Narnaul, August 18
After not getting any positive response from state BJP leaders regarding a poll alliance, the Haryana Janhit Congress (HJC) supremo, Kuldeep Bishnoi, has now played the SYL card to corner the BJP in the south region that has been suffering from the acute shortage of irrigation water for long.

Bishnoi, while addressing a gathering during the ‘Parivartan Rally’ here last evening said he would merge the HJC with the BJP if its (BJP) leaders bring the water of the Satluj-Yamuna Link (SYL) Canal to south Haryana before the Assembly poll.

“There is an urgent need to ensure the reach of the SYL canal water up to the tail-end villages of south Haryana. Since the BJP has its government in the Centre and coalition rule in Punjab, it should work to bring the SYL canal water to the region instead of making it a poll issue,” said Bishnoi.

He maintained that the BJP should not play with the sentiments of poor farmers of the region by raising the SYL canal water issue at the time of Assembly polls as they had already been deceived by political parties several times in the name of providing irrigation water.

In political circles, Bishnoi’s statement is being viewed as ‘an attack on its ally BJP’ after its national president Amit Shah and other BJP leaders raised question marks over the alliance’s fate by quashing the terms and conditions for the continuation of the coalition with the HJC in the Assembly poll.

Hisar, August 18
After being told to sign on dotted lines or walk out of the alliance by BJP chief Amit Shah in two rallies in Mahendragarh and Jind, HJC supremo Kuldeep Bishnoi has announced to take a final decision on the fate of the alliance by tomorrow evening.

Apparently pained at the desertion of the HJC leaders who had recently joined the BJP, Bishnoi claimed that he could also poach on the BJP leaders. “The BJP leaders are not adhering to the coalition dharma and I can also get the BJP leader on board like they are doing,” he said.

He maintained that the win of seven BJP MPs in the state must be attributed to the alliance. “They have won as candidates of the BJP-HJC coalition and not as the BJP nominees.”

Gurgaon, August 18
The electoral battle here is being termed as one of the most important in the state as it being seen as power struggle between CM Bhupinder Singh Hooda and his bête noire Rao Inderjit, who joined the BJP just before the LS polls and is now a Union minister.

He had alleged regional development bias by Hooda and had a running feud with the CM before quitting the Congress. Rao had targeted the Hooda alleging that the latter had diverted funds to the constituencies of his favourites.

Incidentally, independent Sukhbir Singh Kataria had pulled off a surprise win from here in the previous polls by toppling septuagenarian Congress candidate Dharambir Gaba.

However, the loss was compensated by former Congress minister Rao Dharampal by winning the Badshahpur seat and with Dharambir Singh wresting Sohna. But the sitting MLA from Pataudi, Bhupender Chaudhry, lost to Ganga Ram of the Indian National Lok Dal (INLD).

Kataria, a rebel INLD candidate, defeated Gaba by 2,137 votes. Gaba’s loss from Gurgaon — traditionally a Congress stronghold — was seen as an indicator of dissatisfaction among voters as Gurgaon had turned into a complete urban mess and Gaba had failed to meet expectations.

Former deputy speaker and INLDs PAC member Gopi Chand Gehlot, a popular Jat leader, has been actively taking up issues such as alleged illegal demolitions by MCG, police's failure to crack rape cases and the government's anti- farmer schemes. The party has fielded him for his hold over the party's conventional Jat voter base.

Inderjit, in his debut year with BJP, has proved his popularity in the region. He repeatedly stressed that step-motherly treatment had been meted out to this constituency which was the state’s highest revenue earner.

Political pundits have predicted a clear win for the BJP from Gurgaon in the state elections.

Hooda, who visited the the constituency recently, declared the party will register a thumping win here since the 'Modi bubble’ had burst. Though he sounded confident, the general feeling is that the Congress will be hard pressed to zero in on a suitable candidate to counter Inderjit.

Gehlot is emerging a strong contender and is out to give a tough fight to Rao by courting the latter’s Ahir votes. Incumbent MLA Kataria is facing trial in the bogus voting scam and has seven FIRs registered against him. Gopal Kanda's new party, Haryana Janlokhit Party, is yet to make its presence felt in this constituency.

New Delhi, August 18
The Haryana Janhit Congress (HJC) leadership has approached the top brass of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), the fountainhead of the Sangh Parivar, to prevail upon the BJP to honour the terms of agreement of the HJC-BJP’s alliance for the Assembly elections in the state.

