Category Archives: Chandigarh

हिन्दू धर्म में होता है नवरात्रों का विशेष महत्व : डॉ राजेश भाटिया

फरीदाबाद। सिद्धपीठ श्री हनुमान मंदिर मार्किट नंबर एक में संचालित डा. अनिल मलिक श्री सनातन धर्म महाबीर दल सीनियर सैकेंडरी स्कूल के छात्र-छात्राओं ने नवरात्रि महोत्सव धूमधाम से मनाया। इस दौरान नन्ही बच्चियों ने माता का रुप धारण करके उपस्थितजनों को भोर विभोर कर दिया और विभिन्न प्रकार के कार्यक्रम आयोजित किए, जिन्हें उपस्थितजनों ने खूब सराहा। इस मौके पर मंदिर कमेटी के प्रधान डा. राजेश भाटिया ने बच्चों की इस पहल की जमकर प्रशंसा की। डॉ राजेश भाटिया ने कहा कि नवरात्रि पर्व कल से शुरू होंगे और इसको लेकर मंदिर में तैयारियां लगभग पूरी हो चुकी है। उन्होंने कहा कि नवरात्रों को लेकर मंदिर में विशेष पूजा अर्चना की जाएगी जिसमें प्रातः 10:00 बजे माता रानी की ज्योत-प्रचंड फरीदाबाद की नवनिर्वाचित मेयर प्रवीण बत्रा जोशी एवं संदीप जोशी द्वारा की जाएगीद। उन्होंने कहा कि हर वर्ष नवरात्रों को लेकर मंदिर में विशेष तैयारियां की जाती है ताकि श्रद्धालुओं यहां पूरे रीति रिवाज के साथ पूजा अर्चना कर सके और आज आज स्कूल के बच्चों के द्वारा मनमोहक कार्यक्रम प्रस्तुतीकरण की भूरि भूरि प्रशंसा करी।

उन्होंने अपनी आस्था जताते हुए कहा कि नवरात्रों पर मां सभी पर अपनी कृपा बरसाएगी और समाज में सुख-समृद्धि कायम रहेगी। इस अवसर पर डॉ अनिल मलिक श्री सनातन धर्म महाबीर दल की संपूर्ण कार्यकारिणी उप प्रधान-मोक्षित भाटिया, सचिव-जनक भाटिया, महासचिव-मनोज कुमार रतड़ा, कोषाध्यक्ष-सचिन भाटिया, कार्यकारिणी सदस्य रंजय भाटिया एवं सदस्य रिंकल भाटिया, अमित नरूला, भरत कपूर, आशीष अरोड़ा, शिवम तनेजा, अजय शर्मा, संदीप भाटिया, बिट्टू डंग, जतिन बांगा, तथा स्कूल के अध्यापकगण में निशि अदलखा, सोनिया अरोड़ा, सुमन अरोड़ा, नीतू भाटिया, रेखा जोहरा, नीलम सचदेवा, अनु भटिया, प्रवेश भाटिया, अशोक बैसला, रजनी बजाज, संदीप कौर, मोनिका, मान्या रतड़ा, चाहत-कुनाल नागी, नेहा चौहान, शोभा शर्मा, इंदु देशवाल, कुमारी हिमानी, विकास शर्मा, रजनी खस, रेखा वाधवा, सीमा भाटिया, सुनीता गगर, मोनिका, व गगन अरोड़ा शामिल रहे।

Shoolini University to host stellar lineup at Litfest

Chandigarh

Shoolini University’s upcoming Literature Festival, a celebration of words, ideas, and creativity, promises to be an unforgettable experience, with a diverse range of sessions, workshops, and performances.

The fifth edition of the festival will feature an impressive lineup of personalities, including filmmaker Imtiaz Ali, thespian Kanwaljit Singh, singers Usha Uthup, Ila Arun, VJ Maria Goretti Warsi, actor Shruti Seth, lyricist Raj Shekhar, diplomat Vikas Swarup, business leader Harit Nagpal, writer S R Harnot and many more. These renowned authors, artists, and thinkers will engage in thought-provoking discussions, readings, and performances.

