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H A R Y A N A |  |
 Tuesday, October 19, 1999 |
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500 cr allocated for road repairs SONEPAT, Oct 18 — The Haryana Government has decided to give top priority to the repair of damaged roads and overcoming the power and water crisis in the state. Power privatisation: CM to meet nigam staff ROHTAK, Oct 18 — The Haryana Chief Minister, Mr Om Prakash Chautala, will discuss the controversial issue of the privatisation of power with employees of the Haryana Vidyut Prasaran Nigam for a consensus on it at Hisar tomorrow. |
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Ex-minister slams CM SONEPAT, Oct 18 — Former Haryana minister Jagbir Singh Malik and general secretary of the Haryana Vikas Party (HVP) Rajiv Jain yesterday charged the Chief Minister, Mr Om Parkash Chautala, with making false announcements to mislead people. Poor rain
benefits cotton growers Early
completion of SYL canal sought Decision
to abolish octroi draws flak A park that keeps visitors away Terror
reigns in Faridabad villages Institute
for MLAs, MPs needed: Arora Cong
stages dharna against diesel price hike CM upgrades polytechnic |
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500 cr allocated for road
repairs SONEPAT, Oct 18 — The Haryana Government has decided to give top priority to the repair of damaged roads and overcoming the power and water crisis in the state. Talking to this correspondent here last evening, Chief Minister Om Parkash Chautala said the state government had allocated Rs 500 crore for the repairs of damaged roads in urban and rural areas and it would be completed within next few months. Similarly, the government had launched a number of schemes to augment the supply of power and canal water in the state. The government, he said, was committed to ensure adequate power and water supply in the agriculture sector and the officers concerned instructed to ensure the supply of canal water at the tail-end villages of the state. He said that his government had already granted concessions i.e., abolishing of octroi duty to the trading community and this was a part of his pro-people government policy. He also promised to end the 'inspector-raj' and give more concessions to the traders and the shopkeepers of the state. Referring to the law and order situation, Mr Chautala said the state government had directed the police to strengthen the security along the borders with neighbouring states and intensify the patrolling to check the activities of criminals and anti-social elements. He, however, did not rule out the possibility of Assembly elections in near future but stated that he would consult workers and leaders of both the INLD and the BJP in the state. He said both the Congress and the HVP were afraid of the Assembly elections in view of the debacle in the recent Lok Sabha elections in the state. Referring to the purchase of paddy in the mandis, Mr Chautala maintained that the entire stock of paddy marketed by the growers, was being purchased by the official agencies as well as traders and rice shellers. The government authorities and the official procurement agencies, he said, were keeping a strict watch on the officials entrusted to the job of paddy purchases in a bid to prevent them from exploiting the paddy growers. Regarding the auctioning of paddy in the presence of HPCC President, Bhupinder Singh Hooda, in a mandi, Mr Chautala described it as a 'drama' and said that the Congress was not at all a friend of the farming community. The Congress governments in the state, he said, had failed to give remunerative price to the farmers. He declared that his government would continue its pro-farmers policy and safeguard the interests of the farmers in the state. Earlier, Mr Chautala listened to the complaints of the rural people at Murthal village in this district. He also redressed the grievances of the people by directing the Deputy Commissioner and heads of other departments to take necessary action without delay. Most of the complaints
related to the acquiring of agricultural land by HUDA,
reinstating the workers of Haryana Brewery whose services
were terminated by the managements after enforcement of
complete prohibition in the state, repairing of damaged
roads, regulating of the supply of power and water and
ensuring the supply of canal water at the tail-end in the
villages of the state. |
Power privatisation: CM to
