Chandigarh, June 28
Senior bureaucrats and police officials having proximity to powers that be call the shots even after retirement, with the Hooda government ready to accommodate them on plum postings.

The post-retirement rehabilitation of “blue-eyed” bureaucrats, which entitles officers to retain palatial official accommodation, car with red beacon, secretarial staff and hefty pay and perks, has been the practice for years.

The trend picked momentum with the Hooda government taking charge in 2005. In the last eight years, at least a dozen IAS officers, including all six former Chief Secretaries, had been re-employed by the present regime.

The current Chief Secretary’s predecessor Urvashi Gulati was accommodated as the State Information Commissioner (SIC) last year.

Earlier, her husband Naresh Gulati, Chief Information Commissioner (CIC) at present, was appointed as the SIC. Her sister Meenakshi Anand Choudhary was first appointed the SIC and subsequently promoted as the CIC.

The trend of the State Information Commission being the place to be for retired bureaucrats started with former Chief Secretary G Madhavan, who was appointed the CIC. Another retired bureaucrat, Sajjan Singh, was appointed the SIC recently.

Former Chief Secretaries who managed a post-retirement postings are Prem Prashant (Member, State Administrative Reforms Commission), Dharam Vir (State Election Commissioner), Promilla Issar (Chairman, Environment Assessment Authority) and AN Mathur (Chairman, State Finance Commission).

Other superannuated officers have not been behind in getting postings. Recently, Secretary to the Governor Mohinder Kumar was given a three-month extension while former IAS officer JS Ahlawat was adjusted as a Haryana Human Rights Commission Member.

While RD Sheokand has been the Chairman of the Haryana Public Service Commission, MP Bidhlan is a Member. LSM Salins has been State Finance Commission Member.

Former Director-General of Police RS Dalal was appointed the Director-General of the Haryana Institute of Public Administration, Gurgaon, after retirement. Another retired police officer, PV Rathee, was re-employed as Principal Adviser (Law and Order).

Chandigarh,June 28
Secretariat officials, considered to be the backbone of the administrative machinery, are up in arms against the pick-and-choose post-retirement rehabilitation policy of the Hooda government for its ‘blue-eyed’ officials.

Resentment is brewing among hundreds of
secretariat officials against retiring officials usurping posts meant for cadre officials after superannuation by using pressure tactics, especially political pressure.

“The phenomenon of re-employment is spreading like a virus. A majority of officers, on attaining the age of superannuation, are seeking re-employment, oblivious of the fact their action becomes an impediment in the career advancement of cadre officials which is causing financial loss and demoralisation,” said Ramesh Gaba, president of the Haryana Secretariat Service Officers Association.

Alleging that retiring officials were being retained under political pressure by throwing to the winds administrative norms, another office-bearer of the association alleged that re-employment resulted in humiliation of serving cadre officials.

“Though they have no legal right to be on the job after retirement, their proximity to politicians and senior bureaucrats enables them to continue on the job for years together,” he complained.

The Hooda Government has been very liberal in accommodating its officials, including IAS, HCS and middle-rung officials, even after superannuation, raising the hackles of the opposition and employees’ unions.

It has been learnt that 17 officials have been re-employed for a period ranging from one month to six years. Though retiring officials are given an extension for a few months, they continue to occupy their posts for years, blocking promotional avenues of serving officials.

Among re-employed officials are Ghanshyam Dass, SK Miglani, Vikram Arya, Dhan Singh, Ravi Kant, PK Aggarwal, Shadi Lal Kapoor, Padam Parkash, RK Madan, Ram Mehar Sharma, Jangsher, Pradeep Kumar, Raj Mal, KK Makkar, Amar Nath Malhotra, Subodh Bindal and Brahma Nand.

Gurgaon, June 28
The five accused held yesterday were sent to judicial custody and key accused Dharambir, who was nabbed today, was being interrogated about the whereabouts of Vikram, the seventh accused.

Showing no remorse, the six accused nabbed in the rape-on-wheels case claimed that the victims were into fresh trade and had been paid in advance to be with them.

