Panipat, October 17
The Town Planning Department’s scheme to develop the city in view of requirement of city in 2021 seems to be unrealistic if potential increase in population after setting up of mega projects like Petrochemical hub and Hi Tech City is an indication. The department hopes to accommodate seven lakh people by 2021 though the population of the city has crossed the five lakh figure.

The Indial Oil Corporation is in the process of acquiring 5000 acres with the claims that hundreds of subsidiaries would come up in the area after the project is set up and the state government has already invited bids for the ideas suggesting the shape and infrastructure of the Hi Tech City on the border of the district in Smalkha.

According to information four new Sectors from 36 to 40 were proposed to be carved on the left side of the GT road on the Karnal side while three Sectors 19, 19-A and 40 would be set up on the right side. Some colonisers including Ansal API, TDI, Ambience, Stanza, and Eldeco were either issued licences or were in the queue for it. However, new infrastructure will be able to accommodate people only a little more than 2,40,000 informed the sources.

Total area to be developed under housing schemes amounts to around 3000 acres in the town by 2021. Estimates of the department consider the density of residents up to 80 per acre in the colonies developed by colonisers while in the areas developed by group housing societies it reaches up to 300.

In fact, the planning was made in 2002 when the setting up of Petrochemical hub near Panipat refinery and the Hi Tech City proposed to be set up between Samalkha and Gannaur were not in sight. In addition to it the city would have to share burden of population growth contributed by the proposed setting up of three cement plants in the adjoining area.

While two cement plants of JP Industry and Birals are coming up near thermal plant the Grasim Industry is interested in the third one proposed to be set up in Israna.

Moreover the planning was put in operation without considering requirements of lakhs of labourers who do not figure in the census list and had to stay in accommodation provided in thousands of factories by industrialists.

Though the colonisers were required to allocate 15 per cent of the flats with the covered area of not less 140 square feet for economically weaker sections these would not be able to accommodate more than 45,000 people while population of the poor people working in the textile industry which is anywhere near 1.50 lakh at present and was expected to multiply keeping in view the increase in the textile business of Panipat industry.

If planning is an indication the labourers, who were agitating for the last one year for their enrolment in factory attendance registers’ so that they could get provident fund and other facilities would have no choice but to live in slums or in the dingy rooms of factories for decades to come.

Kathura (Gohana), October 17
Members of the Jat community from all parts of the country will reach New Delhi on November 1 to protest against the derogatory remarks printed in NCERT books about the community.

This was announced by Mr Bhale Ram Narwal, head of 31-member committee formed to take a decision in this regard on the conclusion of the Jat Mahasammelan here on Sunday. To draw up the action plan, Jat leaders would meet in New Delhi on October 24, said Mr Narwal.

Thousands of Jat leaders, including Mr Mohinder Singh Tikait who arrived from different parts of the country, including Delhi, Rajasthan, and Uttar Pradesh, authorised the committee to take any decision in this regard.

Mr Narwal, an accused in the Gohana incidents last year who was released on bail after being arrested by the CBI in June last, announced his decision to relinquish the charge of president of the BJP, Sonepat, to devote his time to the Jat cause. The BJP MP from Sonepat, Mr Kishan Singh Sangwan, and Mr Sukhbir Farmana, MLA, Rohat also offered their resignations.

Tension mounted at Gohana after a youth from the Jat community, Rajesh, was allegedly beaten by a Dalit last week. Incidentally, Rajesh was the witness in the Baljit Siwach murder case. Two police officials were suspended and five were sent to the police lines after they beat up the accused, Narender Gola near the Dalit locality allegedly to appese the Jat community.

Now the Jat leaders are demanding revocation of punishment to the police officials. Fissures surfaced in the community when some of the leaders objected to the claims of Chaudhary Ram Karan that he was elected head of 360 Palam unanimously after the demise of his father, Rizak Ram, on February 11 last.

Chandigarh, October 17
Work on the much touted 135-km Kundli-Manesar- Palwal (KMP) Expressway has gone full steam now, after 3,300 acres of land required for the project has been acquired by the Haryana Government.

Over 95 per cent of this land has already been handed over to the concessionaire led by DS Constructions, the company that has been awarded the contract for executing the project on a build operate and transfer (BOT) basis. The company has now started with the basic earth work, which includes clearing and grubbing land and creating pipe culverts for drainage.

The detailed project report (DPR) for the project, as submitted to the Haryana State Industrial and Infrastructure Development Corporation (HSIIDC) during the bidding stage, has also been revised and upgraded for the entire 135-km stretch of the access controlled expressway. “We are now in the process of setting up plants and buying equipment worth Rs 100 crore for the project. In addition, plant and equipment from our current projects will also be transferred here, so that the project can be complete in the stipulated 42 month time, by July 2009,” said the Managing Director of DS Constructions, Mr H.S. Kohli.

He said that the project will be executed by distributing the length of the expressway into three packages (and each of these packages into two sub packages each). “We have already set up camp offices at every 20 km. distance from each other so that the project can be executed and managed in phases,” added Mr Kohli.

The expressway is being constructed at an estimated cost of Rs 1800 crore and will match international standards of quality infrastructure and would have facilities like a trauma centre, helipad, parking lots, refilling stations, refreshment centres, police stations, car wash, besides recreational facilities.

This will provide a high speed link between north Haryana and the southern districts of Sonepat, Jhajjar, Gurgaon and Faridabad.

This will intersect four existing national highways and key railway lines.

The development of the global urban corridor along Kundli - Manesar - Palwal (KMP) Western Peripheral Expressway will give impetus to real estate development in the region. There will be a number of specialised economic activities in this corridor like independent townships/cities, with focus on specialised economic activity such as manufacturing, power etc. A number of such cluster cities integrated under one umbrella will provide the overall spatial form of the global urban corridor. In between these nodes, recreational, forest and green area will be developed.

