Chandigarh, February 18
The Haryana Government now wants tipplers to be high on low alcohol drinks. At least that’s what the state’s new excise policy, approved by the state Cabinet today, envisages even as it hopes to end the next financial year with a revenue of nearly Rs 3,000 crore against expected “earnings” of Rs 2,600 crore this year.

While “maintaining” the maximum basic quota of country liquor (CL) and Indian Made Foreign Liquor (IMFL) for the third year in a row and keeping the maximum number of retail outlets unchanged, the new policy comes packaged with incentives to encourage wineries in the state.

This finds reflection not only in the decision to keep the excise duty on wine and beer unaltered but to also reduce the licence fee from Rs 1 lakh to Rs 10,000 to encourage the setting up of wineries in the state.

A new licence, L1W, for local manufacturers of wine has been introduced for making wholesale supplies to L1s (IMFL licencees) of the state at a concessional licence fee of Rs 1 lakh as against Rs 10 lakh for similar wholesale licences for IMFS (Indian Made Foreign Spirit). Also, now local wineries shall be allowed to sell their wine at the premises adjoining the winery and visitors will have the option of tasting the wine.

Under the new policy, announced by Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda, after the Cabinet meeting here, the excise duty of country liquor (CL) and Indian Made Foreign Liquor (IMFL) will go up marginally.

While VAT has been reduced from 25 per cent to 15 per cent only on bar licences, from now on, vends will be clubbed into groups comprising a maximum number of three vends, for the purpose of allotment.

Approving the state’s excise policy for 2012-13, the Cabinet also decided to marginally increase the minimum retail price of liquor, hiking it by 5 to10 per cent for all liquor with the exception of beer.

The open quota for CL, the licencees can lift from the distilleries as per their choice of brand, has been increased from 55 per cent to 65 per cent in accordance with their demand.

The Cabinet decided to allot vends in groups of a maximum of three vends by inviting sealed tenders for all groups, individually and separately and a reservation of 10 and 5 per cent for SC and BC (A) categories, respectively.

The CL licencees in the rural areas will now have the freedom to locate their main outlet in any village falling in the command area of the vend.

Prospective licencees can cheer in the fact that there would be no increase in the ex-distillery issue price (EDP) of country liquor for the third year in succession and the wholesale licence of country liquor (L-13) will continue to be granted to retail licencees as in the case of wholesale licence of IMFL (L-1).

From 2012-13, DETCs (Excise) will be empowered to grant the wholesale licences L-1 and L-13 and also to grant permission for setting up sub-vends and permit kaksh.

Further, while some amount from sale of liquor will be devolved to the municipal committees and Panchayati Raj Institutions to augment their resources, Rs 20 crore has been earmarked for promotion of sports and another Rs 10 crore for encouraging barley cultivation.

The distilleries of the state are being encouraged to produce spirit from grain as it will give reasonable remuneration to the farmers even for sub-optimal quality or even spoilt grain.

Panipat, February 18
Perturbed over the deteriorating financial health of the two power distribution companies (discoms) in the state, the state government is contemplating to club the two together, to bring down the expenditure.

After unbundling the state electricity board, the authorities had formed Uttar Haryana Bijli Vitran Nigam and Dakshin Haryana Bijli Vitran Nigam in 1999. This led to appointment of additional officers, including two managing directors, four directors, two chief auditors, two chief accounts officers, two financial advisers, along with chief engineers and superintending engineers in both the discoms.

Subhash Lamba, general secretary of the All Haryana Workers Power Union, said earlier there was a loss of Rs 450 crore which went up to Rs 12,000 crore in the last one decade due to increased expenditure of the discoms.

Sources said the two discoms could function with half of these officers and the move could also bring uniformity in forming and implementation of various policies.

It is learnt that due to fragile financial health of the two discoms, banks and various financial institutions have already refused additional loans to the two companies, thus creating a paucity of funds for strengthening the distribution system.

RS Dhaiya, president of the Haryana Power Engineers Association and Joint Action Committee of Engineers and Workers Unions, said two years ago they had given in writing that the two discoms be clubbed together. He said due to poor financial health of the discoms, the employees were finding it hard to get their medical bills cleared. He said the bonus given to thermal engineers for generating additional electricity had also been stopped. He said instead of making heavy overhead expenditure, the same funds could be used for installing new transformers and upgrading the distribution system.

