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Bureaucrats ‘grab’ Gymkhana Clubs
Good response to Haryana Housing Board schemes
Hafed scheme for benefit of farmers
Cabinet expansion on the cards
Cases against Dangi set aside
Ex-MLA peeved over stalled projects
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Bitta seeks Z plus security for Ramdev
Haryana should adhere to labour laws: CITU
Power employees withdraw strike
Nutrition award instituted
State Counselling Board set up
Unchahar, Kalindi trains cancelled till Jan 31
City without water
Couple booked for cheating
ASI sent to judicial custody in graft case
Middle exams
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Bureaucrats ‘grab’ Gymkhana Clubs
Rohtak, January 9 It is learnt that HUDA had decided to set up these clubs expressly to provide recreational and social interaction facilities to its plot holders as a token of its gratitude to its plot holders who had filled its coffers with funds by purchasing plots. As per the aims and objectives enunciated in the constitutions of these clubs, the primary objective is “to provide facilities through setting up of a club for the club minded residents of HUDA sectors”. The second objective is “to provide recreational facilities to other residents in the area of the operation of the club”. The terms and conditions for membership specified in the constitutions of these clubs clearly state that “membership is open to the plot/flat holders of HUDA sectors (in the city where the club is located) in particular and others in general”. It further states “plot/flat holders of HUDA shall be given preference in awarding membership. A lower rate of membership fee shall be applicable to them. Out of the total permanent members the HUDA plot holders shall be at least 50 per cent”. Clearly, there is no provision for giving preferential treatment to serving or retired state or central government servants. Despite this, serving and retired government servants outnumber HUDA plot holders. No club fulfils the condition of having half of its permanent members from amongst the HUDA plot holders. As per the constitution, there are four types of members-permanent members, temporary members, founding members and dependent members. Further there are two types of permanent members – Other Category (HUDA plot/flat holders and others), and corporate members (up to three executives). The constitution says the “entrance fee for non- HUDA plot holders shall be (blank space) the rate of entrance fee prescribed for the HUDA plot/flat holders”. Although, for strange reasons, the rate of fee for non HUDA members has not been filled in the blank space left in the constitution, it is clear once again that non HUDA plot/flat holders have to pay a higher fee. Still, in practice, HUDA plot/flat holders are being charged the highest entrance fee of Rs 25,000 as against Rs 5000 being charged from serving and retired government servants. The constitutions of the clubs are not being made available to members because of this reason. But, how did the bureaucrats sneak in at lower rates? The answer lies in the fact that though they are not entitled to be even members of the clubs because of their official status in any category specified in the constitution, they managed to specify lower rates for themselves by dividing members into several “types”. So, the first three “types” were mentioned as Haryana Government officers, officers from other than Haryana state and retired officer from any state government. The HUDA plot/flat holders, for whom these clubs are meant in the first place were included in the “others” category which has to pay Rs 2,5000 – the highest. No wonder, HUDA plot holders were effectively turned away from the doors of these five-star clubs in violation of the rules. Though, by virtue of their official status they cannot even be members, the constitution was framed in such a way that the entire management was vested in the hands of bureaucrats. The Commissioners of the divisions and Administrators of HUDA were made ex-officio presidents and vice-presidents. Both are IAS officers. The Estate Officers of HUDA were designated as ex-officio general secretaries. The senior Accounts Officers of HUDA were made ex-officio Treasurers. The executive committees have five official members to be nominated by the president and the vice-president – all government officers. There are three non-official members of whom at least two have to be from amongst members the HUDA plot/flat holders and one other member. But, even these are nominated by the bureaucrats. Bureaucrats flout rules at will. Although according to the constitution no member of a club can ever be a paid employee of the club, the Hisar Gymkhana had for about two years, one of its members as its fulltime manager. Fellow bureaucrats go to any extent to oblige their colleagues. The Registrar of Societies, Haryana, affixed official seal on the Hisar Gymkhana Club’s memorandum of association and rules and regulations even though in the name of total membership there is only a blank space. Likewise, the paragraph specifying entrance fee rate for non-HUDA members contains just a blank. The Registrar did not even bother to mention the date on which the seal was affixed. No club official returned calls by this reporter to seek comments on this issue. |