meet nigam staff ROHTAK, Oct 18 — The Haryana Chief Minister, Mr Om Prakash Chautala, will discuss the controversial issue of the privatisation of power with employees of the Haryana Vidyut Prasaran Nigam for a consensus on it at Hisar tomorrow. Power employees from various parts of the state have also been invited to air their views regarding the reformation of the set-up and the functioning of the nigam. Talking to this correspondent, Mr Dhara Singh, general secretary of Haryana State Electricity Board Workers' Union said a state-level rally of power employees would be organised at Hisar. The state Finance Minister, Mr Sampat Singh, would preside over the meeting and the Chief Minister would be the chief guest. Mr Dhara Singh said the Chief Minister had already won the confidence of the employees by the announcements regarding the restoration of the ‘victimised’ employees whose services had been terminated by the previous government for taking part in agitational programmes and the withdrawal of ‘false’ cases registered against them. He alleged the policies of the previous government in the name of reformation failed to increase the revenue of the nigam and check the power theft and line losses. He said the expenses of the nigam were increased by the Bansi Lal government's manifold expansion of the official staff while, on the other hand, the functioning of the nigam deteriorated due to reduction in the number of employees. He said unnecessary burden was imposed on the consumers as well as the nigam by abolishing the workshops for repairing power meters and transformers. Besides, the ‘obsolete’ Swaraj Mazda vans and power insulator, cable, meters and other substandard equipment was purchased by the previous government for getting ‘excessive’ commission, he alleged. Commenting on the
proposed rally, the employees leader said it would
increase the interaction between the government and the
employees and thus enable the nigam to function in a
better way. |
Ex-minister slams CM SONEPAT, Oct 18 — Former Haryana minister Jagbir Singh Malik and general secretary of the Haryana Vikas Party (HVP) Rajiv Jain yesterday charged the Chief Minister, Mr Om Parkash Chautala, with making false announcements to mislead people. Talking to mediapersons here, they alleged that Mr Chautala was out to befool people in general and the farmers in particular by making a series of announcements regarding the abolition of octroi duty, concessions to government employees and the withdrawal of criminal as well as ESMA cases and the reinstatement of all suspended and dismissed government employees. They also alleged that none of the promises had been fulfilled so far. Criticising the hike in the diesel price by the central government, the HVP leaders urged Mr Chautala to put pressure on the Prime Minister, Mr Atal Behari Vajpayee to withdraw it as it was anti-people and anti-farmer. They pointed out that the INLD was part of the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) and if Mr Chautala wanted to prove his credentials as pro-farmer and pro-people, he should have withdrawn his party's support to the central government. The HVP leaders reminded Mr Chautala that he had made announcements for giving free water and power to the farmers before the Lok Sabha poll, but had failed to fulfil even one of the promises. They referred to the
exploitation of paddy growers in the markets and alleged
that they were being forced to sell their produce at
throwaway prices as the official agencies had failed to
buy the paddy. |
Bridges constructed sans govt
aid AMBALA, Oct 18 — Residents of Bhunni village here have proved that if people have determination, they can carryout development works in their region without taking any help from the governments. Two bridges, built across the Tangri river that flows through the Bhunni village, were inaugurated today by Sant Amrik Singh. These were constructed at a cost of Rs 1.25 crore. The entire amount was collected by the residents from their own village and nearby villages. Sant Amrik Singh played a significant role by inspiring the villagers to contribute funds. He went around surrounding villages for months and convinced people for their active participation. Bhunni village stands on both sides of the Tangri. During the rainy season, one half of the village remained completely cut-off from the other since the river was flooded. There is only one school in the village and children from one half of the village were not able to attend school during this period. Moreover, after the construction of the bridges, the distance between Patiala and Bhunni has been reduced. The sarpanch, Mr Anup Singh, said these bridges were on example of communal harmony as people from various communities had contributed for the construction work. Mr Fakir Chand Aggarwal,
