Chandigarh, September 26
The Punjab and Haryana High Court today ordered a CBI probe into the alleged grabbing of “hundreds of acres” of panchayat land in Panipat district by a mafia “protected” by influential persons. Justice Rajesh Bindal ruled even the Haryana Chief Minister's Flying Squad was feeling helpless in investigating the matter.

The directions came on a contempt petition by Chain Pal and other petitioners against HS Malik, Haryana Director-General, Consolidation of Holdings. The petitioners had earlier sought directions to the respondent not to continue with consolidation of 856 acres of shamlat deh land till the revenue record was prepared in accordance with law “and keeping in view the reports submitted by the Panipat Deputy Commissioner”.

“The issue was brought to the notice of the higher authorities by the Deputy Commissioner through a letter dated January 31, 2003. He stated that certain influential persons and land mafia-- in order to grab shamlat deh land of Nanhera village in collusion with the Consolidation Department staff-- had got mutations entered wrongly but no action was taken for the reasons best known to the authorities ,” Justice Bindal observed.

Disposing of the petition on August 17, 2011, the court directed that a decision be taken on Deputy Commissioner’s communications within 90 days. The contempt petition was filed after no action was taken.

Considering the “vague, evasive and unsatisfactory” tone and tenor of Malik’s reply, the court on May 28 asked the Chief Secretary to show cause why investigation by some independent agency should not be ordered.

Justice Bindal observed an FIR was registered on August 22, 2008, at Bapoli police station and investigation was entrusted to the CM's Flying Squad on August 4, 2010. But no challan has not been presented till date . “The non-conclusion of investigation is stated to be for the reason that the Consolidation Department is not handing over the record, claiming the same to be lost…It is strange to note that even the Flying Squad could not get records from a government department or fix responsibility on the persons who allegedly lost the record…. Apparently, the reason can be the involvement of some high-ups…. It is a fit case in which investigation of the FIR and any other allied issue is required to be entrusted to an independent agency, namely the CBI, Chandigarh unit,” Justice Bindal concluded.

Chandigarh: The Punjab and Haryana High Court has minced no words to say that the Haryana Government discriminated by going ahead with the acquisition of land owned by poor farmers while exempting “huge chunks of land owned by builders” in Sirsa. A Division Bench of the High Court also quashed the acquisition proceedings.

The caustic observations and ruling by Justice Jasbir Singh and Justice Rakesh Kumar Jain came on a bunch of four petitions filed by Lakhan Lal and other petitioners against the state of Haryana and other respondents.

The land acquisition process for developing residential Sectors 21 and 22 in Sirsa was initiated through a notification dated January 15, 2008, under Section 4 of the Land Acquisition Act. It was followed by another notification dated January 14, 2009, under Section 6 of the Act.

Taking up the matter, the Bench asserted it was not in dispute that approximately 26 acres was released in favour of the builders after the issuance of a notification under Section 6 of the Act. The Bench also noticed that the state counsel has failed to show anything further “except raising the plea of delay on the part of the petitioners to challenge the acquisition”.

The Bench added the land owned by the petitioners “was encircled by the area left out of the acquisition process and it will not be possible for the authorities to use the land for the purpose for which it was acquired?.”

Allowing the petitions, the Bench concluded: “It is a clear case of discrimination. The land of poor farmers has been put under acquisition whereas huge chunks of land owned by builders and others were exempted from acquisition even after issuance of notifications under Sections 4 and 6 of the Act for which no explanation has been given. In view of the facts mentioned above, all these four writ petitions are allowed and the acquisition of the petitioners’ land is quashed.”

Karnal, September 26
Miscreants reportedly pilfered thousands of litres of oil near Nilokheri in Karnal district by puncturing the Mathura-Karnal-Jalandhar oil pipeline of the Indian Oil Corporation (IOC).

A patrol party of the IOC comprising superviser Jaswant Singh, gunman Jeevan Singh and driver Ram Niwas, on routine duty, spotted a five-feet deep pothole dug by the miscreants and a 30-feet long pipe, a drilling device to puncture the pipeline for siphoning oil, a spade and a pair of chappals lying by the side.

