Gurgaon, July 2
A goof up by the state authorities regarding the registration of independent floors has created confusion among the district-level authorities, besides putting the residents to inconvenience.

The Haryana government had recently decided that the registration of independent floors would be done in the state. However, the district-level officials concerned refuse to carry out floor-wise registration as they are yet to receive any government notification in this regard.

Adding to the confusion, the state authorities of the Town and Country Planning Department and HUDA have issued letters listing different provisions to the district-level officials.

Interestingly, both letters, copies of which are with The Tribune, cite the decisions taken at a meeting held under the chairmanship of Haryana Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda on November 11, 2008.

A letter issued by the Financial Commissioner and Principal Secretary of the state government’s Town and Country Planning Department to all Deputy Commissioners and tehsildars clearly states that the registration of independent floors shall be allowed in case of residential plots of 180 square yards or above.

However, another letter written by the Chief Administrator of HUDA to all HUDA administrators and estate officers in the state mentions that “in case of vacant plots in old sectors and all residential plots in new sectors, there shall be no restriction regarding the size of plots that can have multiple owners floor-wise”.

The discrepancy has confused the local authorities concerned and inconvenienced the residents. According to public as well as official sources, the local authorities simply refuse to carry out floor-wise registration of property as they have not received a government notification as yet.

Sources point out that the pick-and-choose policy would only lead to non-uniformity and undue pressure on space, water and other resources. The problem assumes greater significance in cities like Gurgaon, Faridabad and Panchkula, where the density of population is already quite high.

However, even as the complaints regarding the non-registration of independent floors continue to pile up with the local authorities, it remains to be seen that when the authorities concerned will clear the air on the issue.

Panipat, July 2
Activists of the INLD staged a dharna here today in protest against the shortage of power and water and submitted a memorandum to voice their concerns.

The protest had been organised by former Finance Minister and senior INLD leader Sampat Singh and the local leadership of the party.

In the memorandum that was addressed to the Haryana Governor, the party stated that people of the state had been facing hardships even as the state government was doing little to provide relief from shortage of power and water.

The party said it was due to the wrong policies of the government that people had been subjected to many problems.

It said several areas in the state remained bereft of power supply for days together. Besides the common populace, farmers of the state were finding it difficult to cultivate their fields as no water was available.

FARIDABAD: The HJC-BSP on Thursday jointly staged a demonstration at the mini-secretariat here in protest against the erratic supply of power and water.

The two parties also submitted a joint memorandum to President Pratibha Patil vide the office of the Additional Deputy Commissioner, Faridabad. They sought her intervention in this regard.

The joint agitation by the HJC and the BSP was part of a statewide programme of the two parties against the Congress government after they forged an electoral alliance a few days ago. They had already organised such demonstration on the issue of water and power in Hisar. They will be holding such programmes at all district headquarters.

The two parties alleged in the memorandum that although the Congress government had completed more than four years of rule in Haryana, it had not been able to ensure adequate supply of water and power as it had promised. They also alleged that law and order had deteriorated in Faridabad.

JHAJJAR: Irked over erratic supply of potable water to Kheri Jassaur village under Bahadurgarh subdivision here, residents of the village staged a demonstration here on Thursday. They also locked the waterworks of the Public Health Department. Besides, they blocked traffic on the Kharkhoda-Bahadurgarh road for about four hours.

The agitated villagers said they had been facing an acute shortage of water for a month. They had made several complaints in this regard, but to no avail.

YAMUNANAGAR: Protesting against more than 15 hours of powers cuts in urban areas and 20 hours in rural areas, leaders of the BSP and the Haryana Janhit Congress jointly submitted a memorandum to the Governor through Deputy Commissioner Amit Kumar Aggarwal demanding regular electricity and water supply.

Yamunanagar, July 2
Sanjay, an engineering graduate and leader of suspected Maoists’ organisation, was popular among student leaders in various colleges of the state when he was president of the Chhatar Jagruk Manch from 2002 to 2006.

Sanjay had raised vital issues of students, including demand for lower fee, cheaper prospects and fee exemption for Dalits.

He had set up units of the Chhatar Jagruk Manch in various colleges across the state, include those in Yamunanagar, Kurukshetra, Karnal, Kaithal, Jind and Sarwana. Students of Sonepat and Sirsa were also reportedly influenced by Sanjay.

Another suspected Maoist leader of Narwana, Rajesh, was the president of Karantikari Kishan Morcha while his wife, Geeta, was the president of the Mahila Mukti Morcha, according to information gathered by The Tribune from the police officials who interrogated the suspected Maoists.

Not only students, but teachers and people from different fields were also influenced by the work of Dr Pardeep, president of the suspected Maoists’ organisation, and Sanjay from 2002 to 2007.

Teachers and others prominent people of the district had participated in various debates and seminars on the education system, farmers and Dalits organised by these leaders.

However, during this period both Dr Pardeep and Sanjay did not discuss Maoists’ ideology and their struggle on any platform.

Teachers and other people had liked Dr Pardeep and Sanjay’s approach towards social reform through street plays. The play staged by these leaders on the life of Bhagat Singh used to attract a huge crowd. However, after the arrest of some members of suspected Maoists’ organisation in 2007, all leaders had cut off from the general public and were working silently and secretively.

Sanjay, who belongs to a middle class family of Panipat, came in contact with Dr Pardeep during a function in Kurukshetra in 1997. Sanjay has done BTech from Raduar Engineering College and thereafter took admission to a local college here to continue his studies in 2002.

