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H A R Y A N A |  |
 Sunday, December 19, 1999 |
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‘Pahalwan’ is
INLD nominee in Meham MC rigid on tax recovery |
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Maintain
status quo, panchayats told Workers gherao police station KUTA members stage dharna Probe 4 brothers' murder: CPM 45 marriages solemnised Polio immunisation: third phase
today Freedom fighter Neki Ram dead |
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‘Pahalwan’ is INLD nominee in Meham ROHTAK, Dec 18 — The Chief Minister and INLD supremo, Mr Om Prakash Chautala, is thinking of denying the party ticket to some of his former MLAs. Talking to The Tribune at Meham, 35 km from here today, he said all former MLAs of his party would not get the ticket for the ensuing assembly elections. "Some of them may be dropped", he said. Mr Chautala said that the criteria for allotting the INLD ticket would be the ‘loyality, sincerity and winning prospects’ of each candidate. The first ticket of the INLD, however, today went to the MLA from Meham, Mr Balbir Singh, alias Bali ‘Pahalwan’. Addressing the sarpanches and panches of all villages in Meham assembly segment, Mr Chautala suddenly announced the candidature of Mr Balbir Singh, thereby setting at rest all speculations about the party’s candidate from Meham. The Chief Minister said that the government would meet all expenses of the municipal committees which suffered revenue losses following abolition of octroi. His government, he said, would curtail administrative expenses and plug loopholes in tax evasion. Mr Chautala claimed that the revenue collections in the state had shown an upward trend in the past couple of months. There had been about 20 per cent increase in tax collections in December so far, he claimed. The Chief Minister said though the state was facing a severe financial crisis, it would not hamper developmental activities in any manner. Every rupee allocated to Haryana under the Rural Development Fund (HRDF) would be spent on providing facilities to the rural populace, he promised. "If needed, I will not hesitate in persuading the Centre to allot more funds", he said and claimed that during the Bansi Lal regime Rs 250 crore of this fund had lapsed. "I will not allow this money to lapse", he said. Mr Chautala has sanctioned a special grant of Rs 25 lakh for the development of Rohtak town. He also heard the problems and grievances of the villagers and urbanites in Kiloi assembly constituency and sanctioned construction of additional rooms in schools in about 20 villages. In view of the scarcity of drinking water in the rural and urban areas of Rohtak and Kiloi assembly segments, the Chief Minister asked the Public Health Department to prepare blueprint to solve this problem. He said he would review the situation after 15 days. He also sanctioned over Rs 1 crore for the carpeting of streets in the entire Kiloi constituency. He also sanctioned a mini bank and a chaupal for the backward community at Kansala village. The Chief Minister heard
grievances and problems of the residents of Meham,
Kalanaur, Beri and Jhajjar assembly segments. |
Lobbying hots up for party ticket PANIPAT, Dec 18 — Following a last minute change in the tour programme of the Chief Minister, Mr Om Prakash Chautala, to visit Panipat on December 21. The Chief Minister was earlier scheduled to come here on December 26), local INLD leaders have stepped up lobbying to get party nominations from the district. The city president of the INLD, Mr Dharam Pal Gupta, today hurriedly organised a meeting of party workers to press his claim for a ticket from the Panipat assembly seat. Being an urban seat, it is expected that Mr Chautala’s electoral ally, the BJP will put up its own candidate for the Panipat seat but local INLD leaders do not seem to be happy with this arrangement. Talking to TNS, Mr Gupta said: "In the past three Assembly elections the BJP candidates have not only lost from here, but have finished a poor third. That’s why we have all the more reason to stake our claim for this seat and we are going to demand it from Mr Chautala." However, the posture adopted by the Chief Minister suggests that he might clear the way for a former MLA, Mr Om Prakash Jain, an independent, who was a minister in his government. The Chief Minister is also slated to visit Mr Jain for dinner on December 21. Asked whether the party
workers would support Mr Jain if Mr Chautala gave a nod
for his nomination even as an independent candidate, Mr
Gupta said in that case the decision would be taken
collectively by the party workers. However, he added that
the INLD workers were dissatisfied with Mr Jain and felt
unsafe. "After becoming a minister, Mr Jain has
thoroughly neglected our party workers and has given a
cold shoulder to them," Mr Gupta said. He added that