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Good response to Haryana Housing Board schemes
Over the past six months, all housing schemes floated by the Housing Board, in the National Capital Region, and in cities along the GT Road, have got a stupendous response. For each flat/ duplex house floated by it 26 to 85 applications have been received in various schemes. While a housing scheme was launched by the board at Sonepat, Panipat and Faridabad in June, 2005, another housing scheme was launched by the board at Karnal and Kurukshetra in September, 2005. As many as 3123 applications were received for 134 double-storeyed flats in Sector 15, Sonepat, which, say officials, is an all-time high in the district. In Faridabad, 1788 applications were received for 21 deluxe flats in Sector 46, while 4246 applicants had applied for the 423 duplex houses in Sector 62. For 83 single-storeyed houses in Panipat, 2593 applications were received. The housing schemes at Karnal and Kurukshetra, too, have got a good response. As many as 4697 applications have been received for 175 flats in Sector 4 and 5 of Karnal, while 2578 applicants have applied for 300 flats in Sector 8 of Kurukshetra. Senior officials in the Housing Board inform TNS that though their housing schemes have always evinced a good response, but because of the boom in real estate and failure of the Haryana Urban Development Authority (HUDA) to float housing schemes (only one scheme in Jagadhri was floated last year) have led to a renewed interest in the Housing Board schemes. The board has also done away with the staid aspect (exteriors) and house plan of their flats and houses. The quality control measures for the construction activity, too, has helped in wooing the investors. Also, with the board being able to take out draw of lots for these housing schemes within the stipulated six months, it has increased investors' faith. A third scheme was launched for Bahadurgarh in December, 2005, and applications are still being received. The board also proposes to shortly introduce a housing scheme at Panchkula. With the board now introducing a 33 per cent reservation for women in all its housing schemes and promising to absorb all future price escalation owing to land enhancement charges, it hopes that the response will be much better in these two schemes.
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Hafed scheme for benefit of farmers
Jagadhri, January 9 The farmer-members will also get benefit of additional Rs 14 over the MSP if they sold their wheat at designated complexes of Hafed. Farmers can store their produce with Hafed at the rate of Rs 2.50 per quintal. This was announced by the Managing Director of Hafed, after inauguration of the first ‘Kisan Chaupal’ (an internet-based information kiosk and facilitation centre) of the state at The Jagadhri Cooperative Marketing–cum– Processing Society here today. Kisan Chaupal, which will soon be extended to all district headquarters of the state and later to all 64 cooperative societies, will empower farmers by providing them with information at the right time through the information technology. Through this process, the cooperative societies will also be equipped with latest technology, said Mr Surinder Kumar Jakahar, Chairman, IFFCO after inaugurating the chaupal. Hafed has started the chaupal in association with IFFCO. Besides, providing information on various aspects of crop, pesticides, fertiliser and other related things, the Chaupal will provide information on rates of commodities in various mandis, Future Commodity Rates (on NCDEX platform) and weather information. Different institutions involved in extension services to the farmers can use the medium for providing information to farmers and could also interact with the farmer members. Later, talking to The Tribune, Mr Tarun Bajaj, Managing Director, Hafed, said that efforts were being made to equip cooperative marketing societies with all resources to provide the services of e-business, future trading, processing and value addition to the farmers. According to him efforts were on to make the chaupals a single point of contact for the farmers and all the services and products are made available to the farmers under one roof. Hafed, also announced that farmer could store their wheat with Hafed at the rate of Rs 2.50 per quintal against the usual Rs 4 per quintal.
