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| Friday, February 2, 2001, Chandigarh, India   
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Dhumal warns bankers Karmapa prays for quake victims Hindu mahasabha
chief flays govt No reduction in HP Annual Plan A state library on its last legs? SSB sends medical team to Gujarat |
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Cong leader
alleges pressure tactics by BJP IT units to get industry status Dhumal praises
HP police Food
& Supplies Dept cancels 625 licences 3 Himachal ADGPs
promoted
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Dhumal warns bankers SHIMLA, Feb 1 — Mr P.K. Dhumal, Chief Minister, today came down heavily on bankers for not taking initiative to improve the credit deposit ratio in the hill state, which was as low as 26 per cent and warned that the government might consider to set up its own bank, if they failed to change their attitude. Presiding over a meeting of the state-level bankers committee here today Mr Dhumal expressed displeasure over the attitude of the commercial banks which raised huge deposits from Himachal Pradesh but invested these in prosperous states. Consequently the credit deposit ratio continued to be far below the norm of 60 per cent set by the Reserve Bank of India. He said it was not as if there were no investment opportunities in the state, the banks were wary extending loans within the state. The government had repeatedly urged them to finance hydel power projects and tourism-related projects for which there was a vast scope, however, all such pleas had remained unheeded. This was despite the fact that the rate of loan recovery was more than satisfactory compared to other states and Himachal Pradesh was one of the few states in the country which had passed a legislation to enable banks to recover outstanding dues as arrears of land revenue. He blamed the “mindset” of the bankers, who have failed to keep pace with the changing environment and the ongoing globalisation. It was time that they made amends and ensured a fair deal to the state. Giving details of the performance of banks over the first two quarters of the current financial year, Mr V. Sridhar, Executive Director of the UCO Bank, said that as against a target of Rs 613.36 crore, the banks had disbursed loans to the tune of Rs 358.30 crore, including Rs 258.42 crore under the priority sector. The credit expansion in the agriculture sector was slightly lower than expected with an achievement level of 48 per cent. The total credit deployment in the state up to September last was Rs 2287.60 crore which was 27 per cent more than the last year’s achievement of Rs 1802.01 crore in the corresponding period. The process of finalising the annual credit plan for 2001-02 was already on and the banks were expected to disburse fresh loans of Rs 800 crore in the state for various activities under different sectors during the year. The total deposits in the state shot up to Rs 8503.44 crore from Rs 7789.17 crore as of March, 2000, an increase of 9.17 per cent. The total loans outstanding also increased by 8.41 per cent over the figure of Rs 2110.04 crore during the period. The credit deposit ratio, had been hovering around 26 per cent but the investment credit deposit (ICD) ratio which was 38.2 per cent in March, 2000 has increased to 43.09 per cent in September 2000. The recovery performance of banks in the state was 56 per cent of the demand and it was to be raised to 90 per cent. The poor recovery had adversely affected the profitability of the banks. The recovery position under government-sponsored schemes was 54.65 per cent. The progress recovery under the certificate cases was not up to desired level. There were about 5700 cases, involving recovery of more than Rs 26 crore, which were pending. Out of these more than 4400 cases involving recovery of Rs 12.60 crore had been pending for more than one year. Mr A.K. Goswami, Chief Secretary, urged the banks to come out with a concrete action plan for investment in information technology which was the emerging sector in the state. He also stressed for organising an interactive seminar on the subject. |
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Karmapa prays for quake victims DHARAMSALA, Feb 1 — The 17th Karmapa, Ogyen Trinley Dorjee, today held a special prayer service in memory of those killed by the devastating earthquake in Gujarat and the affected families and invoked the blessing of Guru Padmasambhava to ward off any such calamity in the highly seismic-prone area of Dharamsala. Being aware of the 1905 Kangra earthquake, which claimed 10,000 lives, the head of the Karma Kagyu sect of Tibetan Buddhism has been holding special prayers every day to avert any such calamity in the Kangra area. “The prayers have been inspired out of compassion and mercy for those affected by the earthquake and in sharing the grief and suffering of the nation,” said Mr Tenzin Namgyal, general secretary to the Karmapa. The Karmapa, along with over 100 monks