The state has envisaged an ambitious plan of developing Rajiv Gandhi Education City at Kundli, Sonepat, which will have quality infrastructure and support services so as to invite top class educational institutes of the world to setup campus there.

It is also proposed to set up special economic zones along the expressway, to boost trade, besides three new industrial model townships (IMT), apart from the one at Manesar, are to be developed during the next five years.

Chandigarh, October 17
A PIL seeking directions to the Haryana Government, particularly the Ambala district authorities, to take effective steps to check the spreading of dengue by ensuring proper sanitary conditions, came up for hearing at the Punjab and Haryana High Court today.

The petitioner, Mr Viresh Shandilya of Ambala, has claimed that despite the country-wide alert, the officials at Ambala have failed to take timely steps to check the outbreak of dengue fever. He has also stated that many places in Ambala city are breeding grounds for mosquitoes.

The petitioner has pointed out that despite the alarm created by dengue deaths nothing has been done to protect the common man from this deadly disease. The fogging machines that snuff out mosquito are used only around the residences of high ups like the Deputy Commissioner and the Senior Superintendent of Police, he has claimed, adding that two deaths have already been reported from Ambala in recent days.

After hearing counsel for the petitioner, the Division Bench comprising Acting Chief Justice S.S. Nijjar and Mr Justice S.S. Saron issued notices to the respondents as well as the governments of Punjab, Haryana, the Chandigarh Administration and the Centre.

Hearing will resume on November 6, when the respondents will be expected to inform the court about the steps being taken to check this disease.

Yamunanagar, October 17
Six more cases of dengue have been reported from different parts of the district. With this the number of dengue-affected persons has gone up to 17.

Sources in the Health Department said that six cases were confirmed at laboratories of the PGI, Chandigarh. Five of the new cases belong to the camp area of the district. Earlier also, four cases were reported from the area.

Meanwhile, source said fogging had been carried out in whole of the district. Most of the dengue-affected persons are being treated in private hospitals.

Kaithal, October 17
If the government and social organisations failed to come to the rescue of arts and artisans they were bound to face extinction causing social and economic imbalance in society. This was stated by Mr Shamsher Singh Surjewala President, All-India Kisan Khet Mazdoor Congress to reporters here yesterday.

Highlighting plight of potters, who used to make earthen utensils (Mitti ke bartan) Mr Surjewala said this art was on the verge of extinction as people, who adopted this profession, due to urbanisation and industrialisation now found it difficult to find land for getting soil for making earthen utensils.

If steps were not taken to help those in this profession, thousands of families would be rendered jobless and would not be in a position to support their families. Such a situation would result in great social and economic imbalance in society. We would have to find new opportunities for such people. It would be better if the government directed district authorities and panchayats to provide land to potters so that they did not face difficulty in earning livelihood and continued the profession. He said the government should pay attention to the problems faced by weavers as this vocation art also faced extinction due to the introduction of modern techniques in this field.

Mr Surjewala said the government should take steps to open technical institutes in the state as there was vast gap in demand and supply of technicians, skilled and semiskilled workers.

Due proximity of Haryana with national capital Delhi the demand for such technician was increasing and if government could set up more technical institutes the youth of the state could be absorbed in industries which need technicians and skilled and semiskilled workers. He said that if necessary the government should involve private sector in the setting up of technical institutes.

On the setting up of SEZ’s in the state Mr Surjewala said it was not correct that state government would acquire big chunks of land for private entrepreneurs. He clarified the government would acquire only marginal land if it became absolutely necessary to facilitate the setting up of SEZ. He said the criticism by some politicians on this subject was without substance as lakhs of jobs would be created with the setting up of SEZ’s in the state and the youth would benefit. The farmers whose land would be acquired would also be compensated suitably. Mr Kavi Raj Sharma, president, DCC and Mr Dilbagh Mor, general secretary, HPCC were also present on this occasion.

Fatehabad, October 17
The agriculture authorities have unearthed a fake fertilizer and seed-manufacturing unit at the local Batra colony. The authorities have recovered a large number of bags of spurious fertilizers and seeds besides equipment used to seal bags and pouches.

The factory has been sealed and samples of various brands of seed and fertilizers collected. The counting of bags recovered from the unit was still on.

The SDM, Mr. Ishwar Singh Dahiya visited the fake unit.

Mr. R. S. Poonia, Deputy Director, Agriculture, Fatehabad, told mediapersons that a team of the agriculture department found a large number of bags DAP fertilizer purported to be manufactured by IFFCO.

The team found that the labourers working in the unit were filling IFFCO label bags with the material drawn from bags of fertilizers manufactured by some Bijnor-based local unit. While the labels of DAP manufactured by the Bijnor firm claimed 10 per cent nitrogen and 15 per cent potassium contents, the labels of IFFCO, in which the material was being packed claimed to have 18 per cent nitrogen and 46 per cent potassium.

The authorities also found pouches of Proagro brand of bajra and rice seeds purported to have been manufactured by Bayer, a multinational company.

As many as 817 bags of DAP fertilizer purported to have been manufactured by IFFCO, Shriram and IPL, 313 bags of Zinc Sulphate fertilizer, 185 bags of seed manufactured by Sarva Shaktimaan, 595 bags of Single Super Phosphate fertilizers, 355 bags of chemical dust and 780 bags of dusting powder have also been recovered from the unit. Besides, a bag-stitching machine and a pouch-sealing machine have also been recovered.

A police party has been posted outside the unit. The authorities have taken samples of the various items recovered from the fake unit.

The agriculture department had raided a godown belonging to the same person in July 2004 and had recovered 11500 liters of pesticide and seeds worth Rs.30 lakh.