Chandigarh, July 5
The BJP-HJC alliance today accused the Hooda government of committing a Rs 12,000-crore land scam by allowing a Dutch company to develop 400 hectares of forest land for residential and commercial purposes in Faridabad district.

However, the government has described the allegation as “a figment of imagination, having no basis whatsoever.” National Secretary of the BJP Kirit Somaiya alleged that the Hooda government had converted forest land into residential and commercial zones without obtaining the statutory clearances from the Union Ministry of Environment and Forest, despite the fact that the Supreme Court had declared the area as a conserved area. In support of his allegation, Somaiya relied on a letter written by the Faridabad Deputy Commissioner objecting to the proposal.

Somaiya, who was accompanied by Anil Vij, leader of the Haryana Legislature BJP, and Veer Kumar Yadav, general-secretary of the state BJP, said the proposed project was to be jointly managed by the Dutch Haryana Business Consortium (DHBC) and the Haryana Government. The DHBC had signed an MoU with the Haryana State Industrial and Infrastructure Development Corporation (HSIIDC) in this regard.

The BJP leader said in the first phase, 159 acres of land was earmarked for the residential zone based on European architecture, besides academic, sports, entertainment and commercial zones. He also claimed that the Haryana Government had approved the Manger Development Plan-2031.

Denying the allegation, SS Dhillon, Principal Secretary, Town and Country Planning, said the plan was yet to be approved. So far objections had been invited, which would be gone into carefully. Only after that the plan would be approved. He said the mere signing of an MoU did not confer any legal rights.

Somaiya said the BJP-HJC alliance had formed a committee to expose the corrupt practices of the Hooda government. It had identified about 100 scams of the Hooda government, out of which the committee would concentrate on 10 big scams. The alliance would expose these scams at regular intervals. 

Rohtak, July 5
The special investigation team (SIT) of the Haryana Police which has been probing the allegations of sexual abuse and torture of inmates of Apna Ghar shelter home here, has arrested three persons, including a former sub-inspector (SI), in the case. The accused policeman retired on June 30. A case has been registered against him.

Police sources said former SI Bhim Singh Ranga was in charge of the police post at Gandhi Camp which had jurisdiction over Srinagar Colony where Apna Ghar was located. It is alleged that the accused was a frequent visitor to the shelter home and had close relations with its owner and manager. He was also the investigating officer (IO) of this case for some time before the probe was taken over by the SIT led by an ADGP. Two youths, Sukhwinder, alias Chintoo, and Chand, have also been arrested by the SIT in this connection. The total number of arrests in this case has gone up to 10. The former policeman’s arrest comes after the reported statement of a senior police officer of the state, claiming that no policeman was involved in the Apna Ghar case.

Meanwhile, the medical examination of 102 Apna Ghar inmates at the PGIMS hospital here is likely to be over by this week-end.

It may be recalled that all inmates of this shelter home run by an NGO, aided both by the state and the union governments, had been shifted to other places after this spot was sealed following commencement of police investigations.

As many as 102 inmates, mostly children and women, were rescued by a team of the National Commission for Protection of Child Rights (NCPCR), which raided Apna Ghar after a complaint of child abuse and torture on the night of May 9.

Around 90 per cent of the inmates of Apna Ghar have been medically examined at the PGIMS here so far while the rest would be examined over the next three days, claimed Dr Ashok Chauhan, Medical Superintendent.

He said the detailed report of the victims’ medical examination would be submitted to the SIT. While several inmates had alleged sexual and physical abuse, the medical examination of at least one of the women inmates had indicated this possibility.

Sub-inspector Bhim Singh Ranga, who retired on June 30, was in charge of the police post at Gandhi Camp which had jurisdiction over Srinagar Colony where Apna Ghar was located.

The accused was a frequent visitor to the shelter home and had close relations with its owner and manager. He was also the investigating officer (IO) of this case for some time before the probe was taken over by the SIT led by an ADGP.

Chandigarh, July 5
While popular anger against the severe power shortage in Haryana, like many other states, has spilled onto the roads, there seems to be a disconnect between Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda and the power utilities.

Hooda said in Rohtak that all power plants in the state, many of which have either developed technical snags or have stopped generating power due to coal shortage, would soon resume normal production and ease the power shortage. The problem, he said, had been aggravated by the delayed monsoon, which was a natural phenomenon beyond human control. He criticised the Opposition for trying to make this natural problem a political issue.

However, his claim that the power plants would soon resume normal generation is not supported by the power utilities.

