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Rs 248 crore service tax evasion detected
LPG shortage likely
Corruption in SAI
CM lays stone of girls’ college
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Railway overbridge opened
Case against fake IPS officer
Ranbir Singh Hooda honoured
Another water treatment plant for Gurgaon
Employees involved in market fee racket
Expose corrupt, get rewarded: Warehousing corp
Abduction Case
Kidney Scam
Defamation Plea
Garbage plant: Villagers, admn on collision course
INLD wants duty on basmati to go
Scribe’s death mourned
Student found dead
Penalty on sugarcane growers waived
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Rs 248 crore service tax evasion detected
Rohtak, November 6 The main culprit is a leading transport contractor, who allegedly tried to conceal his taxable income during the past three years. The tax evasion came to light during investigation conducted by the department, which has now issued a show-cause notice to the transport company. The department will initiate legal proceedings against the contractor if no proper reply is submitted within the stipulated period. The affected party can also deposit the due tax to escape legal action. According to the office of the joint commissioner (AE), Central Excise Commissionerate, here, this is the second such case of huge tax evasion in the past 14 days. “The total tax evasion detected during this period is Rs 340 crore,” claimed a senior official. It might be the biggest duty evasion in the history of the department in Rohtak, he added. The office had earlier claimed to have detected a tax fraud amounting to Rs 92 crore on October 23. In the present case, the company, Delhi-Assam Roadways Corporation Ltd, has been asked to file a reply regarding evasion of service tax amounting to Rs 248 crore not paid by it on “taxable input service” used by it for providing taxable output “Goods Transport Service” (GTS). The party had been centrally registered as a “goods transport agent” (GTA) for providing transport and business auxiliary service. According to the department, the party concerned had shown an amount of Rs 21,31,28,88,940 in its audited balance sheet and “profit and loss accounts” as “lorry hire expenses” from January 1, 2005, to February 29, 2008. However, on examination the department found that the phrase “hiring of lorry” had been intentionally concocted with the view to camouflaging the “consumption of taxable input service”. It is stated that due to a shortage of vehicles, the party preferred to engage the services of “other parties”, which, instead of supplying vehicles on rent, preferred to carry the party’s clients or goods themselves. However, in the “account” of the parties, there was no contract with the party’s clients. It is alleged that the party used to pay them the freight amount for mere carriage of goods’ service, which was an input service. As the main consignment note was issued by the party in its own name, the payments were received from the client for full and final output contracted service. Thus the vehicle owners were also GTA, but transmitted their service tax liability to the party. The hiring of a vehicle by the GTA or supply of a vehicle to the GTA are exempt under Section 65 of the Finance Act, 1994, but providing of any service in relation to transport of goods by a GTA is not exempt under service tax under the same Act, the department claims. It is alleged that for the purpose of claiming “abatement” of 75 per cent of the service tax, the vehicle owners/suppliers and the party colluded and preferred to “wrongly declare” their services and continued to pass on the tax liability in a chain finally to the party’s clients, who paid service tax after claiming an “abatement” of 75 per cent. The department has now asked the party to deposit the due service tax amounting to Rs 248 crore. |
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LPG shortage likely
Chandigarh, November 6 The demand for cooking gas goes up in the winter for a number of reasons. Because of low temperature, cooking consumes more gas as compared to the summer time. Nowadays an additional demand for cooking gas is generated because it is used as fuel for room heaters, water heaters and generators. A large quantity is also diverted to run vehicles fitted with LPG kits. The oil companies, over the years, have refused to take notice of devices other than cooking burners, in which LPG is used. The result is that the supply of LPG is never commensurate with the demand. Of course, this gap in supply and demand is not felt in the summer as severely as in the winter. It is the distributors who have to face the public wrath and it is they who are often accused of creating an artificial scarcity for vested interests. Faced with this situation, the All-India LPG Distributors Federation (North Western region) has decided to take up the issue with the oil companies so that adequate arrangements can be made well before the scarcity situation develops. K.J.S. Buttar, president of the federation, has convened a meeting of the core group of the federation in Karnal tomorrow to discuss the steps the federation can take to persuade the oil companies to step up the supply of LPG. The meeting will be held at the Gymkhana Club, Sector 8. The meeting is likely to be attended, among others, by the state presidents from the Himachal Pradesh and Haryana zone and district conveners, select LPG distributors and office-bearers of the executive committee of the federation. According to Manoj B. Nangia, joint secretary of the federation, the meeting will discus how to improve consumer services and how to persuade the oil companies to ensure adequate supply of LPG. The distributors are facing another problem from the oil companies. Certain oil companies are forcing them to sell general merchandise like tea and soap to their customers along with LPG refills so that these companies can generate non-fuel based revenue. The companies are also reportedly forcing the dealers to stock 19 kg commercial LPG cylinders, for which, they say, there is no demand in the market. |
