The Tribune, Chandigarh, India

	Some tourist complexes in the red After the closure of the complexes at Ottu and Hansi, the fate of seven others hangs in the balance Geetanjali Gayatri Tribune News Service Chandigarh, January 9 Haryana’s highway tourism, a concept introduced by former Chief minister Bansi Lal, is tottering. Stiff competition from hospitality industry coupled with the inability to innovate and adapt to change is gradually proving to be the undoing of the concept and the complexes. After the closure of the complex at Ottu and more recently at Hansi, the fate of seven other complexes hangs in the balance for being in the red continuously. This is in addition to a total of nine complexes which have shut shop over the past decade. The complexes in the red are Asa Khera, Fathehabad, Jyotisar, Sirsa, Pehowa, Jind and Bahadurgarh. While their closure is an option for these complexes which have been continuously suffering losses, the Tourism Department does not want to give up easily and is contemplating a shift to the private-public partnership (PPP) mode, partially or completely, for them. While the department officials realise that it is no longer feasible or economical to maintain and run these properties, resorting to the PPP mode is being seen as the last ditch effort to bail them out and revive them gradually. Sources said tourist complexes might not be getting as many visitors in the restaurants and rooms might be continuing to be unoccupied, but most of the 42 complexes were still in profit. This profit in the balance sheets was coming essentially from the banqueting business that had not only secured but built up the failing business of running these complexes, the sources said. The Managing Director, Tourism, Anand Mohan Sharan, said the department in the past had moved a proposal to shut down complexes which had failed to earn to break even, which was turned down by the government. “Shutting down these complexes is no solution. Their cases are being processed to see how they can be brought out of the red to make them profitable again. We are exploring how the PPP mode can be applied to these complexes to turn around their fortunes. The decision on them is still pending,” he said. A shift to the PPP mode has already been approved for the amusement park at Tiliyar and Maina complexes in Rohtak. Sharan said to keep their complexes in sync with the changing times, the department had already initiated renovation and innovation while landscaping and beautification was also being undertaken. “We have not only asked the complexes to redo their menu cards and use better and uniform cutlery but even sent out directions asking them to specialise in a particular cuisine or dish which could become their USP,” he said. Also, though no new recruitment has taken place after the chain of complexes was first opened, Sharan said the restructuring exercise would be complete by mid-January after which recruitment, too, would be opened up.
	Free legal aid service picks up in Sirsa Sushil Manav Tribune News Service Sirsa, January 9 With the setting up of the “front office” of the District Legal Service Authority (DLSA) at the district courts here, there is an increasing awareness among litigants about free legal aid provided by the authority. So far 1,740 litigants, including 325 women, had taken the benefit of free legal aid in the district courts at Sirsa, said the District and Sessions Judge Subhash Goyal, who is also the chairman of the DSLA. The Haryana State Legal Services Authority (HSLSA) had recently formulated a scheme of setting up "front office" in all the districts of the state to provide free and competent legal services to the people. Sirsa is among the districts, which took steps to set up the “front office” soon after the implementation of the scheme. Under the scheme, each DLSAs and Sub-Division Legal Committees (SDLCs) was to prepare panel of lawyers as per Regulation 8 of the National Legal Services Authority (Free Competent Legal Services) Regulations, 2010. As per this Regulation, Haryana State Legal Services Authority had designated 10 empanelled advocates of DLSA and five empanelled advocates of SDLSC as retainer on rotation basis in each district and in each sub-division of the state. “The DLSA has empanelled advocates Balbir Kaur Gandhi, Monica Sharma, Shingara Singh, Gaurav Sharma, Sandeep Kamboj, Neeraj Kumar Narula, Yogesh Modi, Pawan Kumar Berwal, Amit Goyal and Hanuman Singh, who, by rotation sit in the “front office”, where a number of litigants visit daily to benefit from their services,” said Naresh Singhal, Chief Judicial Magistrate, Sirsa, and secretary of the DLSA. He said the HALSA had opened legal services helpline in the head office as well as in all the DLSAs. All citizens desirous of legal advice could personally visit this office or call helpline number 0172-2604055 for getting free legal advice for their cases. The District Legal Services Authority has also set up its helpline where people can dial up and get information on legal matters from the advocates appointed by the authority. In Sirsa, Singhal said the helpline number 01666-247002 had been functioning. An official of the authority had been deputed to remain present in the Helpline office from 9 am to 12 pm on all the working days to ensure the services of an empanelled advocate of the State Legal Services Authority/District Legal Services Authority on telephone for legal advice to the citizens for resolving their problems. Recently, the HALSA had also started toll free telephone helpline no. 1800-180-2057 on which any person from any part of the state could seek information about legal services free of cost, he added.
