The Tribune, Chandigarh, India

	Free water supply for domestic use: Dhumal Our Correspondent Parwanoo, June 19 “There will be no water meters for domestic connections used to supply drinking water in the state and free drinking water will be made available to the residents of the state. This exemption will not be applicable to the commercial connections,” said Mr Prem Kumar Dhumal, Chief Minister of Himachal Pradesh, while talking to mediapersons during brief stopover at the PWD Circuit House here yesterday on his way back to Shimla. Mr Dhumal also said that those persons who have to cross the inter-state barrier every day, had been exempted 10 months’ entry tax and they would have to pay only two months’ entry tax. The Chief Minister said that in order to solve the problem of water in the state, the government had decided that water meters would not be fixed with domestic connections used for drinking purposes only. Water would be supplied free for domestic use. Meters would be fixed only with commercial connections. Mr Dhumal stressed that it was necessary to collect entry tax through the inter-state barriers, but for the daily commuters this was proving to be an additional burden. Such persons would not have to pay the entry tax for the whole of the year and only two months’ tax will be charged from them. Residents of Parwanoo going to Kalka and Chandigarh had to face a lot of problem, as they had to pay a heavy amount in the form of entry tax. The Chief Minister added that this policy would benefit the residents of Parwanoo. The Chief Minister also assured to review the levy of entry tax when told that in some states all residents within a radius of 20 km of inter-state barriers were exempted from the payment of such entry tax. Regarding the functioning of the government, the Chief Minister said that during the past 39 months the state had established new records in development and had made efforts to make the state self-sufficient. Many hydro-electric power generation projects had also been started in the state, said Mr Dhumal. He said that the government had speeded up the developmental works and efforts were being made to ensure that all categories of people got the benefits of development. He also said that division between different sections of society due to regionalism was removed and there had been stress on uniform development of the state. Mr Virender Sehgal, local BJP leader, spoke about the problems of the people of Parwanoo and the Chief Minister assured him to consider these problems sympathetically. Residents of Parwanoo and its surrounding areas are sore about levying a heavy entry tax on the inter-state barrier because the residents have to go to Kalka, Chandigarh frequently for their daily routine jobs and they have been representing at various forums for the exemption from this entry tax.
	Sukh Ram meets Dhumal Tribune News Service Shimla, June 19 Mr Sukh Ram, HVC chief, today met Mr Prem Kumar Dhumal, Chief Minister, and apprised him of the resentment prevailing among partymen over the failure of the government to pursue the CBI inquiry into the charge sheet submitted by the party against, Mr Virbhadra Singh, a former Chief Minister. A general impression had gone around that the government was not serious about the probe as a result which the partymen were upset, he is learnt to have told Mr Dhumal. The HVC leader also justified criticism of government policies on the grounds that there was no common minimum programme of the coalition and the manifesto of the HVC was not being honoured at all. The Chief Minister informed the government had sent the case to the Government of India and had provided all information asked by the investigating agency. He also took exception to the utterances of certain BJP leaders of Mandi district who publicly said they could run the government without the HVC. Such outburst were not conducive to smooth functioning, he said. The views being expressed by him publicly were no different from the what he had been saying in the Vidhan Sabha. His party had a difference of opinion on issues like setting up of cement plants, microhydel policy imposition of user charges and raising of electricity tariff and it had stuck to its stand inside and outside the House. Mr Sukh Ram, however, assured him he would not do anytime to create political uncertainty despite the differences and would continue to support the government in the interest of speedy development of the state. The meeting came in the wake of the state executive meeting of the HVC, held here, yesterday, in which Mr Sukh Ram was authorised to take appropriate decision at an appropriate time on the issue of withdrawal of support to the Dhumal government.
	Scheme an exercise in futility Plan to reduce fleet of govt vehicles Rakesh Lohumi Tribune News Service Shimla, June 19 The irrational manner in which the scheme to reduce the fleet of government vehicles has been designed to cut down expenditure provides yet another example of how the bureaucracy has been taking political bosses for a ride. While a similar announced four months ago was withdrawn even before it could be implemented under pressure from senior bureaucrats, the more recent one has been diluted to protect the interests of IAS and HAS officers, losing the basic objective of exercising economy without sacrificing efficiency. It is hardly surprising that other officers, particularly those belonging to the IPS and the IFS, are opposing the scheme tooth and nail. The ill-conceived scheme allows option to retain the official vehicle and conveyance allowance on the basis of pay scale rather than of functional utility. The IPS and IFS associations have already made representations to Chief Minister P.K. Dhumal to get the scheme rationalised. While some heads of department in the pay scale of Rs 10,025 to Rs 12,000 will have the option to retain the vehicles, DIGs, Conservator of Forests and other senior officers of various other departments drawing a basic salary of less than Rs 18,400 will be denied it. Moreover officers up to the level of Deputy Secretary, who are not entitled to attach vehicles, will get the allowance. The most illogical decision is to grant conveyance allowance at different rates. At present, all officers are entitled to 75 litres of petrol per month and as such the allowance should have been uniform. The officers drawing a basic salary of Rs 18,400 or more will get Rs 5,150 per month more as besides getting an allowance of Rs 4,500 they will not have to pay Rs 650 for private use of official vehicle. They will also be getting an official driver. Secretaries and higher officers who fall in this category make minimal use of vehicle (from residence to secretariat and back). On the other hand the heads of department and other department officers who have to shuttle between their officers and the secretariat throughout the day will be paid an allowance of ranging between Rs 3,500 and Rs 1,500 per month, depending on the pay scale. The decision to sell surplus government vehicles to officers and drivers on book value after depreciation will also be a losing proposition. Several officers have already selected the vehicles to be acquired and are busy getting them repaired at government cost. A better alternative would have been to auction the vehicles which are more than two years old or have completed 1 lakh kilometres. Only vehicles less than two years old should be given away on book value. Most irrational is the decision to allow travelling allowance at the rate of Rs 4.5 per km to officers and Rs 5 per km to ministers. As the rate of petrol is same for all, there is no logic in paying more to ministers. Moreover, the allowance at Rs 4.5 per km, which is on the higher side, will encourage unnecessary touring by officers. After this extensive exercise, the officials, claim the fleet of about 3,000 vehicles will be reduced by 125 and lead to an annual saving of about Rs 1 crore. In reality, the government may end up losing some more money, officers point out. An alternative is to ban the use of vehicles from Saturday to Monday.