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Corruption in SAI
Chandigarh, November 6 Raj Kumar, working as a stenographer with SAI’s northern regional centre in Sonepat district, has claimed the scam, spread over two decades, was of over Rs 500 crore. In his petition placed before the Bench of Justice Hemant Gupta and Justice Nawab Singh, he has further claimed: “If detailed investigations are undertaken by an independent agency like the CBI, a scam of over Rs 2,000 crore is going to be unearthed.” The Bench has fixed January 20, 2009, as the next date of hearing in the case. Claiming to know the “the inside story”, the petitioner has asserted he, being a law abiding citizen, decided to “highlight the menace of prevailing corruption” in the SAI and its centres all over the country. The petitioner said the SAI centres all over the country had for almost two decades adopted a modus operandi for purchasing sports goods and equipment at exorbitant rates through rate contract. Tenders were invited by the SAI centres for different items. Yet, the process was an eye-wash and “mind-blowing”. Giving details, he said: “Surprisingly, while undertaking the tender process, the suppliers are asked to supply items at exorbitant rates by specifically mentioning the range of rates within which the goods are to be procured”. In an attempt to substantiate his contentions, the petitioner annexed a “copy of one such tender form”. He added “such forms were supplied to the interested suppliers unofficially and they were asked to arrange quotations of three or more suppliers in order to meet the requirement of the audit”. The petitioner added that he was also annexing copies of proposals and purchase orders of different dates. A perusal would show “the approval of the competent authority was being sought for procuring sports goods and other items at exorbitant rates”. Raj Kumar added he was also annexing a copy of audit objection, “showing the working and malfunctioning at the SAI in purchasing a computer machine at an exorbitant rate of Rs 78,580 for the northern region of the SAI in January 2004, while the rate of such computers was between Rs 25,000 and Rs 30,000. He asserted huge commissions were involved in the purchase of sports goods and equipment. “Every year demands within the regional centres of the SAI are generated by pressuring the subordinate officers and coaches. They under pressure, coercion or threat of victimisation, submit themselves to the wishes of their controlling officers by placing ridiculous and unjustified demands involving purchases worth crores every year”. |
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CM lays stone of girls’ college
Rohtak, November 6 The college building will be constructed by the government at a cost of Rs 10 crore. The college had started functioning in September and has about 60 students on the rolls. The college is being run from two rooms of a government primary school in the town at present. Addressing a gathering on the occasion, the Chief Minister said his government had given priority to education. He said this year was being observed as “Education Year” and special focus was being given to making women literate. He said the government would give 5 per cent subsidy on loans taken by the girl student for higher education in the state. Besides, 25 per cent quota would be provided to women candidates in various technical and professional courses. He claimed that besides a provision for free books and stationery to girl students and weaker sections, the government had launched a scheme to reward institutes and colleges which promoted maximum number of such admissions in their institutions. The Chief Minister also inaugurated a primary health centre at Lakhanmajra, built at a cost of about Rs 1 crore, besides laying the foundation stones of many other projects in Meham subdivision. These include the expansion of the famous Meham Chaubisi Chabutra, a park and a polytechnic college at Meham. |
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Railway overbridge opened
Sonepat, November 6 It was constructed at a cost of Rs 12 crore with footpaths on both sides of the bridge. Yadav said during the past three and a half years of the present state government, the National Highway Authority of India (NHAI) had completed construction works of around Rs 1,000 crore. He said works with estimated cost of about Rs 1,865 were in progress. The National Capital Region Planning Board had provided financial assistance of Rs 1,200 crore for various development works, he added. The board was likely to accord sanction soon for other projects with an estimated cost of around Rs 600 crore. Yadav said financial assistance of Rs 731 crore had been sanctioned for the state under the Prime Minister’s Grameen Sadak Yojna and of this amount, Rs 500 crore had been spent. The department had already spent Rs 153 crore on the construction and repair of roads and works with estimated cost of Rs 145 crore were being completed in Sonepat district. Deepender Singh Hooda, MP, said 22 ROBs had been constructed in the state. |
