Bahadurgarh, July 1
Team Anna launched its two-day tour of Haryana from this industrial town located on the Delhi-Haryana border today to drum up support for its July 25 indefinite fast at Jantar Mantar in Delhi in protest against the UPA-led government.

The tour programme titled 'Kranti Yatra' led by Arvind Kejriwal started with a public meeting at Chhotu Ram Dharamshala here. Addressing the gathering, Kejriwal said the Union Government was trying to protect its 15 ministers, including the Prime Minister, against whom several serious allegations of corruption had been levelled with all documentary proofs. Besides, 162 MPs were facing cases in the courts.

“These are the ministers who actually don’t want the strong Jan Lokpal Bill to protect themselves from going to jail. Had the Lokpal Bill been passed last year, the tainted ministers would have been in jail instead of enjoying power,” Kejriwal said, adding that time had come to raise the voice against the corrupt system.

Kejriwal demanded that the Union Government should constitute a special investigation team to probe the serious allegations levelled against the ministers and take stern action against those found guilty.

Rohtak: Team Anna member Arvind Kejriwal sought public support for the movement against corruption and to seek a strong Lokpal. He said the country might not benefit much even if there was a change of government at the Centre in 2014 as no party was ready to take any action to axe corrupt leaders or bring a strong Lokpal.

Slamming the state government, he said its land acquisition policy had benefited only businessmen and real estate developers and not farmers whose precious land had been taken away and handed over to big companies.

About the LokAyukta in Haryana, he said all such posts created so far in the country had been weak and ineffective as no power had been delegated to them so far.

Chandigarh, July 1
The Haryana Government has cracked the whip on the Drug Controllers-pharmaceutical sector nexus. Against the backdrop of largescale complaints against the Drug controllers, the Health Department has come out with a new transfer policy under which they would not be posted in their home districts.

“Since the Senior Drug Control Officers (SDCOs) and Drug Control Officers (DCOs) are the enforcement agencies for various drug control measures, long-duration posting of the officers at one place may result in a nexus and result in inefficiency and inadequate control leading to weaker implementation of the drug control programmes,” a senior functionary of the Health Department told The Tribune here today.

In case of the SDCOs, the officer would not be posted in a particular zone for more than three years. There are seven zones — Faridabad, Gurgaon, Rohtak, Hisar, Kurukshetra, Karnal and Ambala in Haryana. These have been divided into three categories with category “A” comprising Faridabad and Karnal, category “B” comprising Ambala, Rohtak and Gurgaon and the category “C” comprising Kurukshetra and Hisar.

Under the new transfer policy, after the completion of three years in category “A” zone, the SDCO will be posted in category “C” and after that in category “B” for a period of three years.

In case of the DCOs also, the tenure in a particular district would not exceed three years. For administrative purposes, the state has been divided into three categories. While category “A” includes districts of Faridabad, Gurgaon, Sonepat, Hisar, Karnal, Ambala and Yamunangar, category “B” will have the districts of Sirsa, Rohtak, Jhajjar, Bhiwani, Kurukshetra, Jind and Panchkula. Category “C” comprises the districts of Panipat, Kaithal, Fatehabad, Narnaul, Rewari, Palwal and Mewat.

A DCO on transfer will not be posted in the district falling in the same zone. And the total tenure of the officer in a district in an entire career would not be more than five years.

With a view to bringing transparency in transfers, applications for the transfer will be invited in the first week of March every year and the officer would give a option for three stations. The posting orders will be issued in the first week of April every year.

Jind, July 1
The police is yet to make any arrest in the case of the death of a 25-year-old youth hailing from Barahkhera village. The youth had died at the PGIMS, Rohtak, on June 28 after he was allegedly poisoned on June 27 last. The victim was a boyfriend of the daughter of the accused residing in a colony on the Bhiwani Road here. The police had registered a case of murder against the girl’s father on Saturday.

Though the police has not yet described it to be a case of "honour killing", it is, however, learnt that the victim, Navin, and the 20-year-old daughter of the accused, Dharambir, were friends for over a year and wanted to marry. But, according to police sources, Dharambir was against their marriage and had even warned the girl against making any such decision.

"The victim, who was unemployed, was invited by the accused at his house on June 27 to discuss the issue but was allegedly served food laced with a poisonous substance", claims the complaint lodged with the police. 

Chandigarh July 1
The recent vesting of ownership rights by the Hooda government on landless "muzaras" (farmers) of certain villages in Hansi (Hisar) has fired the imagination of the landless farmers in the backward Morni Hills.

Nearly 36,000 poor persons, who depend on nearly 1,846 acres of 'notod bhoomi', hill land made cultivable by landless farmers in Morni for their livelihood, have now pinned their hopes on the Haryana Government for the early ownerships rights.

