Gurgaon, July 10
Thanks to a recent decision of the district administration, green trees are not being cut for various developmental activities taking place in the district. Now, the trees are being relocated to conserve the environmental cover.

Nearly 50 trees were proposed to be cut for the construction of a six-storey Labour Court building adjacent to the mini-secretariat here.

But Gurgaon Deputy Commissioner PC Meena directed the officials concerned of the PWD (B&R) to relocate the plants and trees coming in way of the proposed building.

For the first time, the department is now relocating the trees and plants quite successfully. The trees’ relocation work is expected to be completed in a few days.

According to department officials, the trees and plants are carefully uprooted along with the roots and then planted at other places, with the help of a crane.

The chances of survival of the relocated trees are high at this time.

PWD (B&R) Executive Engineer Ram Avtar Hooda said the department had already relocated small trees while the heavy ones would also be relocated.

The 25 trees relocated till now include 10 trees of chanda and five each of chandni, calendera and Himalia pentas. Besides, the relocation work of seven marodphali, 12 pilkhan, one alestonia and five chakresia trees is in progress.

Meena said the Labour Court building is to be constructed by the PWD (B&R) at an estimated cost of Rs 7 crore.

Sonepat, July 10
Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda today claimed that the land acquisition policy of the state was being implemented by other state governments and the Central Government was also studying the provisions of the policy for incorporating these in its proposed new land acquisition policy.

Talking to mediapersons after paying obeisance to Dada Bhaiya in the temple, Hooda said the state government had made provisions of 30 years’ royalty and a plot for the landowner besides the acquisition amount if his land was acquired for industrial or residential purposes. The provision had also been made for giving employment to at least one member of the family if his entire land was acquired, he added.

The government had given priority to the participation of the elected representatives of the panchayati raj institutions in the development programmes and for this, a number of powers had been extended to these institutions, he said, adding that as an acknowledgement of the services of these elected representatives and others, including nambardars and chowkidars, a monthly remuneration had been sanctioned for them.

The Chief Minister was scheduled to launch three projects with a cost of Rs 6.20 crore in the village and address a public meeting, but the programmes had to be cancelled following the death of a 19-year- youth, Pawan, of the village late last night.

MP Jitender Singh Malik, CPS Jaibir Balmiki, MLA Jai Tirth, Deputy Commissioner Pankaj Aggarwal, SSP KK Rao and DCC (Urban) president Pradeep Gautam and other Congress leaders and officers of the administration were present on the occasion.

Earlier, Hooda inaugurated the office of the Baroda constituency MLA, Sri Krishan Hooda, at Gohana. Rohtak MP Deepender Singh Hooda was also present.

Talking to mediapersons, Deepender Hooda said the state government had received sanction for three railway overbridges (ROBs) at Gohana, Sampla and Asauda from the railway authorities, adding that the construction work on these ROBs would commence soon.

He said the state government had also submitted a proposal to the railways for sanctioning a railway line between Rohtak and Hansi.

Chandigarh, July 10
An additional amount of Rs 5 lakh each will be provided for development works to 10 gram panchayats in Sirsa district that register a significant improvement in the sex ratio. This drive aims at creating awakening about the menace of female foeticide.

An official spokesman said the participation of NGOs would also be encouraged in this campaign and a special drive would be launched for inspection of ultrasound centres. He said a district task force committee had been constituted to completely wipe out the problem of female foeticide in the district. The Civil Surgeon would be its nodal officer as well as the member-secretary. The task force would comprise representatives of the Indian Medical Association (IMA) and the Haryana Women and Child Development Department, SDM, Principals of two district colleges and a woman member of the district council.

He said under the multi-sectoral development scheme of the Government of India, lakhs of rupees would be spent on the prevention of female foeticide in the district. As per the 2011 Census, there were 896 women per 1000 men in the district whereas there were 882 women in 2001 . The improvement in the sex ratio was largely due to the successful implementation of the schemes of the present state government.

There had also been a qualitative improvement in this ratio among children in the 0-6 age group. As per the new estimates, there were 852 girls per 1000 boys in this age group as against 817 girls in 2001. Similarly, in the age group of over seven years, there were 901 girls per 1000 boys at present.

