Chandigarh, January 21
With the economic slowdown all set to hurt the revenue collections in Haryana, the state has asked the Planning Commission to allow it to borrow Rs 2,500 crore as market borrowings through the Reserve Bank of India. It is after two years that the cash-rich Haryana government will have to raise money from the market by offering bonds.

Senior officials of the state government, while making a presentation to get the state’s annual plan approved, said they had been able to manage their expenses over the past two years. However, with the recession having set in, they were anticipating a shortfall of Rs 1,500 crore in revenue receipts, over the original estimates.

Though a final decision for the approval of the state’s annual plan will be made only after a meeting with the Deputy Chairman of the Planning Commission, the members have given the green light to the state government’s plan, pegged at a whopping Rs 10,000 crore. This is a massive hike of 54 per cent in the annual plan for Haryana for 2009-10, as compared to a plan outlay of Rs 6,650 crore during 2008-09.

It is learnt that the expenditure has been enhanced by more than Rs 500 crore in the current year. While the budget provision for 2008-09 was Rs 6,650 crore, the planning department had been forced to revise the initial outlay. Under the revised plan of the current financial year, the outlay for the Rural Development Scheme has been increased to Rs 611 crore from Rs 408.5 crore (Rs 82 crore extra were required for pavement of streets in villages, and Rs 100 crore for the 100 sq yard free plot scheme).

The expenditure on road transport has increased to Rs 173 crore from the initial outlay of Rs 123 crore. Haryana had declared the previous year as the “Year of Education” and the government had spent Rs 55 crore more than the initial plan. The extra money was also needed for scholarship schemes initiated for the Scheduled Castes and the Backward Classes. The sports budget, too, has been revised from Rs 22 crore to Rs 35.5 crore.

In addition, the state also had to incur additional expenditure of Rs 1,550 crore for the payment towards the recommendations of the Sixth Pay Commission. Notably, the government has already implemented the recommendations from January this year, and allowed the payment of 40 per cent of the total arrears this fiscal. The rest of the amount will be paid in the next financial year.

It was expected that in the next fiscal, the fund-outlay for infrastructure would increase as there was a likelihood of an increase in the construction of roads and getting more power projects in the state.

Chandigarh, January 21
The books purchase season in the Education Department is a scandal season every year and this year is no exception.

Despite categorical instructions on how and which books are to be purchased sent by the head office, the field offices connive with certain unscrupulous publishers to buy books in violation of the instructions.

The commissioner and secretary, Education and Languages Department, released about Rs 3.08 crore to the director-general, school education, for purchase of books under the book bank scheme for classes IX to XII. This money was to be spent for purchasing library books for government high and senior secondary schools. Each senior secondary school was to be given Rs 12,600 and each high school Rs 7,500.

Along with the money, detailed guidelines were also issued. The guidelines said each school had to form a five-member committee to purchase the books, which were to be purchased from government or government-sponsored publication houses like the National Book Trust, Haryana Sahitya Academy, the Indian Council of Historical Research and various universities of the state. The guidelines had also listed various topics on which the books were to be purchased.

The detailed guidelines were issued by the head office this year because in the past the field offices manipulated the guidelines to favour certain publishers. The powers that hoped that with such detailed guidelines the field offices would not be able to misuse the funds were sadly mistaken. Field offices in certain districts have placed orders with a particular publisher for purchasing books written by a former IAS officer.

Reports received from Ambala, Yamunanagar, Kurukshetra, Karnal, Kaithal, Jind and Jhajjar said the education officers in these districts had placed identical orders with a private publisher of Ambala cantonment, whose name does not appear in the list of approved publishers to supply two books written by a retired IAS officer.

Commissioner, Education, Rajan Gupta said the conduct of the field officers in total violation of the instructions and action would be taken against them.

Chandigarh, January 21
Keeping up its election promises, going beyond those promises to give more and forging ahead to emerge as one of the more promising states in the country, Haryana and Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda today got a thumbs-up for these achievements from the Congress top brass.

Hooda basked in the “achievements” of the government during his four-year term as he sat alongside AICC treasurer and in charge of the party affairs in Haryana Moti Lal Vora and Prithvi Raj Chavan.

The two leaders of the party were in the city for a manifesto-implementation meeting with the PCC as also to get a feedback from Haryana on their expectations from the Centre for a manifesto.

While the better part of the interaction with the media went off well, the inability of the government to constitute a separate Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee for the state gave the Delhi leaders some uncomfortable moments.

Finally, Vora took the call and said he would try to speed up the working of the committee constituted under the chairmanship of Agriculture Minister HS Chatha to give its report on the issue. “We will pursue the matter and hasten its implementation,” he added. The Chief Minister, too, chipped in to add that the government was expecting the report of the committee shortly.

To a question, Vora said the party had a bigger role identified for Haryana Pradesh Congress Committee president Phool Chand Mullana, eyeing the party ticket to contest the Lok Sabha elections from Ambala.

Vora said Mullana would be the party “in charge” of the election in the state. He evaded direct replies to queries on the party ticket to the latter from Ambala.

The two-member team said the government in Haryana had taken forward what the UPA government had done for the farmers at the Centre.

Vora said a mahasammelan of the Congress would be organised in Delhi during the second week of February, which would be attended by presidents of block and district Congress committees, pradesh presidents and leaders of the Congress legislature parties.

Chavan said he had been to Haryana on behalf of the Prime Minister and if anything had to be done for Haryana in Delhi, he assured all his support in this regard.

Chandigarh, January 21
The Punjab and the Haryana High Court wants to know from the secretary concerned in the Haryana government the details of land acquired and released by the state during past three years.

