Chandigarh, April 26
The government has formulated parameters for grant of change of land use (CLU) for starred hotels and restaurants in residential and commercial sectors of medium and low-potential towns in the state.

A spokesman of the Haryana Town and Country Planning Department said subject to fulfilment of other policy parameters, any case which fulfils the location norms would be considered for grant of CLU for starred hotels and restaurants under the Punjab Scheduled Roads and Controlled Areas Restriction and Unregulated Development Act, 1963.

He said as per these parameters, the site should be in a compact block and located in either a residential or commercial zone of low and medium-potential towns as defined under the Rules, 1965. The site should also conform to the approved sectoral plan proposals.

He said as per the area norms for CLU, the area in the case of starred hotels should be minimum two acres and maximum four acres. In the case of restaurants, the minimum area should be 1000 sqm and maximum 2000 sqm and the ground coverage should be 40 per cent. The floor area ratio (FAR) should be 175.

A maximum of two starred hotels and an equal number of restaurants for such CLU projects would be allowed in each sector.

Referring to the access norms and sector area limits, he said the site should be located in an existing sector dividing road. CLU shall be considered subject to the availability of area within the overall limit of 3.5 per cent in a residential zone and prescribed percentage of the area in a commercial zone on a first-come, first-served basis taking into account a combined seniority list of commercial licence applications and CLU applications for starred hotels and restaurants received for each sector.

For such starred hotel projects and restaurants, all applicable fee and charges at commercial rates for CLU shall be recovered.

In medium and low-potential towns, there is low demand for such commercial projects and almost none for starred hotels and independent restaurants by following the ‘commercial licence’ route since the project proponents prefer to establish such projects in an agricultural zone where a policy for grant of CLU exists for such projects.

He said this policy distortion in favour of agricultural zones and against the residential and commercial zones of low and medium-potential towns was to be set right through the present policy. 

Karnal, April 26
The Karnal-Meerut road was opened after 32 hours today following intervention of officials of the UP Government, who assured the agitating farmers that their wheat would be purchased in the state itself.

The blockade by UP farmers, protesting against the ban imposed by the Haryana Government on import of wheat from the neighbouring state for sale in mandis in the state, was lifted after the ASP, Atul Saxsena, SDM Mahinder Singh Tehrana and Food and Supplies Officer Uday Vir Singh of Prabudh Nagar district of UP told the farmers that the wheat purchase centres had been increased from 13 to 17 in the district and assured them that 20,000 quintal of wheat would be purchased every day.

Earlier, the national spokesman of the Bhartiya Kisan Union (BKU), Rakesh Tikath, who was staging a dharna along with the farmers, insisted that any farmer in the country could sell his produce in any mandi in the country. The farmers, already reeling under debt, had the right to sell their produce in any mandi to get the maximum returns, but this right was being infringed upon in Haryana, he added.

In the morning, the protesting farmers got a major boost with the Haryana chapter of the BKU coming out in their support. Supporting the UP farmers, state president of the BKU Seva Singh Arya said UP farmers should not be banned from selling their wheat in Haryana as it would amount to restricting free movement of foodgrains in the country and harm the interests of the farmers.

The increase in the Minimum Support Price (MSP) for wheat from Rs 1,120 per quintal to Rs 1,285 per quintal, a bumper wheat crop and a better procurement infrastructure was prompting the UP farmers to sell wheat in the Haryana mandis. Moreover, being close to Haryana, their arhtiyas were in Haryana grain markets.

The state government’s decision to ban purchase of wheat from other states in Haryana mandis has also come as a set back to the arhtiyas who had lent money to UP farmers against their crop.

Chandigarh, April 26
Thousands of assistant professors working in private-aided colleges across Haryana are set to get a financial bonanza.

With the Department of Higher Education mooting a proposal for financial incentives to the teachers having PhD/MPhil degrees, a major anomaly in the pay scales of the private college teachers vis-à-vis government college teachers would be removed.

According to a circular from the office of the Director-General, Higher Education to the principals of private-aided colleges in the state, the notification issued by the department on July 21, 2011, will now be implemented with effect from September 1, 2009. The pre-September 1, 2009, cases will be settled according to the notification of December 8, 2000, the circular said.