While doing BTech, Sanjay was active in a students’ movement launched by Dr Pardeep. Thereafter, he was made the president of the Chhatar Jagruk Manch by Dr Pardeep when he joined the college here. Thousands of students were members of the Chhatar Jagruk Manch.

Poonam, another suspected Maoist belonging to the Chhachhroli area here, who was a student of local girls’ college, came in contact with Sanjay during the students’ movement. Sanjay and Poonam later got married in 2005.

Mukesh, MA (English) and another suspected Maoist leader, was working with Sanjay and handling all students’ issues during the Chhatar Jagruk Manch movement. Mukesh was coordinating with leaders of different colleges.

Rajesh was a student of BSc and Geeta of BA when they came in contact with Dr Pardeep during the students’ movement launched by him. Later, both of them began to actively participate in various activities organised by Dr Pardeep. In 2005, Geeta was made the president of the Mahila Mukti Morcha, while Rajesh was made the president of Karantikari Kishan Morcha by Dr Pardeep. Sanjay, Mukesh, Geeta, Poonam and Rajesh were recently arrested by police for their alleged Maoist activities and are at present lodged in jail.

Sirsa, July 2
The state government has decided to take measures to cut the telephone bills of government offices.

The government has, in consultation with the BSNL authorities, decided to create combined user groups (CUG) / virtual private network (VPN) of all government offices for landline and mobile phones taken from the BSNL.

Landlines and mobiles of government offices all over the state, including those in Panchkula, but excluding those installed in Gurgaon and Faridabad and coming under the MTNL, will come within the purview of the CUG/VPN.

Directions have been given by the government in this regard to all financial commissioners and principal secretaries, divisional commissioners, IGs, all heads of departments, boards and corporations, deputy commissioners, SPs and the registrars of state universities asking them to bring it to the notice of all concerned to provide lists of telephone numbers of their departments to the BSNL officers concerned for this purpose.

Deputy Commissioner, Sirsa, Yudhvir Singh Khyalia today issued directions to all heads of departments to comply with the directions of the government in this regard.

Phones of government officials installed in their offices and residences will be covered under the group.Even family members of the officials (husband, wife and dependant children), who have obtained private connections from the BSNL, can also be included in the group.

The calls made within the CUG/VPN of the landline and mobile phones will be free of cost while calls outside the CUG/VPN will come under one’s tariff plan.

Fatehabad, July 2
Marriages are made in heaven and sanctified on earth. The age-old dictum came true at Jandli Kalan village here when Nathu Ram, a bridegroom from Kuleri village, who was to marry a 15-year-old girl, Geeta (name changed), on June 30, Savitri (name changed) on July 1, finally got married to the third, Kavita, here today.

Nathu Ram’s marriage was fixed with Geeta for June 30 and on the same day his sister was to marry Geeta’s maternal uncle Mahavir Singh.

However, Nathu Ram’s marriage came under a cloud after Geeta’s father Satyawan lodged a complaint with Deputy Commissioner CG Rajnikanthan that his daughter was only 15 and his in-laws had connived with his wife Murti Devi to marry the minor girl to Nathu Ram to get bride for his brother-in-law Mahavir Singh under the “barter system”.

The district authorities swung into action and the family was forced to stop Geeta’s marriage as her school certificate showed her date of birth as August 8, 1995.

Mahavir Singh’s family made an emergency plan and brought forward Savitri, a cousin of Geeta, whom they claimed to be a major. However, her family member failed to produce evidence to substantiate their claim.

Speaking to Child Marriage Prevention Officer Sunita, the girl told her that she was born in March 1993.

The medical examination of Savitri deepened the controversy over her age as the doctors determined her age between 17 and 19 years.

Village elders made all-out efforts to convince the district authorities to allow them to marry Savitri to Nathu Ram to fulfill their commitment, but the authorities refused to relent and warned to register criminal cases in case they went ahead with their plans.

The village elders put the issue of Savitri’s marriage to rest by giving a statement in writing that they would not marry her till she becomes a major.

However, they were under tremendous pressure from Nathu Ram’s family to marry a girl to him to fulfill their commitment as the family had already married his sister to Mahavir Singh.

A frantic search was made for a bride among all relatives of villagers belonging to the community of Mahavir’s family. Finally, Kavita (20), daughter of Krishan from Durjanpur village, was found to be the eligible bride for Nathu Ram.

Krishan’s brother-in-law Dhup Singh, a resident of Jandli Kalan, summoned Kavita and her parents to his house and solemnised the girl’s marriage with Nathu Ram last night.

Finally, Nathu Ram left for his village with his bride this morning, but not before a drama lasting two days in which his bride was changed twice.

Sirsa, July 2
A police party which went to a “dhani” on the outskirts of Sirsa town on some secret information, dug up the courtyard of a house to “exhume” a body, but had to cut a sorry figure after it could not find anything incriminating there.

The incident happened on Wednesday when a police party reached the “dhani” on the Vaidwala road around 6 pm and asked the labourer accompanying it to dig up the courtyard of the house.

In the next two hours, the courtyard had been dug up but nothing incriminating came into the hands of the police. A naib tehsildar accompanied the police team during its operation and some prominent persons of the area were also requested to join the investigation.

Hans Raj Bishnoi, SHO of the Sadar police station, informed those gathered there that the police had received secret information about the burying of a body in the courtyard.

The police later asked the house owner, Dholu Ram, if he could figure out why someone had provided such false information about him.

Dholu Ram recollected that a plumber, who came to his house to instal a water tap a month ago, found parts of clothes of a man while digging the courtyard. The clothes belonged to his father which the family had buried after his death, as his father had some skin ailment.