Panchayats to be insurance agents
From Jatinder Sharma
Tribune News Service

ROHTAK, Feb 11 — The district administration in collaboration with the LIC has formulated a novel scheme to appoint gram panchayats as insurance agents to generate additional funds for the development of villages.

The Additional Deputy Commissioner, Mr Anand Mohan Sharan, told TNS that the LIC had on December 3, 1997 allowed village panchayats to act as LIC agents. This scheme had been a great success in Aurangabad and few other districts of Maharashtra which Mr Sharan visited in December. He said some of the village panchayats in Maharashtra had earned between Rs 1 lakh and Rs 2 lakh per year.

The scheme, Mr Sharan said, had a great scope in Haryana where the panchayats had limited sources of income in the shape of chullah tax and income from panchayat land. The chullah tax was not regularly paid by the villagers and the panchayat land was also limited.

Thus the annual income of panchayats was limited to a few thousand rupees only and they had to depend on government grants for development activities. The main scheme under which the panchayats are funded is the Jawahar Rozgar Yojana (JRY).

But generally JRY funds vary between Rs 1000 and Rs 10,000 only. Therefore, total funds available to an average size village panchayat came to Rs 15,000 or Rs 20,000 only from all sources. This amount was too meagre to undertake development of any village.

Mr Sharan said two villages in each block of the district had been selected for the implementation of the scheme after a meeting attended by the BDPOs, along with sarpanches and up-sarpanches of some panchayats and representative of the LIC.

The case for the registration of three panchayats as insurance agents was being processed so that they could be imparted training free of cost by the LIC at its divisional office at Karnal.

Mr Sharan said if the scheme succeeded in these villages, it would be extended to other panchayats in the district. He believed the scheme would give a boost to rural development as it would generate income in the shape of commission that the panchayat would earn out of the premium paid by the insurer.

Bank staff stir on February 25
Tribune News Service

ROHTAK, Feb 11 — Bank employees, including officers, will go on countrywide token strike on February 25 and 26 to demand wage revision.

The employees have also threatened to go on indefinite strike from March 17 if the government and the Indian Banks Association (IBA) fail to concede their demands. These employees had earlier gone on strike on January 12.

The bank employees are demanding 20 per cent hike in wages from November 1, 1997, the day on which the previous agreement expired. The decision to go on token and indefinite strike was taken by the United Forum of Bank Unions comprising workers' and officers' unions of various banks in the country.

The bank employees and officers here staged a demonstration here yesterday in front of the local State Bank of India office and raised slogans against the IBA, the Union Finance Minister and the Centre. They charged the IBA and the Finance Minister with adopting a dilatory attitude in accepting their demands.

Mr M.L. Arora, Assistant General Secretary, All-India Bank Officers Association, said the government and the IBA were offering only 8 per cent wage hike instead of 20 per cent demanded by the bank employees' unions. The government and the IBA had also rejected the demand to implement revised pay scales from November 1, 1997, he said.

He regretted that the government instead of accepting the genuine demands of the bank employees had adopted an adamant attitude and was giving lame excuses of losses suffered and surplus staff in the banking industry. The plea of the government to divide banks for purposes of wage hike on basis of profitability was not acceptable to the unions. They wanted uniform negotiated wage revision settlement, the union leader said.

Mr Arora said the existing staff strength in the banking industry was insufficient to meet the workload in the banks. No new recruitment had been made for the past many years and the vacancies caused as a result of retirement of staff were lying vacant.

The employees and officers, he said, had to perform multifarious duties like implementing of socio-economic programmes, disbursing of pension, distributing and selling government and HUDA forms, accepting electricity bills, direct and indirect taxes, premiums of insurance companies and merchant banking work besides lending against government securities and implementing of poverty alleviation programmes, professional schemes and industrial loans.

Mr Arora held the government responsible for the present day position of the banks. Despite the locking of advances made to big industries (Rs 45000 crore) the government had not initiated any action for the recovery of the non-performing assets. It had also not published the list of defaulters, who owed Rs 10 lakh and more, he said.

He said both employees and officers were committed to work for raising the socio-economic status of society.

Poll dashes hopes of anti-Hooda men
by Yoginder Gupta
Tribune News Service

CHANDIGARH, Feb 11 — The announcement of the Congress organisational elections schedule has dampened the hopes of those who want to remove Mr Bhupinder Singh Hooda from the presidentship of the Haryana unit of the party since the day he took over.