Deputy Speaker of the Haryana Vidhan Sabha, Mr Jaswinder
Singh Sandhu, Chief Parliamentary Secretary, and Mr Vaidh
Kapoor Chand, MLA, were also present on the occasion. |
Poor rain benefits cotton
growers CHANDIGARH, Oct 18 — While deficient rain during the monsoon has cast a gloom in southern Haryana where crops have suffered heavy damage, it has turned out to be a boon for the cotton growers who are having a good crop after a gap of four years. There has been an overall deficit of about 50 per cent in the rainfall in the state which received 267 mm of rain from June to September this year as against 497 mm during the corresponding period last year. The rains have not only been inadequate but also irregular. In some districts these were deficient in the first half of the monsoon and in others during the later part. For instance Mahendragarh had normal rain during June-July but remained almost dry during August-September when it had only 16 mm of rain as compared to 176 mm last year. Similarly, Kurukshetra district had 345 mm of rain during the four months as against 1334 mm last year. Rohtak also has normal rain during the first two months but came into the grip of a severe drought in the later half. It recorded only 4 mm of rain during August-September as against 249 mm last year. The dry spell affected all crops, barring paddy and cotton. However, bajra, jowar and pulses were the worst hit. As a result, the state is not likely to achieve the target set for kharif foodgrain production. As per the final estimates of the Agriculture Department, the total production will be around 31 lakh tonnes as against the target of 37 lakh tonnes. The production of bajra has been estimated at just 3 lakh tonnes, about 40 per cent of the target. The production of pulses is likely to be around 40,000 tonnes against a target of 70,000 tonnes. The shortfall in the production of jowar is expected to be about 35 per cent. The output has been assessed at 20,000 tonnes against a target of 30,000 tonnes. There will be no appreciable shortfall in the output of maize. However, the protracted dry spell, which created drought-like situation in some parts of the state, has been a blessing for the cotton growers whose crop had been extensively damaged by unseasonal heavy rain over the past few years. Over 11.50 lakh bales of cotton were likely to be produced this season as against 8.73 lakh bales last year, despite a reduction in area under the crop from 5.82 to 5.10 lakh hectare. The yield which plunged to 2.55 quintal per hectare was likely to touch four quintal per hectare this season. The dry weather kept pests and viral diseases, the bane of the cotton crop, at bay. The crop virtually remained free from ‘heliothais’ (American sundi), which caused widespread damage last year. The incidence of leaf curl virus inflicting the crop was also minimal. Sugarcane production is likely to increase from 6.88 lakh tonnes last year to 8 lakh tonnes this season. Paddy, which is mostly sown in irrigated areas, has not been affected. In fact, the state may record an all-time high outturn of 42 lakh tonnes this year. The government has announced that the sugar industry will have to pay interest at the rate of 15 per cent to growers if the payment for the sugarcane procured from them is delayed beyond 15 days. Mr O.P. Chautala, Chief
Minister, has directed the industry to make payment to
growers within a week. |
Early completion of SYL canal
sought GURGAON, Oct 18 — The Sutlej Yamuna Link (SYL) Canal Action Committee, headed by a former president of the Haryana Pradesh Congress Committee (HPCC), Mr Dharampal Malik, today urged the state and the Union Governments to take steps for the completion of the SYL canal project at the earliest. The action committee, which was constituted recently to educate the masses about the details of the issue held its fifth meeting in the state here this afternoon. Mr Malik claimed that of the committee would try to involve people from all walks of life and leaders cutting across party lines in the campaign. He said a memorandum would be submitted to the Governor of Haryana and to Centre to highlight the loss incurred by Haryana annually in the absence of water from the Ravi-Beas which was to be brought through Punjab. Mr Malik alleged that
the political parties which had been in power in Haryana,
including his own party, had not been sincere in
expediting the construction work on the stretch of the
canal falling in Punjab. The 91 km stretch of the canal,
falling in Haryana had been completed and about 98 per
cent work on the 120 km stretch of the project falling in
