Rai (Sonepat), June 10
Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda said today that the Rajiv Gandhi Education City near Rai would be the largest single higher education complex in the world to serve about 1.5 lakh students in 10 universities.

He was addressing a public meeting after laying the foundation stones for 10 education institutions of higher learning, including three of medical sciences, in the education city . “Sonepat with a number of institutions of higher education, including universities and central institutes, is on the way to becoming the nucleus of education in the coming years, he added.

“It is our duty to provide the best education facilities to the coming generation as the progress of a country and society will depend on education,” he said. Hooda reiterated his government’s resolve to provide these facilities at the doorsteps.

As a step to develop Haryana as an international-level education hub, Hooda announced that the IIT, Delhi, would set up its extension campus in the education city.

Paying rich tributes to former Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi, the Chief Minister said the state government was working to realise the late leader’s dream. The country had emerged as a global leader and had been providing large employment opportunities.

He charged opposition parties with opposing development of the Sonepat region for the 1982 Asian Games. Hooda said Rajiv Gandhi had suggested that the games should start from the Sonepat region but the then Lok Dal opposed it. Had it not been opposed, the area would have developed beyond anybody's imagination. An airport could also have been set up in Haryana.

While giving official figures of money spent for the development of Sonepat district and the Rai assembly segment, Hooda said while Rs 554.36 crore was spent during the six-year INLD-BJP regime, the present Congress government had already spent Rs 3466.51 crore. The INLD-BJP government spent only Rs 58.37 crore in the Rai constituency in its six-year rule whereas the Congress government had already spent Rs 585.05 crore.

Hooda also accorded the status of a sub-tehsil to Rai and that of a block to Murthal. He also announced Rs 15 crore for rural development activities in villages of the Rai assembly segment.

Rohtak MP Deepender Singh Hooda, Local MP Jitender Singh Malik and Education Minister Geeta Bhukkal, among others, addressed the rally.

Nuh (mewat), June 10
At the first-ever Mewati Women’s Convention held at Nuh yesterday, 500 women came out of their homes for the first time to voice the issues that concern their lives. This was a kind of revolution for the region. Though, the entire Mewat region rests on the shoulders of its women; they toil in the fields, collect fuel and fodder from jungles, look after cattle and raise family, they enjoy neither any liberty nor rights. Sadly, they are not aware of their right to education, medical care and protection against domestic violence, which is a norm in the region.

The majority of about 15 lakh population consists of Meo Muslims in the region, yet the custom of dowry practised here is at its worst and a major cause of domestic violence. With realty prices skyrocketing in the NCR, this economically backward region has found a short cut to high consumerism by way of selling land. This newly found money has raised expectations from dowry seekers, at times demanding more than one luxury car and other gadgets that further victimise women.

It took one of the most oppressed women of the country, that is about 60 km from the national capital, a lot of support and silent work by several social organisations to gather courage to step out of their homes after 65 years of Independence. But, once they were there, they asked some pertinent questions from Kumari Selja, Minister of Culture and a Haryana MP, who had come to the conclave.

“Why should we educate our girls when we know they will not get a job,” said a woman, while another one asked, “Why women’s bodies are used as weapons by men to settle scores among themselves, why we become victims of Sections 376 and 316, IPC, (used for forced miscarriage and rape)?

These questions have only one answer- lack of education among women. Though, it has a layered history to it. “First, the educated from the region migrated to Pakistan in 1947, then the political leadership showed no interest in the region due to communal sensitivity. As a result Tabliqui Jamat developed a stronghold here, they did not allow women to step out of homes. When we started work in 1991, the literacy rate was nil here,” says Ramzan, president of the Mewat Vikas Sabha.

Even today the female literacy rate is as low as 10.15 per cent. But, things are slowly changing for the better.

“We want more schools for girls, at least they can be saved from marriage if they go to school, you hardly find a 15-year-old girl unmarried in this region,” says Farida Khan of Pehchaan, a social initiative of Anhad, an NGO that works for communal harmony. “Last year, 13 girls cleared high school from Jamia Milia Islamia as private candidates. This year, 23 girls cleared it. We also promote adult literacy and teach Hindi, English, Urdu and Maths, up to the primary level so that women can do simple calculations,” adds Farida.

In about 506 villages of Haryana in the Mewat region, hundreds of villages still do not have a single girl who is matriculate. About 100 villages have no lady doctor. The entire region has just one boys college while there is none for girls. Boys go to English-medium schools while girls fetch water and look after cattle.

