Faridabad, March 31
Hundreds of candidates from Haryana, especially the National Capital Region, aspiring to get admission to the Masters in Dental Surgery (MDS) course in institutes in the state are a confused lot.

The confusion appears to have arisen out of the controversy over the MD exam conducted by Maharshi Dayanand University(MDU) about a couple of months ago which led to agitation by those who could not make it. The protesters alleged bungling in the results, which led to the cancellation of the MD exam. Initial reports had suggested that the MDS exam was also cancelled.

As per the norms, private self-financing institutes in the state can conduct their own exams, if they so want, provided the State Admission Committee gives the green signal. At present, there are two institutes - the BRS Dental College and Hospital (Panchkula) and the DAV Centenary Dental College and Hospital (Yamunanagar) - which have seats in MDS.

Earlier, the State Admission Committee, headed by a retired judge of the Punjab and Haryana High Court, Justice N.C. Jain, had sought views from the two private colleges on the issue of conducting the exams. This was before the controversy relating to the exam conducted by the MDU. According to Justice Jain, the DAV Centenary Dental College (Yamunanagar) had first said that it would follow the merit list prepared by the MDU. In such a case, the MDU would transfer students to private college/colleges as per the merit of the successful candidates.

However, the BRS Dental College and Hospital (Panchkula) issued an advertisement on March 5 inviting applications for an admission test for the MDS course in it. In effect, the college was given permission to hold its independent exams.

The DAV Centenary Dental College (Yamunanagar), following the example of the other college, had a change of mind and applied to the State Admission Committee on March 14 to also allow it to conduct a test independently for admission to the MDS course in it.

Aspiring students allege that the DAV college management is not giving them a satisfactory response as the State Admission Committee has delayed its response to the institute’s request to allow it to conduct its exam independently. Rather, the committee is said to have conveyed to the DAV college that the MDS exam conducted by the MDU has not been cancelled.

Justice Jain confirmed to TNS on the telephone today that an application had been sent by the DAV college and added that their representatives would meet the State Admission Committee in a day or two. It is learnt that the meeting has been fixed for April 2.

He said the State Admission Committee had no objection to the request of the college. He affirmed that the MDS exam conducted by the MDU had not been cancelled.

However, the aspiring candidates are miffed over the delay on the part of the State Admission Committee in disposing of the case of the DAV college.

Sonepat, March 31
The police has recovered the body of a 21-year-old youth, Dharmesh, of Bighan village. The boy was allegedly kidnapped by Bholu, Surender and Lalit of the same village on March 27.

The body was recovered from the Delhi branch of Western Yamuna Canal near Buwana village in Delhi following the arrest of Bholu by the CIA unit of the Sonepat police after tracking the mobile phone calls of the alleged accused.

According to information, after kidnapping Dharmesh from a “dharamkata” on the Dhatoori road, the kidnappers demanded a ransom of Rs 10 lakh from his father Paras Ram saying that the amount would be collected from the Sonepat bus stand.

However, sensing presence of the police in civil clothes, the kidnappers did not stop at the bus stand.

During interrogation, Bholu, who has been remanded in police custody, confessed that after kidnapping Dharmesh, they took him directly to Panipat and strangulated him to death. His body was thrown in the canal near Kakroi village in the district.

In another incident, the GRP at Sonepat railway station has recovered the body of a 45-year-old woman identified as Vina of Akbarpur Barota village. The body was found lying near a railway track in the town.

Jind, March 31
A 26-year-old youth working as a private photographer was found murdered under mysterious circumstances at his house in Buddhakhera village of Julana block in the district this morning. His was beheaded with a sharp-edged weapon.

The police has registered a case, but no arrest has been made so far.

The murder of the photographer, who had been identified as Bhoop Singh, was reported to the police by his wife Sushma.

According to the complaint lodged with the police, the victim had returned home along with three persons last night after a couple of days of photography assignment at another village.

Sushma said as they had a single room house, she and her kid went to her sister’s house in the neighbourhood, as her husband’s friends had decided to spend the night there.

She claimed that her husband was lying in a pool of blood when she returned home this morning and the persons, who had slept there, had been missing.

A police official said there was no stability in her statements regarding the number of persons, who had come last night, and details, including their names (identity), clothes and looks. She also failed to tell about the place where the outsiders had come from or where they belonged.

According to sources, the police was suspecting the involvement of the complainant herself, as there had been conflicting reports about her staying in the neighbourhood at night and reports about the relationship between the couple over certain issues. The body has been sent for the postmortem examination.

