Chandigarh, August 31
The Haryana Government is house hunting these days. It is in search of a “suitable” place to house the Haryana Vidhan Sabha Speaker, Kuldeep Sharma, who continues to operate from the MLA flat he was allotted as a member of the Assembly after the 2009 election.

Despite the fact that Haryana has a pool of 23 houses to its credit in Chandigarh, the government has been unable to allot a house to Sharma even six months after he took over as the Speaker.

The office of the Chief Secretary, Haryana, which handles allotment of houses to the ministers, maintains that a couple of houses are available, one being vacant in Sector 19 and two others being occupied by former ministers in Sector 7.

While Savitri Jindal was a minister of state in the previous Congress government and did not get a Cabinet berth in the government’s second term, OP Jain had recently resigned from the Cabinet after his name cropped up in a criminal case. They are yet to vacate the houses.

Jindal’s office, however, clarified that she has not been provided alternative accommodation so far and she would move out as soon as she is allotted a house meant for MLAs.

Sources in the office of the Chief Secretary maintain that the house occupied by Jindal was, at one stage, offered to the Speaker but nothing came of it. In the absence of any earmarked house for the Speaker in Haryana from among those that form the Haryana pool, the government is in a fix about the “right choice of house”.

Interestingly, though there is no earmarked house for the Speaker on paper, sources maintain that convention has it that the Speaker has been allotted a particular house in Sector 2 which is at present occupied by a minister. The Chief Secretary’s office even carried out a study of houses occupied by former speakers but failed to come up with any specific pattern though most of the Speakers have resided in the house in question in Sector 2.

While Raghuvir Singh Kadian occupied that particular house as the Vidhan Sabha Speaker in the last term of the Congress government, Harmohinder Singh Chatha, the first Speaker when the Congress government came to power a second time in 2009, chose to continue staying in the house he was occupying as a minister in 
the Congress government’s first term.

This departure from tradition resulted in the allotment of that house in Sector 2 to a minister. The government, now, finds itself in a sticky situation because it cannot ask the minister who has been occupying the house for nearly two years, to move out.

Sources maintain that other available houses have been “ruled out” for allotment to the Speaker which is why he continues to be without a bunglow in the “much sought-after” sectors.

In Haryana, of the 23 houses allocated to the Haryana pool, besides the Chief Minister’s residence, the houses allocated to the ministers of the Bhupinder Singh Hooda cabinet, a couple of Chief Parliamentary Secretaries and officers who are a part of the Chief Minister’s staff.

On the non-allotment of a house so far, Speaker Kuldeep Sharma said that he was “not on an ego trip as far as a house is concerned. He added, “I am very happy operating from where I am.”

Sources said that the government in general and the Chief Secretary’s office in particular, however, is in an “over-drive” and a rush to identify a “suitable” house which will “befit his status”.

Hisar, August 31
Former Chief Minister Om Parkash Chautala today exhorted the INLD to ensure the defeat of the Congress in the impending byelection to the Hisar Lok Sabha seat.

Addressing a function organised by the Nomadic and Denotified Tribes Cell of his party here, he said the Anna Hazare episode had proved that the Congress did not believe in democratic values and that it had no intention of curbing corruption.

The British had ruled India by the divide and rule principle. The Congress had adopted the same policy after Independence. Its leaders only believed in ruling and earning money by corrupt practices. The party had completely forgotten the common man especially the farming community.

He said it was the duty of every party worker to ensure that the Congress lost the forthcoming byelection to pave the way for the ouster of the Congress from the corridors of political power thereafter.

He said he would constitute a commission for the welfare of nomadic and denotified tribes if he came to power in the state another time. The commission, he said, would formulate welfare policies for members of these tribes which had suffered all these years due to neglect by the government.

The INLD leader said these tribes had been freed from oppressive rules framed by the British in 1952. But having done that, the country had just forgotten them. As a result, these tribes had not gained from independence of the country.

Rohtak, August 31
Perhaps for the first time, the district authorities have launched a scheme to provide solar energy-based irrigation pump sets to the farmers. The pump worth around Rs 8.25 lakh each will be available at a cost of just Rs 3.28 lakh after a 60 per cent subsidy paid by the Union Government. This technology will help the farmers to overcome the problem of power shortage as the beneficiary will not have to depend on the power supply anymore to irrigate the field.

Announcing this, the Additional Deputy Commissioner (ADC), AS Mann, said here yesterday that the scheme, launched under the Jawaharlal Nehru Solar Mission at the national level, promoted the use of the solar technology in the field of agriculture and in view of the high cost of the equipment required, the government had decided to provide a hefty subsidy to enable the farmers to adopt it as it was beneficial in the long run.

Giving details, he said the monoblock and the submersible pump of 1,800 watts of power would be given at a cost of Rs 1,14,000 instead of its actual cost of Rs 2,85,000, due to the provision of subsidy of 60 per cent to be borne by the Union Government.

The sale price of this pump would also include a subsidy of 30 per cent to be shared by the state government. This set could irrigate two to three acres of land daily. The farmers would also have the option to go for 4.6 horse power (BHP) and 4.8 Kilowatt power motor and pump.