HJC president Kuldeep Bishnoi confirmed to The Tribune today about a series of his meetings with top RSS functionaries in the past five days. The meetings took place at RSS’ office at Jhandewala in the capital as well as other stations.

Although he declined to comment on reports of his meeting with RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat, sources say the two leaders did meet. He, however, confirmed his meeting with Indresh Kumar. He was evasive when asked about the RSS leaders’ response.

Post Lok Sabha elections, a resurgent BJP is determined to alter the terms of the alliance in its favour to the chagrin of the HJC.

Bishnoi said during his meeting with Indresh Kumar, he stressed the BJP must abide by “alliance dharma” and stick to the terms of the agreement for the alliance forged in 2011.

He is said to have apprised the RSS functionaries that the BJP was a non-entity in Haryana politics when the alliance was forged. The HJC heeded to BJP’s request to give it eight out the 10 seats for the Lok Sabha elections as the latter had a stake in national politics. Even though the HJC was then a bigger political player, it agreed upon 45 seats to each party for the subsequent Assembly election.

The post of Chief Minister was to be shared between the two parties on a rotation basis, should the alliance come to power. The agreement was that Bishnoi would have the first shot at the post.

He also told the RSS functionaries that the severing of the HJC-BJP ties would benefit the Congress and the INLD. He also repeated the charge against a section of BJP leaders of Haryana who had vested interest in scuttling the alliance between the two parties.

Bishnoi met the RSS leaders in the wake of his letter to BJP president Amit Shah last Sunday, urging for a clarification on issues relating to the alliance. Shah has not responded to his letter yet.

Meanwhile, the HJC has decided to take a position on its relationship with the BJP soon. It is awaiting a possible invitation to Bishnoi from the BJP for tomorrow’s public meeting at Kaithal which will be addressed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

When Bishnoi met Indresh

* Kuldeep Bishnoi confirmed a series of meetings with top RSS functionaries in the past five days

* Though he declined to comment on his reported meeting with RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat, he confirmed having met Indresh Kumar

* He said he stressed the BJP must abide by “alliance dharma” and stick to the terms of the agreement for the alliance that was forged in 2011

* Bishnoi met the RSS leaders in the wake of his letter to BJP president Amit Shah last Sunday, urging for a clarification on issues relating to the alliance. Shah has not responded to his letter yet

Ambala, August 18
Former IAS officers, including a former Financial Commissioner (FS) and a Principal Secretary (PS) who retired in 2008, and their kin are aspiring for BJP ticket for the forthcoming Assembly election. The wife of a serving Additional Chief Secretary has also applied for a ticket.

BJP sources Hem Chand Disodia, who was the Financial Commissioner and Principal Secretary in the Haryana government in 2008, has applied for the BJP ticket from Jhajjar. He had joined BJP during the Lok Sabha elections. Disodia said he joined the BJP because he was impressed with Narendra Modi's policies and wanted to serve the people.

Neelam Bhagwaria, the wife of Additional Chief Secretary RP Chander, has also applied for the BJP ticket from Bawal and is said to be keen to contest from Neelokheri too. She is the daughter of Shakuntla Bhagwaria, several-time Bawal MLA and cabinet minister. Neelam, who joined the BJP some months back, has confirmed the development.

Former IAS officer Rajiv Sharma, who retired as Divisional Commissioner a few months back, has also applied from Gharonda but is keen to contest from Yamunanagar.

Santosh Sarwan, wife of a former IAS officer ML Sarwan, is also in the fray from Mulana constituency. She had put a number of hoardings of Narendra Modi and other senior party leaders in the constituency. Santosh had been a minister in the Congress government and she joined BJP six months back in the presence of the then BJP chief Rajnath Singh.

Two other IAS officers have joined the INLD after their retirement but have not applied for the ticket for Assembly elections, the sources added. 

Ambala, August 18
Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda said the congress in Haryana had been getting mass support of the people and would be voted to power for the third in a row. Talking to media persons here today, he said that some of their leaders who had left the congress recently would not prove beneficial for the BJP as they had lost elections from their own constituencies.

Some of the leaders who had been leaving the party had lost their credibility and goodwill among the people. The results of assembly elections would be quite differ from that of the Lok Sabha, he pointed out.

Answering a query, he said that the government had already decided to grant freehold status to the Ambala Sadar properties. A committee led by a retired Judge has been formed to work out the modalities. The government had executed record development works during past decade and the people, including farmers, employees and businessmen were offered huge incentives, he added.

