Sirsa, December 20
A head constable today invited the ire of youths accompanying Gobind Kanda, brother of Haryana Minister of State for Home, Industries, Sports and Youth Affairs Gopal Kanda, when he stopped Kanda’s vehicle from crossing from the wrong side.

Gobind Kanda, who is well-known in the area, joined the Congress recently. The men, claiming to be private security guards of Kanda, not only allegedly beat up head constable Sube Singh, but also tore his uniform, dragged him in their vehicle to a short distance and then threw him out.

The youths wanted the head constable, managing traffic on the busy Chattargarh Patti rail crossing in the town, to facilitate Gobind Kanda’s vehicle to be parked right ahead of other vehicles queued up at the crossing that was closed.

Angry residents blocked the Sirsa-Dabwali National Highway 10 near the crossing for over two hours when the district police dragged feet on registering an FIR against Kanda’s men.

Meanwhile, Sube Singh went to the general hospital for medical examination and a blood test.

“They are connected to an influential politician in the state and may implicate me in a false case by making allegations that I was drunk while on duty when the incident occurred.,” Sube Singh said while talking to mediapersons in the hospital.

Charanjit Singh, Shiromani Akali Dal MLA from Kalanwali, and Padam Jain, district president of the INLD, who led the protesters, demanded immediate arrest of the culprits. Neither Gobind Kanda nor his ministebrother, who was in town today, responded to calls made on their mobile phones.

Later, Om Saini, who claimedto be press secretary of the minister, issued a press note on behalf of Gobind Kanda accusing the head constable of beating up a person.

“I received a complaint from that the head constable had beaten up somebody and went there to save that person from a drunk Sube Singh.

“The INLD is trying to blow up the issue to draw benefit in the forthcoming Ellenabad byelection.

The party is afraid of my increasing popularity earned by me through social service,” maintained Gobind Kanda in a press note. SP Subhash Yadav said the SHO (Traffic) had been asked to inquire into the matter and action would be taken accordingly.

Jhajjar, December 20
Tightening the noose around institutes/colleges of education found wanting in the basic infrastructure required for running the course, Maharshi Dayanand University (MDU), Rohtak, has made an amendment to Clause-27 of its Statute-38 governing the affiliation of colleges.

Now, the institutes/colleges will not be able to ignore the university’s orders of imposing financial penalty on them for not complying with the rules and regulations laid down to provide quality teacher education.

Notably, some such institutions/colleges have already declined to pay the monetary fine imposed by the university on them, pleading that since there is no provision for penalty in the university’s statute, neither have the authorities the right to slap the fine nor are they liable to shell out the same.

In fact, the university authorities had started slapping financial penalty some time ago when a new inspection pro forma was drafted for granting continued affiliation to the existing education colleges. The authorities had made a provision for imposing monetary penalty on erring colleges in the pro forma but it did not incorporate the change in Statute-38.

Taking advantage of this technical fault, many erring colleges not only set aside the university’s order wherein monetary fine was slapped on them but also raised a question before the authorities that how could it issue such orders which had not been incorporated in the statute.

Thereafter, with a view to sorting out the issue, the matter was discussed at the meeting of university’s executive council (EC), which constituted a five-member-committee comprising the DSW, Prof Rajbir Singh, Prof MS Malik, Prof KPS Mahalwar, Prof VK Aggarwal and the Dean, faculty of Education, to look into the process of inspection of education colleges, besides suggesting remedial measures so that only such colleges could be granted affiliation/ extension which had satisfactory infrastructure as per the norms.

Then, the committee examined the entire issue, including the existing inspection pro forma for colleges of education, and the practical difficulties in the implementation of the existing Remedial Action Plan (RAP) and recommended that amendment to Statute-38 was necessary for making a provision for the imposition of financial penalty on erring colleges.

The committee also suggested that special monitoring of various colleges with regard to the day-to-day teaching be carried out through special visits by some designated committee with videography.

All reports up to the session 2008-09 conducted under the RAP may be put in suspended animation or abeyance and reports of all inspection committees be also shared with the regulatory body i.e. the NCTE and the Government of Haryana, the committee further recommended.

