Tuesday, September 11, 2001,
Chandigarh, India
H A R Y A N A
Hefty excise duty on CSD liquor
Cardholders shift to Chandigarh, SAS Nagar
Chandigarh, September 10
A large number of military personnel as well as ex-servicemen in Haryana have been affected following the Haryana Government's decision to impose a hefty excise duty on liquor sold through military canteens located in the state.
Haryana to abide by SC verdict on SYL issue
Gurgaon, September 10
The Haryana Government would abide by the verdict of the Supreme Court on the river water dispute between Haryana and Punjab, the Chief Minister, Mr Om Prakash Chautala said here today.
Cong asks Chautala to resolve SYL issue
Rewari, September 10
Congress activists led by a local legislator, Capt Ajay Singh Yadav, organised a dharna here today in protest against the "anti-people" policies of the Chautala government. Congress legislator from Ateli, Rao Narender Singh, and several other prominent party leaders from Mahendergarh and Gurgaon districts also participated.
Decision on hospital fee draws flak
Fatehabad, September 10
The Haryana Government's decision to impose fee for consulting government hospital doctors and for various tests being performed at government hospitals has come in for flak from the public.
Forum rejects plea for telephone connection
Narnaul, September 10
The District Consumer Dispute Redressal Forum here has rejected the complaint of Mr Sanjay Kumar Gupta with regard to a telephone connection. According to the complaint, Sanjay Kumar Gupta, a local resident, had applied for a telephone connection under the OYT category and deposited Rs 10,000 on January 22, 1998.
EARLIER STORIES
CM lays stone of water scheme
CM lays stone of 132 kv substation
Prime land encroached upon
Breach in distributary, crops submerged
BJP MLA asked to surrender
Poonia murder case: 30 held for violence
Scribes on dharna against cops
Haryana BJP fails to persuade high command
Rs 1.07 lakh looted from bank
Yuva Kisan Samiti to continue stir for water
HUDA to develop urban estates
Panchkula, September 10
The Haryana Urban Development Authority has decided to adopt a more resident-friendly approach in providing amenities in all its urban estates. The policy-change in the four zones, Hisar, Panchkula, Gurgaon and Faridabad, entails providing "essentials" in all sectors of the 27 urban estates.
Statements on Liberhan's suit
Ambala, September 10
The Municipal Council, Ambala Sadar, and Estate Officer-cum-Deputy Commissioner, Ambala, today submitted written statements in the court of Mr R.K. Yadav, Civil Judge, (Junior Division), on a suit for permanent injunction filed by Mr T.M. Liberhan. Mr Yadav fixed the next date of hearing for October 3.
Sonia in judicial custody
Hisar, September 10
Sonia, accused of murdering her father Relu Ram Poonia, a former MLA, and seven other family members, was today remanded to judicial custody for two weeks following expiry of her police remand.
Bhajan sends clear message to detractors
By organising another successful rally at Faridabad yesterday after a similar exercise in Bhiwani in March, a former Chief Minister, Mr Bhajan Lal, has sent a clear and loud message to his detractors within the Congress that he cannot be written off.
Irrigation Dept's claim refuted
Sonepat, September 10
Contrary to the claims, the supply of canal water was still insufficient and erratic and this has damaged standing kharif crops in a number of villages falling under the jurisdiction of the Rai water service division in the district.
Sonepat MC faces financial crisis
The Sonepat Municipal Council has been facing the worst-ever financial crisis since the abolition of octroi by the state government. According to official sources, its coffers are almost empty now. The payment of salary to the staff has been withheld for months and development activities have come to a halt.
Head Constable of BSF cremated
Jind, September 10
The body of Ishwar Singh , Head Constable of the BSF, who died in an explosion in Udhampur district of Jammu and Kashmir, was cremated at his native Nagura village in the district today with full military and state honours.
Ex-servicemen's reunion on September 14
The Defence Minister, Mr Jaswant Singh, will be the chief guest at an ex-servicemen's reunion scheduled to be held at Panchkula on September 14, a statement issued here said. The Haryana Chief Minister, Mr Om Prakash Chautala will preside over the function.
Couple commit suicide
Vijay Mohan
While service personnel and ex-servicemen based at Chandimandir, Panchkula and the adjoining areas in Haryana are peeved at the sharp increase in liquor prices, ex-servicemen residing in Chandigarh and SAS Nagar are seeking to get their liquor cards transferred from the Command Canteen at Chandimandir to canteens located in Chandigarh and SAS Nagar.