there was pressure on him from his supporters to contest
as an independent candidate if the party did not offer
him a ticket but he had left everything for Mr Chautala
to decide. |
MC rigid on tax recovery GURGAON, DEC 18 — Uneasiness prevails in government and private departments over the district administration’s tough stand in favour of recovery of arrears in the house taxes within municipal limits of the city. Although the administration has not set any deadline for the payments of the house taxes,it has given enough indications that it was serious in pursuing the case to its logical conclusion. A large number of departments have not paid the dues for the past 10 years.Some departments like the Town and Country Planning,Public Health,Forest Office and the Krishi Gyan Kendra have been defaulting in payment of the tax to the municipal council. The arrears on the part of the departments, total Rs 23 lakh. On the private parties’front, the sum total up to more than Rs 10 crore. When considered in the annual Budget of the local municipality, the combined sum of the arrears would be whopping. Incidentally,the main source of revenue of the municipal body is from the house tax. According to a senior member of the administration,the Deputy Commissioner, Mr T.C. Gupta, has taken the tough line only after getting a go-ahead signal from the higher officials of the government. The compulsion of the government to pursue the collection of the arrears is understandable. The present government has made a number of promises and doled out sops which have serious financial implications. The government wants to intensify some of the development projects like repairing and laying down of new roads. It would redound to the credit of the ruling party if it intensified the pace of the development works before the mid-term Assembly elections in the state, likely to be held by February end next year. But all these would need finances and government considers it legitimate to squeeze the resources from all possible sources. Many see the government’s decision to exempt the consumers of power from payment of surcharge and interest on the arrears of the tariff if they cleared the dues by January 10 in the context of its efforts to mobilise resources for development projects. In the Gurgaon circle alone,various departments, corporations and boards have defaulted to the tune of Rs 17 crore on the power tariff front. The private parties have defaulted to the tune of about Rs 25 crore. However, the house tax payers within the municipal limits of the city are likely to be subjected to further burden. According to well-placed sources,the authorities are contemplating revision of the tax which had not been done for the past 10 years. The taxes were not revised as the local municipality was victim of politicking and sharp differences of opinions among its elected members. All such major works was put on the back burner for the past five years. Earlier, the municipality was of and on placed under the jurisdiction of an administrator. Some vested interests also played a role in stalling the revision of the taxes. In the eventuality of
the taxes being revised the parties concerned will have
to shell out another tranche of arrears amounting to
several crores of rupees. |
Inequalities should end: Governor KURUKSHETRA, Dec 18 — The Haryana Governor, Mr Mahabir Prasad, here today warned that India could witness a social revolution if inequalities were not ended. He was addressing a seminar on "Religion and Social Justice in the context of Srimadbhagavadgita" in the senate hall of Kurukshetra University. In his presidential remarks on the concluding day of the two-day national seminar, the Governor stated that the Dalits and the downtrodden would have to be taken along by the upper castes for the progress and well being of society as well as the country. He expressed concern over the religious conversions in the country. There had been religious conversions in eastern Utter Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh and other parts of the country, he added. Mr Prasad wanted that the Hindu religion should adopt the teachings of Gita in a wider perspective, whose message, he stated, aimed at doing good to each and everyone in society. This message should be read, spread and adopted for national development and "preservation of human rights." Taking a dig at religious dogmatism, the Governor stated that religion should aim at uniting society. Any act which created barriers of caste, creed and sex was irreligious. Dr M. L. Ranga, Vice-Chancellor of Kurukshetra University, stated that the message of Gita was panacea of all ills which afflicted our society today. Dr Hoshiar Singh, Pro-Vice-Chancellor of the university also spoke at the seminar. The university has
decided to publish the deliberations of the seminar in
the form of a book. |
Maintain status quo, panchayats