Official sources said the process to provide incentives to private college teachers had been initiated and the colleges had been directed to send cases of assistant professors immediately to the Director-General, Higher Education. Final modalities would be worked out to provide relief to the teachers and a meeting of the depaetments concerned with the private colleges is slated soon, the sources added.

The incentive would only be given to assistant professors while the teachers in the pay scale of associate professors (Rs 37,400-67,000+9,000 grade pay) would not be eligible for the hiked pay and allowances. Similarly, college teachers having PhD degrees, who were exempted from the National Eligibility Test (NET) at the time of their selection, would also not be eligible for financial benefits.

Demanding the immediate implementation of the decision, private college teachers claimed that this would set right one of the major anomalies in the salary structures of private educational institutions. 

Chandigarh, April 26
The Punjab and Haryana High has asked Bhiwani Municipal Council to consider the feasibility of having organised sale of meat products.

A Division Bench has suggested earmarking a definite place or area for such operations. The assertion came on a petition by the Bhiwani Sudhar and Vikas Samiti against the state of Haryana and other respondents.

The samiti had sought appropriate directions or a restraint order, prohibiting the running of slaughter houses in Bhiwani city on the ground that these pose “serious health hazard, apart from causing nuisance to residents.”

Directions were also sought to ensure that the municipal slaughter house situated near the Fisheries Farm was made operational and the sale of meat was regulated in accordance with the municipal bylaws.

Taking up the matter, the Bench observed:” The Deputy Commissioner has acknowledged that necessary steps have been taken by the Municipal Council by issuing notices under the provisions of the Haryana Municipal Act, 1973, requiring the persons concerned to stop illegal slaughtering of animals in shops located on public roads and not to display meat products in such shops.”

The Bench concluded: “It is clear that the issues highlighted in the writ petition have been addressed or are being addressed. It is the duty of the Municipal Council to monitor the situation continuously to ensure that all activities are undertaken strictly in accordance with the terms of the licences granted.”

Chandigarh, April 26
The Punjab and Haryana High Court today summoned the appointment file of Haryana Information Commissioner Urvashi Gulati. The directions came as the high court took up a petition filed by RTI activist Sanjay Tayagi.

The Bench of Acting Chief Justice MM Kumar and Justice Alok Singh asked the Haryana Advocate-General to produce the file pertaining to the appointment of former Chief Secretary as Information Commissioner.

The development is significant as the high court is apparently trying to ascertain whether a transparent procedure was followed before notifying the appointment of Urvashi Gulati.

The petitioner had alleged that a transparent procedure was not followed by the Haryana Government. Neither a screening committee was set up nor applications were invited. The name of only Urvashi Gulati was put up before the statutory selection committee.

Leader of Opposition Om Prakash Chautala had recorded a dissenting note. The petitioner added earlier Urvashi Gulati’s real sister, Meenaxi Anand Chaudhari, had served as Information Commissioner in Haryana.

At present, her husband, Naresh Gulati, was working as the State Chief Information Commissioner. The petitioner alleged the appointment of Urvashi Gulati was done in a pick-and-choose manner. The PIL will now come up for further hearing next Tuesday.

Rohtak, April 26
The reported decision of the state government to declare pregnant female employees into 12 weeks old pregnancy as unfit for work seems to have become controversial following strong opposition and criticism from the employees federation and the state unit of the CPM. Both organisations have demanded withdrawal of the “unconstitutional” and “anti-employee” orders .

Savita, coordinator of the women cell of the Sarva Karamchari Sangh, Haryana, (SKS), said the new rules, which have been prescribed by the government, prevented a woman employee who was three months pregnant from working as she had been put in the Unfit Category under the new rules. These rules would be applicable to teachers to be recruited in the near future.

According to the sangh leader, such a rule had also been framed way back in the 1990s also but had been withdrawn in 1992 after the intervention of the court.

The sangh, Haryana, will be forced to launch an agitation on the issue if the controversial orders were not withdrawn immediately, said Subhash Lamba, a spokesperson of the federation that represents a majority of the government employees bodies in the state. 