Though the AICC had extended the tenure of party office-bearers from two years to three years, it is believed that Mrs Sonia Gandhi wants to be elected as party president to assert her moral authority. Party sources say in line with her sentiments, the election schedule has been announced.

The election process, which would begin in mid-May, will last till August 31. The sources say that it is highly unlikely that Mrs Gandhi would disturb any incumbent during the election process. She would like that a change, if any, should come through elections so that the Congress is projected as a democratic party.

Mr Hooda, who is currently undertaking a "kranti padyatra" in the state, will culminate it with a rally at Jind on February 13. The way the grassroot Congressmen are responding to the padyatra, Mr Hooda is sure to consolidate his position in the party further. One of the main charges against the three-time MP from Rohtak is that he has not been able to spread his influence outside what is known as old Rohtak district.

The padyatra is Mr Hooda’s answer to this charge. Even the venue of the rally has been carefully chosen. Jind is no doubt in the centre of Haryana but it is also adjacent to Rohtak district. It has become a tradition of sorts that unless political parties are able to put up a good show in Jind, they are not considered to be on road to power. The tradition started with "Samast Haryana" rally of Mr Devi Lal’s Janata Dal in the late eighties. It was reinforced by the HVP rally held in Jind with the help of the former Union Deputy Minister, Mr Jai Prakash, before the 1996 Haryana Assembly elections. It was only after this rally the HVP’s claim to form the next government in the state was taken seriously.

Bid to encash cheques foiled
From Our Correspondent

SONEPAT, Feb 11 — Rajiv Panwar, a former accountant of Match Point Producers Company, Kundli HSDIC complex, was caught red-handed by the police while he was trying to encash three stolen cheques, worth Rs 25,000, from a bank at Kundli village, about 30 km from here, yesterday.

According to the police, the culprit belonged to Kohla Garh village in Dehradun district and had come to the factory for getting payment from the owner. As the official concerned was not present at that time in the factory, he was asked wait for the official in his room. There he managed to steal the cheques signed by one of the directors of the factory. After that he immediately left for the bank to get the cheques encashed.

The SSP told mediapersons here today that the Rai police had registered a case of cheating and fraud and further investigations were in progress.

6 hepatitis-B cases in Sirsa
From Our Correspondent

SIRSA, Feb 11 — Six cases of hepatitis-B have been reported at Nuhiawali village, 36 km from the district headquarters.

Two out of the six cases were admitted to a private nursing home here. One of them, Lajo, has been taken to Chandigarh.

A team headed by the Sirsa Civil Surgeon, Dr R.C. Bhutani, visiting the area said there was nothing alarming.

However, all precautionary steps were being taken. Immunisation of all infants up to the age of one was being done, he said, adding that villagers had complained about unbleached water supply in the village which might have caused this disease.

Water samples for bacteriological examination were, therefore, taken. The officials concerned were given necessary instructions to ensure the supply of bleached drinking water.

Automatic dippers developed
From Our Correspondent

GURGAON, Feb 11 — Mr Hemendra Pratap Singh, an electronics engineer, from Bhondsi, 13 km from here, has invented a new technique of automatic dippers, which have become mandatory for all motor vehicles in the country.

Mr Singh, who has installed the device of auto momentary dipper (OTODIP) in his Maruti van, gave a demonstration of the equipment to journalists here last night.

Mr Singh said OTODIP had been designed for Indian road conditions. He said OTODIP employs latest State-Of-The-Art HCMOS SMD technology for sensing and controlling the headlight beams of the vehicle. OTODIP functions even when the lever is not working and or is damaged, claimed Mr Singh.

According to the Central Motor Vehicles (Amendment) Rules, 1998, every motor vehicle other than a motor cycle and three-wheeler of engine capacity below 500cc, shall be equipped with an automatic dipper. This rule came into force on January 15.

Judicial officers write to Chief Secy
Tribune News Service

CHANDIGARH, Feb 11 — The Haryana Judicial Officers' Association has written to the Chief Secretary of Haryana to implement of the Punjab and Haryana High Court verdict, directing the state government to provide telephones at the residences of all judicial officers in the state.

A two-page communication sent to the Chief Secretary by Mr M.M. Dhonchak, president of the association, said the high court judgement was delivered on July 15, 1997, with the directives that telephones be installed at the residences of judicial officers within three months. "Unfortunately, nothing has been done so far to comply with this judgement of the high court despite the efflux of considerable duration. To the best of my knowledge and belief till date the judgement of the high court has not been stayed by the Supreme Court.

