Chandigarh, March 11
The last day of the ongoing budget session of the Haryana Vidhan Sabha today witnessed protests and sloganeering by the Opposition on the leasing of land to the Rajiv Gandhi Charitable Trust in Uhlawas.

The ruckus ended with Speaker Kuldeep Sharma naming all INLD MLAs along with BJP’s Anil Vij even as the other three BJP members staged a walkout to protest against the refusal to discuss the land issue.

Immediately, after the discussion on the Bills began following the two calling-attention motions of the INLD on health, BJP’s Anil Vij was the first to demand a discussion on a CAG report on Uhlawas land lease. INLD’s Rampal Majra, too, joined in and soon chaos ruled as the Opposition persisted on its demand for a discussion.

The Speaker repeatedly asked the MLAs to take their seats and that nothing other than their viewpoint on the Appropriation Bill would be recorded.

This, however, was no deterrent for the Opposition as members of the BJP and INLD began reading out the CAG’s report on the Uhlawas land lease. After warning Vij, the Speaker finally named him and asked the marshals to escort him out of the House.

At this, the INLD, including Abhey Chautala, came to the rescue of Vij and stood between Vij and the marshals.

However, even as he left and the other MLAs of the BJP staged a walkout, Majra sought a discussion on the CAG even as Parliamentary Affairs Minister Randeep Singh Surjewala, repeatedly tried to urge the Speaker to continue with the discussion on the Appropriation Bill.

Following this, the Speaker named Majra, prompting the INLD legislators to come into the well of the House, demanding that they be heard. Demanding discussion over the CAG report, Majra and Chautala said the government had deliberately delayed that the CAG report and now it was avoiding discussion over the serious issues and violations raised in the report.

“This will be remembered as a ‘black session’ with the Opposition not allowed to take up any matter of public interest,” Chautala said even as the other MLAs and the Treasury Benches resumed their sloganeering match.

Finally, the Speaker named all INLD MLAs who raised slogans against the “dictatorial attitude” in which the House was being run. Later, Surjewala explained that the CAG was never discussed on the floor of the House. “The members of the Opposition are the members of the Public Accounts Committee. This report should be first discussed there,” he said as he went on to add that there was no merit in the case being raised by the Opposition.

Later, the INLD members alleged that the CAG report had revealed blatant violation of the Land Acquisition Act by the government in releasing land to the Rajiv Gandhi Trust. 

Chandigarh, March 11
Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda today said Haryana had a legitimate right over Chandigarh and “we are not prepared to part with even a single drop of our share of waters,” and added that inter-state issues could not be decided in isolation.

Interacting with mediapersons in the Haryana Vidhan Sabha here today, he was reacting to the issues of transfer of Chandigarh, inter-state waters and territory raised by Governor of Punjab in his address on the first day of the Budget Session of Punjab Vidhan Sabha here today.

Hooda said the state would not leave its claim over Chandigarh and Hindi-speaking areas. “There have been accords and awards on the issue of Chandigarh, which is the capital of the two states. The Hindi-speaking areas should also be transferred to Haryana.

Referring to the inter-state waters issue, Hooda said it was not the question of the Riparian Principle as mentioned by the Punjab Governor. Earlier, both Punjab and Haryana used to be one state. "The issue of waters in such cases is resolved on the basis of co-basin. Haryana forms a co-basin as the Sutlej, Ravi and Beas rivers are the tributaries of the Indus river,” he said.

Hooda today again urged the Central Government to get the seven year old issue of presidential reference on Sutlej Yamuna Link Canal resolved expeditiously. Both the Eradi Tribunal and the Supreme Court have also delivered their decisions in favour of Haryana.

Hooda said even earlier he had offered Punjab to settle these inter-state issues through dialogue and Deputy Chief Minister Sukhbir Singh Badal had responded in a positive way, but he regretted that the Chief Minister Prakash Singh Badal was not prepared.

In reply to a question concerning the role of the Opposition during the Haryana Vidhan Sabha session, Hooda said the Speaker had given enough time to it for views.

Chandigarh, March 11
The Haryana Health Department has been taking all steps for the prevention and containment of hepatitis by monitoring through epidemiological investigation and awareness generation among people. The state is one of the first states to launch the pentavalent vaccine as part of the immunisation programme for the prevention of hepatitis B.

This was stated by Haryana Health Minister Narender Singh while replying to the calling attention motion of Rampal Majra and Raghbir Singh, both MLAs, on the spread of hepatitis on the last day of the session here today.

He said all blood banks in Haryana were screening for hepatitis-B and hepatitis C. The Haryana State Transfusion Council was conducting information, education and communication (IEC) activities regularly to make people aware of transfusion-transmitted infections. — TNS

Chandigarh, March 11
Bringing the Hooda government’s policy of releasing land from the acquisition process to favour big builders, the Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) has alleged that the state government violated the Land Acquisition Act to favour a realty firm promoted by a prominent media group.

