The Tribune, Chandigarh, India

	Probe ordered into levying of development charges Bijendra Ahlawat/TNS Jind, April 2 A major scam, which could run into several crores of rupees, seems to be surfaced here following reports of levying of lower rates by the civic body from commercial sites and buildings that have come up on several main roads in the town during the past months. An internal probe has reportedly been ordered by the authorities concerned in this regard. Sources in the civic body said financial irregularities came to light when an official of the Municipal Council objected to charging of old rates of development charges from some of the applicants by the officials concerned recently and took up the matter with senior officials. A probe has been ordered though no case has been registered against anyone in this regard. While it is revealed that the government had revised the development charges to be levied from commercial buildings from Rs 565 per sq yard to Rs 2,500 and Rs 3,500 on the roads having a width of 12m to 30m and over 30m, respectively, in February 2010, the officials concerned had allegedly continued to charge the development charges from such buildings on the older rate of Rs 565 per sq yard till November 2010. The development charges are charged from buildings or establishments of commercial nature which come up on the designated roads. “The new rates were charged till February 2011 only the authorities concerned reverted back to older rates from March 2011 till the last month when the matter came to the notice of a newly posted official, who raised an objection to the practice and brought it to the notice of higher authorities, claimed an employee on condition of anonymity. He said there had been a huge difference in the DC rates charged for at least nine-month period in 2010 and about one year since March 2011. Though the loss suffered by the civic body was still to be calculated, it is reported that the district authorities have asked the Secretary of the Muncipal Council to probe the complaint and place a report soon. The DC, who is also the Chairman of the civic body, and the Secretary of the civic body were not available for comments.
	Notices to 400 allottees of EWS flats Tribune News Service Faridabad, April 2 The Municipal Corporation, Faridabad, has slapped notices on 400 allottees of EWS flats in New Janata Colony which was floated three decades ago to rehabilitate slum dwellers in an effort to clear the city of its slums. Each of the 30 sq yd-flat was allotted at a cost of Rs 12,000, and the amount was to be paid through a monthly installment of Rs 70 over a period of 13 years. Ravi Singhla, deputy town planner, Municipal Corporation, Faridabad, said the colony was floated in 1982 by the then Faridabad Complex Administration, which was the local self-governing body for the city and upgraded to municipal corporation in 1994. The colony was created to rehabilitate the inhabitants of slums who were to be dislocated following the removal of the slums. The measure was undertaken to beautify the city. As many as 1,200 flats were allotted, he added. According to him, a good number of the original allottees sold the flats. The new owners did not clear the dues. Some of the original allottees continued to live, but have evaded settling their accounts even after several years of the deadline. Singhla warned of resumption of the flats against which there were outstanding dues by the municipal corporation if the owners failed to square up their accounts along with penal interest rate on the outstanding dues. He said the owners would now have to deposit the arrear amount at one go. A ‘demand letter’ would soon be issued to defaulters to deposit the money within a definite time frame, he added.
	Measles Surveillance Campaign launched Tribune News Service Chandigarh, April 2 The Haryana Health Department has launched a Measles Surveillance Campaign to detect and treat cases of measles in all age groups in the state. Haryana Financial Commissioner and Principal Secretary, Health, Navraj Sandhu, who launched the campaign here, said the Health Department was following the norms prescribed by the World Health Organisation. The aim of initiation of surveillance is to initiate immediate case management and identification of complicated cases for treatment and referral, if required. The Measles Surveillance Campaign has been launched after the success of the Measles Catch-Up Campaign under which about 42 lakh children were covered in three phases. Also, Haryana was the first state in the country to implement the Measles Catch-Up Campaign. Sandhu said to begin with the implementation of the Measles Surveillance Campaign, a two-day workshop of the functionaries of the Health Department was held here and similar workshops would also be organised at the district level as well. “The state-level workshop provided a platform for the functionaries of the state’s Health Department to create strategies with technical experts from the Integrated Diseases Surveillance Project, UNICEF, and WHO to strengthen our surveillance for vaccine-preventable disease,” she said. Sandhu said in case of detection of five or more cases of measles in a block in one week, it would be declared as an outbreak and would be managed accordingly. She said measles was causing an estimated 60,000 to one lakh child death annually in the country. The government recognises the importance of detecting outbreak for vaccine-preventable disease.