from the Sherabaling monastery at Bhattu near Baijnath, chanted mantras at the Gyuto tantrik monastery, where he has been residing for the past one year. Today was the culmination of the week-long prayers held after the earthquake. Mr Namgyal said today was the mass purification puja, which would help the deceased in finding their path and complete peace. “This traditional puja finds its lineage to Guru Padmasambhava, who was considered the protector and saviour by the Buddhists.” The monks have been performing this puja for the past few days as has been the tradition in ancient Tibet. “It is our firm belief that the Kangra valley, which is an earthquake-prone area, has been saved from mother nature’s fury as special prayers were being held in this regard,” Tibetans say. A few months ago, the Tibetan spiritual leader, the Dalai Lama, had instructed all Tibetans to hold special prayers as he had prophesied that a major earthquake would cause immense devastation. The Dalai Lama has already erected a stupa dedicated to Guru Padmasambhava outside his palace in the main monastery to save the place from any natural calamity. A statue of Guru Padmasambhava has also been installed there to offer prayers and seek his blessings. |
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Hindu mahasabha
chief flays govt KANGRA, Feb 1 — Dr Nalinder Gautam, state unit chief of the all-India Hindu Mahasabha yesterday criticised the Central Government, for its lukewarm attitude towards the Kashmir situation where security personnels, national elements, besides Hindus as a minority community, where prime targets of Pakistan-sponsored militancy in the state which required a heavy hand to curb it. Dr Gautam said that this attitude of the Central Government was part of the appeasement policy towards Muslims of the country to win over the Muslim votebank for the forthcoming polls. He demanded that the Central Government should scrape the Article 370 and allow the ex-servicemen, to settle in Jammu and Kashmir. He said that the Revenue and the Rehabilitation Minister of Jammu and Kashmir, Mr Abdul Qayoom, had allegedly asked, Hindu businessmen and the industrialists of the state of prove their state subjectship. The state subjectship of some of the Hindu families have been scraped he alleged. He described it as a pre-planed move to force remaining Hindus to go out of the Kashmir valley in order to strengthen the nefarious designes of the ISI in the state. He criticised the Central Government for creating hurdles in the construction of the Ram Temple at Ayodhya and described it as sinister plan of the BJP to appease the Muslims of the country. He said the sentiments of the Hindus were emotionally attached with the Ram Temple, Krishan janambhoomi and Kashi Vishvanath Temple and these sentiments should be regarded by the Central Government. |
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No reduction in HP Annual Plan SHIMLA, Feb 1 — There will be no sizing down of the Rs 1720-crore Annual Plan for the current year, even though the Planning Commission has approved a Rs 1382-crore core Plan, an official spokesman clarified here yesterday. The misgivings regarding the size of the Plan had cropped up due to introduction of the core Plan concept which envisaged that after the finalisation of the core size, if the state could muster additional resources, the overall size could go up. As far as Himachal Pradesh was concerned, the government had already been pursuing the state’s case with the Centre for additional resources to bridge the gap and simultaneously making efforts to raise resources on its own. The government was committed to implementing the Plan in totality as it had done in the past. In fact, expenditure authorisation of over Rs 1300 crore had been issued to the implementing agencies upto December 31, 2000 under the quarterly scheme of Plan spending. The authorisation for the last quarter had also been issued early this month. In the case of tribal and backward areas, about 85 per cent of the annual plan provisions were given expenditure authorisation in the first three quarters keeping in view the climatic and topographic conditions and the limited working season. The spokesman further said that the plans during 1998-99 and 1999-2000 had been more than fully implemented and the actual expenditure had exceeded the plan outlays. Against an outlay of Rs 3045 crore for these two years put together, the actual plan expenditure was Rs 3070 crore. As per the accounts finalised by the Accountant-General during 1999-2000 out of the total plan expenditure of Rs 1623.63 crore out of which the salary expenditure in plan was Rs 535.21 crore. This constituted only 32.56 per cent of the total expenditure. Even this needed to be understood in terms of components. Out of the total salary expenditure of Rs 528.77 crore, the salary expenditure in education sector was Rs 217.40 crore and that on health sector was Rs 61.57 crore. These two account for about 53 per cent of the total salary expenditure. The