Chandigarh :
Several ministers and bureaucrats are set to lose their antechambers and balconies in Civil Secretariat.

The government has asked them to vacate the balconies by July 8 so that the Chandigarh Engineering Department can start preservation and restoration work of this UNESCO world heritage architectural site from July 10.

Along with buildings of Punjab and Haryana High Court and Vidhan Sabha.
The Civil Secretariat, which houses the offices of Chief Ministers, ministers and bureaucrats of Punjab and Haryana, is part of the Capitol Complex that was declared a UNESCO world heritage site on July 17, 2016.

Chief Secretary Depinder Singh Dhesi confirmed that the state government had ordered removal of encroachments from the balconies by July 8. “The order should be seen in the light of the ones issued in the context of the Punjab Civil Secretariat, the Punjab and Haryana High Court and the Vidhan Sabha,” he added.
The Capitol Complex is considered one of the finest architectural works in Chandigarh designed by Le Corbusier.

Spread over 100 acres, Capitol Complex also has the Open Hand Monument and a memorial for freedom fighters of the country besides having the buildings of the Civil Secretariat, the High Court and the Vidhan Sabha in it.

Sources say the Punjab Government has already ordered removal of illegal structures from its side of the Civil Secretariat, a similar permission from Haryana was awaited.
Several minister and bureaucrats have encroached upon balconies to build additional chambers for them spoiling the original look of the building.

Cabins have been made in the balconies by covering them with aluminium or plywood boards up to parapets to serve as antechambers, pantries or retiring rooms.
The state government has asked all its departments to cooperate with the Engineering Department in removing encroachments.

Hisar :
The political ambitions and intentions to emerge as a leader of his Bania community seem to have driven the businessman-turned-media mogul-turned politician Subhash Chandra Goenka, 68, take to the streets in his native town.

His dramatic appearance on a road here on Thursday on the issue of diversion of traffic has socio-political overtones.

Having business and RSS links, Chandra has a stature of his own on the national scene in the NDA government. He is ambitious and has desire to be a kingmaker or get the chief ministerial post for him. He seems to be keen on a role for himself after the next Assembly polls in a changed scenario. Firstly, however, he has to emerge as the undisputed leader of his community, said one of his close aides, adding that he was unhappy with the performance of the state government.

Sources said by raising a petty civic issue, he had aimed two birds with one stone — pushing forward his political agenda and to show his protégé, the local BJP MLA Kamal Gupta, that who is the boss of the Bania community.

“Belonging to a family having saffron roots — as his father Nand Kishore Goenka has been a VHP office-bearer — Chandra is trying to fill the leadership vacuum in his community by positioning himself as a strong contender for the top job in the state,” said a trader close to his family.

“It’s tougher to become community leader than a political leader. He fails to come true to expectations. After three years, he has alienated the community from himself. Hence, this drama,” another trader said.

Kalia had a spat with Vij two years ago after which she was shifted from Fatehabad

Chandigarh :
Two years after IPS officer Sangeeta Kalia was given marching orders from Fatehabad after a spat at a grievance redressal meeting with Health Minister Anil Vij, she has been handed the same treatment again for skipping his meeting in Panipat where she was presently posted as SP.

Issuing transfer orders, the Haryana government today posted her as Commandant, 1st IRB, Bhondsi (Gurugram). Her transfer is one of the eight transfers of IPS officers effected by the Haryana government, here today. Manbir Singh has been posted as Superintendent of Police, Panipat. 

Kalia found herself in the centre of a controversy recently when she decided to give Vij's grievance committee meeting in Panipat a miss on June 30, choosing to stay away rather than coming face-to-face with the minister. Consequently, complaints pertaining to her department could not be taken up at the meeting where Vij pointed out her absence.