	Elementary school kids to get transport facility under RTE Tribune News Service Karnal, April 2 The transport facility will be provided to primary and elementary school children staying at a distance of more than 1 km and 3 km, respectively, from their schools under the Sarv Shiksha Abhiyan from 2012-13 to effectively implement the Right to Education Act. A survey of such students in Karnal district had already been conducted and all 8,167 identified students would be given the transport facility, Deputy Commissioner Neelam P Kasni said at a review meeting here. She said that meetings of the officials concerned would be convened for the smooth implementation of the scheme. The issue of transformer thefts and illegal mining dominated the meeting and District Mining Officer Madhuri Gupta said that during a raid conducted in March, 58 persons were caught and a fine of Rs 8.46 lakh was imposed on them. She complained about the failure of the police to take timely action for continuing illegal mining activities, prompting the Deputy Commissioner to make an observation that illegal mining along the banks of the Yamuna in spite of the presence of the PCR raised doubts about the police. Kasani asked the police to increase patrolling to check the theft of transformers. Taking notice of the fact that Rs 25 crore was sanctioned for the repair of roads, Kasni asked the Executive Engineer to give details about the amount spent so far. She cautioned the officials concerned against any laxity on their part in providing time-bound services to people in respect of 36 notified services and said that public satisfaction was the yardstick to gauge the efficiency of service-providing officials.
	KITM students visit Panipat refinery D.R. Vij Kurukshetra, April 2 In order to give live and practical experience to the engineering students of Kurukshetra Institute of Technology and Management (KITM), Bhore Saidan, an industrial trip to Panipat Refinery and Petrochemicals Complex, Panipat, was organised by the institute recently. Stating this to mediapersons here, Mohit Gupta, public relations officer, KITM, said the trip, which comprised 50 students, proved to be a great learning experience for the students as they got a chance to see the working environment of a production unit. During their visit, they also got an opportunity to interact with the staff at the refinery, who shared their experiences with the students and motivated them to excel in their respective fields. The students were taken to the conference room, where an official from the refinery briefed them about the plant. Later, the students were taken to the control room in groups where they were explained about the working of the refinery. It was a fruitful experience for the students as they were able to see how crude oil was converted into usable fuels and also how other petroleum products were produced. The trip was headed by Viraj Tyagi, Head of the Department of Mechanical Engineering, KITM, Kurukshetra, along with KL Bali, associate professor, Mechanical Engineering Department, KITM.
	US delegation visits Mahila Vishwavidyalaya BS Malik Sonepat, April 2 A 12-member delegation from different educational institutions in the US visited BPS Mahila Vishwavidyalaya, Khanpur Kalan, recently with Vibha Sharma, Director of the US-India Educational Foundation. The delegation comprised of top administrators from the US universities responsible for decision-making in their respective institutions. The delegation first met the Vice-Chancellor, Pro Vice-Chancellor, Controller of Examinations, Heads and Deans of the Faculties of the university at the Conference Hall. Vice-Chancellor Dr Pankaj Mittal gave an overview of the university in her presentation and acquainted them with various programmes offered here and several initiatives undertaken by the university like the Centre for Society-University Interface and Research and the Centre for Indic-Asian Studies. Her presentation was followed by a discussion on the possible avenues of partnerships and exchange programmes between their institutions and the university. The delegation then went around the campus and experienced the ambience of the university. They visited teaching blocks, library and the Institute of Ayurveda as well. The ayurvedic method of treatment was appreciated by one and all. The delegation also visited Khanpur village where they interacted with villagers and had a first-hand glimpse of the life and culture of rural Haryana. The Vice-Chancellor said the delegates were Fulbright Nehru Grant Awardees who were on a visit to India on a two-week Seminar Programme. Under their programme here, they visited several top universities of the country and BPS Mahila Vishwavidyalaya was selected as the university to provide them an insight into the working and educational system of the Rural Educational Institutions of India. The delegates said visiting BPS was the best part of their stay in the country. The delegates assured that their educational institutions would enter into a partnership with BPS in near future.
