 |
| Tuesday,
July 3, 2001, Chandigarh, India   
|
BJP chief to attend HP executive
meeting BJP blames Cong for financial mess Gram Sabha meeting a damp
squib ‘Globalisation sans ethics dangerous’ Focus on quality education |
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
POSTINGS/ TRANSFERS
OBC union seeks 27 pc reservation in jobs Hospitals hit as strike continues Dy Director (IT) promoted Husband convicted of killing wife Meeting on disaster
management held Gram sabhas ‘key link’ between
govt, public
|
|
BJP chief to attend HP executive
meeting New Delhi, July 2 The meeting assumes significance as it will be the first high-level meeting of the state unit, now under charge of Mr O.P. Kohli. Mr Kohli had recently replaced Mr Narendra Modi as the party functionary in-charge of Himachal Pradesh. Removal of Mr Modi from the HP scene was one of the main demands of the BJP dissidents who had made several appeals to the high command for the purpose. According to state BJP spokesman Ganesh Dutt, who was here in connection with party work, it will be the first visit of Mr Janakrishnamurthy to the state since he became the BJP president. Apart from Mr Kohli, the state executive meeting would be attended by Chief Minister Prem Kumar Dhumal besides senior state party leaders, including Mr Maheshwar Singh and Mr Suresh Chandel. Union Minister Shanta Kumar is also expected to be present. It is for the first time that party MLAs and chairmen and vice-chairmen, who are not in the state executive, have been invited to the state executive meeting. The meeting would see a thorough discussion on the problems that plagued the state unit of the party recently, resulting in a threat to the Dhumal government. The meeting would discuss ways to prevent recurrence of the problem of dissidence as it could adversely affect the BJP’s prospects in the assembly elections. That the BJP president has chosen to come for the state executive meeting shows that the party’s central leadership attaches a lot of importance to the assembly elections in the state which are one and a half years away. Himachal Pradesh is one of the states where the BJP has a government and the party is obviously keen to see that it performs well in the poll. The state unit has already chalked out a programme of Vikas Jyoti Yatra which would go to the various tehsils in the state to highlight the achievements of the Dhumal government in the past three and a half years. The yatra is likely to begin in August. There is also a plan to organise training camps in various districts in the next two months in which workers would be enlightened on various issues, including ways to counter the Congress propaganda. The state executive would also discuss the political situation in the state and the country. |
|
BJP blames Cong for financial mess Shimla, July 2 Reacting sharply to the allegations of the Congress leaders, Mr Ganesh Dutt, the party spokesperson, said that the white paper brought out by the present government in December 1999 clearly revealed that the financial situation had deteriorated during the 1994-98 period when the Congress government raised loans indiscriminately to bridge the budget deficit and allowed unproductive expenditure to increase sharply. He said that during these four years over Rs 3318 crore were raised as loans at exorbitant rates of interest and in a manner which not only placed a huge recurring burden on the state government but even raised questions about the transparency of the transactions. He said that the rate of interest on some of these loans was as high as 18.26 per cent and an amount of Rs 31.48 crore was doled out for even a temporary loan of Rs 258.30 crore repaid in a few months in 1994-95. The total debt of the state increased by 166 per cent from Rs 1870 crore at the end of 1993-94 to Rs 4,966 crore at the end of 1997-98, he added. Mr Ganesh Dutt, further said that to win favour with the electorate, the Congress Government had increased the number of salaried employees by over 25,000. Further on the eve of elections the Congress Government threw all norms to the winds and opened more than three times the targeted number of educational and health institutions which required the creation of more than 25,000 additional posts. He said that the Congress Government had added to the state’s annual interest burden more than Rs 400 crore annually and increased the committed liability on account of new employees by over Rs 500 crore. Besides the revision of pension rates added increased the burden by over Rs 500 crore annually. Despite this, the present government had exhibited restraint and followed norms of financial prudence and propriety by keeping borrowings at the minimum possible level and at the lowest possible cost. In the three years, the governments outstanding debt had rised by only 86 per cent compared to the 166 per cent during the four years of Congress Government. Compared to the huge amount of about Rs 65 crore on the borrowing programme, he added. Mr Dutt further said that the extent to which a government was being forced to borrow to meet past commitments was reflected by the primary deficit. The primary deficit on current borrowings minus the interest due on past loans in 1997-98 was as high as 7.86 per cent of the state domestic product in 2000-01, this had declined to 5.3 per cent showing the government’s resolve to improve our financial position, he added. He said that the government was committed to a vision of a strong and self-reliant Himachal Pradesh and steps were being taken to raise resources and curtail unproductive expenditure. |
|
