P R A D E S H
Wednesday, December 23, 1998
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H I M A C H A L P R A D E S H |
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Wednesday, December 23, 1998 |
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spotlight today's calendar |
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Sukh Ram men ‘drift
away’
Govt forms steering panel for
disabled |
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 Irregularity in leasing of civic body land DHARAMSALA, Dec 22 — Another case of leasing out prime land of the Municipal Council, in Mcleodganj, without the knowledge of the House has been detected. ITBP committed to curbing
militancy |
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Small savings contribution
deduction at source One
gets 10-yr RI for carrying charas Plan
to link all panchayats by road Demand
for removal of NSUI chief decried Mandi
to have 4,000 hectares of green cover Cong
MLA's remarks on oustees decried |
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Sukh Ram men ‘drift
away’ SHIMLA, Dec 22 —The Himachal Vikas Congress chief, Mr Sukh Ram suffered a setback today when two of his ‘loyalist’ ministers, Mr Mansa Ram and Mr Prakash Chaudhary, abstained from a politically significant public meeting of his at Rohroo, in the interior of Shimla district. Mr Sukh Ram and four ‘loyalist’ ministers were to have addressed a public meeting in the assembly constituency of his rival and Congress leader, Mr Virbhadra Singh. However, only Mr Mohinder Singh who belongs to the HVC and is the PWD Minister, accompanied him. Another minister, Mr Ram Lal Markanda, was expected to join him later in the evening. The public meeting was organised at Rohroo as an apparent show of strength both to the Chief Minister, Mr P.K. Dhumal and also to Mr Virbhadra Singh. Another pubic meeting in the constituency will be held tomorrow at Chirgaon. In the past days an impression has gained ground that the Welfare Minister, Mr Mansa Ram and the Animal Husbandry Minister, Mr Prakash Chaudhary, who won the assembly election as HVC candidates but were later made to join the BJP as a tactical ‘masterstroke’ by Mr Sukh Ram had started drifting away from Mr Sukh Ram and towards their adoptive party, the BJP. Today's public meeting was apparently organised to dispel this impression and show that both of them were still with Mr Sukh Ram. However, enquiries from the office of Mr Chaudhary revealed that he had left for Mandi and Balh on "important" work while Mr Mansa Ram said he was busy in a meeting here regarding the welfare of the disabled. The HVC publicity secretary, Mr Sunder Lal Verma, had issued a press note on December 15 saying two ministers would be among those accompanying Mr Sukh Ram to Rohroo and Chirgaon to address public meetings. Mr Sukh Ram has similarly been claiming that while Mr Mansa Ram and Mr Prakash Chaudhary were physically in the BJP, but their heart and soul was in the HVC. But this is the second time that they have defied an ‘invitation’ of their "supremo". Earlier, both of them had kept Mr Sukh Ram waiting in his native village in Mandi district where he had summoned them on the eve of his deadline on November 6 for continuing support to the Dhumal government on the issue of ordering a CBI probe against Mr Virbhadra Singh. This repeated defiance is being considered as significant in political circles as the effective strength of the HVC in the assembly is three after the two ministers elected on a HVC ticket joined the BJP. The two ministers were
earlier always with Mr Sukh Ram and Mr Sukh Ram had some
time ago even obtained their resignations to pressure the
BJP govt to move against the former CM, Mr Virbhadra
Singh. |
Govt forms steering panel for
disabled SHIMLA, Dec 22 — The Himachal Pradesh Government has decided to set up a steering committee for monitoring the various ongoing schemes launched for the welfare and betterment of the disabled in the state. The committee will consist of a Secretary, Welfare, Secretary, Education, Secretary, Health, and adviser, planning. The decision to form the committee was taken today at a meeting of the state-level Coordination Committee set up for persons with disabilities under the Equal Opportunity Protection of Rights and Full Participation Act, 1995. The Chief Minister, Mr Prem Kumar Dhumal, presided. He said it was the moral and social responsibility of all to take care of the vulnerable section of the society. Reiterating his government's resolve for ensuring the welfare of the disabled, the Chief Minister directed that the government's decision regarding the grant of 3 per cent reservation for the disabled should be implemented in earnest. He said the government would explore the possibility of setting up an institution for the disabled in the state and that steps in this regard would be taken. It was stated at the meeting that 1,000 disabled persons had been provided employment in various departments in the state and a special cell had been set up in the Employment Department for this. The Chief Minister also stressed that the disabled should be given special attention in providing medical treatment. Mr Mansa Ram, Social