The cost of this set to the farmer would be Rs 3,28,000 after a subsidy of 60 per cent and the actual cost would be Rs 8.20 lakh. This pump would be useful to irrigate a land of about four to five acres daily. The scheme had been open to the dairy owners, horticulturists and Public Health, panchayat and other local bodies which need the power supply on an uninterrupted basis.

The applicants would have to submit an application with the office concerned in the district, claimed an official. “Getting a new tube well connection may take three to six months and a number of rounds of the offices concerned,” said an official.

Sonepat, August 31
The state government will spend Rs 478 crore on improving health care facilities in the state this year. The emphasis will be on opening new medical colleges and improving the sex ratio.

This was stated by Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda after inaugurating Arogyadham Charitable Eye Hospital here today. Besides setting a state-of-the-art wing of the All-India Institute of Medical Sciences near Jhajjar, three new medical colleges were being set up at BPS Mahila Vishwavidyalaya, Khapur Kalan, Karnal and Mewat, he added.

He appreciated efforts of various organizations in motivating people to come forward for eye donations. It was due to the efforts of such organizations that Haryana had emerged as one of the leading states in this field, he said. Eye donations could bring back light in the lives of over 70 lakh persons suffering from blindness in the country, he added.

He said over 1.42 lakh patients belonging to the BPL category had availed themselves of various benefits under the free surgical package scheme of the state government during the year. Similarly, there had been a decline of more than 17 per cent in the maternal mortality ratio in the state, he said. This became possible only because of various health facilities being provided free of cost to the pregnant women, he said.

He expressed satisfaction over the increase in the sex ratio from 819 to 830 in the state. He said the government was planning to launch a special drive to create awareness against female foeticide. He announced a grant of Rs 10 lakh for the hospital and assured that the government would provide every possible help for it.

Former Chief Justice of the Punjab and Haryana High Court Vijender Jain said the private sectors should join hands with the government in the successful implementation of various welfare initiatives meant for the masses.

Founder president of the Arogyadham Charitable Trust Vivek Jain said the trust had spent Rs 2.26 crore on providing various facilities to the people.

MP Jitender Singh Malik announced a grant of Rs 10 lakh from his MPLAD fund for the hospital. MLA Kavita Jain also announced to donate a bus for bringing patients from various villages to the hospital.

Chief Parliamentary Secretary Jaibir Balmiki, MLA BB Batra, political adviser to the CM Prof Virender, Chairperson of the Haryana Social Welfare Board Sumitra Chahan, DC Pankaj Aggarwal and SSP KK Rao were also present on the occasion.

Rohtak, August 31
Taking a serious view of the traffic violations on the city roads, the district police has planned to rein in the errant drivers and curb the menace of violating the rules. Issuing a warning, the SSP has asked both the parents and the school principals not to allow the minor students to drive a bike or a vehicle to the school. The police will be forced to impound such vehicles besides issuing challans against the owners, it has been announced.

At a meeting, district police chief Satish Balan said the police would now adopt strict measures to enforce traffic rules and to check the violations, which, he said, had been a cause of concern.

Claiming that the recent drive by the police against the traffic violations had yielded good results, he said the police would continue with the drive to ensure effective implementation of the rules.

Admitting that there a large number of school students, mainly minor, had been found driving motorbikes and vehicles, he said a notice would soon be issued to all the schools in the district in which the principals and parents would be advised and asked to tell their wards or students to stop such a practice or the police would be left with no option but to take legal action against the violation. Not only the vehicles would be impounded, but the owners would also be penalised with heavy fine, he said.

On the issue of complaints surfacing with the department against certain members of the Road Safety Organisation (RSO), an NGO working with the police to implement the traffic norms and safety, the SSP said that an 11-member committee would look into the matter and scrutinise the credentials of the members. It would recommend action against the guilty. 

Gurgaon, August 31
The Gurgaon police has made it clear that Rapid Metro Rail Private Limited (RMPL) was responsible for repairing and maintaining alternative roads along the entire 6-km stretch of Rapid Metro in the city and asked the officials concerned to mend their ways or be prepared to face the music.

“It is part of their contract agreement and if they do not perform their duty, the police will be compelled to take action,” asserted Haryana ADGP-cum-Gurgaon Police Commissioner SS Deswal, warning that they were receiving a number of complaints against the company from the public.

Deswal said any company could not disrupt the existing public roads until it provided some alternate route. He further pointed out that the company had not put sufficient lights and direction-indicators on the stretch and the condition between Sikanderpur station, Bristol Chowk, Cyber City and NH-8 was particularly pathetic and led to frequent traffic jams. The Police Commissioner directed the company management to improve their functioning for public convenience.

He disclosed that the Gurgaon police had demanded 1,100 additional personnel from the state government for manning the traffic junctions after conducting a survey of the entire city.

In response to a query, Deswal said they had experimented by engaging traffic volunteers, but as the volunteers did not had any legal power to issue challans, the commuters paid little heed to them.