In an official statement, Haryana Power Generation Corporation Limited (HPGCL) admitted that though the repair of HIP rotor of 300-MW Unit-2 of the Yamunanagar thermal plant was in an advanced stage, the unit was expected to be re-commissioned only by mid-August , by which time the monsoon would hopefully ease the situation.

Similarly, the 300-MW Unit-1 of the Yamunanagar plant is expected to be back in operation only by November-end.

The corporation, however, defended the Chinese equipment, stating that the problem had been aggravated by the delayed monsoon, poor coal quality and quantity and not because of the equipment.

Tohana (Fatehabad), July 5
The Tohana chapter of the Indian Medical Association today passed a resolution putting some self-imposed restrictions on their members against conducting ultrasound tests on pregnant women.

In the wake of the repeated raids by the health authorities, Dr Sunil Sethi, president of the Tohana chapter, called a meeting of the members to discuss the issue. “We have voluntarily passed a resolution not to perform any ultrasound test on any pregnant woman between the 12th and 22nd week of pregnancy except in cases of primigravida (a woman pregnant for the first time) or in cases of second pregnancy, where the first child is male,” Dr Sethi said.

The health authorities generally believe that those having one or two female children generally opt for sex-determination tests. He said in case there was a pressing need to perform ultrasound tests in other cases, doctors would get a referral slip counter-signed by the senior medical officer of the General Hospital or any of his representative. The IMA members renewed a pledge taken earlier that they would not perform sex-determination tests at any cost.

Meanwhile, the health authorities have been still groping in the dark to crack the case of suspected female foeticide involving the wife of a Panchayat member from Bhodia Khera village. 

Chandigarh, July 5
The number of vehicles crossing the toll barrier on the Gurgaon-Delhi expressway is double than what it was designed for. Its design was also affecting free movement of vehicles inside Gurgaon.

Gurgaon’s Deputy Commissioner of Traffic, Bharti Arora, has minced no words to assert that this was resulting in traffic chaos.

In an affidavit filed before the Punjab and Haryana High Court, Arora has asserted that the toll barrier has been designed to handle only about 100 to 120 vehicles per hour, per lane.

The capacity was to be increased to 150 vehicles per lane per hour after a decade. In all, there are currently 16 toll lanes on each side of the toll barrier. As such, the total number of vehicles expected to cross would be 1,15,200.

However, according to Delhi-Gurgaon Super Connectivity Limited, the number of vehicles crossing the toll barrier is anywhere between 2 lakh and 2.5 lakh per day - “double than what the toll barrier is designed for”.

Arora added this was creating a complete traffic chaos and jams leading to about 2 km into Gurgaon city. The designing of the toll gate was also refraining free movement of commuters inside Gurgaon. It was, rather, affecting the movement of commuters travelling from the western side of the express highway towards the eastern side, she added.

The affidavit is significant as the company managing the Delhi-Gurgaon expressway project has alleged that cops were allowing vehicles to pass without the payment of toll.

Hisar, July 5
In an exceptional move to ease power crisis, the state government has overdrawn power from the northern grid at a very high rate of up to Rs 17 per unit, which is much higher than the average sale tariff of Rs 4 per unit.

“The Dakshin Haryana Bijli Vitran Nigam (DHBVN) has been making all efforts to give maximum power supply to its consumers even by overdrawing from the grid at a very high rate of up to Rs 17 per unit,” said a spokesman of the DHBVN.

About 150 lakh units of power are being overdrawn by the state power utilities daily at the high rate and is suffering a huge loss for giving maximum possible comfort to people, he said. To meet the rising demand of the farm and domestic sectors, the DHBVN has curtailed power supply to the industrial sector from 18 hours a day to a mere eight hours a day to divert more power to the domestic and non-domestic sectors, he added. — PTI

Gurgaon, July 5
Following strict directions of the district administration for tightening the noose around those involved in digging illegal borewells, two persons were caught digging an illegal borewell near Dohla village in the Sohna area of the district . An FIR under Section 188, IPC, has been registered against both of them and the boring machine seized on the complaint of Gram Sachiv Vinod Kumar

Kamal Singh was getting a borewell dug in his fields without having obtained the requisite permission from the Deputy Commissioner.

Anil Kumar of Garhi Wazidpur village was operating the boring machine.

It is pertinent to mention here that Gurgaon Deputy Commissioner PC Meena had invoked Section 144, CrPC, for prohibiting the digging of borewells.

Meena has also made it mandatory for the boring machine owners to get themselves and their machines registered with the hydrologist, groundwater cell, up to July 10.

After this deadline, the machines found unregistered will be seized and FIRs lodged against the violators. Meena clarified the registration was free of cost. The owner just has to give the number, make and model of the boring machine.