New Delhi, November 15
The issue of a separate High Court for Haryana in Chandigarh remains in a state of limbo. Union Minister for Law and Justice Veerappa Moily says he will have to discuss the issue of having a separate High Court in the same building with the Punjab and Haryana High Court Chief Justice.

Moily says he will shoot off a communication to the Chief Justice on the matter.

He was talking to the media at a party organised by Additional Solicitor-General Mohan Jain in honour of Lok Sabha secretary-general TK Viswanathan.

As of now, the place for setting up a High Court is the only contentious issue as Haryana’s constitutional right to have a separate High Court is no more an arguable matter. Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda has already given his verdict in support of the Punjab and Haryana High Court’s bifurcation and has all along been insisting he wants the newly carved institution to be located in the state’s common capital with Punjab, Chandigarh.

Punjab, of course, does not wish to see the split of the High Court, a “worthy successor” to the Lahore High Court, which produced stalwart judges like Sir Shadi Lal, Bakshi, Tek Chand and Mehar Chand Mahajan, as activist and former Chief Justice of the Delhi High Court Rajindar Sachar puts it.

The state has another reason to oppose the move. Punjab Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal says Haryana getting a separate High Court in Chandigarh will adversely affect Punjab’s claim on Chandigarh.

Moily agrees a separate High Court for the state is its constitutional right, but a concrete decision in this regard so yet to be taken. Moily says Hooda has written to him in this regard but the matter is yet to be discussed with the Chief Justice, whose consent in the matter is mandatory.

Jain, on the other hand, says he does not see any problem in the co-existence of two High Courts at the same place.

Jain, in fact, questioned: “If two Chief Ministers, two Speakers and two Governors can stay side by side in the same city, where is the harm in having two High Courts at the same place”.

Haryana’s former Advocate-General Jain says a large number of advocates from Haryana, too, have been crusading for a separate High Court in Chandigarh. As of now, the Punjab and Haryana High Court has a pendency of more than 2 lakh. Old cases in the court for two years and more are 1.7 lakh. With the division, Haryana can hope to see speedier delivery of justice with the workload decreased.

Though the number of judges, too, will be less, the disposal rate will still be more as Haryana’s litigation substantially hovers around land and service matters, cases often disposed of by single judgment.

Also, both the states will have a greater representation. For all times to come, the seniormost judges of two courts, instead of one, will move out to become Chief Justices of other courts. Greater representation at the apex court will also be ensured.

The seniority of the High Court judges will also be affected.

Chandigarh, November 15
Haryana’s revised land Resettlement and Rehabilitation (R and R) policy seems to have unsettled not only the Opposition, but Congress men, too.

Sources maintain that senior Congress leaders are sore over the fact that the government did not take senior leaders into confidence before announcing its revised R and R policy and even bypassed the co-ordination committee especially set up to discuss major policy-decisions.

The co-ordination committee was headed by party in charge of Haryana affairs Prithviraj Chavan and comprises senior leaders, including Union Minister Selja, Rajya Sabha MP Birender Singh, Finance Minister Capt Ajay Yadav and state unit party president Phool Chand Mullana besides CM Bhupinder Singh Hooda.

The committee was set up immediately after Hooda got a second term in office to serve as a link between the party and the government as also to monitor major projects and policy-decisions in the state.

The committee has had no meeting for over four months. That the government unveiled its revised policy without consultations has not gone down well with the leaders.

“Where then is the need for a co-ordination committee if the government does not want to bring any agenda or seek the opinion of senior leaders,” a Congressman asked.

Sources maintain thatFinance Minister Capt Ajay Singh Yadav, too, had suggested that while acquiring land for any project, eight to 10 per cent share in the land should be left for the farmer. Taking cue from Uttar Pradesh’s land acquisition policy, the minister had stated that this would provide the farmer an opportunity to set up his own project on the piece of land and ensure regular income. Sources claim that he was assured that the matter would be addressed in the revised policy.

He, too, is learnt to be displeased at being ignored.

Further, leaders maintain that a policy must get the approval of the Cabinet before it is announced.

