New Delhi, February 9
The Supreme Court has set aside a Punjab and Haryana High Court order in a case relating to the National Highway Authority of India (NHAI) changing the site for the construction of a foot over bridge (FOB) on NH-8 in Gurgaon district allegedly for sparing the land of Aarti Singh, grand-daughter of former Haryana Chief Minister Rao Birender Singh, and daughter of Rao Inderjit Singh, MP from the city.

A Bench comprising Justices GS Singhvi and SJ Mukhopadhaya has, however, sent back the case to the high court for hearing it afresh in the light of additional documents provided by the petitioners, Devinder Pal Singh and Pratap Singh, whose land was acquired following the change in the FOB’s location.

In an order passed yesterday, the apex court asked the high court to dispose of the case within eight weeks. It also directed the petitioners and the respondents - NHAI, Land Acquisition Officer, Aarti and Rao Inderjit Singh - to file additional affidavits and documents in the high court within six weeks.

The petitioners had come to the SC challenging the January 5, 2011, order of the high court by which it had dismissed their plea against the acquisition of their land and the notification issued in this connection.

Appearing for the petitioners, counsel RK Kapoor contended that the NHAI had planned to construct the FOB at a point 37 km from Delhi for the benefit of the residents of Khandsa and another village and had issued a notification on May 19, 2009, under Section 3A of the NH Act, 1950, for acquisition of land for the purpose.

The NHAI changed its plan subsequently and shifted the FOB’s location at a point 36.71 km from Delhi and issued another notification on February 26, 2010, for land acquisition disregarding the fact that it was illegal to do so when the earlier notification was still valid.

Kapoor contended that Aarti’s land did not have any constructions on it as submitted by the NHAI. On the other hand, his clients’ land had buildings on it and not vacant as shown by the NHAI.

Further, the FOB would be useful to the two villages only at 37 km from Delhi and not at 36.71 km, Kapoor pointed out showing the map submitted by the NHAI. 

Panipat, February 9
Administering hepatitis B vaccine to over 300 residents of Shehmalpur village has landed a Kanpur-based NGO in the dock as a large number of villagers fell ill after getting immunised at the vaccination camp, organised here in November and December last year.

The matter came to light when the villagers formed a joint action committee, which moved a local court and got the NGO served with a legal notice. The villagers alleged that after getting vaccinated during the camps organised by Jan Samaj Chetna, a large number of villagers contracted infections and fell ill.

It is learnt that over 300 villagers were administered vaccination in two doses. Though there were no reports of anyone falling ill after the first dose, more than 40 persons developed infections after receiving the second dose of the vaccine.

Jai Deep, one of the sufferers, said he had developed a severe infection in his left arm for which he had to undergo elaborate treatment at great expanse. He alleged that the NGO had charged Rs 30 per injection from all those who underwent immunisation.

Meanwhile, Deputy Commissioner JS Ahlawat said that in view of the gravity of the situation, he had asked the Civil Surgeon to look into the matter and submit a report.

Following this, a team of three experts under senior drug controller of Karnal zone Padam Singh Rathi visited the village today and inspected those who had developed infections after getting vaccinated. The senior drug controller said the department had already got in touch with the project director of the NGO and asked him to produce before them the documents related to the grant of permission to hold the vaccination camps and the vaccination that had been used by them. He said a detailed report was being prepared that would be sent to higher officials of the department and further action would be taken according to the law.

Meanwhile, Upinder Kumar, project director of the NGO, told The Tribune from Lucknow that after the matter came to the NGO’s notice, they had approached the villagers and offered them medical help. He, however, claimed that the matter had been blown out of proportion as it was only a local infection that could have occurred in a few cases.

The Civil Surgeon, Dr HS Randhawa, who had granted permission to the NGO for holding the vaccination camps, was not available for comments over the development. 

Gurgaon, February 9
Three police officials who allegedly allowed a youth to get thrashed to death and remained mute spectators to the crime have been placed under suspension following charges of gross negligence of duty. The suspended cops include Vedpal, Shripal and Harish. A departmental inquiry has also been instituted.

Meanwhile, the police has also arrested five persons — Sarju, Shakir, Mubarak, Jumma and Ismail — in connection with the case. They were remanded in police custody for two days by a local court today.

Vijender, 25, who worked as a driver in Gurgaon, was beaten to death by a group of marriage party members on the Gurgaon-Alwar road on Tuesday night. He was returning home along with his younger brother and a friend. They stopped at Sohna and Vijender went to a roadside shop to get a bottle of water. He got involved in an altercation with members of a marriage party who thrashed him brutally.

It was alleged that the police personnel manning the PCR van stationed at the scene of crime first ignored the victim’s brother’s request to intervene and save his life.

The injured youth was rushed to a nearby hospital, but he could not be saved.

Rohtak, February 9
The burning of leaves of sugarcane crop in some parts of the district has resulted in pollution as well as risk to the movement of traffic on the roads adjoining the fields. Rohtak district and its neighbouring areas have a bumper sugarcane crop this season. Though it is illegal to burn the crop residual in such a manner, the authorities are still to come up with any advisory or ban on such activity.