	Power Cuts Chulhas come to the rescue of Rohtak residents Bijendra Ahlawat Tribune News Service Rohtak, January 9 In view of the long and frequent power cuts, the people here have switched over to the age-old practice of using firewood and cow dung for heating water and preparing food. Rohtak has been among those districts which have been witnessing power cuts for about 8 to 12 hours daily in the urban areas nowadays. “We have been dependent on wood and cow dung in view of the acute power shortage for the past one month,” said Seema, a housewife from Prem Nagar. She said these traditional sources were not only cheaper but also helped the family members in maintaining their daily routine despite frequent power cuts. “I have set up a chulha in the open yard of my house for boiling water and preparing food which has been quite handy in view of the cold weather,” she added. “Cow dung cakes and wood are easily available and are cost effective,” said Sunita, a resident of Janata colony. She said it was perhaps the chulha which had still been relevant for a majority of the housewives in view of the frequent power cuts. The problem of power shortage had made the residents look for such alternatives as there was hardly any option left for them, said Sunil, a resident of the town. He alleged that black marketing of gas cylinders had resulted in inconvenience to many consumers who had single cylinder connections as the demand had grown up sharply during this season. “One can end up paying additional Rs 250 to Rs 400 per cylinder these days,” he added. However, the authorities claimed that there was no shortage of gas supply in the city. The waiting period for a refil had also gone up to three weeks, said sources in the Civil Supplies Department.
	Revenue records to be digitised, updated Tribune News Service Chandigarh, January 9 The entire revenue record of the state will be digitised and updated using high-resolution satellite imagery. Revenue and Disaster Management Minister Mahender Partap Singh said here recently that all “mussavis” available at the district headquarters would be digitised in a GIS environment and the same would be updated by the respective village patwaris using the “sajra” maps and other land records available with them. The updated maps would be geo-referenced using the benchmark ground control points being identified and fixed in the entire state using advanced technology of Differential Global Positioning System (DGPS). Finally, a seamless database of the land records would be prepared for the entire state. The geo-referenced 0.5 meter resolution World View (WV) satellite data was being acquired for the entire state, which would be overlaid on the digitised cadastral maps used to correct inaccuracies in the data. This overlaying would also create the latest database about the land use, forestry, geomorphology, soil, water prospects and land degradation for each acre of land in the state. He said besides the preservation and permanence of records, this information could be used in land value assessment, field level soil health cards, smart cards for farmers to facilitate e-governance and e-banking, settlement of compensation claims, land acquisition and rehabilitation, crop insurance, grant of agricultural subsidies, etc. As of now, HALRIS software was being used in the state for registration of land deeds. Integration of the database to be created in the current project would streamline the land revenue administration as the system would be temper proof with easy availability of data. He said the state had taken a lead in the modernisation of land records by digitising the cadastral maps for better land management. He said the main objective of the project was to develop a modern, comprehensive and transparent land records management system in the state.
	Snags mar functioning of new sugar mill Bijendra Ahlawat Tribune News Service Rohtak, January 9 The new and hi-tech sugar mill produces 73,000 quintals of sugar by crushing 9,87,000 quintals of sugarcane, while the old one produces 58,125 quintals of sugar using 8,23,350 quintals of sugarcane during this period. Though there is hardly a significant difference in the average of sugarcane used in the production of sugar, the old one continues to work without any snag, but the new one’s functioning is marked by breakdowns. This is the picture of the production of sugar mills located at Rohtak and Jind, respectively, in the current sugarcane crushing season. While both of them appear to be behind the target of achieving a produce of 10 kg of sugar per quintal of sugarcane, hurdles in the functioning of the new sugar mill at Rohtak have been a cause of concern. The mill was set up at a cost of around Rs 300 crore and it is the second crushing season for the mill. Though the authorities claimed that the mill was functioning well, it was perhaps the first time the mill worked for six days (January 1 to January 6) in continuity and without any breakdown enabling it to produce about 13,750 quintals of sugar by using 1,93,500 quintals of sugarcane during this period. Breakdowns in the Rohtak sugar mill have been marked by protests by farmers, who had alleged that the use of substandard machinery parts was a cause of frequent breakdowns. The mill had allegedly disposed of several tonnes of sheera (raw sugar material) as waste in the nearby drain due to some snag a few weeks ago, said a farmer. Such a disposal was also done last year, he added. The sugar mill authorities claimed that a majority of issues concerning the mill had been sorted out and the mill was functioning without any problem at present. The sugar mill here had also generated power worth Rs 2.13 crore during the current season so far, said a spokesperson of the mill.
