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Cabinet okays jobs for power plant oustees
Rs 50 lakh hike in discretionary grant of ministers, CPS
news analysis
Take Karnal, Sonepat or Bhiwani, BJP tells HJC
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Education Dept issues notices to private schools
‘Medical negligence’ claims life at PHC
case againt fauji
CBI probe sought into principals’ selection
PhD holders in a fix over HPSC advt
jbt recruitment scam
Three districts get new SPs
Govt urges Lokayukta to review CD case report
Policeman among three killed in road mishap
Cong will win all 10 Lok Sabha seats, claims Hooda
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Cabinet okays jobs for power plant oustees
Chandigarh, January 29 The Cabinet met under the chairmanship of Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda today. It approved the amendment to consider areas within the ‘lal dora’ and ‘phirni’ of villages as ‘abadi deh’. The draft amendment Bills will be moved in the Assembly in the budget session. The Cabinet gave its nod to the Power Department’s proposal of giving 212 appointment letters to land oustees of Indira Gandhi Super Thermal Power Plant at Jhajjar. The oustees of Deenbandhu Chhotu Ram Thermal Power Plant at Yamunanagar would be provided employment on the pattern of oustees of the thermal power plant at Khedar in Hisar. Hooda said the next meeting of the Cabinet would be held on February 6. An amendment to the Haryana Registration and Regulation of Societies Act, 2012,
was approved. If the number of members was restricted to 300 or less on re-determination of membership, it would constitute a general body. If the number of members exceeded 300, the governing body would prepare a scheme of determination of electoral colleges. The Cabinet approved the Haryana Rural Employment Guarantee (Unemployment Allowance) Rules, 2013. A person registered in the registration-cum-employment register issued a job card, whose application was registered in the demand of work register, would be entitled to unemployment allowance if employment was not provided within 15 days. Unemployment allowance would be one-fourth the prevailing wage rate for the first 30 days and half the prevailing wage rate for the remaining period. In the event of delay, the recipient was entitled to compensation. The Cabinet approved allotment of five acres
of Motilal Nehru School of Sports at Rai in Sonepat to Sushil Kumar Foundation for setting up of a
wrestling academy. The rate of lease would be Rs 35,000 per acre per year and the period would be 33 years in the first instance. Fifty per cent seats would
be reserved for domiciles from Haryana. The Cabinet decided to allot three acres on lease to Vijender Kumar at Motilal Nehru School of Sports for setting up a boxing academy. Other decisions
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Rs 50 lakh hike in discretionary grant of ministers, CPS
Chandigarh, January 29 The Cabinet also approved an amendment to the Haryana State Legislature (Prevention of disqualification) Act, 1974, for declaring the post of Political Advisor as a “non-profit post”. Sources said this amendment was brought in to benefit political adviser Prof Virender who is keen on contesting the
parliamentary elections from Sonepat. The amendment will enable him to contest
the election without quitting his post. Sources said the “urgency” to hike the grant was necessitated after a few ministers pointed out that they had no funds available to complete already commissioned works in their constituencies. After the enhancement, the discretionary grant of the Chief Minister would be Rs 22.50 crore per annum. Similarly, the discretionary grant of the Speaker and the Deputy Speaker would be Rs 3.25 crore and Rs 2.50 crore per annum, respectively. The Cabinet Ministers will get Rs 3.25 crore each, state ministers Rs 2.50 crore each and the Chief Parliamentary Secretaries Rs 1.75 crore per annum each as discretionary grants. This will mean
an additional burden of nearly Rs 15 crores on the government. However, the MLAs’ repeated demand for introduction of a discretionary grant for them, raised in every session of the Haryana Assembly, is yet to be considered. Sources said that the Cabinet also waived the penal rent on government houses not vacated on time by ministers. Haryana Urban Local Bodies Minister Savitri Jindal owed nearly Rs 42 lakh for occupying the house even after she ceased to be a minister when the Congress government came to power the second time in 2009. She has already paid Rs 20 lakh. The Cabinet waived the remaining
Rs 22 lakh. Later, she was inducted as a Cabinet minister. Similarly, Excise and Taxation minister Kiran Choudhry got a relief of Rs 12 lakh for the period she was not minister but had continued to occupy government accommodation allotted to her in the first term of Congress rule. Former minister
