Chandigarh, March 5
Refuting the allegations of “biased” development levelled repeatedly by the Opposition parties, Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda today asserted that the government was, in fact, “pro-farmer and pro-labourer".

Speaking to mediapersons here, Hooda emphasized the government’s commitment to “inclusive development”. He said his government’s spending was way higher in every district. “Take Sirsa, for example. The INLD-BJP government spent Rs195.67 cr against Rs 639.20 cr by us. In Ambala and Panchkula, we spent Rs 415.78 crore and Rs 107.82 cr against Rs 88 cr and Rs 39 crore, respectively, during INLD rule,”Hooda said about funds used for rural development.

Armed with a comparative chart of funds spent by the urban local bodies, Hooda said that no district could allege any “neglect”. “The facts are for everybody to see. Against Rs 16.47 cr spent by the INLD in its home constituency, Sirsa, we have spent Rs 140.94 cr. In Amlala, against Rs 14.41 cr, we have spent Rs 193.07 cr, Gurgaon has got Rs 314.29 cr against Rs 21.17 cr while Panchkula has received Rs 77.5 cr against Rs 3.58 cr. Where is the discrimination?” he asked.

Hooda pointed out that, contrary to allegations, the government had gone all out to allocate funds for development in the urban and rural areas, depending upon the district’s requirement. “There is no bias, whatsoever,” he emphasised.

He said that evaluation of rural development was done on the basis of expenditure made by three departments of Rural Development, Panchayats and Haryana Rural Development Fund and recommendations of the 13th Finance Commission.

On the announcement made by MP Rao Inderjit Singh to set up the Haryana Insaaf Manch, Hooda said the people are getting justice but in case the vested interests of any individual are not being achieved, he could not say anything.

He said the government would utilise the land to set up an SEZ at Garhi-Harsaru in Gurgaon district only for industrial purposes. This land was given to Reliance to set up an SEZ in which the government had sweat equity.

On delay in construction of the Kundli-Manesar-Palwal Expressway, Hooda said the project was being monitored by the Supreme Court and the concessionaire had been fined Rs 18 crore in the form of liquidated damages.

Hooda said petrol and diesel were cheaper in Haryana as compared to other states because the rate of VAT on petroleum products was lower in the state. 

Chandigarh, March 5
The entire Opposition could not do it — neither the INLD’s allegations nor the BJP’s “loud” protests. It took a Congressman, Meham MLA Anand Singh Dangi, to take the wind out of the sails of the Treasury Benches and put the government on the mat on the issue of the “sickness” of the health sector.

The Opposition, struggling to get its act together, conveniently, piggybacked on to Dangi to prove its point even as the Budget debate during the Vidhan Sabha session was marked by a walkout by the INLD today. As soon as Congress’ Nalwa MLA Sampat Singh was asked by Speaker Kuldeep Sharma to open the debate, it invited strong protests from a “united” Opposition, which claimed that this should have been its prerogative.

This invited jibes from Parliamentary Affairs Minister Randeep Singh Surjewala who insisted that the BJP-INLD, during its regime, did not ever allow a Congress leader to open the debate. While Sharma sought a “record-check” on the matter, Surjewala urged the Opposition to “get the Leader of the Opposition and he would be invited to open the debate”, knowing very well that this was not impossible, with their leader languishing in jail for the JBT scam. This prompted the INLD to stage a walkout to protest against the opening of the debate by a Congress legislator.

While BJP’s Ghansham Saraf was making his point about an ill-maintained dispensary in his constituency, Dangi, peeved after yesterday’s non-committal reply on the CHC in Madina, intervened and said the state of health was “very unsatisfactory”. “What is the reason that no doctors are available? Education, too, is in a similar state,” he claimed as Education Minister Geeta Bhukkal and Health Minister Rao Narender stood up to defend their departments.

“Against four posts in the Madina CHC, we do not have even a single doctor. Where are the new doctors being posted? Can’t even one doctor come to this CHC which is the centre for at least 20 villages,” he rued.

An agitated Rao Narender sought to know if Dangi had a “personal allergy” to him, prompting Dangi to reiterate, “This is a big concern for the members and we will talk.”

Realising that it was becoming a Congress versus Congress battle in which the Opposition was taking advantage, Surjewala intervened to explain,”Haryana has a cadre of 3,500 doctors and new doctors are being recruited.”

However, Dangi, Vij and INLD’s Rampal Majra continued to lament the poor state of health services. They found a supporter in Congress MLA and CM’s confidant Venod Sharma, who said the members “have a right to ask” and that nobody should take it personally, in an obvious reference to Rao Narender’s outburst.

Finally, the minister bought peace by assuring Dangi that he would post a doctor to Madina shortly.

Chandigarh, March 5
The Opposition today termed the budget as “directionless” and poor on delivery, governance and vision. Issues of regional bias, non-functional thermal plants, high rates of power and the state government’s “anti-farmer policies” were some of the common issues raised by the Opposition during the ongoing debate on the budget in the Vidhan Sabha here.