The report of the committee was placed at the university’s academic council (AC) meeting held recently wherein after holding discussion on the reports, the AC made the provision for financial penalty against erring colleges by amending Statute-38.

Sirsa, December 20
Congress MP from Sirsa Ashok Tanwar and Indian National Lok Dal legislator from Dabwali Ajay Singh Chautala today locked horns over the impending byelection in Ellenabad.

Addressing a gathering here during the Indian Youth Congress membership drive, Tanwar alleged the Chautalas had done nothing for Ellenabad despite their party having won the seat several times.

Ajay Singh Chautala, addressing meetings at Arnianwali, Nirwan, Randhawa, Rupana and Darba Kalan, on the other hand alleged that the people, fed up with the Congress government, would teach the ruling party a lesson in the Ellenabad bypoll.

“Ellenabad remained backward because those elected in the past never cared to do so. Send a Congress nominee to the state assembly in the future byelection and you will find development activities at your doorstep,” claimed Tanwar. Talking to mediapersons, he said the membership drive of the IYC had met with enormous success and added AICC general secretary Rahul Gandhi would pay a two-day visit to Haryana before December 31.

Chautala blamed the UPA government at the Centre and the Bhupinder Singh Hooda government in Haryana for “making the life of the common man miserable” by failing to check inflation.

“Certain ministers in the UPA government are directly responsible for the spiralling prices but Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and UPA chairperson Sonia Gandhi has been observing a stoic silence over this issue,” alleged Ajay Singh.

He alleged that the Congress won the parliamentary elections on the false promise of curbing inflation. But post-polls, the prices of essential commodities had increased manifold. Ajay claimed that despite the people voting against the Congress government in the assembly elections, the Chief Minister had “purchased” Independents and engineered defection of MLAs of the HJC (BL). He said this Hooda government was concerned more about middlemen and commission agents than the common man.

Ajay claimed the people of Ellenabad would give a befitting reply the Congress in the coming bypoll. 

Chandigarh, December 20
Beginning the Christmas season, Congress men in Haryana will have to rein in expenditure and forgo a part of their salaries.

As “expected” by UPA chairperson Sonia Gandhi, the Haryana Pradesh Congress Committee (HPCC) has in a letter asked all members of Parliament, MLAs, those appointed as chairpersons of various boards and corporations and all political appointees, to give up 20 per cent of their salaries as an austerity measure.

Sources said the letter circulated last week mentions that all Congress men drawing salaries from the government should instruct the salary disbursing authority to effect a 20 per cent cut in their pay cheques within a week.

At a CWC meeting some time back, Sonia Gandhi had desired such an initiative but its implementation in Haryana was delayed on account of elections in the state and the subsequent process of government formation.

Now, with the Congress government in the saddle, the HPCC thought it the most opportune moment to send out such a communication.

“A 20 per cent cut may not be a big deal for the elected representatives, but it definitely sends out the right signal. There is no question of any Congress man resisting such a move because it is our way of showing the people that we share their burden,” a Congress leader said.

Meanwhile, with just 10 days to go for the Congress enrolment drive to end, Congress men at the district and block level have had their hands full.

The IYC will have its first election in March next along with organisational elections in which the next president of the HPCC is likely to be chosen.

This is unlike previous years when all such appointments were cleared by Delhi on the recommendation of senior party leaders.

Congress general secretary Rahul Gandhi is expected to visit Haryana before the drive ends. 

Rohtak, December 20
Om Prakash Chautala, a former Chief Minister and INLD supremo, is in favour of smaller states for better governance and proper implementation of development schemes.

Interacting with mediapersons during a visit to the town here recently, Chautala argued that the creation of smaller states in the country was necessary for speedy development. Having a dig at the Congress, the INLD leader said though the state had made remarkable progress, it would have been a better state had wrong people not come to power.

He also referred to the demand for the trifurcation of Uttar Pradesh into Bundelkhand, Poorvanchal and Harit Pradesh, stating that managing a big state like UP was a difficult task.