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Case against fake IPS officer
Sirsa, November 6 A team of the district police has been constituted under Sheesh Ram, inspector and SHO of the CIA police station here.The team has been sent to Rajasthan, from where the calls had been made. A con man posing as a senior IPS officer posted in Delhi had made 117 telephone calls to several persons in the district between 11.30 a.m. and 6.20 p.m. on October 15. He called almost every police station of the district and talked to the SHOs about incidents of theft reported in their respective areas in the recent past. The con man then informed the SHOs that some gangs of thieves had been arrested in Delhi and the gangs had confessed having committed thefts in Sirsa, too. He took the telephone numbers of victims of the incidents of theft and demanded a bribe from them for returning their stolen belongings. He asked many of the victims to recharge his mobiles with the bribe amount. Though the police claims no local resident has been duped, there are reports of a Dabwali resident having fallen prey to the con man's tricks. When the police traced the mobile number of the con man, the calls were found to have been made from Kotputali town of Rajasthan. The mobile was found to have been purchased on a fake identity. Confirming the registration of the case, deputy superintendent of police Dheeraj Setia maintained that the police had taken suo motu cognizance of the matter and registered a case.There was no complaint from anyone in this regard. He said the con man had called up not only police stations in Sirsa district but also contacted some other police stations in Haryana and outside. |
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Ranbir Singh Hooda honoured
Chandigarh, November 6 As Ranbir Singh was unwell, the award, instituted by the Banarsi Dass Gupta Foundation, which carries Rs 1 lakh in cash, a commendation letter and a shawl, was received by his grandson and Member of Parliament from Rohtak Deepender Singh Hooda from union home minister Shivraj Patil. Patil said the award was an acknowledgement of the selfless services rendered by Ranbir Singh to the people of the country and wished him a long and healthy life. Stressing the need for strengthening national unity and integrity, Patil cautioned that some divisive forces were indulging in dividing society in the name of religion, language, region and caste and the government was determined to foil their nefarious designs. Haryana Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda, who presided over the function, paid tributes to a former Chief Minister, the late Banarsi Dass Gupta, and remarked that despite holding high offices like Chief Minister, Deputy Chief Minister, Speaker of the Vidhan Sabha and MP, Gupta was being remembered as a humble person throughout his life.
— UNI |
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Another water treatment plant for Gurgaon
Gurgaon, November 6 The estimates regarding the project have been approved by the state government. The tender pre-qualification bid has also been received by HUDA and work will be allotted soon. Disclosing this here yesterday, HUDA administrator G. Anupama said this second water-treatment plant at Chandu-Budhera would be constructed in two phases. Construction of 22 MGD water treatment plant would be done in the first phase and remaining 44 MGD in the second phase. Thus, it would have a storage capacity of 66
MGD. She pointed out that the construction work of the third water-treatment plant of 20 MGD at Basai was already in progress and it was likely to be functional by March 2009. “Besides, two water-treatment plants of 20 MGD capacity each are functional at
Basai,” she said, adding that as per needs, about 30-35 MGD of water was being supplied daily. Besides, boosting stations in Sectors 16 and 51 were also functional. With these arrangements, 126 MGD water would be supplied, which is sufficient for meeting requirements of 22 lakh population. |
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Employees involved in market fee racket
Panipat, November 6 A team of officials from Panipat and Sonepat districts on November 4 raided the Babarpur mandi on the outskirts of the district headquarters and nabbed the local market committee employees lifting 6,000 bags filled with paddy that were being supplied to some local rice mill owners. The officials who had raided the mandi, on condition of anonymity, said they had received a tip-off that a large number of gunny bags filled with paddy were being directly provided to rice millers without paying the market fee. They stated that as per the rules, the market committee officials were meant to charge a total of 8 per cent market fee that was implied on the produce that was brought to the grain markets to be sold to the government agencies or private players. Of the total fee, 4 per cent of the fee was charged towards VAT, while 2 per cent charged towards market development and the rest 2 per cent for rural development. The market employees were offering PUSA 1121 variety to the rice millers. Sources said no auction was being held for these bags and in some cases farmers were being paid a little extra than the prevailing market rates so that they did not object. A senior official of the market committee said the action as per the law had been recommended against the erring employees of the mandi. He said the department had taken up the issue on priority and more such raids would be conducted. |
