Hooda offers war heroes annuity hike

By Daily PostBhiwani
Haryana Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda announced to increase the amount of lumpsum financial assistance and annuity of the gallantry award winners of the state. He also announced to get a survey conducted to assess repair and renovation of all the existing Sainik rest houses to be done as per their need and to construct a new Sainik rest house at Dadri.

The CM was speaking as chief guest in the 30th annual Sammelan of All India Ex-services Welfare Association organised at new Anaj Mandi, Dadri, on Sunday. He said the state government had decided to increase the award money of the winners of Paramvir Chakra and Ashok Chakra from Rs 25 lakh each to Rs 31 lakh each, of Mahavir Chakra and Kirti Chakra from Rs 15 lakh each to Rs 25 lakh each and of Vir Chakra and Shaurya Chakra from Rs 10 lakh each to Rs 15 lakh each.

Similarly, the amount being given to the winners of Vayusena medal, Navsena medal and Sena medal had also been increased from Rs five lakh to Rs 7.50 lakh and the amount for Mention-in-dispatches from Rs 2.50 lakh to Rs 5.50 lakh.

He said the annuity for the winners of Paramvir Chakra, Ashok Chakra and Mahavir Chakra had been increased to Rs 2.50 lakh, Rs 2 lakh and Rs 1.90 lakh respectively.

Besides, winners of Kirti Chakra, Shaurya Chakra and Sena medal would get annuity of Rs 1.50 lakh, Rs 70,000 and Rs 40,000 respectively. Annuity for mention-in-dispatches had been increased to Rs 20,000, he added. Hooda said it was a matter of great pride that Haryana with 1.37 per cent of the geographical area of the country was contributing a lot to the Armed Forces of the country.

Every tenth soldier of the Armed Forces belonged to Haryana. The youth of Haryana were safeguarding the borders of the country and the farmers of this sacred land were producing foodgrains for the teeming millions. Despite better availability of employment in the state, the youth of Haryana preferred to join Army.

The number of serving personnel and ex-servicemen of the state stood at 19.38 lakh. The state government was committed to the welfare of serving personnel, ex-servicemen and their dependents. For the welfare of these persons, the state government had made a provision of Rs 33 crore in the annual budget for the year 2011-12.

Citing details of the incentives being given to the serving personnel and ex-servicemen by the state government, Hooda said ex-servicemen above the age of 60 years and their widows, who are not getting any pension, were being given financial assistance of Rs 1,000 per month.

The war widows were being given a financial assistance of Rs 1,000 per month besides their monthly pension. The ex-servicemen, who took part in World War II and who were not getting any kind of pension, and their widows were being given a financial assistance of Rs 1500 per month by the state government. The blind ex-servicemen and handicapped ex-servicemen, who were not getting any kind of pension, were also being given a monthly financial assistance of Rs 1,000.

Hooda said 10 per cent residential plots floated by HUDA and 5 per cent houses built by Haryana Housing Board (HHB) have been reserved for ex-servicemen and serving personnel. Defence colonies were being set up at Rohtak, Rewari, Jhajjar, Hisar, Narnaul, Bahadurgarh, Jind, Dadri and Karnal by HUDA.
Hooda offers war heroes annuity hike

Rezangla War Memorial

Dear Veteran,
1. I take pleasure in informing you that foundation stone for Rezangla War Memorial has been laid by Ch Bhupinder Singh Hooda, Hon’ble Chief Minister of Haryana on 16 sep 2011 at Rezangla Chowk near DSOI Gurgaon in Sector-23 of Palam Vihar:
(a) The construction of the same has started and Memorial will be inaugurated on 18 Nov 2012 conciding with 50th year of Battle.
(b) The function had the presence of almost entire Haryana cabinet & Gen (Retd) NC Vij, Admiral (Retd) RH Tahiliani & Air Chief Marshal (Retd) SP Tyagi & Sh AS Bhatotia Ex DGP, and large number of retd Lt Gens, Maj Generals & other high officials of Armd force and civil services.
(c) It was a touching scene to meet widows & next of kins of ‘C’ company of 13 KUMAON who were invited. They were honoured during the function.
(d) Military band was also in attendance and played the patriotic tunes.
(e) Hon’ble Chief Minister while addressing the gathering said that Dr TC Rao has taken a noble task to pay tribute to the Martyrs of Rezangla battle. The memorial will give a feeling to next of kins that Nation salutes them. CM added that he is aware of the difficulties faced by Ex-Servicemen and Govt of Haryana will do his best to look after them. He assured the martyrs widows & next of kins that he is always approachable for their difficulties.
(f) Capt Ajay Singh Yadav, Hon’ble Minister of Power, Forests & Environment, who is also an Ex-Servicemen assured the next of kins that Haryana Govt will always be concerned for Ex-servicemen difficulties.
(g) Dr TC Rao, while thanking the Hon’ble CM & Minister & Ex-Chiefs said that Rezangla War Memorial of Gurgaon will be land mark in Delhi, Gurgaon & NCR which will be decorated with Tank & Guns & will inspire the youth to join Armed Forces & we will always salute the martyrs. The function ended with Nation Anthem.
Jai Hind
Dr TC Rao, Veteran