OP Jain, former CPS Zile Ram Sharma and CPS Ram Krishan Gujjar benefited to the tune of Rs 15 lakh each by the Cabinet decision. |
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Congress hopes to end raging dissidence with Selja’s RS entry
Aditi Tandon Tribune News Service
New Delhi, January 29 Even as Selja resigned from the Cabinet, where she held the Social Justice portfolio, there was talk in the Congress of her likely involvement in the party organisation at a senior level. Selja was named to Rajya Sabha (RS) to balance the caste equation in the Congress’ RS nominees’ list, where she is the sole woman Dalit leader among those announced by the party for the February 7 RS poll to fill 55 vacancies arising out of expiry of the terms of sitting MPs. Speaking to The Tribune yesterday, Selja confirmed that she had put in her papers saying she was ready for any role the party wanted to give her. “I will now be a worker of the party and will be able to devote more time to Haryana than I would have been able to had I been contesting Lok Sabha (LS) elections,” Selja said. Her RS entry is significant for two reasons. One, it is the Congress high command’s way of sending a signal to the state leadership that loyal leaders will be protected and not be allowed to be sidelined or discriminated against. As AICC general secretary in charge of Haryana Shakeel Ahmed said, “Selja is a capable leader. Her nomination is the sole prerogative of Congress president. It is now for the high command to determine Selja’s future role in the party.” Sources indicated that if AICC general secretary Mukul Wasnik excuses himself from party work to fight LS elections, Selja could replace him being a Dalit. There is clarity in the party that Selja’s RS nomination is a sign that the Central leadership wants to protect her politically and use her in the LS campaign in future. Having openly criticised Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda for lopsided development, Selja could have faced difficulty winning her LS seat on account of local anti-incumbency and general anti-incumbency against the Congress. She had won the Ambala seat by a narrow margin of around 14,000 votes in the 2009 polls. This time, she would have faced tougher prospects. The party did not want to see her defeated and thought it fit to bring her to the RS to use her stature for other work. She has been named to the RS alongside senior strategists Digvijay Singh and Madhusudan Mistry.
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Take Karnal, Sonepat or Bhiwani, BJP tells HJC
Gurgaon, January 29 HJC president Kuldip Bishnoi is the sitting MP from Hisar, which is his home district. Sources said the BJP central leadership urged the HJC a couple of days ago to convey its choice shortly. Leaders of the HJC are reportedly brainstorming on the seat to be chosen. At the time of forging the alliance, the two parties had decided that the HJC would get two of the 10 parliamentary seats, but had not selected those. Bishnoi was told at a recent meeting with senior BJP leaders that Hisar would go to the HJC. A strong section in the BJP felt that past electoral
results and the response to Bishnoi's recent statewide 'yatra' demonstrated that
the HJC had good public support in Karnal, Sonepat and Bhiwani. Former Chief Minister Bhajan Lal had once won from Karnal. Dharampal Malick, a Jat, had won from Sonepat, considered to be a part of the Jat heartland. Malick was a Bhajan Lal loyalist. Bishnoi had once won from Bhiwani. A former legislator and prominent Gujjar face of the HJC, Bharat Singh Chhokar, claimed that Bishnoi had acceptability in all parts of Haryana and the HJC was geared to contest any seat under his leadership. |
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6,000 quintals of wheat damaged in Karnal
Karnal, January 29 Sources said the District Food and Civil Supplies Department had stored a huge quantity of wheat in the open at the grain market. The stock was in a good condition at the time of storage, but had been damaged due to improper maintenance. When a Tribune team visited the spot, it found the sacks torn and wheat blackened, with insects and foul smell all around. Polythene covers and other material required for maintenance were lying there, putting a question mark over the working of the department and officials concerned. Ram Lal, an official with the department, said the stock was of 2010-11. He claimed that they were taking care of it, but it got damaged due to stagnation. "The wheat is not worth being issued and an auction will be held in a few days. It is between 5,000 and 6,000 quintal," said Ravinder Malik, DFSC, Karnal. "People have no food to eat, but there is enough to be damaged. The situation could have been different if it was distributed in time," said Murti Devi, a passerby. The damaged wheat put a question mark on the claim that wheat could be stored in the open even during the monsoon without being damaged. |
