The Tribune...Haryana

H A R Y A N A

Wednesday July 15, 1998

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Municipal council for Panchkula likely
PANCHKULA, July 14 — Dr Kamla Verma, Local Government minister, said today that the state government was keen on establishing a municipal council in the town...

Rs 1396 crore for
uplift of SCs
CHANDIGARH, July 14 — The Haryana Government has decided to spend over Rs 1396 crore under the special component plan during the Ninth Plan...

One electrocuted,
8 get burns
ROHTAK, July 14 — While Azad Singh and his wife Beeta are struggling for life at Pandit B.D. Sharma PGIMS here, their son Munish succumbed to burn injuries sustained when sparks from high-tension electric wires...

Dearness relief for
Haryana pensioners
CHANDIGARH, July 14 — The Haryana Government has decided to grant dearness relief to the pensioners on unrevised and revised pension and family scale of pension w.e.f. July 1, 1997, and from January 1, 1998, respectively...

Talks with nurses fail

Municipal council for Panchkula likely
From Our Correspondent
PANCHKULA, July 14 — Dr Kamla Verma, Local Government minister, said today that the state government was keen on establishing a municipal council in the town.
Without specifying the time-frame for a final notification on the council, the minister said meetings were being held with the departments concerned.
The minister, who was talking to mediapersons after conducting the monthly District Grievances Redressal Committee meeting at the mini secretariat here, said the government wanted the requisite infrastructure for the council to be in place before the final notification.
Asked about the financial assistance for the council, Dr Verma said that HUDA, the nodal agency developing the town, had agreed to pay a certain amount of money to meet the expenditure of the council in the initial stages.
On a query about the delayed elections to the Pinjore municipal committee, she said certain panchayats of villages that had been included in the jurisdiction of the committee had objected to the move. "We will certainly consider their plea before moving further", she added.
She disclosed that all decisions taken at the grievances committee meeting would have to be implemented by the departments concerned at the earliest.
The main complaint received for today's grievances meeting pertained to the problem of drinking water in Bhoj Bhalog in Morni block. The executive engineer concerned had been asked to ensure the supply of potable water.
The Deputy Commissioner claimed that of the 15 complaints received at today's meeting, 12 were solved on the spot.

Rs 1396 crore for uplift of SCs
Tribune News Service
CHANDIGARH, July 14 — The Haryana Government has decided to spend over Rs 1396 crore under the special component plan during the Ninth Plan to benefit 3.80 lakh people belonging to Scheduled Caste families in the state.
Disclosing this here today, the Haryana Social Welfare Minister, Dr Kamla Verma, said the amount spent under the special component plan would be 12.3 per cent of the total plan. She said over Rs 202 crore had been spent to benefit 72,243 people belonging to this category under the plan during the last financial year.
Dr Verma said the Social Welfare Department had launched various schemes to ameliorate the lot of those belonging to Scheduled Castes and backward classes, Vimukt and Tapriwas jatis. She said in order to encourage inter-caste marriages, the government gave a grant of Rs 25,000 to such couples with a stipulation that one of the members must be from the scheduled caste community.
She said the government was also giving special incentives to those panchayats which had taken various steps to implement the schemes for this category. The best panchayats were being given a grant of Rs 5000 each for the best performances in this field. She said a sum of Rs 5.60 lakh had been earmarked to provide financial assistance to 112 panchayats during the current financial year.
She said the government was also providing financial assistance for marriage of daughters of widows belonging to Scheduled Castes. This step would ease the financial burden of such needy widows. A sum of Rs 10,000 was being given to the widows provided their income did not exceed from Rs 11,000 per annum in rural areas and Rs 11,850 in the urban areas. The age of the girl for marriage should not be less than 18 years. She said Rs 95 lakh would be given as financial assistance to 950 beneficiaries during the current financial year.

