Jhajjar, June 16
The fake arms licence racket being probed by the special investigation team (SIT) has taken an interesting turn with the Nagaland authorities cancelling 208 such licences procured by residents of Haryana on the basis of fake documents.

Sources said two ists of such licensees had recently been sent by the Nagaland authorities to the Haryana Police for further action. Most of the licensees belong to Rohtak, Jhajjar and Sonepat districts under the Rohtak Police Range.

The SIT has also detected around 100 more such licensees who obtained licences from Nagaland . A list of such licencees would soon be dispatched to Nagaland for getting their licences cancelled, said sources.

The SIT had come to know that a large number of people residing in Gurgaon and Mewat districts had also got arms licences issued from Nagaland on the basis of fake documents. As many as 70 such persons hailing from Gurgaon district have been detected .

After the cancellation of 208 licences, the police had asked these licensees to deposit their weapons in the police station concerned to escape action under the Arms Act.

At least 10 cases have already been booked in various police stations of Sonepat, Panipat, Rohtak and Jhajjar districts in connection with the racket.

The SIT has found two Bahadurgarh-based prominent arms dealers involved in the racket. Both are underground after their names came to the fore in the racket.

Sumit Kumar, SIT chief and Bahadurgarh DSP, told ‘The Tribune’ that the numbers of such licence holders could go up as the process to trace such licensees was on. Six persons had so far been arrested in this case.

Karnal, June 16
After one year of flash floods in Uttarakhand, families of missing persons are still hopeful of their return. An ‘akhand path’ was performed today in Ram Nagar locality here by Usha Tulli, president of the Baba Kedarnath Sewa Mandal, for the long life of her brother, Yash Pal Tulli, who went missing during the last year’s disaster, and other pilgrims.

“In all, 22 members of the Baba Kedarnath Sewa Mandal went to organise a ‘bhandara’ at Kedarnath last year, but only six returned. The rest are missing,” Tulli told The Tribune.

“The families of the some missing persons have assumed that they are dead, but I am still hopeful that my brother and members of the group will come back. I perform the ‘akhand path’ for their long life,” she said.

The family of Mohan Lal Chhabra and Ramesh Chhabra, whom they assume to have died in the flashfloods, performed a ‘havan’ for peace of departed souls.

Manoj, nephew of the missing persons said that they searched them a lot, but could not succeed. Now they lost their hope and whole family members prayed for their soul rest in peace.

Faridabad, June 16
Residents of Adarsh Colony in Ballabgarh protested against poor civic amenities in their area here today. The residents’ association announced to continue the protest till its demands for clean drinking water, construction of roads and removal of garbage lying in the open were accepted.

More than 25,000 people reside in the colony that was developed 15 years ago.

Advocates Hori Lal Sharma and Rajender Prasad Goyal alleged that elected representatives, including the Municipal Corporator and the local legislator, had failed to ensure development works and provision of civic amenities. “Residents have been forced to live in unhygienic conditions, resulting in break out of diarrhoea and other water-borne diseases,” Goyal said.

Another resident Deepak Chaudhary said the colony’s development was lopsided. “Several households in the colony do not sewerage and water supply connections.”

Ramesh Tomar claimed that the assurances of the authorities concerned to provide facilities had proven hollow. 

Faridabad, June 16
Land circle rates for registration of property in the district have been marginally decreased. This is likely to give a boost to the real estate sector, facing a slump for over a year. The move is being seen as an effect of the rout of the ruling party in the General Elections.

"We have been seeking relief from high circle rates for about two years. The association of real estate agents had submitted memoranda to the authorities for a decrease. It came soon after election results," said a member of the association. He said the decrease was between 5 and 15 per cent.

Arjun Dawar, a member of the association, said the decrease was a welcome move in view of hardships faced by property buyers. He added that there were several cases of banks attaching property for the failure of consumers to repay loans and instalments after the market slump.

The prevailing rate of Rs 37,000 per square yard was decreased by Rs 2,000 in Sector 14. The prevailing rate of Rs 40,000 per square yard was decreased by Rs 3,000 in Sector 15. The new rate would be Rs 32,000 per square yard in Sectors 15-A and 16 and Rs 30,000 in Sectors 16-A and 17.