Excise duty of 20 per cent on liquor costing below Rs 500 per bottle and 25 per cent on liquor costing Rs 500 and above, has recently been levied on CSD sales in Haryana. This has led to liquor being the costliest in CSD canteens located in Haryana as compared to Chandigarh and Punjab.
According to sources, there are over 2,000 registered liquor card holders with the Command Canteen in Chandimandir, which is stated to be the largest and most well stocked in the region. A large number of ex-servicemen prefer this canteen for their requirement of provisions and consumer items. Since they visit it regularly, and CSD liquor in Haryana was the cheapest prior to the hike in levy, it was convenient to draw their liquor at the same time from the canteen.
Those residing in Chandimandir, Panchkula or the adjoining areas in Haryana, however, have no choice but to shell out more for their drinks as rules stipulate that they can draw liquor only from canteens which service their place of residence.
It may be recalled that when prohibition had been introduced in Haryana in 1996, a large number of ex-servicemen from Chandigarh and SAS Nagar had shifted their liquor cards from Chandimandir. About 300 ex-servicemen had then approached the authorities to get their liquor cards transferred, while another about 800 ex-servicemen whose cards were then due for renewal, did not get them renewed.
Meanwhile, Army authorities have also revised the scale of liquor authorised to be drawn from CSD canteens by service personnel. A letter (No.96219/Q/DDGCS) received at Headquarters Western Command about a week ago states that entitled persons have been divided into a large number of categories, which requires consolidation and there is also a need to revise the existing scales of liquor authorisation in order to apply more uniform yardstick to all categories.
As per the letter, liquor can be drawn in any combination within the stipulated scales, doing away with the earlier restrictions on the number of units of different types liquor which could be drawn. The letter also states that the monthly/ bimonthly scales shall lapse, and cannot be accumulated or carried forward.
Mr Chautala, who was talking to reporters after laying the foundation stone of Rs 1.10 crore park being developed in the memory of late Deputy Prime Minister Devi Lal, said his government wanted the apex court to deliver its verdict on the lingering dispute on sharing of rivers water between Haryana and Punjab and the issue of the completion of the Sutlej-Yamuna Link (SYL) canal. "The state government would follow the verdict of the Supreme Court in letter and spirit," he said.
The Supreme Court after completion of hearing in the case had given directions to both states early last month to find out an out-of-court settlement of the dispute within a month, failing which it would give its judgement on the issue.
The Haryana Government will popularise ayurveda in the state. This was stated by the state Chief Minister, Mr Om Prakash Chautala, who was here today to inaugurate an ayurveda kendra.
The Union Minister of State for Parliamentary Affairs, Mr O.Raj Gopal, who was also present at the inauguration ceremony, condemned those criticising the move to introduce astrology in the curricula of universities.
Lashing out at the "stepmotherly" treatment being meted out to south Haryana in the distribution of canal water by the Chief Minister, Capt Ajay Singh Yadav said the SYL canal was the lifeline for the farmers of south Haryana, but it was deplorable that the Chief Minister was making no use of his ties with the Punjab Chief Minister, Mr Parkash Singh Badal, to resolve the SYL issue. He demanded immediate implementation of the Eradi tribunal report and also the resolution of the SYL issue on the pattern of the resolution of Cauvery water dispute.
Further flaying the Chief Minister for his "apathy" towards the farmers of south Haryana, Capt Ajay Singh Yadav said the Chief Minister took all pains to secure relief and benefit for paddy growers while the interests of the bajra and jawar growers had been completely ignored. He said bajra was selling at Rs 200-250 per quintal against the minimum support price of Rs 450 per quintal. He urged the government to instruct the government procurement agencies to start purchase of bajra to save farmers of south Haryana from ruin.
Describing the new house tax policy as a great burden on the house owners, Capt Yadav demanded its immediate withdrawal. Earlier, addressing the demonstrators sitting on the dharna, Rao Narender Singh, MLA, cited several instances to show that law and order situation had completely collapsed throughout the state and particularly in Ahirwal. He flayed the police for its failure to apprehend culprits and provide proper and adequate security to citizens.
Describing the police recruitment as a cruel joke flayed on youths of Ahirwal, he said youths belonging to a particular community and to certain other districts had been arbitrarily recruited by the recruiting authorities while the claim and right of totally eligible youths of Ahirwal had been completely ignored.