Punjab had also been completed. But the political parties
in both the states were getting the entire project
scuttled by delaying the construction of the remaining
portion of the stretch falling in Punjab, he added. In response to a question from mediapersons regarding his taking an independent course of action on the issue from that of his party, Mr Malik said he wanted to keep the campaign above politics. Replying to another question he said there were several factors, including infighting in the Congress, support to Bansi Lal government and the Kargil issue, which had worked against his party in the Lok Sabha elections. He emphasised that the Congress needed a change in the leadership in Haryana to face the next Assembly elections in the state. He championed the cause of former Chief Minister, Mr Bhajan Lal, for heading the party. Referring to the hike in diesel price, Mr Malik said the Haryana Government should compensate the people of the state by providing subsidies. Although he welcomed the
state government’s announcement of extending
financial help for marriage of girls belonging to
backward classes, Mr Malik said this scheme should be
applicable to poor persons from every section of society. |
Decision to abolish octroi draws
flak FARIDABAD, Oct 18 — The state government’s decision to abolish octroi from November 1 has come in for sharp criticism by the Haryana Nagarpalika Karamchari Sangh. A spokesman of the sangh described the action as a hasty decision. The financial position of the civic bodies would deteriorate further with the abolition of octroi because they were already finding it difficult to pay salaries to the employees, he said, adding that the absence of octroi, which was the main source of income, would also badly affect development works. He said the Faridabad Municipal Corporation was having an income of Rs 2 crore a month from octroi which was mostly utilised for payment of salaries. Unless the state government comes to the rescue of the civic body, it would become difficult for it to pay the salaries. It was also not known what would be the fate of more than 200 employees working in the octroi section of the corporation. The spokesman claimed that the abolition of octroi would only benefit big industrial houses in the state which contribute Rs 80 crore annually to the civic bodies. The small businessmen and traders pay only Rs 10 crore as octroi. He said in Uttar Pradesh, where octroi had been abolished, the local bodies were being paid 11 per cent of the state’s revenue which had improved their financial position. He demanded that the
employees who would become surplus should be absorbed in
the civic bodies where they were presently working. All
civic body staff should also be treated as government
employees, he said. |
A park that keeps visitors away AMBALA: Indira Park, the only one in the Civil area of Ambala Cantonment, has failed to attract visitors, particularly youngsters. The large force of 34 malis is not able to provide the face-lift the park requires. The park, spread over an area of eight acres, is divided into four major parts. Although there are a good number of trees, some of them are old and withering. There are also ornamental trees. But the lawns and flower beds are not properly maintained and wild grass not cut regularly. New seasonal plants are rarely planted. Satyajit Ray Rangshala, constructed in 1995 in the park, does not attract theatre lovers as plays are no longer staged here. The open-air theatre remains locked and gathers dust. Most of the electric switches of the theatre are broken. The auditorium is used for government functions. According to Mr S.K Goel, Chief Executive Officer of Ambala Sadar, the Deputy Commissioner now has hinted that a sub-committee would be formed comprising government officials, principals of schools and colleges. This committee would chalk out a policy to organise cultural programmes. An artistically built pond to keep coloured fish has been abandoned after miscreants threw a toxic substance into it to kill fish, a few years ago. Even an experiment to convert this pond into a water fountain had failed and it is now a playing field for children as well as a store house. A big fountain built in the centre of the park does not function owing to lack of water pressure. Most of the lights fitted inside it are broken. No regular maintenance is carried out. Mr Goel explained that the financial health of the municipality was not very sound. Even though it was spending Rs 5 lakh on the development and maintenance of all parks in different localities of the town, it was