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Friday,
May 24, 2002, Chandigarh, India  
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BJP infighting to the fore PM’s Manali visit from
today
Himachal to spend 50 cr on housing scheme HP to regularise encroachments Move on to resume Masonic Lodge |
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NHPC earns profit of Rs 469 cr Land dispute: 2 hurt in clash Ex-servicemen back govt on terrorism Book on stamp
collection released
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BJP infighting to the fore Shimla, May 23 Mr Sen had earlier been stripped of the presidentship of the Kulu district unit of party to avert a major crisis in the party. The intense rivalry between the groups headed by Mr Maheshwar Singh, MP and former state party chief, and Mr Karan Singh, Primary Education Minister, on one side, and Mr Dinesh Sen and Mr Khimi Ram, chairperson of the Zila Parishad, on the other, had caused a vertical split in the Kulu district unit of the party. The state leadership had intervened and worked out a compromise formula, as per which Mr Dinesh Sen had been replaced by Mr Chander Sen as president of the district unit to please the Maheshwar Singh faction. However, Mr Sen had been made secretary of the state unit to maintain the factional balance. Mr Maheshwar Singh and Mr Karan Singh had taken the elevation of Mr Sen as an affront and they have had constantly pressurising the state leadership for his removal. Their demand having been met, the rival faction would not take the development lying down. More so because of the hush-hush manner in which Mr Sen had been removed. The decision to remove him had been taken much earlier, but Mr Sen had been kept in the dark about it. He had come to know about it only at the recent meeting of the state party office-bearers. He had been informed that he was no more the secretary and as such, could not attend the meeting. Though Mr Sen had been retained member of the state executive, the downgrading of his status was being seen as humiliation by his supporters. As such, the problems of the faction-ridden party, reeling under defeat at the hands of the Congress in the Shimla Municipal Corporation elections, were bound to multiply. The situation was not better in Solan, Una, Bilaspur, Sirmaur and Hamirpur districts. The way the phenomenon of “mitra milan” was spreading, the party might find itself in trouble on the eve of the Assembly elections. The latest “mitra milan” would be organised at Bangana in Una district on May 26 by Mr Pawan Kumar, a former vice-chairperson of the Zila Parishad. He had been expelled for anti-party activities last week. Mr Mohinder Sofat, who said been denied the party ticket for the Rajya Sabha, had organised a “mitra milan” at Solan last month. In fact, there had been a series of such meetings in Solan and Hamirpur districts. The factional divide brought about by the “Jwalamukhi episode” had created a vertical split down to the grassroots in the party. It was divided right upto the constituency level. The party’s failure to put in place an effective mechanism for redressal of grievances of partymen and to take steps to bridge the factional divide could cost it dearly in the assembly elections. Senior party leaders blamed the “dictatorial and blatantly partisan” altitude of the leadership for the incessant infighting. Those who had failed to get a “fair deal” from the leadership had been left with no option but to resort to such ways to let out their frustration. The disgruntled cadres had played a major role in the party’s defeat in the Shimla Municipal Corporation elections. In the process, the party’s vote share had plunged to the lowest level ever. |
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HP Assembly poll likely by Oct: Cong Una, May 23 In reply to a question, Mr Rattan said the Congress expected that the Vidhan Sabha elections, would be held in September or October. Mr Rattan said a large number of Congress workers were expected to participate in the state level “Sadbhavna’ Rally at Shahpur in Kangra, on May 31. |
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PM’s Manali visit from
today Manali, May 23 It is learnt that the Prime Minister will be accompanied by the state Chief Minister, Mr Prem Kumar Dhumal, and the Himachal Pradesh Governor, Dr Suraj Bhan, from Bhunter airport to Manali. From the SASE helipad, Mr Vajpayee will be brought in a cavalcade under tight security to his farmhouse at Prini on the
Manali-Naggar road where he will spend his summer vacation. Foolproof security arrangements were being made for his stay at his farmhouse. |
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Himachal to spend 50 cr on housing scheme
Shimla, May 23 The Chief minister said 5,000 houses would be constructed under the Indira Awas Yojana to solve the problems of weaker sections in the state at a cost of about Rs 50 crore during the current year. Reiterating his government’s resolve for the speedy uplift of the weaker sections, Mr Dhumal said his government had started various schemes in this direction during the past four years. He said 4,000 students were being given scholarship of Rs 10,000 each under the Ambedkar Meritorious Scholarship scheme. He said the poor students of general category were also being given financial assistance under Swami Vivekanand Utkrishth Chhatravriti Yojana. Mr Dhumal said nine panchayats in the state were being given Rs 5 lakh each in which maximum students would get scholarships under the meritorious scholarship schemes. The Chief Minister said all girl students of cleanliness workers were being given annual scholar- ship of Rs 9,000 each after matriculation under Maharishi Valmiki Scholarship Scheme. He said 2.88 lakh students in the state had been benefited under various scholarship schemes annually. Mr Dhumal said Rs 3 lakh were being spent in a ward of each Assembly constituency in the state for providing basic amenities. The Chief minister said the state has formulated a scheme for providing semi-furnished accommodation to the teachers in far-flung areas in the state under Yashwant Gurukul Awas Yojana and added that 54 such units had been constructed in the Spiti area. PTI
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HP to regularise encroachments Hamirpur, May 23 Addressing a meeting of the revenue officers of the district, he said all land encroachment cases registered up to December 31, 2000 would be regularised. He said all such matters would be finalised after getting approval from the concerned Deputy Commissioners and the settlement officers concerned. He said the main aim of the decision was to provide social justice to those who were living below poverty line. Dr Sushant said four categories of encroachments had been made in the state and the case of widows, handicapped and poor would be regularised by getting compensation 50 per cent less than the market price. However, in case of those who have encroached upon the government land up to 10 kanals, the market price would be charged. He said in urban areas, the market rate would be charged to regularise the land up to 10 metres and the compensation would be two, three and four times in respect of 10 to 20 metres, 20 to 30 and 30 to 50 metres, respectively. He said Chief Minister Prem Kumar Dhumal would start giving ownership rights of the encroached land to the new land-owners from August 16. The minister clarified that the state government would issue the final notification for the regularisation of encroachments on government land by June 30.
