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| Sunday,
April 1, 2001, Chandigarh, India   
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All-party meet fails to agree Horticulture board launches
schemes Funds collected for
quake-hit Central team visits
drought-hit Una |
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HC stays order of
tribunal Solan MC hikes water
tariff Sidhbari to have Chinmaya
kendra Cold wave intensifies,
lakes freeze Exhibition by tribal painters Gen
H.B. Kala retires 1 convicted under NDPS Act Water scarcity in Shimla
areas Mahila Congress holds protest
rally
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All-party meet fails to agree Shimla, March 31 After a prolonged discussion, it was agreed that all aspects and implications of these two issues should be examined before taking a final decision. Participating in the discussion, all leaders were of the unanimous opinion that an out-of-court settlement regarding the state’s share in the BBMB projects under the Punjab Re-organisation Act should be seriously considered if it was found in the state’s interest and the Prime Minister be urged to help the state secure its due share. It was also agreed that the Government of India should also be urge to consider the state’s request for imposing generation tax on hydel power generation which would help it to tide over the financial crisis to some extent. The proposal to close down the primary schools where the strength of students was between one to 20 was also discussed. It was informed at the meeting there were 1,299 such schools all over the state. After a detailed discussion, it was agreed that the government would come out with a foolproof scheme and take the local MLA and other public representatives into confidence. Mr Dhumal apprised the leaders of the poor financial position of the state. He said the wage bill had gone up to Rs 2,200 crore and pension liabilities to Rs 485 crore and the state’s resources were negligible. The Central Government and the Planning
Commission had impressed upon the state to raise resources and cut down non-plan expenditure. He said though the state government had initiated a number of steps to raise resources, but cooperation of political parties would strengthen the hands of the state government in dealing with the situation effectively. The state had been impressing upon the Centre that the Finance Commission had in the past overestimated its resources as a result of which it was suffering a great loss and urged it to take corrective steps. Mr Dhumal said the government was
grateful to the Prime Minister, Mr Atal Behari Vajpayee, who had given financial assistance of Rs 800 crore to the state during the past 3 years which provided great relief to the fund-starved state. The
Chief Minister said holding of such a meeting would be a regular feature in future in the interest of the state as development and welfare of the people was of utmost importance to the government. Mr Virbhadra Singh, former Chief Minister, said the Centre had always underestimated the state’s liabilities on account of pension and did not agree to the state’s legitimate 7.19 per cent share under the Punjab Reorganisation Act. Mr Sukh Ram, President, HVC, stressed for resource mobilisation and Ms Vidya Stokes, Mr J.B.L. Khachi, Mr Rakesh Singha and Mr Kameshwar Pandit also gave valuable suggestions to raise sources. They also appreciated the Chief Minister for convening the meeting and said it was a good beginning. |
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Horticulture board launches
schemes Shimla, March 31 Giving details of the schemes at a press conference here today, Mr J.P. Negi, Executive Director of the board, said in the changed economic scenario, commercialisation was the only way out for survival. In the western countries, horticulture had already been developed as an industry, but India had been lagging behind on this front all these years as the stress had been on agricultural crops to make the country self-reliant in foodgrains. The country could no longer afford to neglect horticulture as imported fruit and fruit products had already starting flooding the domestic market. To compete with imported products the quality, yield and post-harvest management of horticultural produce had to be improved. At present only 8 per cent of area was under horticultural crops. The annual production of fruit and vegetables was 131 million tonnes but the per capita availability was much lower than recommended dietary standards. Moreover, 8 to 40 per cent of the produce was lost due to inadequate post-harvest management. Giving details of the schemes started by the board, Mr Negi said growers could avail of 2.5 per cent back-ended subsidy up to Rs 25 lakh (Rs 30 lakh in hilly and tribal areas) for setting up orchards and post-harvest facilities and adopting new technology. Similarly for construction of cold storages, for example a unit with 5,000 tonnes capacity costing Rs 2 crore, the promoter would be entitled to 25 per cent subsidy not exceeding Rs 50 lakh per project. |
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Funds collected for
quake-hit Shimla, March 31 Mr Prem Singh Thakur, president, Primary Teachers Association, Chachiot, contributed Rs 20,000, principal, Government Girls Senior Secondary School, Melthi, Shimla district, Rs 21,000, and director, Officers and Technical Education, Vocational and Industrial Training, Sundernagar, Rs 84,488. The Administrative Officer, NCC group headquarters Shimla, contributed Rs 17,365, Tehsildar (election) Kangra, Rs 8,100, and headmaster, GHS, Gokhra, Mandi district, contributed Rs 9,550 towards the fund. Staff of the IPH division, Thural, contributed Rs 40,000, staff of AE Thura subdivision, HPPWD, Rs 15,000 Jogindra president, Central Cooperative Bank Employees Union, Solan, Rs 35,000 and principal, staff members and students of Government Senior Secondary School, Deori Khanethi-Kotkhai, Rs 8,100 towards the fund. |