Dearness relief for Haryana pensioners
Tribune News Service
CHANDIGARH, July 14 — The Haryana Government has decided to grant dearness relief to the pensioners on unrevised and revised pension and family scale of pension w.e.f. July 1, 1997, and from January 1, 1998, respectively.
This was disclosed by Mr Charan Dass Shorewala, Finance Minister, Haryana, here today.
He said the pensioners drawing pension in the unrevised scale of pension and family pension would be entitled for dearness relief per month w.e.f. July 1, 1997, the rate of 182 per cent of pension and family pension drawing pension up to Rs 1750 per month. Pensioners drawing pension exceeding Rs 1750, but not exceeding Rs 3000 per month would be provided dearness relief at the rate of 136 per cent of pension family pension subject to a minimum of Rs 3185 per month. Pensioners drawing pension more than Rs 3000 per month would be entitled for dearness relief at the rate of 118 per cent of the pension and family pension subject to a minimum of Rs 4080 w.e.f. July 1, 1997.
Mr Shorewala said the another instalment would be granted from January 1, 1998. Pensioners drawing pension up to Rs 1750 would be entitled for dearness relief at the rate of 189 per cent of pension and family pension. The pensioners drawing pension in the unrevised scale of pension exceeding Rs 1750 but not exceeding Rs 3000 would get dearness relief at the rate of 142 per cent of pension subject to a minimum of Rs 3308. The pensioners drawing more than Rs 3000 per month are entitled for dearness relief at the rate of 123 per cent of pension subject to a minimum of Rs 4260.
Mr Shorewala further said the pensioners drawing pension in the revised scale of pension have also been granted dearness relief at the rate of 16 per cent from January 1, 1998, which include the dearness relief already given to the pensioners to the extent of 13 per cent w.e.f. July 1, 1997.
The grant of dearness relief would be an additional annual burden of Rs 3.60 crore on the state exchequer, he added.

One electrocuted, 8 get burns
Tribune News Service
ROHTAK, July 14 — While Azad Singh and his wife Beeta are struggling for life at Pandit B.D. Sharma PGIMS here, their son Munish succumbed to burn injuries sustained when sparks from high-tension electric wires fell on them late last evening at Panipat.
Nine persons, including four children, were injured in the incident. Eight were brought to the local PGI around mid-night in a serious condition.
According to information reaching here, all injured are residents of an unauthorised colony that came up about a decade ago on the Babail road, Panipat. Unmindful of the high-tension wires passing overhead, many residents have constructed double-storeyed houses. Industrial units have also come up over the years in the area.
The incident reportedly occurred when a TV antenna came in contact with the wires. The spark fell on the victims sleeping on the roofs of their houses.
Among the injured are three sisters-Reena, Sonia and Anju-daughters of Rajbir aged between seven and 10. They have sustained 40 to 60 per cent burns. Azad Singh (27) has 100 per cent burns and his wife Beeta (25) has sustained 40 per cent burns. Ram Kishan (35), and Shyambir (25) have sustained 50 per cent burns.
Their condition is said to be serious.
Subhash, a brother-in-law of Beeta, said immediately after the incident, the injured were rushed to a doctor near the colony, but he refused to attend on them. Thereafter, they were taken to the Civil Hospital at Panipat which referred them to the PGI here.

Talks with nurses fail
Tribune News Service
FARIDABAD, July 14 — The talks between Mr Om Prakash Mahajan, Health Minister, and nurses to end their indefinite strike failed here today.
The minister had come to Faridabad this morning to have talks with the striking nurses. At one stage, it seemed that the negotiations had succeeded and an agreement to end the strike was signed between Mrs Kusum Sabharwal vice-president of the Nurses Association.
At this stage leaders of the Sarv Karmachari Sangh insisted that the strike would not be called off unless the nurses whose services had been terminated were taken back in service. This provoked the minister to remark that the sangh was the main stumbling block in ending the strike.
Later, the minister left the Circuit House where the meeting was being held in a huff saying that he could not make any assurance that their demands would be accepted. It was for Chief Minister Bansi Lal and the Cabinet to take a decision.
Mr Mahajan said that the government would not succumb to any pressure