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H A R Y A N A |  |
 Saturday, October 2, 1999 |
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HC order leads to
panchayat poll delay Directive to district fire
officers on explosives |
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Grievances
panel for Haryana districts Rs 4.71 lakh looted from HVPN
cashier Jhajjar sectt to be named after
freedom fighter Record profit by warehousing corpn Bid to burn woman, in-laws booked Ballot papers to be mixed, counted Rs
1 lakh draft for war heroes' fund Services of club manager
terminated |
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HC order leads to panchayat
poll delay CHANDIGARH, Oct 1 — The panchayat and municipal elections in Haryana, which are due in November and December, will be delayed in view of the directives issued by the Punjab and Haryana High Court on a writ petition filed by Mr Surjit Singh and others, residents of Ambala district. With this another hurdle in holding early Assembly elections in the state has been removed. A Division Bench of the high court comprising Mr Justice H.S. Bedi and Mr Justice A.S. Garg has directed the Haryana State Election Commission to prepare the poll rolls for the panchayat and municipal elections by taking the final Assembly electoral rolls published on July 21, 1999, as the basis. The directives were issued yesterday after the Advocate-General of Haryana, Mr Mohan Jain, along with Mr Rakesh Aggarwal, who represented the state as well as the Deputy Commissioners gave a statement that in view of the facts and circumstances mentioned in the petition it would be appropriate that the voters’ list for the panchayat and municipal elections should be revised on the basis of the Assembly electoral rolls finally published on July 21, 1999, and the rolls should be prepared after affording an opportunity of hearing to all eligible voters after following the prescribed procedure. Counsel for the Election Commission, Mr Rajan Gupta, however, opposed the contention of Mr Jain. He said to hold the panchayat and municipal elections at due time was a Constitutional obligation on the commission. The Bench, however, directed the commission to prepare the electoral rolls in the manner suggested by Mr Jain before June, 2000. Since the revision of electoral rolls is a time-consuming process, the panchayats and municipal elections are bound to be delayed much beyond their scheduled time. The ruling party, informed sources say, was reluctant to go in for Assembly elections immediately after the panchayat and municipal elections because the panchayat elections normally divide the village community badly. The panchayat and municipal elections could not be delayed by the government by its own because of the Constitutional provisions. Moreover, the delay or postponement of these elections by the government would have sent a wrong political message. Though the INLD at its meeting held last month had urged the State Election Commission to hold the panchayat and municipal elections on the scheduled time, the party leadership, the sources say, wanted the elections to be held after the Assembly poll. The previous Election Commissioner, Mr J.K. Duggal’s decision to hold the elections on the basis of the draft Assembly electoral rolls published on April 20, 1999, came in handy for the government. Mr Duggal, the sources say, had to take this decision because the publication of poll rolls for panchayat elections takes a long time. The Whip of the Haryana
Congress Legislature Party, Mr Randeep Surjewala, said
from the statement of the Advocate-General it was clear
that Chief Minister, Om Prakash Chautala was seriously
thinking of going in for a mid-term Assembly elections
early next year. |
Directive to district fire
officers on explosives AMBALA, Oct 1 — The state authorities have asked district fire officers to ensure whether wholesalers of fireworks were implementing the Explosive Rules, 1983. There are several wholesale licencees in the state authorised by the Explosive Controller. With Diwali in the offing the DCs and police chiefs have also been advised to take action against the dealers violating the explosive rules. Almost two years back an incident of fire and explosion occurred in a fireworks factory at Rohtak which resulted in a loss of 20 precious human lives. This tragic incident was an eyeopener and revealed the extent to which disregard of safety norms could prove serious and damaging. The state government had instituted a high-level fact-finding inquiry committee which had found that the cause of the fire was non-compliance of explosive rules. According to sources, the authorities have received some complaints that certain dealers have stored fire works in a huge quantity, ignoring the directives of the department. Certain dealers had the licence of a retailer but had stored the fireworks in bulk on their premises. Moreover, certain dealers had made their storehouses in the densely populated area which may cause danger for the residents of the locality. The department has also laid down some conditions for the premises where fireworks are to be stored. According to rules, the premises should have one of more efficient lightning conductor but there are only few dealers who have attached it to their store premises. Sources said certain manufacturers of fireworks in the state were not following the instructions issued by the Explosive Controller. According to an instruction, a warning indicating the method of firing and precautions to be taken should be printed on each piece of fireworks and where adequate space is not available on the fireworks such caution or warning should be printed on a separate label and inserted in the smallest packet or carton. Sources said certain manufacturers had not been taking care of this instruction which may cause danger to the user. Sources said in some
districts fire officers had served notices to many
dealers for not abiding by the rules of the department.