He alleged that Congress leaders had been opposing the creation of smaller states since the time the country got Independence.

Asked about the arrest of a journalist of a vernacular daily, charged with defaming the image of the police following the publication of stories regarding the alleged sex scandal in the Haryana Police Academy in Madhuban, Chautala criticised the state government’s alleged inaction stating that an impartial probe should be instituted before taking any action against scribes

Karnal, December 20
Assandh MLA Zile Ram Sharma, who defected to the Congress after being elected on the HJC ticket in the assembly elections, today attacked his mentor Bhajan Lal, describing him as a “perpetrator of corruption in Haryana” and said he was ready to seek a re-election from his constituency, if needed.

Addressing his first press conference in Karnal after his defection, the veteran Brahmin leader claimed that the Chief Minister, the Congress and the people were with him and he was not afraid of a re-election.

He said he would hold a rally at Assandh on January 11 which would be addressed by the Chief Minister to demonstrate that his constituents had endorsed his decision. Alleging that Bhajan Lal had brought corruption into the state, Zile Ram said his son Kuldeep Bishnoi was himself engaged in horse-trading when he and other HJC member switched over to the Congress.

“How can he accuse us and Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda of horse- trading when he himself was doing just that,” he asked.

He said he had left the Congress along with Bhajan Lal but despite his unflinching loyalty to him, “he was not loyal to me,” he alleged.

Asked about his status in the assembly, he said he was a Congress member now and supporting the government.

Chandigarh, December 20
Haryana Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda today exhorted the journalists for opting investigative reporting to ascertain the truth. Besides, they should highlight the problem of masses so that the credibility of newspapers could be maintained.

This was stated by the Chief Minister while addressing a gathering after launching the Chandigarh edition of “Aaj Samaj” of Good Morning Media Group here today.

Hooda maintained that journalism had a long illustrious history as it had played a pivotal role during the freedom struggle of India. Journalism had also contributed a lot in development and reshaping of the country and maintaining its unity and integrity.

While referring the mission of journalism, he said society was like a body and journalism was like its soul.

The Chief Minister gave a clarion call to mediapersons that they should highlight the problem, especially of rural areas, as India had a number of problems as against the developed countries.

He urged them to highlight the welfare schemes of the government also in the right prospective so that common people could avail themselves of the benefits of these schemes. Referring to the challenge before the newspapers in the age of globalisation, the Chief Minister maintained that now the role of newspapers had also completely changed.

He reminded that his father Ch Ranbir Singh had started a newspaper of two or three pages and it was being distributed among the people after cyclostyling it.

He pointed out that the aim of the newspaper at that time was to motivate the youth towards the freedom struggle and now the aim of the newspaper had completely changed. 

Sonepat, December 20
Rohtak MP Deepender Singh Hooda said the Haryana government had given top priority to education development and power generation in the state as these were the main factors for all-round progress of society.

He claimed that the state government had introduced such scholarship schemes that would leave no one without education for want of money in future.

Hooda said this while addressing the annual function of SK Public School and Paradise Educational Institution in Kharkhoda last evening.

With the opening of universities and central-educational institutions, Sonepat had emerged as an educational hub of the country, he said.

Blaming that previous governments in the state had not given due importance to promotion of education and power generation, he said within next two years, the state would become power surplus after commissioning of power generating plants.

Chief Parliamentary Secretary Jaiveer Balmiki said Kharkhoda area had received a number of developmental and welfare projects, including a bypass, sewer lines, bus stand and tehsil bhawan, from the state government during the past five years. Prizes were distributed among talented students by Hooda and children presented a cultural items.

Gurgaon, December 20
To facilitate tourists visiting the National Capital Region (NCR) during the Commonwealth Games in October next, two camping sites will soon come up at Dundahera in Gurgaon district and Surajkund in Faridabad.

Haryana has taken the lead over Delhi in getting the sites approved by the Union Government, said Union Minister for Tourism, Housing and Urban Poverty Alleviation Selja.

She was addressing a gathering at the inauguration of Tourism Fair-2009 organised by the Haryana Tourism Mart in association with the Tourism and Hotel and Restaurant Association of Haryana at Ambience Mall here yesterday.