Gram Sabha meeting a damp
squib Kumarhatti, July 2 According to sources, a majority of villagers remained absent from the meeting due to the vegetable season in the region, which has just begun. At Dharampur a good majority of people took part in the meeting at which a number of important decisions were finalised, including repair of the Dharampur-Subathu road, reassessment of revenue records and proper provident fund management for the present and retired employees of the panchayat. In Barog where 94 members form a quorum, only 25 were present. As a result, panchayat representatives fixed the next meeting after 15 days. Mr Sanjay Kumar, vice-president of the Barog panchayat, said despite assurance by the state government to allot more powers to panchayats, no steps in this regard had been taken so far. He also complained about non-issuing of identity cards to panchayat representatives. At the Chewa panchayat meeting, the quorum could not be completed. Those present took serious note of non-completion of the Kheel Ka More-Maatando link road. They complained about the lethargic attitude of the authorities concerned towards their repeated requests in this regard. They alleged that no concrete steps seemed to have been taken despite countless assurances by the authorities concerned in this regard. The portion of the road up to Kainthli village should be okayed by the road fitness committee, they demanded. Work on this road covering a population of 2,000 was started about seven years ago and till date only a stretch of 7 km had been built. The road covers two important villages, Koron and Khainthli, known for milk and vegetable production. In the absence of any approach road to Kumarhatti and others nearby stations, residents of these villages face great hardship. At the last Gram Sabha meeting, the villagers had raised the issue of misappropriation of funds allocated for the road. Interestingly, women at the meeting talked about the rise in illegal manufacture of country liquor in the villages. |
|
‘Globalisation sans ethics dangerous’ Shimla, July 2 The basic objective of globalisation should be to look after the interests and needs of all — from the economically strongest to the weakest — and not to legitimise and sanctify the greed of a few as was happening under the new WTO regime, he told The Tribune during an interview here today. There should have been a debate on global ethics before introducing the patent regime to take care of vital issues like food security and health needs, which are of utmost importance for developing countries. Imposition of international constraints on the agriculture and pharmaceutical sectors through the patent law would spell doom for them, he warned. That was where the question of ethics arose. “More so because we are on the threshold of a major breakthrough in the field of Biotechnology which will herald the era of genetically modified food and other things”. Further, the lifting of trade barriers to facilitate free movement of agriculture produce across the countries would hit the Indian farmers. Growing wheat and paddy, which had sustained them for centuries, would no longer remain an economical proposition. There was a real danger of these two traditional crops collapsing altogether. The developed countries had been heavily subsidising agriculture and as such the Indian farmer was not in a position to compete in terms of quality or price. The government did not have the funds required to improve the quality of agriculture produce and give subsidies to make it globally competitive. Patent and other regulatory laws were being introduced without sufficient experience. Patenting in the case of machines was introduced after trial and error of 400 years. However, in case of biotechnology regulatory laws were being put in place even before the real implications of genetic engineering were known. It was just like putting the cart before the horse. His institute had decided to undertake an indepth study to assess the impact of the WTO on the agriculture sector and other related areas and the role of science and technology in the post-globalisation era. The institute had decided to adopt a remote village in Almora district of Uttaranchal for socio-economic uplift of the people by application of appropriate technology. It had also decided to launch the Himalayan Ecology and Economy Development (HEED) programme for sustainable development of hills. |
|
Focus on quality education Kumarhatti Dr Mulak Raj Chilana, a renowned educationist, launched the first phase of the teachers’ orientation programme recently. He shared his views on the teacher’s growth, quality education and all round development of the child . He spoke about quality education, social, moral and spiritual values. He laid stress on techniques through which teachers can motivate children to become creative and innovative. According to Dr Chilana, the teachers should promote self-learning among students. The most significant feature of the programme will be the growth of the teachers to meet needs of children, Mr V.K. Chopra, Principal of the school, emphasised. The school has launched a scheme for the economically poor and physically handicapped children of the region. Under the scheme such children will not be charged fees and will be provided with books and dresses. The school has also decided to give free admission to two students of those families that had been affected by the Bhuj earthquake. These children will also be provided free boarding. Last winter, certain teachers from Britain visited the school under the teacher exchange programme. The visitors exchanged views on new aspects and techniques of education with the school teachers. |
