Chandigarh, January 10
Electricity consumers in Haryana will have to shell out more for power in the next financial year. Sources said hike in power tariff was the need of the hour against the backdrop of distribution companies (discoms), the Uttar Haryana Bijli Vitran Nigam (UHBVN) and Dakshin Haryana Bijli Vitran Nigam (DHBVN), facing huge accumulated losses, loans and other liabilities amounting to Rs 16,000 crore.

The process for the hike in tariff has been set in motion and the Haryana Electricity Regulatory Commission (HERC) will announce its revised tariff order soon. The new tariff will come into force after a nod from the state government, the sources said here today.

Though the hike in the power tariff is an “unpopular” decision for the Bhupinder Singh Hooda Government, yet the rising revenue-expenditure gap of the two power utilities was a cause for concern necessitating an immediate power tariff hike in the state. Recently the discoms, which had been in the red for quite some time now, petitioned the HERC for a revision of power tariff. In the application for revision of power tariff, it was highlighted that out of the total projected revenue gap of a whopping Rs 7,755 crore for the two discoms for 2012-13, the approximate rural electrification (RE) compondent is pegged at Rs 3,421 crore for power supply of subsided electricity to the farm sector.

The sources said hike in power tariff was a part of the power sector reforms to put the power distribution companies back on the track. Since mismanagement and inefficiencies, including high aggregate technical and commercial losses (AT&C), were primarily to blame for the poor financial heath of the power utilities in the state, steps are being taken to reduce these losses.

This coupled with the realisation of huge arrears from all power consumers, including domestic, commercial, industrial and agricultural, will have to be taken care of to improve the finanicial health of the power utilities. 

Chandigarh, January 10
In a move likely to leave some Congress leaders red-faced, the resolution of the Haryana Congress seeking disciplinary action against senior leaders---union minister Selja, Rajya Sabha MP Birender Singh and state minister Kiran Choudhry--- for “sabotaging” the Hisar bypoll seems to have fallen flat.

The general secretary in charge of Haryana, BK Hariprasad, has dismissed the resolution passed by the state unit as a “complaint without any evidence attached” and indicated that the party unit might have overstepped its jurisdiction in doing so.

This comes two months after the Congress, smarting under the humiliating defeat of party candidate Jai Prakash during the Hisar parliamentary seat byelection held in October last year, passed a “unanimous” resolution in the absence of these “dissident” party leaders at a general body meeting.

On being asked about the fate of the resolution, Hariprasad, speaking over the phone from Delhi, said it was a mere “complaint against three senior leaders with no evidence attached” and nothing more.

“There is a procedure to pass a resolution which was not followed and the general house is certainly not empowered to pass resolutions. Moreover, two of the three leaders, Selja and Birender Singh, are at the Centre and cannot be proceeded against by the state unit. That power rests only with the disciplinary committee. And Kiran Choudhry, too, is a minister in Haryana,” Hariprasad stated.

Adding that there was neither a committee nor were any notices served on the three leaders, Hariprasad maintained that in the given circumstances, the “resolution” could at best be treated as a complaint. “However, I have received that, too, without any concrete evidence from the state unit. The disciplinary committee can consider it when there is some evidence available,” Hariprasad said, taking the fizz out of the high it generated for the “anti-dissident” camp within the Congress.

Stung by this response, state Congress president Phool Chand Mullana said: “The resolution was moved by the party candidate Jai Prakash and unanimously accepted by the general house at that meeting. We only forwarded it to the party in charge for action. I have no information beyond that.”

In last October, the Congress not only lost the Hisar seat but the party candidate, Jai Prakash, lost even his security deposit, triggering a blame-game within the party. On October 22, the state unit convened a meeting of the general body to introspect on the reasons for the Hisar debacle. However, the meeting ended up as a “one-sided” show with the leaders of the dissident camp in the party , accused of sabotaging the election, proceeded against in absentia.

JP had even given the central leadership one month to take action on the resolution against the leaders failing which he had threatened to sit in dharna with his supporters in Delhi till the Adampur byelection. However, these proved to be empty threats. 

Hisar, January 10
INLD Secretary-General Ajay Singh Chautala today asked partymen to go to Punjab and canvass for SAD candidates for the Punjab Vidhan Sabha.

Addressing party workers here he said it was imperative to defeat the Congress in Punjab and help SAD candidates win. A defeat for the Congress in Punjab would help root out the Bhupinder Singh Hooda government in Haryana too.