In their statement, the accused claimed that the two women were in touch with Dharambir. He claimed that the women were paid Rs 10,000 on Saturday when he 
met them.

“They dined with me that day, but gave me the slip the moment I got drunk. I have been calling them up since, but they refused to come to me or return the money,” he said.

Having failed to meet them for a week, Dharambir reportedly hatched the plan of raping them to get ‘value’ for money. According to sources, he made his friends get in touch with the women, who agreed to meet them.

They sat unsuspectingly in the car, but the person driving turned the car on the Faridabad road, where Dharambir and another accused pushed their way in. The statements of the accused contradicted the victims’s statements.

2 cops suspended

The Gurgaon police suspended Balraj Singh, assistant sub-inspector who is in charge of the MG Road police post, and head constable Dinesh Kumar for dereliction of duty. They were on duty when the two women were raped in the car. When the victims informed the police control room early on Thursday, Dinesh failed to convey the message to Balraj as he did not have his mobile phone number. 

Kaithal, June 28
A married woman, mother of four children, was raped at Habri village by three persons on the night of June 26.

The three persons have been identified as Vinod, Manish and Isham of Sirsal village. The police has arrested all accused, who were produced in a local court today, which sent them to 14-day judicial custody.

The police said the victim's husband works as a mason. As a routine, he visited his home after gap of few days. On the fateful night, three persons knocked at the door of woman's house at about 10 pm.

When she opened the door, she was forcibly pushed inside. Two of them took her to a room and raped her.

The woman somehow managed to reach the courtyard and raised an alarm. Her brother-in-law heard her cries and reached the spot, but the accused fled from the spot.

New Delhi, June 28
To facilitate movement of goods from the catchment areas of the northern region of Jammu & Kashmir, Himachal Pradesh, Punjab, Haryana and Uttar Pradesh, JM Baxi Group today unveiled the Delhi International Cargo Terminal (DICT) set up at the initial cost of Rs 200 crore at Sonepat.

Aiming to grab 30 per cent of the National Capital Region's (NCR) 15 lakh TEU containers and cargo trade per annum in two to three years span, JM Baxi Group plans to invest another Rs 800 crore at the state-of-the-art facility spread over 65 acres in the next two phases of expansion.

The integrated rail-linked cargo terminal and inland container depot, which will give a strong competition to the other ICT’s in the region by providing a rail link much earlier on the route will start commercial operations from August 15, said IVS Murlidhar, senior vice-president, DICT.

“The facility has a capacity to handle 500,000 TEU containers annually and is equipped with a large container storage yard, EXIM warehousing with a capacity of 50,000 sq ft and an equal capacity planned for the future,” he said.

Just off the NH-1, the state-of-the-art facility is equipped with a large container storage yard, EXIM warehousing with a capacity of 50,000 sq ft and an equal capacity planned for the future. In order to provide flexibility and ease to the cargo arrivals by road some of the ramps have been specially imported from Italy.

The DICT is connected with three rail lines, linked through the serving station of Bhodwal Majri and in order to facilitate the cargo operations, modern handling equipment like reach stackers, hydras, forklifts, 75 road trailers, 90 refer plug points etc are being deployed.

DICT president Capt Rajeev Mittal said the availability of the rail terminals much before the other ICT’s in the region would help the exporters and the importers of the northern region to cut down transportation costs. The company plans to increase the number of rail lines from the present three to four over the next few years.

He said the advantageous location of the facility at Kundali in Haryana from where North India cargos funnel into Delhi would result in filling up the capacity almost immediately.

Karnal, June 28
Protesting against airing of TV serial Jodha-Akbar by a channel, the Rajput community today went on rampage, blocked the roads, indulged in stone pelting and damaged buses and trucks.

The GT Road was blocked for over an hour and the passengers had a harrowing time at a flyover at the Nirmal Kutiya Chowk.

As the mob started pelting stones, the passengers started alighting from the buses for their safety. The Rajputs gathered at the Rajput Dharamshala and marched towards the highway and blocked the road.

