Chandigarh, February 10
It’s a tug-of-war and Haryana’s caught right in the middle. The difference between the minimum wages in the state and the wages approved under the Centre’s flagship programme, National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (NREGS), has become a dilemma for the government. It now means an additional burden of Rs 10 crore per annum, which the government is trying to shake off.

Under the latest directions from the Centre, the state government has been asked to bear the difference between the state minimum wages and those announced by the Centre.

The government is looking to the Centre for help. Sources say Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda has written a letter to Union Minister of Rural Development CP Joshi to come to the rescue of the state and bear the additional expenditure instead of asking the state government to to so.

Sources in the Panchayat and Development Department say that in the letter to Joshi in the last week of January, Hooda has said the differential in wages can be met by announcing that the minimum wages of any state would be the wages the labour would get under NREGS. This would also help highlight that the state pays one of the highest minimum wages in the country.

Sources say when NREGS was rolled out, the Centre had asked respective governments to pay the minimum wages in their states and get going without prescribing a minimum limit. However, as per a recent notification, the Centre has announced that a minimum of Rs 141 per day has been fixed as wages under NREGS.

However, since Haryana has the minimum wages at Rs 151 per day, attracting labour under NREGS would have become a problem since the wages would have been lower. Within a fortnight of the notification, the Centre shot off another letter to the state governments, maintaining that the latter would bear the additional cost where the minimum wages were higher than those being offered under NREGS.

Stung by the announcement, the state has urged the former to re consider the decision and allow a state to award the minimum wages as wages under NREGS too.

This is all the more important since the state government is worried that the gap between the minimum wages in the state and Rs 141 per day under NREGS will only widen with every hike announced in the wages in years to come.

This would mean the government burden of NREGS would increase. A reply from the Centre is awaited. Sources maintain that 1.05 lakh households are employed under NREGS and are being paid wages at Rs 151 as of now.

Sirsa, February 10
The Indian National Lok Dal (INLD) is planning an offensive against the Bhupinder Singh Hooda government ahead of the Budget session, starting March 5.

The party is planning to approach the Election Commission accusing the Congress of “bribing voters” in the Ellenabad assembly byelection.

Abhey Singh Chautala, who won the byelection as the INLD nominee, had alleged after taking oath as MLA in Chandigarh that the Congress had “bribed” voters.

Later, talking to mediapersons at his Sirsa residence, he had alleged that the Congress had useds fake currency “to purchase votes in certain areas.” At Shakkarmandori village on the completion of his five-day tour of Ellenabad today, Abhey Singh said he had announced earlier that the INLD would submit at least 1,000 affidavits in support of its allegations, but now the number could rise three-fold.

“We are in the process of consulting experts on the matter so that the interests of people making the allegations are not jeopardised.”

Addressing villagers, the MLA assured them that their interests would be watched even if his party was in the Opposition.

“Congress leaders gave you all kinds of assurances during the election, but have disappeared after the results,” Abhey Singh alleged.

He claimed that the Congress government would not last long and would fall the day a decision on the five HJC legislators was taken. The Congress termed the INLD claim as “Mungeri Lal ke haseen sapne.”

Gurgaon, February 10
The recent decision of the state authorities of releasing a fresh tentative seniority list of college-cadre lecturers by issuing a public notice has opened a Pandora’s box, besides raising several legal questions.

In the notice, the state Higher Education Commissioner has maintained that a large number of representations had been received highlighting certain anomalies in the seniority list of lecturers working in government colleges under the Higher Education Department.

“This matter has been examined and a revised draft seniority list prepared accordingly,” the notice states, justifying the move.

The abrupt changes made in the existing seniority list have affected the seniority of a number of teachers, who have strongly opposed the move.

Talking to The Tribune here today, several affected teachers said affecting their seniority without giving them any show-cause notice or an opportunity of personal hearing was contrary to the law .Requesting anonymity, the teachers pointed out that in the civil writ petition No. 8673 of 2003 (Suman Gulab vs State of Haryana and others), the Punjab and Haryana High Court had ruled: “The seniority is a valuable right of an employee and any order adversely affecting that right cannot be passed without giving him/her a show-cause notice and an opportunity of hearing.

The teachers said following the aforesaid order of the high court, individual show-cause notices were issued to 264 affected lecturers through registered post to invite objections, if any, to the change in the seniority list.

“However, the authorities concerned neither issued us show-cause notices, nor granted us an opportunity of hearing in advance, before preparing the revised draft list of lecturers, which is mandatory as per the high court’s orders,” they asserted.

Another pertinent point here is that two lecturers, Anita Pratap Singh and Shobha Chugh, had filed a civil writ petition (No. 9044) in June, 2009. The respondents in this case include the State of Haryana through its Financial Commissioner-cum-Principal Secretary (Education), the Higher Education Commissioner and the Haryana Public Service Commission (HPSC), among others.

Strangely, the Higher Education Department chose to issue the public notice and issue the revised draft seniority list while the matter was with the court.

Then the persons who were appointed lecturers prior to 1982 have been shown in order of inter-se seniority as it exists, while in case of those recruited on the basis of recommendation of the HPSC in 1982, the seniority is to be determined in accordance with the commission’s recommendation. This, despite the fact that rules applicable in case of both said categories were the same in as well as before 1982.

The aggrieved teaches further maintained that after the notification of the Haryana Educational Service Rules, 1986, both men and women cadres of lecturers were amalgamated and a joint provisional inter-se seniority list based on the cadre strength as on April 22, 1986, was prepared.

Chandigarh, February 10
Twenty years behind the bars and another five to go is apparently the fate of Hari Parkash, convicted of a double murder and robbery about a decade ago. He had shot two liquor vend workers during a robbery.