The R and R policy was first announced and got Cabinet clearance a couple of days later.

However, sources in the government say there is nothing “untoward” in announcing a policy before it is ratified by the Cabinet.

They also maintain that there was no intention to “bypass” the co-ordination committee.

At the same time they emphasise that policy-decisions can be discussed only if a meeting is held.

Chandigarh, November 15
The government has invoked the Destruction of Public Property Act to give more teeth to its drive against overloaded trucks in the state.

A number of cases have already been registered against owners and drivers of the defaulting trucks under the Act in several districts.

This is for the first time that the government has invoked this Act to check overloading of vehicles. Earlier, such vehicles were challaned and fined under the provisions of the Motor Vehicle Act.

Following instructions from Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda, joint teams of the Transport Department and the police have been constituted in many districts to check overloading of vehicles. The police has registered cases under the Destruction of Public Property Act as the overloaded vehicles damage public roads. However, still there are districts where such teams are yet to be formed.

Reports reaching here suggest that following strictness in the state against overloading, truckers’ associations in adjoining states like UP and Rajasthan are planning to convene their meetings and urge their members not to overload the vehicles while passing through Haryana, which is a transit state for Punjab, Himachal and Jammu and Kashmir.

As a result of the strictness, many secretaries, Regional Transport Authority, are seeking their transfer from what was once considered as a “plum” post. They are believed to have urged their political mentors, who were earlier responsible for their posting, to let them go lest they are involved in a vigilance case.

Sources in the transport trade say that the government should install weigh bridges at toll plazas, which have been set up on almost all national highways passing through the state, to check overloading of vehicles. Similarly, they say, weigh bridges should also be installed on roads leading out of the mining areas. This will not only check overloading, but also help plugging of leakage of royalty on minerals.

Chandigarh, November 15
It is pure economics at play as Haryana readies to harvest a bumper sugarcane crop this year, after two successive years of bad cane production. With a substantial increase in the area under cane production this year, the sugar production is expected to go up by almost 250 per cent.

With a substantial increase in the State Advised Price (SAP) of cane as compared to a minimal increase in the minimum support price of wheat and paddy, more and more farmers in the state have turned towards cane production. With the area under the crop increasing from 82,000 acres last year to 1.45 lakh acres now, the sugar production in the state is expected to increase from 7.28 lakh quintals last year to 23 lakh quintals.

Officials in Sugarfed told TNS that the main reason for the shift to cane production (from the wheat- paddy cycle) is that this crop is giving better returns to farmers than the wheat-paddy cultivation. Because of the minimal increase in the MSP of wheat and paddy over the past two years, and the high increase in SAP of sugarcane (increase of Rs 40 per quintal), the sugarcane crop is giving a net excess return of Rs 1,720 per quintal over wheat and paddy. This calculation is based on the parameters of production per acre (wheat - 18 quintals, paddy - 26 quintals and sugarcane - 260 quintals).

Over the past two years, the state government has been increasing the SAP, so that cane cultivation becomes more remunerative for farmers.

Talking to TNS, Vimal Chandra, Managing Director of Sugarfed, said this year they were expecting 2.50 crore quintals of cane to be available for crushing. “Even the recovery of sugar from the cane is expected to be higher as compared to last year. We are expecting a recovery of 9.25 per cent, as compared to the recovery of 8.50 per cent last year. Last year, just 88.12 lakh quintals of cane was available for crushing,” he said.

Because of the high cane production, the state government is expecting that all 10 cooperative mills in the state will have enough cane to last the entire crushing season.

Kaithal, November 15
Balwant Singh, international volleyball player and Arjuna awardee hailing from Kaul village in this district, passed away yesterday. He was cremated with state honours at his native village, 25 km from here. A contingent of the Haryana Police reversed its arms as a mark of respect to the departed soul. Sultan Singh Jadola, Chief Parliamentary Secretary, and Mohinder Singh Tanwar, District Development and Panchayat Officer, paid floral tributes on behalf of the state government and the district administration.