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Cabinet expansion on the cards
Chandigarh, January 9 It is believed that the session has been convened for the election of a new Speaker as the incumbent Speaker, Mr Harmohinder Singh Chatha, is likely to be inducted as a Minister. Mr Chatha will fill the slot of a representative of the Sikh community in the Council of Ministers. The Assembly had met here last month and it was ordinarily expected that it would again meet in the February-March period to pass the Budget proposals for the next financial year. Apart from Mr Chatha, another MLA who is likely to be inducted as a Minister is Ms Kiran Chaudhary. Ms Chaudhary won the Tosham seat after her husband, Surinder Singh, Agriculture and Revenue Minister, died in a helicopter crash along with Power Minister O.P. Jindal. Ms Savitri Jindal, widow of O.P. Jindal, now represents Hisar, the constituency of her husband. It is believed Ms Jindal, too, will be sworn in as a Minister on January 14, the expected date for the swearing-in function. The Haryana Cabinet originally had 11 members, including the Chief Minister. Subsequently, it was reduced to a nine-member Cabinet following the death of two Ministers. The Chief Minister can now induct up to five more Ministers. However, it is believed that all vacancies may not be filled by the Chief Minister in one go. This will enable the Chief Minister to keep the carrot of ministerial berth dangling before aspiring MLAs. |
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Cases against Dangi set aside
Ambala, January 9 Earlier, the Chief Judicial Magistrate, Ambala, Ms Kanchan Mahi, had also set aside two cases of Mr Dangi on the request of the prosecution. The prosecution had said in its application that the cases registered against Mr Dangi during the regime of the Chautala government were politically motivated. Mr
C.M. Sehgal, counsel for Mr Dangi, said the Vigilance Bureau had registered a number of cases against Mr Dangi under various Sections including 420, at Ambala, Rohtak and Hisar. Mr Dangi remained in judicial custody in Ambala Central Jail for more than a year. The judge also dismissed the application of a resident of Meham, Mr D.S. Rathi, who had requested the court to implead him as a party in these cases. The court accepted the prosecution request and dismissed the application of Mr Rathi. |
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Ex-MLA peeved over stalled projects
Ambala, January 9 “We have also decided to organise ‘Ambala bandh’ this month. The bandh will be organised against the poor power situation and the inadequate response of the Haryana Government towards this problem,”
he said. He said during his tenure, Rs 2.5 crore had been sanctioned for widening of Gurguria nullah but nothing was being done about it. He said another major programme, which had been sanctioned for constructing a ‘ring bundh’ from Tangri to Ghaggar river so that Ambala was saved from flood, had also been shelved by the present government. Mr Anil Vij said Guru Gobind Singh auditorium was to be constructed near the fire brigade but work had not yet been started. “Dairies were to be shifted out but nothing has been done in this regard. The work on local bus stand has been stopped,” he said. “The canal based water project for Ambala Sadar has been put on the backburner,” he added. |
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Bitta seeks Z plus security for Ramdev
Ambala, January 9 He alleged that some multinational companies and the ISI had been conspiring against Swami Ramdev. He said the government should hold a CBI probe into the matter so that the persons behind this conspiracy could be identified. Referring to the Udham Singh Nagar eviction issue in Uttaranchal, he said he would meet the Prime Minister and the Chief Minister of Uttaranchal in this regard. He alleged that Sikhs and Punjabis were being humiliated there. To a question, he said after the abolition of POTA, there was no stern law to deal with terrorists in the country. He said it was one of the reasons that terrorism was again gripping various states, including Jammu and Kashmir. Asked to comment on the phone-tapping issue, he said Mr Amar Singh was falsely implicating the Congress President, Ms Sonia Gandhi in this issue. He said the Nehru family had sacrificed a lot for this country and any member of the Nehru family could not do such unethical work. He said on May 21, the front would organise a function in Delhi in which the DGP, Haryana, Mr Nirmal Singh, a former DGP, Punjab, Mr K.P.S. Gill, Gen Manek Shaw and Sania Mirza would be honoured. |