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Expose corrupt, get rewarded: Warehousing corp
Chandigarh, November 6 Any employee, who will report on misdoings in the 106 storage points across the state, will get an incentive of 10 per cent of the value of stocks misappropriated. The scheme will go a long way to curb corruption at the grassroots level. The manager, godown keeper and watchmen in various godowns across the state allegedly in connivance with each other, are involved in pilferage of stored food grains. The corporation loses over Rs 7 crore per annum on quantitative and qualitative losses each other, with the quantitative losses surpassing the losses arising out of deterioration in quality. “This scheme will help to control losses, which could be to the tune of Rs 5 crore per annum,” said Khemka. The board of directors of the corporation has also approved a scheme of granting maintenance incentive. It has been decided for the maintenance and upkeep of stocks in quantitative terms. Even technical and junior technical assistants will be granted similar incentives for ensuring proper health of stocks during storage period. The HWC has a storage capacity of 15 lakh metric tonnes, but the average capacity utilisation is only about 60-70 per cent. Though the available capacity of the HWC was offered to private players, other than private rice millers, no one had ever come forward. A business incentive scheme has now been formulated. |
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Abduction Case
Karnal, November 6 The police today arrested two persons for allegedly abducting a 23-year-old, identified as Anu, but the counter allegations made by the accused raised serious apprehensions about the possibility of a fake marriage racket active in the district. Ajay, a resident of Prem Nagar colony, had lodged a complaint with the police that her sister-Anu-was abducted by some persons and named six persons in an FIR. He also alleged that the abductors demanded a ransom of Rs 50,000 to free her. The accused named in the FIR included Kura Ram of Sadarpur in Gharaunda, his four sons -Mehar Singh, Ram Chand, Kanda Ram and Balkar Singh- and Karnail Singh, a resident of Patiala. The police has arrested Kura Ram and Karnail Singh and during interrogation, they alleged Anu had taken Rs 50,000 for finding a bride for Sohan Singh. As per the agreement, Sohan was married to a girl, Sunita, who disappeared after 15 days. They said they had been pressing Anu to get the girl back or return the sum paid to her. In the meantime, the police recovered Anu and arrested her after registering a case of cheating against her. However, the case became more complex as another person-Sher Singh of Guniana village-complained that Anu and her associates -Rinku, Titu and Som Dutt-were involved in this racket. He said he got married to Anu one and a half year ago and paid Rs 40,000, but later found that she was already married. He alleged that Anu and her associates were cheating innocent people by arranging fake marriages. |
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Kidney Scam
Ambala, November 6 Jeevan is the younger brother of Dr Amit, who is the main accused in the scam. In his application, Jeevan had requested bail for 10 days to attend the marriage of his sister-in-law. During the arguments on the application, the CBI opposed it. The CBI public prosecutor, A.K. Singh, pleaded that Jeevan had already jumped bail in a few cases. The regular bail application of five of the accused was also heard today. Dr Serj Kobid , Dr K.K. Aggarwal , nurse Linda , Jagdish and Manoj had filed a bail application in the court last month. The judge adjourned the hearing on the application for November 25. |
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Defamation Plea
Panchkula, November 6 In the complaint Gupta stated that the Haryana Staff Selection Commission had advertised several posts of naib tehsildar and had conducted the written tests for it. The four relatives of Gupta appeared for the test but failed to qualify for the interview, said the complaint. However, on the basis of conference held by Ajay Chautala it was published in a section of newspapers on March 26 that relatives of the Chief Minister, ministers, MLAs, bureaucrats and members of the Staff Selection Commission were being appointed on the said posts of naib tehsildar. In the report, a list of 26 candidates was also published and it was alleged that a candidate in the list namely Vikram Singla was the close relative of Gupta, the minister stated in his complaint. The education minister denying any relation with Vikram claimed that in this regard he condemned the statement, which was published in the newspapers of March 27, but the accused remained mum on the issue. |
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Garbage plant: Villagers, admn on collision course