Earlier, in a function, Shri Digamber Jain Sabha, conferred the title of ‘Jain Ratan’ on the CM for granting minority status to the community in the state. Sabha president VK Jain one of their long pending demand has been fulfilled. He assured the CM that Jain’s in Haryana would support the Congress in the forthcoming assembly election so that Hooda could score a hat trick.

Speaking on the occasion, the CM said that Lord Mahavira’s teaching of non- violence was promoting brotherhood, peace and communal harmony even today. Jain institutions in the state had been imparting excellent education to a large number of students in the state.

Bhupinder Singh Hooda also inaugurated a Jain dharamshala and unveiled a portrait of Lord Mahavira.

Senior party leaders Nimral Singh, Dilip Chawla Bittu, Ramesh Mal, Chitra Sarwana, Umesh Sahwni and Rajiv Jain were present on this occasion. 

Sonepat, August 18
“Even if Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda leaves me, I will not desert him. I am sincere to him and will remain so,” said Jagbir Singh Malik, Gohana MLA. He was addressing party workers at Gohana yesterday in connection with the CM’s Panipat rally on August 24.

Referring to some media reports about his leaving the Congress and joining the BJP, he said the question did not arise. “I remained sincere to Bansi Lal in Haryana Vikas Party and now I am a true soldier of Bhupinder Singh Hooda”.

He recalled that there were two mistakes in the last Assembly elections. First, a number of tickets were given to wrong persons and secondly, many party leaders worked against the candidates during campaigning.

However, he said such elements had already deserted the party and there would not be any chance of committing the second mistake. He opined that the Congress should give tickets to the right persons to come back in power the third time.

Nilokheri (Karnal), August 18
Former union minister Venod Sharma questioned all political parties over their silence on the issue of discrimination in development and jobs. Venod Sharma alleged that the Congress Government was responsible for discrimination in the development of the state and that was why the youth was suffering.

“It is a planned conspiracy of certain political parties to develop a particular region of Haryana while others are neglected,” he added.

Addressing a ‘Jan Chetna Rally’ at Nilokehri on Sunday, he said, “When the people vote for any government it is the duty of that government to take care of the interests of the people from all regions.”

He added that all major medical projects, educational institutions and infrastructural projects were granted to a particular area while the others were left out completely.

The power connections of the people of one region are immediately disconnected if the dues are not paid while they are waived off in the case of others, he pointed out.

Sharma questioned the rationale of the chairman and the members of the Haryana Staff Selection Commission for ignoring deserving candidates and favouring the youth from one particular area under the interview process.

Lambasting the Hooda government, he said that this government will be rejected by the masses because of the lopsided development in the last ten years but the government was still continuing with its discriminating policies till date.

He remained with the Congress for so long but disagreed with the decisions which were taken even then.

He raised his voice against the injustice at various party platforms but was not heard forcing him quit the party for the sake of the people of Haryana.

Sharma gave a wakeup call to the people of Haryana to fight for their rights and the right time to do so was now since it was election time.

Venod Sharma also asked the gathering to vote for Pala Ram, a senior leader of the Jan Chetna party in the elections so that the development of this area was carried out in a right manner.

Hisar, August 18
Former MLA Ram Kumar Gautam has announced that he would contest the Assembly poll, for the eighth time in a row, from the Narnaund Assembly segment of the district.

Addressing a rally in Narnaund on Sunday, Gautam, who faced defeat in six of his attempts and was elected in 2005, said he would join the fray as an independent candidate.

Gautam had defected to the Congress after winning on a BJP ticket. But he lost the 2009 Assembly poll that he contested on a Congress ticket. He resigned from the Congress recently.

Known as a witty and outspoken politician in the region, Gautam justified his politics of opportunism with the argument that after getting elected on a BJP ticket in 2005, he joined the Congress to get the works of the people of his constituency done as the party was in power.

“I will do this again on winning. I will support whichever party is capable of forming the government. My only agenda is to carry out maximum development and to get jobs for the people of this region,” he said while addressing a well-attended rally at the “anaj mandi” here today.

He lashed out at the INLD and the BJP saying that candidates from these two parties had been befooling the people of this segment. “INLD legislator Saroj Mor has only one excuse for all the demands of the people that her party is not in power,” he said.

Karnal, August 18
The foundation laying ceremony of the new bus stand has sparked a new controversy in the political circles of the district. The Opposition has made it an issue for the upcoming Assembly elections and claimed it as a cover up for the lack of development and discrimination towards the district.

