Chandigarh, November 14
Three years after the ambitious Indira Gandhi Paye Jal Yojna was launched to take drinking water to the doorstep of every Scheduled Caste household, it has been hit by water woes.

The non-availability of water in certain pockets of Haryana has forced the Public Health Department to reconsider the target set i.e. - 9 lakh households - for the scheme when it was initially launched in November 2006.

According to the revised target, the scheme, aimed at providing free of cost water connections to the Scheduled Castes households, including a free of cost water tank of 200 litres capacity, construction of a three-feet-wide cemented platform and other related “bits and pieces”, will now have an outreach of 8 lakh households. Also, the department will focus on resource creation in areas where the scheme is in place.

Public Heath Minister Randeep Singh Surjewala said the target had been revised keeping in view the futility of taking the scheme to villages which were already water deficient. “There is no wisdom in creating infrastructure to take water to Schedule Caste clusters where there is no water. We will set up the paraphernalia but there will be no water in the tanks. So, it’s pointless. However, we are working on consolidating resource creation wherever the scheme has been rolled out. This will be our focus in this new term. Also, we are revisiting all villages where the scheme has been affected to know the bottlenecks and address these. As many as 700 villages have already been revisited,” he said.

For the purpose of resource creation, the department has been asked to identify availability of potable underground water. While tapping water from the village source will be central, the department has been directed to bore tubewells even from 800 to 1,000 feet to ensure regular water supply to these households.

“There have been several complaints of low water pressure in villages. To check that, the department has already been asked to bore tubewells deeper down next to the Schedule Caste clusters so that water can flow through their pipes. Though this will double the cost, we are game for the additional burden since it will help realise our goal,” Surjewala said.

The Indira Gandhi Paye Jal Yojna was launched on November 19, 2006, on the occasion of the birth anniversary of the late Prime Minister Indira Gandhi.

Gurgaon, November 14
The police has directed mall owners here to ensure adequate security measures in their establishments and send the compliance report by November 25.

In a letter written to the mall owners recently, Joint Commissioner of Police Alok Mittal has highlighted the security lapses detected during a mock security exercise conducted by the police on September 30.

It may be pertinent to mention here that on August 13, Gurgaon Police Commissioner SS Deswal had held a meeting with the mall owners and directed them to ensure the provision of adequate security measures.

Following this, the Police Commissioner conducted a mock exercise to check whether the mall owners had taken any effective steps in this regard. However, it was found that despite specific instructions, many lapses were still found in the mock security exercise.

It is in this context that the JCP has now written to the mall owners to plug the security loopholes.

In the letter, Mittal has directed the mall owners to appoint women security guards to frisk women visitors and their belongings. "Sufficient number of CCTV cameras with proper recording facility should also be installed at vulnerable places to keep a watch on visitors, their vehicles and the items carried by them while entering the mall," the letter added.

The letter states that the security personnel manning the DFMD and HHMD (metal detectors) should be properly trained and the chief security officer should brief them about their duties. "A round-the-clock control room or monitoring room should be kept operational to watch the activities of persons coming to the mall," it adds.

The JCP points out that during the mock exercise, it was noticed that the visitors, who entered the mall through the lifts or the basement gate after parking their vehicles they were not frisked, which was a serious security flaw.

"The mall owners should get security audit done by some security specialists regularly and mock security drill or exercise should be taken up with the help of civil administration and the local police," the letter states and adds that evacuation drill should also be carried out to get the mall evacuated on receiving information of planting of a bomb or an outbreak of fire or during some other emergency.

Mittal has also asked the mall owners to arrange an adequate number of fire extinguishers to extinguish all types of fires and display the important phone numbers like those of hospitals, ambulance, fire station and the police etc in the mall.

Chandigarh, November 14
The Haryana government effected the first administrative shake-up after taking over the reins of the state for a second term, here today, issuing transfer and posting orders of 25 IAS officers, including seven financial commissioners and principal secretaries.

In this reshuffle, two new faces, Anuradha Gupta and Shiv raman Gaur, have made it to the fourth floor which houses the office of the Chief Minister and his personal staff besides that of the Chief Secretary. Gupta, a hard-taskmaster known better for her innovative schemes and effective management, will be the new Additional Principal Secretary to Chief Minister against a vacant post.

She is probably the first lady officer to make it to the CM’s staff. Shiv Raman Gaur, too, has been accommodated as the Additional Principal Secretary to CM and has also been posted as Director and Special Secretary, Information and Public Relations, Cultural Affairs and Grievances.

Among the FCPS shuffled, were Manik B. Sonawane who goes as FCPS, Cooperation Department, while SS Dhillon will be the new FCPS, Public Works (Building and Roads) and Architecture Department.

Chhatar Singh, Principal Secretary to Chief Minister, will also be Chief Coordinator, Investment Promotion Centre, New Delhi. For Navraj Sandhu, it is a homecoming of sorts as FCPS, Health, a charge she has held previously also while SK Gulati will be FCPS, Welfare of SCs and BCs. Surina Rajan has been posted as FCPS, Public Health Engineering Department, against a vacant post.

After promotion, P. Raghavendra Rao will be the new FCPS, Development and Panchayats and Secretary, BAC and Commissioner Gurdwara Elections against a vacant post. PK Mahapatra will now be the Resident Financial Commissioner, Haryana Bhawan, against a vacant post and also Chief Administrator, TFAH.