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Move on to resume Masonic Lodge Kasauli, May 23 The move was initiated following flagrant violations by Sidhu in the course of constructing this house here despite the fact that a stay had been ordered by the Kasauli Sub Judge on further construction. Though Sidhu had obtained permission for merely carrying out minor repairs like repair of the damaged floor, roof and walls in August, 2000, he had started renovating the structure on a large scale from inside. This had forced the cantonment board to file two contempt cases against him on March 1 and June 6 last year. The decision to move a case for resumption of the Masonic Lodge had been taken by the cantonment board following Sidhu’s repeated attempts to evade receiving the contempt orders issued by the court. Consequently a decision was taken to resume this property at a meeting of the board here which was readily accepted by the DEO at Ambala. Following this, Sidhu applied for getting the case compounded to the DEO, Ambala. However, the move to resume the controversial Masonic Lodge has not met with success as some crucial documents pertaining to the property could not be traced at DEO, Ambala. Conflicting claims regarding the availability of original documents at the DEO, Ambala, are being made by officials. Highly placed sources stated that in order to prolong the procedure of obtaining the original papers pertaining to the disputed property, Sidhu had allegedly obliged an official of the DEO, Ambala, by procuring a job for the official’s kin. Following this, the said official had bowed out of the committee and now another representative from the DEO was to be appointed to proceed with the resumption proceedings. Despite the committee’s instructions to furnish the relevant documents here the move to resume the Masonic Lodge could make little progress. No further headway could be made in the case following Sidhu’s arrest.
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NHPC earns profit of Rs 469 cr Dalhousie, May 23 In a press note issued here today, Mr Yogendra Prasad, Chairman and Managing Director (CMD) of the NHPC, stated that the achieved sales turnover of the NHPC had risen to Rs 1,290 crore. He said the NHPC had paid Rs 30 crore as dividend to the Government of India. Mr Prasad said the operating power stations of the NPHC had generated 9,734 million units of electricity and achieved 96.86 per cent capacity index. He said the NHPC had realised Rs 2,176 crore from the various beneficiary states for the electricity supplied to them, adding that the NHPC’s performance had been rated “excellent” on the basis of the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) signed between the NHPC and the Union Ministry of Power. Mr Prasad said the Union Ministry of Power had okayed the 10th Plan outlay of Rs 31,466 crore for the NHPC. He said an agreement had been signed by the NHPC with the Government of Himachal Pradesh for executing the 231 MW Chamera Hydroelectric Project (Stage III)on the Ravi in Chamba district of Himachal Pradesh. The NHPC had obtained Cabinet
approval for creation of a joint venture company, Narmada Hydroelectric Development Corporation, and execution of 1,000 MW Indira Sagar Project in Madhya Pradesh. Mr Prasad said consultancy assignments worth Rs 17.18 crore had also been received by the NHPC. Besides, the NHPC had signed a wage agreement with the workers union of the corporation, he added. |
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Land dispute: 2 hurt in clash Nurpur, May 23 According to information a land dispute between the two parties is already in the judicial court. It said one party forcibly tried to take possession of the disputed land which led to the clash in which sticks and swords were used. Ratan Chand and Vijay Kumar, who received injuries were admitted in the local Civil Hospital. Some assailants who had come from Jakharwal (Dhariwal) in Punjab also set ablaze fodder and the orchard of the victim. The police has arrested Amrik, Khushal, Chuni Lal, Tara, Joginder, Kishan, Jagtar and Sucha Singh in this connection. A case under Sections 147, 148, 149, 324 and 435 of the IPC has been registered. The Sub Divisional Magistrate, Nurpur, today bailed out the accused. |
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Ex-servicemen back govt on terrorism Kulu, May 23 The president of the league said the ex-servicemen of the district were at the disposal of the Prime Minister for teaching a lesson to the sponsor of terrorism. The president said the ex-servicemen could also assist the local administration by providing their services. He also lauded the government for taking the “right decisions at the right time”. |
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Book on stamp
collection released Shimla, May 23 The 45-page book provides guidance to the beginners for collecting and preserving stamps. It also mentions rare stamps. Mr Bhushan said Mr Walia was the only member of the Philately Congress of India from Chandigarh. He stressed the need for including philately in the curriculum of schools as stamps provided knowledge of the rich culture, art and various other aspects of the country. He would take up the matter with the Himachal Pradesh Government. |
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In video: Hectic
preparations are on in Manali ahead of Prime Minister Atal Behari
Vajpayee's vacation beginning Friday. (