Fatehabad, March 31
A pall of gloom descended on Ratia town in this district when four youths in their early twenties lost their lives in a car accident near here in the wee hours today.

Another youth, who was travelling in the same car, is battling for life in a Ludhiana hospital.

The youths - Amit, Happy, Vicky, Deepak and Sonu - are sons of traders and had gone to Mansa town in Punjab to attend the marriage ceremonies of their friend Ankush, whose father also owns a trading firm in the grain market.

While coming back in the early hours today, their Maruti Zen rammed into the boundary wall alongside the road. The road, according to reports, was under repair and the road contractor had constructed a wall on one side to stop the traffic.

The impact of the collision was so strong that Amit, Happy and Vicky died on the spot.

The vehicle fell in a roadside pit and the victims remained trapped in the car for over two hours before some local residents came to their rescue.

Deepak and Sonu, who were critically injured, were referred to Ludhiana. While Deepak died on the way to Ludhiana, Sonu has been admitted to the CMC in Ludhiana. Shops remained closed in Ratia town today to mourn the deaths.

In a separate accident today, a motorcyclist was crushed to death on the national highway. The victim has been identified as Bachan (23), a resident of Pehowa in Kurukshetra district.

Yamunanagar, March 31
The Jain community should be accorded the status of religious minority in the state. The Bharitya Jain Milan, an organisation of the community, has shot off a letter demanding a notification in this regard.

The demand was made after a meeting of the organisation and other Jain bodies here, said Ramesh Chander Jain, general secretary of the organisation.The Jains are a religious minority in Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Uttar Pradesh, Uttrakhand, Rajasthan and Maharashtra.

At the meeting the participants were informed that the government of India in its affidavit of September 2, 2004, before the Supreme Court had said that the government would adhere to the principles laid down by the court in the case of T.M.A. Pai Foundation and others regarding taking the state as a unit for determining minority status.

It would, therefore, be for the state governments to decide whether the Jain community should be treated as a minority in the respective states.

The letter said the government was legally empowered to notify Jains as a minority in the state. It claimed that the Jains were a minority in the state.The Chief Minister was urged to notify the community as a religious minority in the state under Article 30 of the Constitution.

Fatehabad, March 31
Swatantar Bala Chaudhary, a former INLD MLA from here, is recuperating after she took some poisonous chemical accidentally at Nissing town while coming back from a rally of her party in Karnal yesterday. Doctors attending on her have said the ill-effects of the chemical are over now.

Chaudhary, according to her own version, was returning to Fatehabad yesterday after attending the Punjabi mahasammelan of the INLD at Karnal, when she asked a worker to bring a bottle of water from the roadside tea shop at Nissing.

She and two other party workers accompanying her took a few sips of the 'water', but complained of bitter taste.

Their condition started deteriorating in a few minutes and froth and blood started coming out of her mouth.

Chaudhary was rushed to a Nissing hospital, where doctors made her vomit and referred her to Karnal for further treatment. Chaudhary’s kin, meanwhile, reached Karnal and shifted her to Fatehabad late at night where she is recuperating now.

The shopkeeper, according to Chaudhary, later told her supporters that some chemical used to prevent milk from turning sour was lying in a bottle, which he accidentally gave to Chaudhary. 

Chandigarh, March 31
Taking serious view of a petition of Uttar Haryana Bijli Vitran Nigam Limited to allegedly protect the interests of its employees found guilty of fraud and misappropriation, the Punjab and Haryana High Court today imposed “exemplary costs” of Rs 50,000 on it.

The amount is to be credited to the Haryana Legal Services Authority. The cost is to be recovered from the officer responsible for filing the petition, if he is found guilty during an inquiry ordered into the matter.

Pronouncing the orders in an open court, a Division Bench comprising Justice M.M. Kumar and Justice Sabina ruled it was amazing that a corporate body like the nigam was filing a petition regarding employees found guilty of fraud, misappropriation and misuse of its property.

The Judges added they failed to understand how the nigam filed the writ petition. Describing it as sheer misuse of the court process, the Judges further added that the petitioner lacked a locus standi. As such, the petition was being dismissed with a cost of Rs 50,000 on the petitioner.

Before parting with the orders, the Judges directed the holding of an inquiry into the matter by the nigam’s managing director. He has been asked to find out which officer took the decision to file the petition.