One of the highlights of the 3-day festival, from March 28 to 30, is the introduction of the Shoolini Sahitya Samman, an award that recognises outstanding contributions to literature. The festival will also feature the release of books by authors from Shoolini University.

Festival director Dr Ashoo Khosla said that in addition to the main sessions, the festival will include a range of workshops, including screen adaptation, mindfulness, puppetry, and philately. These interactive sessions will provide participants with hands-on experience and insights from experts in their fields.

Thespian Kanwaljit Singh said he was happy to be a part of the prestigious Shoolini Lit Fest, which had given access to students to be a part of the festival as it was important for young minds to leave their mobile phones and start reading books, which can enrich their vocabulary and knowledge.

The festival will cover a wide range of topics, from mystery novels and poetry to the Himalayas and beyond. With its diverse programming and stellar lineup, the Shoolini Literature Festival is poised to become a landmark event in the literary calendar.

Former IAS officer and motivational speaker Vivek Atray said, “The Shoolini Literature festival has become one of the most iconic lit fests in the region and a happy ensemble of leading writers, authors, thinkers, are converging at the Shoolini Lit Fest 2025. I think it’s going to be an amazingly exciting event and it’s very important for young people to listen to such authors and writers and celebrities to be inspired because these are role models and it will also encourage a lot of young people to write more.”

Accident and Trauma Care Services will be upgraded at the Civil Hospital located at Mandikhera village in Nuh

Chandigarh, March 27 – Haryana Health Minister Kumari Arti Singh Rao informed that Accident and Trauma Care Services will be upgraded at the Civil Hospital located at Mandikhera village in Nuh district. This hospital will also be upgraded from 100 bed capacity to 200, for which approval has been given.

The Health Minister was responding to a question asked during the ongoing Budget Session of Haryana Vidhan Sabha here today.

She informed that the 100-bed Al-Afia District Civil Hospital in Mandikhera village has been functioning since 2005. The total land of the hospital is 16 acres and 8 marla. The government has given in-principle approval to upgrade the 100-bed Al-Afia (Mandikheda) District Civil Hospital to a 200-bed hospital in July 2024. At present, 135 health facilities are available in Nuh district.

She informed that the total population of Nuh is 15,48,460, which includes 14,41,724 rural and 1,06,736 urban population. Among these 135 health facilities, there is one district civil hospital, 5 community health centers, 17 primary health centers and 111 sub health centers in Nuh district. Apart from these, there is a medical college in district Nuh.

Government will take steps for certification, packaging and marketing of natural farming products: Agriculture Minister

Chandigarh, March 27 – Haryana Agriculture and Farmers’ Welfare Minister Sh. Shyam Singh Rana said the State Government is focusing on awareness and training programmes for farmers and officials in the first phase of Natural Farming Scheme. In the second phase, it will take comprehensive steps for certification, branding/packaging and marketing of natural farming products. Besides, the State Government will link HAFED and Haryana Agro Industries Corporation (HAIC) with Farmer Producer Organizations/Natural Farming Groups to help farmers get better price for their natural produce.

Sh. Rana was replying to a calling attention motion related to ‘Importance of Natural Farming’ in the Haryana Assembly today.

The Agriculture Minister informed that Haryana State Seed Certification Agency has been nominated by the Government of India for certification of natural farming products. The State Government has also constituted a committee to explore the formula/fixation of MSP for natural farming products or to provide incentives to farmers to compensate for the loss of yield at the beginning of adopting natural farming. Giving information about the steps taken by the state government to create interest of farmers towards natural farming, he said that the state government is implementing natural farming from the year 2022-23 under the State Scheme ‘Promoting Sustainable Agriculture Strategic Initiatives and Farmers’ Welfare Fund’, so that farmers can be made aware to adopt chemical-free agriculture. He informed that the main objective of this scheme is to promote climate-friendly farming in harmony with nature, reduce the cost of cultivation, make farming a sustainable livelihood option, improve soil fertility, micro flora and fauna, water holding capacity, water infiltration and percolation, promote chemical-free agriculture, reduce soil, environmental and aquatic pollution and create awareness in the farming community to adopt natural farming.

