon district where several quintals of wheat was reported to be “missing” from the jail food stock. On January 26 this year, the sleuths had detected wheat scam at Rohtak jail where 220 quintals of food grain was found less than the official records. Confirming this to The Tribune, IGP (prisons) M.S. Mann said more than 81 quintals of wheat was found less at Bhondsi jail. Suitable action, including lodging an FIR, would be taken against the erring officials. It was indeed a matter of deep concern that how wheat meant for prisoners went missing out of the high-security premises, ruled the IGP. However, the sources revealed that yesterday evening the entire jail stock was weighed to detect the irregularities and the exercise lasted till late last night. The raid was conducted after a specific complaint in this regard. The sources said the sleuths had confiscated the prison’s record book that showed that the jail superintendent had checked the wheat on January 14 this year and “confirmed” the food grain in full stock. The sources said the raiding team had also seized jail records pertaining to medicine purchase and other related documents for intense investigation of foul play in the jail administration, if any. The Tribune had highlighted that the prisons department had accepted 220 quintals of wheat from Rohtak jail storekeeper, who had reportedly admitted his role in the missing wheat episode. The sources termed the detections as the tip of the iceberg and admitted that without the role of the respective jail functionaries any discrepancy was not possible.
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Cops go computer savvy
Fatehabad, March 18 Constables aspiring to appear in the tests this year can be seen taking keen interest in the working of computers. The new method, which was recently introduced by director general of police Ranjeev Dalal, will bring transparency in the procedure and ensure that only eligible candidates make it to the next ladder through promotions. The change in the procedure will also make the state constabulary, known for its rustic approach to things, computer savvy. The lower school examination, also called B-1 test, is conducted for the promotion of constables to the posts of head constables (havildar). After passing the test, the constables join the junior school at Madhuban for training before they are elevated to the posts of head constables. Sixtyfive per cent of the posts of head constables are filled through these tests while the rest 35 per cent is filled on the basis of the length of service of the constables. The system of examination, which was followed earlier, caused heartburning among many eligible constables as scope of favouritism existed in that method. The new system entails online test of the constables applying for promotions. |
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Unskilled school workers draw a pittance
Chandigarh, March 18 Unskilled safai karamcharis of various government schools across Haryana are being paid shockingly low salaries - as low as Rs 17 an hour in case of certain districts like Panipat. What’s worse, there seems to be no uniform policy for wage computation of part-time unskilled school workers in Haryana. While they are drawing Rs 17 an hour in Panipat, in Jind they draw Rs 22 per hour. Per hour salary of the same set of workers in Fatehabad is Rs 27 an hour - a model most workers say is worth replicating. The authorities in Panipat for their part assume that each part-time worker puts in eight hours of work daily. It hence calculates their salaries after dividing by eight the minimum wage of Rs 135 a day fixed by the state government. In Jind and Fatehabad, the minimum wage is being divided by six and five, respectively, to calculate the per hour salary of unskilled workers. Strange also is the fact that these people are being paid these meagre salaries at the end of every session instead of the end of every month as required under Section 5 of the Payment of Wages Act, 1936. Tej Pal of the Government School Part-time Employees Union, Haryana, which has now waged a battle to secure their rights, said: “It’s wrong to calculate the wages of these people assuming that they work for eight hours a day. Actually, the number of hours is about six. In many cases, it is just two to four hours. Also, irrespective of how much time these workers put in, they all spend the same amount of time and money to get to their workplace and go back. There has to be some parity in wages and some uniformity in wage computation across districts.” A study of the wage structure of these marginalised workers, mainly Dalit women, further revealed that they were only being paid 10 months’ salary on grounds that the schools remained closed for two months due to summer and winter vacation. Never mind the fact that schoolchildren are supposed to pay their dues for the period and teachers draw their salaries. The poor part-time safai karamcharis are, however, not getting these benefits as of date. Another irony is that many of these unskilled workers have been at the same position in their career ladder for as long as 25 years. This in contravention of the Haryana government’s June 27, 2007, notification which clearly stated that all unskilled workers, after 10 years of work, would enter the semi-skilled category and draw minimum wages at the rate of Rs 140 a day. The upward movement has not happened for a vast majority of part-time unskilled workers of Haryana’s primary and middle-level government schools. Among them are 281 school safai karamcharis from Panipat, now ready to fight for their rights.
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Bag-snatching Case
Sirsa, March 18 Though the police has so far quizzed several suspected persons to crack the case, it is investigating the case from all angles as the medical examination of the victim has revealed there were no traces of chilli powder in his eyes. Inder Pal, a local vegetable market dealer, had alleged in the FIR that he was returning on his motorcycle after bringing Rs 3.90 lakh from a house situated at Gandhi Colony here, when two youths came from behind and after throwing red chilli powder in his eyes, decamped with his bag containing the cash. The incident occurred near the ITI chowk. The police immediately swung into action and set up nakas at all entry points of the town. It has registered a case under Sections 356 and 379 of the IPC and although it has so far interrogated several suspected persons during the past 24 hours, it has not got any clue of the crime. SP Vikas Arora said the police was investigating the matter keeping all aspects in mind and added that the case would be solved soon.
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Exhibition on historical documents
Yamunanagar, March 18 Dr Raj Pal, an eminent historian and history professor at the college, said the documents put on display showcase the effort on part of people of Haryana to liberate their lands from the foreign yoke. Mahavir Singh Maan and Krishan Malik, officials of the archives department, said the documents stimulated interests of historians and research scholars. |
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Jawan cremated
Rewari, March 18 Lt-Col M.S. Malik and Pradeep Yadav were killed in a fierce encounter with holed-up militants of the Lashkar-e-Toiba in the militant stronghold of Sopore in Baramula district of Jammu and Kashmir on March 16.
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Revenue records on the doorstep
Sirsa, March 18 The scheme has already been started in Dabwali tehsil of the district from March 12. The commissioner said the scheme had already proved a success in Dabwali. He said farmers could now get copies of their revenue records of their landholdings by calling on telephone number 01666-248130 and computerised copies of the records would be delivered at their doorsteps. They would have to a nominal fee of Rs 100 for the home delivery of each document. Deputy commissioner V. Umashankar said on average 2,000 copies of revenue documents were sought by farmers and the authorities hoped to generate an additional income of Rs 1.50 lakh through the scheme. |
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