In each and every of their public meeting, not only the INLD, but also the BJP usually rake up this issue and put a question mark for this haste foundation laying ceremony and announcements of different projects done by the government.

As per the sources, the project of the new bus stand has been sanctioned by the state government in 2006.

After a long wait of around eight year, the foundation stone of the new bus stand has been laid by the chief minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda on August 1.

The controversy has flared-up due to several drawbacks in the project including no blue print and no budget, said the sources, adding that the higher authorities have rejected the marked site earlier, and have short-listed four other sites for the bus stand and now they have ear-marked the same site of sector-12 for the proposed bus stand.

Chander Parkash Kathuria, state general secretary of BJP, questioned the selection of the site as it was rejected on several occasions.

Earlier it was finalised in 2006 at the announcement of the project.

Now the government has to clarify its stand for the selection of this site and why the precious eight years were washed away, why were the residents of the city have to face lots of difficulties, congestion, traffic problem and other inconveniences due to delay in the project.

Jagmohan Anand, state spokesman BJP, pointed out, “The foundation stone was laid in haste by the CM as the Assembly elections are approaching near. The stone has been laid even without any blue-print and any budget for the project.”

Manoj Wadhwa, candidate of INLD, alleged, “The government is taking such decision only for the political mileage and it is just an eye-wash to make fool of people.

“Shifting of the bus stand is a long pending demand of the residents, it should be constructed quite earlier. Government should pass the budget and make a blue-print before laying of foundation stone.”

“A meeting was held yesterday at Panchkula regarding this project with the principal secretary, who has directed us to expedite the process of the project. The process of blue-print and budget are being prepared. This project would be spread in an area of 9.7 acres. There would be a lay-by for the buses coming from Chandigarh side,” said Ravinder Pathak, GM Roadways Karnal.

Long wait of 8 years

* The project of the new bus stand was sanctioned by the state government in 2006

* After eight years, its foundation stone was laid by chief minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda on August 1

* The controversy has flared up due to several drawbacks in the project including no blue print and no budget

* Higher authorities had rejected the marked site earlier and had short-listed four other sites for the bus stand

* Now, they have ear-marked the same site of sector 12 for the proposed bus stand

Kurukshetra, August 18
State Co-operatives Minister Satpal Sangwan has challenged BJP chief Amit Shah to prove his allegations of “property dealing” levelled against him by the latter during the ‘vijay sankalp’ rally at Mahendragarh on Thursday. Talking to mediapersons here on Sunday, Sangwan said, “Amit Shah should either prove his allegations or apologise publicly whenever he reaches the state.”

He said, “He accused me and a couple of other ministers of property dealing. I have never made a single land deal of even a ‘gaj’ (metre) in my political career and I am proud of my honesty. He (Amit) is a big leader, but he doesn’t even know me. Levelling allegations at someone by merely listening to some leader is wrong. I am hurt. Shah has all the power. He can get everything verified through any agency. If I am found guilty, I am ready to be punished, but if he fails to prove his allegations, he must apologise to me no matter how big a leader he is.”

Sirsa, August 18
Local Punjabis are eagerly awaiting the announcement of ticket by the Congress and the BJP before making up its mind for the upcoming assembly poll.

Though INLD nominee Makhan Lal Singla and sitting MLA from Sirsa Gopal Kanda, who is also president of the Haryana Lokhit Party, have already launched their campaign, the Punjabi community, by and large, has been keeping away from their campaign.

The Sirsa Assembly segment has 52,000 Punjabi voters out of the total electorate strength of 1.78 lakh. The seat has been represented in the Vidhan Sabha five times by former minister Lachhman Dass Arora, a prominent leader of the community in Haryana.

Arora, who was defeated by Independent Gopal Kanda last time, died on June 5, 2012.

Since Arora’s defeat in 2009, the Punjabi community has been waiting for the upcoming poll to bring the seat back to the community.

Punjabi leaders were expecting the INLD to field a leader of their community as there were many in the race like Veer Bhan Mehta, Amir Chawla and Krishan Gumber. “However, much to our disappointment, the INLD has fielded Makhan Lal Singla, a liquor contractor, ostensibly to match the money might of Gopal Kanda,” said Ved Parkash, a member of the community.

Rajan, an active member of the community, said the Punjabi community has been eagerly awaiting the announcement of ticket by the BJP and the Congress before taking a collective decision .

While Punjabi leaders like Arora’s daughter, Sunita Setia, and Bhupesh Mehta are in race for the Congress ticket, leaders like Jagdish Chopra and Sham Bajaj are among those aspiring for the BJP ticket.

