Dehradun, January 19
The district administration today cancelled the licence of a stamp paper vendor in the case related to the alleged use of fake stamp papers in the registration of a prime property here.

Following the exposure, the vendor, Vineet Kumar Bansal, had claimed in the affidavit submitted to the administration that he had obtained 70 non-judicial stamp sheets from the district treasury on February 12, 2004 through valid means.

The administration had then issued a seven-day notice asking him to explain how he procured them despite evidence to the contrary.

“We have cancelled his licence as he failed to prove his claim that he obtained the 70 sheets of Rs 500 denomination from the treasury and from other vendors,” said Vinod Kumar Suman, ADM (finance).

The vendor has been given another notice to prove his claim failing which an FIR would be lodged against him.

The fraud came to light during pendency of a court case related to allegedly forged registration of a piece of land.

As per the sale deed documents, three property dealers of Dehradun had used these stamp papers shown to have been issued by the district treasury. The information obtained by the complainant, Suraj Bhan of Lunia Mohalla, Dehradun under RTI had shown that no stamp paper was sold to these persons by the treasury on that date.

The complainant had then approached the then District Magistrate for detailed enquiry and action. Subsequently, the inquiry report prepared by ADM Suman pointed towards foul play in the sourcing of the said stamp sheets.

Dehradun, January 19
In a raid conducted by a team of senior district administration officials, unaccounted non-judicial stamp papers worth lakhs were seized from a licenced vendor at the district collectorate office here today.

All vendors fled from the premises of the collectorate as they had prior information about the surprise check ordered by district magistrate Amit Singh Negi in the wake of persistent media reports about unscrupulous dealings by them.

Additional district magistrate (ADM) Vinod Kumar Suman and SDM Ajay Arora led the raiding team.

Suman said that they seized 67 unaccounted stamps papers of Rs 10,000 denomination from the possession of Subhash Chand.

He was found to have concealed 91 such papers in the box at his shop which exceeded the permissible limit of 24 papers. He was also found guilty of keeping extra stamp sheets of Rs 100, 500, 1000 and 5000 denominations.

As a licenced vendor is not allowed to sell stamp papers of more than Rs 10,000, they arrange extra sheets from other vendors in case some person requires sheets of more than the value for a property registration.

“This practice is illegal as this is done to get registration done in back date. As such, the entries made in the vendor’s register are fake and this amounts to loss to the state exchequer,” said Suman.

Though Suman denied the leak of information regarding the raid, sources maintained this was the reason that vendors became alert and went away from the spot along with their record registers.

The administration had conducted a major raid in November 2008 in which 21 vendors were found guilty. 

Dehradun, January 19
The government is all set for a major crackdown on owners of fake LPG connections in the state. Making an announcement in this regard, Uttarakhand minister for food and civil supplies Diwakar Bhatt today said they would strictly implement the “one kitchen one connection” rule.

“The administration and civil supplies department, in coordination with the oil companies, will launch an exercise to identity owners of fake LPG connections and subsequently get them disconnected,” he said.

Addressing mediapersons in his office at the Vidhan Sabha today afternoon, Bhatt said according to rough estimates, at least 20 per cent LPG connections 
are fake.

“The officials would be going door-to-door to check owners of fake connections. This would help in sorting out the problem of LPG shortage in the state,” he said.

The minister also announced that from now on consumers could go in for subsequent booking of the gas cylinder after 15 days.

Earlier, the time limit was 21 days. He said gas agencies would also be bound to deliver the cylinder within a week’s time after the booking.

Urging the consumers to not to pay home delivery charges if they are themselves procuring the cylinder from the agency outlet, Bhatt said: “It has come to our knowledge that even if the consumer is procuring a cylinder from an agency, he or she is paying home delivery charges. We won’t allow the agencies to carry on with this wrong practice.”

The minister also said that it has come to light that consumers who take cylinders from gas agencies are often forced to buy gas pipes, regulators etc. “If the department receives any such complaint, immediate action will be initiated and the license of the erring gas agency will be suspended,” he said.

Bhatt said he has called a meeting of officials of the oil companies on February 2 during which instructions would be issued to ensure that consumers do not face any problems. 