Referring to the shortage of fertilisers in Haryana he said the Hooda government was shielding blackmarketeers who had created an artificial shortage to rob farmers. This, he alleged, was being done with the connivance of Congress leaders.

He said the state was facing a shortage of all essential commodities. Housewives did not have cooking gas, there was no power and farmers were facing paucity of water for irrigation.

This, he said, reflected poorly on the state of governance in Haryana under the Congress government.

He lashed out against the government and the police for the deteriorating law and order situation in Haryana. Hisar, he said, was the most peaceful and law-abiding city of Haryana but it had emerged as the crime capital of the state under Hooda rule.

Chautala said no government department was discharging its duties towards the citizens. The parks were vanishing for want of maintenance, roads were littered with garbage and government buildings were crumbling for want of repairs. 

Chandigarh, January 10
The war of words between the Chief Minister’s camp and that of Rao Inderjit Singh, Gurgaon MP, has intensified following the public criticism of the state government by the latter at a public rally held in Mahendragarh on January 8.

So much so that Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda made a departure from his usual practice of not commenting upon dissidents within his own party today and made a scathing attack (by his standards) on the former Union Minister.

On the other hand, a prominent supporter of Inderjit Singh challenged the authority of Haryana Congress president Phool Chand Mullana to complain against Rao to the high command.

Hooda said it was possible that the personal development of some of his critics might not have taken place but the entire state had witnessed an inclusive development during the seven years of Congress rule.

It was obvious that he was referring to Inderjit Singh without naming him. Interestingly, his remarks came at Mahendragarh, the venue of Rao’s rally, where Hooda was talking to newsmen today.

Hooda went on to say that the development of the state was visible to everyone as the reality did not require any proof. The development, he said, was not visible to only those who had blindfolded their eyes. It was only because of the development of the state that the people reposed their faith in the Congress and changed the history of the state by re-electing it.

Hooda said Rs 1,421 crore had been spent on the development of Mahendergarh district during Congress rule, whereas the INLD government spent only Rs 384 crore. He said the 151 km South-West corridor, being set up at a cost of Rs 1,367 crore, would change the scenario of the district.

In a statement issued here today, Ved Prakash Vidrohi, a former spokesman of the Haryana Congress, who has now joined the Rao camp, challenged the authority of Mullana to complain against the sitting MP by calling him an “ad hoc president”. Vidrohi said if Mullana found raising of public interest issues by an MP as indiscipline, then he should explain what public interest was. Being a public representative, it was the duty of Inderjit Singh to raise legitimate demands of the public.

Vidrohi asked Mullana if he was talking of action against Inderjit Singh, “one of the tallest party leaders having popular support”, because he had questioned the working of a leader on whose benevolence Mullana “has been sticking to the chair of the party president though he had not only lost the Assembly election but also came a distant third.”

He said if the allegations of regional bias in the allocation of government jobs and resources were untrue, Mullana should come out with a list of the funds allocated for the development and the number of government jobs given to each of the 90 Assembly constituencies in the past seven years.

Chandigarh, January 9
The Haryana Government has formulated a policy to partly fund the operations of the District Rehabilitation Centres and the District Handicapped Welfare Centres run by the District Red Cross Societies and the Haryana Saket Council.

The Social Justice and Empowerment Minister, Geeta Bhukkal, said under the scheme, financial assistance would be provided in the shape of a grant-in-aid over and above the aid admissible from the "Scheme of Assistance to Disabled Persons for Purchase or Fitting of Aids and Appliances (ADIP)" and the "Scheme for the Implementation of Persons with Disabilities (Equal Opportunities, Protection of Rights and Full Participation) Act 1995 (SIPDA)" of the Union Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment.

She said all District Red Cross Societies and the Haryana Saket Council would be encouraged to establish District Disability Rehabilitation Centre in the district and apply for a grant-in-aid under the scheme for the implementation of Persons with Disabilities (Equal Opportunities, Protection of Rights and Full Participation) Act 1995 (SIPDA) of the Union Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment to promote voluntary action for Persons with Disabilities. — TNS

Chandigarh, January 10
The Punjab and Haryana High Court has directed the Fatehabad District Bar Association to pay 50 per cent of the pending electricity bill within a month to avoid disconnection and the rest within the next six months

Justice Alok Singh said the payments would, however, be subject to the Supreme Court verdict in an appeal filed by the Haryana Government against a Division Bench judgement.