They have also been asked to submit the list of their
stock so that the excess storage could be checked. |
Centre not unstable, says Dutch
envoy GURGAON, Oct 1 — Holland unlike many foreign powers does not subscribe to the view that there is political instability at the Centre in India. It believes this in spite of three general elections in as many years. Talking to newspersons here today, the Ambassador of the Netherlands to India, Mr P.F.C. Koch said "we do not believe there is any political instability in India." He said this in response to a specific question whether the political developments in the country at the Centre were adversely affecting the flow of foreign capital here. Mr Koch further said even if there was instability at the Centre it did not necessarily entail thinning of the inflow of foreign direct investment. He substantiated his theory by citing the case of Italy. There are a number of factors and indicators in any economy which have to be strengthened and stabilised to insulate it from political fallouts. Mr Koch, who was in Berhampur village, near here, to inaugurate Evergreen International Ltd, a joint effort by Indo-Dutch entrepreneurs, was of the view that the pace of liberalisation of the Indian economy and the ongoing reforms therein had to be faster keeping the world scenario in sight. He referred to the opening of the economy of China, which started reforms about a decade before, India. India was only drawing about one-tenth of the foreign direct investment in China. Holland was the fifth largest investor in India which had a long way to go, he added. Regarding the market in the country for the industrialised powers, Mr Koch’s view was yet different from the general impression. According to him, even if India offered a large market the per capita income was reflecting the poor purchasing power of the prospective buyers. Going into the specifics of the Indian economy, he said the labour rules could be liberalised. Also, the red tapism should be further diluted in the overall interest of the country. He emphasised that the overall economy and the government attitude should continue to look forward so that the country attracted more foreign investors. In response to another
question, he said there was a dominant feeling among
entrepreneurs in Holland that India was a
"difficult" country to invest in. |
Grievances panel for Haryana
districts CHANDIGARH, Oct 1 — The Haryana Government has constituted the District Public Relations and Grievances Committees (DPRGC) to redress the grievances of the people on the spot. The Chief Minister, Mr Om Prakash Chautala, will preside over the meetings of the DPRGCs of Bhiwani and Jind; Finance Minister Sampat Singh at Jhajjar and Hisar; Town and Country Planning Minister Dhirpal Singh at Rohtak and Sonepat; Transport Minister Narbir Singh at Sirsa and Fatehabad, and Industries Minister, Brij Mohan at Ambala and Panchkula. Similarly, the Social Welfare Minister, Mrs Krishna Gahlawat, will preside over the meetings of the DPRGCs at Mahendragarh and Cooperation Minister Kartar Singh Bhadana will preside over the meetings at Gurgaon. Minister of State for Public Health Jaswant Singh will preside over the meetings of the committee at Faridabad; Minister of State for Printing and Stationery, Bhim Sain at Yamunanagar; Minister of State for sports, Raj Kumar at Rewari; Minister of State for Wakf, Akram Khan at Kaithal; Minister of State for Revenue, Kailash Chand at Panipat; Minister of State for Tourism, Om Parkash Jain at Kurukshetra and Chief Parliamentary Secretary Jaswinder Singh Sandhu at Karnal. The MPs MLAs, the
President of Zila Parishad, chairmen of municipal
committees or councils in the district, chairmen of all
panchayat samitis and the Bar association president of
the district would also be the members of the committees.
Each district has several non-official members to cover
different cross sections of the public like women,
backward classes, Scheduled Castes, youth etc. |
Jhajjar sectt to be named after
freedom fighter ROHTAK, Oct 1 — The Haryana Chief Minister, Mr Om Parkash Chautala, today announced that the mini secretariat to be constructed at Jhajjar would be named after late Pt Shri Ram Sharma, renowned freedom fighter of the district. He was speaking at a function organised to celebrate the birth centenary of Pandit Sharma and diamond jubilee of his regional paper, Haryana Tilak, at Desh Sewa Ashram here. Mr Chautala asked Lt-Gen (retd) O.P. Kaushik, Vice-chancellor of Maharshi Dayanand University, to also set up a Pt Shri Ram Sharma Chair in the university. The Chief Minister said he was attending the function on the directions of his father, Mr Devi Lal. Lauding the role of Pt Shri Ram Sharma in motivating people and instilling a sense of patriotism through journalism, he said that the late leader accomplished the daunting task to motivating the youth through his paper when the national dailies under the control of the British. Born on October, 1, 1899, at Jhajjar, Pandit Sharma graduated from Delhi. He became an activist of the Congress in 1921 and participated in the satyagraha andolans. He was arrested in 1922 at Jhajjar during the non-cooperation movement and rewarded one-year imprisonment in Rohtak jail. He joined the Swaraj Party in 1923. he started a weekly news papers in 1923. He became a member of the Punjab Pradesh Congress Working Committee in 1940 and was elected a member of the Punjab Council on the party ticket from Rohtak, Hisar and Gurgaon districts in 1946. Those who attended the
function included Mr Dhirpal Singh, Town and Country
Planning Minister, Prof Ram Bilas Sharma leader of the
BJP Legislature Party in Haryana, Pt Chiranji Lal Sharma.