The prevailing rate was reduced by Rs 3,000 per square yard in Sectors 18 and 18-A. The relief would be Rs 1,000 per square yard in Sector 21. The maximum relief of Rs 5,000 per square yard was effected in Sectors 45, 46, 48 and 37.

The relief was between Rs 2,000 and Rs 3,000 in Sectors 28, 29, 30, 31, 7, 8, 9, 22, 23, 62, 63, 64, 10 and 11. 

Ambala, June 16
Haryana Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda has claimed to have prevailed over the dissident groups within the Congress to reach a consensus on the strategy for the coming Assembly elections.

During a workers’ meeting here today, supporters of Rajya Sabha MP Kumari Selja, contrary to the apprehensions, participated in the discussion on several issues, including the party’s future course of action.

It was apprehended that party workers would boycott today’s meeting like they had done in the previous ones in Panchkula and Yamunanagar. The truce called by Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi between warring factions of the party seems to have played its part.

Later, Hooda told the media that there was no differences within Congress leaders and all were working to strengthen the party. “The workers feel that they have been heard and this has helped the party to consolidate.”

State Congress chief Ashok Tanwar, who was present at the meeting, said the party was planning a number of campaigns to broaden its base and, during these drives, 2 lakh people would be brought into the party fold.

He said that the workers’ meetings had enabled leaders to understand the issues at the grass-roots level and these would be incorporated in the strategies that the party would draw.

Later, Hooda visited the 200-bed Civil Hospital and said 100 beds would the added to it. He took a round of the trauma centre and inquired from patients about the medical facilities being provided by the hospital authorities. On finding an elderly woman, who sustained injuries on her face, seating on a stool, Hooda directed a doctor to provide a bed to her immediately.

One of the doctors apprised the CM that there was one surgeon against the sanctioned posts for three. He assured to look into the matter.

Jhajjar, June 16
The Haryana Education Department has constituted a special committee to verify the degree and experience certificates of around 1,100 newly-appointed Post Graduate Teachers (PGTs).

Legal action would be taken against those whose documents are found fake during the probe, said state Haryana Education Minister Geeta Bhukkal while interacting with mediapersons after hearing out public grievances here today.

She said most of the questionable PG degrees had been issued by deemed universities that were not approved by the University Grant Commission (UGC).

“We have also identified some teachers who got promotion benefit on the basis of such degrees. These have been served show-cause notices,” said Bhukkal. Many applicants had also managed to get their selection done on the basis of fake experience certificates issued by unrecognised private schools, she said.

She said it was the state government’s responsibility to ensure only candidates with genuine degrees and experience certificates joined service. Hence, documents of all doubtful candidates were being examined so no fake degree/ experience holder could join.

In reply to a question about the newly-selected PGTs who obtained the PG degree from four deemed universities, Bhukkal said, “How can they be given joining letters when a case pertaining to affiliations of such universities is already pending before court? Notices are also being sent to teachers who have been hired on the basis of degrees issued by these universities.”

A significant number of newly-selected PGTs have not received joining letters from the Education Department for several months.

The department said master's degrees obtained from Rajasthan Vidyapeeth University, Udaipur; IASE University, Sardarshahar (Rajasthan); Vinayaka Mission University, Salem (Tamil Nadu); and Bangalore University, Karnataka, were being examined.

Under the scanner

* Education Minister Geeta Bhukkal (pic) said legal action will be taken against PGTs whose documents were found fake during the probe

* She said most of the questionable PG degrees had been issued by deemed universities not approved by the UGC

* Master's degrees obtained from Rajasthan Vidyapeeth University, Udaipur; IASE University, Sardarshahar; Vinayaka Mission University, Salem; and Bangalore University, Karnataka, were being examined

Sonepat, June 16
The Medical Council of India(MCI) has allowed the third academic session of MBBS classes this year in BPS Government Women's Medical College, Khanpur Kalan. Dr RC Siwach, Director of the college, said today that the sanction was accorded after a visit of the MCI team on March 13 and 14. 