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Central team visits
drought-hit Una Una, March 31 The team visited hilly areas, including Bangana tehsil, the Bharwai area of Amb tehsil and the Haroli area. Mr Pant said about 806 villages of the district had been affected by the dry spell and 95 of these declared water scarce. Water would be made available to these villages through water tankers in summers. He said 39 water scarce villages had been identified in Bangana followed by 19 in Bharwai, 18 in Haroli, 13 in Amb and 6 in Una. Mr Pant said the loss had been estimated at about Rs 150 crore and administration had sought a relief of Rs 8.1 crore. The recent rain and hailstorm had further destroyed the crop prospects in the district, he added. |
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HC stays order of
tribunal Shimla, March 31 Tarkender and Madhusudan had been working as trainee waiters in the hotel of the HPTDC at Mandi since 1989. In 1995, they filed an application before the tribunal that their services be regularised as captain. The tribunal allowed their claim and directed the HPTDC accordingly. However, the HPTDC filed a writ petition in the high court against this order. The corporation contended that the two had been called twice to appear in the trade test, but they did not come. Without appearing in the test, they could not be promoted. The court agreed with this contention and stayed tribunal order. |
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Solan MC hikes water
tariff Solan, March 31 It will now charge Rs 2 per 1,000 litres of water supplied for domestic use and Rs 4 per 1,000 litres for commercial use. The bimonthly rentals for meters have been revised from Rs 20 to Rs 30. In cases where meters are non-functional, a fixed charge of Rs 30 for each such domestic connection will be levied while commercial establishments and hotels having dead meters will have to pay Rs 80 and Rs 1,000, respectively. The security and connection fees have also been increased from the earlier Rs 300 to Rs 800. The reconnection fees has been fixed at Rs 200.The rehri tax has been doubled to Rs 720 per year. The trade license fee has been revised from the present Rs 5 to Rs 50 per year. An entertainment tax of Rs 5 per head will be charged for each visit to the musical fountains. |
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Sidhbari to have Chinmaya
kendra Dharamsala, March 31 Disclosing this here on Thursday the all-India head of Chinmaya Yuva Kendra, Swami Mitrananda, said that the centre would help the youth unfold their talent and potential and to face the challenges of life, without being bogged down with inefficiency and confusion. He said that the potential the youth have is used for creative, social and national causes. During hours of crisis like the Kargil war, Orissa cyclone and the most recent Gujarat earthquake, the youth from the kendras have contributed in a significant way. |
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Cold wave intensifies,
lakes freeze Shimla, March 31 According to reports, Lahaul-Spiti and the upper reaches of Kinnaur were experiencing heavy snow. The Kunzum pass has received 90 cm of snowfall and Losar village, 70 cm by today afternoon. People are facing difficulty in removing snow from rooftops which could otherwise collapse due to the weight. The mercury dipped to -7°C at Kaza this morning. The adjoining Lahaul valley was also having incessant snow and Keylong is already has knee-deep snow. Reports of widespread rain and hail has been received from all parts of the state, including Kulu, Mandi, Theog, Narkanda, Rampur and Solan. Heavy rain has paralysed life here. Widespread rain has cheered farmers as it will be good for their rabi crops. Forest officials heaved a sigh of relief as rain will prevent forest fires which normally start from April. A UNI report said all natural water sources, including the 15,500-foot Chandertal Lake in Spiti and the 16,000-foot Surajtal Lake in Lahaul had frozen. |
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Exhibition by tribal painters Kulu, March 31 The exhibition was organised under the aegis of the District Language and Culture Department. The Deputy Commissioner said the amateur artists had depicted Nature realistically. He said they should organise such exhibitions in bigger cities also. He along with the Superintendent of Police honoured the artists by offering them shawls. The Deputy Commissioner also announced a grant of Rs 5000 for the exhibition. |
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Gen
H.B. Kala retires Shimla, March 31 An alumnus of the National Defence Academy, he was commissioned into the Jat Regiment in 1960. He took part in the 1965 and 1971 Indo-Pak wars and was involved in counter-insurgency operations in West Bengal and Punjab. He was awarded the Shaurya Chakra in 1961 and the Param Vishisht Seva Medal in 1997. |
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1 convicted under NDPS Act Kasauli, March 31 On March 6, 2000, Jagdish Dutt was found in possession of 800 gm of charas by a police party headed by the SHO of Arki, Mr Ashok Kumar near Bhararghati. In case of a default of the payment of the fine, a rigorous imprisonment of another three years will be imposed. |
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Water scarcity in Shimla
areas Shimla, March 31 According to official sources in the IPH Department, due to heavy rain water at the Gumma pumping station has been polluted with mud. It is in the process of being filtered. Another water source, the Chural nullah, is facing power problems and not able to provide water to these residents. |
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Mahila Congress holds protest
rally Kulu, March 31 Along with Ms Thakur, Ms Kamala Sharma, president, Kulu Mahila Congress and Ms Ishra Thakur, president, Banjar Mahila Congress, were among those who criticised the BJP-led government. |
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