	State politics to take new turn, says MP Ravinder Saini Jhajjar, January 9 Deepender Singh Hooda, Member of Parliament (MP) from Rohtak, said the politics in Haryana was going to take a new turn in near future. On one hand, there would be people who would do their utmost to maintain their political existence by dividing society on the basis of caste and region and on the other, there would be those who would talk of good governance, honesty and development. Deepender was addressing a meeting of the party workers of the Jhajjar constituency here recently. He said during the past seven years, the state had witnessed unprecedented development in all sectors, but the opposition parties were not digesting this development and prosperity of the state. The MP said Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda would visit the Jhajjar Assembly constituency on January 15 to inaugurate and lay foundation stone of a number of projects of crores of rupees. He would also announce a number of new development projects for the area. While referring to the statistics of the 12th Five Year Plan (2007-2012) issued by the Planning Commission, he said in terms of development, Haryana ranked among three leading states in the country. “The state has witnessed this holistic development due to path-breaking policies implemented by the state government in the field of education, agriculture, industries, sports and infrastructure. During the 12th Five Year Plan, the average growth rate in the country stood at 11 per cent, whereas Haryana ranked first with 11.6 per cent growth rate, which is a befitting reply to those who allege that the state government undertook development works only in a specified area,” said Deepender. Lashing out at the opposition parties, he said southern Haryana had been ignored continuously since its inception in 1966. However, Bhupinder Singh Hooda after taking over the charge of the administration as a Chief Minister conceded all major demands of southern Haryana, including Ahirwal. Two universities, regional centre Kanina and a college at Mahendergarh were set up, besides upgrading a number of ITIs and schools. The preceding government constructed a three-room building at Sirsa in the name of a university, he added. He said the OPD service would soon be started in the AIIMS extension being set up at Badhsa. “I had met Union Health Minister Ghulam Nabi Azad and suggested that OPD services should be started on a priority basis in the building already constructed. The Union Health Minister had agreed to his suggestion,” said the MP. Later while interacting with mediapersons at the local residence of Education Minister Geeta Bhukkal, Deepender Hooda said 10 railway over bridges (ROBs) had been sanctioned in the country during the current financial year, of which four ROBs had been sanctioned for Haryana. A number of new projects would be implemented this year, he added.
	Ambala, Y’nagar students excel in MBA, BTech exams Attar Singh Tribune News Service Ambala/Yamunanagar, January 9 Students of the Galaxy Global Group of Institutions, Dinarpur, Ambala, did their college proud by scoring high in MBA and BTech, 2nd semester exam held by Kurukshetra University. Anshu Goel of MBA 2nd semester stood first in the college scoring 80 per cent, Daljeet Singh of 2nd semester, B.Tech (ME), scored 78.82 per cent, Rachita Kansal scored 78.14 per cent in BTech (CSE), Vipin scored 76.09 per cent in ECE while Ashish Sharma of the university scored 70.24 per cent in CE. As many as 20 students have scored more than 70 per cent marks. Vinod Goel, chairman of the Galaxy Global Group of Institutions, congratulated the toppers. Meanwhile, Kurukshetra University declared the results of its second semester exams. The New Vision Global School of Business, Ambala, has shown remarkable performance by achieving 100 per cent results. Mamta got the first position by securing 528 marks while Amarpreet and Sakshi got second and third position by securing 521 and 519 marks, respectively. Dr Sanjeev Chaddha, director of the college, congratulated the students and motivated them to keep their spirits high and come up with flying colours in future also. Mamta, topper of the college, said the credit for her success goes to her parents and teachers. She said the college organised various guest lectures on all the subjects which helped her in getting the in depth knowledge of all subjects. Meanwhile, the Yamuna Group of Institutions once again marked its presence in the region. The result of MBA-II semester had been declared by the university. Jasbeer Kaur and Nova got merit positions and scored 78 per cent and 76 per cent, respectively, while Manisha and Shilpa got 73 per cent and 72 per cent, respectively. Dr Sarvjeet Kaur, director, Yamuna Group of Institutions, congratulated the faculty members, students and their parents.