Army helps to control floods

Situation in flood ravaged districts of Punjab and Haryana further worsened on Friday as fresh breaches in Hansi Butana canal in Kaithal and Ghaggar in Sangrur district left several villages marooned even as army and other authorities were trying to plug the breaches.

The fresh breaches in Hansi Butana canal and Ghaggar had further compounded problems with army personnel summoned to plug these at the earliest.

Meanwhile, the road traffic on the Ambala-Hisar highway remained disrupted due to a 30 feet breach on road, officials said, adding army personnel were trying hard to restore traffic on the road. Meanwhile, a senior railway official told media in Chandigarh that the rail traffic had been restored on Ambala-Chandigarh railway line.
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Situation worsens in flood-hit Punjab, Haryana

India's first defence university to come up near Delhi

New Delhi: Drawing lessons from the 1999 Kargil conflict, the government on Thursday decided to set up the first defence university in the country to enable holistic study of defence and strategic security challenges.

A meeting of the Union Cabinet, chaired by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, accorded "in principle" approval to set up the Indian National Defence University (INDU) near Delhi, Information and Broadcasting Minister Ambika Soni told reporters here.

To be established at an estimated cost of Rs 300 crore, the university would come up on a 200 acre land at Binola in Gurgaon, Haryana. A sum of Rs 100 crore has been earmarked for acquisition of the land.

The existing defence educational institutions like the National Defence College in New Delhi, College of Defence Management at Secunderabad, National Staff College at Wellington and National Defence Academy in Pune, would be affiliated to INDU. At present, these institutions are attached to various universities.

"INDU will undertake long-term defence and strategic studies and create synergy between the academic community and government functionaries," Soni said.

The proposed university, which would be fully autonomous and constituted under an Act of Parliament, would promote policy-oriented research on all aspects of national security as part of the strategic national policy-making, she said.

"It will encourage awareness of national security issues by reaching out to scholars and an audience beyond the official machinery," Soni said.

INDU would educate national security leaders on all aspects of national strategies in the fields of security, military, information and technology, through teaching and research, she added.

After the Kargil conflict, the government had set up a Review Committee, headed by eminent strategic expert K Subrahmanyam, which had recommended establishment of such a university to exclusively deal with defence and strategic matters.

The Committee had also recommended finding of ways and means to integrate the academic community, armed forces, paramilitary forces, intelligence agencies and the bureaucracy in strategic security policy making and related issues. Source: PTI
India's first defence university to come up near Delhi

Lt Gen K Balaram, PVSM: Former VC of Kurukshetra University

DSSC Commandant 1982- 83
Dear Friends,
Jai Hind. The Puja/ Prayer meeting for Late Lt Gen K Balaram, PVSM, will be held on 25 Feb 2010, between 1530h to 1630h, at Som Vihar Central Lawn, Som Vihar Apartments, RK Puram, New Delhi- 110066.
In service of Indian Military Veterans
Chander Kamboj

Former Kurukshetra varsity VC Lt Gen K Balaram expires
C.S.KANWAR Tuesday, 16 February 2010
KURUKSHETRA: Lt General (retired) K. Balaram former vice chancellor of Kurukshetra University expired last night at his residence in New Delhi. The incumbent VC Lt General (retired) Dr DDS Sandhu broke this sad news in a crucial meeting of the Deans and Chairpersons in the senate Hall today.

All those present in the meeting observed two minutes silence to pay homages to the departed soul and prayed to the Almighty to give consolation to the family members of the deceased and give peace to the departed souls in heaven.
Lt General Balaram was only vice chancellor of the oldest university of Haryana who practised austerity and bridled the unbridled in the university whether in the teaching fraternity or in the categories of employees. He was the administrator who suspended an IAS Registrar Rajiv Arora and got his almirahs broke open in his absence where some important files were locked, just a few days before the expiry of his three year tenure. The Fauji Balaram was the VC who denied access to university auditorium to the then Prime Minister late Chander Shekhar who was to address a workers rally in the presence of the then Haryana CM Om Prakash Chautala. Although the District Magistrate used his special powers and acquisited the auditorium. The hand-over and take-over was done by the junior officers of the university and the district administration. Unlike today's vice chancellors in the country, Lt. General Balaram made his way to Delhi to attend a meeting and did not bother even to receive the PM at the helipad in the university sports grounds itself.