feared that with the decreasing income of the municipality it might not be able to spend even this much in future. He hinted at a drop of Rs 2 crore in revenue annually owing to octroi abolition. There is only one drinking water tap in the whole park near the children's corner, which mostly remains dry. The reasons for water scarcity are believed to be supply through a water tank on which there is too much pressure from a nearby locality. The scarcity of water affects plants as well. According to Mr Rakesh Sharma, JE, a jet pump would be installed at a cost of Rs 50,000 to meet the water problem. The building was built to house the canteen, later it was converted to a children's library and has now been acquired by Hare Rama Hare Krishna organisation. The building is now in bad shape. All window-panes and doors are broken. This part of the park is in a low-lying area where water accumulates. The whole area wears a swampy look. Most of the park benches are broken and cannot be used. Morning walkers complain that vagabonds who do not find a place for the night use these benches for sleeping. Around 60 to 70 eucalyptus trees were felled in the park compound, two years back. According to the Chief Executive Officer, these trees were fully grown and matured. The Municipal Council had requested the Forest Department to fell these trees. The area meant for children has been encroached upon by the PWD, a tubewell has been built leaving very little space for them to play. There are few swings and many of these like merry-go-round, see-saw and slides are broken. Hence few children come to the park. Two public toilets are not sufficient. The one near the water tank is reserved for the use of the staff residing there. All of them stink. Regular visitors to the park complain that the reasons for the present state of affairs are not far to see. Perhaps, lack of love for nature is to blame. Recollecting his memories, Mr B.S Moudgil, a retired teacher, says that Mr Arun Kumar, who was Executive Officer of the Municipal Council in 1995, took keen interest in the park. Both the Rangshala and the fountain were built during his tenure. Mr Goel denies this allegation and defends himself by complaining of lack of funds as the major bottleneck. He points out that during Mr Arun Kumar's time a grant amounting to Rs 80 lakh had been used to meet the expenses on these projects. "We maintain the park but the nullah which flows nearby destroys everything. Whenever it rains, half of the park area is submerged", says the head mali. Interestingly, nowhere
inside the park or at its entrance is the name of the
park displayed. However, a board near the entrance reads
"Administrator, Municipal Council" at the
bottom. |
Terror reigns in Faridabad
villages FARIDABAD, Oct 18 — Terror reigns in villages in this district due to the "kachha-banian" gang. Although no incident has occurred during the past few weeks, people fear to venture out after sunset. Early this month, members of this gang had killed four persons in Prithla village. The villagers are so terrorised that they have beaten to death two innocent persons mistaking them to be members of the gang. Rumours are also being spread that the gang has been seen in certain villages. Reports say that most people do not sleep at night and guard their homes and fields to thwart any attack by the gang. Although the police has
launched an intensive drive and started patrolling on
link roads and villages, no arrest has yet been made. |
Institute for MLAs, MPs needed:
Arora FATEHABAD, Oct 18 — The Haryana Legislative Assembly Speaker, Mr Ashok Arora, has said the standard of debates in the state Assembly is not very high. Talking to mediapersons here in the local Arorbansh Dharamshala yesterday, Mr Arora said during the question hour most of the members raised only the local issues relating to their own constituencies, leaving little scope for other members for supplementary questions. Mr Arora said there was a need for setting up a training institute for the newly-elected representatives for various state Assemblies and Parliament. He said he would make his suggestion to the Lok Sabha Speaker in this regard. Earlier, members of the Punjabi community here, felicitated Mr Arora. Senior leaders of the community — former Haryana minister Leela Krishan Chowdhary, district INLD president Nishan Singh, district BJP president Atam Parkash Mehta, Sant Kumar, Sharad Batra, M.L. Juneja, D.D. Verma, Ranbir Singh, Atam Parkash, Sushil Narang and J.S. Virk — were present on the occasion. Chief of the INLD Parliamentary Party Sushil Indora was also present on the occasion.