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Education Dept issues notices to private schools
Faridabad, January 29 The last date for submission of the information was December 31 last year, but it was extended to January 31 this year. There are more than 800 private schools in the district. A senior official of the department said the District Education Officers (DEOs) had been directed to collect the information at their respective
levels as a majority of the schools in state were yet to provide the information. Sources said nearly 506 private schools in Faridabad and 200 schools in Palwal district had been issued the show-cause notices for not providing information under Section 134-A of the Haryana School Education Act. The schools had been asked to provide information regarding the number of students, seats reserved and lying vacant for the EWS and BPL category students, number of teachers, building and total area of the school, library, playground, laboratory and classrooms. All schools have to reserve 10 per cent seats for the poor students each year under the provisions of the Act and they have to submit details to the department online. The official said the state government had decided to take a strict action against the violators. “Hundreds of private schools in both the districts might not be following the rules and provisions set by the department due to various factors, including the lack of basic infrastructure as these might be operating from small and congested buildings besides paying marginal salaries to the teaching staff,” said the official. This could be the main reasons for not submitting the required information, he added. |
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‘Medical negligence’ claims life at PHC
Yamunanagar, January 29 Raj Kumar, the husband of the affected woman, in his complaint to Bilaspur sub-divisional magistrate, Pooja Chawariya, said he brought his wife Neesha Devi to PHC, Bilaspur, at about 6pm on January 26 after she complained of labour pain. He said only a nurse was present at the PHC, while no female doctor was available. “My wife kept suffering for over 15 hours and the nurse on duty kept assuring us that we need not worry and that it will be a normal delivery. She did not inform any female doctor till 9.30am. When my wife’s condition became extremely critical, she was referred to the Jagadhri Civil Hospital,” Raj Kumar said. He alleged that before they could reach the Civil Hospital their baby died in the womb due to negligence of the staff at PHC, Bilaspur. He demanded strict action against the guilty staff. SDM, Pooja Chawariya, has asked the senior medical officer of PHC, Bilaspur, Dr Ramesh Kumar, to inquire into the matter so that action could be taken against the staff if found guilty. On the other hand, Dr Ramesh Kumar said: “I will hand over my inquiry report to the Civil Surgeon tomorrow. A nurse, who was on duty, did not inform the doctor and kept treating the woman herself. Hence, I will recommend action against the nurse in my report.” |
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INLD threatens ‘jail bharo’ stir
Tribune Reporters
Kurukshetra, January 29 The party will hold a protest against the Hooda government on February 3 in Kurukshetra and may even launch a jail bharo andolan in the state in the coming days. Arora said the INLD would contest all 10 Lok Sabha seats. He said the party would go to the elections with the agenda of corruption and nuclear power plant at Gorakhpur. Jind: All senior INLD leaders of the district today launched an agitation, demanding registration of an FIR against Ram Kishan Fauji for his alleged role in the cash-for-CLU scam. Protesters submitted their memorandum to Jind Deputy Commissioner Rajiv Rattan and also burnt the effigies of Fauji and Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda on the Gohana road. Commuters faced a lot of inconvenience due to their protest. Sonepat: Hundreds of INLD activists, led by youth leader of the party Dushyant Chautala, today held a protest march in the town against the state government for not taking action against Ram Kishan Fauji. They also burnt the effigies of the Chief Minister and Fauji outside the Mini-Secretariat and handed over a memorandum of their demands, addressed to the Governor, to Sonepat SDM Amit Khatri. The demands included registration of a case againstChief Parliamentary Secretary Ram Kishan Fauji and his dismissal from the post of the Chief Parliamentary Secretary. The party has threatened to launch an indefinite agitation if their demands were not accepted.