In its petition, the nigam had stated that a penalty of Rs 3.2 lakh was imposed on consumer Som Nath after an inspection by the vigilance wing found he had tampered with the energy meter for extracting energy illegally. The chief engineer dismissed his appeal.

Subsequently, the nigam’s Consumer Grievance Redressal Forum ordered reinvestigation on March 20, 2007. The forum dismissed a revision petition filed by the nigam against the reinvestigation orders.

In the reinvestigation, the nigam held there was no need for interference. Subsequently, the Electricity Ombudsman accepted an appeal filed by the consumer.

The Ombudsman came to the conclusion that a lineman, a meter reader and others were responsible for planting the case of theft on Som Nath due to mala fide intentions. A functioning meter was replaced without the Sub Divisional Officer’s permission illegally. As such, the Ombudsman ordered the imposition of a penalty on the four employees. The petition before the High Court was filed against the Ombudsman and other respondents.

Chandigarh, March 31
Taking serious view of a petition of Uttar Haryana Bijli Vitran Nigam Limited to allegedly protect the interests of its employees found guilty of fraud and misappropriation, the Punjab and Haryana High Court today imposed “exemplary costs” of Rs 50,000 on it. The amount is to be credited to the Haryana Legal Services Authority. The cost is to be recovered from the officer responsible for filing the petition, if he is found guilty during an inquiry ordered into the matter.

Pronouncing the orders in an open court, a Division Bench comprising Justice M.M. Kumar and Justice Sabina ruled it was amazing that a corporate body like the nigam was filing a petition regarding employees found guilty of fraud, misappropriation and misuse of its property.

The Judges added they failed to understand how the nigam filed the writ petition. Describing it as sheer misuse of the court process, the Judges further added that the petitioner lacked a locus standi. As such, the petition was being dismissed with a cost of Rs 50,000 on the petitioner.

Before parting with the orders, the Judges directed the holding of an inquiry into the matter by the nigam’s managing director. He has been asked to find out which officer took the decision to file the petition.

In its petition, the nigam had stated that a penalty of Rs 3.2 lakh was imposed on consumer Som Nath after an inspection by the vigilance wing found he had tampered with the energy meter for extracting energy illegally. The chief engineer dismissed his appeal. Subsequently, the nigam’s Consumer Grievance Redressal Forum ordered reinvestigation on March 20, 2007. The forum dismissed a revision petition filed by the nigam against the reinvestigation orders.

In the reinvestigation, the nigam held there was no need for interference. Subsequently, the Electricity Ombudsman accepted an appeal filed by the consumer.

The Ombudsman came to the conclusion that a lineman, a meter reader and others were responsible for planting the case of theft on Som Nath due to mala fide intentions. A functioning meter was replaced without the Sub Divisional Officer’s permission illegally. As such, the Ombudsman ordered the imposition of a penalty on the four employees. The petition was filed against the Ombudsman and other respondents. 

Kaithal, March 31
Acting on the report sent by the deputy commissioner, Kaithal, the director, local bodies, Haryana, has suspended Sunita Bansal from the post of the president of the Municipal Council, Kaithal.

She has also been debarred from participating in any proceedings of the House and has been directed to immediately hand over all records, cash or property belonging to the council, which were in her possession, to the vice-president of the council.

The copy of the suspension order dated March 31 signed by R.P. Bhardwaj, director, local bodies, Haryana, was received through fax in the office of the deputy commissioner here today.

The director while passing the suspension order referred to his earlier letter dated March 25, in which the council president had been given three days time to explain her position on the report on findings in inquiry conducted by ADC Ramesh Verma.

The ADC had conducted the inquiry into the alleged irregularities committed by the council chief while discharging her duty, following which the deputy commissioner had forwarded the findings of the inquiry report to the director, local bodies, vide his letter dated March 25 and the director had issued a show-cause notice to the council chief on the same date viz March 25 to explain her position.

The council chief had submitted her explanation vide letter dated March 28, in which she had denied the allegations levelled against her. In the suspension order, the director said he was not satisfied with the explanation given by her and hence suspended her.

Sunita Bansal and her husband Krishan Bansal said the whole action was politically motivated and illegal and they would move court against the decision.

Chandigarh, March 31
The rosy picture of Haryana projected in this year’s budget could wither away in the coming years if the state’s finances are not cleverly juggled. With various indicators of growth already indicating a slowdown in the state’s economy, former finance minister Sampat Singh says Haryana’s honeymoon period with VAT also seems to be over and realty boom is on a downslide.