	Enrolment of pupils rises at slum dwellers’ school Nawal Kishore Rastogi Rewari, January 9 The enrolment of students, all children of slum dwellers of sector 4, which stood at 30 in Sandeep Narang Jhuggi Jhopdi (SNJJ) School at its inception in a government park in sector 4 here in September 2010, has now doubled due to the dedicated efforts put in by its founder Narender Gugnani during the past 16 months. Moved by the plight of the children of slum dwellers, who are migrant labourers of various parts of Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh as well as some nomadic families, Narender Gugnani (46), who runs his private finance and investment business here, set up SNJJ School in memory of his nephew (sister’s son) Sandeep Narang (28) who died in a road accident about three years ago. With 60 students, including 35 boys and 25 girls in the age group of 5-14 years, and with a four-member teaching staff comprising two salaried lady teachers and two male office assistants, the school has been running in the open area of the above park under Gugnani’s patronage. Recounting the odds, Gugnani said while they had to make assiduous endeavours to gain the concurrence of the parents, who are engaged as contractual workers in various ongoing development works here, they had also to put in more serious efforts to wean away many of the children from their deep-rooted addictions to rag-picking, begging alms, smoking, tobacco chewing and other such things. Similarly, mentioning about adherence to their mission of moulding such children into literate and effective members of society, he talked about some other problems being faced by them. Stating that while a major part of the financial expenses on the school was being borne by him, he said the recent provision of school dress, sweaters, blankets, books, stationery items, potable drinking water and other such things by voluntary organisations and altruistic individuals had made it convenient for the children to pursue their literacy programme here without any hassles. Gugnani further said it was all more gratifying that Rewari’s prominent dental surgeon Sanjay Chauhan, along with his assistant Dr Jyoti Yadav, recently held a camp in which dental check-up of the children was conducted free of charge. Dr Chauhan was delighted to find that while over 45 children had no dental complaint, only about 12 children suffered from minor dental ailments. Attributing the immunity of these 45 children from dental ailments to non-consumption of junk food that was fortunately beyond their reach, Dr Chauhan announced that the 12 other children, suffering from dental disorders, would be treated free of cost at his clinic here.
	Acquisition of land for Education City Govt holds meeting to convince farmers BS Malik Sonepat, January 9 Taking a serious note of the ongoing agitation of the farmers whose land had been acquired for setting up Rajiv Gandhi Education City, the Director General of the Town and Country Planning Department of the Haryana Government, TC Gupta, held a meeting with the farmers on January 6 at PWD rest house, Rai, to convince them that the rate of the acquired land had been increased from Rs 12.50 per acre to Rs 45.15 per acre. He also clarified that they need not withdraw their case pending in the court for demanding hike in the acquisition rates. He asked the farmers to complete all the formalities of receiving the enhanced amount of the acquired land by January 31. In the meeting, Congress MLA from Rai Jai Tirth Dahiya said during the Assembly elections he had promised that he would get the acquisition amount increased and it had been done. He said most of the farmers were happy with the enhancement and urged them to take the enhanced amount. However, the agitating farmers refused to lift their dharna until their demands, including payment at the market rates, government service to one member of their family and a residential plot in HUDA’s sector, were accepted by the government. The Commissioner of Rohtak division, Suprabha Dahiya, Additional Deputy Commissioner, PS Chauhan, SDM-cum-estate officer, HUDA, Jag Niwas, and other officers of the HUDA and the Revenue Department were present at the meeting. However, the government had acquired 2,006 acres of land of Badhkhalsa, Badhmalik, Jakholi, Patla, Sevli, Bahalgarh, Khewra, Firozpur Khadar and Asawarpur in 2006 at the acquisition rate of Rs 12.50 lakh per acre. Most of the farmers of these villages, except the farmers of Badhkhalsa village, had received the payment and filed a case for enhancement. But the farmers of these villages started indefinite dharnas at Beeswan Meel Chowk and near Badhkhalsa village under the banner of “Bhoomi Adhgrahan Virodhi Sangharsh Samiti” three months ago for their demands.