Later they submitted a memorandum to the district administration.
The Haryana Government's decision to impose fee for consulting government hospital doctors and for various tests being performed at government hospitals has come in for flak from the public. The decision has been criticised by all and sundry. While the decision has caused a lot of hardships for poor patients, it has led to a sharp decline in the number of patients at the government hospitals.
The state government, it may be recalled, had imposed a fee on the Out Patient Department (OPD) slips, indoor slips, and various pathological and clinical tests being performed at its hospitals. Earlier, any body could go to the government hospitals and get one self examined free of cost. Certain categories of tests were also performed free of cost while on certain other tests the hospital authorities used to charge nominal fees.
But after the implementation of the latest orders, the patients have to pay for all types of tests, including the issuance of an OPD slip. Even the issuances of medico legal and post-mortem examination reports have not been spared from the purview of these orders. The orders have come into force with effect from September 1. Now the patients have to pay a fee of Rs 5 for an OPD slip, Rs10 as admission fee in the indoors and an additional fee of Rs10 per day for each day spent in the indoors, Rs100 for issuance of a medico legal report in case of any accident or injury in case of altercation or clash and Rs 20 for the post-mortem examination.
Various social organisations have criticised the state government's move to commercialise government-run hospitals in the state. Dr Lok Setia, a local social worker, has written an open letter to all concerned in this regard. In his letter, he has mentioned that India along with some other countries had signed a declaration of the WHO that vowed to provide "health for all by year 2000." Advertisements were given in the newspapers and big hoardings were displayed affirming the government's commitment to the slogan. But everyone at the helm conveniently forgot about this slogan.
The letter further said it seemed that our leaders and the governments were concerned about issuing slogans only and not implementing them.
The letter added that said it was not understandable that if the state government was not able to provide free medical treatment are government hospitals that were run at a cost of lakhs of rupees collected from the public in shape of various taxes, then why doesn't it close them.
The Senior Medical Officer of the General Hospital, Dr D.L. Bansal could not be contacted as he was out of station.
The local people and social organisations have demanded that the orders regarding the imposition of new fees be withdrawn immediately so that the poor could get treated here.
The District Consumer Dispute Redressal Forum here has rejected the complaint of Mr Sanjay Kumar Gupta with regard to a telephone connection.
According to the complaint, Sanjay Kumar Gupta, a local resident, had applied for a telephone connection under the OYT category and deposited Rs 10,000 on January 22, 1998. He was given an assurance that telephone connection would be released within seven days, but it was not provided and ultimately refused on July 7, 1998. It was added that there was deficiency in service and the complainant had been put to loss for which the other parties were liable to pay compensation.
Jai Hind Tractors Company, Narnaul, where Mr Gupta is one of the partners along with his brother Vijai Kumar and Ms Geeta Devi (his mother) other had a telephone connection in the name of Vijay Kumar who defaulted in the payment of bill due to which the telephone was disconnected.
The complainant wanted the telephone connection on the same premises but his request was refused.
The Forum observed that Vinay Kumar had not paid the bill and so it was right to cut the connection. It further observed that it was informed that a telephone connection from the general category was provided to the complainants, and it must have been through concession or after the deposit of the amount which was outstanding against Vinay Kumar.
The council for the opposite party stated that the amount of Rs 10,000 deposited by the complainant was refunded with interest.
Geetanjali Gayatri
The Haryana Urban Development Authority (HUDA) has decided to adopt a more resident-friendly approach in providing amenities in all its urban estates.
*Construction of community building in urban estates.
*Providing a community centre for all social and cultural activities.
*Laying of town parks beginning with the urban estates of Kurukshetra, Rohtak, Bahadurgarh, Rewari and Sonepat.
*Extending the hospitality of gymkhana clubs to urban estates of Karnal, Panipat, Hisar and Kurukshetra.
The policy-change in the four zones, Hisar, Panchkula, Gurgaon and Faridabad, entails providing "essentials" in all sectors of the 27 urban estates. These include construction of community buildings like dispensaries and police posts on a priority basis. In addition, a conscious decision to provide a community centre in every sector has been taken in consonance with the public demand
After a meeting of officers from different urban estates held here, the Chief Administrator, Mr N.C. Wadhwa, said today that the change in policy had been introduced to have a catalytic effect of inducing growth in these districts. Once each sector was self-sufficient with a community building of some kind along with a park, the demand for residential and commercial spaces would automatically come up.