	Lahaul valley in grip of drought Our Correspondent Kulu, June 19 Lahaul valley in the tribal district of Lahaul-Spiti in the grip of a severe drought. Mr A.N. Vidyarthi, a former Chief Secretary and member of the Congress, said at a press conference here today that cash crops of seed potatoes and peas would be affected if remedial measurers were not taken. The drought was due to poor snow last winter which led to the virtual drying up of natural sources of water. He said Kothi Tandi was the worst-hit. Similarly at Sumnam and Tenlgabe villages, the water sources had gone dry. Mr Vidyarthi said conventional sources of water could be renovated and cleaned so that at least drinking water could be supplied. He said the flow-irrigation infrastructure needed repair at several places and temporary measures like provisions of pipes and iron sheets could bring relief to farmers, adding that the government should take steps to provide fodder. He said he had met the Deputy Commissioner and other district officers in Keylong, the district headquarters of Lahaul-Spiti, and they said they had not received any amount for drought relief. The Deputy Commissioner said he had demanded Rs 10 crore as relief. Mr Vidyarthi, however, claimed that the government had confirmed that Rs 45.75 crore had been distributed in various districts, including Rs 7 crore as gratuitous relief. The former Chief Secretary said government sources told him that Rs 65 crore had been earmarked for natural calamities, out of which Rs 53 crore had been received from the Union Government.
	HP transfers nine police officers Tribune News Service Shimla, June 19 In a middle-level police reshuffle, the Himachal Government today transferred nine police officers, including two Deputy Inspector-Generals of Police and four Superintendents of Police. Mr Somesh Goyal, DIG, Lokayukta, has been posted as DIG, Vigilance, against a vacant post. Mr Sanjay Kumar on return from central deputation takes over as a DIG, CID. Mr Pradeep Kumar, on return from UN deputation goes as AIG, Railway and Traffic, while Mr A.P. Siddiqui assumes charge as Commandant Third Battalion, Pandoh. Mr S.P.S. Verma, on return from the CBI, has been posted as S.P., Lokayukta. Mr A.P. Singh, ASP, Kangra, has been posted as Commandant, India Reserve Battalion (IRB), Jangal Beri. Mr Jagat Ram, ASP, takes over as ASP, IRB, Beri while Mr Virender Sharma on return from UN mission goes as DSP, IRB, and Mr Vikrant Ranjan, DSP, CID, has been posted as DSP, Ambala.
	HP varsity relaxes admission norms Our Correspondent Nahan, June 19 Dr S.K. Gupta, Vice-Chancellor of Himachal Pradesh University, said here yesterday that Himachal Pradesh University, on demand of students, had relaxed admission norms laid by the UGC for admission to BA classes to the extent that students who had scored a compartment with 20 per cent marks in the subject or 40 per cent marks in aggregate would be allowed admissions in different colleges of the state. Dr Gupta, who was addressing staff members in Nahan, Post Graduate College, made it clear that this relaxation would be allowed only to students seeking admission to Humanities and not in Science classes. The rule had been implemented for the current session. On the issue that whether English as a subject should be dropped as a compulsory subject in BA classes, Dr Gupta disclosed that after marathon consultations on the issue, it was being proposed that English literature would be a compulsory subject in future and an elective subject in graduate classes. Dr Gupta further clarified that the course on communicative and functional English would continue for all students in graduate classes. The Vice-Chancellor supported the suggestions that in order to improve the quality of evaluation and expedition of results all graduate and post graduate colleges in the state would be declared as full-fledged evaluation centres. Dr Gupta disclosed that at present less than 50 per cent college teachers were engaged in a few spot evaluation centres in the state. He said he would seek cooperation of the teaching staff in the state for their involvement in the evaluation work. Dr Gupta, who was here in connection with the inspection of the post graduate examination centre of the college, announced that B.Sc Bio Tech courses would be approved for Nahan college as soon as the formalities were completed. He hoped that these courses would be started at the earliest for which UGC grant to the tune of Rs 9 lakh would be made available. Dr S.K. Garg, Dean of Colleges and Director College Development Council, appreciated the efforts made for the smooth conduct of examinations by the college. He also assured full-cooperation of the council in starting new courses.