	Efforts to be made to organise Indian History Congress in Panipat Tribune News Service Panipat, January 9 Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda has assured that efforts would be made to organise the next Indian History Congress in Panipat. The Panipat Foundation has also announced scholarships to those who will research and study the socio-economic aspects of the historic town on the completion of 250 years of the third battle of Panipat. The Chief Minister and the Panipat Foundation made these announcements on the occasion of the Panipat Mahotsav organised jointly by the district administration, Panipat, and Panipat Foundation at Kala Amb near Panipat to mark the completion of 250 years of the battle of Panipat here. He said the sacrifices of Marathas could never be forgotten. Hooda said all the three important battles were fought at this place which changed the course of the Indian history. He lauded the efforts of the Panipat Foundation for organising the event which would make the people aware about the historical importance of the place. He also announced a grant of Rs 5 lakh from his discretionary fund for the foundation. Karnal MP Arvind Sharma lauded the efforts of the Panipat Foundation for taking new initiatives to enrich the coming generation about the social, economical, religious impacts of the three battles of Panipat and announced a grant of Rs 5 lakh from his MPLAD fund for the foundation. Chief Conservator of Panipat Foundation Ajit Balaji Joshi announced that scholarship of Rs 25,000 would be given to those who would study the socio-economic effects of the three battles of Panipat on Northern India, scholarship of Rs 25,000 would be given to the scholar who would study the history of Bu-Ali-Shah Qalandar Sahib Sufi Saint and Sufiyana culture and scholarship of Rs 50,000 would be given to research scholar for doing PhD on the historical importance of Panipat. On behalf of the foundation, the Chief Minister also honoured five war widows during the function by presenting shawls and cheques of Rs 10,000 each to them. Those who were honoured included Nanhi Devi, wife of constable Hari Chand, who attained martyrdom during Operation Naga, Santosh Devi, wife of Mahabir Singh, who attained martyrdom while fighting during the 1971 Indo-Pak War, Sudesh Devi, wife of Dilbag Singh, who attained martyrdom during the Operation Rakshak, Sheela Devi, wife of Satbir Singh, who attained martyrdom during the Operation Vijay and Santosh Devi, wife of Raghubir Singh, who attained martyrdom during the Operation Rakshak. Earlier the Chief Minister laid the foundation stone of “Maharashtra-Haryana Maitri Dwar” at the Panipat-Shamli road and laid floral wreath at the Martyr Memorial. He also inaugurated the art exhibition at the Panipat Mahotsav.
	More than 50,000 families to celebrate Lohri for newborn girls Bhanu P. Lohumi Tribune News Service Karnal, January 9 Following a unique initiative to eradicate foeticide and disparity between girl and boy child, more than 50,000 families in the state with girl child born last year would celebrate Lohri of their newborn girls on January 14. In 2006, 114 parents of Karnal district came forward to fight with this centuries-old discriminatory tradition by celebrating Lohri on the birth of their newborn girls. Last year, Lohri of more than 10,000 girls was celebrated throughout the state and in Karnal only, more than 2,000 newborn girls with their parents participated in “Lohri Beti Ke Naam”. The longest-ever pram walk with more than 500 women from different parts of Haryana carrying children in the pram was the highlight of the last year’s Lohri celebrations. To propagate the message of gender equality, the National Integrated Forum of Artists and Activists (NIFAA) in collaboration with the Haryana Chapter of Indian Academy of Pediatrics and the Haryana Medical Representative Association have already started the awareness campaign in all 21 districts of Haryana, Chandigarh and Delhi. A function would be organised at SBS Senior Secondary School Karnal on January 14. The parents would also undertake a pledge to keep their girl child at par with boys and provide equal rights and opportunities to their girls. The parents would also be given a certificate which would provide benefits like concession in OPD fees with selected child specialists and concession in fees during admission in selected schools. Cash benefits of more than Rs 50,000 in form of FDRs would also be given through lucky draw and 100 families would also be provided free group insurance policies with a risk cover of Rs 75,000 to each head of the family, NIFAA chairman Pritpal Singh Pannu said.
	Next year’s Budget to be pro-people: CM Bhanu P. Lohumi Tribune News Service Dadlana, (Karnal/Panipat), January 9 With the general Assembly elections nearly three years away, Haryana Chief Minister BS Hooda recently said next year’s Budget of the state would be “pro-people” and benefit all sections of society. Interacting with the media after inaugurating a community health centre, Maharana Pratap Stadium and 33-KV power substation here, he said the Budget would benefit all sections, including poor, farmers, labourers, employees and traders. Later, addressing a public meeting at Dadlana village, Hooda said the village, which had been benefited with the setting up of an oil refinery, would be developed as a modern village. Referring to the demand regarding jobs to the local youths in the refinery, he said it was possible that the condition to provide jobs to the local people might not have been incorporated when the refinery was set up. He assured that the demand would be taken up with the authorities concerned. The other demands like setting up of an ITI with relevant courses for the oil refinery needs, sports nursery in kabaddi, volleyball and athletics and adoption of the local CHC by the oil refinery would also be considered favourable, he added. “The government has already taken up many initiatives to provide job opportunities and many more steps will be taken up soon,” he said, adding that recently, a survey conducted by India Today had conferred top award to Haryana in the field of education and health. He also laid foundation stone of Lala Deshbandhu Gupta Government College at Sector-18, Panipat, polytechnic at Jatal village and veterinary hospital at Dadlana village. Hooda said the college being set up over an area of 10.05 acre with an investment of Rs 14.34 crore and intake of 1,500 students would benefit the students of the adjoining areas of Panipat. “The Community Health Centre, Dadlana has been constructed at a cost of Rs 4.5 crore over an area of 32 kanal and 11 doctors and 19 staff nurses have been sanctioned for the CHC and the hospital that will have modern medical facilities, including operation theatre, ultrasound, laboratory, X-ray, dental care and delivery,” he added.