Sonepat, August 18
Rohtak MP Deepender Singh Hooda has said the BJP in the state had become a party of deserters from the Congress and the INLD and the party’s original cadre and workers were feeling isolated and sidelined.

He was addressing a meeting of party workers from Gohana and Baroda Assembly constituencies at Gohana to seek their maximum participation in the party’s Panipat rally on August 24.

He said the INLD leadership had forgotten the legacy of former Deputy Prime Minister Devi Lal. “The INLD will be contesting the Assembly elections not to win but to have an upper hand on the party cadre,” he said, with an indirect indication to differences in the party leadership.

Gohana MLA Jagbir Singh Malik, Baroda MLA Sri Krishan Hooda and political advisor to CM Prof Virender also addressed the meeting.

Karnal, August 18
Concerned about incomplete flyovers and the agitation against toll tax being collected, Karnal MP Ashwini Chopra today advocated the waiving of the collection of toll tax till the final commencement of the Panipat-Jalandhar six-lane project.

The BJP MP said that he would write to Union Transport Minister Nitin Gadkari and would demand the stoppage of toll tax collection on the incomplete national highway passing through Karnal.

He would also demand free passage through the toll plazas at Karnal and Panipat to villagers living in their vicinity, he said.

The MP said that the chief minister has a bag of gifts and he has been cheering people with these announcements. These would never be fulfilled. The announcement of a domestic airport was one of those as it was just an eyewash.

Chopra said, “During my visit to villages for campaigning, I saw the residents suffering due to non-availability of toilets. So I decided to get toilets constructed to maintain hygiene in my parliamentary constituency. I have signed an MoU with Dr Bindeshwar Pathak, founder, Sulabh International Social Service Organisation, which has been working in this field for a long time, for constructing 200 toilets in different villages in my constituency.”

On announcing the chief ministerial candidate, “Announcing the name of the CM candidate before elections could boomerang and cause damage to the party in the elections.”

To a question about chief ministership, he said, “I am not in the race for chief minister. Whosoever the party gives a ticket in Karnal, all the party workers will work for his victory.”

Hisar, August 18
Sampat Singh, Congress MLA from Nalwa, in a letter to the Chief Minister has asked for an increase in the pay scales and other perks of police and jail employees. He stated that the living conditions of policemen were pitiable when compared to employees of other departments. “Gone are the days when matriculates were recruited as constables. Now, although the minimum requirement in class XII pass, most applicants are graduates, post-graduates, MBAs, engineers and lawyers. Even the nature of crime has changed. It has become complex in nature. There are economic crimes, cyber crimes, crime against women,” he wrote.

“The salaries of policemen and employees of jails in Haryana are much less compared to other state government employees as well as their counterparts in other states. Surprisingly, these are among the lowest in the country”, he stated, adding that he had raised this issue in the Assembly and at other occasions but no action has taken place in this direction so far”, he said.

“Along with the tough working conditions, most policemen are always on duty and have to stay away from their families. While other employees work for not more than 180 days a year, jail employees have to be on duty for all 365 days,” he said.

Karnal, August 18
Even after 18 years of announcements of making Karnal a railway junction, by linking Kaithal and Yamunanagar to Karnal, the project is still a distant dream. In fact, there is no proposal by the Railway Ministry to link these three districts.

This was revealed in reply to a question asked by Karnal MP Ashwini Chopra. Chopra questioned the Railway Ministry in the recent Parliament session whether there was a proposal for making Karnal a junction or not. If any, then what was its current status?

Manoj Sinha, Minister of State in Ministry of Railways, said “There is no such proposal under consideration as there is no other route which passes or connects Karnal to any other place.”

It is learnt that Karnal Railway Station is one of the oldest railway station, built by the British in 1892. As per sources, it was their important transit railway station for travelling all over India.

Ambala, August 18
The BJP is set to launch an offensive against the state government for fixing higher rates for conversion of leasehold properties to freehold in the Ambala Cantonment area.

The issue of conversion of the leased properties into freehold properties has been a major political issue in Ambala. The 99-year-old lease is coming to an end within few years which would affect more than 6,700 families that have set up their business on this land.

In a recent decision, the state cabinet had fixed twice the collector's rate for the residential areas and thrice the collector's rate for the commercial properties.

Anil Vij, leader of the BJP's legislative party, said there had been no legal hassle in converting the leased out land to freehold properties, but the government remained reluctant in taking a decision in this regard. Now that a decision has been taken, the occupants were being forced to shell out crores of rupees.

