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| Monday, June 25, 2001, Chandigarh, India   
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Efforts on
to split HVC: Sukh Ram Water scheme for Dalits inaugurated Plea for
setting up judicial panel Trade
unions to oppose economic reforms Poor
exempted from user charges: BJP |
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No
shortage of food grain: Shanta Staff
shortage hits hospital Jaitley
for greater private sector role NTPC
assurance to Kol Dam oustees IGMC doctors decry contract appointments Farmers warned against blight Rs 1-cr
scheme for hydel project 
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Efforts on to split HVC: Sukh Ram Dharamsala, June 24 Addressing a press conference here today, he said that instead of strengthening the coalition, efforts were still on to split the HVC, which had “come to the rescue” of the BJP government in times of need. “In order to prevent constitutional crisis and political instability in the state, I even allowed my two MLAs to join the BJP, but the state government seems to have forgotten all this,” said the HVC chief. “I am under tremendous pressure from my party workers to withdraw support from the government but I am resisting it as coalition culture is here to stay in the state,” commented Mr Sukh Ram. While admitting that numerically the BJP did not require the help of the HVC, he said that his party was now a force to reckon with as it had emerged as a formidable third force in state politics. He said that despite the fact that it was the BJP which had engineered a split in the party earlier, he would continue giving support to the government for the full term. “The Prime Minister has strengthened coalition culture at the Centre by taking along all 22 NDA members but this spirit is missing in Himachal Pradesh,” he remarked. The HVC chief regretted that his party was never consulted on major policy decisions, some of which were opposed by his party. “Levying user charges in hospitals and societies running these are some of the decisions which we are opposed to, as these are anti-people,” he said. He said that had he been consulted by the government, he could have suggested better ways of resource mobilisation. Mr Sukh Ram said his party would oppose all decisions of the state government which were against the manifesto of the party. He said he was not in favour of setting up cement plants in the state and was also against the hike in power tariff and water charges. The HVC chief said there would not have been any differences between the BJP and the HVC, had a minimum programme and a coordinating committee been set up as demanded by his party earlier. He said the HVC had submitted a draft to the government suggesting employment generation avenues to tackle the growing problem of unemployment. |
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Water scheme for Dalits inaugurated Solan, June 24 Later, addressing a public meeting at Oeli, Mr Dhumal said that the Union Government had sanctioned a Rs 300 crore scheme, under its accelerated power development programme for Himachal. The first instalment of Rs 25 crore had already been received, of which Rs 3.5 crore had been earmarked for Solan district. A sizeable part of this would be spent on replacing old electric meters with energy efficient electronic meters. He said that his government had accorded top priority to health education and roads, adding that he had increased the budgetry allocations for the social sector from the previous Congress government’s mere Rs 356 cr to 942 crore. He said that 2000 kms of roads had been constructed during the present government’s three years in office. The previous government could construct only 19000 kms in a span of over 50 years. Similarly 2100 kms of roads had been metalled during the last three years whereas the previous govts could metal only 8000 km. Referring to the development of this district, Mr Dhumal said that he had sanctioned subsidies and support prices to the growers of vegetables and citrus and stone fruits on the same pattern. This met a long-standing demand of the farmers of this district who had been feeling discriminated against, in the past. A regulated market had been sanctioned for the national highway town of Dharampur. A Rs four crore regulated market was first coming up at Solan bye-pass and was expected to be completed by the end of this year. The new buildings of the local bus stand, a zonal hospital and the sub-jail was under progress. Rs 80 lakh had been sanctioned under the Prime Minister’s Gram Sarak Yojana. It was proposed to construct 113 km of new roads and metal 53 km during the current year, rupees three crore had been sanctioned for the construction of additional school rooms under the Saraswati Bal Vidya Yojana, 45 hand pumps were installed in Solan constituency area alone last year. A Rs 1.32 crore scheme for augmenting existing electricity lines and transformers infrastructure had been allocated for Solan for the current year. He said that the state government had nothing to do with the enforcement of user’s charges in the state hospitals. He said that the decision was taken by the various hospital welfare societies created for the purpose of optimising the quality of health services being provided by the state-run health institutions. He, however, defended the levying of user’s charges on ground of necessity. “The