	Workshop on RTI, Citizens’ Charter held Ravinder Saini Jhajjar, January 9 In order to discuss the present scenario of the RTI Act and Citizens’ Charter, besides apprising the district administrative officers of various provisions of the act, a three-day workshop was organised by the regional centre of the Haryana Institute of Public Administration (HIPA) at DRDA Conference Hall here recently. Officers of the district education, health, PWD & BR and Agriculture Department took part in the workshop. While addressing the inaugural function of the workshop, Prof SS Chahar said the idea of introducing the Right to Information was to enable the citizens to thoroughly participate in the process of governance and not merely during the elections. There was a need to democratise the information for which a nation-wide network was to be developed, he said. “The RTI Act has come into force in 2005 to provide information to every citizen on various aspects of administration within a period of 30 days. Moreover, anyone can inspect the records of office and can seek file notings on important administrative decisions. The need is to get the participation of maximum people for its effective implementation,” said Prof Chahar. The Citizens’ Charter was another instrument to strengthen the RTI process as it stands for the entitlement of service, quality service, cost of service and timeframe for providing the service. In case of failure, public functionaries can be held accountable by taking disciplinary action, including the fine. The need is to publicise the module of Citizens’ Charter among the common masses and get it publish at a bigger scale, he maintained. “A sense of public service, dedication to the nation, sensitivity, punctuality, honesty, work ethics, mobility, spontaneity and continuity in the public functionary are also required to deal with the malpractices and corruption in the administrative system,” he said. He said the RTI, Citizens’ Charter and ethical codes were complementary to each other in introducing the concept of good governance in the country. The workshop was conducted by DN Chahal, principal-director of the regional centre of the HIPA.
	Chapter on RTI to be included in school, college curricula Tribune News Service Chandigarh, January 9 The Haryana Education Department will add a chapter on the Right to Information (RTI) Act, 2005 in curricula of schools and colleges. While stating this here recently, Chief Secretary Urvashi Gulati said this was one of the several steps taken to make the administration transparent and enable the people, especially the younger generation, to take advantage of the Act. Gulati said all departments of the state had been directed to prepare their Citizens’ Charters to improve performance in service delivery as well as to provide service which meets people’s needs. The Citizens’ Charters of 111 departments and organisations had so far been formulated and the charters of the remaining departments and organisations were in the process of being framed. She said website www.rti.gov.in had been launched to electronically make available all formats of applications and rules under the Act for the public convenience. A website was being developed to facilitate the general public to file applications for obtaining information under RTI Act, 2005.
	Partial registration ban slows down property business Bijendra Ahlawat Tribune News Service Rohtak, January 9 Resentment prevailed among a majority of property dealers over the ongoing ban on the registration of landed property in unauthorised and unrecognised residential areas. The ban has resulted not only in the slow down of the real estate business but also in the decrease of revenue to the state government coffers. Hundreds of people engaged in the real estate business had staged a demonstration here a few days ago demanding lifting of the ban on the registration work that had been introduced about six months ago. The officials of the Revenue Department, however, claimed that the ban was only for the registration of land or property lying in the unauthorised areas or colonies only and not in the recognised sectors. The registration in the authorised areas had been on but it required NoC of the Town and Country Planning Department in the HUDA sectors and a certificate from the municipal council in colonies coming under its jurisdiction, said district revenue officer Ajit Singh. Admitting that there could be loss in the income or the revenue generated through the process, he said the ban had been primarily meant to prevent growth of unauthorised residential colonies in the city and the district. He added that such a ban had been existent all over the state. However, a spokesperson of the Rohtak Property Dealers Association said the ban had not only dashed the hopes of a large number of residents who had either constructed houses or were in the process of doing so, but had also hit hundreds of families due to the loss of work and business. The government had also lost several crores of rupees in form of the registration charges during the ban period, said Naresh Kumar, a property agent. Mahesh, another agent, said the government could deny the right of having a house of own to the residents as a majority of them could not afford to buy in authorised colonies due to exorbitant land rates. Thousands of applicants had been waiting for the ban to end as there had been an unusual delay in the work leading to severe loss to the public as well as the government, he added. Meanwhile, the HUDA had invited applications for around 480 residential plots in sector 5 here for which the number of applicants were likely to be in several lakhs, an official said.