In the judgment dated May 30, 2007, the high court held that Bar rooms and the library were an integral part of the Punjab and Haryana High Court building, and that the electricity bill for the Bar rooms and the library have to be paid by the High Court administration.

The Fatehabad District Bar Association filed a plea in the high court challenging the disconnection of electric supply to its bar room and library for non-payment of the electricity bill.

Their prayer was that, in view of the Division Bench judgment dated May 30, 2007, the bills have to be borne by the district courts administration. Justice Ranjit Singh directed restoration of the electricity connection vide an interim order dated November 2, 2010.

Jind, January 10
A Muslim girl and a Hindu boy left their homes and tied the knot at a distant place. The couple, who got married at a local temple, has now sought police cover for their protection.

Ravi Kumar and Sultana, now Sonia, both hailing from Sector 24-D of Chandigarh, fled from their homes to reach here to get married when they sensed tough opposition from their families and got wind of a move to marry the girl elsewhere.

While Sultana, daughter of Shabbir Hussain, changed her religion to become Sonia before tying the marital knot with Ravi at a temple in Krishna Colony here a couple of days ago, they have been given police security after they moved the court of the District and Sessions Judge to seek police protection from their kin especially from the members of family of the girl, who, it is claimed, have not been able to digest the development.

Ravi said he was employed as an attendant in a private institution in Chandigarh and had come into contact with Sultana (Sonia) at a park in Sector 37 about 10 months ago. Since then the affair was on. But he claimed that since he was a Hindu, Sultana’s family opposed it after they came to know about it. They had even fixed up her marriage elsewhere despite protests by the girl.

Sultana was running a sewing centre and agreed to flee with him when he offered to marry her at a distant place, he added. She had also changed her religion as she believed that love was above all such matters, he said, adding that they were ready for any challenge to honour their commitment to each other.

The district court today ordered the local police to provide a cover to the couple after they moved the application in the court on Monday in view of a reported threat from the kin of the girl.

They have been moved to the protection house at the Police Lines here, said the police.

Gharaunda, January 10
Miscreants fired on a youth, Sunny, near a petrol pump at Gharaunda town, 20 km from Karnal, last night. Sunny was rushed to a private hospital where he was operated upon and was now stated to be out of danger.

Sunny was going in a car along with some friends when it was overtaken by another car carrying the miscreants near the petrol pump.

The miscreants dragged Sunny out of the car and started beating him.

One of them fired from his pistol, hitting Sunny in the stomach. Some petrol pump employees who tried to intervene were scared away by the assailants.

The assailants fled after the incident. The police seized two cartridges from the spot.

Meanwhile, employees of a liquor shop at Furlak village were beaten up by Somi, Tinku and Munish when Rameshwar, a salesman, refused to give them liquor.

Rameshwar said they also snatched Rs 7,500 from him and also threatened to kill him. The police has registered a case. 

Rohtak, January 10
The police claims to have busted an inter-state gang of car thieves by arresting two persons and recovering three Bolero jeeps from their possession last evening.

The accused, identified as Jora Ram and Balwan Singh, were arrested after the police raided a place at the Sector 1 market, where they had come to sell these vehicles, said a police spokesperson.

Investigation revealed that these vehicles had been stolen and had no valid documents though fake number plates had been put on these. It is claimed that while Jora Ram hails from Jodhpur district of Rajasthan, Balwan Singh was a resident of Mahendragarh district of Haryana.

The duo were part of a gang that used to steal vehicles from Rajasthan and sell these in Haryana by using fake documents.

In another case, the police has arrested three more persons -- Satender, Pardeep and Sandeep -- in connection with the murder of Dalbir Singh, sarpanch of Naya Baans village of the district, on November 27. Five accused have already been arrested in the case. The victim had been shot dead by seven assailants at his office in Sampla. A revolver and a motorcycle have been seized from them. The main cause of the murder is reported to be rivalry over the election of the village sarpanch. 

Rewari, January 10
Excise inspector Anil Jain was caught last evening by a vigilance team while accepting a bribe of Rs 1.10 lakh from Praveen Rao, a partner in a wholesale English wine outlet ( L-2) here, for issuing a permit for 2200 cartons of English wine.

Ramesh Bishnoi, a wholesale liquor supplier here, was also arrested for his alleged role as a middleman.

They were today produced in the court of Suruchi Atreja Singh, judicial magistrate (first class), who remanded them in police custody for two days.