He said the college was one of the best in rural areas in the country, catering to residents of villages. — OC

Sirsa, June 16
Congress activists held demonstrations and burnt effigies of Union Minister Nihal Chand Meghwal for the second consecutive day here today demanding his dismissal from the Narendra Modi government over an alleged rape case.
State Congress president Ashok Tanwar’s wife Avantika Maken Tanwar led demonstrations with her party workers in Dabwali and Kalanwali today.

Avantika met family members of the rape victim at their residence in Aboobshahr in Sirsa and assured help. The victim, who was married to a Rajasthan-based contractor, had alleged in a criminal complaint filed in a Jaipur court that Meghwal and 17 other influential persons had raped her on several occasions in connivance with his husband, who allegedly used her to further his business.

The police had later filed a closure report, finding the victim’s allegations fabricated, but on her appeal, a district court from Jaipur has now summoned Meghwal and others for August 20.

Avantika also addressed party workers in Dabwali and Kalawali where Meghwal’s effigies were burnt. — TNS

Sonepat, June 16
Dharmapal Singh Malik, a senior HJC leader and convener of the HJC-BJP alliance, today ruled out the merger of the HJC into the BJP.

Interacting with mediapersons at his residence here, Malik reiterated that the HJC was committed to keeping the alliance on the previous terms and conditions that were finalised by senior leaders of both parties long before the parliamentary elections.

Under the terms and conditions of the alliance, the HJC would contest 45 Assembly seats and if the alliance was voted to power, HJC chief Kuldeep Bisnoi would be the Chief Minister for the first two and a half years, he said.

About the recent statements of BJP leaders on the alliance, Malik said: "We will meet Prime Minister Narendra Modi and other senior BJP leaders in this connection".

KAITHAL: Former Haryana Deputy Chief Minister and senior HJC leader Chander Mohan said here on Monday that the HJC would not accept even one seat less than 45 agreed upon between two party leaders in the coming Assembly elections. He claimed that the HJC would not hesitate to put up its candidates on all 90 seats if the BJP did not follow the earlier agreement.

Addressing a party workers' meeting organised here by State Kisan Cell chief Rao Surinder Singh, Chander Mohan said some BJP leaders were conveying their intention not to continue the seat sharing arrangement for the coming Assembly poll . He said the BJP had won seven seats due to its alliance with the HJC as it had thousands of active workers in all Assembly segments. 

Sirsa, June 16
With Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda hinting at a separate gurdwara management body for Sikhs in Haryana before the Assembly elections, the Haryana Sikh Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee (Adhoc) faction led by Jagdish Singh Jhinda today made it clear that only concrete steps would work.

Ahead of the Sikh Mahasammelan to be held at Kaithal on July 6, Jhinda said, “The Sikhs of Haryana will place their demand before Hooda once again and ask him to take steps to announce a separate SGPC.” Mere promises to make a HSGPC to seek our support for the upcoming polls will not work, he said. Finance Minister Harmohinder Singh Chatha will preside over the Mahasammelan.

“All the government needs to do is call a session of the Assembly and pass a Bill on this issue,” he said. He said when a private Bill on the issue was moved by Naggal MLA Nirmal Singh on March 15, 2007, 80 MLAs - except nine INLD members and the Speaker -- expressed solidarity with the demand for a separate Haryana SGPC.

While the development has brought the two warring groups of the Haryana Sikh Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee (Adhoc) led by Jagdish Singh Jhinda and Didar Singh Nalwi on a common platform and they have announced a Sikh Mahasammelan on July 6.

The HSGPC (Adhoc) leaders castigated Punjab Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal, who recently slammed Hooda for interfering in the religious affairs of Sikhs.

The Haryana Government, soon after coming to power in 2005, got a draft Bill ‘Haryana Sikh Gurdwara Management Bill - 2005’ prepared, but deferred it and constituted a committed headed by Harmohinder Singh Chatha to ascertain the views of Sikhs residing in Haryana.

The Chatha Committee collected affidavits from over 2.75 lakh people, all in support of a separate Sikh gurdwara body for Haryana. Just when the government was about to constitute a separate SGPC for Haryana, Badal sought the then PM Manmohan Singh’s intervention, resulting in the decision being put off. 

Fatehabad, June 16
The Bhakra oustees living in 31 villages of Fatehabad, Sirsa and Hisar districts are a harassed lot due to the sorry state of affairs at the local office of the Bhakra Beas Management Board (BBMB).