	Road Safety Week observed Our Correspondents Sonepat, January 9 Road Safety Week was observed at the Deenbandhu Chhotu Ram University of Science and Technology, Murthal, Sonepat, from January 1 to January 7, to create awareness among road users. The university also organised an exhibition regarding the road safety and the requisite measures for the commuters. Vice-Chancellor of the university HS Chahal and technical member of the National Highways Authority of India VP Patkar distributed 124 helmets free of cost among two-wheeler riders of the nearby villages on January 6 at the entrance junction of the university. Chahal also expressed concern over the increasing number of road mishaps in the state. He said tractor-trolleys were unsafe as there were no tail lights in these vehicles. Therefore, the university had started pasting reflective tapes free of cost on the back of tractor-trolleys of the nearby villages so that these vehicles could be easily visible during night and foggy conditions. It is worth mentioning here that the university has also started a Centre for Excellence in Highway Safety, which is first-of-its-kind in Asia. The centre would comprise of a live traffic park and a trauma centre, along with the education research and consultancy in the area of Highway Safety and Engineering. KAITHAL: Road Safety Week was observed by the civil and the police administration in the district. A number of programmes were organised to create awareness among the masses about road safety. In one such programme, ADC PK Sharma flagged off a rally of 100 motorcyclists. The rally after passing through Chhatrawas road, Bhagat Singh Chowk, Chandana Gate, Partap Gate, Siwan Gate, Hind Cinema, and Committee Chowk culminated at the old bus stand where a play highlighting the need of road safety was presented by the members of Bhana Club. ADC Sharma said due to an increase in the number of vehicles during the past few years, the subject of road safety had become very important as many lives were lost every month as a result of road mishaps. He said this loss could be avoided if road users observed traffic rules and avoided rash driving.
	Ambala school celebrates silver jubilee Our Correspondent Ambala, January 9 PKR Jain Public School, Ambala City, organised its silver jubilee function here recently. A mega cultural show was presented on the occasion. Former Union Minister and local MLA Vinod Sharma was the chief guest whereas the founder president of its management committee, Vijay Kumar Jain, presided over the function. The chief guest inaugurated the function by lighting the holy lamp. Senior functionaries of the school management Ratan Chand Jain, Bharat Bhushan Jain, Arun Kumar Jain and Ashok Jain were also present on the occasion. Besides various folk songs, the students presented radium dance, Krishna leela and Haryanavi dance. Classical dances and a fashion show were the main attraction of the function. A skit on environment was also presented by the students. Principal of the school Jiyotsna Sachdeva presented the annual report in which she briefed the achievements of the school in academics and other fields. While addressing the students, Vinod Sharma said the Jain institutions had been playing an important role in the field of education. He said schools should introduce moral education so that students should become honest and responsible citizens. He asked the students to take part in games and cultural activities besides studies.
	US students visit Kaithal varsity Our Correspondent Kaithal, January 9 A group of students accompanied by Prof Daniel Hastings from MIT (Massachusetts Institute of Technology) Cambridge, US, visited NIILM University, Kaithal, here recently. Prof Daniel, while addressing students, said the purpose of their visit was to study the diversity and curriculum of NIILM University with emphasis on culture, religion and lifestyle of Indian society. They have come to the campus to know about the educational system followed here, he added. He exhorted the students to work hard and dedicate themselves to study and build self-confidence. MIT students interacted with the students of NIILM University. Two visiting students Dans Borgnia and Edan Krolewicz said they were impressed with the peaceful environment and academic atmosphere at NIILM. Students from Uganda studying in NIILM opened the cultural event with a welcome song. Dr Suresh Sachdev, Vice-Chancellor, NIILM University, talked about students’ activities, faculty, organising and participating in international conferences, seminars and symposia, organising workshops in various fields like business and management, science and technology, arts and culture, explorations for innovations in international education, research and consulting, management development programmes. Dr Rita Sachdev, Pro-Vice-Chancellor, faculty members and students had a long interaction with the visitors. Vinay Rai of Rai Foundation, Delhi, was also present on the occasion.