Welfare Minister, while speaking at the occasion gave a
detail of the schemes being implemented for the disabled
in the state. |
Irregularity in leasing of civic body
land DHARAMSALA, Dec 22 — Another case of leasing out prime land of the Municipal Council, in Mcleodganj, without the knowledge of the House has been detected. Prime land owned by the council, right in the heart of Mcleodganj, on the Bhagsu Nag road, has been leased out to a Tibetan institution, without the knowledge of the members, as it was never passed by the House. On the contrary, an NOC was given to the Tibetan Medical Centre, whereas the matter was never discussed at the meetings of the council. Interestingly, construction has already been taken up on a war footing on the piece of land. The President of the Council, Mr Kamal Kant Minocha, when contacted said that it was only two days back, that this scandal, was detected and the matter brought to his notice. "It was during minutes of the meeting that took place on May 8, 1998, that the giving of the NOC has been recorded, whereas the matter was never taken up," he revealed. He added that on checking the agenda of that particular meeting, he found that the matter was never listed for discussion, and it was in the minutes of the meeting recorded later, that the entry had been made wrongfully. Mr Minocha, and the vice-president of the Council, Mr Nirmal Singh, said these Kind of irregularities would be thoroughly probed and the guilty would not be spared. In such cases where the council leases out land to somebody, an NOC is issued for undertaking construction, and once the lease period is over, it is either renewed or given to another person, Mr Minocha said that in the latest case of irregularity, the construction had been undertaken on land having Khasra number — 251. During the past one week, this is the second case of irregularity detected in the leasing out of prime properties and land, owned by the Municipal Council, Dharamsala. Earlier this week, the council cancelled the leasing out of two floors of a council building right in the heart of Mcleodganj, which too had been done without the knowledge of the House. In the past also there
have been allegations from a section of the people that
large-scale irregularities have been committed in the
Municipal Council, of which nobody has taken note.
"What is most regretting is the fact that the
council has miserably failed to provide the basic civic
amenities to the residents of the town and on the other
hand it has made a large number of irregularities, which
are not in the larger interest of the council,"
commented a prominent citizen of the town. He demanded
that this was just the tip of the iceberg and a thorough
probe should be made into the work of the council so that
other irregularities can be detected and rectified. |
And now adulteration of nuts SOLAN: Ever heard of adulterated walnuts, almonds and groundnuts? Judging by the relevant provisions of the Prevention of Food Adulteration Act (PFA), substantial quantities of these commodities being sold in the markets these days could be termed as adulterated. Contrary to the general perception that a food item is said to be adulterated only when some foreign matter is intentionally added to it, the PFA laid down 12 conditions under which an article of food could be deemed as falling under that class. These include any article which was not "of nature, substance or quality which it purports to be", any article which has been so processed "as to affect injuriously the nature, substance or quality thereof" as well as any article which consists wholly or in part of any material "which is unfit for human consumption." A horticultural scientist here says he had detected presence of sulphuric acid residues on the kernel of some walnut samples collected by him from different markets in October and adds that all those nuts containing a harmful substance like sulphuric acid should attract punitive action under the PFA. He says that he had collected the samples as a purely academic exercise after his curiosity was roused by the recently introduced practice of treating walnuts with a solution of soda and lime followed by a flash dip in a weak solution of sulphuric acid. This chemical treatment formed part of the standard package of practice concerning walnuts and was recommended as a cosmetic exercise designed to improve the colour and texture of walnuts. Naturally harvested walnuts bear black splotches caused by the fermentation of the outer green covering during dehulling. A 10 second