The minister conceded that tents would be erected to accommodate tourists at the camping sites. This would be required to overcome shortage of rooms.

Claiming that Haryana Tourism had done well in developing various concepts like Highway Tourism, Selja said the latter was now being adopted by the Union Ministry of Tourism for the entire country.

The Haryana Minister for Tourism, OPJain, said the Haryana Tourism had joined hands with the travel, trade and hospitality sectors and constituted Haryana Tourism Mart to promote Haryana as a tourism destination.

The Haryana Financial Commissioner-cum-Principal Secretary (Tourism), Kesni Anand Arora, observed that Gurgaon had emerged as a major centre of corporate houses. Sanjay Kothari, Additional Secretary with the Union Ministry of Tourism, and Subhash Goyal, chairman of the Haryana Tourism Mart, also spoke.

Panipat, December 20
Despite tall claims made by the government, the per capita expenditure on public health in the state continues to be far below the national average of Rs 503.

The state, with a per capita health expenditure of Rs 230, is at the 29th slot in a detailed report prepared by the Union Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, which was tabled in the Lok Sabha recently.

At the top of the list is Mizoram with a per capita expenditure of Rs 1,611 and an availability of 128 beds per 10,000 population. Sikkim, with an expenditure of Rs 1,446 and availability of 173 beds per 10,000 population, is on the second spot followed by Andaman and Nicobar with Rs 1,347 expenditure and availability of 233 beds per 10,000 population.

The availability of hospital beds per 10,000 population is only 32. The state has six states placed below it in the list. These are Maharashtra (Rs 278), Gujarat (Rs 270), Orissa (Rs 263), West Bengal (Rs 262), Madhya Pradesh (Rs 235) and Bihar (Rs 173).

The calculations are based on the Health Expenditure by Central and State Governments in 2008-09 report that had been published in National Health Accounts.

However, to improve the existing health delivery system by increasing the health expenditure, particularly in primary and secondary healthcare, the Union Government has launched two schemes - the National Rural Health Mission and the Pradhan Mantri Swasthya Suraksha Yojana.

The aim is to provide “accessible, affordable, accountable, effective and quality” health care facilities, especially to the poor and vulnerable sections.

Rohtak, December 20
A delegation from Nepal visited Maharshi Dayanand University (MDU) on a study tour. The delegation comprising parliamentarians and officials of the Land Reforms Commission and National Women Commission was accorded a warm welcome in the faculty house of the varsity.

The MDU authorities said they were honoured to host the delegation from Nepal - a neighbouring country with whom India had historic links. The team was briefed about the green revolution in India, women and land rights in India and the status of women in India, especially in Haryana, by Dr SR Ahlawat, Dr Neerja and Jagmati Sangwan, respectively.

The delegation expressed interest in learning about the various land reform measures initiated in Haryana and to understand the land usage vis-à-vis the green revolution.

Further, the status of women with special emphasis on women land ownership pattern is on their agenda of studies. The team visited nearby Shishar village in the Meham block to take a first-hand look about the rural life style in Haryana.

Genendra Basnet, chairman, high-level Scientific Land Reforms Commission (LRC), Radha Devi Bhattavai, member, LRC, Krishan Raj, secretary, LRC, Nayan Kala Thapa, chairperson, National Women Commission, Dr Ganesh Gurung, chairperson, Nepal Institute of Development Studies (NIDS), Prof Mina Vaidya Malla NIDS and Tribhuvan University (Kathmandu), member (S) constituent assembly of Nepal - Lalita Magar, Sarala Regmi and Shanti Devi are part of the Nepalese delegation.

Hisar, December 20
A local court here has awarded 10 years of imprisonment to four persons after finding them guilty of possessing fake currency notes.

District and Sessions Judge VK Bakhsi convicted Jagdish, Singha Ram, Guil Ram and Rajesh.

Besides, the accused were ordered to pay a fine of Rs 15,000 each and in case of default they would further undergo an imprisonment of six months.