“The burning of wheat and paddy stubble is common in summer and pre-winter period in the region as many farmers who don’t use the stubble or leaves as fodder for the cattle prefer to burn it on the fields,” said Ranbir Singh, a resident of Mokhra village. He said while many farmers opt for other uses of the crop residue, majority of those who prefer to get their crop harvested by the combines tend to burn the stubble later as it was a time-consuming work.

He admitted that many farmers who had grown sugarcane crop this time had also burnt the dry leaves on the field resulting in pollution and a risk of fire spreading to other fields.

Incidents of burning the sugarcane straw and leaves have been reported from the villages, including those located on the main highways, and on the Rohtak-Bhiwani, Rohtak-Jind and Rohtak-Gohana road, said sources in the Agriculture Department.

Fatehabad, February 9
Alleging fleecing of farmers by cotton millers and traders in connivance with the marketing board authorities, the district unit of the Akhil Bhartiya Kisan Sabha (ABKS) today organised a dharna outside the market committee.

Krishan Swaroop Gorakhpuria, district president, and Malkiat Singh, tehsil president of the ABKS, alleged that the millers had been deducting payment for 500 grams per quintal of cotton purchased from farmers after the final weighing of the crop.

“If the farmers resist, the millers refuse to buy their crop,” the leaders alleged.

They alleged that after the farmers’ crop is weighed on the “dharamkanta” (weighing machines), the slip describing the weight is kept by the arhtiyas (grain market traders) and the farmers are simply explained the weight verbally.

The ABKS leaders further alleged that in many cases, the millers purchase the crop during the auction but when the farmers go to his mill with the crop, they reject it to pressurise the farmer to sell it at lower rates in distress.

The leaders alleged that they had apprised the marketing board authorities of the problems faced by the farmers so many times, but to no avail.

The ABKS warned the authorities of a bigger agitation in case the fleecing of farmers was not stopped forthwith.

OP Bhambu, secretary of the Market Committee, Fatehabad, said so far he had received two complaints of millers effecting cut of 500 grams per quintal and he had asked the miller concerned to pay the difference to the farmers.

He said the slip of weight has to be kept by the trader, as he has to issue bill on Form J based on that slip.

On the third allegation of the ABKS, Bhambu maintained that sometimes the upper layer of the heap look dried up but when offloaded, the lower layers were found moist, forcing the millers to reject the lot.

Kurukshetra, February 9
Five out of seven members of a family were killed on the spot in a road accident when a car and a truck collided near the toll tax barrier on the Kurukshetra-Pehowa road, 20 km from here today.

The police reached the site of the accident and with the help of a JCB machine the bodies were pulled out, rescuing in the process a boy, Raju Khurana, and a six- month-old baby, Bhavni, both of whom had sustained injuries. The injured were admitted to a private hospital here.

The deceased were identified as Baldev Raj Khurana (55), commission agent and former chairman, Market Committee, Pehowa, his wife, Bimla Devi (50), daughter-in-law, Shelly(30), grandson Bhumik Khurana (6) and nephew, Himanshu Khurana (22).

It is learnt that Khurana along with members of his family was returning to Pehowa at night after attending a marriage at Kurukshetra and was driving the car himself. When he tried to overtake a truck, the truck driver suddenly applied brakes and the car rammed into the truck killing five persons and injuring two.

After the accident, a pall of gloom descended on Model Town where the family lived. The bodies were cremated in the afternoon. The police has seized the truck while the truck driver is absconding. 

Chandigarh, February 9
Haryana will be the first state in the country to set up an urban health mission to provide comprehensive health services in the urban areas, particularly slums, Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda said here today.

He also announced that under the Indira Bal Swasthya Yojna (IBSY) free treatment would be provided to all children. Earlier, free treatment was being provided to children hailing from BPL families. Free treatment would include surgical intervention, implants, aids and medicines in government institutions at the district as well as the tertiary-level institutions like the PGI and the AIIMS. About Rs 2 crore would be spent annually on free treatment of children under this programme.

The State Urban Health Mission will set up urban health centres over a population of one lakh, which would provide curative, promotive and preventive health services. Besides, polyclinics and dispensaries will be operationalised in many cities. This mission will be implemented in a phased manner, initially focusing on urban areas with large slum population.

Hooda said the government would also upgrade its district hospitals located in major towns and provide additional hospitals in cities having a population more than five lakh. 

Chandigarh, February 9
Taking cognizance of a report published in The Tribune under the headline “Police fails to crack 20% murder, 10% kidnapping cases”, Avinash Rai Khanna, a Rajya Sabha member in charge of the BJP human rights cell, wrote to the NHRC Chairman to take suo motu notice of the news item.

Terming it as “violation of the human rights” and “inaction on the part of the government servants”, Khanna urged the commission to order the Haryana Government to fix responsibility for the “sorry state of affairs”. The state investigating agencies had failed to crack over 20 per cent of the murder cases and 10 per cent of the kidnapping cases in 2,011.