A senior assistant editor, Navneet Sharma leads the Punjab bureau for Hindustan Times. He writes on politics, public affairs, civil services and the energy sector.
Articles by Navneet Sharma
R2.31-cr penalty slapped on Delhi firm for delay
Upset over delay in providing high security number plates for motor vehicles in several districts, the Haryana government has invoked the financial penalty clause against Delhi-based Link Utsav Registration Plate Private Limited implementing the project in the state.
Updated on Aug 10, 2012 02:43 PM IST
Hindustan Times | Navneet Sharma, Chandigarh
In debt, HPGCL rushes to regulator for recovery
Pushed into a debt trap by repeated payment defaults by the power utilities, the state-owned Haryana Power Generation Corporation Limited (HPGCL) has petitioned the power regulator to issue directions to the two distribution companies to clear all its dues.
Updated on Jul 13, 2012 11:13 AM IST
Hindustan Times | Navneet Sharma, Chandigarh
Power rates up in Haryana, courtesy fuel surcharge
Power consumers in Haryana have been hit by a double whammy. While there is little respite from power cuts, they now have to pay more for power. The increase, which has come in the form of fuel surcharge adjustment (FSA), ranges from 12 paise to 28 paise per unit for domestic, non-domestic (essentially commercial establishments) and industrial consumers in the state.
Updated on Jul 11, 2012 12:48 AM IST
Hindustan Times | Navneet Sharma, Chandigarh
Sluggish work pricks Haryana govt’s growth balloon
Haryana chief minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda and his ministers keep talking about their initiatives to make the state an educational hub with “infrastructure of international standards”, but the situation on the ground paints a somewhat different picture.
Updated on Jul 03, 2012 05:42 PM IST
Hindustan Times | Navneet Sharma, Chandigarh
'Victimised' IFS officer takes fight to PM's doorstep
Unable to bear "victimisation" ever since he blew the lid off plantation scams in the state, Haryana-cadre Indian Forest Service (IFS) officer Sanjiv Chaturvedi has proceeded on leave, requesting Prime Minister Manmohan Singh to get the irregularities investigated by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI).
Updated on Jun 18, 2012 11:00 AM IST
Hindustan Times | Navneet Sharma, Chandigarh
Police reforms: Haryana fails to impress MHA
In the union ministry of home affairs' assessment of state governments on police reforms that it had recommended, Haryana happens to figure among the few states that fared badly, proving that the tall claims of the Hooda government in this regard were more of a lip service than anything else.
Updated on Jun 14, 2012 11:10 AM IST
Hindustan Times | Navneet Sharma, Chandigarh
Govt under pressure from Centre to relieve IFS officer
Pressure is mounting on the Bhupinder Singh Hooda government in Haryana to relieve the whistleblower Indian Forest Service (IFS) officer, Sanjiv Chaturvedi, for a deputation with the central government.
Updated on Jun 04, 2012 05:55 PM IST
Hindustan Times | Navneet Sharma, Chandigarh
Rural power: Govt's record far from 'electrifying'
Punjab chief minister Parkash Singh Badal and his party, the Shiromani Akali Dal, made lofty promises in the run-up to the January 30 assembly elections for the welfare of below-poverty-line (BPL) families, but their track record during the previous regime does not inspire much confidence.
Updated on May 31, 2012 11:20 AM IST
Hindustan Times | Navneet Sharma, Chandigarh
'No excuse for not having SCPCR, senstivity needed'
Prof Shantha Sinha, chairperson of National Commission for Protection of Child Rights, spoke to HT's Asst Editor Navneet Sharma about the systemic deficiencies, poor monitoring and the need to change the mindset of officials towards the rights of children in these states.
Updated on May 22, 2012 12:20 PM IST
None | Navneet Sharma, Chandigarh
Laxity makes Punjab govt miss out on funds
It’s a poll promise the Punjab government is finding tough to fulfil. The government has been trying to secure additional funds from the union ministry of human resource development (MHRD) under a centrally-sponsored scheme to increase salaries of schoolteachers appointed on contract in elementary and secondary schools in the state, but to no avail.
Updated on May 19, 2012 11:39 AM IST
Hindustan Times | Navneet Sharma, Chandigarh
NGO got grants sans checks
In what is likely to set the alarm bells ringing in the central and state governments, the Bharat Vikas Sangh (BVS), a non-government organisation (NGO) whose chief functionary is facing charges of physical abuse and torture of young girls at its shelter home, has been getting huge grants
Updated on May 14, 2012 12:31 PM IST
Hindustan Times | Navneet Sharma, Chandigarh
Punjab, Haryana and HP face shortage of IPS officers
As the debate over a separate examination for recruitment to the Indian Police Service (IPS) gathers momentum, the northern states of Punjab, Haryana and Himachal Pradesh are feeling the pinch of shortage of police officers.
Updated on May 05, 2012 04:42 PM IST
Hindustan Times | Navneet Sharma, Chandigarh
SSA an auto-pilot project in Punjab
Punjab chief minister Parkash Singh Badal has been quick to announce laptops, free bicycles and other freebies for schoolchildren, but has not found time to supervise the implementation of the Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan (SSA), a centrally sponsored flagship programme to improve school education, in the state.
Updated on Apr 28, 2012 11:48 AM IST
Hindustan Times | Navneet Sharma, Chandigarh
Technology to fix accountability under new chief secy
Haryana chief secretary PK Chaudhery has abundant administrative experience with specialisation in the core sectors of economy. But the new CS has a challenging task ahead as the state bureaucracy has become easy-going over the years and the big-ticket projects have been hit by time and cost overruns.