Sources said the issue had already been discussed at various levels and a general consensus had also been evolved. The two major worker unions had also agreed to the proposal.

State Power Minister Capt Ajay Yadav said the matter was under consideration of the Chief Minister and a final decision was likely to be taken soon.

Hisar, February 18
The Federation of Haryana University Teachers’ Association (FEDHUTA) has criticised the government for delay in issuing the notification for revised pay scales for teachers of technical universities and colleges in the state.

In a statement issued here Dr Sandeep Rana, general secretary, EDHUTA, and president of the Guru Jambheshwar University of Science and Technology Teachers Association, said the panel constituted by the Commissioner, Technical Education, Haryana, had submitted its report in September last year but the government had not yet taken any action on it.

Rana said the teachers of other universities and colleges had been given the benefit of higher pay scales but the same were being denied to teachers of technical universities and colleges of Haryana.

He said the FEDHUTA had been pursuing the government for finalising the notification for more than one year. However, the obduracy of the bureaucracy had prevented the matter from being resolved.

He said the FEDHUTA would meet on February 19 to decide its next course of action.

Kurukshetra, February 18
The Deputy Commissioner, Mandip Singh Brar, said here yesterday that according to the norms and regulations issued by the District Town Planner, the construction activity in urban and controlled areas around the Kurukshetra, Ladwa, Pehowa and Shahabad towns was not allowed without the permission of the Town and Country Planning Department.

He said though the measure had been publicised from time to time, some persons were still carving out illegal colonies and selling plots to the public by misleading them and hiding the facts about the illegal status of the colony.

The Deputy Commissioner further clarified that illegal colonies would remain illegal until and unless they were approved and regularised in writing by the government. He further said that multiple demolitions could be carried out in these colonies while the roads constructed by the coloniser as well as buildings constructed by plot holders could be demolished any time. 

Panipat, February 18
Call it the negligence or reluctance on the part of the authorities, but legal heirs of some Pakistani victims who had died in the Samjhauta blasts five years ago, are still waiting for the identification of their kin who lay buried in various graves in Mehrana village of this district.

Mohammad Ikram Khan, who along with 10 members of his family had come to India to visit her 96-year- old mother Johra Khatoon (still alive and 101 years old), who was residing in Khera Dumeria village of Gaya district in Bihar after a gap of 25 years. He and his family had boarded the Samjhauta Express on February 17, 2007, and were believed to have been killed in the blasts. Though the identity of four of them were confirmed through DNA tests, the rest of them could not be identified as the blood samples taken for the tests went missing.

Another daughter of Mohammad Ikram Khan, Nazia Khatoon and son Nazrudin who had stayed back in Pakistan, came to India on May 19, 2010, and gave blood samples on May 25 at the Panipat Civil Hospital for DNA tests. The samples helped in identifying Fakhrudin Ahmad, Samina Khatoon, Sabir Ahmad and Sahbaz Sabir, while the identity of all others could not be established.

Indian lawyer Monin Malik, who had been counsel for the relatives of both Indian and Pakistani victims, said the Indian government had announced a compensation of Rs 10 lakh and Pakistan had announced a compensation of Rs 5 lakh for the kin of the victims. But some of the blood samples went missing from the Hyderabad laboratory and identities of some victims could not be established.

As many as 68 persons were killed in the blasts. The identity of 14 other victims has not been established till date.

Faridabad, February 18
Irked over complaints of apathy by the branches of nationalised banks in the district to provide “subsidised loans” to applicants under the schemes of the government for generating self-employment, the administration today cautioned them of severe action if found guilty. The DC also cautioned the staff of the banks to stop government deposits to the errant banks.

These sentiments were expressed by him at a meeting with the bankers yesterday. His office is said to have received a large number of complaints from applicants/prospective loanees on the negative approach of the bankers in processing the cases for the loans.

The Central and state government schemes to generate self-employment are coordinated in the district through the District Rural Development Agency in the rural areas and the District Urban Development Authority in the urban centres.

The loans, as per the schemes, are provided by the designated banks in the category of “priority sector lending”, and thus the applications are to be processed expeditiously.— TNS