BJP’s Krishan Pal Gurjar, the first speaker from the Opposition, contended that the “tax-free budget” was a misnomer since the tax-free budget was followed by hike in power rates and bus fares and revised VAT.

He mocked at the government’s commitment to construct 2 lakh houses for the poor, saying it would increase the debt burden. Critical of the re-employment of bureaucrats, he observed: “The bureaucracy is unbridled. Officers are “missing” and the common man keeps running from pillar to post. A government that prides itself for being transparent must explain why it keeps re-employing the officers.”

Alleging that the government was “anti-farmer” given the unprecedented hike in power, diesel, seeds and fertiliser rates, he said, “This time, the government has not even announced a bonus.” To this, Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda clarified that VAT rates on diesel were the highest in the BJP-ruled states.

To Gurjar’s allegation that the industry was shifting base following violence at the Maruti’s Manesar plant, Parliamentary Affairs Minister Surjewala said the Maruti was, in fact, setting up a second plant on the same premises, had brought a track and testing unit to Rohtak and a motorcycle manufacturing unit to the state. “It would be out of place to link a company’s expansion plans to the industry’s flight,” he said.

INLD’s Rampal Majra said, “The government is on a ventilator in the ICU.” He said, “The quality of education has been compromised and 48 per cent seats are vacant all across because every home is a school.”

Haryana Janhit Congress’ sole MLA, Renuka Bishnoi, raised a demand for funds for MLAs to carry out development works. “The government wants to make the state an education hub when primary education in government schools is in dire need of uplift, law and order does not seem priority and neither do farmers’ interests with the government going ahead and acquiring fertile lands,” she held.

Chandigarh, March 5
The rising number of rape incidents continues to sham Haryana, with 61 rape cases reported in the state in the first two months of this year.

This information was provided by Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh to Congress MLA Sampat Singh during Question Hour in the Vidhan Sabha here today.

Chandigarh, March 5
Over 500 persons, including MLAs and bureaucrats, are among the defaulters who owe arrears of rent of the highly-subsidised Haryana Bhavan in New Delhi. Raghubir Singh Kadian, former Speaker of the Haryana Vidhan Sabha and now a Congress MLA, leads the list of the defaulters with Rs 55,335 followed by one Kishore Gandhi with Rs 31,044.

Senior bureaucrat RP Chander is next in the line with outstanding dues of Rs 25,485 followed former MLA from Guhla Dillu Ram with arrears of Rs 14,300, according to a list tabled on the floor of the House by Haryana Public Works Minister Randeep Surjewala in response to a question by Nalwa MLA Sampat Singh.

Among the politicians, former MLA Naresh Yadav has outstanding arrears amounting to at least Rs 13,000 followed by former union minister and Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda’s confidant Venod Sharma, who owed at least Rs 7,600.

While Ram Parkash, Rajya Sabha MP from Haryana, has defaulted on an amount of at least Rs 6,000, another RS MP from the state, Ranbir Singh, defaulted on Rs 5,850. 

Gurgaon, March 5
Congress president Sonia Gandhi will lay the foundation stone for a special group housing complex-cum-therapy and vocational training centre meant for young adults with autism at Gairatpur Baans village in the district on March 8.

The ambitious project is being developed by Action for Autism (AFA), a non-profit society supporting the persons with autism in India, on a 10-acre chunk of land.

The campus will have 10 group homes, a vocational training centre, a therapy centre and an inclusive school catering to the mainstream children as well as those with special needs. The facility will also have support staff to take care of the persons with autism staying there. The land for the project has been leased out for 33 years by the state government.

"We are already running a facility for children with autism at Jasola in New Delhi. Now, we intend to reach out to more people with autism, create awareness about the disorder and cater to the special needs of young adults with autism, for which we are expanding our base towards Gurgaon," said Reeta Sabharwal, director and governing body member of the AFA.

The campus with two group homes and the therapy centre would be ready by September next year, said Sabarwal, adding that the entire project was expected to be completed by 2016. 

Rohtak, March 5
Pt BD Sharma Postgraduate Institute of Medical Sciences (PGIMS) here is likely to get a new lease of life following the recent announcement of a hefty increase in its annual budget this year.

The PGIMS has been facing a severe financial crunch due to lack of funds for the past one year.

“The institute owes several crores of outstanding dues to various companies supplying medicines and equipment to it. The rise of almost 22 per cent in the budget this year will help the institute in clearing not only the pending payments but also ensuring the availability of medicines and diagnostic facilities free or at nominal charges to the patients,” said a source in the institute.

The scheme of providing free medicines to the poor and common patients had to be suspended due to paucity of funds and short supply.

Recently local MLA BB Batra took up the issue in the Assembly and demanded more funds of the hospital and other projects on the cards. The Health Minister replied that the original budget of the PGIMS, which was Rs 175.86 crore, was revised to Rs 246 crore last year, but the PGIMS failed to get any benefit as most of the revised money was diverted to other medical projects in the state. The PGIMS authorities now pin hopes on the new budget of Rs 300 crore to meet its requirements this year.