The participating women demanded that each village be given a senior secondary school for girls and a lady doctor. Villages should be provided electricity and water as women have to walk miles to fetch potable water. The women resolved they would not marry their daughters before 18 and would also resist dowry. Social activists, Yogendra Yadav, Shabnam Hashmi, Kuldeep Nayyar, Sandeep Pandey and others have been trying to raise issue concerning women from the Mewat region at the national level.

Rohtak, June 10
The Police Department will now have the onus of providing security to witnesses in various cases of crime pending in the court. The SHO of the area concerned will have to ensure proper escort to witnesses appearing in the court for deposing in any case if they apply for security. Policemen below the age of 40 years will be deputed on such a job.

According to directives issued by Alok Mittal, IG, Rohtak Range, this will be perhaps for the first time that police officials have been assigned such a responsibility. They have been asked to escort the witnesses to the court and back to their houses. It is stated that policemen assigned such a job would don proper uniform and carry weapons for the security of witnesses during judicial proceedings. They should also carry a mobile phone. Any irregularity on the part of the security person or the SHO would be dealt with strictly.

In a letter shot off to the district police chiefs in the Rohtak range, the IG has asked them to ensure that there were an adequate number of policemen available for such a duty. It is learnt that this decision has been taken in view of the recent incidents of assault or attack on witnesses or accused at the time of their deposition or production in the court. Three murder accused were gunned down by criminals near Jhajjar a couple of months ago when they were going back to jail after a court hearing here. 

Chandigarh, June 10
A "chargesheet" on alleged irregularities of the Congress government in Haryana is being prepared by the HJC-BJP alliance, HJC leader Kuldeep Bishnoi said today.

Bishnoi said the "chargesheet" would be submitted to the Governor on the lines of the one prepared by the Congress in 2004 against the then Chief Minister Om Prakash Chautala and his family members, which led to a CBI probe later.

Speaking at the sidelines of a two-day training programme held for party workers, Kuldeep said the two committees formed for finding the alleged irregularities have a huge task on their hands. "The Discrimination Committee is headed by former MP Jangvir Singh who is from the HJC while the Anti-Corruption Committee is led by BJP MLA Anil Vij. While the former is engaged in collecting data on discrimination meted out by the Hooda government, the other committee is collecting information by ways of the RTIs to firm up evidences and expose the corrupt misdeeds of this government," he said.

Kuldeep, the HJC's lone Parliamentarian, lashed out at the Hooda government on the Rohtak shelter home incident. "It is shameful that such an incident occurred, that too, in the Chief Minister's home district. The Apna Ghar incident speaks volumes about Haryana's deterioration on all fronts, including law and order. We will soon urge the Governor to dismiss this government," he said.

Kuldeep also criticised INLD president Om Prakash Chautala, saying he still seeks votes in the name of his late father and former Deputy Prime Minister Devi Lal.

He said the return of Haryana's former Deputy Chief Minister and his brother, Chander Mohan, in the HJC has given the alliance a big boost. "He is my elder brother and like a father to me. Chander Mohan has got a vast political experience, he has remained a four-time Congress MLA and his leaving the Congress is a big jolt to them and a big plus for us," the HJC leader said. —PTI 

Gurgaon, June 10
Accusing the Congress-led UPA government at the Centre of being the fountainhead of corruption, BJP president Nitin Gadkari has said it was "directly" responsible for the country's poor economic condition. He was addressing a two-day national convention of the party's business cell, which concluded here today.

Gadkari pointed out that Rs 980 crore had been spent on rebuilding the Jawahar Lal Nehru Stadium, while a new stadium of that capacity could have been constructed for Rs 120 crore.

Launching a scathing assault on the UPA leadership for its failure to contain the ever-rising prices of essential commodities, the BJP chief said under the given circumstances, the Centre might have to mortgage gold to revive the economy.

He also blasted the Congress government in Haryana for the deteriorating law-and-order situation and pitiable condition of businessmen in the state.

Hisar, June 10
The All-India Jat Aarakshan Sangharsh Samiti has reiterated its resolve to resume its pro-reservation agitation if its demand was not met by August 15.

Hawa Singh Sangwan, President of the Haryana unit of the samiti, said here that if the government did not extend the benefit of reservation in jobs to the Jat community by August 15, a series of protests would be organised in 13 states from August 16 onwards.

He emphasised that the samiti leadership was formulating a strategy that would ensure that the protests and the agitation remained completely peaceful.

Sangwan criticised Yash Pal Malik, a self-styled Jat leader from UP, saying that he was working for his own personal agenda rather than that of the Jat community as a whole. The samiti would soon launch a campaign to expose such members of the community who put their interests above those of the community.