told AMBALA, Dec 18 — Civil Judge A.K.S. Panwar (senior division) in a order has restrained the gram panchayats of Tepla, Akbarpur and Falelmajra villages from interfering in the possession of land of the Society of Creation of Heaven on Earth till December 23 and directed to maintain status quo. The three panchayats were also summoned on the above date. The society has been running a krishi vigyan kendra on this land which was earlier granted to the society by the above panchayats on lease in 1994. On December 8 this year, the Assistant Collector (Class I) and the District Development and Panchayat Officer had passed an order on the application of the three panchayats against the society and directed them to vacate the 368.04 kanal of panchayats within 10 days which had been allegedly taken by the society illegally. The Secretary of the society, Ms Sharmila Chakraborty, who filed an application in the court yesterday through its counsel, stated that the plaintiff is a registered society with the Registrar of Society in Delhi. The Council of Agricultural Research a few years back had decided to establish a krishi vigyan kendra at district level throughout the country. The defendants said all three panchayats had approached the society to establish the kendra on their land in the larger interest of the villages. The panchayats had also agreed to give 368.04 kanals to the society on lease for 99 years. However, the State Government had also accepted the proposal of the panchayats with a modification to gift the land instead of leasing, but the ownership of the land would remain with the respective panchayats. The society stated that when the possession was given to them the land was uncultivable. The society developed the land, constructed roads and established an education centre there by spending Rs 1.46 crore granted by the Union Government. The Haryana Government also gave them a grant of Rs 1.70 lakh for developing a fishery unit on the land. The society alleged that
after the development the panchayats filed writ petition
in the Punjab and Haryana High Court challenging the
order of the State to gift the land instead of giving it
on lease. |
Workers gherao police station YAMUNANAGAR, Dec 18 — Agitated wage workers of Saraswati Sugar Mill here, who were on a fast for the past nine days, gheraoed the police station yesterday and raised anti-police slogans. The union leader alleged that the police forcibly took them to the police station although they adopted peaceful method of agitation. After getting the news that 13 workers had been taken by the police the agitated workers gathered in front of the police station. The union leader further alleged that the tents in front of the mill gate were forcibly uprooted. The agitation was started 15 days back when the wage workers of the mill demanded that they should be given priority in recruitment. When contacted, Mr Paramjit Singh Ahalawat, Deputy Superintendent, Police Headquarters, said he along with the SDM, Jagadhri, Mr D.P. Singh, had gone to the mill and asked the workers to adopt peaceful agitation. He added that yesterday the SHO had urged the workers to place a tent 50 metres away from the mill gate as per the court order. The workers reportedly refused, resulting in their rounding up. On the written assurance from the union leader yesterday that they will not indulge in any type of violence, they were let off. The workers once again launched an agitation today against the management by placing the tent 50 metres away from the gate, as per the court order. Union President Rohtash Jaglan while speaking at a gate meeting alleged that the district administration and the management had adopted wrong tactics to curb the agitation. The union took out a rally today. They demanded that they should be recruited in place of contract labour. Mr V.K. Sachdeva,
President of Saraswati Sugar Mill said due to
modernisation of the sugar plant the requirement of work
force has gone down, as a result daily-wage workers were
not required. The factory had followed complete legal
procedure of giving notices to the workers. |
KUTA members stage dharna KURUKSHETRA, Dec 18 — In response to a call given by the Kurukshetra University Teachers Association (KUTA), its members sat on a day-long dharna in front of the Vice-Chancellor's office here yesterday. The teachers were protesting against delay in granting the revised pay scales to 45 professors appointed under the personal promotion scheme. The university Pro-Vice-Chancellor, Prof Hoshiar Singh, met the protesting teachers and expressed his concern over their demands. The KUTA President, Dr Anil Vashisth questioned, why revised scales had not been granted to only this section of the teachers? As per the notification
of the Haryana Government on the revision of pay scales
of teachers of universities and colleges, these teachers
would be granted revised pay scales after the
recommendations of the committee set up for the purpose.