With one eye on hastening development and growth in districts, HUDA has kept up its commitment to aestheticism as well. Under the revised scheme of things, it will provide a town park, an artistically designed park spread over 15 to 25 acres, in all its urban estates where only three exist in Faridabad, Panchkula and Hisar.
Going public with almost all it has to offer, HUDA has opened its doors wide to accommodate residents interested in memberships of the gymkhana clubs. "Earlier, these clubs were opened at selected urban estates but under the expansion plan, four more have been given the go-ahead to cover Karnal, Panipat, Hisar and Kurukshetra. We have begun by inviting membership to the clubs in these areas before going ahead with construction work," he added.
However, with the planning part behind them, HUDA authorities are faced with a very real problem of identifying space for the projects it proposes to implement especially with the sector plans having being drawn out long back.
"This, of course, is an impediment but all District Town Planners have been instructed to identify spots in their respective areas and report to us. Also, we are dabbling with the possibility of 'extracting' chunks of land where it is in excess or constructing first floors to accommodate community buildings where a structure already exists. The viability of such a proposal is being assessed," he stated.
And, for a change, finances will not be a constraint with the department having adequate funds at its disposal, a sum of Rs 250 crore allocated for the purpose.
The written statement filed by the Municipal Council, Ambala Sadar, through its counsel, Mr Subhash Bhatnagar, stated that no cause of action had arisen to the plaintiff against the defendants as neither any threatening notice nor any threat, as had been alleged, was given to him.
"In fact, a show-cause notice dated December 23, 1999, was served by the defendant No. 2 (Estate Officer-cum-Deputy Commissioner) with regard to bungalow No. 127/A. The plaintiff had submitted its reply, which is pending before the defendant No. 1 (State of Haryana) for consideration," the written statement said.
It further stated "Besides this, the mother of the plaintiff and her tenant of bungalow No. 127 were served with the notice under Sections 208 and 209 of the Haryana Municipal Act, 1973. Similarly two notices under Sections 208 and 209 were also served upon S. Liberhan, one of the occupancy holders of bungalow No. 127B, and his tenant, wherein they were asked to remove the unauthorised constructions which they had carried out in the bungalow."
"The suit for permanent injunction is not maintainable as equal and efficacious remedy is available with the plaintiff by filing an appeal against the notices issued to her mother and other occupancy holders under Sections 208 and 209 of the Haryana Municipal Act, 1973, before the appellate authority. Without exhausting the remedy and disclosing the fact, the suit for permanent injunction does not lie," the written statement said.
However, she was remanded in to police custody for two days in another case against her in which she is accused of threatening her deceased brother. The police told the court today that it wanted to recover the revolver with which she had threatened to shoot her brother whom she allegedly clubbed to death along with seven other relatives.
The police has also registered a case against her for assaulting mediapersons in the court premises here yesterday while she was being taken for extension of police remand. Sonia had pounced upon lensmen covering her hearing. She had smashed the camera belonging to the photographer of a leading local eveninger.
Yoginder Gupta
Though the rally was named the "Haryana bachao rally" and it ended with a call to oust the Chief Minister, Mr Om Prakash Chautala, the underlined message of the event was meant more for the Congress high command than the ruling INLD. It is no secret that Mr Bhajan Lal, who enjoyed an excellent equation with the former Prime Minister, Mr P.V. Narasimha Rao, somehow failed to establish the same rapport with Mrs Sonia Gandhi.
It is also no secret that Mr Bhajan Lal and the Haryana Congress president, Mr Bhupinder Singh Hooda, do not see eye to eye. Mr Hooda, of course, enjoys the confidence of the party high command(read Mrs Gandhi). While the gains of the Bhiwani rally were frittered away by unseemly incidents in which an unruly section of the crowd did not allow Mr Hooda and even the Central leaders to speak, Mr Bhajan Lal took pains to keep the Faridabad crowd in discipline. No wonder, most of the Central leaders who participated in the rally showered praise on the former Chief Minister for organising a successful rally.
It will be naive to take at face value the claim made by the Congress leaders that they were united under the leadership of Mrs Gandhi. Scratch the surface and one realises that the factionalism within the Haryana Congress is as deep rooted as ever. Mr Hooda did not mince words when he made it clear in his speach that he was made the Haryana Congress president by Mrs Gandhi, which was a reminder to those Central leaders who seemed impressed by Mr Bhajan Lal that he (Mr Hooda) drew his strength from the party President.