Dr Dalel Singh, Sports Director, Kurukshetra University, PS Kundu from the sports department and representatives of panchayats were among those who attended the last rites.

Born in 1945 in Kaul village, Balwant Singh joined the Punjab Police in 1965 and joined the BSF in 1987. He led the Indian volley ball team from 1966 to 1981. He was conferred with the Arjuna Award in 1972. He was also awarded Maharaja Ranjit Singh Award by Punjab in 1979. The Indian team won the championship at Tehran in 1974 and in Bangkok in 1978 under the leadership of Balwant Singh. He also led the team in the Asian championship held in Behrain in 1979. A sports stadium was constructed in his name by the state government in 1984. He was among those who received the Queens Baton in Kaithal before the start of the Commonwealth Games.

Kaithal, November 15
Hundreds of farmers of Kultaran village in this district expressed resentment over the payment of ‘meagre’ compensation for crop loss suffered during the floods. They sat in dharna and blocked traffic on NH-65 and raised slogans against the government. Commuters on the highway were stranded for about two hours. The protesters refused to listen to DSP Ravinder Tomar, SHO Ashwani Sharma, the naib tehsildar and the tehsildar. They insisted that the DC be called to listen to their grievances. The Task force was rushed to the spot as a precautionary measure.

But SDM Hawa Singh Pachar arrived there and after parleys, the protesters lifted the blockade. The villagers were reportedly enraged when they learnt they were being paid Rs 500- Rs 1000 as compensation for their losses by the area patwari. Some did not find even their names on the list of compensation awardees . The protesters said their losses had not been assessed properly. Some blamed the revenue officials.

Rohtak, November 15
The Sarva Karmachari Sangh, Haryana, the largest body of state government employees, has rejected the public-private partnership (PPP) system 'adopted' by the state government in various departments.

It has called for withdrawal of the policy and a proper way out after deliberations with the employees and others concerned. The sangh has announced a state-level congregation here on November 27 and 28, besides protests on November 19.

Said Subhash Lamba, general secretary of the sangh, the present PPP model was a mere eyewash and not good enough to bring about the desired change in the functioning of the government machinery.

The system introduced over a decade back had proved a failure as major issues remained unresolved and there was no relief to tax-payers.

Alleging a nexus between corrupt politicians and bureaucrats, he said this had led to the emergence of middlemen in matters of recruitment.

Stating that the government had been outsourcing posts meant to be filled through regular appointment, he said the the quality of works had gone down considerably with the contractor or agent supplying manpower and equipment. Citing the example of the power department, he alleged the problem of line losses persisted and complaints on breakdowns remained unsolved even as huge amounts had been spent on implementing the PPP model and the outsourcing policy.

He said the sangh would not accept this form of the PPP model and would continue its agitation on the matter. They would stage district-level protests on November 19 besides holding a congregation here on November 27 and 28 to chalk out their future course of action.

Karnal, November 15
Air Marshal PS Bhangu, an alumnus of Sainik School, Kunjpura, today visited the school and interacted with students. He exhorted the students to join the IAF.

Posted at the Western Command, he was here to participate in the golden jubilee year celebrations. He became nostalgic as he recalled his school days .

He inaugurated a memory lab on the school premises, a gift from the batch of 1978 to the school. On the occasion, Guinness world record-holder in neurobics and raja yoga Chander Shekar Tiwari gave tips to the students on improving their memory.

School principal Arun Datta highlighted the achievements of school students in various fields and presented mementos to distinguished guests.

Sirsa, November 15
Sirsa MP Ashok Tanwar yesterday began the process of distribution of identity cards to members of the Youth Congress in his constituency. Tanwar distributed cards at a function held at the local Congress Bhawan.

He himself received his identity card as member of the organisation that he led at national level till last year. President of the Sirsa Lok Sabha Youth Congress Amit Sihag said over 43,000 cards were being distributed in his constituency. The cards would provide a distinct identity to members of the Youth Congress throughout the country, he added.

Panipat, November 15
Power engineers in the state today observed a “protest day” and wore black badges against the alleged failure of the power utilities to redress their grievances.