Balaram used to walk to his office and back on Thursdays during the Iran-Iraq war to save petrol, a call given by the union ministry those days. He could venture sliding beneath his official car to repair it during the lunch break and then board it after stretching his safari suit which could be seen with torn stitches under the cockpits. He never availed any free medicines from the University Health centre , rather he was the VC who paid a cheque of five thousand rupees to the university in lieu of the reimbursement of medical bills despite the repeated requests to the contrary from the then SMO Dr Mrs S Maleyvar.

He was so popular amongst teaching fraternity and also amongst employees that on his retirement, a ceremonial departure was performed by pulling the ropes tied to his car and a send-off was given at the Oasis at Karnal after which his convoy was escorted upto Delhi by the representatives of teachers and employees. His last words of advice to the university people were : 'Save this prestigious university from unscrupulous people if you can, let it flourish to blossom fully'.
Former Kurukshetra varsity VC Lt.Gen K. Balaram expires

Tributes paid to KU former VC
Tribune News Service Kurukshetra, February 22
Kurukshetra University staff paid tributes to former Vice-Chancellor, Lt- Gen K. Balram, who passed away on February 14, at a condolence meeting.

Gen Balram, who adorned the office of Vice-Chancellor from August 8, 1989, to August 7, 1992, was a visionary and a man of action who took the bold decision to revise the syllabi of all postgraduate courses in tune with modern curriculum of UGC.

Following up his plans to revise the syllabus, he took another major academic decision, asking all chairpersons to prepare lesson plans of the revised syllabi of a semester and put it in the library so that students could know in advance about the schedule of classes.

Paying homage to the former vice-chancellor, the current incumbent, Lt-Gen (Dr.) DDS Sandhu, recalled his contributions in developing the varsity.

"The university was in deficit when Gen Balram joined as its VC but he took bold fiscal decisions and covered the deficit. There was a serious problem of power failure in the hostels. The then VC solved it by getting the worn-out wirings changed, besides ensuring the installation of separate transformers", recalled Prof Raghvendra Tanwar, Registrar.
Tributes paid to KU former VC

Lt Gen K Balaram PVSM, is MTech in Telecommunication Engineering and MSc in Defence Science from UK and Madras respectively. Commandant of Defence Services Staff College from 1981 to 1983. He was the Vice Chancellor of Kurukshetra University, Haryana from August 1989 to August 1992.

Gen SF Rodrigues (Retd) in a fix?

Punjab Governor threatens defamation proceedings against CNN IBN

The Punjab Governor-cum-Administrator, Union Territory of Chandigarh Gen (retd) S F Rodrigues sought an apology from CNN-IBN authorities and threatened to launch criminal and legal proceedings against the channel authorities if they fail to comply for the repeated telecast of the reported audit findings of the Union Home Ministry and the Central Vigilance Commission (CVC) of sale of prime land at low rates to prominent IT companies in the Union Territory.

The legal notice seeking criminal prosecution for defaming the Governor was served by Mr Anupam Gupta, Standing Counsel for the UT and a Punjab and Haryana High Court lawyer.

Referring to the telecast of the news item on the land sale subject, beginning on the evening of October 15, the notice that that CNN-IBN has been engaged in "a wanton, malign and repeated telecast of completely outrageous, egregiously false and wholly indefensible slander of the Governor".

"The telecast(s) contents whereof are a matter of record, have been viewed by millions of people around the country and the world and have inflicted grave, incalculable and irreparable damage to the reputation, character and credibility of Gen Rodrigues for which your Channel and all of you, jointly and severally, bear full responsibility", the notice stated.

The enormity of the defamation practised by the Channel against Gen Rodrigues, holding him up before the entire country and the world as a corrupt Head of State/Government involved in a scam running into thousands of crores by corruptly selling off precious government land in the Union Territory to private builders/developers is appalling, the notice said.

" Suffice it to state that your stark and explicit assertions of corruption against him, without a shred or little of evidence and without even a pretence of an attempt or effort at verification from Gen Rodrigues or the Chandigarh Administration, is a gross and blatant abuse of the profession of journalism and exceeds by far the boundaries of freedom of speech and expression delimited by the Constitution and the law", the notice said. UNI

Punjab Governor threatens defamation proceedings against CNN IBN
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