The spot on the Raipur Rodan- Badthal road on the outskirts of Nilokheri is at an obscure location and not visible from the main road.

The patrolling party members informed senior officers of the IOC.

Chief manager of the IOC Deepak Khanna and operations manager Jasjit Singh rushed to the spot. A team of forensic experts from FSL also reached there and collected fingerprints to identify the culprits.

The oil supply had been stopped and the pipeline was being repaired, said an IOC official.

The police registered a case and started investigations along with IOC officials.

It was yet to be ascertained for how long this operation had been going on and how much oil had been pilfered.

The Indri deputy superintendent of police, Gurdial Singh, said the tools used by the miscreants had been seized and efforts were being made to identify them.

The IOC officers were unable to provide any information about the quantity of petrol siphoned off by the miscreants and were unable to explain how they punctured the pipeline which was being guarded round the clock by security men.

On December 21, 2010, a similar attempt was made by some miscreants who had punctured the pipeline on the Amin road and filled a tanker by siphoning oil. But the tanker had got stuck in the mud and the miscreants had fled, leaving the tanker on the roadside, IOC officials said.

Gurgaon, September 26
The SHO of the police station in Bhondsi village of Gurgaon and two civilians were today booked for murdering a retired police official in lockup.

“The case against Bhondsi police station chief Arvind Kumar Dahiya, Bhagirath and Jitender has been registered under Section 302 and other Sections of the IPC,” said a senior police official.

The action came after angry relatives of the deceased blocked the Gurgaon-Alwar state highway by placing Birpal’s body on the road for hours. They lifted the blockade after an inquiry was marked against the SHO. Retired assistant sub-inspector Birpal Singh’s family alleged that he was beaten to death at the Bhondsi police station after he was detained in a land dispute case. “Birpal was picked up and taken to the police station in Bhondsi, where he was assaulted. When his brother went to meet him, he saw policemen beating him. Birpal suddenly collapsed and died. He was rushed to Kalyani Hospital where he was declared brought dead,” said a relative.

Gurgaon, September 26
The frequent instances of workers' unrest/protests in the Gurgaon-Manesar belt indicate a clear mismatch between the high expectations of industrialists and their workers from each other. At the same time, it also points towards failure of the Labour Department in playing a constructive role in maintaining a cordial working atmosphere in the industrial belt.

The recent decision of the Maruti management to effect a steep hike in the workers’ salaries also underlines the point. Well-meaning industrial captains as well as workers’ leaders maintain that instead of adopting such short-term measures for buying peace, coordinated and concerted efforts should be made by all concerned to ensure a sustainable peaceful atmosphere in the region.

However, the apathetic and lackadaisical approach of government functionaries owing allegiance to the Labour Department and other departments concerned leaves much to be desired. For instance, hundreds of Eastern Medikit workers have been staging a dharna against the alleged illegal lockout at the company in front of the Gurgaon mini-secretariat for the past several days.

Nearly 1,200 workers have been rendered jobless due to the lockout at the company for the past more than four months. On the other hand, the company management has reportedly maintained that the workers had gone on strike in an illegal manner.

Gurgaon, September 26
Three terminated Maruti workers were arrested today in connection with the July 18 mayhem. The trio, who were picked up from their homes, are amongst the accused named in the FIR for participating in the July 18 violence which left the HR general manager dead and over 40 executives injured.

The trio were remanded to judicial custody. The police expects to get a clue to the whereabouts of the absconding accused from them.

Sonepat, September 26
A cheque for Rs 11 lakh was presented to Olympic bronze medallist wrestler Yogesh Dutt in a felicitation ceremony organised here today.

The ceremony was organised by his well-wishers as an acknowledgement of his outstanding performance in the field of wrestling.

Yogeshwar said he had received offers from four places for opening a wrestling academy but he had not chosen the right place for the academy. “I am keen to open it soon so that budding wrestlers avail the benefits,” he said. He praised the state government’s policy for promotion of sports, including wrestling.

Chandigarh, September 26
With a view to protecting the interests of landowners, the state government has notified a ‘land pooling scheme’ for development of residential sectors by HUDA.