According to the prosecution, on a tip off, the police had nabbed Guil Ram from Sabzi Mandi Chowk and recovered 41 fake notes of Rs 500 denomination each.

During the interrogation, he said he had taken the fake currency notes from one Sudarshan of Bintauli in Bihar. He had also distributed the fake currency of Rs 4,500 to Jagdish, Rs 7,500 to Singha Ram and Rs 8,000 to Rajesh.

A case was registered against them on October 17, 2008. — PTI

Mohali, December 20
Benefits of Centre-sponsored schemes like the Prime Minister Rozgar Yojna (PMYR), Jawahar Lal Nehru National Urban Renewal Mission (JNNURM) and the National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (NREGA) are not reaching the targeted population in various states due to poor implementation at the district level.

The main reason for this anomaly was that departmental heads of state-level implementing agencies were not ready to surrender power to the Panchayati Raj institutions at the district and block level, said Sarat Kumar Nanda, a member of the Planning Commission’s task force for preparation of manual for district planning.

Nanda, who is a Haryana civil servant and member secretary of the Haryana Planning Commission, while quoting studies carried out by an NGO, Priya, said the beneficiaries were not being targeted properly due to the vertical implementation process instead of implementation at the block and village level.

He said the rules of business should be altered at the state level to allow more freedom due to the Panchayati Raj institutions in implementing the Centre-sponsored schemes. The Planning Commission would have to deal with the state governments firmly while clearing the annual budget allocations.

Quoting the sample study, he said it had been found that the state government fudged the data of beneficiaries to get more funds. He said certain states were giving an inflated figure of those below poverty line (BPL). Thus, the benefits of the schemes were not reaching the targeted section.

Talking about the manual for district planning, the member secretary said the vision of the Centralised planning to strengthen the district level planning process loses its aim, as the vertical implementation process resulted in centralisation of power.

Yamunanagar, December 20
Over 70 films from 20 countries will be shown in 20 separate sections during the five-day second Haryana International Film Festival that will commence at DAV College for Girls from December 24.

Films of famous directors, including Meera Nair, Gurinder Chaddha and Nikhil Kaushik, while in the focus country section, films from Iran, Pakistan, China and Hong Kong will be shown.

A separate section on NRI movies and also on cinema and media will be organised and films related to the world of television and newspaper will also be shown.

Besides, minimum five movies, including Paresh Kamdan’s “Khargosh” and “Johny Johny Yes Papa”, Ranjit Kapoor’s “Chintu Ji”, Tripurari Sharan’s “Woh Subah Kidhar Nikal Gayi” and Anwar Jamal’s “Anwar - A dream of dark night”, will be premiered.

A special programme on Haryanvi cinema will be organised on December 27 and Punjabi cinema festival will be celebrated on December 28, director of the second Haryana International Film Festival Ajit Rai said here today.

The films will be shown at four different venues of the college from 10 am to 10 pm. A five-day-long film appreciation course will start on December 25, which is sponsored by the FTII, Pune, and the NFAI, Pune.

As many as 250 students from different universities of north India will participate in the film appreciation course.

Director of the FTII Pankaj Raag and director, NFAI, Vijay Jadhav will inaugurate the course.

Union Minister of Tourism Kumari Selja will be the chief guest on the opening ceremony of the festival. Director and actor MK Raina will inaugurate the section of films on fundamentalism and war on December 25 and filmmaker Girish Kasarvalli will inaugurate the section of films on literature on December 26.

President of the Lalit Kala Academy Ashok Vajpayi would give a keynote address on cinema, Principal of the DAV College for Girls Dr Sushma Arya said.

She said in the master-class section of the festival, the film “Four Women” of Dada Saheb Falke Award winner, Adoor Gopal Krishnan, Budhdev Dass Gupta’s “Kal Purush”, Gautam Gosh’s “Yatra” and Ritwik Ghatak’s “Meghay Dhaka Tara” along with Girish Kasarvalli’s “Ghatshradh” and Gulabi Talkies would be shown. Ten films of 10 famous film-makers would be shown in the world master-class section, she added.