poor had been fully exempted. Only those who had the capacity to pay and were not in the habit of paying were being made to pay for the services availed by them”. Mr Ramesh Chand, IPH Minister said that all villages in this district would be provided with potable water services by the year 2003. He invited proposals from the public for the construction of water harvest structures in the district. Mr H.N. Singh Saini, Minister of State for Town & Country Planning, State Marketing Board Chairman Mr Virendra Kashyap and the local MLA, Mr Rajiv Bindal also spoke. Mr Dhumal later inaugurated the new premises of the local press room at the children’s park, situated on The Mall here. He also laid the foundation stone of a tribal students hostel at the local government post-graduate college. |
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Plea for setting up
judicial panel Shimla, June 24 He said the manner of appointment of judges had been a subject of considerable debate recently. The Supreme Court had dealt at length with the issue of primacy of consultation with the Chief Justice of India and the judges of the Supreme Court for the appointment of judges. It had held that the view of the Chief Justice on the matter would have primacy in the consultative process under Article 124 of the Constitution, he said. He said it was necessary that an independent judicial commission be constituted to consider the appointment of judges of the higher judiciary. In England, for example, the Lord Chancellor’s Department considered the issue of appointment of judges and the independence of the judiciary had not been compromised, Mr Mattewal said. The need for the commission had also arisen due to allegations of corruption and misconduct against certain judges of the higher judiciary, he said. Presently, the only provision under which this issue could be dealt with was by way of impeachment under Article 124 of the Constitution. It had been observed in the Justice V. Ramaswamy case that the procedure for impeachment was not only cumbersome, but it also got politicised. The Supreme Court, in the case of Ravinchandran Iyer vs Justice A.M. Bhattacharjee, had suggested the need for an in-house procedure to examine allegations against high court judges. Subsequently, the Chief Justice of India had announced a code of ethics for judges of the Supreme Court. However, in order to maintain absolute integrity and a high standard of conduct among judges of the higher judiciary, it was necessary that, subject to adequate safeguards, an independent judicial commission should be established to examine allegations of corruption or misconduct against them, Mr Mattewal said. In California, a judicial commission had been set up which had the right to entertain complaints of corruption and misbehaviour against judges subject to certain safeguards, he added. He said a significant proportion of the members of the proposed commission should come from the Supreme Court. He said the establishment of the commission should under no circumstances undermine the independence of the judiciary. Outside representation on the proposed commission was also vital to maintaining transparency, Mr Mattewal said. |
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Trade unions to oppose economic reforms Shimla, June 24 Addressing a press conference here, he said the economic growth rate was only 5.5 per cent as against the projected rate of 6.5 per cent, which clearly indicated that the reforms were not yielding the desired results. However, the government was still going ahead with its disinvestment plans in public sector undertakings and changing labour laws for the convenience of MNCs, he said. He said the CITU, the BMS, the INTUC and other main trade unions had joined hands to oppose the “disastrous” economic policies and would hold a protest rally at Delhi on July 24. The proposed amendments to the Industrial Disputes Act and other labour laws would spell disaster for workers, he said, adding that these would pave the way for contract appointments and make closure of industries easier. The downsizing of the government and privatisation were leading to unemployment as alternative employment opportunities were not being created, he said. The situation had become worse as the government had lifted the quantitative restrictions on imports three years ahead of the time-frame laid down by the WTO, he claimed. The bulk imports would hit the indigenous industry and farmers hard, Mr Pandhe said. |