	Workshop on teaching skills held Our Correspondent Kurukshetra, April 2 A five-day workshop on Mission 10X, conducted by Wipro Technologies, concluded on the premises of the Geeta Institute of Management and Technology (GIMT) here recently. It was inaugurated by DK Gupta, chairman, Geeta Educational Trust, and Managing Director, GIMT, Kanipla. Gupta lauded the efforts of Wipro Technologies for initiating such a programme for providing appropriate teaching-learning skills to the faculty for effective instructions. Highlighting the objectives of the Mission 10X, Rama Krishna, a trainer from Wipro, said Mission 10X was launched by Wipro Technologies on September 5, 2007, to empower 10,000 faculty members of various engineering colleges with high-impact teaching skills. During the 2nd phase, the target of Wipro was to cover 25,000 faculty members, he added. Nitin Deshpandey, another trainer from Wipro, stressed the need to build up theoretical foundation and educate the participants on alternate teaching method, introduction to planning for instruction and practice sessions to prepare unit wise instructional plan. The valedictory session of the programme was chaired by Aditya Sharma, manager, Academic Relationship, Mission10X, Wipro Technologies. On the occasion, the participants said their motivation and confidence level had improved considerably after attending the workshop. Rahul Singla, Head, Corporate Links, who was also the chief co-coordinator of the programme, proposed the vote of thanks, adding that Wipro would continue rendering a helping hand in organising such workshops for the benefit of the teaching fraternity. As many as 31 faculty members from different engineering colleges participated in the workshop.
	Seminar stresses on comprehensive evaluation Bhanu P Lohumi Tribune News Service Karnal, April 2 Educationists and planners focused on the need for effective implementation of the Continuous and Comprehensive Evaluation (CCE) at the third national seminar on “Implementation of Continuous and Comprehensive Evaluation: Issues and Concerns’’ organised by Budha College of Education at Ramba in Karnal. In his keynote address, AD Tiwari, associate professor, Department of Educational Measurement and Evaluation, NCERT, New Delhi, highlighted that the CCE was a good tool by which a teacher can easily understand the difficulties of learner in comprehending the subject and solve them by providing educational and natural environment. The concept of constructive mind and change in behaviour was the major component of the CCE, he said. Additional Director (Secondary Education) SS Saini said education is the base of a country and added that the Union Ministry for Human Resource Development has initiated this step for qualitative improvement in education under the CCE. Under the programme, learner would be evaluated regularly with proper feedback with the help of formative evaluation and the CCE would help the students in generating qualitative aspects in both academic and non-academic activities and thus it would be responsibility of the entire education system to implement it sincerely, he added. Manoj Dash, Regional Director, IGNOU, New Delhi, said the CCE generates a stress-free learning environment and explained the major difficulties in its implementation at the school level.
	Kurukshetra varsity holds alumni meet Our Correspondent Kurukshetra, April 2 The “Alumni-12 Meet”, organised by the University Institute of Engineering and Technology (UIET), Kurukshetra University, was inaugurated by Lt-Gen DDS Sandhu, Vice-Chancellor, Kurukshetra University, at RK Sadan on the university campus here recently. While addressing the meet, the Vice-Chancellor asked both the alumni and the students to be brand ambassadors of the institute. Dr Dinesh Aggarwal, director of the UIET, and Upender Dhull, convener of the event, also addressed the meet. Dr Aggarwal presented a token of gratitude to the Vice-Chancellor. Colourful cultural events, including group dances and musical skits, were presented by the students. The Alumni Award and the Outstanding Service Award were given away to Pooja Sharma and Devender Kumar, respectively. ‘Milaap’, a documentary showcasing the achievements of the UIET, was also screened on the occasion. The event marked a successful milestone in the history of the UIET and the organisers hope this would now be an annual event. Karambir, Vikas Yadav, Ramavatar, Dr Swati Dahiya, Dr Pawan Diwan, Dr Sona Malhotra, Miss Rita, Dr Urmila, Harikesh Paposa, student coordinators, alumni and the students were present on the occasion.