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Cong stages dharna against
diesel price hike HISAR, Oct 18 — Congress workers today staged a dharna here to protest against the recent hike in the price of diesel. They sought immediate withdrawal of the hike stating that it had severely hit the common man. The dharna was organised by the District Congress Committee. Addressing the workers, leaders accused the Vajpayee government of betraying the trust of the people by announcing the hike after the elections. They said had the government increased the price before the elections, the results would have been different. They also criticised the Chief Minister, Mr Om Prakash Chautala, for his "double standards". They alleged that while he withdrew support to the Vajpayee government on the issue of increase in the prices of the fertilisers, this time he sided with the government just to save his own government in the state. Among those present were former ministers Mr Hari Singh Saini, Mr Chhaterpal, Mr Virender Singh Narnaund and several former legislators. The leaders warned that
if the hike was not withdrawn, the Congress would hold
similar dharnas at all district headquarters and involve
people in the agitation. |
CM upgrades polytechnic ROHTAK, Oct 18 — Haryana Chief Minister Om Prakash Chautala today announced the upgradation of the local Chhotu Ram Polytechnic institute to an engineering college and Chhotu Ram High School to senior secondary level. He was addressing a public meeting after inaugurating the newly constructed teaching-cum-administrative block, built at a cost of nearly Rs 7 crore, in the premises of Chhotu Ram Polytechnic institute here today. The Chief Minister said the extension of technical education provided self employment avenues to the youth besides constructing in the development of the nation. He was in favour of a polytechnic institute in each district of the state where the youth could get training in professional course, enabling them to adopt self employment. Among others who were
present on the occasion included Capt Inder Singh, local
MP, Mr Dhir Pal Singh, Town and Country Planning
Minister, Mrs Krishna Gehlawat, Social Welfare Minister,
Mr Balwant Maina, Dr Virender Pal, Mrs Kanta Devi, Mr Sri
Kishan Hooda and Mr Balbir Singh, all INLD MLAs. Mr M.K,
Miglani, Commissioner Technical Education and Lt-Gen
(retd) O.P. Kaushik, Vice-Chancellor of Maharshi Dayanand
University. |
HAUTA dharna continues HISAR, Oct 18 — The indefinite dharna launched by the Haryana Agriculture University Teachers Association (HAUTA) entered in fifth day today. HAUTA has been demanding the implementation of the revised pay scales on the ICAR pattern. According to Dr H.K.Verma, HAUTA members held detailed discussions with senior professors, deans and directors to decide the future course of action. It was decided that
faculty members under the leadership of the
Vice-Chancellor, Mr Vinay Kumar would meet the Chief
Minister, Mr Om Prakash Chautala, during his Hisar visit
regarding the matter. |
Haryana shifts 14 officers CHANDIGARH, Oct 18 — The Haryana Government ordered transfer of 14 officers, including 12 from the state civil service, today. Mr Vivek Attri, City Magistrate, Kaithal, has been posted as Joint Director, Panchayats, and Mr O.P. Lohan goes as City Magistrate, Rewari. The following is the
posting of officers who were awaiting orders: Mr R.C.
Bidhan, Managing Director, Sugar Mill, Shahabad, Mr
Surjeet Singh, General Manager, Haryana Tourism, Mr K.K.
Gupta, Deputy Director, Local Self-Government, Mr
Inderjit Singh, SDM, Faridabad, Mr Maheshwar Sharma, SDM,
Meham, Mr Rajbir Singh, Additional Director, Industries,
Mr Roop Singh, City Magistrate, Mahendragarh, Mr L.P.S.
Tomar, General Manager, Haryana Roadways, Panipat and Mr
Chhattar Singh, Secretary, RTA, Gurgaon. Mr Narsingh
Doon, District Revenue Officer, has been posted as
Secretary, RTA, Ambala, and Mr Sanjay Rai, District
Revenue Officer, goes as Secretary, RTA, Hisar. |
Cop killed in accident AMBALA, Oct 18 — A constable was killed in a road accident yesterday night on the GT road near Ambala City. According to police report the constable Jagvir Singh was on his duty at Patiala Chowk on the GT road near Ambala City. Around mid-night a truck coming from Rajpura side hit him. He was brought to the local civil hospital where he succumbed to his injuries. The driver escaped from the scene. The police impounded the truck and registered a case against the truck driver. In another accident Banarsi, a resident of Bhanokheri village was killed when he was hit by an unknown vehicle on the Ambala-Hisar road last evening.
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Girl
missing AMBALA, Oct 18 — A 21-year-old girl has been reported missing since October 4 under mysterious circumstances from Holi village in the district 30 km from here. The police has registered a case of abduction against a youth of the village. The father of the girl who has lodged a complaint with the police alleged that his daughter had been abducted by the said youth. According to
information, the girl went to Barara to withdraw some
amount from a bank on October 4, but did not return home
since then. The father of the victim is an employee in a
government office at Barara. |
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