Sources said Vij later complained to Chief Minister Manohar lal Khattar, who assured him of action into the matter. In 2015, the officer was moved from Fatehabad after an issue pertaining to illegal sale of liquor ended up in a public spat between her and Vij.
The minister, peeved at Kalia's response of shouting at the complainant for complaining to the minister, asked her to leave the venue of the meeting. However, she chose to stay put as an agitated Vij stormed out after a round of heated exchanges with the officer.

After this incident, the minister and the officer have had no dealing till she was posted as SP, Panipat, where Vij is the chairman of the district grievances committee. For the second time in the present BJP government, Kalia has been shifted out of a district on Vij's complaint. 
Meanwhile, the others officers transferred by the Haryana government, today, are K.K. Mishra who has been posted DG, Headquarters, Panchkula, while P.K. Agrawal goes as ADG, Crime.
Hardeep Singh Doon has been posted IGP, Administration Haryana, Panchkula, and will also look be the IGP, HAP, Madhuban. B. Sathesh Balan has been posted DIG, STF,Bhondsi. 
Partiksha Godara has been given additional charge of SP, Hansi while Rajesh Duggal, SP,Rewari has been given additional charge of Commandant, 3rd Battalion, HAP, Hisar.

Hisar :
Rajya Sabha MP Subhash Chandra said that flights from Hisar airport would start soon but added that these are unlikely to begin from August 15, a deadline set by the state government.

Interacting with mediapersons here, Chandra, a media baron, claimed that he was instrumental in roping in an airline to start operations from Hisar.

“The airline has committed that it would start operations within 30 days after completion of the renovation work on the airstrip at the airport in Hisar. As the work is under way, it is not likely that the flights can begin from August 15,” he said.
The state government had announced to start flights to Chandigarh and Delhi from Hisar from August 15 after a meeting in this regard was chaired by Chief Secretary DS Dhesi on June 15.

The government stated that Pinnacle Airlines would render its services under the regional connectivity scheme, also known as UDAN (Ude Desh Ka Aam Nagrik), and the required infrastructure is likely to be in place by that deadline.

“Those who set this deadline apparently misguided the Chief Minister and the state government. I urged the airlines to take the contract after nobody came forward on two previous occasions,” Chandra said, adding that it would take more time to ready the airstrip for the flights.

Regarding the success of the flights from Hisar, he said that he has urged the airline owner to provide transport to the passengers to their local destination after reaching Chandigarh or Delhi on flight. “If such facilities are provided, passengers might take to flying. Once, it gets going, the flights can be extended to other cities like Mumbai and Kolkata,” Chandra said.

Sources said that infrastructure was still lacking at the airport. The construction of hangars for the parking of the planes, airstrip, terminal area and other buildings is going on. “Work is on at a fast pace, but we cannot fix a deadline,” said an administrative official.

Ambala :
Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar on Thursday reached Saha block in Ambala district for his “chai pe charcha” session and interacted with local BJP leaders and workers.

He called upon party workers to propagate government’s public welfare and self-employment schmes. “The Centre has made the highest increase in the minimum support price of crops. The economy depends on agriculture and the prosperity of farmers will strengthen the economy. Haryana’s farmers would gain by Rs 1,400 crore from the Centre’s decision,” he said.

On Mullana MLA Santosh Sarwan’s demand that Saha gram panchayat would be upgraded to a municipality, the Chief Minister said if the panchayat fulfilled the norms, it would be given the status of a municipality.

Khattar also visited Patarehri village and Magharpura villages under his campaign.
He told the media, “Party workers are part of my family and meeting them is my job. In the past three-and-a-half years, policies for the state’s development were framed and implemented. Now is the time to take feedback from party workers and the public about the schemes.”

Kurukshetra: Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar held meetings with BJP sympathisers in the district on Thursday. At Jalbehra and Jorasi villages, he said the BJP government had fulfilled its electoral promises of initiating pro-farmer polices. “The increase in MSP of crops will improve the financial position of farmers,” he said, adding transparency in governance and appointments were the major achievements of the BJP government in Haryana.