Fatehabad, July 10
Superintendent of Police Vivek Sharma has attached an assistant sub-inspector of police to the Police Lines for failing to rescue a youth, who was tied to a telephone pole and beaten up by some traders at Jakhal town in the district.

The SP has also asked the SHO of Jakhal police station to probe the incident, and register an FIR against those responsible for tying the youth to a pole and beating him up for an alleged theft bid.

The Tribune had published a story, “Youth tied to pole, beaten up”, in these columns today highlighting how the 25-year-old victim was subjected to “medieval justice” in full glare of the public and the police.

Joni, the victim, was allegedly trapped by a father-son duo, who run a wholesale shop in the vegetable market at Jakhal.

The duo suspected that someone stole costly fruits and vegetables from their shop during the night and hence to catch the culprit, they laid a trap.

Joni allegedly entered their shop that was kept open around midnight, when the father and son were hiding nearby.

The two downed the shutters of their shop and allegedly confined Joni in the shop for more than six hours till Saturday morning.

Later, the father and son duo tied Joni to a telephone pole and thrashed him badly.

Ordering the attachment of the policemen to the police lines today, the SP said it had come to his notice that even after the arrival of the ASI on the scene, the traders continued beating up Joni.

“It was the ASI’s duty to rescue Joni and take him to the police station. However, he looked the other way while traders were taking the law into their own hands,” said Sharma. 

Yamunanagar, July 10
Deputy Commissioner Ashok Sangwan has directed Irrigation Department officials to complete on a war footing work on repair of breaches in Yamuna and Somnadi rivers.

Accompanied by senior administration and Irrigation Department officials, the Deputy Commissioner took a round of the places where breaches had occurred in Yamuna and Dadupur Nalvi. The district administration claimed to have spent Rs 68 crore on anti-flood measures in the district. However, the first monsoon showers last weekend belied these claims.

According to sources, the continued showers made Somnadi and Dadupur Nalvi cause extensive damage in many villages. While Dadupur Nalvi had been breached near Bhukhari village, the Yamuna had been breached near Pheelgarh.

In view of these breaches, the administration ordered their immediate repair. Senior officials, including BS Saini,XEN, and other officers attended a meeting convened by the Deputy Commissioner in which ways and means to strengthen the embankments near Mujaffat and Manauli where the Somnadi bundh had been breached.

The Deputy Commissioner asked the Chief Engineer to work out a permanent solution and have a pucca bundh for Somnadi near Bhamnoli so that the area along village Bhamnoli could be saved from floods. Last week the Yamuna recorded a water level of 18000 cusecs in Yamunanagar. The Markanda river continues to threaten several villages as it was also running above the danger mark. Ashok Sangwan and other officers also visited the flood-hit areas near seasonal Pathrala and Somnadi rivulets near the Dadupur headworks 

Karnal, July 10
Pinki, a 15-year-old minor girl from Madhubani in Bihar, has finally been reunited with her father after three years, thanks to frantic efforts made by the Pravasi Suraksha Vahini, an NGO, working to reunite lost or separated children with their families.

The girl was lodged in the local Nari Niketan after she was found in a miserable condition at Ellanabad in Sirsa district. Pinki (Bhagwati), a resident of Oxi village in Madhubani district of Bihar, had gone missing after she went to nearby Lakhnor from her village. Her parents separated and settled down with new partners and never bothered about their “lost” daughter .

The girl did not even know the correct address of her father. The only thing she remembered was that she had boarded a train from Patna along with a man and got down at Ellenabad. She did not remember whether she was pushed into “immoral trafficking” but could vividly recall the man who brought her from Patna.

Rajni Pasricha, superintendent, Nari Nikatan, Karnal, sought the help of Pravasi Suraksha Vahini. Raj Singh Chaudhry, president of the NGO, had a tough time tracing her father. “We sought the help of another NGO, Diversion Development Welfare Society, working in Bihar and traced her father, Saten Mukhiya, as the address given by the girl was incorrect.

But even after the family of Pinki was traced, her father was not willing to accept the girl due to the stigma attached with her for going out alone.