He said that to achieve these objectives of Natural Farming Scheme, the State Government has started large-scale awareness campaigns, farmer seminars, workshops, natural farming fairs and exposure visits for officials and farmers. 720 Kisan Goshtis, 22 workshops and one state level fair have been organized since the year 2022 and more than 35,000 farmers have participated in these programmes.

He further informed that the methods of natural farming are quite different from the prevalent chemical-based farming, hence farmers need extensive training in view of the challenges in adopting the new system. Therefore, the state government has established four training centers at Gurukul-Kurukshetra, Hameti-Jind, Gharaunda-Karnal and Mangiana-Sirsa to enhance the awareness and training skills of farmers and Agriculture Department officials. 9707 participants have been trained so far since the year 2022. The trainees include young farmers, women and government employees. Apart from this, Hameti-Jind has also given one-day online training to 6,234 Sarpanches of the state. Sh. Shyam Singh Rana informed that 1,77,892 farmers have shown interest in natural farming and have registered themselves on the Prakritik Kheti portal for 2,63,979 acres of area. Out of this, 10474 farmers have been verified for adopting natural farming in 16800 acres of area.

The minister said the government provides various types of grants and incentives to encourage the farmers of the state towards natural farming. He informed that Rs 3,000 per farmer is provided to the farmers for the purchase of 4 drums for storage/processing of raw material. Similarly, farmers adopting natural farming in 2 acres or more area were given a subsidy of Rs 25000 on the purchase of a native cow, which has now been increased to Rs 30000 (1 acre) from the year 2025.

He further informed that a total of Rs. 14.77 crore has been disbursed under this scheme from the year 2022 till date which includes Rs. 1.23 crore for purchase of 492 desi cows and Rs. 75 lakh for purchase of drums to 2500 farmers.

Sh. Shyam Singh Rana also informed that Government of India has also launched National Mission on Natural Farming (NMNF) with a budgetary allocation of Rs. 39.70 crore to promote natural farming with interventions like awareness generation, cluster formation, involvement of Krishi Sakhis (Community Resource Persons) and orientation programmes in Gram Panchayats. Additionally, Gurukul-Kurukshetra and Hameti-Jind have been notified as Centres of Natural Farming (CONF) in the state under NMNF. To make farmers aware and reach out to the public, training under NMNF has started at Centres of Natural Farming (CONF), Gurukul from January 2025. The Government of India has focused on setting up two Indian Natural Bio-Input Resource Centres  to promote bio-fertilizers.

 He informed that the state government has set a target of 1 lakh acres under natural farming in the budget for the year 2025-26.

Expressing his commitment to focus specially on natural farming in the state, the Agriculture Minister said the state government is making every effort to improve the health and economic condition of the people of the state.

Law necessary to control illegal migration: Anil Vij

Chandigarh, March 26 – Haryana’s Labour, Transport and Energy Minister Sh. Anil Vij, while discussing the Haryana Registration and Regulation of Travel Agents Bill, 2025, in the Assembly today, said it is very important to bring this bill so that illegal migration can be controlled.

He said when he was the Home Minister, a committee was formed under the chairmanship of Bharti Arora, which caught 600 illegal travel agents. After this, a second committee was formed under the chairmanship of Sh. Sibash Kabiraj in which 750 illegal travel agents were caught.

He said due to the absence of any rules and regulations for travel agents, anyone is able to start this work. Many youth of Haryana go abroad through the donkey route, in which they pass through the sea or forest routes. It is necessary to make this law to stop the illegal migration. He said that such a law was made earlier also, but some objections were raised on it, which were removed and this bill has been presented again in the House with the efforts of the Chief Minister.

The Cabinet Minister, referring to a recent development, said that the US has deported some illegal immigrants, which is not a good sign. He said if we want the welfare of the people of Haryana, we should pass this bill unanimously.

Strict action taken against travel agents sending youth abroad illegally- Chief Minister

Chandigarh, March 26 – Haryana Chief Minister Sh Nayab Singh Saini said that the state government has taken stringent action against travel agents involved in sending youth abroad through illegal means. A total of 127 cases have been registered, and action has been taken against 102 agents, with eight travel agents arrested.