Speaking to TNS on the budget recently presented by finance minister Birender Singh, Sampat Singh said the next three years were crucial for the economy. He said finance ministers of all states must exert themselves and get services like banking, telecommunication, insurance transferred from the union government to the state for income generation by way of tax.

Maintaining that income from VAT, which had increased by 24 per cent and 30 per cent between 2005 and 2007 had fallen to 9 per cent in this budget, he said it would remain at 9 per cent in 2008-09 as per the budgetary estimates.

“VAT will be replaced by the goods and services tax in three years. After the VAT regime goes and other taxes are abolished, where will we get our revenue from? The centre had committed to transfer various taxable services to the state for income purposes which has not happened so far. We must try to secure these to be able to maintain our growth,” he states.

With the local area development tax replaced by entry tax, Sampat Singh is of the opinion that boom in the real estate is unlikely to bring in the projected revenues from stamp duty.

Sampat Singh said indicators which reflected growth of the economy, including share of the priority sector, had shown a fall in the budget presented this year.

The revenue surplus or deficit as percentage of the gross state domestic product is likely to land the state from a surplus situation to a deficit one. “In 1998-99, we had a revenue deficit of -3.5. The present government consolidated its position in 2006-07 to have a revenue surplus of 1.3 per cent. However, in 2007-08, this surplus has fallen to .8 per cent and our state may go back to a deficit situation,” the former finance minister stated.

The revenue from taxes is also going down gradually. The planned expenditure, too, as compared to previous years, had shown a downward trend.

He claimed that the salary and pension as compared to revenue receipts were increasing.

Panchkula, March 31
The overbridge being constructed in Panipat will be opened for use before April 30 next and with the opening of the overbridges at Ambala and Zirakpur by the end of year, the travel time to Delhi from Chandigarh and Panchkula will be reduced up to 40 minutes.

This was stated by the Haryana PWD (B&R) minister, Capt Ajay Singh Yadav, here today.The minister was interacting with mediapersons after inaugurating the office building of the Haryana State Roads and Bridges Development Corporation in Sector 2, constructed at a cost of Rs 2.75 crore. He said the residents of Panipat would need to pay 50 per cent of the toll while crossing the overbridge.However, to avail themselves of this concession vehicle owners would have to produce residence proof of Panipat. The relaxation would be available to the residents of Panipat city only, he added.

Clarifying on the long waiting time at toll plazas the minster said earlier on the Gurgaon-Delhi road, the same problem existed as about 1.50 lakh vehicles were passing on this road and drivers had to wait 20 to 25 minutes.

However, after issuing electronic sensor tags to about 55,000 commuters they had to spend only 5 to 7 minutes now. 

Rohtak, March 31
The local Municipal Council received a record house tax amount totalling nearly Rs 11 lakh today, which was supposed to be the last date of house tax collection. The council collected about Rs 50 lakh as house tax in March, which is a record in itself.

The last date of collection of house tax has now been extended by a month till April 30.

The Haryana government had announced that the house tax of the urban residents would be waived if they cleared their earlier dues and outstanding amount till March 31.

It was to avail themselves of the benefit of this scheme that people paid their house tax dues in large numbers. “It was for the first time in the history of the council that such a big amount has been collected as house tax,” said Jaswant Singh, tax superintendent at the local council. He said that seeing the positive response of urban residents, the state government had extended the last date of house tax collection till April 30.

However, some confusion still prevails among residents of HUDA sectors who maintain that the council has no authority to collect house tax from them as all facilities are provided to them by the HUDA authorities and not by the council. The matter is under consideration by the apex court.

Chandigarh, March 31
Haryana Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda today announced an increase in the unemployment allowance of science students. He also announced that all registered unemployed women, irrespective of the stream, would be given 50 per cent higher unemployment allowance than in the case of men. Unemployed registered candidates with the qualification of 10 plus 2 in the science stream would now get Rs 450 per month instead of Rs 300 per month as unemployment allowance.

Unemployed science graduates and postgraduates would get Rs 750 per month (from Rs 500 per month) as unemployment allowance. All registered unemployed women in the state would now get 50 per cent higher unemployment allowance than what they were getting all these days.

As a result of this increase, an additional expenditure of about Rs 1.70 crore per annum would be incurred. An official press note said the allowance had been increased to encourage young people to study science.

Candidates, who are not higher secondary pass, will continue to get an unemployment allowance of Rs 100 per month up to the age of 35 years.