Pinki belonged to the fishermen community in Bihar, where villagers were averse to her father accepting the girl . It was only after Manav Singh, district co-coordinator of the NGO in Bihar, and the police did community counselling for nearly two weeks that the father and other community leaders agreed to accept the abandoned girl. 

Ballabhgarh, July 10
Investigation into the double murder case that took place here about 10 days ago has been handed over to the CIA, a wing of the Haryana Police.

An FIR was registered against four persons in connection with the murder of two youths, Manoj, owner of a garment shop in a mall in Faridabad, and a resident of Kaurali village in Faridabad district.

The main accused, Sachin, is also from Kaurali village. The police feels old enmity between Manoj and Sachin led to the murders. The second youth was probably killed as he happened to be Manoj’s friend and witness to the latter’s murder.

Hisar, July 10
The Haryana unit of the CPM has demanded an immediate end to repression of its cadres in West Bengal under the Mamata Banerjee government.

Haryana CPM general secretary Inderjit Singh said the Banerjee government had unleashed a reign of repression against CPM cadres in West Bengal. This, he said, was an attempt to crush the pro-people movements of his party.

He said the CPM cadres were being mercilessly targeted in a bid to curb the party movements against policies of liberalisation of the UPA government at the Centre.

The CPM leader said similar repression had been started in 1971, which culminated in the imposition of Emergency in the country.

Inderjit Singh said the UPA government, too, had been targeting CPM cadres after the leftist parties withdrew support to the Congress-led coalition in the wake of the nuclear deal signed with the US.

He said institutionalised corruption was the hallmark of both the UPA government at the Centre and the Congress government in the state. He said two ministers in the state had to be removed in the wake of serious criminal charges against them.

The convention passed a resolution, demanding an end to the repressive policies and stern steps to curb corruption.

Rohtak, July 10
Describing the office of the Lokayukta as an “important tool” to combat corruption in public offices, the Haryana Lokayukta, Justice Pritam Pal (retd), has emphasised the need to give teeth to the office to ensure tough action against the guilty. The Lokayukta’s office has so far disposed of 72 per cent complaints received during the past six months.

Addressing elected representatives, officials, members of the District Bar Association and mediapersons, Pritam Pal said the action followed by the recommendations made by his office against the guilty officials had made it clear that the state government had been quite serious about its policy and drive to check corruption at public places in the state.

Several officials had been subjected to disciplinary action, which includes registration of criminal cases, suspension and transfer of the officers found tainted in the investigations. He stated that about 365 complaints were received by his office during this period and as many as 264 complaints were disposed of. He said tough stand had been taken against the officials who had been convicted or found tainted.

Some of the indicted officials had even resigned from their posts. He added that the only weakness in the process had been that the office could recommend action against the guilty to the state government and was not authorised to take action itself. The state government was bound to inform his office within three months of the action taken by it. 

Kaithal, July 10
The Haryana Vanchit Varg Sangharsh Samiti, headed by former MLA Roshan Lal Arya, has demanded constitution of an equal opportunities commission in the state to ensure equitable employment opportunities for all communities, so far allegedly neglected by the successive state governments.

Addressing a press conference here today, Arya said it was a pity that leaders from a dominant community, while in power, neglected the claims of other communities to various government jobs, adding that they provided their own community with a major share of the jobs while others were ignored despite merit. He said if this trend was not checked immediately, it may have serious repercussions on the social fabric in the state. He added that those who had been pursuing the policy of giving preference to a particular community in the matter of jobs while ignoring the other 35 castes, were actually working against the Constitution that provided all citizens with equal opportunities, irrespective of caste or creed.

Arya said that even law officers in the Advocate General’s Office of Haryana were not being appointed on merit and many of them had failed to safeguard the interests of the state in the high court. He said such appointments were a burden on the exchequer, hence transparency was needed in making such appointments. In the prevailing situation, he added, other “deprived communities” were feeling suffocated and may express their resentment when the byelection for the Hisar parliamentary seat was held.

Arya also demanded constitution of a state human rights commission as “serious violation of human rights had been taking place in Haryana”. The people who protested against the “oppression” of state agencies or dominant communities were ill- treated. He said the law and order situation was deteriorating fast in the state and people had been feeling insecure.