Bandhwari (Gurgaon), November 6 However, the residents of Bandhwari and other surrounding villages are opposing the move on the grounds that setting up of the waste treatment plant there would pollute the environs of the area. Residents of several villages had recently met the Gurgaon municipal commissioner, Rajeev Sharma, and apprised him of their concern. Sharma told the villagers that the plant would be built in a scientific and eco-friendly way and there would be no stink or any other adverse effect on the surroundings. However, the villagers, apparently not convinced with the explanation, submitted a memorandum to the Governor through the municipal commissioner, urging him not to allow the construction of a garbage plant at the proposed site. In the meanwhile, the possession of the land acquired for the purpose was handed over to the Faridabad district authorities by their Gurgaon counterparts as this is supposed to be a joint project. However, the residents of Bandhwari, where the proposed site is located, and numerous nearby villages seem firm on their resolve against allowing the setting up of the plant there. A survey of the area by The Tribune team revealed that the villagers have deployed a watchman to guard the site and are holding meetings to stall the execution of the project. “We are determined that government officials will not be allowed to undertake any activity for setting up the garbage plant at the proposed site,” says Jaipal, a representatives of the villagers opposing the project. Asked about their future course of action, the villagers maintain that they will move the Supreme Court to obtain a stay against the project. “Talks are already going on with a lawyer and we are in the final stages of preparing for the case,” a villager disclosed. In view of the given circumstances, the situation seems to be volatile with the villagers and the authorities concerned heading for a showdown on the crucial issue. |
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INLD wants duty on basmati to go
Chandigarh, November 6 Talking to newsmen here senior INLD leader and former finance minister Sampat Singh said the UPA government had formulated its policies on basmati only to benefit certain selected brokers, commission agents and exporters. But these policies had directly harmed farmers’ interests. First a ban on the export of PUSA-1121 was imposed. When this ban was lifted, it was declared a non-basmati variety of paddy, which pushed down its prices in the market. When about 70 per cent of the crop was sold by its growers, the government declared it as basmati. He said the export duty on basmati was also hurting the growers. Sampat Singh said there should be a regular agricultural production and export policy in the interest of the farming class. He said the Agriculture Prices Commission had recommended Rs 1,050 per quintal as the minimum support price of paddy but the government declared Rs 850 as the MSP, which was inadequate. He said when the INLD and farmers’ organisations opposed the government's decision, the export ban was done away but PUSA-1121, which was exported to the extent of about 98 per cent, was declared non-basmati. This cost the farmers dearly as the rates of rice dropped by Rs 800 per quintal. |
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Y’nagar college gets trophy
Kurukshetra, November 6 Addressing the function, vice-president of the Haryana Child Welfare Council Asha Hooda called upon the young generation to work by maintaining balance between modernisation and culture, as the development of culture is essential for the development of any country. In his presidential address, vice-chancellor of the university Prof R.P. Bajpai said culture and society were corelated and students act as ambassadors to propagate the culture. On the occasion, Hooda gave away prizes to winners. About 3,000 students comprising 78 teams drawn from various colleges, affiliated to the university, participated in the festival. |
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High Court
Chandigarh, November 6 Haryana informed the Bench of Justice Mehtab Singh Gill and Justice K.Kanan the petitioners’ claim that National Council of Teachers Education (NCTE) alone could prescribe qualification for recruitment of teachers did not hold ground. This was in view of Apex Court decision in “Basic Education Board UP versus Upender Rai".
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Scribe’s death mourned
Chandigarh, November 6 A member of Editor's Guild of India, Sharma had started his career as a lecturer. He worked as Editor of Maya, the largest selling news magazine of its time, from 1978 to 1999. He joined the Bhaskar group in 1999 as editor of the newly launched Jaipur edition and later worked as editor of the newly launched Chandigarh edition and thereafter the Bhopal edition. |
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Man found murdered
Gurgaon, November 6 The body of the victim was found lying in a pool of blood. He belonged to Charki Dadri, Bhiwani, but was residing here and was working as a shuttering contractor. On getting information, the police reached the scene and registered a case in this regard. According to family sources, Jasbir had gone to the vacant plot next to his house to sleep yesterday. They used to tie their domestic animals there and had a small room, where he slept. When he did not wake up in the morning, his mother went there to wake him up him. After getting no response, they went upstairs and saw his body lying in a pool of blood. |
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Student found dead
Sirsa, November 6 On getting information, the college authorities reported the matter to the police and his parents. Later, the body of the boy was handed over to his parents after a postmortem examination. |
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Penalty on sugarcane growers waived
Chandigarh, November 6 Haryana agriculture and cooperation minister Harmohinder Singh Chatha said the damage caused to the sugarcane crop due to natural calamities like drought and frost was beyond the control of the growers. |
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