Despite the fact that landless farmers are cultivating the 'notod bhoomi' for generations, the ownership rights seem to be nowhere in sight. The state government seems to be having different sets of rules when it comes to the transfer of ownership rights to farmers in different parts of the state.

The Haryana Dohlidar, Butimar, Bhondedar and Muqararidar vesting of the Proprietary Rights Act, 2010, which was notified on March 4, 2011, transferred ownership rights to certain categories of landless cultivators. Recently, 33 families of four villages in Hisar district have got the ownership right of 130 acres of land" Since farmers of the Morni area are similarly situated, they should also be transferred the ownership rights immediately," demanded Vijay Bansal, president of the Shivalik Vikas Manch.

Bansal said a provision in the 2011 notification which said it would be 'applicable to similar class or category of person which the state government may notifiy in the official gazette' should be enough reason for the government to transfer the ownership rights to the poor farmers.

While several generations of the current landless cultivators made the land cultivable through sweat of the brow, yet the state government failed to transfer the land in their names against the backdrop of lack of political will. Even a report by former Ambala Division Commissioner TD Jogpal favoured transfer of land in their names.

Jind, July 1
It was a Mahapanchayat with a difference as it did not discuss any issue regarding the eloping of a couple or any problem related to matrimony in violation of the caste system. Elders and representatives of various khaps met in Nidana village of the district to find ways and means to promote natural farming and ask farmers to desist from using pesticides in their fields.The panchayat was chaired by Deva Singh of Daharan khap.

"Though the presence at this meeting was not up to expectations, still heads of various khaps and progressive farmers were able to take up the burning issue of the use of pesticides and chemical fertilisers in farming, resulting in serious health repercussions,'' claimed one of the organisers. He said leaders of various khaps, including the Binain khap, Kandela khap, Bhahra Kalan khap, Daharan khap, Narwana and Nuagama khap, had realised the seriousness of the matter and had resolved to work for minimising or eradicating the use of chemicals and pesticides in the farming sector.

The indiscriminate use of pesticides had not only led to a kind of outburst of diseases, including cancer and other health disorders, over the past several decades several farmers lost their lives while spraying pesticides in their fields every year in Haryana alone, claimed Surender Dalal. Admitting that there had been a controversy among the farmers over the use of such chemicals, he said a meeting of the Sarva Khap Mahapanchayat would be held later after a series of meetings so that farmers did not have any misconception about the drive.

Jhajjar, July 1
Candidates having four years of work experience and who have passed the Teachers Eligibility Test are being exempted from the condition of good academic record in recruitment process of the Postgraduate Teachers (PGTs) in the state.

This was stated by Haryana Education Minister Geeta Bhukkal while interacting with mediapersons after listening to public grievances at her residence here today. She said a notification to this effect had already been issued. “As per the notification, exemption of the Teachers Eligibility Test and B.Ed has been given to candidates having four years of work experience in aided, recognised and government schools. This exemption will be applicable up to April 1, 2015. After selection, if candidates will not pass the Teachers Eligibility Test and B.Ed their services will automatically be terminated after the completion of the said period,” said the minister.

Those candidates who do not have a B.Ed degree but have passed the Teachers Eligibility Test will be able to apply for the PGT for a single time. A provision has been made to exempt good academic record condition with the above two exemption. But all these exemptions will be applicable in direct recruitment for one time only, she maintained.

Sirsa, July 1
The students who are to appear in examinations for various courses under the University Centre for Distance Learning (UCDL) of Chaudhary Devi Lal University, here, from July 3 are still to get their study material.

With just two days left for the examinations, the university says it has received the first lot of study material from its printer and efforts are being made to contact the students.

“We are worried that we may lose a precious year for want of study material. We have been approaching the university for study material for the past many months, but every time the university said they would get it soon. Now, our examinations are starting from Tuesday and still there is no sign of study material,” said some of the students requesting anonymity.

The university conducts several courses through UCDL. Some of these are MA in English, Education and Mass Communication, MBA, MCA, MSc Computer Science.

Prof Sultan Singh, Director, UCDL, attributed this to delay in signing the agreement with printer.

He said he had cleared the file in time, but the authorities signed the agreement with the printer only in June.

He maintained that those who had attended personal contact programme (PCP) organised by the university were provided soft copies of the notes on request.

Chandigarh, July 1
The government has formulated the Haryana State Rural Water Policy, 2012, to save precious drinking water by prevention of wastage through public stand posts, open taps and unmetered connections.

A spokesman of the Public Health Engineering Department said individual household metered connections would be provided to 50 per cent of the rural population by the end of the 12th Five Year Plan. Also, the consumers would be billed on the basis of volumetric consumption of water instead of flat rates, he added.

He said the policy would be mandatory for all types of consumers, namely domestic, commercial, industrial and institutional sectors in the private, semi-government premises and all service-providing authorities.