	Law college may not get recognition Our Correspondent Shimla, June 19 The Regional College of Law is in the doldrums because of lack of adequate facility and infrastructure. It has yet to meet the conditions laid down by the Bar Council of India (BCI). The college of Himachal Pradesh University is located at Dharamsala. According to sources, the faculty is facing various difficulties. The library is in bad shape and students do not have access to many books. It has not yet fulfilled the conditions of the BCI even after the completion of two years of the course. The faculty will have to fulfill the BCI conditions within a year for smooth functioning. These include a separate building for the law department and a separate library. It is learnt that there is only one regular teacher out of four and there are no professors. In one session, 15 subjects are being taught. According to the conditions, a faculty head or director should be of the department concerned but the director here does not meet the criterion. The BCI has announced the appointments of one professor, two readers and four lecturers for every year up to the third batch. The course was introduced two years ago and the basic facilities are still lacking. For running a full-fledged law faculty three professors, six readers and 12 lecturers are required. But the university can not fulfill these conditions in a year. If this happens, the BCI will not provide it recognition. There are 80 seats for every batch. Several seats have been lying vacant in the second batch. Also there is no hostel facility. Prof N.K. Sharda, Pro Vice-Chancellor of the university, admitted that there was only one regular teacher and the rest were on an ad hoc basis.
	2 enteritis deaths in Kangra dist Our Correspondent Kangra, June 19 A woman and an eight-year-old child died of gastroenteritis in Roapa village in this district yesterday and more than 100 persons were affected with the disease. Thirty persons were admitted in community health centre (CHC) at Chidiyar during the 24 hours, Health Department sources said here today. Dr S.R. Chouhan, Director, Health Services who is camping at Dharamsala to monitor the situation told this correspondent that Chintoo Devi (74), and Akshay (8) died of the disease and more than 100 persons were affected by the disease in Roapa village and the nearby areas. Reports of a number of cases had also been received from the neighbouring 10 villages. Under these six panchayats forty patients were given treatment at Roapa village at their doorstep today. Dr Mehta, CMO, Kangra, said. The Kangra Deputy Commissioner, Mr Prabodh Saxena, and Chief Medical Officer, Dr J.D. Mehta rushed to area in the morning following reports of the deaths and the outbreak of the disease in the epidemic form at Roapa village. Mr Saxena has ordered the purchase of beds and mattresses from the open market as the number of patients reporting at the hospital is far more than the actual bed capacity of the community health centre. He has also ordered the purchase of medicines from the Red Cross fund. Meanwhile the Director, Health Services said more beds and mattresses were dispatched to Chidiyar on Tuesday from Dhramsala. Some patients were referred to Baijnath subdivisional hospital earlier, the sources said. Mr Saxena has called an emergency meeting of the officers of the subdivision at Chidiyar to review the situation. Dr Mehta told this correspondent that medicines were distributed at Roapa village and water sources were being chlorinated. He said the main cause of the outbreak of the disease was the supply of contaminated water from a local water source (bowri).
	Court notice to HPU in PhD case Legal Correspondent Shimla, June 19 A Division Bench of the Himachal Pradesh High Court comprising Chief Justice C.K. Thakkar and Mr Justice A.K. Goel, yesterday issued notice to Himachal Pradesh University on a petition filed by Mr Joginder Singh, a research scholar, in which he raised the issue of the rejection of his PhD (Hindi) thesis as well as registration to the PhD course. The university Executive Council in its resolution dated February 16 had rejected his claim to the PhD degree as he copied the thesis of some other person. The petitioner stated that he had passed MA from Himachal Pradesh University and registered for the PhD on October 24, 1996. It was further stated that his research plan was approved by the respondent and he had submitted his thesis in April 1998. It was alleged that the respondent university appointed a two-member committee regarding the issue in question but the same never met. It was also alleged that the petitioner, thereafter, appeared before a one-man committee and explained his stand. It was further alleged that the university assured that he shall be awarded the degree but later on his candidature was rejected illegally. The court, while issuing notice, also directed the respondent to produce the record regarding the case on the next date.
	Protest against user charges in hospitals Tribune News Service Shimla, June 19 A dharna was staged today outside Indira Gandhi Medical College (IGMC) here by the Centre for Indian Trade Union Congress (CITU), Democratic Youth Federation of India (DYFI) and Students Federation of India (SFI) to protest against the imposition of user charges in hospitals. Activists of these organisations raised slogans against the state government for abolishing free health care to the people. They said the people were already feeling the pinch of unemployment, rising prices and drought and the state government had further added to their problems by imposing user charges. It was the duty of the government to provide medical care to the people. They submitted a memorandum to the Principal of the IGMC for forwarding it to the Chief Minister in support of their demands. The Shimla District Congress Committee (rural) had criticised the government for taking the step.