Chandigarh, March 4
The Haryana Budget proposals to be announced by state Finance Minister HS Chatha in the State Assembly tomorrow will be a mixed bag, with some good and a little bad news.

The good news is that the state has seen a quantum jump of 20 per cent in its revenue during this fiscal, thus paving the way for the state becoming a zero revenue deficit-free state in the next fiscal. But the bad news is that there will be no relief from the taxes imposed by the state government, though the Finance Minister’s intention is to present a tax-free budget this year. Relaxation in the VAT rate seems unlikely, and with the new excise policy announced last month, hiking the excise duty on liquor, consumers will have to pay more.

Showing buoyancy in tax collections, the state has registered a healthy increase of almost 20 per cent in its VAT and excise collections. Information available with The Tribune shows that as against the VAT collections of Rs 8,559 crore in January 2011 (from April 2010- January 2011), there has been a significant jump in the current fiscal, with VAT collections between April 2011-January 2012 reaching Rs 10,244 crore. Similarly, excise collections have also gone up from Rs 1,917 crore during the same period last fiscal to Rs 2,274 crore during this financial year.

Officials expect that the VAT collections would reach around Rs 14,000 crore by end of March this year, while the total excise collections in this fiscal are expected to be around Rs 2,600 crore. Expecting a similar jump of 20 per cent in its revenue collections in the financial year 2012-13, Haryana hopes to become a zero revenue deficit-free state by March 2013. As this financial year draws to an end, Haryana is expected to have a revenue deficit of Rs 2,660.68 crore.

“We will become a zero deficit-free state in the next financial year. The burden of the arrears of Rs 6,000 crore because of the Sixth Pay Commission is now over. With the excise collections expected to see a jump of Rs 400 crore in the next fiscal, after the new excise policy comes into force, and the VAT collections, showing a buoyancy, we will have no problems in eliminating our revenue deficit,” said a senior official in the Finance Department. 

Hisar, March 4
Former Chief Minister Om Prakash Chautala made a strong bid to woo members of the backward classes by stating that he did not favour giving reservation to Jats by reducing the quota of any other community.

Addressing a rally at Kumhar Sammelan, he said when Jats were getting the benefit of reservation in Rajasthan, they should by all means get the same benefit in Haryana also. He said he also wanted reservation for Punjabi, Mahajan, Brahmin and other communities along with Jats.

However, he said he did not want that the 27 per cent quota for the backward classes should be adversely affected. He said his father late Devi Lal who had got the reservation for the backward classes implemented by convincing the then Prime Minister VP Singh.

Chautala said the Congress was responsible for the present pitiable plight of members of the backward classes. “The Congress wants that the backward communities remain backward so that it could exploit them politically”, he said.

Chautala assured that if the INLD came to power, it would make laws to safeguard the interests of the backward classes. INLD secretary-general Ajay Singh Chautala said the INLD would give the backward classes 27 per cent reservation at the party level to strengthen these communities politically.

Rajya Sabha member Ranbir Gangwa also presided over the sammelan.

New Delhi, March 4
The Delhi High Court has refused to quash a city court's order to try SM Batra, a former Officer on Special Duty (OSD) to the Haryana Governor, for allegedly bribing a then Urban Development Minister Shiela Kaul’s relative in 1994 to procure a no-objection certificate for a housing society.

"I find neither any illegality in the order nor any abuse of the process of the court, warranting interference of this court in exercise of its writ jurisdiction. The petition is dismissed," Justice Mukta Gupta said.

"The petitioner (Batra) has been charged for the offence under Section 120B (criminal conspiracy), IPC, read with Section 9 of the Prevention of Corruption Act.

"From the statement of the witness on record, it is apparent that Batra was a conspirator in demand and handing over the money to the son-in-law of the then minister to perform her official function of granting an NOC to the society," the court said.

Earlier, a lower court had framed charges against Batra and others in 2003 for offences of hatching a criminal conspiracy, paying a bribe and abusing his official position to gain illegal benefits.