	Kurukshetra varsity holds seminar on cinema Our Correspondent Kurukshetra, April 2 An interactive seminar on “Cinema, Aesthetics and Career” was organised by the Institute of Mass Communication and Media Technology (IMCMT), Kurukshetra University, here recently. Showing optimism for the promotion of regional cinema and careers in the media industry, London-based filmmaker, screenwriter and cine academician Simon Howard said he had been touring and interacting with media students in northern India, adding that he found students quite keen to learn and explore the cinematic medium. He was accompanied by London-based filmmaker, scriptwriter and producer Parvinder Vir. She delivered a lecture on cinema and its aesthetics and mechanics followed by an interaction with the media students of the institute. Ruchi Sharma, CEO of the Chandigarh-based media group iGlobal Punjabi, presented an interactive session on cinemas in the country and variety of themes it represented. She gave an on-the-spot cinema exercise to a group of students and even offered to involve them in cinema projects. Prof Rajbir Singh, director, IMCMT, said the seminar was a runner-up to the Media International Film Festival to be organised by the institute from April 3 to 7.
	Study centre, gym opened at Murthal girls’ hostel BS Malik Sonepat, April 2 As part of its programme to equip the newly incepted university with the modern and state-of-the-art facilities for its students, the Deenbandhu Chhotu Ram University of Science and Technology, Murthal, has opened a study centre, an Internet cafeteria and a modern gym at the university girls’ hostel. While inaugurating the centre and the cafeteria recently, HS Chahal, Vice-Chancellor of the university, said the centre had been linked with the networking so that the students could use the facility to get useful information about the researches and innovations taking place all over the world. Saying that the centre will be useful even for late-night studies, the Vice-Chancellor said the university library got richer by adding thousands of new books of various subjects of regular and weekend courses. While inaugurating the gym, Sarla Chahal, wife of the Vice-Chancellor and a prominent economist, said the gym would keep the students physically and mentally healthy. Registrar of the university RK Arora, hostel wardens Prof Rekha and Anita, sports director Birender Singh Hooda and Associate Prof Ajai Monga were also present on the occasion.
	Girl students ‘must raise voice against foeticide’ Tribune News Service Faridabad, April 2 The Red Cross Society has expressed concern over increasing female foeticide and urged girl students to play active role against the social evil. Addressing students at an awareness camp at Rattan Singh Girls’ College of Education organised by the Red Cross society, chairperson of the Red Cross society Seema Gupta said the malaise was deep-rooted. She urged for greater public awareness on the issue. “The evil is a slur on modern society. It create imbalance in the polity and gives rise to several social ills. It must be effectively countered by the society,” she said. Gupta urged upon girl students to unitedly take up cudgels against the evil. Red Cross, backed by the district administration, has launched a campaign in the colleges to increase awareness among students about health related issues and female foeticide. Medical teams from the district civil hospital also take part in the camps. Students having deficiencies were given medicines and were are also counselled. Gupta stressed the need for good health among women. A large number of girl students were found to be anaemic after blood tests were conducted in the awareness camps, she added.
	Annual prize distribution function held Our Correspondent Rewari, April 2 Staff, students and functionaries of the management participated in the annual prize distribution function of Kishan Lal Public College, a premier educational institution of the state, held here recently. While Power, Forest and Environment Minister Capt Ajay Singh Yadav was the chief guest, Satender Prasad, chairman of the Public Education Board, Rewari, presided over the function. MP Jain, an industrialist of the Rewari region, was the guest of honour. In his keynote address, Capt Yadav, who himself is an alumnus of the college, exhorted the students to gain proficiency in their respective faculties which, he asserted, was a sine qua non for the success in this age of tough competition. He also stressed the need for acquiring moral values and functional competence, along with theoretical brilliance. Mentioning about his efforts to get the Indira Gandhi Postgraduate Regional Centre of Mirpur village here upgraded to the level of a university, he made it known that the establishment of a medical college here under the public-private-partnership (PPP) scheme was under the active consideration of the state government. The minister also announced a financial assistance of Rs 5 lakh for the college. Dr PK Bansal, principal of the college, highlighted the achievements of the college in his annual report. The students presented a cultural programme on the occasion which regaled the audience. Finally, the chief guest distributed prizes among the participants as well as meritorious students on the occasion.