Mr Hooda also indicated his plans to organise a similar rally in the near future which may be addressed by Mrs Gandhi. It was his message to his supporters not to be discouraged by the Bhajan show.
Many farmers alleged that the canal water had not been reaching their fields at the tail-end for the past three months even during the rotation period all their complaints made to the authorities concerned in this regard had fallen on deaf ears. Some farmers said extensive damage had been caused to sugarcane, cotton, jowar and bajra due to erratic supply of canal water.
The Irrigation Department had spent crores of rupees on the rehabilitation work of the 1 NL for ensuring the supply of canal water up to R.D. 1,04,000, but the water was actually reaching only up to R.D. 84,000.
Several farmers alleged that theft of irrigation water by unscrupulous and influential farmers backed by some officials of the Irrigation Department and certain political bosses of the ruling party was rampant in the area.
Farmers of many villages blamed the authorities for not cleaning the canals, and minors properly despite instructions of the government. The desilting and deweeding operations carried out in the past by the officials were merely an eyewash, they alleged.
Representatives of various farmers organisations refuted the claim of the Irrigation Department authorities that the canal water had reached the tail-end villages during the rotation period fixed by the government.
They urged the state government and the district authorities to take a serious note of it and take action against the erring officials immediately.
The Sonepat Municipal Council has been facing the worst-ever financial crisis since the abolition of octroi by the state government.
According to official sources, its coffers are almost empty now. The payment of salary to the staff has been withheld for months and development activities have come to a halt.
The Municipal Council depends only on the daily income from various sources, particularly house tax and other taxes. It needs at least Rs 15 lakh every month to pay electricity and telephone bills and the salary of the staff.
The reason for this unprecedented financial crisis can be attributed to the non-receipt of grant-in-aid from the state government as promised at the time of the abolition of octroi.
Newspaper agents have been crying for the payment of their bills for the past few years, but they have not been paid in spite of repeated representations made to the authorities from time to time.
Similarly, payments to commercial establishments and shopkeepers have not been made for electric and other goods purchased by the Municipal Council. As a result, no commercial establishment or shopkeeper is ready to sell the goods to it. In a press note, the Municipal Employees Union has alleged that the civic authorities have not been able to deposit the amount of GPF in the accounts of the employees for the past many years.
Nine-year-old Shushil elder son of Ishwar Singh lit the funeral pyre. The Head Constable leaves behind his wife, Anita two sons, Sushil and Ashwani, and a daughter Pooja.
Mr Ishwar Singh, 35 years old, was recruited in the BSF in 1987 and after receiving training in Shillong he was posted at Ferozepore. There after he served in Tripura and at present was posted in the Ramban area of Udhampur district. He had come to his Nagura village on two months' leave recently and had joined his duty about 20 days ago. He was killed on Saturday in an explosion in a militancy-related incident along with other five BSF personnel.
A large number of residents of Nagura and its surrounding villages were present at the cremation ground. Mr R.P. Bhardwaj, Additional Deputy Commissioner, Jind, Mr O.P. Singh, SP, Jind, Mr Sher Singh, MLA, Julana, and a former Haryana Minister, Mr Kulbir Singh Malik, were also present on the occasion.
The Defence Minister will also honour 1,215 war widows and present gallantry awards to 26 servicemen. Orphan children of ex-servicemen will be presented with gift cheques. The Defence Minister will also lay the foundation stone of an 18-hole golf course in Sector 3, the first phase of which is being developed over 120 acres at a cost of about Rs 4 crore.
A couple ended their lives by allegedly consuming a poisonous substance in Siwani Bolan village, about 30 km from here, the police said here today.
The police identified the deceased as Phool Kumar and his wife Raj Kumari. Ram Kumar, brother of Phool Kumar, took them to the Medical College at Agroha which referred them to Hisar. They were admitted to a private hospital where they died.
According to the police, they took the extreme step due to poverty.
The Haryana Mines and Geology Department has denied that it has flouted any rule while granting or renewing mining leases.
In a statement issued here today a spokesman of the department said two provisions were added to sub-rule 22(h) of the Mineral Concessions Rules, 1960, in 1991, under which the consent of the land owner was required to be furnished only after the execution of the lease deed and before the entry into the area for carrying on the mining operations.
Asserting that the state government was committed to the welfare of the people and would never take any step to deny them their rights, the spokesman said the RPI MLA, Mr Karan Singh Dalal, should not make irresponsible statements.
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