Close on the heels of training its guns on the state government for allegedly releasing land to the Rajiv Gandhi Charitable Trust in Gurgaon, the CAG, in its latest reported presented in the Haryana Vidhan Sabha here today, asserted that the Haryana Government released land measuring over 136 acres to M/s Uddar Gagan Properties Private Limited against the provisions of the Act in Rewari.

The report said Uddar Gagan had applied for the grant of licence for developing a residential colony on the area of over 136-acre land, already notified by the Haryana Government, for the development of a residential colony on August 29, 2006. However, the request of the company was rejected on December 8,2006, on the ground that the development plan had not been published, which was a pre-condition before issuing the licence.

Later, the report said the award for the land was announced on December 7, 2006, and the possession of the land was handed over to HUDA.

However, later company moved the Punjab and Haryana High Court, which asked the state government to decide the licence application on merit on August 19, 2008.

“Despite the fact that there was case of discrimination with the company, the state government released the land in favour of the developer more than two years after the announcement of the award, which was against the provisions of the Act,” the report alleged.

It may be recalled that the Land Release Policy 2007 clearly prescribed that no request for the release of the land out of the land acquisition process would be considered after one year of the announcement of the award. The notification of the acquisition of the land to develop Sectors 6 and 7 of the Urban Estate, Rewari, under Section 4 of the Act was issued in January 2006, the CAG report said, adding that the notification under Section 6 of the Act was issued on August 9, 2006.

Hisar, March 11
Activists of the All-India Jat Aarakashan Sangharsh Samiti (AIJASS) have announced to intensify the stir by starting dharnas at other places in Haryana by March 17.

Yashpal Malik, national president of the AIJASS, who addressed the pro-reservation Jat activists at Mayyar today, authorised the state unit to chalk out its future course of action.

Later, Ram Bhagat Malik, spokesperson of the state unit of the AIJASS, said that the organisation would announce new sites for dharna by March 17.

Malik said the organisation had identified Gajuwala in Fatehabad, Bamla in Bhiwani and Sonepat as possible sites for its fresh dharnas, but the exact dates for starting an agitation at these places would be announced only after mobilising people there.

The AIJASS had started a dharna at Mayyar on March 6, Sandeep Karwasra's first death anniversary .

On the next day on March 7, six agitators, including a woman, began an indefinite fast in support of their demands.

The condition of two fasting activists, Prem Singh and Kitab Singh, continues to be a cause of concern.

Doctors from the General Hospital examined them at the dharna site.

Rohtak: The stir over quota for Jats in government jobs appears to head in
two different lines. While one faction of the Akhil Bhartiya Jat Aarakshan Sangharsh Samiti has announced to stick to its plan of holding a rally at Jantar Mantar on March 18, the other group has claimed that it would announce its next move tomorrow after a meeting at Mayyar village of Hisar district.

Hawa Singh Sangwan, president of the Haryana unit of the samiti, which is considered close to the state government, today reiterated that the Jats from various states would stage a mass sit in-cum-rally at Jantar Mantar in New Delhi on March 18 in order to pressure the Centre to concede its demand for quota in Central Government jobs.

He called upon all members of the Jat community to take part in the national-level protest to be held on March 18.

However, Yash Pal Malik, another prominent leader of the community and leader of the other faction of the Jat Aarakhan Sangharsh Samiti, said the Jats had successfully staged a dharna at Mayyar village of Hisar district for the past seven days and the next move regarding the agitation could be announced tomorrow after a meeting.

While one faction of the Akhil Bhartiya Jat Aarakshan Sangharsh Samiti has announced to stick to its plan of holding a rally at Jantar Mantar on March 18, the other group has claimed that it would announce its next move on Tuesday after a meeting at Mayyar village.

Faridabad, March 11
The Yamuna Mukti Yatra, which was flagged off from Mathura to press for the cleansing of the Yamuna and the release of ample water into it, today crossed over to Delhi from Faridabad, amdist a send-off given by the locals.

The yatra had to extend its halt for a day in Faridabad yesterday following a request by the Delhi police.

The yatra crossed over to Delhi at about noon amidst tight security.

Karnal, March 11
The police today arrested a man for raping a woman at Aungad. The victim has alleged that Bitto barged into her house when she was alone on February 25 and put a piece of cloth on her mouth and made her unconscious. When she woke up, she found herself locked in a room along with her two children. The victim was sexually assaulted by Bitto. Her medical examination confirmed rape.

In another incident, the father of a minor girl complained to the police stating that when his daughter was coming home from tuition yesterday, a motorcycle rider Gaurav, a resident of Sector 6, molested her, beat her up and clicked her photographs. The youth has been arrested.