The Chief Minister was speaking during the discussion on the Haryana Travel Agents Registration and Regulation Bill 2025, presented during the ongoing budget session in the Assembly here today.

He said that the bill aims to protect the youth from exploitation, ensuring transparency, accountability of travel agents, and the investigation and curb of illegal activities.

The Chief Minister added that while he is unsure of the opposition’s stance on the bill, the state government’s intention is clear that stringent action will be taken against travel agents who facilitate illegal migration.

He further informed that the bill, which concerns the youth, had been introduced in the House earlier. However, after the introduction of three new criminal laws, some sections were revised. This bill is now being reintroduced with strengthened provisions to safeguard the youth from exploitation. He highlighted that many youth used to sell their land to go abroad and they were sent abroad in an unsafe manner. Once the bill becomes law, the government becomes successful in curbing all such illegal practices.

The Chief Minister also informed the House that the bill includes provisions to combat human trafficking, with penalties of 7 to 10 years of imprisonment for those found guilty.

He said that the state government has established a Foreign Cooperation Department to manage the process of sending youth abroad for business, education, or employment. The primary goal of this bill is to ensure that all travel agents are registered, and that they operate under the new legal framework and the government can also have accurate information.

Sh Nayab Singh Saini said that under the leadership of Prime Minister Sh Narendra Modi, the Central Government successfully brought back 23,000 youth stranded in Ukraine during their MBBS studies.

Kamal Sakhi programme organized to promote spirit of one party-one family

Chandigarh, March 26 – The Haryana State Child Welfare Council has taken a unique initiative to take forward the vision of Haryana Chief Minister Sh. Nayab Singh Saini towards women empowerment. In this regard, the Council’s Vice President Smt. Suman Saini invited the wives of all the ministers and MLAs of the Haryana Government to the Chief Minister’s residence Sant Kabir Kutir and sought suggestions for women empowerment through the Kamal Sakhi Manch. The idea of Kamal Sakhi Manch was started on the suggestion of the country’s Prime Minister Sh. Narendra Modi and the National President of the BJP Sh. Jagat Prakash Nadda. The idea was that ministers, MLAs and MPs keep meeting during programs but their family members do not get the opportunity to come on one platform, so the Kamal Sakhi Manch was formed.  The objective of this platform is to encourage the spirit of one party-one family so that family relationships can be strengthened.

It is noteworthy that earlier also, in the direction of women empowerment, Chief Minister Sh. Nayab Singh Saini organized a program in Jind on the occasion of the holy month of Sawan Hariyali Teej and presented Kauthli to the women. The tradition of giving Kauthli in Haryanavi culture has been going on for centuries. The girl’s family sends Kauthli to her in-laws on Teej. This strengthens the brother-sister relationship. It is a coincidence that the oath ceremony of the newly elected mayors, chairmen and councillors of municipal corporations, municipal councils and municipalities was held in Panchkula yesterday, in which the number of women was more than 50 percent. This reflects the vision of women empowerment of the Haryana Government to ensure 50 percent participation of women in Panchayati Raj institutions and urban local bodies.

Apart from this, the newly elected women public representatives also watched the proceedings of the ongoing budget session in the Haryana Assembly.  This is probably the first occasion after the formation of Haryana that the wife of a Chief Minister has invited the wives of ministers and MLAs together to the Chief Minister’s residence. Even before this, Smt. Suman Saini has been celebrating Haryanvi festivals with women at the Chief Minister’s residence from time to time.

In today’s program, Haryana Assembly Speaker Sh. Harvinder Kalyan, Health Minister Arti Singh Rao, Women and Child Development Minister Smt. Shruti Choudhry, MLAs Krishna Gehlawat, Shakti Rani Sharma, Bimla Chaudhary and a large number of women associated with Kamal Sakhi Manch were present.

Haryana Prevention of Public Gambling Bill, 2025 passed unanimously to curb gambling and betting activities

Chandigarh, March 26

Haryana Chief Minister Sh Nayab Singh Saini said that the Haryana Prevention of Public Gambling Bill, 2025 has been passed unanimously in the Haryana Vidhan Sabha today to curb illegal activities such as gambling and betting in the state.