The CBI, in its chargesheet, had alleged that Batra had entered into a conspiracy during December,1993, to May, 1994, to obtain illegal gratification for public servants to provide a no-objection certificate to Jagjiwan Co-operative House Building Society Limited at Vasant Kunj in South Delhi.

Aggrieved by the lower court's order, Batra had moved the high court seeking setting aside of criminal charges against him, saying that there was no specific allegation against him of misusing his official position. The CBI had also alleged that Batra, along with his accomplice Anup Kumar Srivastava, had induced the office-bearers of the society to pay Rs 30 lakh to Ratan Kaul, Shiela Kaul’s son-in-law, for obtaining the NOC.

It alleged Batra took office-bearers of the society to the minister’s residence where Rs 5 lakh was given to Ratan Kaul for the purpose.

Despite the fact that no NOC was issued, the housing society was pressed to pay the remaining bribe of Rs 25 lakhs, it said.

Batra claimed that the entire operation was carried out by Anup Shrivastava, who was then close to the Kauls.

"He (Batra) was a stranger and was neither close to Sheila Kaul’s family nor had any role to play in the matter," Batra's lawyer said.

Brushing aside Batra's contentions, the court said: "It is apparent that the demand for money to be paid to Ratan Kaul was made by Batra along with the co-accused. Further at the time, the money was given, Batra was present along with Anup Shrivastava at the residence of the minister...

"From the witness’ statement , it cannot be said that there is no evidence against Batra. Prima facie there is sufficient evidence on record for framing charges against Batra." — PTI 

Kaithal, March 4
An amount running into lakhs of rupees sent by the Haryana Government for disbursement among college students belonging to the Scheduled Castes and Other Backward Classes (OBCs)college students as financial assistance has allegedly been“misappropriated” by a clerk of a local college.

The college management reportedly acted swiftly in the matter and persuaded the clerk to return the money. The clerk has reportedly returned Rs 9 lakh through a cheque. His gratuity and provident fund amounting to Rs 7 lakh was freezed by the college authorities.

It is learnt that efforts are on to asses the exact amount of misappropriated funds. Addressing a press conference, Satish Bansal, president of the governing body of the college, and Dr SK Garg, Principal, RKSD College, alleged here today that the clerk, SL Bhutani, who had retired from service on November 30, had misappropriated the funds
by forging the signatures
of some of the students who were beneficiaries of this scheme. The Director, Higher Education, had been informed about the matter.

Giving further details, Bansal and Garg said the misappropriation came to their notice when four students complained that they had not received their scholarship money for 2008-09, amounting to Rs 24,600 and they had been told that money had been paid to them.

Following this, the college authorities were on an alert and started an inquiry. The preliminary probe revealed misappropriation of scholarship money and when the clerk concerned was questioned, he confessed that he had misappropriated about Rs 18 lakh and was ready to return the money.

The clerk used to obtain signatures of the Principal on account payee cheques, issued in the name of the beneficiaries. The cheuqes were reportedly presented by the clerk in the bank and encashed. Surprisingly, the UBI bank officials made cash payment against account payee cheques.

The exact amount misappropriated and whether there was any connivance of the bank staff will be known after an inquiry, Bansal said.

Another aspect that has surprised many is how this bungling did not come to the notice of the team of the Auditor General’s office which had checked the accounts and issued a certificate.

Chandigarh, March 4
The failure of major departments of the Haryana Government to submit utilization certificates for projects worth Rs 4,705 crore has earned the CAG's ire In a severe indictment of major departments, including those of urban development, rural development, development and panchayats and edcuation, the recent CAG report said these departments constituted 92 per cent of the total outstanding utilization certificates involving 85 per cent of the grants released.

"This not only indicates lack of internal control of administrative departments but also shows the government's tendency to go on disbursing fresh grants without ascertaining proper utilisation of earlier grants," the report asserted.