The notification was issued on June 7, 1999. A KUTA
delegation met the Chief Minister on August 4,1999. He
promised to get the issue examined. Further, the
university's EC passed a resolution on July (28,1999) to
the effect that the meeting of the state-level committee
should be held at the earliest. Director, Higher
Education, Haryana also promised to decide the grades by
October last. Since nothing came of all this, the KUTA
was forced to stage dharna. |
Probe 4 brothers' murder: CPM ROHTAK, Dec 18 — The state committee of the CPM has demanded a probe by a sitting judge of a high court into the murder of four real brothers at Jharli in Mahendragarh district recently. Mr Inderjit Singh, Secretary of the State committee, said a two-member committee of the party visited the village for conducting an investigation into the causes of the crime. He said the committee concluded that 'patronage' provided by a senior BJP leader, Mr Rambilas Sharma, to the suspect was responsible for the crime. He said the committee
found that the suspect had been charged with murder of a
girl and a Dalit woman in the past. But, he escaped
action due to intervention of the BJP leader. |
45 marriages solemnised KURUKSHETRA, Dec 18 — As part of the five-day Kurukshetra Utsava-Gita Jayanti celebration, mass marriages of 45 poor girls were solemnised here last night. The Haryana Governor, Mr Mahavir Prasad, was the chief guest. Blessing the newly wedded couples, the Governor wished them a happy married life. He complemented the voluntary, social and religious organisations, like Shri Jai Ram vidhyapeeth, KDB and other philanthropists, who gave gifts in cash and kind to the newly wedded couples for running their household. He said the system of mass marriages could prove a boon by removing social evils like casteism and communism. The Governor stressed the need for improving the overall personality of women for the all-round progress and prosperity of the country. Those who attended the
function included Mr Manik Sonwane, Secretary to the
Governor and Member secratary of KDB, Mr Vishnu Bhagwan,
Principal Secretary to the Chief Minister, Mr H.S.
Ahlawat, I.G, Ambala Range, Ms Jyoti Arora, Deputy
Commissioner, Kurukshetra, Mr A.S. Ahlawat, S.P, and Mr
Girish Arora, CEO, KDB. |
Polio immunisation: third
phase today CHANDIGARH, Dec 18 — The Haryana Health department will administer oral polio drops to 33 lakh children in the third phase of national immunisation programme at 11,000 centres tomorrow. Stating this here today, Health Minister O.P. Mahajan said that polio drops would be administered to children irrespective of their having been immunised earlier. In the earlier two phases held in October and November, over 6.52 lakh children were given oral polio drops. He added that in the fourth and final phase on December 23 next year, as many as 33 lakh children would be administered oral polio drops. The minister thanked
social, religious and voluntary organisations, elected
representatives and mediapersons for the cooperation
extended by them in the last two phases of the
immunisation programme. |
Freedom fighter Neki Ram dead CHANDIGARH, Dec 18 — A veteran freedom fighter and former Haryana Minister Mr Neki Ram, died in Rohtak Medical College Hospital this morning following a protracted illness, a Congress party spokesman said here. Mr Neki Ram was father of a former HPCC president and former Haryana Minister Mr Birender Singh. The state Congress chief, Mr Bhupinder Singh Hooda, in his condolence message said the 93-year-old Congress leader was an "embodiment of honesty, simplicity and dedication". The void created by Neki
Ram’s death cannot be filled easily, he added. |
DC assumes charge NARNAUL, Dec 18 —
Mr R.R. Jovel took over as the Deputy Commissioner of
Mahendragarh yesterday evening, relieving Mr V. Raja
Sekher, who has been posted in the Finance Department in
Chandigarh. |
Urdu poet dead NARNAUL, Dec 18 — Radhey Shyam Sanghi, an Urdu poet, writer, dramatist and stage actor died in the wee hours today at General Hospital here. A large number of people attended his funeral. He is survived by three
sons and five daughters. Sanghi was ailing for a long
time of bronchial asthma. |
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