The engineers were sore over the government’s “failure” to remove pay anomalies and to roll back the decision of introducing the franchisee system in the distribution sector.

The Haryana Power Engineers Association, at a general body meeting on November 1, had given a call to observe November 15 as a protest day and to wear black badges.

The initial pay scale of assistant engineers in Haryana is allegedly the lowest among all power utilities in the region.

President of the union RS Dahiya said power engineers in the state were performing duties similar to their counterparts in other northern states and thus there was no justification in giving them lower scales.

He said there was a threat to the utilities as the government was considering proposals to introduce the franchisee system for the distribution network in Panipat and Gurgaon.

This move was based on extraneous considerations and deserved to be opposed strongly, he said.

He said Gurgaon and Panipat were the maximum revenue-earning areas with minimum line losses for the two utilities and outsourcing the distribution system in these two circles would affect the financial health of the power utilities. He said the franchise system adopted for Agra had failed and inflicted huge losses on the power utilities there.

Rohtak, November 15
The Uttar Haryana Bijli Vitran Nigam (UHBVN) has completed construction work and is all set to energise the second unmanned 33 kV substation in the city here. The substation, which will be operational in a few days, will help in improving the quality of power supply to several parts of the city.

The substation will be commissioned from Officer’s Colony, Delhi Road, here for which necessary infrastructure like erection of line and installation of transformer has been completed and the remote control testing system is in progress.

Stating this, a spokesperson for the nigam said here today that the first unmanned 33 kV substation of the state had been set up at the local Bal Bhawan and had been functioning properly with remote control system placed at 33 kV substation, Model Town.

The remote control system of the upcoming substation would also be placed at 33 kV substation, Model Town. Thus, 33 kV substation, Model Town, would be the state’s first 33 kV-level substation to control two unmanned substations at two different locations. Besides, it would continue supply of electricity to the consumers through its conventional mode also.

According to the authorities the new substation will cost Rs 2.50 crore, for which the nigam has erected 2.5-km-long line to connect it with 132 kV substation, MDU, Rohtak.

Sirsa, November 15
Residents of the local RSD Colony, who have been using their residential building for commercial activities, have received notices from the municipal council.

The MC has told them to close shops and other commercial establishments being run in the colony or else these would be demolished.

The electricity connections of their establishments would be disconnected by the DHBVN if they continue to runs shops in violation of the notices. The notices have sent jitters among persons, who have been carrying on their business activities in the area for years. They fear that their source of income will immediately dry up in case they fail to get a commercial site in the vicinity.

The notices have been issued pursuant to the efforts of the Residents Welfare Society, which had filed a writ petition in the HC in this regard in 2002.

The writ petition was disposed of after the then Deputy Commissioner and the Executive Officer (EO) of the MC gave affidavits in the court that all shops and commercial establishments had been removed from the colony.

However, shops and commercial establishments started mushrooming again after the case was disposed of in 2006.

The society had met the DC recently to apprise him of the developments.

“We have served notices on 38 persons and have asked them to stop carrying on business activities in the residential area,” said Neki Ram Bishnoi, EO of the MC.

Panipat, November 15
State Transport and Tourism Minister Om Prakash Jain today said the state government had initiated a process to regularise the outer colonies in the city to ensure that these were brought “under the ambit of overall development”.

Speaking to mediapersons after inaugurating the sixth branch of Panipat Urban Cooperative Bank at the local Veerbhan Chowk, the minister said the authorities concerned had already undertaken a survey of the colonies that were to be regularised and the process was likely to be concluded soon. “There are over a dozen colonies that came up on the periphery of the city and are now inhabited by a large number of the people. These colonies remained neglected as far as the development works are concerned, but after these are regularised, more facilities will be made available here,” the minister said.

He said the bypass on the Panipat-Rohtak highway from Dahar to Sihwa would benefit local people as a large volume of the traffic would get diverted on this road, easing the traffic congestion in the city. He said the project of a railway overbridge on the Jatal road would soon get under way.