Of the 14,394 utilisation certificates amounting to Rs 9,984 crore, as many as 3,743 worth Rs 4,705 crore were pending. The report rued that despite being pointed out in the CAG report for the year ended March 31, 2010, only 409 utilisation certificates (14 per cent) against a total of 3,002 pertaining to earlier years, were furnished by government departments during 2010-11.

While the maximum number of 1,304 utilisation certificates (totaling Rs 2,325 crore) had been pending for one to three years, 371 certificates amounting to Rs 490 crore had been pending for three to five years. Similarly, 586 utilization certificates worth over Rs 50 crore had been pending for seven to nine years. To top it all, the utilization certificates for 166 projects worth Rs 20 crore had been pending for the past nine or more years. Under the Punjab Financial Rules, as applicable to Haryana, the submission of utilization certificates for grants provided to various departments is mandatory. After verification, these cerfiticates are sent to the CAG.

Rohtak, March 4
The Murrah breed that set ablaze the ramp at Jind recently, called as 'black gold' for farmers, is susceptible to various diseases that could pose a threat to its life.

Several buffaloes of this breed have reportedly succumbed to disease recently in the region comprising Rohtak and Jhajjar districts.

"I have lost two heads of cattle in the past two weeks. They had reportedly been suffering from 'galgotu' (Haemorrhagic Septicimia), though I had taken medical help, but to no avail," claims Mahender, a resident of Sundana village in the district.

Mahender, however, is not alone. There are at least four families who have lost a Murrah each in this period. Mukhtiyar has lost two heads of cattle. One buffalo each of Surjan Singh and Rajbir also died recently due to this disease.

"I had gone to Sundana village to attend to a few cattle suffering from this disease and was able to cure one of these after treatment, claims a veterinary doctor based at nearby Kahnor village, on condition of anonymity. Reports of some cattle suffering from a mysterious disease have surfaced from this village, said sources in the department, though the officials concerned or the doctors deputed at various veterinary hospitals in the district deny such reports.

Alleging that they failed to receive timely medical help from the department, the residents claimed that they had to arrange to take their cattle to the hospital rather than veterinary experts visiting them.The latest casualty here is reported to be the buffalo owned by Rajbir of this village on Wednesday.

Reports from Beri village of neighbouring Jhajjar district claim that several heads of cattle had been victims of the mystery disease and many of them had died recently, though it is yet to be confirmed officially.

Dr OP Chhikara, Deputy Director, Veterinary Department, however, claimed that there was no report of any endemic disease, including 'galgotu', in the district. He admitted that a few deaths had occurred but these were due to pneumonic symptoms. He said nearly all the cattle had been vaccinated by the department. Some of the cattle owners avoid vaccination on time due to some misgivings about the milk yield, he added.

Fatehabad, March 4
Fatehabad will get new development projects worth Rs 50 crore soon.

The authorities have already prepared a list of these projects, which will be dedicated to the public by Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda during his upcoming visit proposed in April. Deputy Commissioner ML Kaushik headed a meeting of the district officials yesterday to review the preparations for the visit.

Chief Parliamentary Secretary Prahlad Singh Gillankhera also attended the meeting. Kaushik said the officials had been told to complete the groundwork for construction of a new PWD rest house, additional grain market, community centre and a multi-purpose parking in Fatehabad town before Hooda's proposed visit.

Hooda will also lay a foundation stone of a community health centre at Bhattu Kalan and inaugurate a new primary health centre at Pilimandori. He will also lay a foundation stone of a new bus stand at Bhuna and a 33-KV powerhouse in Bodiwali village. Gillankhera reviewed the development activities taken up under the Chief Minister's announcements made during Hooda's previous visit and asked the officials to complete the pending works speedily.

Additional Deputy Commissioner Ashok Meena and other officials of the district were also present.

Fatehabad, March 4
With several localities of Fatehabad facing scarcity of drinking water even before the advent of summer, the Public Health Department on Saturday served notices to people found wasting water supplied through pipes.