immersion in a solution of soda and lime followed by a flash dip in a weak solution of sulphuric acid not only got rid of the unseemly black spots but also provided a smooth, creamy texture to the shells, thereby enhancing sales appeal. The scientist, who tested the walnut kerrnels for the presence of sulphuric acid, says that he felt that given the educational background of the majority of growers, there was every possibility of stronger solutions of the acid being used and also for durations long enough to permit its percolation through the pores in the nutshell on to the kernel, as was proved by the tests. Enquiries made by this correspondent in the dry fruit market brought to light a nefarious, greed driven practice, based on the "soda, lime and acid dip" technique. Some unscrupulous persons out to make a fast buck, had started producing "kagzi" (thin shelled) walnuts out of the "kattha" (thick shelled) varieties. The "kagzi", as the name suggests is easy to break while "kattha" is a hard nut to crack. The former commands premium prices in the market. The price differential had attracted certain persons on the lookout for making a fast buck. While not even a single trader admitted to any knowledge of the exact technology employed, a few of them hinted at some kind of 'harmless' chemical treatment designed to soften the hard shells of "kattha" walnuts. However, a trader pointed out that chemically-treated walnuts, and also almonds, were seldom sold in whole lots, with most traders preferring the 'safety' of mixing these with genuine stuff. Apparently this precaution was taken to ensure difficulty in detection of the spurious "kagzis," should any food inspector decide to lift samples of the commodity Since the nuts are usually taken in small quantities, the chances of somebody falling ill or developing health complications and landing the traders in trouble are also reduced that way. No record of any prosecution launched under the PFA could be obtained as none of the food inspectors contacted had ever lifted samples of walnuts on suspicion of adulteration. The same was the case with groundnut, the common man's 'badaam''. This correspondent found that almost every lot of this commodity put up for sale in the local markets contained quantities of fungus-ridden bits. According to food biologists, this fungus consisted of aflatoxins B and G, considered highly hepatotoxic and were known to damage the liver. There were cases of these aflatoxins having caused liver cancer on record. As per a study conducted at the Central Food Technology Research Institute, Bangalore, these aflatoxins could alter red blood corpuscles, even when taken in low doses. In addition to being
considered as a tasty snack by adults, groundnut flour
was also used in the preparation of protein concentrates
meant for use by babies. Like the spurious
"kagzi" walnuts and almonds, groundnuts
containing appreciable lots of aflatoxin-ridden kernels,
were being sold with impunity in markets. |
Small savings contribution
deduction at source SHIMLA, Dec 22 — Contributions of the State Government employees towards small savings will be deducted at source in order to increase resources. The Chief Minister, Mr P.K. Dhumal, told newsmen here today that the scheme would be made applicable from next year on the pattern of the police department. The employees will be free to fix their contributions which will be deducted at source. Presiding over a meeting of the state-level Small Savings Advisory Board here this morning, Mr Dhumal said district-level advisory boards would be set up to involve the local people who could motivate investments towards small savings. He said it had also been decided that the prizes on account of best performance in small savings will be given in the shape of saving certificates instead of cash or kind. Earlier, briefing newsmen, Mr Randhir Sharma, Vice-Chairman of the Small Savings Advisory Board, said that against the last year's target of Rs 288 crore of small savings, the achievement this year was Rs 923 crore. He said that the prize for the best performing district had been increased to Rs 3 lakh and 1 per cent of the target against the existing Rs 2 lakh and 0.75 per cent of the target. Mr Sharma said that Hamirpur has been adjudged the best district in investments towards small savings where the achievement was Rs 26.52 crore against the target of Rs 24.36 crore. He said that some new
small savings schemes would be introduced next year. |
ITBP committed to curbing