Panipat, April 26
Faced with a no-confidence motion, Panipat Zila Parishad (ZP) chairperson Promila Kadyan today put in her resignation, which was promptly accepted by the Deputy Commissioner.

Vice-chairman Ravinder Kumar had also resigned 10 days back.

The opponent group let by Jyoti Jaglan had moved a no-confidence motion against the chairperson and the vice-chairman, saying that they had failed to run the ZP in an efficient manner.

Fresh elections would now be held to elect the chairman and the vice-chairman of the ZP. 

Karnal April 26
Intervention by the police on Thursday stopped the marriage of a minor girl and the matter was settled after parents of both the boy and the girl told the police that they would not perform the marriage ceremony and wait for the girl to attain the minimum marriageable age of 18 years.

The parents, relatives and friends of the boy, Prince, and the girl, Neha, her parents and relatives had assembled at Ramnagar Gurdwara but an unknown person told the police that the girl was a minor.

Yamunanagar: Timely action by the authorities concerned on Tuesday prevented 16-year-old girl’s marriage in Gadhauli village of the district.

After officials of the Haryana Women and Child Development Department got information about the marriage, a special team was constituted to thwart the marriage, said Seema Garg, protection officer, Yamunanagar.

A case has been registered against the girl’s family members and the marriage postponed for two years

Fatehabad, April 26
Acting on a tip-off, the police last night raided a house in the Lajpat Nagar area of the town and arrested two cricket bookies, who were accepting betting offers for a T-20 cricket match under the IPL being played at that time.

The accused, Sunil Arora, brother of a former president of the local unit of the NSUI, and Nannu, a Dabwali resident, tried to escape, but were overpowered. The two were produced before a local court today, where they were released on bail.

Virender Kumar, SHO of the City Police Station, said betting on the IPL cricket match was being carried on by the two accused persons. The police recovered a television set, a laptop, 13 mobile phones and a register on which the two had booked bets on the match. 

Rohtak, April 26
Three persons, including the Principal of a private school here, have been arrested by the police for using unfair means in the plus two examination here today. This is perhaps the first case of arresting a member of the school staff in the district regarding the menace of copying in exams this year.

The accused, identified as Tanushree, Navin Kumar and Devender, all staff members of a private school, were nabbed by a special team headed by DSP Dharna Yadav after he received a complaint that a copying racket was going on in the school. It has been alleged that the candidates were assisted in cheating in return for a payment ranging from Rs 1,000 to Rs 2,000 per paper. The raiding team has recovered the footage of a video recording regarding the demand of money for helping in exam from some of the candidates. It is claimed that while one of the accused was the Principal of a school, the other two were staff members. A case has been registered. 

Sirsa, April 26
One person was killed and eight were injured when a Tata Sumo vehicle collided with a combine harvester near Ding Mor on the Sirsa- Fatehabad stretch of the national highway 10 today.

The victim Hari Singh (65), a Sirsa resident, and seven others were going to Dhansukh village of Hisar to mourn a death.

Their vehicle collided with the combine harvester coming from the Fatehabad side.

Hari Singh died on the spot while eight others, including Sandeep, driver of the Sumo vehicle, were injured. 

Hisar, April 26
Subhash Bhoria, Chief Hostel Warden at the local Government Polytechnic, was injured in an attack with brickbats by youths near the institution’s canteen last evening. Bhoria was informed by a security guard that over 10 youths were drinking liquor near the canteen. He went there and asked the youths to disperse as drinking liquor was not allowed inside the campus.

This enraged the youths who started hitting him with brickbats lying there. He was repeatedly hit in the head and was bleeding profusely when his colleagues rushed there.

While teachers caught hold of six boys, the others managed to escape. The police were called in. However, teachers alleged that the police were unwilling to get the youths medically examined. The teachers approached the SP who sent the youths to the General Hospital for a medical checkup. Six boys have been arrested in this connection while six others named in the FIR were at large. Bhoria had reprimanded these youths when they had misbehaved with a woman teacher a fortnight ago. — TNS