KK Khandelwal, Additional Principal Secretary to Chief Minister, will be FCPS, Information and Public Relations, Cultural Affairs and Grievances Department, against a vacant post and Additional Principal Secretary to Chief Minister in addition, while Dhanpat Singh will take over as FCPS, Social Justice and Empowerment. Vijai Vardhan goes as FCPS, Renewable Energy Sources Department and RR Jowel has been posted as State Transport Controller and Special Secretary, Transport.

Avtar Singh has been posted as Chief Administrator, Agricultural Marketing Board vice RR Jowel.

TVSN Parsad, Mission Director, National Rural Health Mission, becomes Managing Director, Uttar Haryana Bijli Vitran Nigam and Additional Managing Director, Haryana Vidyut Parsaran Nigam.

Vivek Joshi, awaiting posting, has been made Managing Director, Hartron and Special Secretary and Director, Electronics and Information Technology. Arun Kumar has been posted as Labour Commissioner and Special Secretary, Labour, Ankur Gupta goes as Special Secretary, Finance, SP Gupta, is Industries Liaison Commissioner Haryana, New Delhi, against a vacant post and also Chief Administrator, Housing Board. DPS Nagal has been posted as Chief Administrator, Haryana Urban Development Authority.

TK Sharma becomes Commissioner, Gurgaon Division, Special Commissioner, Health and Nutrition, Chairman, Mewat Development Agency.

Vijayendra Kumar will take over as the Registrar of Cooperative Societies while Rajeev Ranjan, Joint Secretary, General Administration, goes as such to Finance Department against a vacant post. ML Kaushik has been posted as Joint Secretary, General Administration.

Sirsa, November 14
The police has booked sub-inspector Joginder Singh, in charge of the Traffic police 
station, for picking up an innocent person from his residence and torturing him in the police station.

He has been booked under Sections 323 (causing hurt), 342 (wrongful confinement), 166 (public servant disobeying law with intention of causing injury to others), 365 (kidnapping) and 34 (act done by several persons with common intention) of the IPC on the orders of the Punjab and Haryana High Court.

Joginder Singh was the station house officer of the Kalanwali police station when he picked up Harpal Singh, a resident of Punjab, in some case and allegedly tortured him in his police station by keeping him there in illegal custody.

Harpal Singh later moved the Punjab and Haryana High Court, where allegations against the cop were found to be true. 

Kaithal, November 14
An impressive reception awaits Randeep Singh Surjewala, Public Health and PWD (B&R) Minister, Haryana, on his first visit to this town tomorrow after his induction in the cabinet recently.

The reception would be jointly organised by the District Congress Committee, Youth Congress, Congress Women Cell, traders’ organisations, and representatives of education as well as social organisations at the ground of the local RKSD College.

Revealing this to mediapersons here today, Shamsher Singh Surjewala, president of All- India Kisan-Khet Majdoor Congress and former Kaithal MLA, said he had been authorised by representatives of various organisations to make this announcement.

The decision to hold the reception was taken at a meeting held at Kisan Bhawan today, which was attended by heads of various Congress party wings and local trade and social organizations’ representatives.

On November 15, Randeep Singh, after presiding over the guard of honour at the PWD rest house, is scheduled to address local officials. Later, he would proceed to dedicate to the people the newly constructed Guru Tegh Bahadur Chowk and address members of Sikh community before reaching the venue of reception at the college ground at 11 am.

Randeep Singh would be received at Keorak village, around 10 km from here, and brought in a huge procession to Kaithal. MP Naveen Jindal and a large number of Congress workers from various parts of the state would participate in the reception.

Ambala, November 14
A youth was murdered in a clash on polytechnic campus in Ambala City today. The deceased has been identified as Sunil Kumar, a resident of Jind. Another youth Bhupinder Singh also sustained serious injuries and was admitted in the local Civil Hospital.

Sunil Kumar, a student of a college in Jind, had come to polytechnic college here to meet his friends. Meanwhile, a clash took place between two groups over some issue. One of the friends of the deceased has disclosed the name of the assailants to the police. He said Sunil was stabbed to death. The police has registered a murder case in this regard.

Sunil was brought to the local Civil Hospital, where doctors declared him brought dead. According to hospital sources, Sunil sustained several deep injuries on the chest and stomach.

Following the incident, students of the institution blocked the Ambala-Hisar highway near Polytechnic Chowk. The agitated students also ransacked the barricades on the road. The police had to restore to lathicharge to control the situation. Few students were also rounded up.

Ambala, November 14
Baba Piyara Singh Bhaniyarawala was acquitted in an Arms Act case today. The case was registered against him under the Arms Act at the police station of Noorpur Bedi (Punjab) on September 23, 2001. Later on the direction of the Punjab and Haryana High Court the case was transferred to Ambala court.

The police in the FIR had charged that the disciples of Baba had kept the arms illegally at the dera. Defence counsel Jaspal Singh pleaded during the arguments that the fire arms were licensee. Chief Judicial Magistrate Parveen Kumar acquitted Bhaniyarawala, who is facing three more cases of hurting the religious sentiments of a community. — OC