During the discussion on the Haryana Prevention of Public Gambling Bill, 2025 in the ongoing budget session of the Vidhan Sabha today, Sh Nayab Singh Saini informed the House that many families have been ruined due to illegal gambling and betting. He emphasized the urgent need for a strict Law to protect people from these activities, which is why this Bill has been introduced in the House.

Sh Nayab Singh Saini said that many times gambling and betting is also used to manipulate the environment and gain political advantage. He stated that this Bill will also help curb match-fixing and spot-fixing. Under the Bill, apart from provision of imprisonment for those found indulging in these illegal activities, heavy fines have been prescribed. He further informed that the Bill also includes provisions to confiscate any property acquired through illegal activities.    

Haryana Vidhan Sabha passes four bills during budget session

Chandigarh, March 26 – Four Bills were passed in Haryana Vidhan Sabha today during the Budget Session. These include Haryana Honourable Disposal of Dead Body Bill, 2025, Haryana Registration and Regulation of Travel Agents Bill, 2025, Haryana Prevention of Public Gambling Bill, 2025 and Haryana Contractual Employees (Security of Service) Amendment Bill, 2025. Besides this, Haryana Horticulture Nurseries Bill, 2025 and Aparna institution (Taking Over of Management and Control) Bill, 2025 were also introduced.

Haryana Honourable Disposal of Dead Body Bill, 2025

The Haryana Honourable Disposal of Dead Body Bill, 2025 was passed to maintain the basic human rights of the dead body in the state of Haryana and for the decent final disposal of the dead body and for matters connected therewith and incidental thereto.

The scope of the “right to life” contained under Article 21 of the Constitution of India includes the “rights and dignity of the dead”. Under Article 21 of the Constitution of India, the right to respect and fair treatment is available not only to the living person but also to his body after his death. Honour and respect for the deceased is the recognition of human dignity. Keeping in view the right and dignity of a dead person, nobody should be allowed to raise any demand or bait for pursuing any demands by way of any protest or agitation by not performing the timely last rites of a dead body.  It has become necessary to ensure that no person uses himself uses or allows the use of  the dead body for remonstration of any kind.

A legislation namely “The Haryana Honourable Disposal of Dead Body Bill, 2025, to provide for-decent and timely last rites of a dead body and, in case of family members disowning a dead body and thereby depriving it of last rites, performance of last rites by the public authority and for matters connected therewith or incidental thereto, is required.

Haryana Registration and Regulation of Travel Agents Bill, 2025

The Haryana Registration and Regulation of Travel Agents Bill, 2025 was passed to establish a framework for ensuring transparency, accountability, integrity of travel agents and to check and curb their illegal and fraudulent activities, safeguarding the interests of the residents of the State of Haryana and for matters connected therewith or incidental thereto.

It has come to notice that innocent and unemployed youth of Haryana are being lured into the trap of illegal migration on a large scale through illegitimate means. Unscrupulous and unregistered travel agents deceive such persons by promising them easy and quick immigration to foreign countries. These agents promise to arrange work visa, work permit, and study visa through offer letters from universities and colleges in foreign countries, but in many cases, they fail to fulfill their promises. In many cases, these agents provide fake offer letters and sometimes even form fake or unrecognized universities or colleges. They charge excessive fees and demand huge amounts of money at different stages. Many times these agents send innocent people to foreign countries illegally and such people are caught by the police of those countries and put behind bars, therefore there is a dire need to curb the illegal activities of such travel agents.

In the larger interest of the public, a law i.e. ‘Haryana Registration and Regulation of Travel Agents bill, 2025’ to provide for measures to check and monitor the unlawful and fraudulent activities of travel agents and to provide a mechanism to punish such wrong doers

as per law and for matters connected therewith and incidental thereto is required.

Haryana Prevention of Public Gambling Bill, 2025

Haryana Prevention of Public Gambling Bill, 2025 was passed to provide for the prevention and punishment of public gambling, keeping of common gambling houses, betting in sports or elections, match fixing or spot fixing in sports in the State of Haryana and matters connected therewith or incidental thereto.