As his plea for release on the grounds of having completed the life sentence awarded by a Rewari court came up, the Punjab and Haryana High Court Division Bench of Justice Mehtab Singh Gill and Justice Arvind Kumar observed: “We are satisfied that the total sentence undergone by the appellant is not complete as per the policy of the state government. Therefore, we do not find it fit to go any further in the case.”

The Bench had earlier dismissed an appeal filed by Parkash, holding that “the conviction is maintained”; and the “sentence imposed is adquate”.

But the Bench had asked the state of Haryana to see if he had undergone the sentence. Subsequently, the application for his release was filed, asserting Hari Parkash had been in custody since May 15, 1989. Haryana’s Financial Commissioner-cum-Principal Secretary, Jails, Krishna Mohan, had asserted that the petitioner had undergone actual sentence of more than 20 years, but had not undergone the total sentence of 25 years, as per the government policy dated August 13, 2008.

The police had booked Parkash on February 9, 1989. The complainant in the case, Ved Parkash, had alleged that the accused had pulled out a pistol and fired before he was handed over the cash. In the process, co-workers at the vend - Chander Parkash and Angad - were killed.

The complainant had added that he later came to know that the accused had then proceeded to a filling station and shot a salesman before taking away the cash.

Taking up the matter, Rewari’s Additional Sessions Judge had convicted him of murder, common intention and robbery on October 30, 2000.

Hisar, February 10
Haryana’s efforts for self-sufficiency in power generation received a boost today with the opening of the first 600 MW unit of the prestigious Rajiv Gandhi Thermal Power Project at Khedar.

Sanjeev Kaushal,MD, Haryana Power Generation Corporation, said the unit had been synchronised with the grid at 6.50 am. It was running at a load of 75 MW with two coal mills in service. The unit would start full-load operations by February 21.

He said the plant’s coal handling at 2,400 tonnes per hour wa s the highest in the country. The coal plant had been constructed at a cost of Rs 465 crore.To ensure receipt of coal from collieries through the Railways, a marshalling yard and a railway siding had been constructed at a cost of Rs 36 crore.

Kaushal said the Ministry of Coal had granted coal linkage of 5.55 MTPA of Grade ‘F’ coal from Mahanadi Coalfields Limited for the project. The supply would commence from February 12. The MCL coal granted for this project was of poor quality and had about 40-42 per cent ash content. However, in order to comply with the environmental stipulation of 34 per cent ash, HPGCL had obtained approval from the Environment Ministry for blending imported coal(with low ash content of around 10 per cent) with the MCL coal up to 15 per cent to curtail emissions.

The consent of the Haryana State Pollution Control Board for trial operation of the unit had been obtained. The 15-day full-lead trial would commence by February 21. This would be followed by provisional takeover of the unit. The work on Unit 2 was on at a fast pace, Kaushal added.

Chandigarh, February 10
Irrigation Minister Capt Ajay Singh Yadav has said that the Haryana Government has opposed the Shahpur Kandi project of the Punjab Government and a letter in this regard has been written to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh.

He said Haryana had its share in the Thein Dam too as it had been constructed on the Ravi-Beas rivers. Haryana could not be denied its share.

Punjab was mooting a parallel Dashmesh Canal alongside the SYL Canal to carry the Beas waters into Punjab. The case was with the Central Water Pollution for clearance. He said just as Punjab was free to use its waters in its own way, Haryana was free to use its own waters as per its needs.

Haryana had approached the Supreme Court for early hearing of a Presidential Reference as five years had gone by and the matter was still pending.

Jind, February 10
The state government has launched a scheme to honour and award those senior citizens who excel in various fields, including social work.

The selected persons will receive the award comprising a cash amount of Rs 1 lakh on October 1 that is observed as the day of old-aged persons.

A senior official of the district administration said here today that the persons, who would be selected, should have been involved in activities aimed at serving the society through various actions.

The age of such persons should be 90 years and above and the candidates should be actively involved in the social activities for the past some time consistently.

The awards would be given in five different categories, including the Senior Citizen State Award, Best Mother, Bravery and Courage Award, Best Panchayat and the Life Time Achievement Award.

The move was aimed at giving recognition to those senior citizens who devote their retired life to social activities and help others.

The award of Best Mother would be given to those women who fight social evils and oppose those actions or activities which were against the values of the womanhood and help victims of various evils such as dowry or post-marriage harassment.

The prize for the best panchayat had been mooted to motivate the elected bodies at the village level to take up more works or schemes aimed at ameliorating problems of the common man at the village level and to ensure that panchayats not only execute and implement the government plans in a judicious manner but also help in sorting trivial issues.

The award relating to bravery would be given to those who had shown exemplary courage in tackling a situation or work that had been difficult for others.

A committee has been set up under the chairmanship of the Minister of Social Welfare of Haryana.

It will consider the applications or recommendations and select the deserving persons each year.

Any persons can apply on a plain paper with his or her achievements and submit in the office of the District Social Welfare Department.

The government has also taken up the project of setting old-age homes in various districts. A total of six old-age homes and 12 day-care centres had been operational in the state at present.

Karnal, February 10
At least 18 persons were injured, nine of them seriously, when the bus they were travelling in turned turtle near Jaisingh Pura in the Assandh area, 50 km from here, today.

The accident reportedly occurred due to a technical snag following which the bus went out of control and overturned, sources said. The ill-fated bus was on its way from Karnal to Hisar.

The driver and conductor of the bus - Manjeet Singh and Sant Lal, who were seriously injured, were admitted to the Jind Civil Hospital while seven other injured persons - Raj Kumar, Sardara Singh, Santosh, Balwant, Harish, Rahdhir and Kailash - were admitted to the trauma centre at Karnal.

Ten persons with minor injuries were admitted to a hospital at Assandh and some of them were discharged after treatment.