militancy CHAMBA, Dec 22 — The Indo-Tibet Border Police (ITBP) deployed on the border in Doda and Chamba districts are committed to curbing militancy. The force has helped in building self-confidence among the inhabitants of the border villages. The ITBP has a strong network with a quick communication system on the high altitude alpine borders from the Paogi tribal valley to Khairi, touching the plains of Punjab. The Chief Minister of Himachal Pradesh, Mr Prem Kumar Dhumal, is taking keen interest in providing full cooperation and support to the battalions of the ITBP deployed. Meanwhile, residents of border areas have urged the government to withdraw forces which are merely fighting for fulfilling their personal demands. They feel that the lack of coordination between various security forces could confuse the situation rather than check infiltration of terrorists from across the border. They also resented the government's inaction against the security forces who had failed in their duty in the recent massacre of 35 persons at Kalaban-Satrundi. Meanwhile, the District Magistrate, Mr K. Sanjaymurti, said around 800 persons had been issued arms licences. Nearly 180 village defence committees in 14 panchayats in these areas had been constituted and arms training had been imparted by the SSB to 1,062 members of these committees. He added that 70 Special
Police Officers (SPOs) selected from these border
villages had been appointed in this militancy-infested
region of Himachal Pradesh. |
One gets 10-yr RI for carrying
charas SUNDERNAGAR, Dec 22 — The Additional Sessions Judge. Mandi Division, Mr Samsher Singh, yesterday convicted Shesh Ram of Banjar tehsil Kulu district, under Section 20 of the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act, 1995 (N.D.P.S. Act) for allegedly possessing 5 kg of charas. He has been sentenced to undergo rigorous imprisonment for 10 years and pay a fine of Rs 1 lakh and in default of payment of fine, a further imprisonment of one year. The convict was nabbed by
the police on March 14 at Bali Chowki, Aut tehsil, and 5
kg of charas was recovered from his bag. |
Plan to link all panchayats by
road KULU, Dec 22 — All 2033 panchayats in the state will be linked with roads during the next five years for which a comprehensive scheme is being considered. Mr Mohinder Singh, Minister for Public Works and Excise and Taxation, said this presiding over a function organised to mark the 50 years existence of Himachal at Kulu yesterday. He said the total road
length in the state before the formation of Himachal was
only 288 km which has increased to 20,500 km. He further
said 34,000 daily wagers have been regularised. |
Demand for removal of NSUI chief
decried SHIMLA, Dec 22 — Reacting sharply to the demand for removal of Mr Atul Sharma, the President of the state unit of the National Students Union of India, a dozen leaders of the union have come out in his support. The loyal leaders including three vice-presidents and three general secretaries of the union, have refuted the charge that Mr Sharma had not been able to run the organisation effectively and asserted that he had given a new direction to it. Under his leadership several activities like blood donation camps, raising of funds for providing relief to victims of natural calamities, besides holding of various training camps and conferences to mobilise the cadre. He also spearheaded the 98-day stir on the Himachal Pradesh University campus. They urged Ms Alka Kapoor, the All India President of NSUI, to take disciplinary action against dissidents demanding the removal of Mr Sharma. They also warned the Congress leaders not to interfere in the internal matters of the union. Meanwhile, Mr Rakesh Bodh,
Mr Vinay Sharma and Mr Ajay Thakur, all former district
presidents of the union, have denied that they had
demanded removal of Mr Sharma and said the statement in
this regard had been issued without consulting them. |
Mandi to have 4,000 hectares of
green cover MANDI, Dec 22 — An afforestation programme has been launched in the state. A sum of Rs 80.40 crore would be spent on the plantation and preservation of the forest wealth during the current financial year. The Himachal Pradesh Forest Minister, Thakur Rup Singh, said today that compared to last year, an additional Rs 25 crore was being spent this year. He said a strategy had been launched to save forests from fires, thefts and smuggling. Simultaneously, a massive plantation programme had been taken up to convert barren hills into green valleys. Four thousand hectares of land in Mandi district would be brought under plantation this year, he said. Forest Minister said forests were an "open treasure" of the people and they must be protected to maintain the eco-system and conserve the perennial water sources. Forests were inevitable to sustain the economy of the state as they were the basic infrastructure for power generation and tourism. He said a new project had
been drawn up for implementation from next year. It
envisaged covering the vacant land around educational
institutions under a green cover. Students would be
associated with the programme and the department would
extend financial and technical assistance, like plants
and barbed wire etc. |