A large number of vehicles were stranded and some of the vehicles changed the route. The windowpanes of a Punjab Roadways bus were smashed and its driver Surjeet sustained serious injuries.

The mob also stoned a truck and injured its driver Kartar Singh. As the situation started taking an ugly turn and the mob was adamant on continuing the road blockade, SDM Mukul Kumar and other officials reached the spot and pacified the angry mob.

The officials asked the Rajput leaders to provide a CD of objectionable scenes and dialogues and assured that if there was anything, which hurt the feelings of the community, it would be removed. Later, the mob dispersed and normal vehicular traffic was resumed.

Jhajjar, June 28
As many as 20 passengers were injured in a heavy stone pelting allegedly by a mob of hundreds of people at the Tilakbridge-Rohtak (TR) passenger train near Nangloi railway station, about 10 km from Bahadurgarh town, located on the border of Delhi and Haryana, here today.

The train leaves for Tilakbridge (Delhi) from Rohtak via Bahadurgarh every morning. The traffic on the Rohtak-Delhi railway lines remained disrupted for over two hours due to the incident, while commuters had to face a tough time reaching their destinations as several other trains on the route also got delayed owing to disturbance on the station. The train services returned to normal after the track was cleared around 10 am.

“The incident took place when someone pulled the chain of the train near Nangloi railway station. As soon as the train halted, a group of hundreds of people started throwing stones on the train,” said Satbir Singh, a commuter who sustained injuries. He said later, another group of assailants boarded the train and began thrashing the commuters. They also caused injuries to some Railway police personnel, who had come there to save the passengers.

The railway authorities said several trains, including Dhauladhar Express, Delhi-Rohtak-Bhiwani (DRB), EMU, Haryana Express, Delhi-Jind (DJ) passenger, Chhindwara Express, which run on the Rohtak-Delhi track this morning had to be halted at different places on the route due to disruption near Nangloi railway station.

Notably, a group of anti-social elements had also pelted stones on the TR train at Nangloi railway station last night when it was on its way to Rohtak from Tilakbridge.

Ambala, June 28
Taking a cue from the amendments made by the neighbouring states in the Forest Act to curb illegal felling of trees, the state Forest Department has proposed to hike the penalty, which is imposed on culprits.

Ajay Kadyan, chief forest conservator, said the state Forest Act,1927, was enforced in the state under which a penalty of Rs 500 was imposed on those involved in illegal felling of trees in the protected areas. He said the department had now proposed that the penalty for the first-time offender be hiked to Rs 25,000 and be double every time the same culprit indulges in this malpractice.

The chief conservator said the meager penalty of Rs 500 had hardly been proving any deterrent to the wood mafia, which was still active in the state. He said tardy legal process and lack of evidence generally came in the way of conviction. Kadyan said the districts along the Shivaliks and the Aravalis were at a risk of climatic catastrophe similar to one witnessed in Uttarakhand and there was a great need to protect and promote forests in these areas as soil stability was a serious issues in these areas.

He said the Forest Department had been instrumental in saving around 4,000 trees out of 56,000 trees, which were to be axed to widen the Panchkula-Yamunanagar national highway. He said after the national highway authority decided to four lane the said road instead of six laning it, the department took up the issue with the authorities concerned, which agreed not to axe all trees along the road. 

Sonepat, June 28
A boy (21) and a girl (18) of Tihar Malik village were found hanging with a tree outside the village today.

Both of them belonged to the same caste and were neighbours in the village.

After receiving information, the police reached the spot and after preliminary investigations, took the bodies for the postmortem at the Civil Hospital. The police said a case of suicide had been registered. However, further inquiry would be conducted on the basis of the post-mortem report.

Chandigarh, June 28
All offices and cash collection centres of the operation wings of the Dakshin Haryana Bijli Vitran Nigam(DHBVN) and the Uttar Haryana Bijli Vitran Nigam (UHBVN) will remain open on June 29 to give consumers the facility of declaring unauthorised extension of load without paying any penalty under the ongoing Voluntary Disclosure Scheme (VDS).