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Poor exempted from user charges: BJP Shimla, June 24 Reacting to the statement of Mr Rangila Ram Rao, a senior Congress leader, opposing the user charges, Mr Dut said that over the past two decades, lakhs of rupees paid by patients for various services had been deposited in government account. However, Congress leaders were trying to create an impression that only the present government had imposed the charges on health services, he said. He said the poor would not have to pay the charges as families covered under the Antyodaya scheme and IRDP and daily-wage workers would be entitled to free medical treatment. Moreover, the annual income limit for fee medical care had been increased from Rs 7,200 to Rs 20,000 annually, Mr Dut added. He said that at a time when the entire country, including Congress-ruled states, was going in for economic reforms, the Congress was opposing these in Himachal Pradesh. The “wrong policies of the Congress had plunged the state into a debt trap, he said. Its annual income was Rs 700 crore whereas the interest liability was over Rs 1,100 crore, Mr Dut said. |
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No shortage of food grain: Shanta Hamirpur, June 24 The minister said there was no shortage of food grains in India. “We have about 500 lakh metric tonnes of food grains, but the main problem is that of lifting. State governments are not eager to lift the stocks being given to them under various programmes to help the poorer sections of society”, he said. He said despite best efforts of the Central Government, the response of the state governments was lukewarm. He said Kerala was the only state in India that had lifted 90 percent of its share of stocks. He said he had written to all state governments to stake the problem seriously. Mr Shanta Kumar said nearly five crore people were living in the worst conditions and badly needed food grains and other facilities. The government had launched a scheme known as Antyodaya under which they would be given 25 kg of food grains every month at a nominal cost. The minister said under the drought-relief programme, the Central Government had released 16 lakh metric tonnes of food grains to the states on 100 per cent subsidy worth Rs 1600 crore, but the states had lifted only 9.5 lakh metric tonnes of food grains so far. The minister alleged that food distribution system was not functioning properly and efforts were on to review it. He said the total number of fair price shops in India was 4,60,000, but their performance was not upto the mark. He said the Central Government had constituted committees at state level headed by MPs to monitor the working of the Food Corporation of India and other agencies. These committees would act as a watchdog and link between the states and the Centre, he said. Mr Shanta Kumar stressed the need for educating the consumers about their rights. He said rural consumers were not aware of their rights. The Central Government would organise consumer awareness camps in 120 selected districts of the state. Poor consumers would be invited to these camps. The centre would give Rs 50,000 for each camp and all invited persons would be given to and fro fare. The minister said the government would bring radical changes in the Consumers Protection Act. Efforts would be made to make the Bill more stringent and people-oriented, he added. |
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Staff shortage hits hospital Shimla There are a total of 95 Class IV posts and 35 posts of safai karamchari at the hospital. Out of these, 25 sanctioned Class IV posts and several posts of safai karamchari have been vacant for many years. Employees say they have urged the hospital authorities several times to fill these posts but to no avail. The big hospital also does not have a watchman and Class IV employees are doing the job. Sources say there has been no recruitment since 1995. The meagre hospital budget adds to the problems of the staff, who complain that their medical bills are often not cleared even after six months. Salaries have also not been paid to health workers for the past six months, the sources add. Certain basic facilities are
lacking. There are no general toilets for outdoor patients and no provision for emergency lights. Besides, in most of the wards there is an acute shortage of water. The condition of the children’s ward is poor. The number of beds is inadequate and many times patients have to share beds. The toilets adjacent to the wards stink. Patients complain that there is no regular supply of water to the toilets. “Special attention must be given to this ward. The number of beds must be increased on priority”, said a patient. There is usually a long queue of patients outside the X-ray room as there is only one machine. “We have to come very early for our X-ray reports. Sometimes we have to wait for more than two hours for our turn,” said a patient. On an average 800 to 1,000 outdoor patients visit the hospital every day. There are a total of 150 beds, which needs to be increased. Mr M.R. Panwar, a union leader, said the vacant posts should be filled immediately. The hospital was started in 1885 by Lord Ripon. Till 1992 it was known as Ripon Hospital. |
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Jaitley