|
POSTINGS/ TRANSFERS Tribune News Service Shimla, July 2 Mr Ashok Thakur, Secretary, Tourism, has been given charge of the Industries Department. Mr Ajay Mittal, Principal Secretary to the Chief Minister, has been given additional charge of the Industries Department. Mr Subhash Negi, Secretary, has been stripped of the charge of Personnel Department and will now retain Art, Language, Culture and Tribal Development Departments. Mr B.S. Chahan will be the new Secretary, Personnel Department. Mr A.R. Basu has been appointed Secretary, GAD, in place of Mr A.R. Sihag, who goes on central deputation. Mr S.C. Mehta, Additional Director, Industries Department, has been appointed Deputy Commissioner, Chamba, in place of Mr R.D. Nazim, who swap places. Meanwhile, the Himachal Pradesh Government today amended a few transfer orders of HAS Officers, which were issued last week. The transfer of Mr Madan Chauhan, General Manager of HPMC, has been cancelled. Mr Amit Kashyap, who was posted in his place has now been posted as Joint Director, Rural Integrated Department (RID) and ex-officio Deputy Director of RID D.D. Sharma, Deputy Secretary (Home), has now been posted as Director, Industrial Centre, Solan. Mr T.G. Negi, Deputy Director, Industries, who was posted as SDO, Chopal, will now join as Regional Transport Officer, Mandi. Mr H.S. Pundeer will remain as the SDM, Chopal. Mr S.P. Negi, Deputy Director, RID COM Under Secretary, has been posted as LAO, state power board, Shimla. Mr
B.R. Kaundal, Regional Transport Officer, Mandi, has been posted as
LAO (Land Acquisition Officer), Mandi.  |
|
|
OBC union seeks 27 pc
reservation in jobs Dharamsala, July 2 OBCs from Shimla, Una, Hamirpur and Kangra districts held a rally at the War Memorial and submitted a memorandum addressed to the Governor through the Deputy Commissioner. The state president of the organisation, Mr R.L. Chaudhary, said they would be meeting on August 9 to chalk out the future strategy. He said they would not hesitate from gheraoing the ministers belonging to the OBC as they had failed to protect the interests of the community. The main demands of the organisation are 27 per cent reservation in jobs, interest-free loans for education, constituting an OBC Vidhan Sabha Committee, and giving of relief to farmers who had been affected by draught. |
|
Hospitals hit as strike continues Shimla, July 2 The decision to continue strike was taken at the meeting of the Resident Doctors Association, which is spearheading the agitation. Dr Naresh Kalia, president of the association, said that the meeting with Mr A.K. Goswami, the Chief Secretary, did not yield any concrete result. He informed the association that the cabinet had authorised Mr P.K. Dhumal, the Chief Minister, for taking a decision regarding their demand for dropping the move to appoint doctors on contract basis and other issues, including conversion of hospitals into societies. He said the association was awaiting the response of Mr Dhumal. In the meantime the doctors would strike work from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. daily, but maintain emergency services. The association was opposed to conversion of hospitals into societies but it would support their upgradation into autonomous institutes on the pattern of the PGI, Chandigarh. The Safai Karamcharis engaged on contract basis have also gone on strike in protest against the conversion of hospitals into societies. |
|
Dy Director (IT) promoted Shimla, July 2 Mr M.P. Singh is an Indian Revenue Service Officer of the 1990 batch and has served in various capacities in the Income Tax Department at Pathankot, Jammu, Srinagar and Amritsar before his posting at Shimla last year. He conducted a series of successful raids in the state, the last one of which was on a remote town of Sataun near Paonta Sahib. The raid resulted in the detection of huge concealment of income tax by one mine owner and a lime stone trader. |
|
Husband convicted of killing wife Sundarnagar, July 2 Dimple was married to the convict in October 1997 and from the very beginning, her husband used to maltreat her. On December 10, 1998, Dimple (24) was found dead in her marital house in mysterious conditions. The family of Ram Krishan said that she had died due to drowning in a pool. |
|
Meeting on disaster
management held Nahan, July 2 Speaking on the occasion, the Deputy Commissioner, Sirmaur, Mr Rakesh Kaushal, said the coordination of services of different departments, along with military, was necessary for disaster management. He asked the Medical Department to enlist all medical practitioners in the district for the purpose. Commandant Home Guards, Mr Panwar, said good swimmers, retired drivers in villages should be enlisted who could prove useful during such time. Mr J.R. Ramoul working in an NGO in Sirmaur said he had 200 volunteers in the district which could be used for first-aid. |
|
|
Gram sabhas ‘key link’ between govt, public Nahan, July 2 He said gram sabhas were an important link between the government and the public. Zila parishad chairman Chander Mohan Thakur said 20 projects were being undertaken in Pacchhad area. He said Rs 4.72 crore would be spent on these works in 13 panchayats. |
 |
| Punjab | Haryana | Jammu & Kashmir | Himachal Pradesh | Regional Briefs | Nation | Editorial | | Business | Sport | World | Mailbag | In Spotlight | Chandigarh Tribune | Ludhiana Tribune 50 years of Independence | Tercentenary Celebrations | | 121 Years of Trust | Calendar | Weather | Archive | Subscribe | Suggestion | E-mail | |