Kurukshatra, July 10
About 25 Delhi-bound passengers were injured, six of them seriously, when a Jammu and Kashmir State Road Transport Corporation Volvo bus overturned on Delhi-Ambala national highway, about 10 km from here, this morning.

The injured persons were rushed to Shahbad and Kurukshetra. Six seriously injured passengers were referred to the PGI, Chandigarh.

The bus driver claimed that the bus was thrown off the road by a truck while overtaking it between Shahbad and Kurukshetra.

The police, however, suspects that the driver had dozed off , leading to the accident. A case of rash and negligent driving has been registered against the driver.

New Delhi, July 10
An eight-year-old boy, who first lost his mother in a road accident and then his father recently, has unwittingly become an unlucky millionaire, with a road mishap tribunal awarding him a compensation of Rs 31 lakh for his mother’s accidental death.

“The issue is decided in favour of the petitioner’s legal representative, his son. It is held that he is entitled to get Rs 30,92,803 as compensation from the Haryana Roadways,” said Motor Accident Claims Tribunal Judge Ashwani Sarpal, awarding the compensation of over Rs 30 lakh to the child on a plea filed earlier by his father.

The boy, a resident of Narela, was just three-year-old when he lost his mother Anju (29) in a road accident involving a Haryana Roadways bus.

The mishap occurred on September 14, 2009, when the child’s father, Praveen Kumar, was riding a motorcycle on his way back home with his wife Anju riding pillion with her child in her lap. The speeding bus hit the motorcycle from behind following which the three, including the child, fell on the road. Anju received fatal injuries and died on the spot.

The court held Ramanand, the bus driver, guilty of driving the vehicle rashly, leading to the woman’s death.

The court noted that during the pendency of the case, Anju’s husband, Praveen Kumar, also died and now only the child is left in the family. He is living with his maternal grandfather, who was allowed to act as a guardian by the court.

Accordingly, the tribunal asked the Haryana Roadways to pay the entire amount of compensation to the child. — PTI

Faridabad, July 10
Employees of the Electricity Department here have decided to gherao the headquarters of the Faridabad Circle of the office on July 15 if the authorities do not accept their demand of withdrawing charge sheets against their colleagues.

Subash Lamba, general secretary, All-Haryana Power Corporation Workers Union, stated that the employees would go ahead with their agitation in a show of solidarity with their colleagues.

The employees have already held various demonstrations and also resorted to boycott of work in all sub-zones of the Faridabad Circle to press for the acceptance of their demand.

The authorities had charge-sheeted four Executive Engineers, 14 Sub-Divisional Engineers and 24 Junior Engineers in connection with damage to 43 transformers in the Faridabad Circle. The personnel have also been charged with dereliction of duty. The employees alleged that their colleagues had been implicated.

According to them the chargesheets were issued on an “erroneous” inquiry report. According to the office-bearers of the union, the report alleged that the transformers were damaged on account of heavy load and poor maintenance.

Dosarka (Ambala), July 10
The Haryana Sikh Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee (HSGPC-ad hoc) joint secretary, Jasbir Singh Khalsa, has alleged that the SGPC president, Avtar Singh Makkar, had made a false statement in February regarding starting Shri Guru Harkishan Sahib Khalsa College at Panjokhra during the current academic session.

Khalsa said admissions for the current-year session had not started as yet whereas the process for admissions in all colleges in Ambala had already been completed. He said the SGPC declarations in this regard were “misleading” and were a “political stunt”.

Talking to mediapersons at the HSGPC head office at Dosarka, Khalsa said the SGPC Education Director, Gurmohan Walia, had played a cruel joke on the Sikh community in Haryana by declaring that Rs 1 crore had been sanctioned for reopening of the college lying closed for the past several years due to poor management. He alleged that Walia was now stating that the SGPC had not got the permission to run the college from Kurukshetra University.

The SGPC had failed to run the institutes already existing in the state due to poor infrastructure, he said.

The HSGPC leader said the body would hold a meeting shortly to decide about starting a college at Panjokhra.