Every time Bhakra oustees approach officials for some work or the other, they are turned away on the grounds that the record pertaining to them is not in the Fatehabad office.

The BBMB office, which was initially set up in Hisar, was shifted to Fatehabad after oustees’ persistent demands to then Sirsa MP Ashok Tanwar. The demand was met two years ago, but the entire record files were not shifted. Short of funds, the authorities did not shift 70 per cent of the files, Baldev Singh Kutlehria, president, Pursharthi Committee of Ratta Tibba village in Fatehabad, claimed. The committee is formed in each of 31 villages.

Another problem related to fund crunch is the non-auction of village common land in 21 villages, where a majority of the population is of Bhakra oustees. The BBMB office did not have Rs 105 (Rs 5 each for a post to 21 villages) to send letters, listing out the terms and conditions of the auction, to the heads of the Pursharthi Committees of the 21 villages, Kutlehria said.

What makes the matter worse is that only one official is managing the affairs in the BBMB office here for the past two years.

Kutlehria made the claims in the presence of Sanjay Kumar, lone official of the BBMB’s local office, during a press meet here. Kumar nodded in affirmative to all claims while expressing his helplessness to do anything.

The committee president alleged that 55 years after 2,836 families were vacated from their homes in Himachal Pradesh to make way for a reservoir for Bhakra Dam, they were still to be resettled. For this, Kutlehria blamed the “apathetic attitude” of the authorities.

The affected families displaced from 376 villages of Himachal Pradesh (110 from Una district, 256 from Bilaspur and five each from Mandi and Bilaspur) were given land and residential plots in 31 villages of then Hisar district. Of these, 17 villages now fall in Fatehabad district, 13 in Sirsa and one in Hisar.

“Of the 2,836 affected families, only 30 per cent received the ownership rights of residential plots. They have been running for pillar to post, but there is no one to address the problem,” Kutlehria alleged.

Chandigarh, June 16
The government committee has recommended the regularisation of services of 8,500 drivers and conductors of Haryana Roadways . Bus services were hit when the roadways' employees launched a four-day strike in January to press the demand for regularisation of services and a rollback of private permits.

On day two of the strike, the government managed a breathrough in talks after a committee was constituted under Haryana PWD Minister Randeep Singh Surjewala with Transport Minister Aftab Ahmed as a member.

At a meeting last evening, the committee agreed to recommend the regularisation of services of 8,500 employees while other demands were still under consideration. Ahmed said: "Six of the eight unions are on board while two unions did not come for the meeting. During negotiations, it was agreed that all beneficiary drivers and conductors appointed after January 1, 2003, would not get salary arrears from the date of appointment to December 31, 2013, and would submit an affidavit to this effect. We have already received 5,200 such affidavits. Those who have submitted the affidavits will be regulairsed," he said.

On the issue of private permits, he said the committee would consider their objections before taking the final call.

While the Roadways' employees' unions which came for talks expressed satisfaction with the development, one of their leaders, Dalbir Nehra, said: "The committee assured us that the employees would get letters of regularisation within 10 days. However, we will not call off the June 29 plan to gherao the Kaithal residence of committee chairman Randeep Singh Surjewala till the letters are delivered," he said.

Meanwhile, the two unions which did not join the meeting, said this agreement was not acceptable . Dharamvir Hooda, general secretary of one of the Haryana Roadways Workers Unions, said: "We are against this regularisation because the government is not giving the employees any arrears which are likely to come in the ongoing case in the Supreme Court. We are being given a raw deal". He added the government was "forcing" the employees to submit affidavits in exchange for regularisation of services, using this as bait to divide the unions as well as the employees. Subhash lamba, general secretary of the Haryana Karamchari Coordination Committee, claimed the unions which held talks with the government had failed the employees since they neither got private bus routes scrapped nor the arrears roadways employees were entitled to.

Kurukshetra June 16
Union Minister of State (MoS) Krishan Pal Gurjar today said the Motor Vehicle Act needed to be amended and soon it would be framed as per the international standards.