Sangwan said the samiti would ensure that it got its demand fulfilled at the earliest. Members of the community had made sacrifices for the welfare of fellow jats. Their sacrifices could not be allowed to go waste, he added. 

Gurgaon, June 10
Complying with the orders of the Supreme Court and the Punjab and Haryana High Court, PC Meena, Deputy Commissioner, Gurgaon, has directed the officials concerned and public at large to maintain status quo within a 900-metre radius of the Air Force Station and the local ammunition depot.

He said no new constructions were allowed in this restricted area though constructions in place on the ground as on February 10, 2012, would not be demolished.

Meena said as per the directions of the high court, if any person is found raising construction despite status quo orders, he/she would be booked for contempt of court.

He maintained that if a neighbour was found providing power supply for taking up illegal constructions in that area, he/she would also be treated as an offender and his electricity connection would be disconnected. Directions in this regard have been issued to the officials concerned of the power utilities.

The Deputy Commissioner has also directed the officials concerned of the Town and Country Planning Department, hydrologist, police and the Municipal Corporation of Gurgaon to carry out joint inspection of the area at least twice a week to check illegal constructions and digging of new borewells in the restricted area.

Such illegal borewells will be sealed and cases registered against the violators under the Water Act. The departments concerned will also be answerable in this regard.

Meena said the Gurgaon Tehsildar had also been directed not to register any property without obtaining an NOC within the restricted area. The khasra numbers of the land falling in this area have been fed into the computers of the Tehsil office to ensure this.

Karnal, June 10
Vying to become first "Nirmal state" in the country by getting "Nirmal Gram" status for all villages, an awareness campaign was launched by BS Malik, Director, Panchayat and Rural Development, Haryana, from Darad village here yesterday.

The focus of the campaign was on making all villages polythene and open defecation-free and weeding out congress grass. Malik along with district officials and representatives of the NGOs himself collected the used polythene bags scattered in the village, to send the right message.

Villagers were told that polythene was non-biodegradable and not only made the land barren but also changed the course of natural sources of water and let them go waste. He said burning the polythene was also not a solution as it leads to emission of toxic and greenhouse gases and polluted the environment and the best way was to segregate and collect polythene bags for recycling.

The villagers were also made aware about the harmful effects of congress grass on crops and animals and said it should be totally destroyed before the seeds grow. He said only constructing toilets in the village was not enough and the villagers must use these and ensure that the village was free from open defecation and animal excreta.

The government was giving subsidy of Rs 4,500 on construction of toilets in the rural areas and people must use them to make the village completely open defecation-free and acquire the status of "Nirmal Gram", he added.

The initiative was not new for Malik, who launched the drive to make all villages of Karnal polythene and open defecation-free during his posting as Deputy Commissioner.

Being Director of the Panchayat and Rural Development, Malik is now in a position to carry forward the campaign in the entire state and made a fresh beginning from Darad village yesterday.

Sirsa, June 10
With a production of over 16 lakh metric tonnes (MT) of wheat, Sirsa has once again earned the distinction of becoming the biggest producer of wheat in Haryana this year.

As per the official figures, around 11 lakh MT of wheat arrived in various grain markets and purchase centres of the district this year, which again is highest in the state. However, the total production of wheat crossed 16 lakh MT this year, as farmers retain a part of the crop for their own use, for the consumption of the families of their workers and for preparation of seeds.

For Sirsa, this is the second year in succession to have achieved number one position in Haryana in the matter of wheat production. Last year, Sirsa produced 14 lakh MT of wheat.

Sirsa is already number one in the production of cotton in Haryana, as more than one third of the total area under cultivation of the crop is from this district.

“In yield per hectare too, a marked improvement has been witnessed in Sirsa this year. Against the average yield of 47 quintal of wheat per hectare to 55.5 quintal per hectare,” said Amardeep Kuleria, Deputy Director, Agriculture, Sirsa.

Chandigarh, June 10
Holding that challenging land acquisition and seeking its release is same, the Punjab and Haryana High Court has imposed a cost of Rs 50,000 on the petitioners for raising the same argument in a different form. The court imposed the fine on Som Nath and other petitioners on a petition filed against the state of Haryana.

The petitioners owned nine kanals of land in Ratgal village of Kurukshetra district which was acquired by the state government about two decades ago. The petitioners had contended in the court that the acquisition was intended for the development of a residential and commercial area in Sector 11, Kurukshetra. The land had instead been released to other landowners, they argued.