Cong MLA's remarks on oustees
decried DALHOUSIE, Dec 22 — The President of the local Municipal Council and a BJP leader, Mrs Renu Chadha, has assailed Mrs Asha Kumari, the Congress MLA from Banikhet constituency for her remarks against the distribution of land compensation to the ousted families of Ranjit Sagar Dam project falling in Banikhet area of Chamba district. In a press note issued here today, Mrs Chadha claimed that getting Rs 66 crore approved from the Punjab Government for the compensation of land and getting jobs cleared to one member each of the 537 affected families was a landmark achievement of the Himachal Chief Minister, Prof Prem Kumar Dhumal. This achievement should not be undermined by Mrs Kumari, she added. Mrs Chadha alleged that
the oustees were insulted by the Congress MLA when they
tried to meet her to seek compensation and jobs. Ms Asha
Kumari had told them that the belts of 12 revenue mohals,
including Mail, Chuhan, Khairi, Sudali and its
surrounding areas, belonged to the BJP, the civic chief
further alleged. |
HP govt unstable, says Cong
leader CHAMBA, Dec 22 — Infighting of BJP between Dhumal and Shanta factions of the pradesh BJP and lack of coordination between the BJP and the Himachal Vikas Congress (HVC) has made the BJP-HVC coalition unstable, alleged Mr Harsh Mahajan, Vice-President and whip of the Himachal Pradesh Congress Committee (HPCC) while talking to newsmen here yesterday. He accused the coalition government of imposing a ban on transfers of government staff on the one hand and violating the ban on the other. He stated that about 5000 posts each in Health and Education departments were lying vacant. In Chamba district primary
health centres and civil dispensaries had been locked.
Schools were running without teachers. |
Postpone MA exams: students DHARAMSALA, Dec 22 — The post-graduate students of the P.G. Centre here have demanded the postponement of the MA examinations, as has been done in the university at Shimla. The students resented that the students at Shimla would be getting an extra period of about two months to prepare for the examinations. The students demanded that
the university authorities adopt a uniform policy for the
MA students, whether they are studying at Shimla or in
Dharamsala. |
BJP leader warns Dhumal govt MANDI, Dec 22 — Mr Dina Nath Shastri, BJP leader, has cautioned the government against exposing its lack of experience in governance. He said the government was banning the use of recycled polythene bags but on the other it was promoting the setting up of recycling units in the state. Mr Shastri said the government had accepted the suggestion of the NCERT, three months ago, that the minimum qualification for the voluntary teachers would be plus-2 instead of matric. In fact, primary, middle, matric and graduation were recognised as basic qualifications all over the country. But the plus-2 system was still on trial, he said. Computers had been sent to schools, but there were no computer teachers. Similarly, the results of
interviews held in the past few months had also not been
declared. All this brought a bad name to the government,
he said. |
Govt fixes sales tax target KANGRA, Dec 22 — The Himachal Pradesh Government has fixed a target of Rs 500 crore to be collected as sales tax by the Excise and Taxation Department in the current financial year. The Excise and Taxation Commissioner, Mr Anil Khachey, said here today that the current target was Rs 70 crore more than the last year's target. He said the department had a tarnished image and it would take them time to change it. He said the department was trying for a better coordination with the tax payers for collecting maximum revenue with least inconvenience to the tax payers. Mr Khachey said the pending cases would be disposed of by March 31, 1999, and asked the officials to desist from harassing the tax payers. A book was also being published to provide guidance to the tax payers. Earlier, Mr Anil Khachey
presided over an excise and taxation grievance redress
meeting today. |
ABVP withdraws agitation SHIMLA, Dec 22 — The ABVP today withdraw its nine-day-old agitation following acceptance of their demands by the Vice-Chancellor of Himachal Pradesh, Prof C.L. Kundu. They were protesting among
other things, increase in the late fee and action in the
fake mark sheet scandal. |
4159 teachers to be regularised SHIMLA, Dec 22 — The Himachal Pradesh Government has regularised the services of 4159 voluntary teachers who have completed five years in service. The Minister for Primary
Education, Mr Karan Singh said that the notification
pertaining to regularisation of their services has been
issued. Only those voluntary teachers are being
regularised who are at least matriculate. They will
however, be required to do a JBT refresher course within
the prescribed period. |
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