	Seminar on women empowerment Tribune News Service Hisar, April 2 Speakers at a national seminar on “Women Empowerment: Issues and Challenges” organised at CR Law College here vehemently decried female foeticide which had led to an imbalanced sex ratio in the state. Sunil Lamba, president, Jat Education Society, said women in the country had been subjected to mental, physical and economic exploitation since the ages and the judicial system had failed to end this injustice. He said though the Hindu society worshipped Durga and Kali, the girl child, which was a manifestation of these goddesses, was being killed in the womb. Lamba said it was the collective responsibility of society in general to immediately end female foeticide as it had already created social problems and the continuation of this reprehensible trend would further damage society. Dr CP Sheoran, director of the college, said legislative measures and law enforcement against exploitation of women alone could not root out the problem. The participation of the masses was a must. Unless it became a mass movement, nothing could be expected to solve the problem. He said the mindset and psyche of the people had to be completely changed. Laws had been enacted to safeguard women, but their implementation left much to be desired. He said children, regardless of their gender, were a gift from God. As many as 150 delegates from various parts of the state participated in the seminar.
	National seminar on managing disasters in high-rise structures Sunit Dhawan/TNS Gurgaon, April 2 With a view to creating awareness about fire safety and disaster management among the builders, owners and residents of high-rise buildings, the Municipal Corporation of Gurgaon authorities, in collaboration with the Institution of Fire Engineers (India), organised a one-day national seminar here on Saturday. The theme of the seminar was, “Ensuring Fire & Life Safety and Disaster Mitigation in High-Rise Structures.” Experts in the field of fire safety and disaster management explained various aspects of fire safety and answered specific questions put across by various stakeholders. Gurgaon Municipal Commissioner Sudhir Rajpal and Superintending Engineer YK Garg said nearly 300 delegates comprising representatives of residents’ welfare associations, builders, architects, structural and civil engineers, disaster management personnel, fire services personnel and occupants of high-rise buildings such as malls, multiplexes, industrial units, hotels and hospitals attended the seminar. Addressing the gathering, Rajpal underscored the need for preparedness to deal with any emergent situations, particularly in the high-rise structures, around 700 of which dotted Gurgaon. “The issue assumes significance in view of the fact that Gurgaon has been put in Seismic Zone IV, which means it is much prone to earthquakes and as such requires special provisions for enforcement of safety measures for earthquakes, fire hazards, chemical and nuclear disasters,” he pointed out. The Commissioner further pointed out that after having inspected numerous high-rise structures and discussing the fire safety and disaster mitigation issues at meetings, it was decided to organise the seminar to generate awareness on the sensitive issues which were of grave public concern. \The technical session was chaired by SK Dheri, former Chief Fire Officer, Delhi Fire Service, AK Sharma, Director, Delhi Fire Service, Dr GC Misra, Chief Fire Officer, Delhi Fire Service, RC Sharma, former Director, Delhi Fire Services and Gulshan Khurana presented their papers covering the subjects of fire safety in high-rise structures, smoke management, fire safety in hospitals and hotels. US Chhillar, general secretary, Institution of Fire Engineers (India), proposed the vote of thanks.
	Cultural activities mark ‘Milan-2012’ Tribune News Service Sirsa, April 2 A myriad of cultural activities marked “Milan - 2012”, a function organised to bid farewell to the pass outs and to welcome the freshers, at the Ambition Institute of Polytechnic near Moriwala in Sirsa recently. SP Devender Yadav was the chief guest on the occasion, while SDM Munish Nagpal presided over. DS More, Director-Principal of Chaudhary Devi Lal Memorial Government College of Engineering, Panniwala Mota, was the special guest on the occasion. Students presented cultural items like modelling, group dance, skit, giddha, choreography and bhangra, besides others. Madhu Mehta, district chairperson of the Inner Wheel Club, Dinesh Kaushik, a journalist, Dr Richa and Dr Chetal Bhardwaj acted as judges. Rahul and Nirmal were selected Mr and Miss Freshers, respectively, while Gurpreet Manan and Monica bagged awards for the Mr and Miss Final, respectively. Bhupesh Mehta, Block Congress president, and his brother Bhisham Mehta, chairman of the institute, welcomed the guests and presented a report about the polytechnic. The show was compeered by Sushil Agarawal, a lecturer in Electrical Engineering. Students getting first and second positions in various trades were given awards on the occasion. Dr Subhash Narula, Chander Shekhar Mehta, Surinder Bhatia, Paramveer Singh, Amit Soni, Radha Mehta, Ananya Mehta, Vijay Mehta and several other prominent persons from Sirsa attended the function.