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Black-marketing of LPG cylinders goes on unchecked
Hisar, January 9 However, this time around domestic gas cylinders are being sold in the black market even though the crisis is over. The reasons are many, but apparently not strong enough to wake the authorities concerned from their deep slumber. “The persons running LPG agencies are not only indifferent to the woes of their customers, but also even indulge in black-marketing of cylinders themselves and harass the consumers making them wait for supply,” says retired Principal B.P. Mohan, a local resident. Endorsing his views, Mr S.K. Arora, a government official, maintains that the deliverymen employed by gas agencies often sell cylinders to tea-vendors or dhabawallahs for an additional amount. “Many a time, the regular consumers are not left with any alternative but to purchase cylinders on the black market,” says Ms Neelam, a housewife. A number of other residents also complain about the long waiting periods between the booking and delivery of LPG cylinders. It has also been observed that instead of supplying cylinders on the doorsteps of consumers, certain LPG agencies illegally stock cylinders in residential areas (see photo) and deliver the same on showing booking receipts. Due to lack of any check whatsoever on the practice, it is going on unabated. On the other hand, the persons running gas agencies blame the situation on shortfall in supply to them and increased consumption during winters. “The bottling plant from which we get our supply is situated in Karnal. Quite often, the supply is diverted towards Delhi and Uttar Pradesh areas at the cost of Haryana consumers,” says Vishal, in charge of operations at a local agency. He, however, admits that some deliverymen indulged in black-marketing of LPG cylinder, but hastens to add that steps were being taken to curb the practice. Moreover, the use of cooking gas in running vehicles and gas geysers has also increased the consumption manifold. So much so that even some regular customers belonging to the lower middle class sell their cylinders on the black market to taxi drivers or others. Despite inconvenience caused to people, the officials concerned hardly take any concrete steps to prevent the unauthorised use of LPG cylinders, due to which the illicit trade of cooking gas is thriving. |
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Tanker carrying LPG overturns, road blocked
Ambala, January 9 The incident took place at about 3 am this morning when the tanker carrying LPG overturned while trying to avoid a truck parked on the road. The overturned tanker crossed the divider and blocked both sides of the national highway. The tanker was going from Panipat Refinery to Himachal Pradesh. The accident threw traffic out of gear on the GT road Motorists were forced to take de tour. The traffic was diverted through Saha. There was a long queue of vehicles on both sides of the road. When gas began to leak from the overturned tanker, the cleaner of the tanker tried to plug the leakage with his hand. Due to the high pressure of the leaking gas, he suffered injury on his hand. The pungent odour of the gas enveloped the area. Fire tenders from Shahbad, Pehowa, Kurukshetra and Ambala were rushed to the spot. Experts from the LPG bottling plant at Karnal arrived at the accident site and they stopped the leakage. After the tanker overturned, those at Nau Gaza Pir rushed out to help. Man Singh, who sold ‘prasad’ at Nau Gaza Pir, tried to regulate traffic. While he was standing near a stationary truck, a bus collided with the truck and he was killed in the accident. Five bus passengers also suffered injuries. The body of Man Singh was bought to the Civil Hospital, Ambala cantonment, for postmortem. Cranes were used to set right the overturned LPG tanker. A highway patrol vehicle and a fire tender escorted the LPG tanker to Karnal, after which the traffic was restored on the national highway in the afternoon.