bulk of the expenditure in these sectors on salaries could not be termed as wasteful expenditure. The spokesman said that a canard was being spread about non-accountable of the additional Central assistance received through the Prime Minister’s packages in plan financing. This, also, was factually incorrect. The additional Central assistance provided through the Prime Minister’s packages was providing for plan financing only and for no other purpose. This additional Central assistance was untied and was meant to be entirely used to fund the plan expenditure which was initially proposed to be financed through borrowings of various kinds-market borrowings. It not only meant prudent financing of plan expenditure with Central grants rather than fund it with loans, but also meant a reduction in the debt burden of the state. |
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A state library on its last legs? SHIMLA: Rare books are decaying in the State Library here for want of proper upkeep and maintenance. Many books have already been spoiled by fungus in the Gandhi Bhavan extension of the library. The library, once known for rare books, is now struggling for survival. The budget is too meagre for acquiring new books. The main library is in Heritage Building near the church on the Ridge, while its extension is in the Evening College complex, where the situation is worst. The library sections in both buildings are in bad condition. Students have to run from the Ridge to Gandhi Bhavan for their books. There are 47,000 books in the State Library — 7000 books are in the Ridge building and 40,000 in the Gandhi Bhavan. The librarian claims that they have old books of the British period. The library got 374 new books in this fiscal year. It is surprising that there are only 20 to 25 chairs for 6,458 members, including adults and children. On an average, the library issues 150 books per day. “My subjects are maths and science for the Civil Service exam and the library lacks books on these subjects. “We come in the hope to get all books at the State Library. But we suffer when we do not get the books needed”, says Sunil Thakur, a student. Many chairs are broken and electric fittings in bad shape. The library is running without a catalogue and lacks basic facilities. The students face many problems in locating books. The photostat machine is missing. When students desire to copy some material from any books the staff has to go with them along with the books to a photostat facility in a shop. Besides, there is a skeleton staff
despite its 6458 members. Poor students complain that even the books in the reference section have been lent or been missing for months together. The staff alleges that the Education Department provides a limited budget for purchase of books and nothing for maintenance or binding of old books. Nearly 25,000 books need binding. Old is gold — how can the department ignore this adage. “The Education Minister should visit the library and see its condition. The department should take steps so that the readers can enjoy the books as well as the library facility”, says a student. Gandhi Bhavan is full of old and rare books. The library is like a store with no ventilation. Gandhi Bhavan does not have regular electricity and it is difficult to find books in absence of proper lighting. Many books are spoiled. During the rainy season the water falls from the roof on to books kept in corners. The State Library was started in April 1986 under the educational department. Before that the Municipal Committee was looking after it. The State Library was established in 1920 and was then known as station library. The books in the Heritage Building are in a pathetic condition. The damage has reached the infrastructure stage. The association and the member demand a proper library building. “After all this is the State Library and special attention should be given to it. Either the library should be in one building or it should have a separate building,” says a staff member. |
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SSB sends medical team to Gujarat SHIMLA, Feb 1 — The SSB (Special Security Bureau), Himachal Pradesh, has sent a team comprising four senior doctors, along with the paramedical staff and life-saving medicines, to Gujarat. Mr D.S. Minhas, Divisional Organiser of the SSB, said tents had been set up at Bhuj so that the team could start functioning immediately. Besides, Rs 6 lakh had been contributed to the Prime Minister’s Relief Fund by the officers and staff of the division. The Himachal Pradesh Administrative Officers Association contributed Rs 51,000 to the relief fund. The Rotary Club and the Rotract of the Shimla (Midtown, despatched 13 bundles of blankets and clothes to state. |
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Cong leader