He said there would be a state-level Empowered Committee under the chairmanship of Financial Commissioner and Principal Secretary to Government, Public Health Engineering Department, which would include representatives of all service-providing authorities.

He said that in case the meter is found not functioning, the consumer would get it repaired or replaced within one month at his own cost, otherwise he would be charged penal rate to be decided by the authority from time to time. All consumers having unmetered water connections would have to install meters of reputed make with ISI mark having good performance at their own cost. No water connection with ferrule size of more than 6mm diameter for domestic consumers would be allowed, he added.

He said that any insanitary connection, if detected by the department, would be disconnected immediately without giving any notice and would be restored only after necessary rectification by consumer with a fine or penalty to be fixed by authorities.

He added that installation of electric or mechanical pumps direct on supply line would not be allowed to any consumer.

He said a penalty of Rs 1,200 would be levied wherever such pumps installed direct on a supply line are detected.

He said that Haryana State has declared incentives to village panchayats for promoting water conservation by announcing awards. 

Karnal, July 1
Enraged over erratic water supply and unscheduled power cuts, residents of Subash Gate and the adjoining areas today blocked traffic at Subash Gate. The residents squatted on the road under the scorching sun.

Long queues of vehicles were seen on either side of the road in the busy market area in the heart of the city.

The residents alleged that due to acute power shortage, they were forced to have sleepless nights.

Gyan Singh, a resident of the area, said there was no water supply and they were facing a lot of difficulties. The police tried to lift the blockade but it failed to do so. 

Karnal, July 1
Showing scant regards towards norms and notifications issued by the Haryana Government and Kurukshetra University, interviews were held for the selection of a principal of a 100 per cent government-aided college.

Interviews for the post of principal of SD College, Panipat, were held after advertising the post, but the process skipped clause V of ‘Revised Qualifications’, which makes it mandatory for the applicants ‘a minimum score in the Academic Performance Indicator (API) as stipulated in Tables 1 to IX through a proforma on Performance Based Appraisal System (PBAS).

The selection procedures, as notified in the regulations (July 21, 2011) verbatim, say that ‘the overall selection procedure shall incorporate transparent, objective and credible methodology of analysis of the merits and credentials of the applicants”.

In the context of process for the selection of principal, the regulations at point number 7.5 categorically stresses on inevitability of implementing API score system and PBAS.

The Haryana College Teachers’ Association (HCTA) representing 100 government-aided colleges in the state has taken exception to the selection of principals in aided colleges of the state without following the government notification dated July 21, 2011.

In a letter written to the Financial Commissioner and Principal Education Secretary, Department of Higher Education, Haryana, HCTA president Dr Rajbir Parashar has urged the government to uphold its own rules and regulations which are self-explanatory in their nomenclature “Regarding Adoption of Various Recommendations of the UGC and MHRD with regard to minimum qualifications for appointment of teachers and other academic staff in the universities and colleges and measures for the maintenance of the Standards of Higher Education” dated 21-07-2011.

These regulations were adopted by the Executive Council of Kurukshetra University in August, 2011. These regulations of UGC/MHRD as adopted and notified by the Department of Higher Education and KUK makes it compulsory for both to follow fresh ‘qualifications’ as well as ‘Selection Procedures’ for the appointments of all categories of ‘Academic Staff’ in universities and colleges.

Hundreds of cases of promotion of college teachers are pending at the level of Kurukshetra University and the Department of Higher Education has shown its reluctance to proceed with fresh selections, promotions and holding of the meeting of Selection Committee of associate professors in colleges.

The interview for the principal of SD College, Panipat, was allowed despite the fact that the API and PBAS system, which is structural to the ‘Selection Procedure’, had not been considered.

Sirsa, July 1
An investigating team of the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has found that although the Shiv Shakti Blood Bank had enough stock of A+ blood, it refused blood to a dying road accident victim without payment.

The team comprising Senior Drug Control Officer Adarsh Goyal and two Drug Control Officers, Nripen Goyal and Vijaya Raje, recorded statements and collected evidences at the two blood banks in the town till late last evening. The team also checked the records of the blood bank of the General Hospital and recorded statement of its blood transfusion officer (BTO) Dr Gulshan Chauhan.

Sources said the inspection of records proved that the blood bank of the General Hospital did not have the stock of A+ blood on that day. The team later went to the Shiv Shakti Blood Bank, which had allegedly refused blood without payment for Sikander (32), a seriously injured road accident victim, who was admitted to the General Hospital with a fracture in the femur bone, and had died for want of blood.

A stock register of the Shiv Shakti Blood Bank revealed that it had sufficient stock of A+ blood at the time when the blood bank allegedly denied it to the dying patient.

The state is emerging as one of the most sought after investment destinations in the country due to its positive industrial and labour policies, he said.

The government is committed to enhance production and has taken effective measures to ensure implementation of labour welfare laws, which is apparent in Haryana's economic development, he added. — PTI