He claimed that the collector's rate for commercial property in Sadar Bazaar was Rs 40,000 per square yard. So, the occupant will have to pay Rs 1.2 lakh per square yard to get the property registered in his name, which was unjust. Earlier, leased properties in the Rai market were converted into freehold for Rs 6,000 per square yard, Vij said.

Prior to the Lok Sabha election, then Union Social Justice and Empowerment Minister and local MP Kumari Selja had taken up the matter with Rahul Gandhi seeking prompt redressal of the issue.

The land had been leased out to the occupants during the British rule and they continued to run their respective business from the same premises even after the Independence.

However, the latest decision taken by the state government has dismayed the occupants, who said paying twice and thrice the collector's rate was unjust.

Vij said the BJP would hold protests against the government's decision to voice the concerns of the affected families.

An expensive conversion

* The state cabinet has fixed higher rates for the conversion of leasehold properties to freehold in the Ambala Cantt area

* The 99-year-old lease is coming to an end in the next few years

* Owing to the decision, the occupants will have to shell out crores of rupees

Rohtak, August 18
The Non-Teaching Employees Association of Maharshi Dayanand University (MDU) has alleged that many non-existent workers have been shown on the rolls in the security, cleanliness and horticultural wings of the university.

The employees association has stated that the fake recruitment racket was flourishing with connivance of certain top official(s) of the university.

In a communiqué addressed to the Haryana Governor-cum-MDU Chancellor, the association has sought a vigilance inquiry against the MDU Registrar.

Association president Dayanand Chhikara said here today that a higher number of workers than the actual strength was shown on duty in order to pocket the wages released in their names. This racket, Chhikara said, had been going on under the patronage of top university authorities. He said the matter had been brought to the notice of the MDU authorities, but to no avail.

The letter, addressed to the MDU Chancellor and copies to the Prime Minister as well as MDU Vice-Chancellor, also maintains that the university Registrar was holding two other positions of Associate Professor and Reader in addition to his post, which was completely against the rules.

Chandigarh, August 18
Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda handed over appointment letters to dependants of 59 land oustees of Deen Bandhu Chhotu Ram Thermal Power Plant (DCRTPP), Yamunanagar, here today.

Hooda said the state government had decided to give employment to 135 DCRTPP oustees. After today, employment to the remaining 76 oustees would be given soon, he said. Employment would be given to the oustees in the state power utilities.

The chief minister said land for setting up the power plant was acquired between 1983 and 1986. Though as per the policy that time, there was no provision to give employment to the land oustees, the state government framed a special policy to provide employment to land owners whose land was acquired for the project.

Similarly, the state government has also given employment to oustees of the 1,200-MW Rajiv Gandhi Thermal Power Plant at Khedar (Hisar) and the 1,500-MW Indira Gandhi Super Thermal Power Plant, Jhajjar, the CM claimed. He said 514 persons whose more than two acres were acquired for the project have been given employment in power plants.

The chief minister said there was no Resettlement and Rehabilitation (R&R) Policy in the state prior to 2005. Farmers used to get less compensation as their land was acquired for Rs 1 lakh an acre. “No previous chief minister took care of the farmers’ interests,” Hooda said. 

Kaithal, August 18
Prime Minister Narendra Modi will on Tuesday lay the stone of the project to four-lane the Kaithal-Rajasthan border section of NH-152/65 during his first visit to the state after assuming office.

The ~1,393-crore project will start from Titram (Kaithal) and end at the Rajasthan border, a distance of 166 km. State, Central and BJP authorities are on their toes to ensure all goes according to plan.

Modi is scheduled to land in Kaithal city around 3 pm at a helipad constructed at the Mini Secretariat. He will first lay the stone of the four-laning project at the local Police Lines and then preside over a function at the same venue.

Governor Kaptan Singh Solanki, CM Bhupinder Singh Hooda, Union ministers Nitin Gadkari and Krishan Pal Gurjar, state PWD Minister Randeep Surjewala, National Highway Authority of India (NHAI) chairman RP Singh and MP Raj Kumar Saini will also attend the function.

Kaithal Deputy Commissioner NK Solanki, after a meeting with senior officers, said 28 duty magistrates had been deputed. “The venue has been divided into sectors and a duty magistrate has been made in-charge. We are in touch with senior police and other officers and are making all arrangements,” he said.

The Haryana police and Intelligence Bureau have also made elaborate security arrangements.