“A big jump in the budget is going to help us to manage the things in a better way,” said Dr SS Sangwan, Vice-Chancellor of the health varsity. He said all the additional funds would be used for the procurement of medicines and equipment required to provide better facilities and services to the patients.

Gurgaon, March 5
After indefinite fast failed to have a desired impact, the Hero MotoCorp Workers' Union (HMCWU) has threatened to intensify its agitation. The union, which has been demanding hike in wages for the past eight months, has joined hands with other national trade unions and threatened to stop work across the industrial region for a day.

The union, which is supported by 3,000 workers affiliated to national unions like HMS, AITUC and CITU, and employees of Maruti Suzuki and Honda Motorcycle and Scooter, met the Deputy Commissioner and submitted a memorandum of demands and announced to hold a rally in the city on March 20.

After a fresh round of talks between the Hero management and the union failed on the Monday, the union has also planned a bandh in the district this week.

“We went on indefinite fast and it was called off on management’s promise of a positive negotiation, but there is no solution even after Monday's meeting. The management offers to give us hike to the tune of the one given to units in Dharuhera but that is not enough keeping in mind the cost of living in Gurgaon. If the management continues to be adamant, we will hold a rally,” said Bhim Rao, general secretary, HMCWU.

The union represents nearly 1,200 permanent workers at the plant and has asked for an increase of Rs 14,000-15,000 per month to match the recent hike in wages given by Maruti and Honda, while the Hero management has reportedly offered Rs 7,500-9,000 hike. 

Karnal, March 5
The Karnal Deputy Commissioner, Renu S Phulia, yesterday asked the principals of schools and colleges to take steps for the safety and security of women in the light of the Supreme Court guidelines and cautioned that anyone indulging in eve-teasing or sexual harassment of girls or women would be punished.

Speaking at a meeting to educate the people about the guidelines of the Supreme Court in this regard, she said protecting the honour and dignity of women and ensuring their safety was the moral responsibility of every individual, but the recent gang rape case in Delhi which rocked the country indicated that "how insensitive a common man man is towards such crimes".

She asked the principals and heads of institutions to constitute committees for ensuring the safety of women and their chairpersons and maximum number of members of the should be women and representatives of NGOs included in these committees.

In institutions where the number of men employees was more, the chairperson could be a male. The Deputy Commissioner exhorted the principals to install CCTV cameras inside and outside the institutions and display the rules of "good conduct".

The Karnal Superintendent of Police, Shashank Anand, said complaint boxes would be installed in the institutions so that the victims could give their complaints and be assured that the names of the complainant would be kept secret.

He asked the girls to use the toll free number 1091 for immediately lodging a complaint and said prompt action would be taken on it.

Karnal, March 5
A unique exhibition organised by the Haryana State Crime Records Bureau (SCRB) to create awareness among people and sensitise them about crime against women was a big draw at Karnal, with a large number girls and youngsters thronging the venue and evincing ka een interest in the exhibits.

The exhibition is a part of the SCRB movement to curb crime against women and instill confidence among women to prepare for self defence. It was finalised after involving 50 colleges which were selected and asked by the SCRB to organise seminars and competition in chart-making, slogans, photographs, paintings and poems in their respective colleges and send 10 best entries to the SCRB for display in exhibitions to be organised throughout the state, said the Director, SCRB, Laik Ram Dabas.

Hisar, March 5
A Hisar court today sent the moneylender, who is alleged to have driven a trader to suicide, to police custody for two days.

The police today produced moneylender Rajender Bansal, a resident of Rishi Nagar of Hisar, before Chief Judicial Magistrate Sudeep Goyal, who sent him to police remand for two days. The police told the court that Bansal’s remand was needed for recovering the cheque he obtained from the diseased trader, Anil Agarwal.

The police is yet to arrest the two other accused, Parveen and Baldev Yadav.

The police, meanwhile, has shifted the SHO City, Vipin Kumar, who allegedly did not take any action on the victim’s complaint, to the police lines.

Anil Agarwal had committed suicide on Monday night at his house. In a suicide note, the trader had charged the accused persons with making his life hell by charging an exorbitant interest rate, committing fraud based on papers signed by him to obtain the loan and keeping an evil eye on his wife. The accused allegedly charged exorbitant interest on the money lent to the victim and despite having recovered more than double the amount given, they were demanding more.

Sirsa, March 5
A teenaged girl was allegedly gang-raped by two persons at Chak Sahiba village in the district. A medical examination of the 17-year-old victim at General Hospital here confirmed that she was raped.

Senior Superintendent of Police Raj Shri Singh said the police had arrested both the accused identified as Mukhtiar Singh from Chak Sahiba and Nachhatar Singh from Mallekan village.

She said a case of kidnapping and rape had been registered against both the accused.

In his complaint to the police, the victim’s father alleged that the two accused kidnapped his daughter last night and gang-raped her by taking her to a secluded place. The girl, somehow, managed to escape from the custody of the accused and narrated the incident to her parents.

The girl’s parents took her to the Mallekan police post and lodged a complaint.

The police said it arrested both the accused immediately after registering the FIR.