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Haryana should adhere to labour laws: CITU
Yamunanagar, January 9 This has been suggested by the Haryana unit of CITU ahead of the announcement of the new labour policy by the state government. The unit complained to the government that CITU was not provided with a copy of the draft of the proposed labour policy. In a press release issued here yesterday, CITU said it had decided to send recommendations to the government regarding the proposed policy on its own. CITU made 23 suggestions to the government. It suggested that the Labour Department should be made accountable for implementation of labour laws in the industrial sector and officials found lacking in discharging their duties should be taken to task. Another suggestion was that the Chief Minister and the Labour Minister should hold at least two meetings with trade unions and make the minutes of the meetings public. Farm labourers and those working in the unorganised sectors should be registered. |
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Power employees withdraw strike
Jhajjar, January 9 The employees had gone of strike on Friday after some villagers reportedly manhandled them. The villagers had come to them to complaint about erratic supply of electricity. However, the employees lodged a police complaint and demanded an FIR against the offending villagers. The union members gathered at the power office here today and staged a protest throughout the day. Later, the Superintending Engineer of the HVPN, Mr K.C. Sharma, the SDM, the DSP Mr Balwan Singh, and Mr Ramesh Kumar held talks with both the groups and urged them to make peace. |
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Nutrition award instituted
Chandigarh, January 9 The Chief Minister was delivering his inaugural address at the two-day Fourth Regional Consultation Meet on Nutrition, which began here for the northern states and a Union Territory. These are Punjab, Haryana, Delhi, Uttaranchal, Himachal Pradesh, Jammu and Kashmir and Chandigarh. The Chief Minister said the decision to institute the award had been taken on a suggestion made by the Chief Secretary, Ms Meenaxi Anand Chaudhry. Mr Hooda expressed his gratitude to the Union Minister of State for Women and Child Development, Ms Kanti Singh, for the decision of the Central Government to bear 50 per cent expenditure of the states for providing supplementary nutrition. The Secretary, Women and Child Development, Union Government, Ms Reva Nayyar, who was also present, said a national child commission would be set up to look after the welfare of children. She said although it would be set up by a Central Act, the states would also set up child commissions. The commission would have eight members, including the chairman and the member-secretary. The members would be experts in various aspects concerning children. |
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State Counselling Board set up
Chandigarh, January 9 Other members of the board will be nominees of Kurukshetra University, Kurukshetra, Maharshi Dayanand University, Rohtak, Guru Jambheshwar University, Hisar, Ch. Charan Singh Agricultural University, Hisar, and Choudhary Devi Lal University, Sirsa. The Director, Technical Education, will be the Member-Secretary of the board. An official spokesman said the SCB would conduct entrance tests and arrange counselling for all technical courses in Haryana. It would also prepare and print information brochures for admissions to various AICTE-approved technical courses. |
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Unchahar, Kalindi trains cancelled till Jan 31
Karnal, January 9 According to railway sources, the cancelled trains include 4517-18 Unchahar Express and 4723-24 Kalindi Express. While the Unchahar Express runs between Ambala-New Delhi-Allahabad-Ambala, the Kalindi Express runs between Bhiwani-Delhi-Farukkhabad-Bhiwani. These trains will remain cancelled till January 31, the sources added. |
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City without water
Sonepat, January 9 According to a report, this has caused widespread resentment among the residents as they had to fetch water from distant places to meet their requirements. Carrying pitchers on their heads, a large number of women were seen fetching water from far-off places. When this correspondent contacted the Superintending Engineer of the Public Health Department on telephone, he said there was no power supply either at Murthal waterworks or the boosting stations at Sonepat since 7 a.m. and this was the main reason behind disruption of water supply. |
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Couple booked for cheating
Karnal, January 9 Karnail Singh of Jundla alleged that Jasbir Singh and his wife Anmol Kaur of Saket, New Delhi, had taken Rs 6.5 lakh from him for sending his son, Joga Singh, to Canada in 2003. When they failed to send his son abroad, he demanded from them to return his money, he said, adding instead of returning his money, they threatened to eliminate him. A case has been registered. |
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ASI sent to judicial custody in graft case
Karnal, January 9 The ASI was caught red-handed by the flying squad of the DGP while accepting Rs 85,000 as bribe from the Nissing police station SHO, Inspector Isham Singh, on Thursday allegedly on behalf of Rohtak IG Sharad Kumar. A case under the Prevention of Corruption Act and the Indian Penal Code was registered against the IG, the ASI and another ASI of the traffic wing in Rohtak. |
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Middle exams
Bhiwani, January 9 The board has banned carrying of mobile phones in the examination premises. |
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Panchkula, January 9