The police have divided the area into 48 sectors. Around 12 IPS officers, 24 DSPs and more than 1,000 constables have been deputed.

The proposed project will come up over 718 hectares and will cross Narwana and Hisar areas. NHAI project director VK Jain said they have acquired the land and completed the first two steps of project. Construction will start after Diwali once land owners’ payments have been cleared.

Four districts to benefit

* This project will pass through Kalayat, Narwana, Barwala, Hisar and Siwani towns and benefit the people of four districts

* Twenty-three underpasses and over 20-km service roads are proposed near villages to ensure the safety of pedestrians and people residing off the highway

* The project will come up over 718 hectares and will cross Narwana and Hisar areas

The fineprint

Project: Four-laning of Kaithal-Rajasthan border section of NH-152/65

Cost: Rs 1,393-crore

Stretch: Titram (Kaithal) to Rajasthan border

Distance: 166 km

Chandigarh, August 18
Nearly four decades after land was acquired for the development of Sector 37 in Faridabad, the Punjab and Haryana High Court has directed the Haryana Urban Development Authority and other respondents to issue a public advertisement for rehabilitation of the oustees. The ad is to be issued if plots under the oustees’ category are still available.

A Division Bench of Justice Hemant Gupta and Justice Kuldip Singh also rapped the Faridabad Estate Officer for displaying “lack of application of mind” after the respondents took the stand that the land was acquired before the oustees’ policy was put in place.

The directions came on a petition by Rao Nihal Singh against the Faridabad Estate Officer’s July 18 order rejecting his claim for allotment of a plot under the oustees’ quota. The reasoning given was that the petitioner’s land was acquired before 1977 when the HUDA Act came into force.

The absence of an oustees’ policy at that time was also cited as a reason. It was argued that the first oustees’ policy was framed in 1987 but no advertisement to entertain oustees claims was issued for Sector 37.

Taking up the matter, the Bench asserted: “We find that the order passed by the Estate Officer is illegal and against the mandate of this court as in Sandeep’s case…. It has been held that oustees form a separate and distinct category; and the failure to apply in response to an advertisement will not disentitle oustees from submitting applications at a subsequent stage as and when an advertisement is again issued inviting applications for allotment of plots”.

The Bench added the reasoning given by the Faridabad Estate Officer showed “total lack of application of mind and, in fact, borders on contempt”, in the face of “such categorical finding”.

“We find that the reasoning given by the Estate Officer, Faridabad, that there was no oustees’ policy when the land was acquired cannot be sustained. It is also noticed that no advertisement has been issued in respect of allotment of plots to the oustees, whose land was acquired in 1997. It only shows that the respondents were not conscious of the rights of the oustees.

“Consequently, while allowing the present writ petition, we direct the respondents to issue a public advertisement for rehabilitation of the oustees whose land was acquired for the development of Sector 37, Faridabad if the plots are available under the oustees’ category,” the Bench concluded.

Faridabad, August 18
The Rs 2,494-crore project to extend the Delhi Metro from Badarpur to YMCA Chowk in Faridabad has been delayed and services are now expected to begin in May 2015.

A delegation of the Confederation of Resident Welfare Associations recently met Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC) managing director Mangu Singh to seek adequate feeder and link bus services for each station and reservation of coaches for senior citizens.

NP Singh, a member of the delegation, said they were told the DMRC was trying its best to start operations from next May. “The earlier deadline of starting the Metro service to Faridabad was March 2015, with the provision of holding trial runs from December this year,” he said.

However, Metro Rail spokesperson Himanshu Sharma said there was no recent change in the deadline. He said the deadline was extended to May 2015 some months back due to certain hurdles in the project owing to transfer of land. Regarding the trial run, he said no date had been fixed so far.

Work on construction of stations is on in full swing and the company has started laying the tracks on the 13.87-km elevated corridor between Badarpur border and YMCA Chowk here.

The Delhi Metro Rail Corporation is reported to have promised to hold trial runs from December in response to a request from the Chief Minister’s office.

Counter claim

Metro Rail spokesperson Himanshu Sharma said there was no recent change in the deadline. He said the deadline was extended to May 2015 some months back due to certain hurdles in the project owing to transfer of land. Regarding the trial run, he said no date had been fixed so far. 

Yamunanagar, August 18
Balwant Kumar (28) of Gulab Nagar, Jagdhri, was allegedly murdered by a youth and his father last night. An old rivalry is known to be the reason behind the crime.