The Urban Estates Department, Haryana, which acquires land for planned development undertaken by HUDA as the state’s nodal agency for the purpose, has now decided to introduce a ‘land pooling scheme’ whereby the landowners are given an option to become partners in the development process.

Though the government has also notified its ‘Land Acquisition and rehabilitation and resettlement policy whereby the interests of landowners are protected with provisions for floor rates to ensure payment of market- linked compensation, besides benefits under the rehabilitation
and resettlement policy, including payment of annuity for 33 years .

The government has decided to extend the policy to the landowners whose land is acquired for the development of residential sectors. They would have the option either to accept the compensation in monetary terms under the Land Acquisition Act along with non-statutory benefits under the Rehabilitation and Resettlement policy or to seek the compensation in the form of developed plots as the full and final settlement.

The land pooling scheme would be applicable in respect of acquisition proceedings initiated for the development of residential sectors. A one-time opportunity of exercise of option under this scheme would also be available to the landowners in respect of the current acquisition proceedings and the period available for announcement of the award was four months or more.

The landowners would be required to exercise their option in writing on the prescribed application form within 60 days of the issue of this notification. The landowners would be eligible to participate in the scheme only if a minimum of 1,000 sq yards or more of their land is acquired.

The landowners opting for the scheme would be provided residential plots measuring 1,000 square yards and a commercial site measuring 100 sq yards against one acre of land acquired or in the same proportion for the land acquired in lieu of the ‘compensation package and all other benefits admissible under the rehabilitation and resettlement policy’.

The landowners opting for the scheme would also have the option to seek a part payment upfront at the time of the award as per the floor rates applicable to the area and seek developed plots.

Jhajjar, September 26
The fate of around 1.5 lakh students enrolled in 24 courses run by Maharshi Dayanand University (MDU), Rohtak, through the distance education mode hangs in the balance, with a vital amendment in the University Act made by the Haryana government restraining the university to open its study centres.

The enrolled students are not sure whether they will be able to complete their courses as the government has not made it clear how they would be treated after the closure of the centres.

Troubled with the unpredictable development, a large number of students approach the Directorate of Distance Education (DDE) of the university to inquire, but they have to return disappointed when the authorities say that the decision to close the study centres had been taken by the government.

The state government recently passed a Bill to amend the MDU Act, 1975, pleading, “Since the state has developed a sound institutional network with as many as 30 universities, approximately 693 colleges inclusive of government, government aided and self-financing colleges, two post-graduate regional centres, it does not seem necessary for the state universities to open study centres in the jurisdiction of the state also.”

Earlier, the University Grant Commission (UGC), in view of the judgment of the Supreme Court in the Prof Yashpal versus State of Chhattisgarh case, had also asked the state governments to stop all their state/state private universities from operating beyond the territorial jurisdiction of the state in any manner either in the form of off-campus /study centre / affiliate college and the centres operating through franchises.

Prof Narender Garg, Director of the DDE, MDU, told The Tribune that the university had been running over 11,000 study centres in and outside Haryana. Among them, 1,168 were set up directly by the university while nearly 10,000 were opened through its 10 global study centres across the nation. About 1.5 lakh students were, at present, enrolled in various courses through these centres, he added.

“Since distance education is a major source of income for the university, it will have to bear a huge loss due to the closure of the study centres. Students take admission through the study centres as the university does not make any admission directly. The DDE had earned a massive revenue of Rs 120 crore in the last financial year,” said Garg.

The director said they were waiting for further directives from the government regarding the fate of the enrolled students as their position was not clear in the recent amendment of the Act.

“The government should allow the enrolled students to complete their courses as a large numbers of students have either reached the last stage of their courses or finished more than half the portion,” said Garg.

Sunil Hooda, a student of BCA, said, “The government is playing with the future of students by taking such a decision. The government should either roll back its decision or allow the enrolled students to complete their courses with the same study centres.”

Satish Kumar, owner of a study centre, said they were planning to challenge the government decision in the high court.

Chandigarh, September 26
The Haryana Development and Panchayats Department has issued instructions to prevent illegal sale, lease, exchange, partition and mutation of shamlat land in the state.