Updated on Apr 23, 2012 01:11 PM IST
Hindustan Times | Navneet Sharma, Chandigarh
Haryana favours Panipat DC, waives Rs 5-lakh penal rent
The Congress-led United Progressive Alliance (UPA) government had decisively made IRS officer-turned activist and Team Anna member Arvind Kejriwal cough up his dues last year and then defended the timing of the pay-up notice in the face of criticism.
Updated on Apr 21, 2012 12:35 PM IST
Hindustan Times | Navneet Sharma, Chandigarh
HPGCL's power sale proposal shot down
Haryana Power Generation Corporation Limited (HPGCL) has suffered another setback as Haryana Electricity Regulatory Commission has turned down its request for permission to sell power outside the state.
Updated on Apr 16, 2012 07:40 PM IST
None | Navneet Sharma, Chandigarh
Centre puts brakes on funds for free cycles
Bicycles have been making a tremendous impact on polls - and not just as an election symbol.
Updated on Apr 06, 2012 01:41 PM IST
Hindustan Times | Navneet Sharma, Chandigarh
Centre puts brakes on funds for free bicycles
Bicycles have been making a tremendous impact on polls - and not just as an election symbol. The SAD-BJP combine, which secured a record-making victory in the 2012 Punjab assembly polls, had them as part of its populist bouquet for girls in elementary and higher classes.
Updated on Apr 06, 2012 11:36 AM IST
Hindustan Times | Navneet Sharma, Chandigarh
Haryana keeps IPS officers hopping
The Hooda government in Haryana doesn't tire of patting itself on the back for reforms in state police, but this has not stopped it from ordering premature transfers of IPS officers in complete disregard of Haryana Police Act, 2007.
Updated on Mar 21, 2012 12:40 PM IST
Hindustan Times | Navneet Sharma, Chandigarh
‘Increased voter participation heartening, but drugs in polls a serious issue’
Chief election commissioner SY Quraishi, a former IAS officer of Haryana cadre, has successfully conducted elections in some of India’s most politically volatile and influential states during his tenure. In an interview to HT’s assistant editor Navneet Sharma
Updated on Mar 10, 2012 10:55 AM IST
Hindustan Times | Navneet Sharma, Chandigarh
'Drug use in Punjab polls extremely serious matter'
Punjab experience behind cooling-off proposal for bureaucrats; increased voter participation heartening, says Quraishi
Updated on Mar 09, 2012 10:04 PM IST
Hindustan Times | Navneet Sharma
Women fare well! 14 make it to 14th Punjab assembly
Call it the women power. Women candidates have made their presence felt in the male-dominated politics of Punjab by creating a history of sorts in the 2012 assembly polls. They have notched up the highest-ever tally since 1967.
Updated on Mar 07, 2012 02:46 PM IST
Hindustan Times | Navneet Sharma, Chandigarh
Badals beat pundits, incumbency, history
Bucking anti-incumbency and defying most poll predictions, the Shiromani Akali Dal-Bharatiya Janata Party (SAD-BJP) alliance romped back to power in Punjab, routing the Congress in the 2012 assembly elections.
Updated on Mar 07, 2012 02:38 AM IST
Hindustan Times | Navneet Sharma, New Delhi
Badal defies pundits, history
Bucking anti-incumbency and defying most poll predictions, the Shiromani Akali Dal-Bharatiya Janata Party (SAD-BJP) alliance retained power in Punjab, routing the Congress in the 2012 assembly elections.
Updated on Mar 06, 2012 08:26 PM IST
None | Navneet Sharma, Chandigarh
SAD creates history in Punjab
Bucking anti-incumbency and defying most poll predictions, the Shiromani Akali Dal-Bharatiya Janata Party (SAD-BJP) alliance is all set to retain power in Punjab, defeating the Congress in the 2012 assembly polls.
Updated on Mar 06, 2012 08:29 PM IST
Hindustan Times | Navneet Sharma, Chandigarh
INLD slams Hooda govt on discoms merger issue
The opposition Indian National Lok Dal (INLD) today slammed the Congress government's proposed move to merge the state-owned power distribution companies, Uttar Haryana Bijli Vitran Nigam and Dakshin Haryana Bijli Vitran Nigam, in view of their mounting losses.
Updated on Mar 04, 2012 05:49 PM IST
Hindustan Times | Navneet Sharma, Chandigarh
Power tribunal wants meters on all agricultural tubewells
The Punjab State Power Corporation Limited (PSPCL), a state-owned power generation and distribution company, has been reluctant to undertake metering of energy supply to consumers in the agriculture sector, but it may not be able to avoid it for long.
Updated on Feb 27, 2012 03:43 PM IST
Hindustan Times | Navneet Sharma, Chandigarh
Discoms wake up to performance standards
After ignoring it for close to seven years, power distribution companies UHBVN and DHBVN have begun the process for implementation of 'standards of performance' regulations
Updated on Feb 19, 2012 04:32 PM IST
Hindustan Times | Navneet Sharma, Chandigarh
Gross irregularities in Punjab Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan
The union ministry of human resource development (HRD) has detected serious irregularities in the implementation of the centrally-sponsored Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan (SSA) in Punjab.
Updated on Feb 07, 2012 04:14 PM IST
Hindustan Times | Navneet Sharma, Chandigarh
Haryana rejects army chief’s request for change of plot
Army chief General VK Singh, whose statutory complaint to change his date of birth has been rejected by the defence ministry, has faced another turndown — this time from Haryana over a plot he wanted swapped. Navneet Sharma reports.
Updated on Jan 01, 2012 10:56 PM IST
Hindustan Times | Navneet Sharma, Chandigarh