	Brick-kiln owners told to abide by laws Tribune News Service Faridabad, April 2 The district administration has directed the brick-kiln owners to abide by the labour laws in their units. Presiding over a meeting of the District Bonded Labour Vigilance Committee, Faridabad DC Rakesh Gupta ordered the brick-kiln owners to maintain a register of the nature of works done by the labourers and the number of bricks prepared everyday in their units. He warned of legal action against the owners who did not maintain the records. The administration also urged the owners to help the workers in sending their children to schools.
	DC seeks speedier info on incidents Tribune News Service Hisar, April 2 Deputy Commissioner Amit Aggarwal has directed all subordinate officials to ensure that they report happenings in their area to their superior officer for onward submission to his office. Addressing a meeting of officers here he said in the villages the patwaris and gram sachiv should collect the information and forward it to the Block Development Officer and the tehsildar who would report the same to the Subdivisional Magistrate concerned. The SDM would ensure that it reached the office of the Deputy Commissioner. Likewise in the urban areas the secretaries of municipal bodies would collect the information and forward it to the district headquarters. Aggarwal said speedier reporting of an incident could allow the administration to gear up its resources to meet any eventuality in time. He said likewise information on anything causing inconvenience to the public should also be reported to him without delay. All this, he said, would lead to the better maintenance of law and order in the area
	Villagers demand relief for cattle deaths Sheep, pigs getting affected now; loss of over `50 lakh estimated Bijendra Ahlawat Tribune News Service Rohtak, April 2 Residents of Sundana village, where 100 cattle heads have died due to an endemic disease in the past two months, have demanded a survey of the loss and adequate compensation to the cattle owners. A team of doctors and officials of the Veterinary Department have set up a camp in the village to immunise all animals. A probe has been ordered to detect alleged irregularities in the vaccination of cattle here. “Though Sundana had been declared a model village for breeding of Murrah cattle in the state, the deaths had raised a question mark on the authorities concerned and is a cause of concern for the cattle owners who have suffered huge financial loss,” says Dharamvir who has lost four cattle heads in this period. “The state government ought to announce it as a calamity and launch a survey to detect the loss caused to the poor farmers on this account’’, said Sukhbir Singh, another Sundana resident. He said the authorities should compensate the loss as many of the families had weak financial background and could not afford such a loss. “We have asked the team of the officials which had camped here for the past few days to prepare and take up the detailed report with the state government,” said Naresh, who claimed that the loss could be upto Rs 50 lakh as many of the cattle that had died due to the disease had a yield of more than 15 litres of milk a day. “The latest shocker in this regard came on Thursday, when the villagers reported death of about 40 sheep and pigs in the village,” said Dalbir, a village resident of the village. He further said that the villagers would soon formally take up the issue of loss and the demand of compensation, besides measures to check and prevent repeat of such an endemic in the village. Many villagers have shifted their cattle to their kin and relatives elsewhere for fear of the remaining livestock falling prey to the disease, it is learnt. The village had a cattle population of about 3,200, he added.
	Antodaya Ann Yojna Sirsa, Mahendragarh stand to benefit Tribune News Service Chandigarh, April 2 Two districts of Haryana, Sirsa and Mahendergarh, have been included in the identified 174 districts of the country where the poor whose names are not included in the list of families living Below Poverty Line (BPL) but are actually living in penury, would be provided food grains on a priority basis under the Antodaya Ann Yojna (AAY). While stating this here recently, an official spokesperson said the poor had been given this benefit in compliance with the directions of the Supreme Court based on the recommendations of the Central Vigilance Committee. This committee was constituted on the Public Distribution System under the chairmanship of Justice DP Wadhwa to inspect the Targeted Public Distribution System (TPDS) in the country. The Supreme Court had made this order to ensure that no starvation deaths might take place and as far as possible the people could be saved from malnutrition. He said to distribute food grains, a list of beneficiaries was being prepared whose names were not there in the BPL list but were actually poor. This list would be prepared with the consent of common people by organising gram sabhas in villages. It would include an officer appointed by the pradhan, gram sabha, patwari, gram sachiv and deputy commissioner concerned and one officer from the Food and Supplies Department. Similar sabhas would be organised in the Municipal Council and the Municipal Committee. In the sabhas, villagers would be asked to verify the names of the poor. Priority would be given to the handicapped, families having only women as head of the family, those suffering from malnutrition, homeless, destitute and the senior citizens. He said the list of eligible persons would be prepared on the basis of the list of the Food and Supplies Department prepared to distribute wheat in 2011. He said those having annual income of less than Rs 60,000 would get 7 kg wheat per unit or maximum 35 kg wheat at a rate of Rs 2.10 per kg as per the AAY. Those having annual income between Rs 60,000 and one lakh, would get wheat at a rate of Rs 4.84 per kg.