The instructions, issued to all divisional commissioners, deputy commissioners and other staff, stated that the registrars or collectors would ensure that the sale deeds in respect of such types of shamlat land were not registered. The partition and mutation of such types of land might not be allowed until the title of such land was decided by the collector concerned.

The compensation on account of acquisition of lands recorded as shamlat deh, panchayat deh, shamlat ptti, jumla malkan would be disbursed to the gram panchayat concerned and if someone raises a question of title, he should be advised to approach the collector for appropriate relief.

Officials said the village-wise complete revenue record of the land recorded as shamlat deh, panchayat deh, nagar panchayat, jumla malkan, mushtarka malkan, shamlat panna, thola, jarab patti, including the status of the lands being leased out or not, shall be updated village-wise and be maintained at the block headquarter by the concerned block development and panchayat officer (BDPO).

The BDPO would keep the updated village-wise entries of revenue records which includes fard jamabandi, khasra girdawari, mutations, sale deeds or lease deeds of shamlat deh lands, shamlat pana, thola lands, panchayat lands, jumla malkan lands etc. of the gram panchayats. The senior district officers such as SDOs (Civil), DDPOs, Tehsildars would regularly and frequently inspect these records and if it was found that any land belonging to the gram panchayat had been illegally transferred or alienated, then he would inform the deputy commissioner concerned for correction of the revenue record and for taking further action against the delinquent officials and other persons.

The Deputy Commissioner would regularly review the status of such shamlat lands in the monthly meetings of revenue officers. It has been directed to get the revenue record checked and if such types of land was found to be already sold or partitioned or the amount of land acquisition compensation had been disbursed illegally, corrective measures should be taken immediately.

Fatehabad, September 26
The additional deputy commissioner-cum-adjudicating officer, Rajiv Rattan, has imposed penalties on five persons and firms for keeping substandard food items with them for sale to the public under the Food Safety Standards Act, 2006.

Hearing complaints filed in his court by the Food Safety Officer, Fatehabad, the adjudicating officer imposed a fine of Rs 10,000 on Manish Kumar from Dangra road Tohana, proprietor of Gem Ice Candy.

Samples of ice candy taken from his factory in April this year were found substandard.

In another case, Om Parkash, a resident of Naya Bazaar Tohana, was ordered to pay a penalty of Rs 10,000 as the sample of ghee taken from his grocery shop was found below the prescribed standards.

Ajit Kumar, a milkman whose sample of milk taken in April this year was found substandard in laboratory tests, has been imposed a penalty of Rs 3,000 by the ADC, while Surinder Kumar from Hansi, whose barfi was found below the prescribed standards, will have to pay Rs 2,000 as penalty.

Gulshan Kumar Grover, who runs Gulshan Hotel opposite the Panchayat Bhawan in Fatehabad, has been penalised by the adjudicating officer for keeping substandard dahi for serving his customers.

Sirsa, September 26
The District Legal Services Authority (DLSA) today rescued two minor sisters and their grown-up sibling from being sold in the name of marriage allegedly by their father and maternal uncle in Rampura Saharani village in Sirsa.

The Chief Judicial Magistrate in DLSA, Harish Gupta, whom the girls aged 16 and 14 (names withheld) approached today with their complaint, summoned their father and maternal uncle and procured their undertaking that the girls would not be married until they attained the age of majority.

Gupta also told them to report to the District Child Protection Officer periodically with the girls, so that they did not solemnise their marriage.

The two siblings alleged that their family had fixed their marriage and that of their 19-year-old sister to three brothers in Kanpura village four months back and the marriage was scheduled for November this year after harvesting of cotton crop.

However, at the instance of their maternal uncle, their father now allegedly wanted to sell them somewhere, the girls alleged.

They alleged that their maternal uncle Rakesh, a resident of Jamal village, came to their village yesterday and forcibly took away their eldest sister for marrying her against her wish in the next couple of days.

They said when their opposition did not move their father, they left their home at 4 pm yesterday and walked to their uncle Hari Singh’s house at Rampura Dhillon village around 3 am today.