A senior Congress leader and a former MP, Dr Virender
Pal, Mr Balwant Maina and Mr Sri Kishan Hooda, all INLD
MLAs, Mr Chand Ram, a former union minister, Mr Pradeep
Jain, district BJP chief, Mr Hukam Chand Goyal, BJP
leader and Mr Puran Chand Azad, a freedom fighter. |
Record profit by warehousing
corpn CHANDIGARH, Oct 1— Mr Naseem Ahmed, Commissioner and Secretary, Agriculture department of Haryana, said the Haryana, Warehousing Corporation would raise warehouses of 1.64 lakh tonnes capacity in the current financial year. A press note issued by the government claimed that warehouses of 40,000-tonne capacity were already under construction and the work on 30,000-tonne capacity warehouse would be undertaken soon. Mr Ahmed said the physical performance of the corporation had improved considerably in the current year. The secretary said the
corporation had earned a record profit of Rs 2229.93 lakh
as compared to Rs 2186 lakh in the previous year. The
shareholders, he revealed, would receive 10 per cent
dividend amounting to Rs 58.41 lakh for the year 1998-99.
The employees would be paid bonus at the statutory rate
of 20 per cent. |
Bid to burn woman, in-laws
booked PANIPAT, Oct 1 — A case has been registered at the local Model Town police station regarding the alleged attempt to kill a woman by her in-laws. A complaint to this effect has been lodged by Rajni, alias Deepika, against her in-laws, residents of Jododa village in Saharanpur district. According to the police, Rajni had alleged in her complaint that kerosene was poured over her by her husband and mother-in-law with the intention to burn her alive. But she managed to run out of the house and shouted for help and was saved by neighbours. Later, she was brought here by her brothers. She alleged in her complaint that her husband and in-laws had been harassing her for bringing more dowry since her marriage in 1991. In October, 1992, Rs 50,000 were given by her brother to her husband. But her in-laws continued to torture her even after that and kept on demanding more money. She alleged that her
husband and mother-in-law had demanded Rs 1 lakh from her
brothers last month on the pretext of constructing two
rooms in their house. But when her brothers could not
fulfil the demand, her husband and in-laws conspired to
burn her alive last week. |
Rs 4.71 lakh looted from
HVPN cashier REWARI, Oct 1 — Some armed youths looted Rs 4.71 lakh at pistolpoint from Mr Gajraj Singh, cashier of the Pali sub-station of the HVPN, near railway-crossing on the Rewari-Narnaul road, 14 km from here. According to police and HVPN officials, cashier Gajraj Singh withdrew the amount from the State Bank of India which was to be disbursed among the staff by way of their salary for September. The pick-up in which he was travelling, was detained by the armed youths, who were riding in a jeep. Mr Rajinder Singh, driver of the pick-up, offered some resistance, but one of the youths shot him on the head. After this they snatched the bag containing the amount from the cashier and decamped in their jeep which they abandoned near Sulka village on the Rewari-Shahjanpur road. It is reported that the youths boarded a private bus which took them to Rajasthan. The police has impounded the abandoned jeep bearing no.HR-26-7131 (Haryana Govt) which belongs to the Secretary of the Gurgaon district Soldier's Board. It had been stolen earlier by then from Farukhnagar, a nearby town of Gurgaon district. Driver Rajinder Singh
has been admitted to the local Civil Hospital where he is
stated to be out of danger. |
Ballot papers to be mixed,
counted CHANDIGARH, Oct 1 — The Chief Electoral officer, Haryana, Mr Bhaskar Chatterjee, said here today that the Election Commission of India had decided in the interest of free and fair elections that instead of counting the votes polling stationwise, the votes cast at the polling stations of all parliamentary constituencies, except Karnal and Rohtak, during the current general election would be counted by adopting the procedure of mixing of polled ballot papers of the entire Assembly constituency segments as provided under rule 59-A of the Conduct of Elections Rules, 1961. He said votes recorded
in the electronic voting machines used at the polling
stations of Karnal and Rohtak parliamentary
constituencies would be counted as provided under rule
66-A of the Conduct of Elections Rules, 1961. |
Rs 1 lakh draft for war
heroes' fund CHANDIGARH, Oct 1 — The Haryana Chief Minister, Mr Om Prakash Chautala, was presented with a draft for Rs 1 lakh by the Managing Director of the Haryana Land Reclamation Development Corporation, Mr R.P. Chander, for the Chief Minister's War heroes' Relief Fund, here yesterday. The contribution includes one-day salary of the staff. Drafts for Rs 22,000 were also presented by the Director, Census Operations, Haryana, Mr Sunil Gulati, to the Chief Minister for the National Defence Fund. The contributions
include one-day salary of the staff members of the Census
operations and donation from the Art of Living
Foundation. |
Services of club manager
terminated PANCHKULA, Oct 1 — The executive committee of the Gymkhana Club decided to terminate the services of the manager, Wg Cdr D.S. Grewal, and a part-time accounts officer, Mr I.P. Singhal, at a meeting held here today. Their unsatisfactory performance was cited as the cause of the termination. The low membership of the health club was also discussed. Since the high charges were identified as the cause for its unpopularity, it was decided to reduce the monthly fee while completely doing away with the joining fee. The approved charges are Rs 200 a month for an individual, Rs 400 for a couple and Rs 200 for children. A decision to include
non-official members on the committee was also approved
and a committee to formulate rules and by-laws for the
club and its employees was also formed. |
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