Dehradun, January 19
While Dehradun Municipal Corporation aims to rein in handcart operators across the city, a group, led by Jankranti Party leader Rajni Rawat, today staged a protest at the corporation office. The demonstrators alleged harassment on part of MC authorities and submitted a memorandum to the district administration.

There has been a sharp rise in the number of handcarts operators in Dehradun who sell vegetables and small household items. Many of them possess no licences and operate in contravention of law.

The MC has been working hard to curtail them, as handcarts pose a big hindrance to the smooth flow of traffic. The corporation’s executive had recently decided to allot places within every ward for these handcarts and suggested stern measures against all illegal operators.

Interestingly, Rajni Rawat, the eunuch who shot into fame after unsuccessfully contesting for the post of Dehradun Mayor, is now eyeing the Tehri parliamentary constituency in the forthcoming elections.

Dehradun, January 19
Even as the sacked ONGC officers across the country have not lost hope of a favourable response to their individual requests made to the company’s management for reinstatement, the sacked officers have not dropped the idea of moving court for the purpose. “All depends on the fate of our appeals to the top management for a favourable decision,” said some affected officers.

The affected officers are the office-bearers of the ONGC’s Association of Scientific and Technical Officers (ASTO) which is the constituent of Oil Sector Officers Association (OSOA) which spearheaded the recent three-day nationwide strike. Of the total 64 sacked officers, five are posted at the company’s head office here.

Though they denied any move to take the legal course at this stage, sources said that a fund raising move was started some days back to fight the legal battle. Over 2,000 members of ASTO, working at the company’s head office here, contributed Rs 2000 each.

“We gave cheques to fight the case. But these were returned on the grounds that funds available with ASTO on account of monthly contribution by members will be put to use,” confirmed a member requesting anonymity. After receiving termination orders on January 10, all affected ONGC officers across the country had sent written requests to the management to reconsider its decision.

They submitted that it was wrong to single them out as the decision to go on strike was taken collectively.

No one was coerced to participate in it. But privately, they maintained the termination orders were illegal as no notice was given to them nor was any inquiry made.

Meanwhile, a delegation of Uttarakhand Congress leaders comprising former state party chief Harish Rawat, former Dehradun mayor Manorama Sharma and Chakrata Congress legislator Pritam Singh today met Union Petroleum Minister Murli Deora in New Delhi to demand reinstatement of sacked ONGC employees following the strike by oil sector employees.

Dehradun, January 19
The Oil and Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC) has drawn up an elaborate programme to become carbon neutral. The oil major has set specific targets to complete Green House Gas (GHG) accounting by 2011 as GHG certification is a pre-requisite to become carbon neutral.

Being carbon neutral or having a zero carbon footprint means achieving net zero carbon emissions by balancing a measured amount of carbon released with an equivalent amount sequestered (storing carbon-dioxide in a solid material through biological or physical processes) or offset.

The Navratna company’s highest policy making body has approved a set of measures with timelines to reduce carbon emissions across all field activities of the company which is being adopted as a mission on Carbon Neutrality by the ONGC.

Being carbon neutral will also help the ONGC improve operational processes in terms of energy efficiency and adoption of better technology leading to better business economics.

RS Sharma, chairman and managing director of ONGC, said, “The ONGC will spearhead corporate action to mitigate climate change leading to zero carbon footprint.”

During GHG accounting, emission inventory of oil-field installations like rigs and platforms will be calculated, based on which field-specific targets for GHG emission reduction will be drawn up.

This will be followed up by engineering interventions to improve energy and carbon efficiency including energy audits at the installations. The organisational systems and processes would be reoriented to maintain the GHG accounting protocol. 

Dehradun, January 19
In another twist to the tussle between different cricket associations of the statefor Board of Control for Cricket in India's (BCCI) affiliation, the Uttaranchal Cricket Association has registered strong opposition to former test cricketer Chetan Chauhan holding the post of cricket associations both in Uttarakhand and Delhi simultaneously.

Chauhan, who is already the vice-president of Delhi Cricket Association, has recently accepted the post of president of Uttarakhand Cricket Association. The development comes at a time when various cricket associations in the state are trying to outdo each other to get BCCI affiliation.