Gambling in India is governed by the Public Gambling Act, 1867 which is an old, British era law. The Law Commission of India in its 249th report has termed this law obsolete and recommended that it be its repealed. All state governments do possess power of making their respective legislation as the subject matter falls under the State List under the Seventh Schedule of the Constitution of India and many states have enacted their public gambling laws from time to time. The majority of the gambling laws in India are outdated because there has been a sea change in the form of gambling!’ with use of electronic devices in view of advance

Technology and betting syndicates are playing havoc with the finances of the general public as the legislation has not yet been updated. It has become necessary for introducing stringent punishment for those involved in organizing gambling. Therefore, a primary responsibility of regulating betting and gambling rests with the State.

A legislation i.e. ‘the Haryana Prevention of Public Gambling Bill, 2025’ to provide for prevention and punishment of public gambling, keeping of common gaming-houses, betting in sports or elections, match fixing or spot fixing in sports and matters connected therewith or incidental thereto or of like nature in the State of Haryana and to achieve the object of saving the public at large from becoming victim of fraud committed by any such activity is required.

Haryana Contractual Employees (Security of Service) Amendment Bill, 2025

The Haryana Contractual Employees (Security of Service) Amendment Bill, 2025 was passed to amend the Haryana Contractual Employees (Security of Service) Act, 2024.

Under the Haryana Contractual Employees (Security of Service) Act, 2024, the benefit of security of service is admissible to those contractual employees who have completed at least 5 years of service in a government institution on full-time basis as on the appointed date i.e. August 15, 2024. The following provision has been made in Explanation 2 below Section 3 (ii) of the Haryana Contractual Employees (Security of Service) Act, 2024.

For the purpose of calculating the number of years of appointment as per the above provision, a contractual employee who has received remuneration for at least 240 days in a calendar year shall be deemed to have worked for the entire year.

The contractual employees have requested to count 240 days during a year of contractual service instead of calendar year. Otherwise their service of their first calendar year of joining will not be counted if their date of joining is between the months of May and December. Similarly, the current year 2024 upto the cut-off date August 15, 2024 are 227 as a result their contractual service may not be 240 days during these years.

Since the request of contractual persons were genuine and for this purpose the matter was put up in Council of Ministers meeting dated December 28, 2024 for consideration that the condition of 240 days in a calendar year may be amended to 240 days during a period of one year contractual service. The Council of Ministers had approved the proposal.

It was proposed to bring this proposal by means of an Act, however, delaying this until the next session of the Legislative Assembly would to have exacerbated the distress and uncertainty among these employees, leading to potential disruptions in various Government functions.Therefore, Ordinance in this regard was notified on January 31st, 2025 i.e. Haryana Contractual Employees (Security of Service) Amendment Ordinance, 2025.

The proposed Haryana Contractual Employees (Security of Service) Amendment Act,2025 seeks to reduce distress and uncertainty among these employees, leading to potential disruptions in various Government functions.

Punjab Govt goes extra mile ; historic decision to check illegal mining

Chandigarh, March 26:

Taking a historic decision to check the illegal mining in state, the Punjab Cabinet led by Chief Minister Bhagwant Singh Mann on Wednesday nod for the enactment of the Punjab Regulation of

Crusher Units Act 2025.

A decision to this effect was taken in the meeting of the Council of Ministers held here under the chairmanship of the Chief Minister here at his official residence.

The Cabinet have approved to bring this act in the ongoing session of the state assembly. This will strengthen the Department in regulating the activities of Crusher Units and Screening Plants which are engaged in processing of sand and gravel. This will in turn help in checking illegal mining operations in the state by promoting legal mining in

the state.

Gives consent to amend the Indian Stamp Act, 1899

The Cabinet also gave consent to amend the Indian Stamp Act, 1899, to promote a business-friendly environment in the state. This amendment aims to reduce business costs and boost economic growth in Punjab. It stipulates that if a person has already paid stamp duty on a loan and later transfers it to another bank or financial institution without changing the mortgaged property, no additional stamp duty will be charged—unless the new loan amount exceeds the previous one, in which case duty will be charged only on the excess.