Bench of Justice Adarsh Kumar Goel and Justice Jitendra Chauhan has directed information in form of an affidavit be supplied to the court on: “The extent of land notified for acquisition in the past three years from January 1, 2006, to December 31, 2008.

“It will also be appreciated if the notifications and the orders of release are also compiled and furnished to this court”.

The Bench also asked for information on the “extent of land released from the acquisition in the period, irrespective of the date of acquisition”. Information has also been sought on the “remedial steps, if any, taken in light of the judgments of this court”. The directions follow a petition filed by Pardeep Yadav of Dundahera tehsil in Gurgaon district.

Yamunanagar, January 21
The much-hyped “vijay sankalp rally” of the INLD-BJP alliance held at the Anaj Mandi ground in Jagadhri has left many disappointed as BJP national president Rajnath Singh and other stalwarts did not turn up here today. Besides the BJP chief, MP Navjot Singh Sidhu, former Rajasthan Chief Minister Vasundhra Raje were also scheduled to address the rally here.

Leaders of both parties had brought their supporters in tractor-trailers and trucks for the rally.

Announcements were being made since morning that Rajnath Singh and other leaders would come here after attending the swearing-in ceremony of Sukhbir Badal as the Deputy Chief Minister of Punjab, held in Amritsar. However, many left disappointed when INLD chief Om Prakash Chautala came alone at 4 pm.

Addressing the gathering, Chautala apologised that Rajnath Singh and the other leaders could not come as they had to attend the BJP national executive meeting in Delhi today.

He said the Congress government had failed to solve the problems of the common man.

Farmers were not getting good prices for their produce and had suffered a lot, he said, adding that they would frame a pro-farmer policy if voted to power as agriculture was the backbone of the economy of the country.

BJP state President Aatam Prakash Manchanda said the law and order situation in the state had deteriorated. There was an urgent need for the change of governments at the Centre as well as the state.

State president of the INLD Ashok Arora alleged that the Congress governments at the Centre and the state were only concerned about industrialists.

Former BJP MP Rattan Lal Kataria had a dig at Prime Minister Manmohan Singh alleging that he was unable to take any decision without the consent of Congress president Sonia Gandhi.

Nuh (Mewat), January 21
Members of the panchayat from Mewat region will hold a protest against police atrocities at Jantar Mantar, New Delhi, on February 5.

The decision was taken in a protest rally that was held at Yasin Meo Degree College here today. A large number of people attended the rally.

The rally was organised against two incidents of police atrocities in Mewat and Gurgaon under the leadership of Sapat Khan Chaudhary Dedwal Pal (Mewali).

Former MLA Zakir Hussain said: “The conduct of the police had reminded us of the Jallianwala incident. This type of attack is not even conducted at the border. Forces give warning before firing. However, Inspector Kadian without talking to the respected members of the village gathered a team of 250-odd policemen and attacked the villagers.

Gurgaon and Mewat have been witnessing protests after the incident of alleged police atrocities on December 23 when a police team of 40-50 members led by ACP Krishan Murari entered Jama Masjid in Gurgaon and beat up innocent workers, labourers and rickshaw-pullers. It also illegally detained the people the whole night. Later, the Commissioner of Police accepted the mistake on the part of the police team and promised to take action by suspending the ACP and the erring police officials. However, only ACP was transferred and two constables were suspended which were later reinstated and no FIR was lodged.

In another incident, a police team of 200 members led by CIA Inspector Sunil Kadiyan entered Alawalpur village and mercilessly beat up villagers on January 7.

Advocate Ramzan, member secretary of the protest rally, said: “We want that ACP Krishan Murary and erring police officials should be suspended and also an FIR should be lodged against erring officials in both incidents.”

Sonepat, January 21
A case under Sections 323, 342 and 356 of the IPC has been registered against six police personnel, including Sub-Inspector Rishi Kant, Joginder and Surender, for allegedly beating up a member of the Sonepat Bar Association, Mahipal Tyagi, in the city police station here. However, no arrest has been made so far.

President of the Sonepat Bar Association Anoop Singh Dahiya said the policemen had been placed under suspension. However, the police authorities did not confirm their suspension and the SSP, Sonepat, was not available for comments.

Tyagi had lodged a complaint with the police that he, along with Kapil of his village, had gone to the Police Lines on January 20 morning in connection with the challaning of a vehicle owned by Ajai Kumar of Sahibabad in UP. When he objected to the use of wrong language by a policeman, Joginder, he was allegedly beaten up by the police personnel on duty at that time. He was pushed inside a room and after beating him, they also snatched his two mobile phones and a Titan wrist watch.

He alleged that he was threatened by the policemen that if he complained against them, he would be framed in a case of snatching money and manhandling of government servants on duty. He was released only when he agreed not to proceed in the matter.

Agitated members of the association had blocked the Sonepat-Gohana road yesterday in protest against the incident.

Yamunanagar, January 21
In a major case of dacoity, eight masked persons decamped with cash and jewellery worth Rs 20 lakh from a house of a plywood industrialist residing in Sarojni Colony here today.

Police sources said the incident took place around 4 am when Vishwanath, an industrialist, and his family members were sleeping. Six out of eight miscreants first entered into the room of Rajesh, elder son the industrialist, while two persons stayed outside the house. The six persons at gunpoint tied Rajesh and his family and then they did the same with his younger brother Rakesh and his family in another room. Later, the miscreants tied the two servants and Vishwanath with a rope. Besides, the country-made pistol, the miscreants were also carrying sharp-edged weapons, police sources added.

The miscreants took away jewellery worth Rs 15 lakh and cash over Rs 5 lakh. While leaving the house, they locked all family members in the storeroom of the house.

SP Vikas Arora accompanied with DSP Ashok Kumar visited the spot. The police has registered a case. A team headed by the DSP has been constituted to investigate the matter.