A spokesman of the DHBVN said the VDS had been made available to all domestic, non-domestic, agriculture and low tension (LT) industrial consumers up to June. Tomorrow will be the last day to get benefit of the scheme. After that, in case unauthorised extension of load was detected, penalty would be imposed as per rules.

Hisar, June 28
The Agriculture Meteorology Department of Chaudhary Charan Singh Haryana Agriculture University (CCSHAU) has predicted rains in Hisar and surrounding areas next week.

A spokesperson said there was possibility of partly cloudy weather with moderate winds in Hisar from June 29 to July 6. The spokesperson said the rains might occur on July 1 and July 2 and then again on July 5 and July 6.

Meanwhile, reports of the Indian Meteorology Department suggested that the maximum temperature would hover around 39 degree Celsius during the next two days and would come down by two to three degrees on Monday and Tuesday.

Chandigarh June 28
The Haryana Government has taken a U-turn on the implementation of the decision to collect property tax on commercial property in the state.

In the wake of the protests from different quarters, Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda today said a committee would rationalise property tax on commercial property in various municipal areas.

He ordered that the recovery of property tax on such property would remain in abeyance for 45 days. He took the decision keeping in view the constant demand for rationalisation of property tax on commercial property.

The committee was told to submit its report by July 29. The committee would be headed by Industries Minister Randeep Singh Surjewala.

The other members of the committee would be Savitri Jindal and BB Batra, both legislators; Bharat Bhushan, Narwana Municipal Committee president; and Maman Chand, Bhiwani Municipal Committee vice-president. — TNS

Sirsa, June 28
Kuldeep Jain, District and Sessions Judge, and Harish Gupta, Chief Judicial Magistrate-cum-Secretary of the District Legal Services Authority, today visited Bhai Kanhaiya Ashram, a shelter home for women in Sirsa.

Jain, who is also president of the District Legal Services Authority, inspected kitchen, living rooms and medical facilities available to the inmates. The ashram houses 35 women and two children presently.

Out of these two mentally challenged women are pregnant, who were left in the ashram by the police and two others suffered from HIV, Gupta said.

Gurvinder Singh, president of the ashram, said one of the HIV-infected woman was left in the ashram by the police while the other was brought from Sardulgarh in Punjab. He said the the HIV-infected woman was getting treatment from the local General Hospital, while a private psychiatrist Dr Amit Narang visited the ashram to treat mentally challenged women.

The judges inquired about health and well-being of the inmates and distributed fruits among them. 

Sirsa, June 28
Good Samaritans accompanying trucks carrying relief material for Uttarakhand victims had a bad experience in the hill state as there were no takers for their goods.

Local philanthropists who accompanied the trucks carrying rations, blankets and medicines had to literally beg for the material to be accepted in Dehradun, Hardwar and Rishikesh.

A huge stock of edible items, mineral water and other items have reached there and those managing stores have no place to keep truckloads of items reaching everyday.

“We will like to appeal to the people not to rush there with relief material as it will involve wasteful expenditure,” said Surinder Bhatia, who heads an Uttarakhand flood relief committee in Sirsa.

“They will have to literally throw the material there. It will lead to an unnecessary traffic rush in a state in a mess due to a natural calamity. It is better to contribute to the relief fund set up by the state government,” he added.

Rajesh Phutela, who accompanied trucks carrying relief material, said he had taken 85 quintals of wheat flour, 600 blankets, packets of biscuits, cartons of mineral water, 800 pairs of shoes, tea, sugar, gram and other items.

“We reached Dehradun on June 24, but found no takers. When we went to relief material stores at Transport Nagar in Dehradun, we found truckloads of material waiting for the last six or seven days, with none ready to accept it for want of space,” he said.

After waiting there for a day, the good Samaritans went to Jolly Grant airport, where they found at least eight groups having set up langars, but the number of those coming for food was negligible.