	Farmers sell cotton worth over Rs 756 cr Sirsa, January 9 Notwithstanding the lower prices of cotton this year as compared to the last year, farmers in Sirsa have so far sold cotton of worth Rs 756.20 crore in various mandis of the district. An official spokesperson said the district has ranked at the top in the arrival of cotton in the mandis. He said cotton was sown over an area of 2.10 lakh hectares in the district and this was more than the target fixed by the Agriculture Department. Last year, cotton was cultivated over an area of 1.89 lakh hectares in the district. He said in the entire state, cotton was sown over an area of 5.98 lakh hectare with Sirsa district covering more than 35 per cent of the area this year. He said as against the production of 19.5 quintal per hectare last year, this year a target to get production of 24 quintal per hectare had been fixed by the agriculture authorities. — TNS
	NDRI to train 660 dairy farmers from Bihar Tribune News Service Karnal, January 9 More than 660 dairy farmers from Bihar will be imparted training in clean milk production through 22 programmes by the National Dairy Research Institute (NDRI) this year. The training programmes will be sponsored by the Directorate for Dairy Development, Patna, and the Krishi Vigyan Kendra and the Dairy Training Centre of the NDRI will organise these, according to the Director, NDRI, Dr AK Srivastava. Thirty farmers of Araria district in Bihar were shown and explained the best management practices regarding the rearing of cattle to obtain clean milk production and imparted training in scientific dairy farming that encompassed improved breeding, feeding, healthcare, management and clean milk production by experts in the first training session organised this week. The farmers were also explained the feeding practices of dairy cattle in the institute cattle yard and at different dairy farms in villages and demonstrations on clean milk production using machine milking were organised, he added. Programme Coordinator Dalip K. Gosain said the farmers should share the learnt technologies with other dairy farmers in their districts. Dairying, he said, had immense potential in Bihar.
	Minister reviews development projects Our Correspondent Rewari, January 9 Senior district officials and BDPOs participated in a meeting of the District Planning Committee (DPC) held at the district secretariat here recently. Presiding over the meeting, Power, Forest and Environment Minister Capt Ajay Singh Yadav said while a number of development projects had already been accomplished in rural and urban areas of the district, work on various other development works was still in progress. The minister directed the BDPOs to see that all the ongoing development works in various villages of Bawal, Rewari, Jatusana, Khol and Nahar blocks of the district should be completed by March 15. He also asked Deputy Commissioner-cum-chairman of the DPC CG Rajnikanthan as well as ADC-cum-secretary Mahender Singh Yadav to appoint one senior officer each to supervise the ongoing construction work in the above five blocks. The Deputy Commissioner assured the minister that the instructions would be followed in letter and in spirit and the works would be executed within the set time-frame.
	National Pharmacy Week concludes Yamunanagar, January 9 The 50th National Pharmacy Week concluded recently at the Ganpati Institute of Pharmacy, Bilaspur, Yamunanagar. Chattar Singh Kashyap, chairman of the institute, was the chief guest at the function. Addressing students, he highlighted the responsibilities and duties associated with the profession of pharmacy in the contemporary times. During the week-long programme, a free blood group test and haemoglobin check-up camp was organised by the students of the institute. In addition, mehndi, rangoli, debate and poster-making competitions were also held there. Paramjeet Singh, coordinator of the Red Cross Society, delivered lectures on foeticide, HIV awareness and importance of blood donation. Prof Jagmohan Oberoi, director, Corporate Networking and Placement Cell, urged the students to participate in the noble cause of blood donation and also emphasised the need of first aid. — TNS
	Kharkhoda school bags inter-cricket academy championship Our Correspondent Sonepat, January 9 The cricket team from Pratap High School, Kharkhoda, has bagged the six-day All-India Inter Cricket Academy (Under-15) championship concluded at Hyderabad recently. The team was accorded a warm welcome on its arrival in the school by college principal Dharam Prakash Arya, school manager Sat Prakash Numberdar, educationist Kishori Lal Gupta, coach Pramod Chauhan and Sarwar Sangwan and school teachers and students. According to the principal, the school team represented Haryana in the championship and was included in the one group with other teams from Bangalore, Kolkata and Mumbai. The teams from Hyderabad, Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh and Tamil Nadu were in the other group. The school team reached the final after winning all three league matches and from other group, Hyderabad reached the final. In the final, Hyderabad team scored 144 runs in the allotted 25-over match. The target was easily achieved by the Kharkhoda school team by scoring 146 runs for the loss of six wickets in 23 over. Rahul Dahiya of the school was adjudged the best bowler for taking 12 wickets in four matches. Praveen Dabas of the school was declared the best batsman of the championship for scoring 214 runs in four matches, the principal added.