Hari Singh brought the girls to the DLSA.

Panipat, September 26
The sarpanch of Manana village in the Samalkha area of Panipat is in the dock following allegations of embezzlement and payment of pension to nine dead persons.

The main allegation against the sarpanch, Ajay Kumar, is that he did not deposit the sum of Rs 8,00,138 received from the auction of shamlat land in the account of the gram panchayat, which amounts to embezzlement of public money.

According to information extracted by an RTI activist, Rajender, the block development officer was aware of this irregularity and had written to the sarpanch vide letter no. 3375 on August 3, but no further action was initiated.

Another allegation against Ajay Kumar is that old age pension of nine dead persons was disbursed by the panchayat and an amount of Rs 20,185 drawn fraudulently had not yet been recovered.

The district welfare officer of Panipat reportedly conducted an enquiry into the matter and wrote to Ajay Kumar that “as per the investigation report 1104 of August 8, 2012, it has come to notice that pension has been disbursed to nine dead persons between August 2011 and February 2012” and sought the recovery of Rs 20,185 distributed in the names of the deceased persons.

The deceased are Ram Singh, Jai Singh, Dharmo, Parmeshwari, Mange Ram, Shibo, Bohti, Balram and Phoolpati.

A show-cause notice in this regard has been issued to four persons-- the sarpanch, gram sachiv Rajeshwar and panches Devi Singh and Rakesh.

The deputy director, panchayati raj and rural development, Alka Yadav, who was here to enquire into the allegations said, “Financial and other irregularities have been found in the functioning of the panchayat.”

Gurgaon, September 26
High drama prevailed in Pataudi village today when a 7-year-old boy was run over by his school bus.

Akshay Kumar, a student of Class II, died after being crushed by the front wheel of the bus while he was crossing the road.

The incident took place at M.D. Senior Secondary School, Khod, in Pataudi subdivision.

Akshay, who was the only child of his parents, died on the spot. The death sparked a protest as villagers gathered and broke the bus and blocked the highway for several hours.

The driver fled the scene, leaving 50 students in the bus.

The accused, Bhim Singh of Khod, was arrested after he surrendered later.

“The driver of the bus has been booked under Sections 279 and 304 A,” said assistant commissioner of police (Pataudi) Bir Singh.

The school authorities refused to shoulder the responsibility for the accident, saying that the driver had joined them only two days ago.

The attitude brings to fore the sorry state of affairs in schools and their callousness pertaining to the transport system.

The apex court has laid down norms for school buses and the responsibility of schools, but a majority of the schools turn a blind eye to the norms.

“He was my only child and I have lost him. I know he cannot come back, but I want action against the driver and the school to ensure that no other child loses his life,” said Akshay’s father.

District education officer Manoj Kaushik said an inquiry was being conducted by the education department and action would be taken against the school authorities, if found guilty.

Sirsa, September 26
The Haryana government has shifted the headquarters of Devender Singh Mor, former Director-Principal (DP) of Chaudhary Devi Lal Memorial Government Engineering College, Panniwala Mota, to the directorate of technical education, Panchkula. The government had replaced Mor with Deputy Commissioner J. Ganesan as additional charge.

The department of technical education has also shifted Sudhir Dagar, an assistant professor of electrical and communication engineering in the college to Panchkula.

The government has placed the services of Sushil Bana, an assistant in the college, under suspension with immediate effect.

The government has terminated the services of NC Jain, deputy registrar who was working with the college on a contractual basis The orders have come in the wake of the students’ agitation, who had demanded the removal of Mor.

Sirsa, September 26
Officials of the Wildlife Protection Department today rescued two black bucks domesticated by a villager near the Tilokewala crossing on the Rori road of Sirsa.

Some villagers had tipped the officials that a villager, Preet Singh, had a male and a female black buck in his possession.

“We have rescued the animals and sent them to the department’s conservation-cum-breeding centre at Jabua in Rewari district,” said Rajinder Dangi, an inspector in the department. He said no action had been initiated against the farmer as the villages told them that the animals were with Preet Singh for the past two days only.

He said Preet Singh claimed that he had saved the black bucks from drowning.