Pawan Kumar told the police that his brother Balwant had gone to Jagadhri to buy medicines. When he was returning home on motorcycle, he was stopped by Rajesh Kumar and his father Mohinder Kumar of their colony near Gulab Nagar Chowk.

He alleged that the duo attacked Balwant with an ice pick. He was rushed to Civil Hospital, Jagadhri, in a critical condition where he succumbed to his injures. After postmortem, the body was handed over to the kin today.

Suresh Kumar, SHO, Jagadhri, said Rajesh and Mohinder have been booked under Section 302 of the IPC. The accused would be arrested soon, he said. 

Chandigarh, August 18
The Haryana government has decided to grant special remission to prisoners who are serving their sentence following conviction by criminal courts of the state.

A spokesman of the Home Department said remission of 180 days would be granted to convicts who have been sentenced for a period of 10 years and above.

He said convicts who have been sentenced for five years or more but less than 10 years would be granted remission of 120 days. Similarly, convicts who have been sentenced for two years or more but less than five years would be granted remission of 90 days and those who have been sentenced for less than two years would be granted remission of 60 days.

However, remission would not be granted to life convicts and those who are on bail on the day of granting this remission. The remission would also be granted to all the convicts who were on the parole or on furlough from the jail on Independence Day, provided they surrender at the respective jails on the due date.

All prisoners convicted by the courts of criminal jurisdiction in the state but undergoing their sentences in jails outside Haryana would also be entitled to get this remission as per the above scale.

Left out

Remission would not be granted to the prisoners convicted for offenses like abduction and murder of a child below the age of 14 years, rape with murder, dacoity or robbery, under NDPS Act 1985, Terrorist and Disruptive Activities (Prevention) Act, 1967, Official Secrets Act, 1923, Foreigners Act, 1948, Passport Act, 1967, section 2 and 3 of the Criminal Law Amendment Act, 1961 and section 121 to 130 of the IPC, 1860.

Faridabad, August 18
The important project of widening of the famous Surajkund road here appears to have become a victim of inordinate delay due to sanction hassles. Already running several months behind the schedule, the work has been stuck due to non-approval of removal of several hundred trees by the Forest Department.

Over 55 per cent of the work has been completed so far, claimed department sources. They said the work, which was earlier scheduled to be completed by April this year, has jumped the deadline of July 31 also and it may miss the deadline of December 31 if the delay continued. The project costing around Rs 85 crore was allotted by HUDA to widen the road from Ankhir Chowk to Surajkund Chowk, adjacent to the Delhi border.

Admitting that over 1,426 trees were due to be removed from the passage, Bhupender Singh, executive engineer, said the problem was mainly due to delay on the part of the authorities to provide the sanction of removal of the trees. The department had sought permission from the Forest and Environment Department for an approval and it was likely to get a nod soon, he said. The trees removed from the passage would be transplanted or replaced by the department at an alternative place as per the directions of the department, it is claimed.

The authorities are required to compensate the loss of trees removed from such project by ensuring plantation that was several times more than the number of trees removed, said an official.

“The delay has resulted in inconvenience to thousands of vehicles passing from here daily. The condition of the road is poor and one-way traffic movement at some spots results in traffic chaos at peak hours,” said Shivam, a student of an engineering college located on the road. “While the passage is an important alternative route to the commuters to Delhi and Gurgaon, it has been a victim of gross neglect,” remarked Arjun Dawar of Sector 21C.

Ambala, August 18
Arun Vig, a leader of the Ambala Khatri Sabha, escaped unhurt as miscreants fired at him in Kasturbha Colony here. Old enmity is said to be the reason behind the attack.

The police said the bullets hit Vig’s scooter. The motorcycle-borne assailants fled the scene.

The police said Arun Vig had named a few persons as suspects in this case. A case has been registered.— TNS

Hisar, August 18
A fire broke out in a room of the district welfare office, located on the fourth floor of the Mini-secretariat here, late Saturday night. The fire reportedly reduced the records of the applicants who had applied for the benefit of the welfare schemes to ashes.

Sources said a watchman at the Mini-secretariat noticed smoke bellowing from a room on the fourth floor and informed the fire brigade.

An official said the fire tenders managed to control the fire just in time.— TNS

Panipat, August 18
An 11-year-old boy, Neeraj, has been missing since Friday. His mother Ramkali of Siwah village said Neeraj had gone from his house on Independence Day, but did not return.

The district police registered an FIR against unknown persons at the Chandni Bagh police station on her complaint and head constable Rajender Kumar is investigating the matter.— TNS