for greater private sector role Shimla, June 24 Addressing senior officer of the government here today he said the government must concentrate on “good governance” and play the role of a facilitator to boost the country’s economy with greater involvement of the private sector. He said privatisation not only increased efficiency but also brought down the cost of services. Citing the example of the telecom sector, he said the entry of the private sector had increased the number of telephones per hundred persons over the past five years. In the next 15 years it would be almost on a par with developed countries. The air time for calls made through mobile phones had come down from Rs 8 per minute to Rs 1.4 per call. He said the country had failed to attract foreign direct investment (FDI) due to lack of proper political and industrial environment. The economic reforms were not only opposed by the Opposition but even the bureaucracy and trade unions. It was for this reason that China had outdone-India. It had already attracted FDI to the tune of $ 45 billion as against $ 1.8 billion in India. The reforms were being opposed without a rationale. A false impression was being created that the country’s economy would be taken over by multinational companies. |
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NTPC
assurance to Kol Dam oustees Bilaspur, June 24 Addressing mediapersons here today, the chief adviser of the Kol Dam Oustees Joint Welfare Committee, Mr Dilaram Dhiman, who is also a former zila parishad chairman and Congress leader, said several leaders of the committee including CPI leader Bhagat Singh Verma, committee president Ramesh Babu, chairman Prakash Chand and Shashi Sharma had held detailed discussions with the NTPC and officers of the district administration, including the Deputy Commissioner, Bilaspur, Mr Joginder Singh Rana and Deputy Commissioner, Mandi, Mr Jagdish Chander Sharma at Sundernagar, near here, last evening. He said most of the demands of the oustees had been accepted. The NTPC general manager, Mr K.B. Dube, also assured the oustees that construction contracts and other contracts would be given to them if they formed cooperative societies. Representatives of the oustees demanded that each farming family should be allotted 20 bighas of land in the nearest villages, officers should be employed for the assessment of compensation and “gharaats” (flour mills) and small-scale industries should be given adequate compensation. The leaders also demanded Rs 10 lakh as “non-employment compensation” and Rs 5 lakh as “disturbance allowance.” |
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IGMC doctors decry contract appointments Shimla, June 24 Interests of Himachalis, particularly technocrats, had been hurt over the past three years, it said and warned that they were capable of protecting its dignity and rights which were being sold off to outsiders by certain politicians. The policies of government would lead only to the deterioration of health services and hit the poor. It threatened to launch an agitation if decision to appoint doctors on “contract basis” was not revoked. |
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Farmers
warned against blight Shimla, June 24 The farmers should spray their crop with mancozeb and triton A.E. should be mixed with it. This way it would not be washed off in rain. The disease first appears on the lower leaves and the fungicide should be applied in such a way that all leaves, especially the lower ones, were covered. If the disease was noticed, another spray of metalaxy-based fungicides should be used. Subsequent sprays should be need-based and mancozeb and metalaxy-based fungicides should be used alternately, a press note of the institute said. |
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Rs 1-cr scheme for hydel project Shimla, June 24 The scheme to increase the capacity of the power house from 200 KW to 350 KW will be completed in 24 months. The project will generate 2.73 million units of electricity annually. It will be an unmanned power station, to be controlled from the nearby 33 KV substation at Naggar, thus reducing the operation cost to the minimum. |
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Monsoon
breaks out in Himachal Shimla, June 24 Shimla and its adjoining areas experienced moderate intermittent rain since last night, dipping the temperature to 21.9°.
UNI |
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MP inaugurates community hall Kulu, June 24 He said such buildings had become a necessity where religious and social functions could be organised as there were no open spaces left in towns and villages. He called upon villagers to come forward and build such halls and buildings in their villages. He said around 90 per cent of the “sansad nidhi” funds in his parliamentary constituency had been utilised for the purpose. Mr Maheshwar Singh announced Rs 2 lakh from his “sansad nidhi” for the second phase of the community building. Mr Karan Singh, Minister of State for Environment and Primary Education, announced Rs 2 lakh for channelling the adjoining nullah to the building. |
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