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CBI probe sought into principals’ selection
Chandigarh, January 29 In a representation of the President copies of which were also sent to the Chief Justice of India and the Chief Minister, Dr Anil Kumar Pundir, a Yamuna Nagar resident, alleged that nepotism ruled the roost in the selection of principal in government colleges. The advertisements issued by the HPSC in 2010 and 2012 for the posts of college principal did not mention any selection criteria. The selection criteria was not provided to my wife when demanded through the RTI. “This means that the HPSC had mala fide intentions to accommodate favourite candidates by preparing the selection criteria at the eleventh hour,” he alleged. Meanwhile, in a letter to Dr Pundir the HPSC said: “The selection criteria is prepared just before the fixation of the dates of the interview and any information related to the selection cannot be provided before the completion of the selection process.” On the contrary, other statutory central and state selection bodies provide a clear-cut and transparent selection criteria even in the advertisement for posts. |
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State of Tourism in Haryana-III Deepender Deswal Tribune News Service
Hisar, January 29 There is construction on around 1 acre of the 16-acre complex. It has five rooms, a bar and a hall. It was set up by the Bansi Lal government in 1997 and was inaugurated by then Tourism Minister and local legislator Attar Singh Saini. The building, vacated by the tourism staff after its closure, is lying unattended. Sources say there is a plan to transfer it to the Social Welfare Department to open an old-age home, but the project has not come up so far. District Social Welfare Officer DS Saini says the department has taken over possession of the complex following government instructions. “The building is lying vacant and there is no plan to use it. We have deployed a watchman at the site," he has said. The sources say it was a excellent location to promote highway tourism. “There was no resort for around 100 kilometres between Rohtak and Hisar except this. Hansi has places of historical significance which occasionally attract tourists. The local population, mostly comprising traders, were frequent visitors to the resort for family outings. Family functions and parties were being organised here,” said a Tourism Department official. He added that the complex had been running into losses from the beginning, which were coming down until the abrupt orders to close it were received in October 2011. “The losses came down from several lakhs to Rs 1 lakh in the last quarter when orders to close it were received. The losses could have been cut with a little more support from the government. The complex had staff shortage from the beginning and we had to bring additional staff from Hisar for big functions,” said the official. He added that the decision to close it mentioned continuous losses as the reason. “If losses were the reason, there are many other resorts which have been incurring bigger losses for many decades and need to be closed,” he added. Shiva Datt, a tourism official who had served as the manager at this complex, said the staff were shifted and the furniture sent to the newly constructed complex at Sampla in Rohtak district. He said in absence of good hotels and restaurants in the town, the complex had the potential to tap highway tourism, but continuous losses led to its closure. (To be continued) Was a resort
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PhD holders in a fix over HPSC advt
Rewari, January 29 PhD degree holders in the state are contending as to why the HPSC is making the research scholars ‘ineligible’ for the posts of assistant professors, when the UGC has not issued such guidelines in this regard. The HPSC had recently invited applications for 1,396 posts of assistant professors (college cadre) in 30 subjects. Except for four subjects, including computer science, fine arts, mass communication and music (instrumental and vocal), the selection commission authorities have fixed the NET/SLET as the minimum eligibility conditions for the appointments, while relaxation of merely 5 per cent from 55 to 50 per cent of marks has been granted to those PhD degree holders, who have passed their master’s degree prior to September 19, 1991. “The HPSC has disappointed PhD degree holders by not allowing them to apply for the posts of assistant professors, while they were eagerly waiting for the opportunities since long,” said Satish Kumar, a doctorate degree holder. Vikas, another research scholar, said: “It is gross discrimination with the PhD holders who feelcheated following the new notification.” Haryana Education Minister Geeta Bhukkal, meanwhile, said the state cabinet had decided to allow merely NET/SLET qualified candidates for the posts of assistant professors, but she would talk to the Chief Minister in view of the resentment among PhD holders. |
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HC refuses to stay orders
Tribune News Service
Chandigarh, January 29 At the same time, the Bench headed by Justice Jasbir Singh asked the Haryana Government to decide the fate of the teachers and inform the High Court on Feruary 4. The Bench had earlier summoned the case on an appeal filed by the affected teachers against the orders. Justice K Kannan had earlier asserted that the selection was vitiated “though not fully”; and also rejected the argument that the selection of candidates after 13 years could not be interfered with. Justice Kannan had also directed the government to prepare a single merit list; and made it clear that the state was not required to issue “show-cause notices for removal" as the selected candidates were parties to the writ petitions and the High Court order was rendered after hearing their submissions. The judgment on 80 petitions by Vijay Kumar and other petitioners came a year after the special CBI court at New Delhi convicted then Chief Minister Om Prakash Chautala, his son Ajay Chautala, two IAS officers, including Sanjiv Kumar, and 51 others on corruption charges in the selection case.