alleges pressure tactics by BJP DHARAMSALA, Feb 1 — The All-India Mahila Congress President and Rajya Sabha member, Mrs Chandresh Kumari, said today that despite the BJP adopting pressure tactics to woo the newly elected block members from Lambagaon in the Thural constituency, the Congress had won the elections and would once again emerge victorious in the zila parishad poll. Addressing a press conference here today, she alleged that the ruling BJP had adopted all kinds of pressure tactics to woo the Congress members in Lambagaon, causing harassment to some of them. “Despite Thural being a BJP stronghold, the Congress has captured the BDC, which is a clear indication that winds of change in favour of the Congress are sweeping the area,” she claimed. Mrs Chandresh Kumari alleged that BJP leaders had even tried to mislead the elected members in Lambagaon to get their support. She said the BJP was making false claims about having a majority in the Kangra Zila Parishad. “Apart from the 29 Congress members, we have the support of some of the floating votes, thereby giving us a clear majority in the zila parishad,” she said. Refusing to divulge the name of the candidate to be fielded by the Congress for the post of Chairman, she said there was complete unanimity on the issue among senior leaders. Regarding the abstaining by the Congress members from the zila parishad election on January 30, she said this had to be done because some members turned up late and they did not wish to go in for the election without the majority. |
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IT units to get industry status SHIMLA, Feb 1 — The Himachal Government has decided to accord the status of industry to all information technology (IT) projects in the state so that industrialists could avail of all incentives available to them. Stating this here today, an official spokesman said that IT units to be set up in the designated software technology parks, IT habitats and high-tech city will be granted relaxation in FAR (floor area ratio) to the extent of 50 per cent and they would also be allowed to come up in residential areas. Labour laws had also been relaxed to enable them to have three-shift operations and they would also be exempted from routine inspections as far as possible. Instead, the general principle of self-certification had been accepted for the implementation of labour laws. Under the IT policy-2001, the state government would encourage the flow of investments, including FDI, and provide full support whenever required. The state government would offer customised package of incentives for prestigious investment proposals (projects with a total investments of more than Rs 10 crore or promoted by a Fortune 500 company). He said that for mega projects, with investment exceeding Rs 100 crore, the government would consider a special package of incentives, on a case-to-case basis, based on the gestation period of projects,
pioneer nature of projects, locational aspects, state-of-the-art technology, profitability and scope for further related investments. The state government has also decided to create a venture capital fund of Rs 20 crore in association with the state cooperative bank, SIDBI and other financial institutions to meet the equity requirements of the small and medium enterprises. |
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Dhumal praises
HP police MANDI, Feb 1 — The Himachal Pradesh Chief Minister, Mr Prem Kumar Dhumal, today lauded the role of the Himachal police and claimed that the state had one of the best police forces in the country. He said apart from maintaining law and order and keeping vigil on the movement of intruders from terrorism-infested states, the police had established a good rapport with the public. “Our police is by and large honest,” he said. Inaugurating a police residential complex at the headquarters of the Third Battalion of the Himachal police of Pandoh, Mr Dhumal said the government had drawn up a plan for the welfare of the police. As many as 206 houses for police personnel had been constructed over the past 34 months eversince the BJP government came to power in the state.
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Food & Supplies Dept
cancels 625 licences CHANDIGARH, Feb 1 — The enforcement wing of the Haryana Food and Supplies Department today claimed to have cancelled the licences of 625 dealers during surprise checking conducted by it till December last during the current financial year. The security amounts of 1,984 dealers, totalling Rs 11.21 lakh, was also forfeited under the campaign. A spokesman of the department said 27 defaulting dealers had been arrested and cases registered against 30 others. He said goods worth nearly Rs 2.89 crore were seized during the period. |
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3 Himachal ADGPs
promoted SHIMLA, Feb 1 — The Himachal Pradesh Government today promoted three officers of the rank of ADGP to the rank of DGP. They are Mr A.K. Puri, Mr V.K. Malik and Mr I.N.S. Sandhu. Mr Tashi Dawa, ADGP (Vigilance) goes as ADGP (Home Guards) and Mr Ajit Narayan, ADGP (Vigilance) as ADGP (Police Headquarters). |
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