Award for land measuring 31.36 acre was announced in April, 1990. Counsel for the petitioners admitted the compensation amount had been received by the petitioners.

However, the Bench noted the petitioners filed a writ petition before the court suddenly after 19 years which was withdrawn in December, 2009. The Bench of Justice Hemant Gupta and Justice AN Jindal asserted the present writ petition was totally misconceived and abuse of the process of law. “The petitioners cannot be permitted to invoke the writ jurisdiction of the court again on the same cause of action by twisting the facts to assert that they are not challenging the acquisition but seeking release of land. It is the same argument but in a different form,” the Bench ruled.

Faridabad, June 10
As many as 1,014 cases were settled in two Lok Adalats held today and yesterday by the District Legal Services Authority at direction of its chairman-cum-District and Sessions Judge Darshan Singh.

Ravinder Gupta, coordinator of the District Legal Services Authority, said while 20 cases related to mutation were disposed off in a Rural Lok Adalat held at Fatehpur Biloch village today, 994 cases were solved in a Special Lok Adalat held yesterday on the premises of the district court here.

The cases solved in the special adalat included five relating to motor vehicle accident claims. Around Rs 16 lakh was awarded as compensations to the applicants. Also, 698 summary challan cases were disposed off on account of which Rs 4 lakh was recovered as fines.

Besides, 188 criminal and 69 civil cases were settled. The criminal cases included disputes under the Excise Act. Gupta said in all 1,200 cases had come up for consideration in the Special Lok Adalat.

New Delhi, June 10
The Haryana State Information Commission has directed the state's school board to make available on its website the "answer key" to questions in future.

Disposing of an RTI appeal of a Bahadurgarh resident seeking the answer key to questions of the Haryana Teacher Eligibility Test he took in November, 2011, State Information Commissioner Urvashi Gulati said provision of the answer key would avoid unnecessary applications for information under the RTI Act.

"The aim of the Act is to bring transparency and accountability. It is, therefore, directed that the board should ensure availability of the 'answer key' to questions on its website in future," Gulati said in her order.

The Haryana Board of School Education had denied information to petitioner Anil Kumar and had not provided the answer key to questions for the Teacher Eligibility Test on the plea that documents such as the OMR sheet, answer key and question paper are intellectual property/trade secret of the Board and fall within the ambit of Section 8 of the RTI Act, 2005. — PTI 

Fatehabad, June 10
A man was gunned down allegedly by the wife of his dead younger brother, her brother and another youth due to a dispute over property at Bahmanwala, near Ratia, today.

Balwant Singh (50) was working in his fields when his brother Darshan Singh’s widow, Amarjeet Kaur, came there with her brother, Angrez Singh, and another youth this afternoon .

The victim’s son, Gurpal Singh, alleged that they opened fire on his father after an altercation.

The assailants fled on a motorcycle. Farmers working innearby fields rushed Balwant Singh to the Community Health Centre at Ratia, where doctors pronounced him brought dead.

Sources said that Amarjeet Kaur had a dispute with Balwant Singh over her husband’s share in ancestral land. 

Yamunanagar, June 10
The police, recovered the skeleton of a retired police sub-inspector from 15-foot-deep ditch at Bhagwanpur village, near Yamunanagar, on Friday. The victim, Mohinder Singh of Naraingarh had been missing for the past two years and his son had registered a case of kidnapping at Naraingarh police station in March, 2010.

The police said that Daler Singh, the son of the missing SI, had murdered his father with the help of two friends and buried him in a 15-foot-deep gorge at his native village of Bhagwanpur. The police has arrested Daler Singh and his friend Satwant Singh on the charge of murder.

Ambala Commissioner of Police KK Sharma said Daler disclosed during investigations that his father wanted to have illicit relationship with his wife.

The decomposed body has been sent to a forensic lab for a post-mortem examination. The two accused are in five-day police custody. 

Kaithal, June 10
The police has arrested the main accused, Sonu, of Punjabi Bagh, Delhi, who was wanted for his involvement in a case in which Rs 25.54 lakh were fraudulently withdrawn from a local cooperative sugar mill’s account.

A team of the economic crimes investigation cell led by DSP Anil Kumar arrested the accused in a raid conducted at Delhi. The accused used to prepare bogus cheques and handed over the same to his other accomplices who used to withdraw cash from banks. Two other accused, Satish Kumar and Ramesh Kumar, were already arrested on May 10 and Rs 1. 28 lakh were recovered from them.

The police said Sonu had confessed of issuing bogus cheques and withdrawing cash from banks with the help of his accomplices. The accused was produced in a local court, which sent him to four-day police remand.