The blamegame among various associations has already begun, with one association trying to spoil the image of other before the BCCI to raise their chances of affiliation.

Chandrakant, secretary of Uttaranchal Cricket Association, in a strongly-worded letter to the Delhi Cricket Board had expressed concern over Chauhan holding another post. "Chetan Chauhan has no right to interfere in Uttarakhand's cricket in any form, especially when there are people in the hill state who have been dedicated to cricket for years now," he said.

"We have not submitted our objection, but have expressed our concern to the Delhi Cricket Association about this development through a letter," he added.

Chandrakant said the meddling of former players Chetan Chauhan and Rajendra Pal, who is the secretary of United Cricket Association, in Uttarakhand cricket affairs indicates that the duo were preparing ground for Indian Cricket League in the state in case their association in Uttarakhand fails to get BCCI affiliation.

"Rajendra Pal is a close associate of Kapil Dev, and Chetan Chauhan too has given statements in the press appealing that ICL and IPL should come together for the betterment of cricket in India," he said

Rajendra Pal, on the other hand, claimed that Delhi Cricket Association was informed well in advance about Chauhan being elected as president of Uttarakhand Cricket Association and there was no reason to make an issue out of it.

Interestingly, a BCCI team would visit Dehradun in February and this could well be the final visit before the affiliation issue is decided.

Dehradun, January 19
Khurbura XI registered 11-run victory over Doon Warriors at the ongoing 57th District Cricket League at the Survey Ground, Dehradun, here today.

Batting first, Khurbura XI scored 156 runs in allotted 40 overs. Khurbura XI batsmen began on a bad note as they lost two early wickets at the score of 7 runs. It was Ravi and Shivam who made 15 and 23 runs respectively and stabilised the innings. Rajesh scored 37 runs of just 38 balls that helped Khurbura pile a 156 total. For Doon Warriors, Jaffer and Harendra took three wickets each.

Chasing the target, Doon Warriors also started weak as they lost first wicket in second over at the score of just 2 runs. It was Vipul who hit 39 runs of just 40 balls, he hit 4 fours in his inning. Harandra supported Vipul well on the other end to make 24 runs. A fine bowling display by Khurbura XI team also helped their team restricted Doon Warriors at the score of 146 runs. For Khurbura, Ravi took three wickets in his seven overs. Rajesh and Deewan claimed two wickets each. 

Haridwar, January 19
The 77th Swami Sharddhanand Hockey Tournament got underway, here today with Town Hall Club Shahajanhpur defeating Yamuna Nagar with a huge margin of 6-0. In the second match of the day, Muradabad XI overcame stiff resistance from Shahabad Markandha with a close margin of 6-4.

At the opening ceremony, Vice Chancellor, Gurukul Kangri University, Swatantra Kumar and Chancellor Professor AK Chopra met the players of both the teams and urged them to show sportsmen spirit. There are sixteen teams in the fray for the coveted trophy that is just being held after the National Inter-University Championship in Gurukul University.

Dehradun, January 19
Sara and Ayushi won badminton doubles championship of u-13 category organised by the District Sports Office at Parade Ground, here today. In the final, Sara and Ayushi outclassed Sara and Anushta (21-6, 21-16).

Result of the singles:

Himanshi bt Sunita (21-6, 21-10), Shivani-II beat Kavita (21-8, 21-15), Shivani-I bt Ruchika (21-11, 21-13), Katiyani bt Anita (21-11, 21-11), Ayushi bt Himanshu (21-6, 21-8), Sara bt Shivani (21-5, 21-3), Anushtha bt Shivani (26-21, 21-14, 21-18), Kuhu bt Anushta (21-7, 21-8), Sara bt Ayushi (11-21, 21-17, 21-13) and Kuhu bt Katyani (21-2, 21-10).

Results of the doubles:

Shivani and Himanshi bt Kavita and Ruchika (21-8, 21-10), Shivani-I and Katiyani bt Anita and Sunita (21-9, 21-5), Kuhu and Anushka bt Shivani-II and Himani (21-11, 21-4), Sara and Anushta bt Katyani and Shivani-I (21-4, 21-10).