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Three districts get new SPs
Chandigarh, January 29 Yoginder Nehra goes as SP/SVB, Gurgaon; Vivek Sharma Joint CP/Crime, Gurgaon, has been given the additional charge of Deputy Commissioner of Police (DCP), South Gurgaon, in addition to his present duties. Sibash Kabiraj has been posted as SP, Hisar, in place of Mitesh Jain who goes as SP, CID. Parul Kush Jain has been posted as DCP/Central, Faridabad; Ved Parkash has been posted as SP/State Crime Branch; Shashank Anand as SP, Yamunanagar; Abhishek Garg as SP, Karnal, and Rahul Sharma has been posted as SP/CID. Among the HPS officers, Devender Yadav has been posted as DCP/Crime, Faridabad, against a vacant post. Surinder Pal Singh has been posted as DCP/Ambala (Urban) and Vikash Dhankar DCP/West, Gurgaon, has been given the additional charge of Commandant 4th Indian Reserve Battalion, Manesar, in addition to his present duties. Satinder Gupta, SP , CID, was transferred as Superintendent of Police, Bhiwani, in place of Parul Kush Jain.
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Govt urges Lokayukta to review CD case report
Chandigarh, January 29 He said the state government had studied the Lokayukta’s report on the CD showing an alleged deal being struck with Chief Parliamentary Secretary Ram Kishen Fauji. Chaudhary said the government had urged the Lokayukta to reconsider its report as there were some variations between findings and observations. The Lokayukta had recently recommended the filing of an FIR in the matter pertaining to video footage allegedly showing Fauji demanding Rs 5 crore for CLU licence for land along National Highway 8 in Gurgaon. “After examining the Lokayukta's report, it has come to notice that no illegality has taken place in the case under consideration,” said Chaudhary, who was accompanied by Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda and top officers. — TNS
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Policeman among three killed in road mishap
Panipat, January 29 The deceased have been identified as SI Dilbag Singh, his son Bikram and Bikram's colleague, Geeta. Dilbag's wife, Krishna, sustained serious injuries. She has been referred to the PGIMS, Rohtak. Sub-Inspector Dilbag Singh was posted at the Police Lines here. Sources said the victims were on their way to Indira Gandhi International Airport as Geeta from Moga and Bikram, both NRIs, were to catch a flight for Australia. The visibility was poor because of thick fog at the time of the mishap. The police reached the spot and brought the accident victims to Samalkha Civil Hospital where doctors declared Dilbag, Bikram and Geeta as brought dead. The bodies were handed over to their family members after autopsy. An FIR has been registered against the trailer driver, who fled the spot after the mishap. |
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Cong will win all 10 Lok Sabha seats, claims Hooda Chandigarh, January 29 While addressing a press conference here today, Hooda said poll surveys similar to the projections of recent surveys during the 2004 and 2009 Lok Sabha elections proved wrong, following which the Congress formed the government. On being asked about the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), Hooda said the ‘Aam Aadmi’ (common man) was with the Congress, whereas ‘Kuchh Khaas Aadmi’ (few special people) were in the Aam Aadmi Party. He said there would be no influence of the AAP on the Congress vote bank.
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