	Authorities prepare development draft-2031 Panipat, April 2 The district authorities have embarked upon an ambitious development draft -2031 for the the Samalkha and Matlauda segments of the district. Deputy Commissioner JS Ahlawat said as per the draft, the estimated population of the Samalkha segment would cross one lakh mark for which 1,000 hectares had been identified to provide the people with advance facilities. He said out of the said land, 451 would be developed as a residential area, which would have three sectors, while about 50 hectares would be developed as a commercial land in a single sector. He said the draft also incorporated development of residential sectors on the Jorasi road which would also have shopping centres. Besides, a total of 133 hectares has been set aside for industrial sectors on both sides of the NH1. The Deputy Commissioner said 140 hectares had been earmarked for roads and communication facilities and 41 hectares had been spared for power sub-stations and waterworks. The draft has also defined spaces for parks and playgrounds. — TNS
	International stadium at Sehwag’s academy soon Ravinder Saini Jhajjar, April 2 The ground of Sehwag’s cricket academy at Silani Kesho village here would be developed on the pattern of international cricket stadium so that national and international cricket matches could be organised here. Virender Sehwag, a dashing batsman and skipper of the Delhi Daredevils team, said this while interacting with mediapersons at his academy recently. He, along with other members of the Delhi Daredevils team, had come here to have a short session of practice before the beginning of the IPL-5. “The ground is ready and so are pitches and swimming pool. By the end of this year, indoor facility will also be provided. If the Haryana Cricket Association feels that they will like to apply to the BCCI for organising first-class or U-19 matches, it would be great,” Sehwag said. He said his plan was to develop the ground on a par with international standards. Replying to a question, Sehwag said his team would perform well in the coming IPL as some young players, who are in excellent form, are part of his team this time. Members of the Delhi Daredevils team practiced around two hours at the ground and also celebrated the moment with a cake-cutting ceremony. Coach of the Delhi Daredevils cut the cake and distributed it among his team members. Virender Sehwag’s younger brother Vinod Sehwag, who looks after the day-to-day activity of the Sehwag International School, said with the passage of time they would be able to provide state-of-the-art facility which would be as good as anywhere in the country. “Apart from a full-size cricket ground, the school also has a volleyball court, a basketball court, a swimming pool and a tennis court,” he added. “We are affiliated to the CBSE Board and already enrolled students from nursery to class VIII. The emphasis is on those who are doing well in sports and to tap the talented kids in all sporting disciplines,” Vinod added.
	New sports policy ‘has put state on global map’ Our Correspondent Sonepat, April 2 Incentives and measures taken by the state government under the new sports policy have generated a favourable environment and enabled the state to carve a niche for itself on the global sports map. Haryana is also the first state in the country to implement a talent hunt programme - Sports and Physical Aptitude Test (SPAT) - to choose promising players through a scientific approach. This was stated by the Chief Parliamentary Secretary while distributing prizes among the winners of a four-day 52nd Senior National Artistic Gymnastics Championship, which concluded at MNSS, Rai, recently. Giving credit to Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda for promoting sports in the state, particularly among the rural youth, he said hefty cash awards and guarantee of government jobs were motivating sportspersons to opt for sports as a full-time profession. He exhorted students to avail opportunities and facilities being provided by the state government under its new sports policy. He also announced a grant of Rs 2 lakh for the Haryana Gymnastics Association. In the championship, around 170 gymnasts from various states participated. Andhra Pradesh bagged the first position, while West Bengal and Madhya Pradesh secured the second and third position, respectively. Besides office-bearers of the Haryana Gymnastics Association, Deputy Commissioner Pankaj Aggarwal, Additional Deputy Commissioner AK Bishnoi and Jag Niwas, SDM, Sonepat, were also present on the occasion.