The notices have been issued to some residents of Kabir Basti, Thakar Basti and Ashok Nagar, who had not installed any tap on the pipes and the drinking water was found flowing waste in the drains.

The notices issued by the Subdivisional Officer, Fatehabad, called upon the residents to install their taps within three days of the notice.

The notice warned that their water supply would be disconnected without any notice and a fine of Rs 1,000 each would be imposed on them if the taps were not installed within three days.

Vikramjit Singh, Executive Engineer of the Public Health Department, said notices had been issued to nearly 10 persons in these localities. He said the department would get tough with those found wasting drinking water.

Meanwhile, Hardeep Singh, president of the NGO, “Zindagi”, said the action had been taken on the initiative of its members, who identified those wasting water and reported the matter to the authorities.

The problem of drinking water is chronic in several areas of Fatehabad and it becomes acute during summer. 

Sirsa/Fatehabad, March 4
Amid protests by teachers, the Haryana Prathmik Shiksha Pariyojna Parishad (HPSPP), implementing the Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan (SSA) and the Rashtriya Madhyamik Shiksha Abhiyan (RMSA) in the state organised book fairs for purchase of books for school libraries at Sirsa and Fatehabad.

The Additional Deputy Commissioners, Roshan Lal and Ashok Kumar Meena, inaugurated the fair at venues, where entry was restricted to those having special cards issued by the parishad.

The entry of teachers as well as mediapersons was banned.

“As many as 36 publishers have displayed their books in the two-day fair,” said an official spokesperson in Sirsa.

Roshan Lal said books worth Rs 7.47 crore are to be supplied to high schools and senior secondary schools of Haryana and the selection of books is to be done by the students.

Students, two from each school, from half of the schools from the two districts were ferried to the book fairs in their respective district headquarters today while the rest will be taken to the fairs tomorrow.

The Haryana Vidyalya Adhyapak Sangh has criticised the decision of keeping the teachers away from the fairs and its members staged a dharna in Fatehabad.

Chander Navdeep Bharti, general secretary of the state unit of the sangh, alleged that senior officers of the HPSPP were deliberately keeping teachers away as there was an “unholy alliance” with some selected publishers to purchase their books at exorbitant prices.

No officer of the parishad was available for comments. 

Gurgaon, March 4
To promote medical tourism in Haryana, the state government has decided to accord the status of industry to the projects with investments of or above Rs 100 crore in the health sector.

“The government has decided to give the status of industry to the projects with investments of Rs 100 crore or more in the health sector,” said Haryana Health Minister Rao Narender Singh.

The state government is also exploring possibilities of developing Haryana as a centre of medical tourism and necessary provisions have been made in the new Industrial and Investment Policy 2011 of the state, Rao Narender Singh said.

The minister was addressing a gathering after launching ‘The 3D LAPCON’ — a conference where the 3D laparoscopy camera was used for the first time in any surgical conference in India.

“This technique would be useful in surgery without scar as it is done through the natural body holes, single incision laparoscopic surgeries of obesity, gallbladder, uterus, appendix and treating various other diseases like operating hernia patients etc,” he said.

“Gurgaon has the potential of medical tourism because it has all the healthcare facilities needed for treatment of chronic diseases and it is near to the Indira Gandhi International Airport as well,” the minister said.

The Health Minister said the Government of India had chosen Haryana for setting up a Pharma Industrial Park and a Bio Technology Park where facilities of research and development would be available.

He said the process had been initiated and the park would be set up on ‘Global Economic Corridor’ along the Kundli-Manesar-Palwal Expressway.

Besides the All-India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS)-2, an expansion of AIIMS, Delhi, was being set up at Barsa in Jhajjar district, the minister said.

He said there were about 700 specialist doctors who were postgraduates and the state government had decided to utilise their services in the General Hospitals at district and at subdivision levels.

Organising secretary of the event Suresh Vasistha said India was the second country after Germany where this technique was being launched. — PTI