“The Act needs urgent amendments. Officials have been asked to study such Acts of the UK and the US and submit a report within a month. A bill in this regard will be placed in a meeting of all state transport ministers and other stakeholders so that their suggestions can be incorporated. It will then be introduced in Parliament,” Gurjar, who is the MoS for road transport and highways, told the media here today.

About the lagging pace of highway projects, he said: “Fast tracking highway projects is the new government’s priority. The pace of development of the sector took a hit during the UPA regime, but this government will get it back on track.”

The UPA, the minister said, took some wrong decisions. “But overturning all of them suddenly is not possible. The new government will keep a close eye on all projects and, if any violation is detected, action will be taken against the violators.”

On the BJP-HJC alliance, he evaded a reply. “My role in the party has changed. I will answer questions regarding my department. It will be better if this question is posed to the BJP state president or the central committee,” Gurjar said. 

Kurukshetra, June 16
Anganwadi workers took out a march today and held a demonstration outside Kurukshetra Deputy Commissioner Nikhil Gajraj’s office at the mini-secretariat to press their demands.

Before reaching the mini-secretariat, the protesters blocked a road near the new bus stand for over 30 minutes. Accusing the state government apathy, the agitating workers said, “The anganwadi workers maintain records and help the government to execute its policies, but the government has never thought of securing our livelihood.”

Geeta, an anganwadi worker, said, “We receive a meagre amount as honorarium and that too not on time. The rent of several months is also due. We are demanding the state government to regularise us and give us the status of class III and IV government employees.”

The protesters submitted a memorandum to the Child Development Project Officer to be forwarded to the Governor and the Chief Minister. They threatened to restart the agitation after five days if their demands were not met.

Hisar, June 16
The Dakshin Haryana Bijli Vitran Nigam (DHBVN) has decided to provide meters, cable, and other material for new connections and replacement of defective meters to the consumers.

A DHBVN spokesman said here today that the nigam had procured sufficient quantity of meters and material required for new connections and replacing old and defective meters and service cables. No Discom employee would now ask any consumer to provide any material.

The DHBVN has established front desks named “Sojanya Desk” in all subdivisional offices to help consumers apply for new connections.

Now the application and agreement (A&A) forms duly numbered and signed by the SDO concerned would be available at the front desks free of cost and only those A&A forms would be accepted for new connections that are provided at these front desks. No A&A form procured from any agent would be accepted. The information about the documents required to be submitted will be available at the front desk.

The spokesman said the Discom had already started the facility of online submission of applications for new electricity connections. In the first phase of the facility, consumers seeking connection of 20kW or above would be able to submit their application forms online through the websites www.dhbvn.com.

Rohtak, June 16
Anti-corruption will soon be included as a subject in different course modules of Indian universities. The University Grants Commission(UGC) recently shot off a communiqué in this regard to the Vice-Chancellors of all universities, asking them to consider the inclusion of anti-corruption in relevant subjects like law, public administration and human rights etc.

The letter sent by UGC Financial Adviser Upamanyu Basu has evoked a mixed response from the academic as well as administrative authorities.

KPS Mahalwar, a professor of law at Maharshi Dayanand University (MDU), Rohtak, said the inclusion of anti-corruption as a subject matter of study and research would be useful in finding ways and means to combat the menace.

On the other hand, Harish Kumar, Head of the Department of Journalism and Mass Communication at the MDU, said instead of including it as a course subject, the authorities concerned should focus their energies on eradicating corruption.

Ravinder Vinayek, Dean (Academic Affairs) at the MDU, pointed out that the UGC authorities had earlier recommended the inclusion of environmental science and disaster management as subjects in different disciplines, but certain modalities had to be finalised before implementing such inclusions.

Faridabad, June 16
Subhash Lamba, a spokesman of the Sarv Karamchari Sangh (SKS), the largest body of the state government employees, has rejected the Chief Minister’s announcement on regularisation of employees with 10-year service. He said the government should announce a cut-off date of June and reduce the service tenure to two years.

Lamba said it was not sure whether the present state government would be in power by the cut-off date of December 31, 2018.

Claiming that the state government had not taken any employees’ body into confidence prior to the announcement, he said the employees would not accept the 10-year service tenure as the condition for regularisation of service. —TNS