The letter said that the telephones should be installed at the residences of judicial officers within 15 days from this date (February 6, 1999, when the letter was sent to the Chief Secretary) failing which the association would be constrained to move the high court with a request to punish you (Mr R.S. Verma) for committing wilful contempt of the high court.

Mr Dhanochak said: "If for some genuine constraint the telephones cannot be installed within the above stipulated period, inform me positively the proposal of compliance and the period within which the government wants to ensure the compliance so that the bona fides of the proposal can be looked into and the litigation can be avoided".

No-confidence motion against
MC Commissioner
Tribune News Service

FARIDABAD, Feb 11 — Councillors of the local Municipal Corporation today decided to move a no-confidence motion against Mr B. Umashanker, Commissioner, for alleged contempt of the general House.

Mr Umashanker had walked out of the meeting of the House yesterday along with other officials after some councillors criticised them for slow recovery of taxes and for not taking into confidence the councillors in decision-making process.

A unanimous resolution to this effect was passed at the meeting, which was attended by 19 out of 25 councillors, including Mr Subedar Suman.

The resolution requested the Mayor to call a meeting of the House soon so that the no-trust motion could be moved under Section 45/3-A of the Municipal Corporation Act to recall the Commissioner.

When contacted, the Mayor said he would call a special meeting of the House next week. The House, which is Congress-dominated also has one Haryana Vikas Party member and four BJP members.

3 killed in road mishap
From Our Correspondent

HISAR, Feb 11 — Three persons, including a woman and her child, were killed and three others injured when a car carrying them collided with a mini truck near Garhi village, about 40 km from here, on Hisar-Delhi National Highway yesterday.

The car was on its way Masudpur village to Meham when the accident occurred.

The deceased have been identified as Soni Devi and her child Ravinder and the driver of the car Suresh Kumar.

Advani to open party conclave
From Our Correspondent

SONEPAT, Feb 11 — The Union Home Minister, Mr L.K. Advani, will inaugurate a two-day all-India conclave of the BJP Mahila Morcha at Jhinjhauli village tomorrow.

According to party sources, the conclave will focus on the proposed 33 per cent reservation for women in the Lok Sabha and the state assemblies. There will be political training sessions for the delegates being held at the national-level after a gap of 13 years.

The party sources, however, denied that the BJP’s decision to hold the conclave was prompted by Mrs Sonia Gandhi’s move to accord priority to women by reserving 33 per cent of the party posts for them.

The BJP will also hold a national-level meeting to focus attention on the problems of Dalits and to widen the party’s support base among them. The All-India Working Committee meeting of the BJP’s Scheduled Castes Morcha will be held on February 20 and 21 at Panchkula.

The meeting will discuss steps taken by the BJP-led coalition government at the Centre in the past one year for the uplift of the Scheduled Castes.

Meanwhile, the district administration has tightened security measures in and around Jhinjhauli

Chautala misleading people: Cong
Tribune News Service

HISAR, Feb 11 — A former minister and Congress leader, Mr Chhattar Pal Singh, today criticised the Indian National Lok Dal chief Mr Om Prakash Chautala, for "misleading the people". Referring to Mr Chautala's threat of withdrawing support to the BJP-led government at the Centre, Mr Chhattar Pal said, he (Mr Chautala) was getting panicky as he had lost his support base in the state.

Addressing party workers at Sissai, about 30 km from here, the Congress leader claimed that Mr Chautala was "nervous" because of the response the Kranti Yatra was getting.

He said the Jind rally "will change the political profile of the state". He said, the fall of the State government was imminent.

He said there was widespread resentment among people because the government had done nothing to alleviate the condition of farmers, improve roads or to curb corruption.

Senior Congress leaders, Mr Arjun Singh, Mr Pranab Mukherjee and Ms Shiela Dixit, will attend the rally.

Infant's body recovered from pond
From Our Correspondent

KAITHAL, Feb 11 — The police has recovered the body of a 12-day old infant from a (pond) at Siwan village, 10 km from here.

Krishna, the mother of the child, had lodged a complaint against her second husband, Narayan, alleging that he had snatched the child from her and threw him in the pond last week. She had reportedly filed a suit against the accused to get maintenance for herself and the child.

The accused had been arrested and confessed having committed the crime. But he refused to acknowledge Krishna as his wife.

Meanwhile, the case registered by the police under Section 302 of the IPC.