He further revealed that the Gurgaon police would soon launch a campaign to test the driving skills of school bus drivers. For this, they would have to undergo a test at the authorised driving school and only those who qualify in that test would be allowed to drive.

Sirsa, August 31
Irked at the slack attitude of authorities towards choking of sewers in their areas, residents blocked vehicular traffic at three different places in the town today.

Angry residents blocked roads near the Sabji Mandi police post in Ward 26, on the Begu Road in Ward 11 and in the Goshala Mohalla in Ward 21 of Sirsa town.

A large number of women also participated in the roadblock and a demonstration against the authorities.

Sat Pal, a demonstrator in Ward 26, alleged that almost all sewers of their area were lying choked for several days, but the authorities had not cared to clear those.

He alleged that they had been running from pillar to post to find a solution to their problem, but to no avail.

Sushil Saini, a former municipal councillor, who led demonstrators in Ward 21, alleged that it had become difficult to walk in the streets as filthy sewer water was spread all over in their locality.

“We have been contacting every possible authority in Sirsa for the last 10 days, but perhaps, they understand the language of agitation only,” lamented Saini.

He alleged that due to choking of sewers and leakage at several points, the drinking water being supplied to their areas was contaminated, leading to spread of water- borne diseases in their areas.

Senior officers of the Public Health Department reached there and persuaded the residents to lift the jam.

Vijay Singh, Executive Engineer of the Public Health Department, admitted that there was a problem in these areas, but added that he had joined duties yesterday only.

He maintained that dumping other material like polythene bags, sand and cow dung in the sewer system was responsible for its choking.

Assuring that he will look into the problem on priority, Vijay Singh appealed to the residents to avoid using the sewer for dumping polythene bags, cow dung and other wastes. 

Rohtak, August 31
The non-payment of power bills by consumers, especially in rural areas of the state, once again seems to be snowballing into a big controversy. While a section of the ruling party leaders had been describing the one-time waiver of power bills to the tune of Rs 1,600 crore by the present government in 2005 as a historic move, many of them have now started advocating a tough action against those who continue to be the defaulters even after that.

The reported statement of the Power Minister hinting at an action against those who do not pay bills in time has found support from the HPCC spokesperson. According to them, it is mandatory for the smooth functioning and survival of the power corporations. However, these utterances have not gone down well with a section of the residents who question the change of stand by the leaders in power.

“Those who stood by the waiver a few years ago have now taken a U-turn. They were unable to realise the fallouts of such a waiver at that time and had gone ahead with the move without ensuring a mechanism to put the system back on track,” claims Inderjit Singh, state CPM secretary.

“How can the ruling party leaders who still praise the decision of waiving the bills now seek disconnection and registration of criminal cases against the defaulters?” he says. Maintaining that although he and his party did not support the concept of free power or bill waiver at the cost of other taxpayers, he asked who had been responsible for making the people not pay the bills, especially in the rural belt.

Social activist Yoginder Dahiya has another suggestion to make. The government should tackle the problem of line loss and power theft in a smarter way, instead of offending the consumers directly as the problem had become quite serious, he said.

The statement made by some ruling party leaders in this context could be politically motivated and could result in a severe harm if the government went ahead with a crackdown instead of taking corrective measures, observed Raj Singh Hooda, a local resident.

Faridabad, August 31
Vehicular movement on the road connecting Faridabad city and rural area vide Khedi bridge was disrupted for more than three hours on account of blockades on the bridge, first by the residents of nearby Faridpur village, and later by activists of the INLD, in protest against two different issues.

The residents of Faridpur set up a blockade for about an hour in protest against the alleged inaction on the part of the police with regard to last night’s clash between supporters of the present sarpanch of the village, Dayaram, and his opposing group. About half a dozen persons from both the groups were injured in the clash in the village.

The group from the village that blocked the road were supporters of the sarpanch.

According to the police, the villagers resorted to agitation in spite of a case registered against five persons owing allegiance to the group against the sarpanch.

After the residents of Faridpur lifted the blockade, residents of half a dozen villages falling in the trans-canal area set up a blockade on the bridge in protest against the alleged poor condition of roads in their areas. They lifted the blockade after two hours.

Fatehabad, August 31
Manna Devi, a poor woman whose neonate daughter was sold by her husband in connivance with a nurse of the local General Hospital, finally got back her baby today.

An issueless couple from Meham (Rohtak), who had “purchased” the baby for adoption for Rs 5,000, came to Fatehabad today and returned the little one to her mother.

Manna Devi had created a scene in the hospital yesterday and demanded her baby to be restored.

Manna Devi had also reported the matter to the police, though no FIR has been registered in this connection so far.

The nurse, who had played a mediator in the “sale” of the baby, first tried to wash off hands of the matter, but later contacted the Meham-based couple and asked them to come to Fatehabad with the baby.

The woman waited outside the hospital throughout the night yesterday, but the couple did not turn up.

They came today and handed over the custody of the baby to Manna Devi in the Sadar Police Station.