	Law Sports Meet concludes at KU Our Correspondent Kurukshetra, April 2 A two-day Law Sports Meet-2012, organised by the Institute of Law, Kurukshetra University, concluded at the University Sports Grounds here recently. Professor VK Agarwal, Director, Institute of Law, Kurukshetra University, inaugurated the event. In his inaugural address, Prof Agarwal said a good lawyer required an alert brain and good health. Besides studies, they required participation in sports for their overall personality development, he added. SK Saini, Punjab Singh, Baldev Singh and Mastan Singh from the Directorate of Sports, Kurukshetra University, were the referees. Prof Agarwal gave away prizes, while the faculty members encouraged the participating students. The Results Men Section: Cricket: 1. Team of 8th Semester; and 2. Team of 4th Semester Badminton Final Doubles: 1. Vinay and Ankit Malik (10th semester); and 2. Prashant and Shekhar (4th semester) 400-m Race: 1. Ravi (4th semester); and 2. Hardev (4th semester) 100-m Race: 1. Nitesh (2nd semester); and 2. Vikas (2nd semester) Lemon Race: 1. Rishi and 2. Dilshad Ali Volleyball: 1. Team of 10th semester comprising Ankit, Satish, Mukesh, Neeraj, Vinay and Narender and 2. Team of 2nd semester comprising Vikas, Anurag, Mayank, Nitesh, Sumit, Himanshu and Jaspreet Long Jump: 1. Simardeep (6th semester); 2. Ravi (4th semester) Women Section: Badminton Final Singles: 1. Deepali (8th semester); and 2. Ishika (6th semester) 100-m Race: 1. Ishika (4th semester) and 2. Anu Singh (4th semester) Lemon Race: 1. Anu Singh (4th semester) and 2. Ishika (4th semester).
	Nana Patekar performs well at shooting event Sunit Dhawan / TNS Kadarpur (Gurgaon), April 2 Noted Hindi film actor Nana Patekar, who is an accomplished shooter as well, was the star at the 55th National Shooting Championship Competition (Big Bore events) hosted by the CRPF Academy here recently under the aegis of the National Rifle Association of India (NRAI). Nana Patekar competed in the prone event and scored a respectable total of 532 points out of 600 (about 90%). The shooting competition, which began on March 26, will continue till March 31 at the world-class full-bore shooting range. Nearly, 120 men as well as women shooters from different states and forces are participating in the 10 events being held during this championship. CRPF Director-General K Vijay Kumar presided over the opening ceremony of the event, while Nana Patekar was the guest of honour.
	Haryana State Panchayat Sports Meet Bhiwani bags overall championship BS Malik Sonepat, April 2 Dethroning last year’s overall champion Jind, Bhiwani district bagged the overall championship of the three-day Haryana State Panchayat Sports Meet concluded at MNSS, Rai, recently. The host Sonepat was placed at the second position and the third place of the overall championship went in favour of Rohtak. Chief Parliamentary Secretary (CPS) Dharambir Singh distributed prizes among the winners. Speaking on the occasion, the Chief Parliamentary Secretary said the Chief Minister’s decision to form kabaddi and wrestling teams by the Development and Panchayat Department would be beneficial for the promotion of sports in the rural areas. Terming the meet as a sports festival, he said the number of games in this meet had been increased to 13 from 11 in the last year’s meet. The new sports policy of the state had attracted the youths towards sports, he added. He announced financial grant of Rs 2 lakh for the injured kabaddi player Manish of Manana village in Panipat district and Rs 50,000 for the injured wrestler Jaivinder of Dheeng village in Sirsa district. Anand Mohan Sharan, Director-General of the Development and Panchayat Department, said the winner teams in football, kabaddi and hockey were given cash incentives of Rs 1.25 lakh each, whereas it was Rs 1 lakh for the topper in the tug-of-war winner team. The second prize included Rs 90,000 each for hockey and football and Rs 75,000 each for kabaddi and tug-of-war teams. Third prizes in these events were ranging from Rs 36,000 to Rs 60,000. The Results Kabaddi (men): Sonepat defeated Rohtak; (women) Fatehabad beat Hisar. Tug-of-war (men): Panipat defeated Sirsa; (women) Jind overpowered Karnal, Hockey (men): Bhiwani won over Sonepat; (women) Kurukshetra defeated Sonepat. Athletics: Bhiwani bagged the first position, Rohtak remained at the second and the third position went to Hisar.