Haryana Assembly: Opposition takes on govt during Question Hour

“The information that you have is incorrect. I can table the information of each and every school that I mentioned”, Naina Chautala told the education minister. The minister said that he would get it “enquired into” again.

Abhay Singh Chautala, the Indian National Lok Dal (INLD) MLA from Ellenabad, Wednesday gave a Calling Attention Notice “regarding shortfall of approximately 7.4 lakh boxes found in the liquor stock in l-13 godown of two contractors in Sonipat district in the month of December”. Chautala shall be taking on especially his nephew Dushyant Chautala who also holds the Excise portfolio.

Other Opposition MLAs, including Jagdish Nayar, Deepak Mangla, Praveen Dagar and Rajesh Nagar, have also given another Calling Attention Notice regarding “spreading out the diseases in Faridabad and Palwal Districts due to mixing of chemical and dirty water coming from Delhi in Agra Canal”.

A few Bills, including The Haryana Sikh Gurdwaras (Management) Amendment Bill, 2022; The Haryana Municipal Corporation (Second Amendment) Bill, 2022; The Haryana Municipal (Second Amendment) Bill, 2022, are likely to be passed Wednesday.

Another Bill, The Haryana Appropriation (No. 4) Bill, 2022, shall also be introduced and is likely to be passed.

During the Question Hour, Congress MLA Neeraj Sharma (Faridabad NIT) attacked the state government regarding the number of deaths occurred due to sewage water/open drains/damaged roads from January, 2015 till November 30, 2022 across the state, especially in the areas falling under the Urban Local Bodies department.

Sharma asked the state government to inform about the action taken against those responsible for such deaths and whether the government has given any economic assistance as compensation to the aggrieved families of those who died.

BJP’s newly elected MLA from Adampur constituency, Bhavya Bishnoi, asked his maiden question in the ongoing Session during Question Hour. “Is it a fact that the projects worth Rs. 5,378.73 lakh and Rs. 3,017.30 lakh have been approved by the government to replace the damaged sewerage and drinking water pipelines in Adampur Mandi; the time by which the tenders for these projects are likely to be invited by the government together with the time by which the said works are likely to be started? He also asked if villages Chabarwal, Bhodia Khera, Sadalpur, Adampur, Kabrel, Mahatma Gandhi Basti in Dhobi, Bir, Dhandoor, Jhiri and Peeranwali face potable water crisis, and sought the deadline when the problem is likely to be solved. He asked if there was any proposal under the consideration of the government to construct water works in Sadalpur and Chandan Nagar villages and repair the water tank in water works of village Asrawan and also sought the details.

Responding to Bishnoi’s question, cabinet minister Dr Banwari Lal said that the government’s various schemes, including Jai Jeevan Mission, have been launched to redress such problems. The minister also narrated the status of the progress of works in the villages that were asked by Bishnoi.

“Since Bhavya Bishnoi has spoken for the first time in this House, I would like to congratulate him,” Speaker Gian Chand Gupta said.

A Congress MLA from Sadhaura, Renu Bala has also asked the government to provide details if there is “any proposal under consideration of the government to provide opportunity of registration to the unemployed educated youth of the state” through Haryana Kaushal Rozgar Nigam.

On Speaker Gian Chand Gupta’s intervention, the education minister said “If the information submitted to me by the officers/officials is incorrect, I shall definitely take action against such officers”.

BJP’s Able Singh also stood up and said that “pendency of teachers in schools is a state-wide problem and needs to be addressed”.

The education minister cited post-wise figures that are vacant across the state schools and said that the recruitment is going on through Haryana Public Service Commission (HPSC) and the remaining shall also be recruited through Haryana Kaushal Rozgar Nigam. The minister added that a few vacant posts shall also be filled through promotions.

He added that “soon, the process of recruiting teachers through Haryana Staff Selection Commission (HSSC) shall also be initiated, soon”.

Speaker asks ministers to “personally verify information before submitting it in House”

Referring to an accident in Faridabad, Faridabad NIT MLA, asked, “An incident took place on November 5 in which an 11-year-old child died. Nobody is bothered. Urban Local Bodies has been probing it for the past 54 days. How much more time does the department need to provide justice to the child’s family?”

In his reply to the MLA, Urban Local Bodies Minister Dr Kamal Gupta said that out of total 51 such deaths across Haryana, three took place in Faridabad. Contradicting the minister’s information, Neeraj Sharma said that “it is totally incorrect information. There have been four deaths in one incident only in Faridabad. How could you say three people died?” Caught on the wrong foot, the minister said that he was only reading out the information that he has got and in case he has got the incorrect or incomplete information, he would get it inquired into and also take action against the officials concerned if wrong information has been given.

At this point, Speaker Gian Chand Gupta said, “It is a matter of grave concern. I request all the ministers that any information that is given by them in the House, they should first fully verify it at their level before submitting it in the House. If any official or officer gives you wrong information, the punishment given to him/her should be exemplary so that such incorrect information is not submitted in the House”.